Netbook or sub-notebook computers are becoming ever popular and the advance of processor and memory technology means that the customary compromise between portability and functionality is less of an issue than it used to be.
Although the best netbooks are quickly gaining ground in terms of performance against their full size laptop rivals there are still a few disadvantages to be overcome.
Battery life and storage capacity tend to be the Achilles’ heels, although there is much you can do to overcome this.
The greatest drain on storage capacity and power consumption will be the type of applications that you run on your machine and a little time spent researching the various programs available will go a long way to improving the long term performance of your new electronic assistant. Here are a few applications we recommend:
Google Chrome
The new browser from Google with its minimalist design and simple interface is ideal for netbook users who want a straightforward and reliable internet browser without loads or resource hungry functions that are seldom used.
The set up file is just 475 kilobytes and can be downloaded and working within a couple of minutes. Once installed you’ll find the Chrome browser a piece of cake to operate as well as some unique features such as an all-in-one search box, where the results include popular sites, search terms and pages in your history, in the results. The browser also includes application shortcuts, tabbed pages, simple downloads and much more.
One of our favourite features is the ability to shut down a problematic web page without crashing everything else. Just close the offending page tab and forget about it!
At the moment Chrome is only available for Windows although a Linux version will be available soon.
Open Office
One of the great features of a compact netbook computer is that enables you to do your work in a variety of locations or even on the move.
Whilst it is possible to install Microsoft Office on a netbook, the cost and sheer size of the installation can be somewhat prohibitive.
This is where Open Office truly comes into it’s own as it is easily downloaded and will easily open and share documents from Office applications with an ease that will surprise you.
Best of all Open Office is free and has all the office tools that you are used to including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation software and an image editing suite.
Simply download your regular documents to your netbook, work on them as it suits you and then simply upload the results back to your main PC. The files will be read and saved in the normal way.
With Open Office you can even save files as a PDF document without downloading any other software.
Open Office is available for both Windows and Linux operating systems and can be downloaded and set up in no time at all.
Gmail
Google mail is one of the best free email accounts that money can’t buy with the best spam filtering, useful features and massive storage capacity.
While it’s not yet possible to offer unlimited storage Google are committed to offering almost unlimited capacity and are constantly adding more space to achieve this.
Signing up for Gmail is simple and once you have a Google ID then you can also use other features such as Google Docs, Calendar and Chat applications.
Foxit Reader
The ability to open and read PDF documents is somewhat of a must have application for any computer although the official PDF Reader from Abode can be a little on the weighty side?
Foxit Reader is a much more compact and lightweight application that does everything a standard PDF reader will do and a little more.
The reader itself launches incredibly quickly, allows you the ability to annotate documents, will convert PDF text into a simple text document and most of all, Foxit Reader respects your privacy and doesn’t connect to the internet in the background like ‘some other’ PDF readers do. Oh, and of course, it’s free.
VLC Media Player
If you like to watch movie or video clips on your netbook then you might find the standard media player a little bulky.
If it’s a windows machine then Windows Media Player is fine for playing MP3 or WMA music files but using it to play standard movie files may be challenging?
VLC media Player offers a lightweight alternative which supports most file types and will not use up all of your computer’s valuable resources when playing. It’s available for both Windows and Linux machines and is free to download and use.
AVG
With the abundance of malicious viruses and spyware programs abound on the net it would be madness to surf without the most basic protection to your internet security.
There are several free anti-virus programs available these days although very few measure up to the task at hand. One of the free programs which does offer a reasonable amount of protection is AVG.
They offer a free basic version of their popular anti-virus and anti-spyware program which is constantly updated to keep you safe from most threats out there.
You can also take the option to upgrade to more sophisticated version for a small annual subscription here Although this is worth considering the best paid for service that we recommend is Kaspersky Internet Security
While it may not be the cheapest option available, independent tests have proved year after year that it stops more threats than any other program available.
GnuCash
If controlling your money is important or you run a small business then GnuCash is a handy financial management program which is available for both Windows and Linux based machines.
GnuCash is a powerful management program which is easy to operate and adaptable to most small business and personal accounting requirements. Based upon standard accounting principles you can use GnuCash to manage your bank accounts, investments, customer invoices, produce reports and much more.
As the use of netbook computers grows, then so too will the number of applications available. The above list is a summary of the current most popular and highly rated software around at the moment. Over time we aim to keep this list updated as new programs become available.
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