Recommendations I am looking for a notebook that is lightweight and affordable for school. I don't need it to be able to do a whole lot. I need to be able to run microsoft office and the internet mostly. I was wondering though, does it have a cd drive. Some of the classes I take require a cd drive for labs and such. If it does not does someone have another recommendation for a notebook for me or could I get by with having an external cd drive? Recommendations I am looking for a notebook that is lightweight and affordable for school. I don't need it to be able to do a whole lot. I need to be able to run microsoft office and the... » Read More Recommendations I am looking for a notebook that is lightweight and affordable for school. I don't need it to be able to do a whole lot. I need to be able to run microsoft office and the internet mostly. I was wondering though, does it have a cd drive. Some of the classes I take require a cd drive for labs and such. If it does not does someone have another recommendation for a notebook for me or could I get by with having an external cd drive? « Show Less
1808930
I go to school mainly online but I want to be able to tote this back and forth to work plus I have small children so being able to take it out to the park and work while they play would be nice. I could get by without the CD drive I think since I have other computers at home i could use to do that part.
1808931
I'm not aware of any netbooks that have an optical/cd drive...they're design is too small to contain one. External CD drives are not overly expensive, but will add to the cost of a netbook (unless you already have one)....they work fine with netbooks but would not be convenient if needed in class (they'd be fine back at the dorm room or apartment). The newer netbooks will do everything you want. Since you're posting on the 1215t thread, I assume you're considering one. How much battery life do you need in class? If you can plug in, it's no problem. With wifi off and screen brightness on low, I can get 5.5+ hours run time. If you need more batter life, the 1215B or 1215P may be a better choice. I'm not aware of any netbooks that have an optical/cd drive...they're design is too small to contain one. External CD drives are not overly expensive, but will add to the cost of a netbook (unless you already have one)....they work fine with netbooks but would not be convenient if needed in class (they'd be fine back at the dorm room or apartment). The newer netbooks will do everything you want. Since you're posting on the 1215t thread, I assume you're considering one. How much battery life do you need in class? If you can plug in, it's no problem. With wifi off and screen brightness on... » Read More I'm not aware of any netbooks that have an optical/cd drive...they're design is too small to contain one. External CD drives are not overly expensive, but will add to the cost of a netbook (unless you already have one)....they work fine with netbooks but would not be convenient if needed in class (they'd be fine back at the dorm room or apartment). The newer netbooks will do everything you want. Since you're posting on the 1215t thread, I assume you're considering one. How much battery life do you need in class? If you can plug in, it's no problem. With wifi off and screen brightness on low, I can get 5.5+ hours run time. If you need more batter life, the 1215B or 1215P may be a better choice. « Show Less
1872941
I'm waiting for the release of the 6 cell version. I don't want to have a small, take anywhere laptop that needs a plug to work after two hours of use. There are other, similar subnotebooks coming out soon too. The Acer one, Dell (whatever, don't know if it has a name), the new ASUS 901 and 1000 series, and, very likely, there will be more. Buying one now is great if you can find one, and I would like to, but I don't want to feel buyer's remorse in a short period of time.
1692831
It is faster than I expected. The time it takes to turn on and shutdown surprised me. As for using it for homework, it should do you fine. I use word, excel and one note and have been pleased so far.
1219315
Cannot respond to the video card question but it is a fairly fast responsive laptop. It does not, however, come with a full version of office, it is a trial version. I have had to use add ins to modify windows 8 to make it more usable. There is no DVD/CD, you need an external. Only two USB, and they are close together, I need a USB extender for some plugs. Find I am accidentally hitting keys that do strange things, continually disturbing. Otherwise good solid laptop.
1952336
Usually the computer comes used with 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a 160G harddrive. The operating system is usually Windows 7. The computer has been a good stable, fast computer for us. I originally bought one for the oldest daughter, and when configuring it I found it to be very quiet and fast. So I have since bought 4 more. I would only buy one that was running Windows 7 Pro, and had at least an 80G harddrive. Since he is a student, he can buy Microsoft Office for about $70 dollars.I would highly recommend the computer. If you have future questions, please don't hesitate to ask. We just moved into a new home and I don't have internet yet, so I may be slow in answering.Good Luck Usually the computer comes used with 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a 160G harddrive. The operating system is usually Windows 7. The computer has been a good stable, fast computer for us. I originally bought one for the oldest daughter, and when configuring it I found it to be very quiet and fast. So I have since bought 4 more. I would only buy one that was running Windows 7 Pro, and had at least an 80G harddrive. Since he is a student, he can buy Microsoft Office for about $70 dollars.I would highly recommend the computer. If you have future questions, please don't hesitate to ask. We... » Read More Usually the computer comes used with 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a 160G harddrive. The operating system is usually Windows 7. The computer has been a good stable, fast computer for us. I originally bought one for the oldest daughter, and when configuring it I found it to be very quiet and fast. So I have since bought 4 more. I would only buy one that was running Windows 7 Pro, and had at least an 80G harddrive. Since he is a student, he can buy Microsoft Office for about $70 dollars.I would highly recommend the computer. If you have future questions, please don't hesitate to ask. We just moved into a new home and I don't have internet yet, so I may be slow in answering.Good Luck « Show Less
1036423
Microsoft Office Starter. Has limited usage. Can go to MS site and learn more. Great computer for the price. I compared a lot of lap tops and settled on this one. Very happy with it. Full office version, student edition is about $ 120.00 at Amazon.
