What good is a touch screen netbook?

[psychlopath]

I recently purchased an Aspire One Netbook.

It's basically a brick right now, with Ubuntu on it. But while I'm waiting for someone to be able to ship me some restore disks, I happened to look up the thing.

A popular thing to do seems to be installing a touch screen.

"Cool," I thought when I first saw it "I must have one!!"

But now I'm thinking "Why?"

So..the price is not bad. Little effort involved. But what good would it do to have Win. 7 and a touch screen? Is there some sort of increased useability or is it just a cool factor thing?

Any thoughts one way or the other?

Also...the little time I DO have where I can get online is hobbled by work and a restrictive DOD filter. Can someone tell me if these kits are an actual screen replacement or just an overlay for the screen?

 

[elizard]

Touch screens are nice for taking down notes, and for using apps that are specifically made to be used with a stylus when you're out in the field, where using a keyboard is tough. Apart from that, to me they are useless.

 

[ph33nyx]

Touch screens are nice for taking down notes, and for using apps that are specifically made to be used with a stylus when you're out in the field, where using a keyboard is tough. Apart from that, to me they are useless.

I'd almost have to agree. My SWMBO has a netbook and I added on the touch screen feature and she hardly ever uses it.

 

[KarthVader]

The only applications I can see a touch screen netbook being used is in healthcare, field work, school and maybe business travel. If it is a stationary machine, you might as well get a regular laptop.

I like the idea of a netbook, but I'm not sure if I would like to own one.

 

[CCMphysician]

I have a tablet and overall I love it. I would recommend it in one of the smaller sizes though or it's an arm killer.

I use it at the hospital as my clipboard/notebook. I keep my patient impressions and assessments on it. That and my notes that I may need to look up. I love it, but if you're like me you have to have a screen protector. I like to eat over my laptop and fingerprints on my screen annoy me, which is what happens with a tablet.

How much you will enjoy it really depends on your occupation/usage. If you like to take notes as you read, it's great. Or if you are an engineer and need to make quick calculations or look up the tensile strength of a material (I used it in my undergrad engineering degree as well).

-CCM

 

[Go West Young Man]

I've got the same netbook and thought about a touchscreen just because the keyboard is so small and the trackpad is pretty cheap. Overall, through, the payoff wouldn't be enough for all the work involved.

 

[ph33nyx]

The only applications I can see a touch screen netbook being used is in healthcare, field work, school and maybe business travel. If it is a stationary machine, you might as well get a regular laptop.

I like the idea of a netbook, but I'm not sure if I would like to own one.

Well...My SWMBO is an artist and she thought she'd like it (the touch screen that is), but she ends up mostly using her graphics tablet instead.
She loves her netbook though.

 

[soapbox]

I have a tablet and overall I love it. I would recommend it in one of the smaller sizes though or it's an arm killer.

...fingerprints on my screen annoy me, which is what happens with a tablet.

See here for more, if you're interested.

I've got the same netbook and thought about a touchscreen just because the keyboard is so small and the trackpad is pretty cheap. Overall, through, the payoff wouldn't be enough for all the work involved.

+1.

 

[CCMphysician]

See here for more, if you're interested.



+1.

Thanks for the link. I had never heard of that. May I ask how you came across it?

-CCM

 

[soapbox]

Thanks for the link. I had never heard of that. May I ask how you came across it?

-CCM

1) I have a mind geared for really odd trivia. That might be funny but it's true in my case. Google keeps asking me for a brain tissue sample, but thus far I've turned them down...

2) We had a touchscreen interface computer at my middle/high school for a little while in the 1980s and I seem to remember the term from there, or else from a computer trade show around that time. It's a descriptive term, for sure. I wonder how long John King of CNN can stand it on election night?