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[chickencam]

We are looking into netbooks and laptops for DS to use at school. we have seen a cheap netbook but it only has Wordpad on it and can't be upgraded. We were wondering if this would be compatible with Word for his school work. His school has remote access and if we get him a laptop or netbook with no software he can use what is on the school system.

 

I personally think that he would be better doing this with a slighly better machine than using a small netbook, but said that I would look into it.

[Leicester_H]

His school has remote access and if we get him a laptop or netbook with no software he can use what is on the school system.

 

????

Do you know how this works - it would be quite unusual - all sorts of licencing issues (for school) - I'd double check info with IT staff at school.

 

Does the school have a minimum spec for devices - it should do.

 

Wordpad - Word - you can always cut&paste content but some word formatting would be lost when content moved to wordpad.

[The Dogmother]

Rosie can gain remote access to do home work online, and to download resources for projects, but not any software - there'd be enormous licensing issues.

 

Wordpad is a text only word processor, so no formating at all. It's a waste of time in my opinion.

[chickencam]

Thanks, that's what I thought it would be.

 

We were told by the deputy head at his school that he would be able to use Word through the remote access, but maybe, this just means he will work on their network in the same way that he woudl in IT lesons etc then save stuff to his computer, but he wouldn't be able to edit it etc without logging back in

[majorbloodnock]

Firstly, Wordpad saves in Rich Text Format (rtf), which basically is standard text plus basic formatting. Word can happily open rtf files correctly (and save back to that format), but as Claret pointed out, the formatting limitations are considerable. Wordpad cannot open Word documents.

 

Regarding working remotely, it's quite possible that the school has some form of terminal server (such as Citrix). Basically, that means all the relevant software is installed on the server and any computer given access to the school's network could run a virtual session on that server, with full access to said software. It's a pretty standard setup for many organisations, and although licencing does have to be correct, it's often a pretty cost effective way of doing things, especially for educational establishments. In these cases, a netbook would be fine, since all the processing and number-crunching is done by the server, not the PC.

 

That said, netbooks are cheap for a reason, and the big limitation is generally performance. Netbooks aren't necessarily better or worse value than proper laptops or PCs, but if you spend £150 on a netbook, you'll definitely get £150 worth of utility, not £300 worth at a reduced price. My personal opinion is that if it's someone's only computer, I wouldn't recommend a netbook, but one could be very useful as an ultra portable second machine for web use.

[The Dogmother]

I got a really good deal on an Asus Eeenetbook; has all the bells and whistles, can't fault the performance either. The keyboard is a bit tiddly, but I'm no typist, so it's not a problem.

[chickencam]

Thanks for the useful information

[docsquid]

Do also think about getting a conventional laptop. You don't have to buy software - Open Office is free, compatible with Word/Exel/Powerpoint and works really well - I used it for years.

[Geoid]

I use a macbook for home and bring it into to school for school work. Netbooks are too small and slow in my opinion, something like a small laptop (screen size approx 13 inches) would be perfect.