netbooks vs laptop

[Mukik]

evenin.

I was curious of those that code, if a netbook would have enough processing power for coding java?

Was looking at a lenovo or asus with 2g of ram, and the atom processor.

Any suggestions or experiences would be awesome. I checked the reviews at newegg, and wanted a few more pieces of input.

[Ddrak]

Serious coding, or just learning?

For serious coding, I tend to shy away from anything smaller than a 24" screen (preferably 2 of them) because you just can't fit enough on it to see the full picture. If you're just learning and not working 8+ hours/day on it then a netbook will be fine, but you'll want to upgrade a lot sooner than if you'd got a laptop. It's all a tradeoff.

What environment do you use to code in Java? I'd think after the screen size issue, memory is going to be your biggest bottleneck. If you're using a full IDE (Eclipse, Netbeans, Intelli/J etc.) then the 1G memory size of your typical netbook will start to hurt on larger stuff. Again, it comes down to usage patterns.

Dd

[Klast Brell]

A net book is useless as a primary computer. If you want something easily portable to do some quick email, web surfing, document editing when you are away from your real computer a net book would be great. But net books have no power. Graphics capabilities are nearly non existant, the screens are too small to see more than a fraction of what you are working on at any time, and the Atom possessor has no horsepower. Here are some benchmarks. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/int ... 069-8.html

[Mukik]

ok..a bit of background.

I am going to make attempt number one for the ccna by mid may. I have the cd/dvd's for java from sun. Frankly I am tired of lugging around a laptop with a 17inch monitor. I can, however hook up a monitor or 2 to my laptop/netbook, or even my toshiba 37 inch flatscreen hd tv if real estate were really the issue. I want a bit of convenience, and seeing how the atom is a turdsicle compared to the core 2 duo, I will just have to suck it up and look into 13inch screens. (more for weight and portability)
I am in the learning phases of java and will be for the next couple of years. I have several desktops, etc. so its not about power at home, just on the go to sneak in some study time during downtime at work, the 2 hours I have to kill while the kids are visiting mom..etc.

[Ddrak]

If you're just learning then CPU power is the least of your worries. Memory is going to be the far bigger pressure and the Atom is orders of magnitude faster than the stuff we were using when Java first came out. For pure learning work, you're really not going to see much difference between the C2D and Atom on a 13" screen with all else equal - the CPU stays idle most of the time anyway.

You can always just go into a store with Eclipse or Netbeans burned to a CD and ask to try it out...

Dd

[xilly]

Do what I did.. buy a used laptop off someone on Craigslist for about the same cost as a netbook. :p