Netbooks , smaller and stripped down versions of laptops are creating quite a buzz in industry. The most common factor in all these netbooks is display size. Most of them have a standard 10 inch display, which is pretty small for most of the software’s around. Being a netbook (samsung N110) user myself i found the following list of software’s really useful in enhancing the netbook experience.
Most of you might already know this list but this guide is aimed at newbies.
This is my first guide directly lifted from my own blog so any comments and observations are welcome.
1) Dexpot: One of the best free virtual desktop softwares. Both Features and usability are topnotch. By default it comes with 4 virtual desktops, in netbook where space is a real constraint this is really useful. More abt it here.
2) The KMplayer: Being low on resources netbooks need a very good media player to play 720p videos. I tried windows media player, VLC player and noticed small hitch in both of them when playing 720p videos, but when i tried KMplyer no hitch was noticed. Just make sure that during initial configuration you select 1Ghz as your processor speed for good performance. Also KMplayer plays almost any video you throw at it. It can be downloaded here.
3) Chrome/Firefox: Its very hard to decide which one to use. I will say both are good chrome is best suited for netbooks because of its minimalistic interface thereby increasing the space avaialbe for browsing. Get it here.
Firefox can be configured to do the same using small tweeks like full screen mode, hiding status bar, hiding bookmarks bar. But dude to firefox addons i prefer firefox more than chrome. Get firefox here.
4) Avira Antivir: Freeware Antivirus cant get better than this. Just try it and you will know what you have been missing. After trying avast, comodo i finally found this much better. Only drawback is one pestering Ad per startup. Anyways get it here.
5) Everything: Everything is a must have for any computer with ntfs file system. Instantaneous search is what you get by using this software. Best of all it can be run from a pendrive. Only drawback i can think of is that it cant search in fat file system. Just use it to believe it, windows default search is ages behind this tool. Get it here.
6) Free Commander: Since netbooks lack desktop real estate, opening too many windows can be a real hassle, this is where free commander comes to rescue, with ability to open upto four locations at a time, tabbed file manager support. Free commander is the best alternative to standard windows file manager. Get it here.
7) Teracopy: Speedup, Pause and be in total control of your file copying using teracopy. Teracopy is a worthy replacement to standard windows copy function, with many addons that will make you forget windows copy in a jiffy.The best feature of teracopy is ability to pause and resume copying. Tera copy with free commander is a superb combination that will put windows explorer to shame. Get teracopy here.
8 ) Pidgin: Having a simgle IM client handle all your accounts is really useful for a netbook as it reduces the resources utilised, there is no better free universal IM cleint for windows than Pidgin. Get Pidgin Here.
Another worthy mention here is Digsby. But it is still not as polished as Pidgin.
9) CCleaner: This a free privacy, registry and optimization tool. It is more important for netbooks since there is less ram and processing power in hand and keeping it optimized is always a requirement. Get CCleaner here.
10) Openoffice.org: Last but by no means the least is openoffice.org. The best freeware office suite available, and also it is very light on resources hence the best office suite for netbook. Get Openoffice.org here.
Another superlight weight wordprocessor worthy of mention is Abiword. It is best for users who are looking only for word processing. Get it here.
Any comments or additions to the above list are most welcome. Also all the opinions above are purely personal, If any of the softwares cause harm to your computer its none of my responsibility.
Most of you might already know this list but this guide is aimed at newbies.
This is my first guide directly lifted from my own blog so any comments and observations are welcome.
1) Dexpot: One of the best free virtual desktop softwares. Both Features and usability are topnotch. By default it comes with 4 virtual desktops, in netbook where space is a real constraint this is really useful. More abt it here.
2) The KMplayer: Being low on resources netbooks need a very good media player to play 720p videos. I tried windows media player, VLC player and noticed small hitch in both of them when playing 720p videos, but when i tried KMplyer no hitch was noticed. Just make sure that during initial configuration you select 1Ghz as your processor speed for good performance. Also KMplayer plays almost any video you throw at it. It can be downloaded here.
3) Chrome/Firefox: Its very hard to decide which one to use. I will say both are good chrome is best suited for netbooks because of its minimalistic interface thereby increasing the space avaialbe for browsing. Get it here.
Firefox can be configured to do the same using small tweeks like full screen mode, hiding status bar, hiding bookmarks bar. But dude to firefox addons i prefer firefox more than chrome. Get firefox here.
4) Avira Antivir: Freeware Antivirus cant get better than this. Just try it and you will know what you have been missing. After trying avast, comodo i finally found this much better. Only drawback is one pestering Ad per startup. Anyways get it here.
5) Everything: Everything is a must have for any computer with ntfs file system. Instantaneous search is what you get by using this software. Best of all it can be run from a pendrive. Only drawback i can think of is that it cant search in fat file system. Just use it to believe it, windows default search is ages behind this tool. Get it here.
6) Free Commander: Since netbooks lack desktop real estate, opening too many windows can be a real hassle, this is where free commander comes to rescue, with ability to open upto four locations at a time, tabbed file manager support. Free commander is the best alternative to standard windows file manager. Get it here.
7) Teracopy: Speedup, Pause and be in total control of your file copying using teracopy. Teracopy is a worthy replacement to standard windows copy function, with many addons that will make you forget windows copy in a jiffy.The best feature of teracopy is ability to pause and resume copying. Tera copy with free commander is a superb combination that will put windows explorer to shame. Get teracopy here.
8 ) Pidgin: Having a simgle IM client handle all your accounts is really useful for a netbook as it reduces the resources utilised, there is no better free universal IM cleint for windows than Pidgin. Get Pidgin Here.
Another worthy mention here is Digsby. But it is still not as polished as Pidgin.
9) CCleaner: This a free privacy, registry and optimization tool. It is more important for netbooks since there is less ram and processing power in hand and keeping it optimized is always a requirement. Get CCleaner here.
10) Openoffice.org: Last but by no means the least is openoffice.org. The best freeware office suite available, and also it is very light on resources hence the best office suite for netbook. Get Openoffice.org here.
Another superlight weight wordprocessor worthy of mention is Abiword. It is best for users who are looking only for word processing. Get it here.
Any comments or additions to the above list are most welcome. Also all the opinions above are purely personal, If any of the softwares cause harm to your computer its none of my responsibility.
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