[turtle]

Ok, so I don't want to spend much money and want a machine to just track my inventory or stuff. Both personal and professional property. I know Intuit has a Home Inventory software that seems to fit what I need, but it's requirements are a 1024x768 screen resolution but the 8.9" and the 10.1" (from Acer anyway) have 1024x600. I'm not sure if the software's limitation is a true limitation (ie. I won't be able to click buttons at the bottom of the windows because it has to be that big, etc.) or just a minimum recommended.

So I'm looking for something in the $300 range and software that will do similar to the Intuit software. Storage on the machine can be small because it's only going to be used for tracking our stuff. Thanks for any input.

[PB PM]

Does it need to be a netbook, or could it be a mini desktop (not Mac Mini, just mini) ? If you just want a mini machine you could get a cheap 15" LCD with 1024x768 and a Dual Core Atom desktop board ($90-100), a mini PC case ($50-100) a notebook drive and your good to go.

None of the sub $300 netbooks have the kind of resolution you want.

[Taskiss]

A quick check on google turned up http://stuffsafe.com/

Here's some reviews:

http://chris.pirillo.com/my-choice-f...tory-software/
http://www.appscout.com/2007/06/stuf...inventor_1.php

Since it's a net app and you use a browser, you should be good. Their claim is that it's free, and since the data is stored on the net you don't have to worry about a disaster wiping out your work along with your netbook.

[turtle]

Well, it really needs to be a notebook/mobile unit because it's going to need to be used at an offsite storage unit as well as here on the property. I'm sure I can get away with the lower resolution, didn't realize that cheep price meant that short of resolution. I've never really looked into netbooks before this. The size, price and protability really make this the best option for what we are looking for.

I'd even looked at putting my Palm LifeDrive to work again but there isn't anything that will do what we are looking for that doesn't involve a high level of hacking to make work. We just need a dedicated inventory machine that's mobile and allows easy text entry. Photo handling it a major plus, though we could do other ways for that. Web based options aren't a bad idea. Thanks for the help Taskiss. I'll look into those when I get back from church.

[psmith2.0]

Is this something you'd do a ton of work with, or just the occasional "jotting down"? Don't you have an iPhone (I thought you did, but can't remember)?

If so, I use an app on my iPhone called [url=http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=300712091&mt=8]Inventory Lite[/i] that easily catalogs my stuff. There is a paid $3.99 version with more features (search, backup to MobileMe, loaned item tracking, etc.). I'm wondering if you could just add software to a device you already had (assuming you weren't going to be typing on that little screen for hours and hours...I don't know how much you'll be doing this)? There seems to be a few inventory cataloging/management apps at the App Store.

You might be looking for something more robust, but I just wanted to throw that out since you mentioned something like the LifeDrive...

But I'm a big fan of this app on my iPhone. All my electronic and music gear, plus a few other things. I've got it PIN-protected, so if my phone is lost or stolen, nobody can "see" what I have...

If you don't have an iPhone, all the above is for nothing. But I could swear you do...why do I think this?

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by turtle2472 Well, it really needs to be a notebook/mobile unit because it's going to need to be used at an offsite storage unit as well as here on the property. I'm sure I can get away with the lower resolution, didn't realize that cheep price meant that short of resolution. I've never really looked into netbooks before this. The size, price and protability really make this the best option for what we are looking for. I'd even looked at putting my Palm LifeDrive to work again but there isn't anything that will do what we are looking for that doesn't involve a high level of hacking to make work. We just need a dedicated inventory machine that's mobile and allows easy text entry. Photo handling it a major plus, though we could do other ways for that. Web based options aren't a bad idea. Thanks for the help Taskiss. I'll look into those when I get back from church.

Another option is a used 12' iBook, it has the resolution you want and 500mhz G3 models are around $300. We have a few of them and they are built like a tank. You might need to buy a new battery, but thats it.

[psmith2.0]

Hey, that's a good solution. They'll run Tiger (I think). Small, durable, AirPort, etc.

[Capella]

I thought I replied earlier. I love my Dell Mini 9, and would totally recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who needs or wants an netbook. I do not have a single complaint. Ubuntu is better and more OS X like in my opinion, but if you need Windows only apps, the XP version is your best bet. Don't be afraid of the 512MB RAM on the lowest Ubuntu model, Ubuntu runs fine with it- I ran 8.04 on a 256MB machine okay. As for the SSD, if you're only browsing and running the inventory app Taskiss mentioned on the web, 4GB should be fine, but if you're paranoid upgrade to the 8GB. 16 for me is honestly overkill, I shoulda saved the money.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Hey, that's a good solution. They'll run Tiger (I think). Small, durable, AirPort, etc.