1522880
I'm a med student myself, actually already an MD here in my country, but plan in taking my step 1 this june... anyways, I have to recomend ASUS, the laptop has 5 stars build quality as well as performance! I actually bought the ASUS UL80vt, and fits perfectly to my lifestyle, and just so you know, that 12 hr battery thing is for real!!! you should get the ul80vt instead, its quite faster and better at multitasking than the ul30A-x5 since it has turboboos technology, also the screen is 14.1 and comes with DVD drive, which you may not use as much, but I prefer to have it than not.... BTW, go with the Silver model, it looks nicer!!! happy shopping!, let me know what you went for!
1131984
The laptop isn't what I originally expected, I mean it works but it reminds me more of a big tablet with a keyboard. There are times where it can take a while to load and it's difficult to copy and paste things. I guess I'm trying to say what are you going to use it for. If the child is going to use a flashdrive to listen to music or watch movies on there, it ca work. But I worry that researching and doing hw may not be the best of things to use it for, hope I could help ^_^
1667171
it comes with window 8 and this window contains microsoft office(trial).this labtop(my)has a good but littler perfamance while it is in the interne,i mean it might show you a slow perfomance if you push it to hard like open 7 pages in the web browser.i recommend this labtop for basic use(internet,reading,whatching movies,music).i bought this labtop cause i cant afford a more expensive one.so if you are someone with want high perfomance i dont recommend this labtop though it has worked very good for me so far.
576975
The lines can sometimes be a bit blurred but generally speaking a netbook will; 1) use a low powered Atom processor 2) Have a screen size of 10.1" or smaller (anything larger I would consider it to be more of an "ultraportable") 3) Run Windows XP Home or Windows 7 Starter 4) Lack any form of internal dvd drive. Because of that they're on the whole less expensive than a notebook - ideal for browsing the Internet and running basic tasks away from mains power, not so good at streaming video or playing anything other than basic games.
1909112
Assuming you might be carrying it back and forth to school, I would think you might be better off with a small tablet. They're small enough to go in a back pack (or laptop bag) and don't take up a lot of space on a table or school desk. I use a small tablet in my studio and I find there's still plenty of room to draw on it. The live area of the tablet matches your full desktop on your computer so you can always navigate to anywhere on the screen.
1523954
Small form factor notebooks does away with optical drives. 11.6"-14" usually does not include them. If optical drives are important to you then you will have to find laptops under 15.6" screen size range. Of course those are bigger and heavier notebooks, and are +$200 more expensive. If you regularly use an optical drive with your work flow, portability, light weight etc. then you could get one of those external optical drives http://www.amazon.com/Epartsdom-External-CD-RW-Combo-WriterBlack/dp/B00E6GWEG2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1391377533&sr=1-1&keywords=external+optical+drive+usb+3.0
50404
Well this is not a laptop or desktop with a hard drive, but the memory is great for I think 2gb, it comes with, my son uses it in college for note taking along with Office(trial version) that you have to buy to keep it working. But its very fast email surfing the web. I added a blue tooth keyboard and leather case, my son loves it. You can store many things on it by using more then one memory card 64. Screen picture display is perfect.
740763
On my desk I have a laptop and mouse pad. I use it for school, I am comfortable having a notebook next to my computer for notes. The desk is shallow but long enough I also keep something to hold folders and a cup for pens. Hope this helps!
488908
External drive it is...I guess that's what you sacrifice for lightweight in a notebook! By the way, I am using this computer!
1378048
Thats's a good question, mine's don't have Microsoft office or a web cam, I use my other laptop for that, however it's a great laptop it streams like a breeze and very functional for my printer and other devices it has a disc drive, I didn't pay a lot for mine under 100 so don't over pay for it, make sure seller offers office on it and guarantees it if that's what you want, there are plenty who are selling this laptop.
1930906
I think you'd like this laptop. Ease of use is more an operating system issue than the computer itself. This laptop comes with Windows 7 AND Windows 8 so you have a choice. A lot of people prefer the older Windows 7 environment and that's what's loaded. If you decide to move to Windows 8, the disks are provided for that. The computer itself is well laid out and the touch-pad works well as do the other features like the WiFi. As with any computer, there will be a learning curve, so don't expect to jump in without a little training or help. This laptop would be excellent for school and internet use. Nothing to maintain except the battery (needs a charge ever so often), and the keyboard is shielded so it's less prone to dust & gunk than some models.