RSS Feeds: Laptop Operating Systems – Are All Netbooks Different than Notebooks?
How are netbooks and notebooks different? Does the operating system determine what classification the laptop belongs to, more so than the size?
When you take all aspects of a particular laptop into consideration, what identifies a laptop as a netbook as opposed to a mini laptop? Are those pink netbooks really netbooks or are they mini laptops being marketed as netbooks?
Laptop Operating Systems
If you've done even a little research on netbooks, you will appreciate that netbooks are designed to be lean on resources. This primarily means the operating system needs to use as little memory as possible and not hog all the machine's resources before any other kind of program is launched.
The names of the operating systems can obscure your choices to a degree, unless you know what the operating systems are. If a laptop is running Windows Vista or the new Windows 7, you can bet you bottom dollar that it isn't anything close to being a netbook. Both of these versions of the Windows operating system are memory hogs. On the other hand, if it's a new laptop and it's running Windows XP, there's a good chance that it's a netbook even if it's not called a netbook.
The rest of the lean operating systems are UNIX derivatives, most likely Linux distributions. When you see that the laptop is running Ubuntu, that's Linux. If you see that it's running Google Android, that's Linux too. There's nothing stopping the manufacturers from installing other lean operating systems (such as FreeBSD), but Linux and Windows XP seem to be the most prevalent.
Laptop Features
A recent development that blurs the lines between netbook and notebook (or mini notebook) is the addition of features not normally found on netbooks, making the netbooks hybrids (or making the notebooks into hybrids, depending on which way you look at it). Since netbooks are designed for Internet interaction more so than offline use, it's expected that features necessary for offline use wouldn't be included.
The first netbooks didn't come with optical drives (DVD or CD) because it was expected that installation files would be retrieved from the Internet. Clients such as Firefox (for web browsing), Mozilla Thunderbird (for email) and even office clients like OpenOffice.org can all be installed by downloading them. The plugins, such as Macromedia Flash, are download files as well. In essence, the character of a netbook is that it's designed for the "net".
Netbooks owners started complaining and now laptop manufacturers are creating hybrids that include at least one optical drive. There are other unnecessary features, in my opinion, being added to further obscure the differences.
Netbook or Mini Laptop
Laptop manufacturers are using "mini laptop" to describe the hybrids instead of netbook because they've added features which defeat the netbook purposes while still making them smaller than the normal-sized notebook. They've beefed up the memory, used Windows Vista instead of Windows XP, added optical drives and have included numerous other features which completely defeat the purposes of lean and mean netbooks.
The only question I really have is, why bother to compare laptop computers if the laptop manufacturers are going to end up making everything the same and just call them by different names?
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The line between netbooks and notebooks is blurring. The Eee PC range has stopped at 10 inch screens (for the time being) but Lenovo are touting the Ion powered S12 as a netbook even though the screen is 12.1". Microsoft and Intel have held talks to limit Windows 7 OEM installation onto netbooks with a maximum screen size of 9 inches so at least someone is finally trying to put a mark in the silicon sand.
I always thought Notebooks and Netbooks are the same.
I think it depends on the 'size factor'. And whichever device fits bigger amounts of data yet small enough in physical size , is the winner!