Samsung NC10

Okay, having been following this thread for ages, I finally caved and bought the blue NC10 from Elara so I figured I'd give a bit of feedback along with my help questions! First some questions and thanks to anyone who can help!

Questions:

1. How do I go about putting Ubuntu or whatever other OS on it? I got the XP version and partitioned it as suggested (50:50 between C and D drive or about that I think). Does anyone have a dummies guide for putting another OS on or is it too late now?

2. I paired a Nokia 6280 with it as a modem but am only getting a steady 115Kbps speed whereas with the USB dongle (Huawei E220 on 3) I've gotten up to 1.6Mbps on it. Is there any way to get a faster speed from my phone as a modem?

3. I plugged a (mains-powered ) set of desktop speakers into the green port on the right side because of the really poor sound levels. Is there any way to make them a bluetooth device so I can connected to them wirelessly and if so what is the cheapest such device and will it affect the sound levels connecting via bluetooth? Or will I just have to buy bluetooth speakers?

4. It gets quite warm on my lap. What is the best thing I could put under it to prevent me feeling the heat? Are all netbooks like this?

5. Should I get rid of the free McAfee trial and if so can I get as good a solution for free and what would it be? I really want the best posible anti-virus/rootkit/other assorted nuisances protection on this and am willing to pay if that is the only way but would prefer not to!

6. Is there any way to increase the sound levels apart from clicking on the sound icon and turning everything up to the max?

7. Can I stick a vodafone RTG sim card into this E220 modem and what do I have to change to get it working if so? Will I have to download drivers or anything for a vodafone sim card to work in it? I want to be able to use their Vodafone Live service if 3 collapses which it frequently enough does. I asume it won't be a problem using vodafone live via my phone as a modem but haven't tested it yet.

8. I am having problems using gmail. It keeps giving me pop-up blank windows (with a gmail inbox address in the address bar) and repeated questions if I want to connect to the internet. When I say yes up comes another blank gmail window! Anyone know what's going on there? I never got any pop-ups from gmail before on any computer. I got it working by switching gmail to the basic html option but that's not really satisfactory. I am wondering if it's anything to do with McAfee.


Feedback

It really is a neat looking machine and I'm sure I will be glad of all the features on it as I go along compared to other netbooks. However, there are a few negatives I would like to point out.

Price: €368 with Elara and that was with me collecting it. The black was a few euro dearer but I prefer the blue and am glad I chose it. It's getting kinda pricey there! Btw, it was available for collection the day after I ordered it which I was very happy with. Now if only Elara would give a discount for boards members.

Weight: Not being used to a laptop, I find it a little weighty on my lap. I was debating getting an Asus 7" job for this very reason as they are lighter and also would take up less of my cabin baggae allowance when travelling. I'll probably get used to it but still.

Heat: it gets quite warm on my lap! At the moment I have the cover provided for it as a buffer but I can still feel the heat!

Sound: this is the worst part. The sound level is really low on it! One site I went into it was practically useless for as the sound was barely audible even with everything turned up to the max! I have temporarily solved this by plugging in desktop speakers. Youtube is just okay but forget about blasting it up unless you plug desktop speakers. Unless I am missing something.

Trackpad: not being used to a laptop, I find this quite slow to use and the tapping thing is driving me nuts. I know I can turn this off, though. I have temporarily solved this by plugging in my desktop infrared mouse and am much much happier with the result. I will probably buy a bluetooth infrared mouse so I'll have one less wire connected. Probably a full size one, mind, as I am worried the mini ones might be too fiddly to use for everyday use though I might get one of those for travelling. However, I'm not sure I will be bringing it with me travelling on planes as it would take up too much of my cabin baggage allowance!

Battery: On 97% charge it's telling me I have 4 hours 45 mins left. Not quite the 6 hours I'd read somewhere. Now I do have it on max performance but the screen is too dim for me if I go to the normal. Hmm, it's just changed to 4:35 as I was typing this. I wonder is this a relativistic netbook! Will have to check the actual time it lasts on max performance with a normal non-relativistic time device!

I got the Huawei E220 modem from 3 working on it though it didn't recognise it through the set-up wizard and I had to go into the modem and eventually after messing around a bit it set itself up. Then I paired the nc10 and phone but when I tried to connect from the netbook it wouldn't work. Then I discovered that you have to connect from the phone to the laptop first by selecting the laptop from the phone menu and pressing connect after pairing it. Then you get prompted on the netbook for your XP password etc. (You also have to put in a pairing password to begin with when pairing the devices which is apparently 0000)

Ok, I think that's all for the moment! Thanks to anyone who can answer any of my questions and I hope my feedback will help anyone trying to decide whether to take the plunge. So far I am happy I got it though the heat issue and the crappy sound from it without plugging in speakers are quite annoying and disappointing in that order.

Wow, they seem to change the prices on elara every couple of days for it! You got it a couple of euro less than me, then. It was €366.something the other day before adding on the €1.something collection charge. (Don't get why there is a collection charge, btw!)

Have a look here for recent prices.

stevenmu wrote: »

For the sound levels make sure you have both the master and the wave volume levels turned up. Double-click the volume icon in the systray to bring up the full volume controls and there'll be levels for a few things (or you should be able to get to the same thing through the sound option in the control panel). The sound won't ever be fantastic but it should certainly be usable and a lot better than you describe.

Also do remove the McAfee trial and use something like AVG Free, Avira or Avast.

Ok, thanks, missed the wave thing so turned that up to the max too along with everything else. It's...still just ok for youtube, even when you turn youtube's sound icon under the video up to the max as well. I mean, it's listenable to, at what I might describe as just about 'ordinary level' (and that's with everything turned up to the max!) but you can't get it to what could be described as loud and the sound is quite 'tinny' at that.

I have AVG free on another computer but it just scans your computer at whatever time you choose and doesn't seem to give 'real time' protection. A bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted...or the virus/rootkit/whatever has done it's damage. Do any of the other suggestions give 'real time' protection and why would they be considered better than McAfee if so? Am just trying to get the best possible protection as I don't want to pick up any threats on this computer which I want to use my credit card on etc.