What is a Netbook? And why should you care?

by Scott Carmichael on

In some of my previous posts, I dropped the term “Netbook” a couple of times, but an email from one of our readers made me realize I never really explained what a Netbook is.

Of course, since this is Gadling, I’ll not only explain what it is, but I’ll also explain how a Netbook can help you on the road, or how it can help you travel lighter.

The short version of the “Netbook” description is that it is a small portable computer, designed mainly with Internet access in mind. Netbooks are low power, low weight and (usually) low cost.

So, what makes the Netbook special, and why should you care?
The first (current generation) Netbook was introduced in 2007 by Asus and was called the “Eee PC”. Asus claimed that the Eee was Easy to learn, Easy to work and Easy to play, hence the slightly silly name.

The first Eee was an instant success, and forced every other major manufacturer to design their own little machine.

Anyone who has been around computers for more than 8 or 9 years will have a weird sense of déjà vu, as this sudden comeback of small computers is nothing new. Back in 1998 most companies had at least one small computer in their lineup, including one from British PDA designer Psion, called the Netbook.

What can a Netbook do?

Essentially, everything about the Netbook is perfect for people who travel. The machines are lightweight, they use fairly low power components which increases battery life, they are small enough to be used in a cramped coach seat. Most of them are also very affordable.

A Netbook can be found from most major retailers for as little as $299. In fact, the Netbook craze has taken off so well, that they make up 9 of the top 10 selling computer products at Amazon.com at the moment.

As a computer geek, I took an instant liking to Netbooks, and have to admit that my small machine has pretty much replaced my trusty (and bulky) laptop on the road. My Netbook has a 160GB hard drive, a 10″ screen, and can run any application I need, including some heavy multimedia applications like Slingplayer. With the built in webcam, I can make video calls.

Most Netbooks have at least one card reader slot, making them perfect for copying photos off your digital camera, and keeping them safe.

What can’t a Netbook do?

With their huge popularity, you’d expect Netbooks to be the perfect solution for every computer task. There are however still some things you can’t really do with a Netbook.

Gaming – Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to play Solitaire and Minesweeper on a Netbook. Just don’t expect to be able to run graphics intensive games. Many games will also run into problems with the relatively low resolution of the Netbook screen.

Multimedia – almost everything you can do on a “normal” computer will still work just fine on a Netbook. This includes iTunes, Windows Media player and most other media playing applications. A Netbook will have no problems playing large video files, but files in HD quality may be a tad too demanding for the graphics chip inside the machine. Because Netbooks are small, you won’t find a DVD player in them, so if you need to watch DVD’s, you’ll need to “rip” the movie to your hard disc, or purchase an external DVD drive (which pretty much defeats the purpose of a small machine).

There are plenty of other things Netbooks are not very good at – depending on the brand and model of Netbook you purchase, you may get a machine with a fairly small keyboard, so don’t plan to write your next bestseller on it. Also, folks with poor eyesight may find the small screens to be a bit too small, it is just another price you pay for having a light machine.

Picking a Netbook

When you start considering the purchase of a Netbook, you need to ask yourself whether you can live with the limitations the machine presents.

Most Netbooks are often in the same price range of a regular notebook, and that regular notebook has a much larger screen, a DVD drive, full size keyboard and more.

Let me give you a closer look at one of the most popular Netbooks on the market at the moment, the $349 Acer Aspire One:

This machine weighs just 2.3lbs and has an 8.9″ screen with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels. The Aspire One runs on an Intel Atom processor, at 1.6GHz.

The Aspire One is available in several “flavors”; with a solid state hard drive, or with a standard hard drive.

When you start shopping for a Netbook, your first choice will be whether you want a Linux based machine, or Windows. My personal opinion is that while Linux may be a cheap option, it really does not make sense to learn an entirely new operating system when the Windows XP option is just a few bucks more.

