Stuart
I am a valve fanboy. I have played all of their games and beaten most of them, especially all of the Half-life series, and of course, portal. Now Portal 2 has gotten numerous ratings that were good, but I've also noticed there's been quite a few bad reviews. Some were just trolling, but there were quite a few people were saying things like it was only four hours long, or that the story line sucks, but i thought it had the best ending i've seen to a game in a long time, possibly ever, and that it had some awesome cross references to Hl and an awesome storyline. that was the most epic game in a long time that i've played. ( I did play it on a huge projector with hdmi and surround sound. maybe that's why it was so great.)
Answer
(warning, Valve ramble, read if interested, but scroll down to "REAL ANSWER IS HERE" if you want my precise answer.
Finally, a person who appreciates Valve as much as I do! I know that a quality game takes time and effort, Valve will delay a game several times to make sure it's as perfect as they can get it and that it's well worth the money.
I guess I'm pretty new to being a "Valve Fanboy" as you call it. Became a member of Steam October 5th of 2010, during a sale that cut down the price of Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 in a "Left 4 Dead Bundle" for the price of $10.00 Made the purchase and have at least 120 hours on both of them. Later, on March 12, 2011, I anxiously Pre-purchased Portal 2, it also came with the original Portal, which I have 30 hours on. April 13, I purchased Team Fortress 2 for $10.00 (never expected it to become free within the year I purchased it, boy was I frustrated, but TF2 is still worth it). I don't own all the Valve games, and unfortunately haven't even played them all. I hope to change that sometime in the future, as I have never been disappointed in a Valve game.
I played TF2 for about a week, then Portal 2 came really late on a school night-- but I didn't care. I rapidly clicked the button to finish the download and began to play. I didn't get much sleep that night...
After much play I thoroughly enjoyed the game, within a week, I had almost all the achievements, and from then to now, I've played through it about 12 times (guessing on that) and I don't have a problem with it whatsoever (Here's where I get to finally answering after rambling) I can tell, though, why people can hate the game...
~~REAL ANSWER IS HERE~~
Flying through portals, popping out at random places in the room, the puzzles can really get you on the first try. My dad played the first portal a bit and was completely confused, and I'm sure he'd be confused by the sequel. The disorientation that can be involved in Portal 2 bewilders some people and frustrates many others. I personally haven't been disoriented by this game, and it's a good game that gets you thinking, but I completely understand. But as to why the storyline would "suck" makes me curious... How does it suck? Valve, in my opinion, did very well with the story and I thought it was a wonderful way to either end or continue portal (the co-op makes you think there will be another game). Though if they were talking about the Co-op, i would understand that-- the story to the cooperative testing wasn't very clear. Who could possibly get through the main story in 4 hours? Jeez, rushing through the game like that leaves little time to enjoy the clever dialogue or story. The bad reviews, in conclusion, come from people who either can't grasp the concept of portals and gels, button based testing and cute turrets, or genuinely do not like the story. I know that that's entirely possible-- I can't stand Gears of War, but I haven't the faintest idea why and I despise COD BO because the story and multiplayer are just awful (personal opinions that you don't have to agree to) Maybe it's just a personal preference sort of thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(warning, Valve ramble, read if interested, but scroll down to "REAL ANSWER IS HERE" if you want my precise answer.
Finally, a person who appreciates Valve as much as I do! I know that a quality game takes time and effort, Valve will delay a game several times to make sure it's as perfect as they can get it and that it's well worth the money.
I guess I'm pretty new to being a "Valve Fanboy" as you call it. Became a member of Steam October 5th of 2010, during a sale that cut down the price of Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 in a "Left 4 Dead Bundle" for the price of $10.00 Made the purchase and have at least 120 hours on both of them. Later, on March 12, 2011, I anxiously Pre-purchased Portal 2, it also came with the original Portal, which I have 30 hours on. April 13, I purchased Team Fortress 2 for $10.00 (never expected it to become free within the year I purchased it, boy was I frustrated, but TF2 is still worth it). I don't own all the Valve games, and unfortunately haven't even played them all. I hope to change that sometime in the future, as I have never been disappointed in a Valve game.
I played TF2 for about a week, then Portal 2 came really late on a school night-- but I didn't care. I rapidly clicked the button to finish the download and began to play. I didn't get much sleep that night...
After much play I thoroughly enjoyed the game, within a week, I had almost all the achievements, and from then to now, I've played through it about 12 times (guessing on that) and I don't have a problem with it whatsoever (Here's where I get to finally answering after rambling) I can tell, though, why people can hate the game...
