Loading up your netbook

Maximize the utility you get from your netbook by installing applications that service your needs. From anti-virus suites to games and media players, a plethora of applications are at your disposal to make the most of your netbook.



Your netbook is only as good as the things it can do. You will generally find a few basic applications bundled with your operating system, but there is a range of applications out there to help you improve your netbook’s performance and its entertainment quotient. Netbooks do not generally come with any kind of commercial software, which is what keeps the cost as low as possible. There are certain programs that are almost essential, and until you have used them, their value and importance may not be obvious to you.








ANTIVIRUS

Without protection software installed, your netbook is highly vulnerable to attacks from the moment you begin browsing. There is no guarantee that your netbook will have an anti-virus bundled with your OS, and if it does then it is likely to be a trial version. The safety measures applied to your netbook could prevent you from being a victim of identity fraud, viral infection and malware.


AVG ANTI-VIRUS FREE EDITION 2011

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 is a light weight, free application and is effective in blocking and removing malicious software, cookies and trojans. It’s fairly simple to configure and you can set a schedule to run scans periodically, taking the guesswork out of your netbook’s security. To pick up a free version of AVG from your netbook, you can visit‘free.avg.com/us-en/download- free-antivirus’.


MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS

Another free security tool is Microsoft Security Essentials. It is light on memory and runs effi - ciently in the background without interruptions or disturbance. The only drawback is that it is compatible only with Windows, so if you’re running any other OS, you will not be able to use it. To download, go to www.microsoft.com/security_ essentials

ESSENTIAL TOOLS

There are several mainstream products that tend to overshadow the competition. Products like Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader and Adobe Photoshop run on almost every PC, but while they’re popular for their convenience and user friendliness, they are expensive and they do tend to hog RAM space. However, there are a few substitutes, which can serve the same purpose using far less memory and cost less too.


OPENOFFICE.ORG

If you’ve bought a netbook with Windows, you’re sure to have Microsoft Office bundled with it. Depending on what version of MS Office you are using and what your uses are, MS Office could have a large memory and storage requirement. OpenOffice.org gives you the perfect substitute, with a suite of office applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics and databases. It is free and compatible with different operating systems and a variety of extensions are available.


GIMP
For the graphics enthusiasts, Adobe Photoshop is the one stop shop for all their needs, but what if you don’t want to spend a whole lot? Photoshop’s most popular competitor, GIMP, has its own portable version. Being an open source image editing tool, GIMP can serve as the perfect replacement for Photo- shop on your netbook to carry out simple image editing tasks.


FOXIT READER

Adobe also provides the Adobe PDF Reader, which is the default choice for viewing PDF files, but it
does occupy a great deal of space on your hard drive. FoxIT Reader is an alternative PDF viewer, which is lightweight, smaller, and faster. You can download it from 
‘www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/ reader/reader43.html’


DOWNLOADS

Internet marketing of movies and music is on the rise, with albums released on iTunes, movie trailers
and teasers and even public access movies. Downloading such media can be expedited and simplified with download management applications.


μTORRENT

The Internet is a great medium to share videos and music, and it is also a great source for media. Torrent
files are safer and a faster mode of downloading compared to conventional means as they rely on p2p networks. One of the most popular torrent clients is μTorrent. It is simple, lightweight and fast, making it ideal for netbooks. You can download μTorrent from ‘www.utorrent.com’.


DAP

DAP (Download Accelerator Plus) is a download manager for Windows and OS X. It uses multi-part
downloading to increase speeds, creating multiple connections of different file segments to speed up downloads, which is useful for defeating file-server download speed limiting. The best part is you can set DAP as your default downloading application and it will enhance downloads even from your browser. To download DAP, visit ‘www.speedbit.com’.


GAMES

Netbooks were not built for hardcore gamers so do not expect the latest games to run smoothly or run at all on your netbook. However it is possible to play great, high-quality games from a few years ago. It’s not hard to find games that don’t require a massive amount of GPU and CPU power to play, and it might surprise you that older versions of some of your favourite games may still run on your netbook.


GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY
Vice City still lives on in the memory of most gamers, thanks to its memorable characters and original game play. Best of all, it runs perfectly fine on any average netbook. Get yourself a USB-powered mouse and you’ll be hooked for several hours.


DIABLO II

When Diablo fi rst came into the market back in 1997, it was an instant classic. Diablo II managed to better its predecessor and was one of the most popular games of 2000. Both versions of the game will run smoothly on a Windows or Mac OS-based machine, but Diablo II, of course, is a much better looking game.


COMMAND & CONQUER

For real-time strategy gamers, Command & Conquer is the way to go. All of the C&C releases up to and including Tiberian Sun will work fine on your netbook. These games are starting to show some age, but are still great, trendsetting RTS games.


MAME

If you want to go way, way back to the good ol’ days of arcade gaming, you can get yourself an emulator
like MAME. Emulators are applications that emulate the hardware of arcade game systems or old gaming consoles and come packed with old classic games. You could relive the past with games  like Mario Bros, Contra and Tetris all on your newnetbook.


ENTERTAINMENT

If you are a Windows user then you are surely aware of Windows Media Player, and for the Apple enthusiasts, there is iTunes. Both these applications are effective, but replacing them with lighter alternatives could help free up system resources.


WINAMP

Winamp is one of the most popular free alternatives to Windows Media Player. It is an open source application that has been around for a long time, with tons of available extensions, skins and themes.
Winamp can be used to sync your computer with your iPod so you can say goodbye to iTunes as well. Visit ‘www.winamp.com’ for details.


VLC PLAYER

VLC Player is the Winamp equivalent for playing videos. It has a simple, compact interface that relies more on functionality than looks. It is capable of playing VCDs, DVDs, Audio CDs and almost any video format. Add to that features like aspect ratio adjustment, equalizer and screenshots, and you’ve got a flawless, powerhouse of a media player for your netbook.


UTILITIES


DAEMON TOOLS

Since netbooks lack optical drives, you are forced to purchase an external CD or DVD drive to install new software. DAEMON Tools lets you ditch the external drives and mount images of discs onto virtual drives instead. When you mount a disc image, you can access the software just as if the disc was inserted in your computer. Another advantage of using mounted discs is that the access speed is much faster than an optical drive. Visit ‘www.daemon-tools.cc’.


TOUCHFREEZE

Every laptop user will tell you how annoying it is when you start typing and your cursor goes haywire due to your wrist grazing the touchpad. Imagine how frequently that will occur when you’re using an even smaller keyboard and touchpad. Touchfreeze is an open source application that disables the touchpad as soon as you start typing and enables it once you stop. It is currently compatible only with Windows-based systems.


ROCKETDOCK

If you’ve used an Apple computer, you will be aware of the dock a simple bar that sits on the bottom of your screen and allows easy access to all your applications and current windows. It boosts functionality on a small screen and would be great for a netbook. Rocketdock gives the same for non- Mac machines. It is fully configurable and can be docked on any side of the screen.



XMARKS
If you’ve used one computer to setup an account and consequently forgotten the password when you try to login from a different computer, then Xmarks is for you. It keeps browser bookmarks and site passwords in sync across multiple computers. Now you can sync your browsers on your netbook, notebook and office computer and the best part is that Xmarks works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.