This is a perfect package for being on the go. With wireless hotspots popping up everywhere you can pull your netbook out of your bag and browse the internet, type a quick email, read an ebook, or even listen to a little music. How can you get the most out of your tiny computer?

First, remember that a netbook, though powerful for the small package it comes wrapped in, is not your typical home computer. It’s meant to be portable and light weight – both in the literal sense that it weighs very little, and that it doesn’t have the capacity to run heavy duty programs.

So you’ll want to use your netbook for what it’s meant for – simple things like you’ve learned above. Most netbooks come with one gigabyte of RAM, but almost all of those can easily be upgraded to two gigabytes, which will give you a little more power.

The next thing you’re going to want to do is get your netbook even leaner. Computer manufactures are notorious for loading new computers down with a whole bunch of programs you’ll never use. These programs are affectionately called “bloatware” because they literally bloat your computer. You want to get rid of them.

Take off what you’re not going to use. Make sure you use the program’s uninstall option or use the “Add/Remove Programs” in your Windows control panel so you uninstall the program cleanly. You can also use a small utility called “PC Decrapifier” to remove these programs. It’s free for home use and once you’re done with it, you just delete its file. I’ve used it on several new computers and I’ve found it works quickly and it works well.

As you remove applications you’ll never use, consider which applications you will use. Try and select lighter-weight programs that won’t take up a lot of resources as you run them. Firefox is a good web browser. It’s very secure and it doesn’t use a lot of resources – as long as you don’t load it down with a lot of add-ins! Save the plugins and other effects for your home computer. Keep your netbook clean and efficient.

You want a web browser and you’ll probably also want an office suite. Consider a minimal install that covers the basics – word processing, a spreadsheet, and possibly an email/calendar client. The Microsoft Office suite is a good one to try. It comes with these basics as well as a nice note-taking application that can be especially useful if you’re using your netbook in classes or meetings. Open Office is an open-source application that costs nothing and can be customized to the programs you need. Microsoft Office and Open Office are completely compatible with one another, so you can move files between programs.

A final tip for your netbook is to take advantage of the full screen mode offered by most programs. Netbook screens are tiny, so maximizing your program to take up the full window can make a big difference. The F11 key puts many programs into full screen mode, so give it a try and see if it helps you get more from your netbook’s beautiful, but tiny, screen!

Hard drives are the most commonplace way to store data, although they’re mechanical contraptions and can conk out or crash at any time. When they crash, you’ll typically lose all of your information, which can put you in quite a bind. To be ready and keep yourself protected, you should invariably have a backup plan, like an outside hard drive.

An exterior hard drive is very handy to have around. You can store any kind of file on it, including music and pictures. The majority of people try them for film recordings, when they can store a great amount of videos. You can get them in lot of different sizes, going as high as 500 GB. If you have a lot of video on your computer that is selecting some of a lot of much needed space, you can simply transfer it to an external drive and free up some of your space.

On the information recovery side of things, exterior hard drives are a good answer. You can support your entire drive on them, even a mirror image. Most outside drives are FireWire or USB compatible and will work on most computers. To use an outside drive all you have to do is connect it to your computer. Then, using the software that came with the device, you can begin to transfer your data and files.

If you have a huge hard drive, you’ll like to get a bigger outside hard drive. If you’re transferring your entire internal drive to the outside drive, it may take you a few minutes. You can also add files and such along the way as well, if you get newer files to add. Backing up your entire hard drive to an outside drive is a very smart idea, particularly when your area gets a great amount of electrical storms.

As soon as you have backed up all of your information to an external drive, you can remain confident that your information will be there when you require it. External drives don’t crash, for the simple fact that they aren’t utilized until you need them. They’ll last you years as well, which makes them great for pictures and other precious files. If you own a company, you may see them to the best method to store your company documents and other files that relate to your business.

On the whole, outside disc drives are the flawless way to establish a back up of your information. Once you have your data backed up, you’ll be prepared for something that happens to your internal hard drive. In the occasion of a crash, you can use your outside drive and transfer the data back to your hard drive, and be the contingency plan and running very fast, in the least. Exterior drives take all of the guess work out of the information recovery process – and may also save you the difficulty of needing to send your hard drive off to be fixed.