What is a Netbook: First Thing to Do With The Box
- September 12th, 2009
- By Colin Boyle
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If you have come to this page hoping to find out what a netbook is, I apologize but this article is about what to do with the new netbook once you get it out of the box. If you need to know “what is a netbook” then click the link and read about it here, the article is called what is a netbook?
OK so you have the box that contains your brand new netbook, you have taken the netbook out of the box what do you do now. You can take in the perfume that is new computer smell, you can then either read the manuals or throw them to one side but what then. What do you do now? What I would do, and did do, is play with it and get acquainted with it, do this for however long you like, I played with mine for over a week just too find out all I could about the Operating System that was installed and the hardware I needed to use to do the things I want. Playing with the OS is more necessary if you have bought a Linux netbook. I bought the Acer Aspire One with the custom version of Linspire Light Linux on it, and so didn’t know what to expect. I had a good play around on it. I didn’t like it that much, so that meant I would now have to find a Linux distribution I did like, but that is for another article. For all you Windows XP owning netbooks I would still recommend you try a Linux distribution even for a little bit just to see if it improves your netbooks performance, I will be writing another article to explain more about this but you don’t have to wait to play around.
While getting used to the OS you will be getting used to using the netbook hardware. The keyboard, screen and the track-pad, remember everything is going to be smaller and the most important to get used to is the keyboard, this may take time to get used to especially if you have a small netbook but not too much time if you have a large model with a full size or near to full size keyboard. I bought a 8.9 inch version that has quite a small keyboard but not too small that it is difficult to type on, in fact after a week I could touch type as I could on a normal keyboard, maybe even faster as there is not too much space between the keys so there is less distance to travel. Try and get used to the track-pad as well as this is the method most used especially when traveling. Somme are set up differently and they will all be smaller than there notebook brethren, you may need to play with the sensitivity so that you can use it without lifting a finger to go from one side of the screen to the other, this will help when you are dragging and dropping files. The screen can be a little different for most people as they mostly have a resolution of 1024×600 this will change how you view documents and websites, you will find yourself scrolling an awful lot more than with a bigger screen. The only thing I can say here is stick it out it is not that bad, just remember that for this little inconvenience you have a smaller, lighter, cheaper and easier to carry around computer. When you can hear yourself starting to moan about having to scroll all the time just remember how much money you saved on the computer itself and from not having any chiropractor bills for your bad back from carting a heavy laptop about. Another thing that you will gain from playing around is you will find out exactly how long the battery lasts and not the projected (guessed) time. You will then be able to tell if it lasts as long as you want it to, if not then you can always buy a notebook mouse.
What benefit will I have had with all this playing with my new toy. Well it will tell you if the netbook was all that it needs to be and it will let you know if you can improve the experience with some peripherals or if all is lost and you need to return it o the shop. After all this playing around you should have found out if:
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XP or Linux fits your needs
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if you need to get a notebook mouse
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how long the battery lasts and if you need a bigger one
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if this netbook is good enough for you
I hope you enjoy playing around and discovering the ins and outs of your new netbook and that you will never have to do anything as drastic as returning it to the shop. Have a great day and see you soon I hope.
