I wouldn't compromise and get something small that you can really only use for internet, email and taking notes.

What will happen is that after you get what you think will work just fine for internet, email and notes, 6 months later you will wish it had the ability to do more and end up selling it and upgrading to a more robust laptop.

You should be able to find a mid-grade laptop that will do what you need it to do and then some for around 300 - 400 bucks.
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If we talk cheap we talk that you'll probably be pissed at it,I was thinking of doing the same thing and did not do it. If you take the amount of time you spend on the computer and divide it by the amount of days you use it it comes out to be say 2 bucks a day for 730 bucks in one year, that's one less coffee a day and a lap top that will be fast and the better unit will do what you want it to do. Mine travel with me and are a part of business as well as fun . :-)
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You want to cruise these sites:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/laptop/
http://www.slickdeals.net/

You should be able to get a dual core regular sized laptop for 300-350. Better laptops like lenovo would cost more, in the 550 range. Buying one you can modify might be a good way to get a draft N wireless card, which combined with an N router should give you more range than the b/g hardware.

I'd also advise against the small netbooks unless you have actually tried one and understand/can live with their size limitations. I have one (lenovo S10) that I really like, but they're not for everyone.
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After owning just about every laptop on the market, I have come to the conclusion that my hands down favorite are the Thinkpads by Lenovo. The keyboard feels "right" and the things are sturdy as heck. Every other latptop feels like a toy to me by comparison. Not sure how cheap you can get them, but I think they're worth looking into.
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:-)
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I will never buy Dell again. Had the most difficult time getting my laptop fixed. Had to go through 2 both of which had the same problem before they finally agreed to give me my money back. I have an HP and love it.
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I agree that it is small, I personally have a 13.3" macbook and it is perfect, I used to have a 15.4" toshiba and it seems too big when i use it after using the macbook for a while.
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Well, I'm sitting in my mini-mancave, using a MSI Wind Netbook. It only has a 10" screen, but it's great for my purposes of surfing the internet, email and light wordprocessing and such.

I already have 2 other laptops, a Toshiba and a Dell, both with the extra wide screens and all the bells and whistles. The problem is that they both weigh 6 or 7 pounds. My netbook weighs about 3 lbs total. It doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, but it has a built-in webcam, a keyboard that's 95% of a full-size keyboard, and it's perfect for what I want to schlep in and out of the house.

I did purchase a second power supply that I leave out in the MMC, and the WiFi works great out here. This one ran around $400 from BestBuy online, and I'm perfectly happy with it. I know you can find them cheaper if you look around. I also bought a wireless logitech mouse, mainly cuz I hate the built in touchpads that most laptops have.

Anyways, that my :-) ........





:-)
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Currently typing this on my new ASUS EEEPC Netbook. I love it and it fits my needs perfectly. Thanks Ahbroody for all the help Bud. :-)
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Netbooks are great. I recently bought an Acer Aspire One strictly for coffee/book shop use. It's small enough to carry it on my bike (bicycle). The 6-cell battery gives me plenty of wi-fi time, 5 hours+ per charge.
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That's the one I was looking at. The fan creates too much of a vibration for me though. Great price though
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I've read about the fan noise issue on some of the reviews but I don't have that problem with mine. It's quiet as my other full sized laptops I own.
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It wasn't the noise that got me, it was the vibration. Maybe it was just the one that I was trying at but while I was using it my hand was almost going numb from it.
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Take the least expensive XP Laptop you can get 4 GB RAM into.
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Thanks.

I plan on getting a reall good laptop to replace my desktop in a couple years once my office gets turned into one of my daughter's bedrooms. But for now the Netbook is perfect :-)
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