Yup, they run Tiger, it can be a little sluggish if you have stock RAM, but for inventory software it would be fine. I know lots of stores that use old iMac G3s for the same task.

[turtle]

I do have an iPhone but the input would stop us from using it. We have more things to get inventoried than we know what to do with as it is. Some are still barcoded and most of them aren't. I was gonna get a reader for the ones that are but then I'd need to get DBs for those groups..etc...

A "normal" QWERTY keyboard is really a must. With the LifeDrive they do have folding keyboards but the fact is we would likely not use it. We need to make this inventory thing happen and maintain it too. The old iBook is a good option, though my wife doesn't like the idea of an older machine when we can get a new one with three times the power for about the same price.

Plus, she wants Pink. Office Depot has one that's Coral Pink and it's just what she likes color wise. I like the Dell Mini 12 and they even have the option of "Promise Pink" that gets a donation sent for Breast Cancer SGK and it's the perfect pink for my wife. If I stick with the base build for that one it'll be $429 with the Pink option. 40GB is more than enough for this machine's purpose.

To chip gurus out there: What's the difference between N270 and Z520? Or more accurately my question is what's the difference with the two series of Atom chips?

[Dorian Gray]

I'm not quite a chip guru, but the N270 is clocked faster than the Z520 and uses a fraction more power (2.5 W TDP versus 2 W TDP). The N270 is a bit faster, but the difference isn't a big deal.

The real difference is in the associated chipsets. The Z520 is aimed at Intel's "mobile internet devices" (MID) segment, i.e. devices more portable than a netbook but bigger than a phone. The Z520 works with Intel's Poulsbo chipset (US15W), which is a semi-serious attempt by Intel to really drive down power consumption. As a consequence support for some legacy ports was dumped, as were some USB ports and support for surround audio (it's stereo only). Additionally, Poulsbo devices like the Dell Mini 12 support PATA drives only (no SATA), which might be an issue if you plan to upgrade the drive to an SSD.

Poulsbo devices use GMA 500 graphics, which is just a PowerVR SGX core bought from Imagination Technologies. It's a pretty amazing little thing in terms of power consumption, but it's even slower than typical netbook GMA 950 graphics (about half the speed).

When you pair a 1.33 GHz Atom (with in-order execution, like all Atoms) with GMA 500 graphics driving a larger screen (1280 x 800), a 1.8-inch PATA disk, and Windows Vista, as Dell has done in the Mini 12, you get nostalgia-inducing performance. You also get really low power consumption, which enables decent battery life from even a small 3-cell battery. As long as you're aware of these trade-offs you might be happy with a Mini 12.

Mainstream netbooks use the now-classic N270 + 945GSE + ICH7M platform (GMA 950 graphics), which is a good bit faster (especially graphics) than the Z520 + US15W combo. But the chipset is also seriously power-hungry (9.3 W TDP and high idle power too), which is why an idling netbook uses roughly as much power as an idling MacBook Air with a Core 2 Duo, as hard as that is to believe.

While we wait for the Intel guys to get their act together (which they're not keen to do because netbook sales are eating into expensive Core 2 processor sales), there's another kid on the block at long last. Have a look at the VIA Nano, introduced by its Texan design head Glenn Henry here (four-minute YouTube video). This little guy (along with VIA's slightly faster chipset/graphics) is capable of decoding Full HD 1080p video in real-time, while keeping overall power consumption to just a bit above Atom-based netbooks. It's a real processor, with sophisticated out-of-order execution, a fast FSB, and some very fancy power-saving tricks.

What's really interesting about the VIA Nano is that it's finally shipping in real product, at a rate of 200,000 chips per month. All of those are currently going into Samsung's new NC20, which is roughly the size of the Dell Mini 12 but vastly faster. According to an early Ukrainian review (Google translation), battery life probably hits 6 hours in light duties. There's a lot of geek lust for the NC20 at the moment, and if that spills over into the mainstream, as I dearly hope, then VIA might just have a hit on its hands.

[Ryan]

Intel also has the N280 coming down the pipeline. Specs are out for the Asus EEE1000HE, the first netbook I'm aware of to feature the new processor and chipset, and they're claiming 9.5 hours of battery life, plus it appears to get a chiclet-like keyboard.

[Dorian Gray]

The 1000HE seems to have a great battery life, but it weighs as much as the 12-inch NC20.

