Netbooks for Dummies (ISBN - 0470521236)

387 Pages·2021·12.5 MB·English

Joel McNamara

Learn to:
• Compare features of these small,
ultraportable computers to pick the one
that works best for you

• Set up a netbook and explore free online
and downloadable applications

• Play games, watch videos, and listen to
music on the go with your netbook

• Surf the Web and work online from
almost anywhere

Netbooks

Making Everything Easier!™

Open the book and find:

• What to compare when choosing
a netbook

• The different operating systems
that run on netbooks

• The differences between netbooks
and traditional laptops

• Tips for making batteries last
longer

• The best accessories for your
netbook

• How to keep your netbook
running smoothly — and quickly

• GPS units that work well with
your netbook

Joel McNamara has been a computer aficionado since the dawn of the
PC. He has served as a developer, technical writer, and manager in various
high-tech companies. The author of GPS For Dummies and Secrets of
Computer Espionage: Tactics & Countermeasures, he might be considered a
Renaissance geek.

Computers/Hardware/General

$24.99 US / $29.99 CN / £17.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-52123-6

Go to Dummies.com®

for videos, step-by-step examples,
how-to articles, or to shop!

Want to streamline your
life with a netbook? Here’s
what you need to know!

What’s smaller than a laptop, bigger than a cell phone, and
keeps you connected? It’s the netbook, and this “real” book
tells you how to pick the right one; use it for work, school,
and play; and add bells, whistles, and anything else you
might need. The book also covers all the operating systems
that run on netbooks, including Linux®, Google™ Chrome,
Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, and even Windows® 7.

• Out of the box — set up your netbook, charge the battery, and
sync it with your primary computer

• Get connected — via Wi-Fi, 3G networks, Bluetooth®, or Ethernet

• Do some work — explore Microsoft® Works, OpenOffice.org®,
Google Apps™, and Zoho® productivity suites

• Play time — discover free Internet radio, streaming video, and
games you can play on your netbook

• Keep up with your peeps — tweet and IM, keep up with Facebook
friends, and make Skype phone calls

• Even netbooks like accessories — check out ways to expand
storage, protect your netbook with a case, and add a mouse

• Safety first — find quality antivirus programs, firewalls, and
encryption options

• The maintenance mantra — learn about backing up and restoring
your netbook, troubleshooting, and managing battery life

Netbooks

McNamara

Spine =.76”

Start with FREE Cheat Sheets

Cheat Sheets include

• Checklists

• Charts

• Common Instructions

• And Other Good Stuff!

Get Smart at Dummies.com
Dummies.com makes your life easier with 1,000s
of answers on everything from removing wallpaper
to using the latest version of Windows.

Check out our

• Videos

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• Step-by-Step Instructions

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Get More and Do More at Dummies.com®

To access the Cheat Sheet created specifically for this book, go to
www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/netbooks

Spine =.76”

Netbooks

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

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by Joel McNamara

Netbooks

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

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Netbooks For Dummies®

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit-
ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone].
Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://
www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the
Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything
Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/
or its affi liates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated
with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO
REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF
THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITH-
OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE
CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES
CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE
UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR
OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF
A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE
AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZA-
TION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE
OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES
THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT
MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS
WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND
WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care
Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

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not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009935829

ISBN: 978-0-470-52123-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Joel McNamara started using computers in the early Cenozoic era of personal
computing (1980 to be exact). If NorthStar Horizon, ARPANET, PDP-11, Kaypro,
and Apple Lisa ring a bell (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), like in the movie
Zelig, he was there. Over the years, Joel has worked as a programmer, techni-
cal writer, and manager for a number of companies in the high-tech sector.

Joel currently consults and writes on things he fi nds interesting. Living in an
undisclosed location somewhere in the Pacifi c Northwest, he likes boats of
all kinds and is fond of old-school technologies such as celestial navigation
and Morse Code.

Joel is also the author of ASUS Eee PC For Dummies, GPS For Dummies (1st and
2nd Editions), Geocaching For Dummies, and Secrets of Computer Espionage:
Tactics & Countermeasures — all brought to you by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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Author’s Acknowledgments

Thanks to ASUS and Dell for loaning me a few of their latest netbook models.
And much gratitude to the talented folks at Wiley for transforming a collec-
tion of ideas and words into a real, live book — specifi cally acquisitions edi-
tors Katie Mohr and Tiffany Ma, project editor Chris Morris, technical editor
Jim Kelly, copy editor Virginia Sanders, and anyone else who was involved
with this title that I didn’t have a chance to virtually meet. It’s always a plea-
sure working with pros.

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Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For
other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974,
outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial

Sr. Project Editor: Christopher Morris

Acquisitions Editor: Katie Mohr, Tiffany Ma

Copy Editor: Virginia Sanders

Technical Editor: Jim Kelly

Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant

(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Katherine Crocker

Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers,
Joyce Haughey, Melissa K. Jester,
Melissa K. Smith

Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, Penny Stuart

Indexer: Infodex Indexing Services, Inc.

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

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