~~REAL ANSWER IS HERE~~
Flying through portals, popping out at random places in the room, the puzzles can really get you on the first try. My dad played the first portal a bit and was completely confused, and I'm sure he'd be confused by the sequel. The disorientation that can be involved in Portal 2 bewilders some people and frustrates many others. I personally haven't been disoriented by this game, and it's a good game that gets you thinking, but I completely understand. But as to why the storyline would "suck" makes me curious... How does it suck? Valve, in my opinion, did very well with the story and I thought it was a wonderful way to either end or continue portal (the co-op makes you think there will be another game). Though if they were talking about the Co-op, i would understand that-- the story to the cooperative testing wasn't very clear. Who could possibly get through the main story in 4 hours? Jeez, rushing through the game like that leaves little time to enjoy the clever dialogue or story. The bad reviews, in conclusion, come from people who either can't grasp the concept of portals and gels, button based testing and cute turrets, or genuinely do not like the story. I know that that's entirely possible-- I can't stand Gears of War, but I haven't the faintest idea why and I despise COD BO because the story and multiplayer are just awful (personal opinions that you don't have to agree to) Maybe it's just a personal preference sort of thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can a netbook do these things?
Quaque
I'm thinking about getting a netbook and want to know if it can do these things:
Use a messenger such as Yahoo or MSN
Use Office or Works
And what types of programs can you download on it? I know netbooks aren't for gaming. I'm not going to use it for that.
Can it also download music and videos? Any information will be useful! I just want to know what it can and can't do before I buy it.
Answer
Let's see, there are netbooks capable of gaming - I personally own one. I can play San Andreas, Underground 2, Most Wanted, Carbon, Modern Warfare 2 and so on.
Usually, netbooks aren't made for gaming - you use it for what you said: chatting, web surfing, document creation and some online video.
There's a problem though, not all netbooks handle online 480p videos - most of them can only handle 360p (standard quality) videos.
No matter what you do on a netbook you need at least:
Intel/AMD Dual Core processor
DDR3 memory - if it's 1GB you should consider upgrading to 2GB, while DDR3 is still cheap. RAM is usually easily upgradeable.
Big HDD(250GB+)
WebCam, Bluetooth.
If you need a netbook for that, let me look for something nice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230049
You should also notice that I chose netbooks capable of handling 2GB of RAM - RAM is extremely cheap and in Windows 7 there's a noticeable difference in terms of performance when going from 1GB to 2GB of RAM.
If you consider 10.1" to be a bit too small, consider this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230009
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230010
Remember: if you ever need to use CD/DVDs, you either have to transfer the data from the disc to a memory stick/ memory card(since they come equipped with card readers) or buy an external USB-powered DVD-RW drive, like I did.
That doesn't mean you'll have to carry the external drive with you everywhere you go - it's just that you don't have to transfer a lot of things via memory sticks - sometimes they're too slow or too small.
go to www.newegg.com ,paste the codes in the search box and hit enter to see the product I'm talking about:
N82E16827151231 (this is the one I own and it works flawlessly - I needed it because i had to re-install Windows)
N82E16827135216
N82E16827135217
Things you can do with a basic netbook:
-use all office software(including Word,Excel,Powerpoint and such - I personally use 2010 version without a problem)
-browse the web
-watch online videos
-play BASIC games (online games)
-watch movies(not in HD...of course not)
-listen to music (I've got like 7GB of music on the 250GB HDD and it's great)
-use it for video chat
-output the image you see on your display, to a projector or a TV(LCD and later models, usually)
-they all come with WiFi
-NOT ALL OF THEM SUPPORT SIM cards - mine doesn't - if you've got a SIM card-based Internet connection consider something with a SIM card slot or consider buying a USB adapter.
-send & receive files via Bluetooth
Additional things you can do with a powerful netbook:
-play games at decent Frame per Second
-watch HD videos online
-watch HD videos you store on your computer
-output the image you see on the display to a High Definition TV via the HDMI cable - the image is crisper, clearer, and of better quality overall.
-do some multi-tasking like having ltos of programs open and running at the same time
The bigger the screen - the more energy it needs so the battery life is affected on 12" netbooks ut the performance is increased noticeably.
For what you said you'd be doing on it, I'd get the cheapest one I recommended and 1x2GB memory module.
On ASUS netbooks(I own the 1015PN) you only have to take out a small plastic cover and the memory module that's inside it and put the new one inside and put the cover back - it's that easy. If you go to a computer shop to buy the RAM they should install it for you at no cost.
The 12" netbooks can handle more memory - 4GB , and not just 2GB,like most netbooks do.