The second choice you’ll need to make involves the hard drive. The cheapest options usually involve solid state drives (referred to as SSD). SSD drives are pretty new in the consumer market, and their size is usually limited to about 8 or 16GB. If you plan to use your machine for nothing more than some basic web browsing and email, then the SSD drive will be just fine. If you need to store large files like movies or music, then you will most certainly want to consider a regular hard drive. These drives usually start around 80GB up to 160GB in most Netbooks.

One other advantage of SSD drives is that they are more shockproof than conventional hard drives, since they don’t use any moving parts.

Finally, but just as important; you will need to carefully select a battery. Most machines come with a three cell battery pack, which is good enough for about 2-3 hours of work. If you are often stuck in coach without a power port, then that may not be long enough. If you need more power, you’ll have to find yourself a Netbook with a 6 cell battery. This power source should last up to 5 hours, but there is a trade off; the battery pack adds a lot of weight and bulk to the machine, and these 6 cell packs often stick out the back by an inch or more. Another solution is to carry an external battery pack, like those offered by APC. Of course, with a larger battery, you once again lose a lot of the benefits of a nice small machine.

So there you have it; a Netbook is a small laptop, nothing more and nothing less. But it is without a doubt the biggest thing to happen in computers all year. In just 12 months, we went from one model Netbook, to well over 50. If you travel a lot, and you’d like to shave a couple of pounds off your carry-on bag, then a Netbook may be the perfect solution for you.

10 tips for making a trip more affordable

by Jamie Rhein on

I read about a couple who bought a sailboat when common sense might have told them not to in this New York Times article awhile ago. Their kids were heading to college, and the economy had begun its rapid trip south. According to the couple, they have no regrets about the boat purchase.

The experiences they’ve had with their kids and friends on the boat have added to their good memories bank. Okay, sure they must have been rolling in dough to start off with, but they do have a point. As the author Rob Lieber pointed out, one doesn’t have to buy a boat to experience the benefits of a splurge.

I’m not advocating splurging at every turn in life, but sometimes acting solely on common sense can make life feel tight and without pleasure. In my mind, a splurge worth making involves travel because of the memories one gathers in the process.

One of the great things about travel is that there are so many aspects of the splurge where costs can be controlled. Making memories may not cost as much as you think if you plan right and alter your thinking about what a trip should look like.

Here are some ideas I’ve thought of to help balance out worthwhile travel with a budget in mind. I’ve used them on several occassions.

1. All meals don’t have to be worth writing home about. Head to a place that has good food, but nothing fancy–a place where locals on a budget might eat. Eateries like these tend to have the best stories anyway. Consider the places you’ve eaten a real find.

2. If you’re eating at a pricier place for the experience, browse the menu for the least expensive option and that’s what you will order. Or order the appetizer that sounds the most filling and buy the cheapest glass of wine to go with it. It will feel special and you can buy something cheaper later to fill you up.

3. Another way to afford more expensive food is to plan for the meal to be the main event for that day and pair it with a cheaper activity like a free walk in a park or an inexpensive museum. Many museums have free admission days. Find out when.

4.. On the day you spend more money at a museum, head to a cheaper restaurant, or buy fixings for a picnic lunch in a park. Mix it up. Have an expensive day followed by a cheaper one.

5. Sure it’s wonderful to sleep in luxury, but if you’re on vacation in an exciting place, think about how little time you’ll spend in the hotel. Two years ago when we went to Ft. Lauderdale, we stayed at a 1960s style bungalow two blocks from the beach at a substantial savings. We had access to the same beach as the people in the pricey rooms in beach front property. Also, we had a wonderful time talking with the proprietor who came to Ft. Lauderdale to open a motel to make his dreams come true. Much more interesting than a corporate style place with fluffy pillows and an overly priced mini bar that we wouldn’t use anyway.

6. Stay in a place that has free breakfast. Don’t eat that hardboiled egg or fruit for breakfast, but take it along with you for lunch.

7. Think about adjusting the time you spend in an expensive location. Instead of a five-day vacation, pair it down a day. One night less cuts down on the cost. Plus, if you plan out your trip according to the things you most want to see, you’ll leave feeling full and not like you didn’t have enough of a travel meal. Isn’t it better to eat something than nothing at all?