The N280 is a marginal improvement over the N270. It won't touch the VIA Nano. What might make a difference is the new GN40, but (a) rumour has it the TDP is even higher than GMA 950 solutions, and (b) the new 1000HE doesn't seem to use the new chipset, sticking with the old 945GSE.

That said, getting concrete data out of companies like Samsung and ASUS is like pulling teeth. Would it kill them to spend a few bucks on their incredibly poor websites?!

Sheesh! Add Intel to those two: the N280 isn't in their processor finder. I guess they're waiting for the chip to ship... Err, nope.

[turtle]

Thanks for the info Dorian. I never have been one for comparing things like that. It's a good thing that I chose the right one then too. I ended up ordering the Dell Mini 9 because I found a link to $50 off. We ended up adding $30 to the price for a Red paint job, but it was worth it to us.

We almost went for the larger 12" model, but the really low price made the Mini 9 a great option. I've got copy of XP I'm not using anymore so it's going on there. Heck, I'm even tempted to put OS X on there and try Delicious Library 2 for that.

I have looked up prices for upgrades and such and it's pretty cheap to do too. NewEgg has great prices for SSD for PCIe and since I'm not going WWAN on mine I should have two slots for those. 2GB DDR2 is something like $20. Heck, I even saw a modder who installed a GPS unit into his Mini 9! Seems Dell is really good about putting the Service Manuals up for download giving easy access to hack and mod.

I still need good software though. I like the idea of DL2 if I put OS X on there but need something for XP if I go that route. I looked into StuffSafe, but my concern there is not having access when I'm at the storage unit. Sure I can make my cell phone a WiFi router, but my wife isn't going to go through that trouble. I liked what I saw though and would use it if it weren't for me needing offline access.

[Capella]

Speaking of Mini 9s, the sale yesterday (it was what, $200 for the 4GB Ubuntu model?) totally convinced my good friend here on campus to buy one. I feel like Dell should be giving me points for recommending the mini!

I hope you're happy with it

[turtle]

Wow, the sale ended. I did get a great deal for the timing too. Yeah, it was $200 for the 4GB SDD with Linux. I'm likely to mod mine because I can, but will at a minimum load XP of OS X on mine with a RAM upgrade.

[turtle]

What about FileMaker or Bento for something like this? Part of what we have to inventory is clothing. Like, lots of clothing. My wife buys ahead for our family and since we are having a large family it means we have lots of clothing. We have everything from 0-3 months to adult in boys and girls. Literally would cause the insurance agent to think we are lying if we don't have an accurate inventory. I currently have something close to $7000 worth sitting in my living room while we get it organized. (We didn't pay that much for them though they are new with tags bought from the store.)

While we are at it we figure we better get everything else inventoried too. I'm thinking DL2 for that. While I was searching for some options I keep running into commercial options costing way more than I'm looking to spend right now. I'd really like to have something that I could use a barcode reader for some of it and it populate automatically but I'm pretty sure this isn't going to happen since the brand of clothing for the kids seem to use their own internal barcode system.

I can get a USB reader for about $50 and wouldn't mind something like that for the things we can use it for. Anyway, does anyone have experience with these two apps and know if they can work for what we are looking to do?

[turtle]

We installed the trial for Bento and so far it looks like it'll handle the inventory for most of our items pretty well. I'll likely get DL2 for the items it excels at. There is an "apparel" shelf but it's worst than an afterthought really.

My Mini9 still hasn't been assembled yet but I have a 2GB DDR2 stick on the way here along with a 32GB SSD and a BT adapter. In searching for more info on the Mini9 I found a site "mydellmini.com" that has a bunch of guides and support for really enhancing the system. One of the mods I'm likely to do is install a USB hub internally and run the BT adapter and a flash drive off of it. I'll post more of that later though.

[cosus]

Netbooks seems so weird to me. A very small laptop that can't fit in a pocket and too slow and too little space for a laptop replacement. I don't know, just seems that getting into that area is like limbo, not quite powerful, not quite portable and not quite connected (internet everywhere). Just need a word processor and figure out how to get a keyboard on an iPhone. Remember windows CE for your handheld? :P

[turtle]

So I got my Mini in today and it's going to work perfect for our needs. I'm typing on it now. I haven't loaded OSX on here yet, but that's because my 32GB drive is going to be dropped off by UPS tomorrow. I'm on Linus right now and it is not bad, but it won't be staying for long. I'm thinking about putting XP on this 4GB SSD for the times I might fall back to it.

Anyway, it's great. Well worth the small price I paid for it.