在英国花179英镑可以买到大部分宏基Aspire One基本型号，而在美国大约要花300美元。它一开机就可运行，麻烦极少。它有8GB的快闪存储器和容量稍微少一些的512MB的RAM。但运行预装的Linux定制版本，连同一套包括Open Office在内的软件却完全胜任。网簿没有硬盘驱动器，有一个转向无线连接的开关（不是世界上最快的），能节约用电。因此，大一些的笨重电池也就可能没有必要，除非您想要长时间不插电使用电脑。由于它在几秒内启动，所以，与其把这种宏基电脑看作一个迷你笔记本电脑，倒不如把它看作增强型个人数字助理，例如旧式PalmPilot或者Psion，不过有更好的屏幕和适用的键盘，这样才可能恰如其分。

But what about the lack of storage? Again, the way the machine can be used addresses this problem. First, netbooks are designed to be used with the net, which is where an increasing number of people now store a lot of their stuff, such as e-mail, videos and photos, and where people do other work with online applications. Second, with three USB ports it can always be plugged into devices, such as a portable hard drive, to store things locally. Storage space can also be boosted by plugging a small SD-card flash memory (16GB versions are now widely available) into one of two ports, one of which is designated to act as semi-permanent storage.

但存储容量不足怎么办？这种机器又有办法可以用来解决这个问题。首先，网簿本来就打算联网使用，现在，越来越多的人把他们的电子邮件、视频和照片统统塞进网络存起来，网络也是人们应用在线程序做其他工作的地方。其次，三个USB端口总是可以插入像便携式硬盘驱动器这样的设备，以便就地存储各种数据资料。通过把一片SD卡式闪存（现在广泛使用的各种款式是16GB）插入两个端口之一，其中一个指定作为暂时存储空间，也能够增加存储空间。

As for the software, Open Office was surprisingly easy to use—a doddle for anyone who has used Microsoft Office. Moreover, the ability to save work in different formats presented no compatibility problems when sending files to a Windows-based machine. Photo software and other applications were simple to use too. The machine is not up to much for playing games, but then a dedicated games console beats most computers when it comes to games anyway.

至于软件，Open Office令人惊讶地易于使用——对于用惯微软Office的人都不费吹灰之力。此外，当把文件发送到基于Windows的机器时，能够按不同格式保存起来，没有出现兼容性问题。照片软件和其他应用程序也简单易用。这台机器玩游戏就不怎么样，但另一方面，说到游戏，一台专用游戏机无论如何胜过大多数电脑。

The Acer has a built-in webcam, which makes it ideal for video-calling services such as Skype. Admittedly, installing third-party software can be a bit of a fiddle, and some of the advice available online threatens to lure users into the tangled depths of the Linux undergrowth, where few people will want to venture. But as netbooks become more prevalent, such difficulties are likely to ease.

这种宏基产品内置网络摄像头，把它当作如Skype一样的视频电话服务是很理想的。诚然，安装第三方软件可能略嫌麻烦，而在网上可以找到的一些忠告，似乎将会诱惑用户深入到缠结在一起的Linux灌木丛，很少有人会在那里冒险。不过，当网簿越来越流行的时候，这些困难有可能缓解。

The upshot is that netbooks are great as cheap, simple and small computers for performing basic tasks—especially if the pre-installed software does what you want it to. They will never satisfy power users who want to edit video and play elaborate games, but they are not meant to. Provided they do not expect too much, most users will be delighted with them.

结果，网簿因其便宜、简朴和小巧而成为执行基本任务的非凡电脑——尤其是，如果预装软件正是您想要的。它们将永远不会使需要编辑视频并玩精心制作的游戏的高级用户满足，但它们原本就不打算这样做。如果期望不是过多，大多数用户都会喜欢上网簿。