News December 27, 2009

A few tips for getting the most out of your new netbook

Netbooks are crazy popular. Dan‘s recent, unsuccessful search, for one showed us that. I believe there might not have been a more popular gadget gift this holiday season.

Last month Dan wrote a post called “Getting the Most From Your Tosiiba NB205 Netbook” here. The information is so helpful I feel it’s worth repeating as I went through a similar process myself just this week with my new netbook and if many of you got new netbooks this holiday you might want to consider doing some of the same things.

I picked up a HP 110-1125NR netbook for myself a few days before Christmas. This particular model comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition, a 1.6 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM and an 160 GB Hard Drive.

So here’s what I did to get “more” out of my new netbook.

1. Upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium Edition. The upgrade, which is done right on the Netbook (no CDs, etc.) took about 15 minutes. With it comes themes, wallpaper, additional applications, additional media, improved navigation, and more.

2. Installed Rocket Dock. It’s no secret. I am not a fan of Windows. I’m a hardcore Mac user through and through. The new task bar in Windows 7 is nice but it’s still not as nice as the Apple dock. Rocket Dock comes very close though. It provides a theme enabled dock which you can move around your desktop, place icons in and helps you quickly access commonly used applications. No more Start Menu!

3. Upgraded the RAM to 2 GB. RAM is cheap! I picked up a 2 GB RAM chip at my local Radio Shack for only $34.99. Not only is RAM cheap, it’s also super-easy to install. You need virtually no technical skills to do it. It’s as easy as unscrewing two small screws from the back of the netbook, removing the cover, popping out the old RAM chip, inserting the new, and closing the cover back up. The whole process can be done in under a minute.

Watch the video below to see how it’s done.

4. Installed and used CCCleaner. The hard drive and RAM on most netbooks are limited. Anytime you install or uninstall programs to a Windows device chances are files get left behind. These files take up space. The same is true of web browsing, where cache is stored on your computer, taking up space. CCClear is a free utility which cleans your computer of these orphan files allowing Windows to run faster.

5. Installed AVG Free. My new netbook came with a trial virus protection package from one of the larger virus software companies. Often these trials are bloated and end up doing more harm than good by slowing down your machine. So I un-installed it and then I installed AVG Free, a totally free, virus protection application instead. Let’s face it. You need some sort of virus protection, but I want something that doesn’t slow me down.

6. Ordered an OttoSkin. My number one reason for getting a netbook was its size. It’s small and ultra-portable. I don’t want to make it bigger by sticking it in a case but I do want to protect it. I’m also not thrilled with the black color. I want to add some of my personal tastes to the device. So I ordered an OttosSkin. The skin, which covers the front of the device not only serves to protect it from scratches but allowed me to pick a design that fits my personality.

7. Disabled Internet Explorer and installed Firefox. Windows 7 has an really cool option which allows you to disable the things you do not use. It’s fast and easy and can be undone just as easily. Head here to see how it’s done. I turned off Internet Explorer and installed Firefox. I love the speed of Firefox but where it really wins me over is with its extensions. With X-Marks, for example, I can sync the same bookmarks that I’ve got on my Mac Book Pro over to the new netbook and keep them synchronized.

8. The keyboard on netbooks is small. I find myself constantly making errors when I’m typing. So I installed Dragon Naturally Speaking which allows for voice dictation on my netbook. Now instead of typing my e-mails, tweets etc. I simply say them and Dragon turns my speech into text.

If you got a new netbook this holiday season enjoy it! If you’re looking to speed it up a bit I hope you find some of the above tools helpful in doing do. If you’ve an old netbook laying around perhaps the tools mentioned above will breath some new life into the device as well.

Tags: Netbook Gear, Netbooks

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About LarryGreenberg

View all posts by LarryGreenberg

I have always had a passion for gear and gadgets. It all started for me with the release of the very first Palm Pilot. I've always had an interest in handheld electronics. From handheld PDAs, to cell phones, Mp3 players, watches and other products, I'm the first person my friends, family and colleagues call when they need advice on tech. I have roots in the online tech. forum community. I served as the Administrator to Howard Forums.com and as a Moderator at both Treo Central.com and Blackberry Forums.net. Under the screen name “lgreenberg” I've amassed 50,000+ postings. I also manage my own YouTube channel under the user name larrygreenberg. I'm always eager to help.

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Thomas R. Hall

I use the Windows Classic theme (which looks more like Windows 2000). Uses less resources, and since I’d rather have longer battery life than eye candy on a netbook (it’s not my Mac, after all), it works out better for me.

Also, I would mention that Microsoft Security Essentials is also free and supposedly uses very little resources. Steve Gibson from Security Now suggests using it as your AV software. I also use AVG Free, but this may be worth looking into, as it is supposed to be light on resources.
Thomas R. Hall

Great post, by the way…
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ckensek

If you’re satisfied with the AV on the system and would like another layer of free real time protection for when you’re surfing the web, AVG LinkScanner is free for home use. It can be learned about and downloaded from linkscanner.avg.com It’s part of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0 as well. It works with most other home SW security products.