[bcab] Re: Samsung NC 10 netbook

Hi Jackie,

They come with XP usually.  My feeling is that this should remain so.  Vista
is a bit of a hog, and many Netbooks won't like it.  I am quite pleased
about this, as I am convinced that XP is still the more stable of the
Windows platforms.

All the best

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Jackie Cairns
Sent: Sunday 30 November 2008 11:10
To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bcab] Re: Samsung NC 10 netbook

Hi Graham and everyone

I've been following this thread very closely as I am in the market for
buying a Netbook, and want to thank all those who have contributed so
helpfully and with so much useful detail.  Essentially, I want something
really lightweight to carry around, with wireless connectivity, a nice
keyboard, reasonable hard drive, and the ability to run most programs such
as JAWS and MS Office 2003.

It's been most interesting, thanks everybody.  One quick question though
please?  Are these Netbooks coming with XP by default as opposed to laptops
that seem to be loaded with Vista now?  It isn't too much of a big deal
whichever the platform happens to be, except that I would prefer more RAM if
it were Vista.  What is the feeling among you who use these machines on that
score?

Jackie Cairns
Braille Support Adviser
Email: jackie.cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sight and Sound Technology
Welton House North Wing
Summerhouse Road
Moulton Park
Northampton
NN3 6WD
Tel: 01604 798024
Web: www.sightandsound.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Graham Page
Sent: 30 November 2008 04:10
To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bcab] Samsung NC 10 netbook

Hi all.
 
I have mentioned this netbook before and read quite a few reviews and
comments here and there.  A google search for Samsung NC10 review will bring
up plenty.  Essentially the common view is generally that the Samsung NC10
is the top dog at the moment.  It was £299 though I believe that PC World
sell it for £320 now.
 
I never got to really look at one in PC World but today I got chance to set
one up from scratch and do some work on another to get them both up to the
same spec.  Essentially they were well behaved machines that worked well
with JAWS and should work well with other screenreaders.  They use the Intel
GMA950 chipset I think.
 
Reviews say they look more like a professional ultraportable than the MSI
Wind, Advent 4211 etc. and I would agree with this.  They are certainly a
bit less curvy.  The keyboard feels good to use and is generally well laid
out but you gain a page up and a page down key to either side of the up
arrow key but as a result the right shift key is rather small and feels too
far over to the right.  The Control key is on the left however and the
keyboard is perfectly comfortable to use.  You can turn off the mouse pad
with FN key f10 which is good to know.
 
In some reports, it has been suggested that the hinge could be a little
weak.  It felt reasonable to me and not all reviewers say the hinge is week
though if you move the display sharply during use the screen can flex
causing a ripple effect to appear.  Ports stick out very slightly from the
case as plastic moulding sticks out a fraction to hold them.  The battery
sticks out a centimetre perhaps from the bottom of the machine.  It is a
little more back heavy than the MSI Wind but not much.  
 
The basic building blocks and spec in terms of connectivity are the same as
the MSI Wind and indeed many of the other netbooks using the Atom 270 chips.
You do get a considerably better built in mike in the Samsung NC10 though
which could be useful if you need to make a quick skype call somewhere.
 
The NC10 does come with quite a lot of software including a recovery tool
that keeps popping up until you run it.  It puts an image of your windows
setup into the D drive which is a partition of the hard disk.  The hard disk
is in fact split in half giving about 70 gig each I believe.  This recovery
program reboots and asks a couple of questions before starting the recovery
so if you want to do the recovery you will need sighted assistance.
Otherwise you could just uninstall it but things could be problematic if
your hard disk dies.
 
I have now come across Mcafee Internet Security on 2 PCs running Vista and 3
running Windows XP in the last couple of weeks.  On the NC10 you get the
software half installed.  You need to install it fully if you really must
use this software.  I have seen few programs that seem to slow even the
fastest PCs down so much.  Removing Mcafee is best done by clicking the
remind me later button that comes up in the Mcafee window.  This is spoken
when you tab to it y Narator but not JAWS.  Go to add/remove programs and
remove Mcafee security as soon as possible.  Use separate fire walls,
spyware protection and antivirus programs or give the beta of Nod32 a go.
 
Over all, if I were buying a netbook today I would go for the NC10 at the
moment.
 
Regards
 
Graham
 
Graham Page
Home Phone: 0207 265 9493
Mobile: 07753 607980
Fax:  0870 706 2773
Email: gpage@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:gpage@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
MSN: gabriel_mcbird@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:gabriel_mcbird@xxxxxxxxxxx> 
Skype: gabriel_mcbird


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