Cheap as chips

How much computing power can $500 buy? With our self-imposed budget in mind, Elissa Baxter sets off to find out.

If you've considered buying another computer solely for web browsing, you've probably wondered just how much you could get for your money. Parents are also wondering how soon their kids should be getting online and when they will need a laptop to take to school or uni.

In the catalogues, fully configured machines are less than $1000 - but how much basic computing power could you buy with half that? Icon investigated some options.

Subnotebook

If you want a new laptop for less than $500, consider the ASUS Eee PC. Classified as a "subnotebook", the three "e's" in the name stand for "easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work". The Eee PC is based on a Linux operating system and Intel processors and chipsets with integrated graphics. It also has 512MB of DDR2-400 memory and in the place of a regular hard disk is a flash drive with 4, 8 or 16GB options. For communications, the Eee PC has Ethernet LAN, 802.11b/g wireless and a 56K modem.

Specifically designed to rely on the internet for applications and storage, the Eee PC will suit anyone looking for a small machine to go online. The reliance on flash memory also makes the Eee PC more shock-resistant than other laptops, so if you're thinking of buying a laptop for your school child, this one could be it. The Eee PC can fit easily in the school bag, being smaller than an A4 notepad and weighing less than a kilogram. Nor will the Eee PC break the bank; it will go on sale in December for $499 through special tender aimed at the education market with the possibility of extending to retail.

The drawbacks of the Eee PC are related to its advantages. It's small, as is its screen, so you wouldn't want to be working on it all day. The memory is not large enough to store enormous quantities of photos or video but an external hard drive would expand the machine's capabilities.

For users looking for a cheap, portable laptop to get online easily, the Eee PC is worth a look.

Auction sites

If you're not too fussed about getting the latest machine or even something new then you can bag a bargain through online auction sites such as Grays Online. You will need to be ready to do some research on the products to decide how much you want to bid but each time we visited this site there were laptops and desktops available for less than $500.

Auctions sell four types of computer: ex-lease machines that have usually been used for a year or two; reconditioned machines, which have been used then tested by the manufacturer; resealed computers that have either been removed from their packaging for testing but not used; and new computers that usually come in original packaging and some have warranties.

A Dell Latitude D610 laptop, for example, with a 60GB hard drive, a DVD-RW and onboard wireless network card (but no operating system) sold at the time of writing for $440. Admittedly, it was a used, ex-lease machine but that's a whole lot of computer with change out of $500.

Check auction conditions carefully if you want a warranty; some items have been reformatted (so there is no operating system on the machine). It pays to consider the state of laptops' batteries as older batteries do not have long lives and may need replacing. Also watch out for buyer's premiums on the auction. Grays Online's auctions have a premium of 12.5 per cent, which is added to the price of the item before the delivery fee.

E-recycling

If you want to feel good about your decision to spend only $500 on a computer, consider the charities that recondition computers for resale.

Rachel Levett, E-recycling's operations manager, says the Wesley Mission program has three benefits aside from supercheap computers.

"We primarily sell computers to people who are on Centrelink allowances or non-profit organisations ... people who probably can't afford to buy a new computer," Levett says. "But the recycling is done by people with disabilities so it gives them employment as well. And finally there's the environmental benefit. Most organisations are turning over their hardware every 2-3 years, so the more we can reuse the better for the environment."

Wesley Mission can sell a reconditioned PC with a Pentium IV processor, 20GB hard drive, 384MB of RAM and a CD burner along with a new keyboard, new optical mouse, speakers, 17-inch CRT monitor plus internal modem or network card for $480.

This machine would not be able to run the more sophisticated games but it would be perfectly adequate for web browsing, word processing and email. It will also need an operating system. If you have a Centrelink Health Care card or you are a non-profit organisation, you qualify for the free Microsoft Windows package through Wesley Mission. Otherwise you could install a free operating system available online (see box).

Wii

If all you want is an extra machine to go online or you're sick of watching YouTube on a tiny screen a Nintendo Wii console could be the answer. Apart from its ability to play games, the console also lets you browse the internet through your wireless LAN.

The Wii uses the Opera browser and supports USB keyboards, a cheap enhancement that greatly improves the experience of web surfing compared to using the Wii Remote alone.

Other game consoles can also go online but only the Wii fit into our budget as it retails for about $399. With a USB keyboard (Wii recommends the Logitech Classic 200) you can pick up for as little as $30, this combo can get you online with change from $500.

One laptop per child

One of the first people to come up with the idea of very cheap laptops was Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder and director of the MIT Media Laboratory. In 2002, Negroponte launched his idea of a $US100 laptop designed specifically for the world's poorest children. The ambitious project aimed to manufacture child-oriented laptop computers that are resistant to dust and moisture, can be operated in sunlight and be powered by hand.

Most of those aims have now been met although the price tag has come in at about $US200 ($215) a unit. The laptop is called the XO. It runs on flash memory, which drastically reduces power consumption, and a version of the open-source Linux operating system.

In a radical departure from the international standard, the desktop is replaced by a GUI (graphical user interface) called Sugar that aims to make the laptop fun, easy to use and a social experience that promotes sharing and learning. Internet connectivity is through "mesh networking" that allows each XO machine to act as a full-time wireless router, connecting other XO machines within range to an internet connection.

To make the XO truly universal it was designed with the ability to draw power from just about any source. It can charge up with an AC adapter, car battery or by human generation using a hand crank or rip cord.

North Americans can participate in the "give one get one" program, whereby they pay $US399 ($429) for two XO laptops, one of which is donated overseas. Australians will have to wait until next year to see whether the XO becomes commercially available.

FREE SOFTWARE

If you have a budget of $500 for your computer, you don't want to be paying more than a quarter of that for the computer's operating system alone. Yet about $125 is what you'll pay for a new copy of Windows XP or Vista.

If shelling out for that software will break your bank, don't worry: there is plenty of great open source software available free online.

Open source software operates on the basis that the programs are used and developed by enthusiasts from around the world. For the non-enthusiast, the benefits are free software with ongoing upgrades by people who do this sort of thing for fun and profit.

Open source software often does not have dedicated support services (although there are exceptions such as Ubuntu, which has commercially available support) but there is a huge community of users around the world ready to answer questions and provide support.

Assuming we've just bought our PC for $500, here's the free software we'd install on it:

Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com) is the most user-friendly of the various Linux operating systems, thanks to support from Canonical (for a fee) and regular security upgrades. Ubuntu 7.10 has just been released and is available for download free. Ubuntu will also ship a free CD of its software to users, with Australians being serviced by http://www.openoffice.org which ships from New Zealand. However the CDs can take as long as 10 weeks to arrive and cost a few dollars.

All web browsers can be downloaded free but we prefer Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.com/firefox) for reliability and security. As the second most used browser in the world, Firefox is well supported and has excellent functionality.

Open Office (www.openoffice.org) is a suite of open-source programs including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager and drawing program. This sophisticated range of software works just as well in the Windows environment and is a real alternative to the proprietary products available.

Picasa (www.picasa.google.com), Google's free photo management and editing program, lets users organise their photos into albums and slideshows. You can also edit, crop, rotate and perform some simple colour correcting operations as well as fix red-eyes in one-steps. Picasa also lets you add a sophisticated range of effects to photos, making it all the photo software most amateur photographers need. For more advanced imaging, consider The Gimp (www.gimp.org), a rough-but-powerful Photoshop competitor.