Expert: Bobbert - 4/7/2010

Question
hi, I'm looking for a portable device for a child which will only be used for video streaming from sites like youtube/youku/megavideo and maybe netflix.  I was hoping to buy a netbook, but gather that they don't perform this function well?  I've been told that I'll have to buy a higher quality laptop.  is this true? what would you recommend for a machine that will have such limited use?

thank you for your time!
-L

Answer
I don't see why a netbook would have any issues with any of those functions unless your goal is 720p or 1080p HD video decoding. As long as your network can handle the bandwidth requirements of such streaming (in other words, you have a high speed Internet connection and quality network in your home (at minimum 802.11g or 100Base-TX (100Mbit/s Fast Ethernet)). I have recently seen a number of portable/hand-held devices becoming popular which offer somewhat limited streaming features - might be worth a look although I'm guessing theres some downside (price, monthly service fees, etc).

-bob