Netbooks More Powerful Than Salesmen Want You To Believe

I've overheard computer store salesmen lie to potential customers of the powerlessness of netbook computers. I've read of ceos of large computer makers bemoaning the lack of profits they make from the most popular form of computer today.

Doesn't matter what they say. I still run AutoCAD 2010 on my LG X110 netbook, albeit limited to Windows 7. To get out from under the burden Windows imposes on computer hardware, though, it's better to run netbooks with Linux. (I use Ubuntu-based Linux Mint.) Richard Smith of Symscape confirms this:

Would you believe me when I say you can install Caedium and run CFD [computational fluid dynamics] calculations on a netbook? I've installed and run modest (small) CFD calcs on an ASUS Eee PC 900 9-inch netbook (1GB RAM, 20GB solidstate drive) running Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix [Linux operating system].

The Linux installer (Autopackage) we use for Caedium should be good for any 'modern' Linux distribution. If you fancy a go, you'll need to install both Caedium and Caedium add-ons from www.symscape.com/product/downloads#linux

Then get our Caedium Professional 30-day free trial from www.symscape.com/symcom/freetrial/174

Comments

[Sean Doughtie]

I'm impressed, I run AutoCAD LT on an Aspire One. It approximates the specs of the LG X110. It's very nice to be able to do work on a small form factor especially in places were there is not much room (airplane).

Thanks for the other info on Linux, nice to see another CAD person think outside the Microsoft box...

[Vistasp Mehta]

Very true. I loaded ArchiCAD 13 on my Toshiba NB105 and it is surprisingly smooth even while navigating a decent sized project in 3D.

Oh, and I haven't yet bumped the RAM up to 2 Gigs. ;)

[Bill Fane]

I agree that netbooks are being "undersold". I already have a high-end Dell & just wanted something light & easy for travelling. The salesperson tried to move me up to a more expensive machine claiming that netbooks were for web surfing only & couldn't run anything else.
Fortunately my son-in-law runs his own computer consulting business, so I knew otherwise. I bought an ACER AspireOne and am extremely pleased with it. It runs XP Home, which boots up about 5x faster than XP x64 on my Dell.
I haven't loaded Autodesk products yet, but given its performance with Office and a few other specialized apps I'm ready to give it a go.
About 2 lbs and less than $300. Such a deal...