Recommendations for someone who hasn't paid much attention to netbooks

[OmniOck]

I'm taking a course in introductory Java this summer, and I need some sort of laptop. I haven't paid much attention the past year or two to laptops, since I'm usually glued to my self made desktop if I'm working. I'm looking at netbooks, because I'm assuming intro level Java compiling and writing code doesn't require much power. I'm looking at the Eee line, since its the most memorable in my head, but there are so many options! 1000HA, 1008HA, 1005HE? Does anyone have any recommendations for sorting through this ridiculousness?

 

[IlllI]

Toshiba mini NB205 is the current champ Text

 

[DaveSimmons]

Newegg has a standard laptop Toshiba (TOSHIBA Satellite L305-S5921) for $379 with 2 GB RAM and 15.4" screen. Reasons it might be a better choice:

- if you want to do any server coding like apache + tomcat, the extra RAM and faster CPU will help a lot
- editing on a 1280x800 screen will be nicer than 1024x600
- everything else will run better as well (Office, Netflix streaming, ...)
- Intel GMA 4500M is less pitiful than the 9xx graphics on a netbook if you want to run an awesome 3d game like quake 2

Cons:
- weight is close to 6 lbs instead of 3

 

[LS21]

i looked HEAVILY at the asus line when buying netbook (ended up with lenovo anyway)

theres a LOT of overlap in their lineup

but basically how to pick an EEE is sort your priority between a) form factor b) battery life c) weight

the newer sleeker clamshell ones are generally smaller and thinner at expense of battery
the older ones are thicker with better life
the HE are extended battery life, HA are moderate
some have smooth surface which means smudges... others are matte textured which i prefer

etc,

 

[slackwarelinux]

I've got a Asus 1000H.

Eclipse on it (or I imagine any netbook) is painful. Even with a 10" screen, there isn't enough space for semi-serious coding.
I use it for development for C when I just need to do in-class assignments in a terminal, but it isn't very well suited to using a heavy IDE like eclipse for java.

I'm happy I got my netbook, it is useful for a lot of things. Java coding isn't one of them.