8. Also, think about the places where you have family and friends and combine a vacation with a visit. We’re fortunate to have friends in several places so we pair visits with them with exploring those sites we haven’t seen before. The extra time with our friends is always time worth spent and makes our destinations all that more sweet and memorable. Plus, the people who live in a place know its heartbeat much more than a guidebook does.

9. Decide how much money you’ll spend on souvenirs before you go. An item you buy on the road is part of memory making but you don’t have to go nuts about it. In this case, you’ll be doing as I say and not as I do. Our house looks like a store run by Unicef. You could buy stuff out of our house and I wouldn’t notice.

10. If you have children, make their souvenirs part of this budget. On a trip to Disney World, each of my kids could only spend $15 tops. That cut out a lot of options and arguments. My daughter didn’t buy anything, and my son bought a small stuffed animal which cost $12. The limit helped us corral him through the gift shops at the end of each ride.

No matter what the economy is up to, with planning and adjustments in expectations, travel still remains one of the best deals around. I’ve never regretted it–there are some souvenirs I’ve regretted, but never the trip. The memories I’ve collected are priceless.

Five things to do to survive freakishly cold weather

by Brenda Yun on

Even though I’m sitting pretty here in soggy Hawaii (at least it’s 70 degrees), it is downright freezing in New England, and I’ve experienced that too. My five year stint in New England taught me many things, but most importantly it taught me how to be creative when the weather is frightful. I remember stepping out of my dorm on numerous occasions, taking a deep breath, and choking on the cold air. I remember, too, the Ice Storm of 1998 (it doesn’t feel like a decade ago, but oh well): inches of ice around grass blades and tree branches decorated the roadside — whole trees would snap under the weight.

I attended college in Maine to experience the extreme. Call me crazy, but I chose Maine because I actually hoped my eyes would freeze shut. I thought the weather would keep me inside so that I could study like the nerd that I was. I didn’t anticipate, however, the awfully fun, spontaneous experiences I would have.
Here are five things you can do to survive the cold:

  1. Tubing/Sledding: Twas past midnight in college, and I remember distinctly walking back to my dorm after a long night of studying in the library (I told you I was a nerd). I heard an ecstatic squeal coming from the chapel hill. Amid the curtain of snow I witnessed the most ironic sight: my two neighbors wearing their bathing suits, winter boots and ear mufflers careening down the hill in an inflatable tube.
  2. Ice fishing/Smelting: This is a guy kind of thing, but girls can enjoy this too. Rent a little shack on the water, cut out a hole in the ice, and fish your blues away. It’s not as cold as you think. There’s a little wood stove to provide you with heat, and you can even bed down for the night if you so please.
  3. Hiking/Cross-country skiing: The barren, icy woods are so calm and beautiful when it’s cold out. There’s no one on the streets. Once your body warms up, you can enjoy your own private winter wonderland.
  4. Hot chocolate &/or apple cider: Mmmmm… need I say more?
  5. Volunteer: Shelters need extra help especially when the weather is cold and the power is out. Take some time to lend a hand for an hour or two at your local emergency or homeless shelter.

To be certain, living in very cold weather was the best thing I could have done for my spirit. I have thicker skin in more ways than one, thanks to living in New England, and you can too — right now, even if the power is out and you’re shivering in ten layers of thermal underwear, curled up in a ball under an emergency blanket.

Enjoy the cold! You only live once.

Big in Japan: Sapporo isn’t just about beer!

by Matthew Firestone on

All this month, Big in Japan is on the road in Hokkaid?, Japan’s northernmost island. Join us as we take a look at the rugged wilderness, world-class skiing and remote hot springs that make this winter wonderland so justifiably famous…

The island of Hokkaid? (??????, literally North Sea Circuit) is firmly centered on the capital city of Sapporo (?????).

Famous for liquid lager, miso ramen, the 1972 Winter Olympics and the annual Snow Festival, Sapporo is just as much a destination as it is a springboard for Hokkaid?’s vast wilds.

