[olug] another laptop recommendation

[Tim Larson]

Seeking recommendations also, but a different set of requirements than 
Jeff.

I'm looking for something my wife and kids to use (primarily) for 
homeschooling.  It does need to handle the kids playing a few kid edu 
apps and games (not the latest FPS) and my wife's dozens of open browser 
tabs and WP documents, but that said, it's a second computer which will 
probably seldom leave the house (i.e. most heavy lifting and doc storage 
will be on the desktop—a Mac).  Basic interoperability with the desktop 
will be a factor (works with File Sharing from the Mac, for instance). 
Don't think I'd need legacy ports, don't think I'd even need an optical 
drive.  We've considered tablets, but we're pretty sure they don't fit 
our needs.  It's got to be easy, because I can't hover 24/7.  I would 
like to target the sub-$500 range, so don't suggest Mac.

To sum up, I'm thinking something like a large-screen netbook with an i3 
would fit the bill, but that's just my impression.  (I've been told the 
netbook concept is being replaced by tablets, but I don't think they're 
quite the same niche.)  And I just don't know the current market well 
enough to know what to look at and what to avoid.


Thanks,
Tim