This one is guaranteed to work on most netbooks:
N82E16820148316
If you choose to go with the 12" ones, you can buy two memory modules and get 4GB of RAM on a netbook - that's something I'd do given the price of a 2GB DDR3 memory module.
The most popular ports you get on a netbook are:
3xUSB ports
1xcharger port
1xLAN(Ethernet) port(in case you want to connect it to a wired network and enjoy higher download speeds)
1xVGA port(output the image to a computer display/TV/projector...)
1xMIC port(although most of them come with integrated Microphones and Webcams)
1xHeadphones port
1xCard reader slot(accepts all kind of memory cards: SD, MMC,XD and so on.
1xKensington lock(to be used with special Kensington anti-rob protection tools)
1xHDMI port(for powerful netbooks only)
Let's see, there are netbooks capable of gaming - I personally own one. I can play San Andreas, Underground 2, Most Wanted, Carbon, Modern Warfare 2 and so on.
Usually, netbooks aren't made for gaming - you use it for what you said: chatting, web surfing, document creation and some online video.
There's a problem though, not all netbooks handle online 480p videos - most of them can only handle 360p (standard quality) videos.
No matter what you do on a netbook you need at least:
Intel/AMD Dual Core processor
DDR3 memory - if it's 1GB you should consider upgrading to 2GB, while DDR3 is still cheap. RAM is usually easily upgradeable.
Big HDD(250GB+)
WebCam, Bluetooth.
If you need a netbook for that, let me look for something nice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230049
You should also notice that I chose netbooks capable of handling 2GB of RAM - RAM is extremely cheap and in Windows 7 there's a noticeable difference in terms of performance when going from 1GB to 2GB of RAM.
If you consider 10.1" to be a bit too small, consider this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230009
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230010
Remember: if you ever need to use CD/DVDs, you either have to transfer the data from the disc to a memory stick/ memory card(since they come equipped with card readers) or buy an external USB-powered DVD-RW drive, like I did.
That doesn't mean you'll have to carry the external drive with you everywhere you go - it's just that you don't have to transfer a lot of things via memory sticks - sometimes they're too slow or too small.
go to www.newegg.com ,paste the codes in the search box and hit enter to see the product I'm talking about:
N82E16827151231 (this is the one I own and it works flawlessly - I needed it because i had to re-install Windows)
N82E16827135216
N82E16827135217
Things you can do with a basic netbook:
-use all office software(including Word,Excel,Powerpoint and such - I personally use 2010 version without a problem)
-browse the web
-watch online videos
-play BASIC games (online games)
-watch movies(not in HD...of course not)
-listen to music (I've got like 7GB of music on the 250GB HDD and it's great)
-use it for video chat
-output the image you see on your display, to a projector or a TV(LCD and later models, usually)
-they all come with WiFi
-NOT ALL OF THEM SUPPORT SIM cards - mine doesn't - if you've got a SIM card-based Internet connection consider something with a SIM card slot or consider buying a USB adapter.
-send & receive files via Bluetooth
Additional things you can do with a powerful netbook:
-play games at decent Frame per Second
-watch HD videos online
-watch HD videos you store on your computer
-output the image you see on the display to a High Definition TV via the HDMI cable - the image is crisper, clearer, and of better quality overall.
-do some multi-tasking like having ltos of programs open and running at the same time
The bigger the screen - the more energy it needs so the battery life is affected on 12" netbooks ut the performance is increased noticeably.
For what you said you'd be doing on it, I'd get the cheapest one I recommended and 1x2GB memory module.
On ASUS netbooks(I own the 1015PN) you only have to take out a small plastic cover and the memory module that's inside it and put the new one inside and put the cover back - it's that easy. If you go to a computer shop to buy the RAM they should install it for you at no cost.
The 12" netbooks can handle more memory - 4GB , and not just 2GB,like most netbooks do.
This one is guaranteed to work on most netbooks:
N82E16820148316
If you choose to go with the 12" ones, you can buy two memory modules and get 4GB of RAM on a netbook - that's something I'd do given the price of a 2GB DDR3 memory module.
The most popular ports you get on a netbook are:
3xUSB ports
1xcharger port
1xLAN(Ethernet) port(in case you want to connect it to a wired network and enjoy higher download speeds)
1xVGA port(output the image to a computer display/TV/projector...)
1xMIC port(although most of them come with integrated Microphones and Webcams)
1xHeadphones port
1xCard reader slot(accepts all kind of memory cards: SD, MMC,XD and so on.
1xKensington lock(to be used with special Kensington anti-rob protection tools)
1xHDMI port(for powerful netbooks only)
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