Voted one of Japan’s most livable cities, Sapporo was designed by European and American architects in the late 19th century, and proudly boasts a wide grid of tree-lined streets and plenty of public parks.

You’ve got to be able to withstand the cold if you want to make through the Siberian winters up here, though fortunately Sapporites have plenty of tricks for staying warm, most of which involve copious amount of frothy brew.

Of course, Sapporo isn’t just about beer, and there are a surprising number of tourist sights in the city.

Keep reading to find out…

While you’re certainly encouraged to down a few pints once the sun sets, avoid hangovers and do a bit of exploring during the day.

Here are some sights worth checking out:

Hokudai Shokubutsuen Although this botanical garden lies in the city center, it boasts no less than 4000 species of plants spread over 14 hectares.

The grounds are also home to a wonderful red brick Natural History Museum that dates from 1882, as well as an Ainu Museum dedicated to the island’s indiginous population.

Clock Tower An obligatory stop on the tourist trail, this Sapporo landmark hasn’t missed the hourly toll in more than 130 years – proof positive that the Japanese were perfectionists even in the 19th century!

Nijō Fish Market Hokkaidō is famous for having some of the freshest sushi and sashimi in all of Japan.

If you want a taste of northern specialties, such as squid, sea urchin roe, crab and salmon, look no further than this expansive fish market.

Yuki Matsuri If it’s February in Sapporo, it’s likely that you’re one of two million visitors to the annual Snow Festival. Most of the action takes place in the Odori Park, where you can snap pics of massive ice sculptures.

After all, Hello Kitty is a lot more impressive when she’s 10 feet tall and frozen solid!!!

And finally…

Sappor Beer-En No visit to Hokkaidō’s capital is complete without a round (or four) of Sapporo lager, especially if it’s served straight from the source.

Here, at the Sapporo Beer Garden, you can feel free to indulge in a liquid lunch.

For all of those purists out there, Sapporo’s signature brew is best served alongside a steamy bowl of miso ramen, or a plate of sizzling lamb and onions. Delicious.

Want to learn more about Hokkaidō? Sure you do!

Tune in all this month as Big in Japan heads north and blogs from the road.

** All images courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons Project **

Undiscovered New York: Christmas display spectacle in Dyker Heights

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome to this week’s edition of Undiscovered New York. The holidays are nearly upon us here in New York, and like much of the rest of the country, the city is in full-on holiday mode. The giant tree is lit in Rockefeller Center, the holiday gift merchants are out in Union Square, and the 50 foot tall animatronic Santas, synchronized light shows and guerilla armies of toy soldiers are waiting out in the Dyker Heights.

Few places on earth can match the pure Christmas zeal of Dyker Heights, a residential neighborhood located in the southwestern Brooklyn. Each year this largely Italian-American community competes to win bragging rights for the title of biggest and best Christmas display. Residents will stop at just about nothing to prove their decorating prowess. Displays include everything from neon-lit manger displays to giant Santas plus enough decorative Christmas lights per square inch power a small country.

The displays are so huge that Dyker Heights has created a mini-cottage tourist industry during the holiday season. Each December as many as 100,000 visitors make the trek to this far flung neighborhood to check out the lights and have their pictures taken among the outlandish and festive decorations.

Are you Christmas crazy? Will you be visiting New York this holiday season? Why not make the trek out to Brooklyn for one of New York’s most unique Christmas spectacles? Click below to learn how to get there and see some video footage from a special Dyker Heights holiday visit by none other than Conan O’Brien.
Where do I find the displays?
The epicenter of the Dyker Heights spectacle is 84th Street, with many of the houses enclosed in the blocks between 80th and 86th Streets and 10th to 13th Avenues putting up some kind of display. Here’s a map to help you get your bearings. Though the most convenient way to get to Dyker Heights is by driving, enterprising visitors can also take the R Train to 86th Street in Brooklyn. Just look for the giant Christmas toddler and polar bear display and you’ll know you’ve made it.

Is it really worth checking out?
Check out this segment from Conan O’Brien if you need any further motivation to go check out the Dyker Heights Christmas spectacle: