Just about everyone who reads tech blogs has run into a title like “Essential Apps for Your New PC” or “These Apps Will Save Your Life”. The purpose of a netbook is to run light applications and use the web for most productivity. However, there are other offline uses like: ebook reader, journal,sketch book, media player, etc, etc. What I wasn’t able to find, when actually looking, however, was a list of lightweight, practical, free (preferably open source) and “cloudless” applications for a netbook running Windows XP. As far as I know, these apps will also run on Vista and Windows 7, the  exceptions being the XP-specific programs at the bottom.

Here is my list and some notes.

• Abiword, Gnumeric, XMind, Foxit Reader, and NoteTab Light

These are all you need for basic office applications. They are free, lightweight and highly customizable. They are  a word processor, a spread sheet application, a mind mapping software, a PDF reader and a Notepad replacement. Downloaded, they’re less than 50 MB—very impressive when compared to just about any office suite.

• MPlayer for Windows and MagicDisc

For media! MPlayer will handle anything you throw at it and has plenty of plugins to boot. MagicDisc allows you to mount any .ISO file as though you have a CD/DVD player on your netbook. Many netbooks don’t actually have an optical drive, so it’s very helpful.

• Avast! Antivirus Home Edition and 7-Zip

Play safe online and use a free antivirus application that doesn’t bog down your machine. Of course, only use Home Edition for personal use. 7-Zip is an all-around useful archiving tool that makes opening archives of any type a snap. I originally mentioned universal uninstaller, but I think 7-zip is more reliable and is a more active project.

• Firefox, Thunderbird, IE7Pro and Pidgin

When you do go online, use these apps to make your life easier. Firefox and Thunderbird have a ton of addons to customize browsing and email just as you like it. If you use IE, though, IE7Pro is a great tool to customize it and block ads. Pidgin is your one stop shop for instant messaging. It can handle AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! and more out of the box. It can also do Facebook chat and others with the aid of plugins.

• Paint.Net and Gadwin PrintScreen

Need to do some image editing without large, bulky software? Paint.net is a really robust application with a small footprint. Gadwin PrintScreen adds just enough extra to Windows’ builtin printscreen command to make it worth your while—without getting in the way or using extra resources.

• Belarc Advisor and TinyResMeter

What if something goes wrong on your netbook, or things are running slowly? Belarc Advisor and TinyResMeter are great trouble shooting tools. Only install Belarc for personal use.

And tools that should have been included in XP by default but were not:

• Sync Toy – a simple folder synchronization tool for easy backups (will work on Vista/7)
• Alt-Tab Replacement – a clearer way to switch between application windows
• QuickMonth Calendar – mouse over your task bar date and see the whole month

I hope these suggestions help someone outfit their netbook and keep it running trim!

On Oct. 22, Microsoft will release Windows 7. Touted to be a faster and much better operating system than the much-maligned Windows Vista, it is seen as the OS whose time has finally come!

After October’s release nearly all new computers will be pre-loaded with Windows 7, and the rest of us will need to determine if it is time to upgrade from Vista or XP.

Windows XP is still the most popular version of Windows, despite having its initial release in 2001. Having done the job for these nine years, it’s now showing its age when it comes to security, networking and other interface features more important today.

Windows 7 boosts productivity and is easy to use. Fandotech is ready to recommend Windows 7 to our client base. Windows 7 has fixed the flaws in Vista and has finally given Microsoft customers a reason to move up from XP. And Windows 7 is packed with features that create an easier, richer user experience.

Windows 7 Summary

• Introduces real advances in organizing your programs and files, arranging your taskbar and desktop.
• Allows quick viewing and launching of a page or document.
• Built-in touch-screen features.
• Removes organizational clutter.
• It is more efficient than Vista and is not sluggish.
• Compatible with most third-party software and hardware.
• Fits in a reasonable hardware configuration.
• Limits the constant, annoying security warnings present with Vista.
• Works on a broad range of hardware platforms – the WSJ tested Windows 7 on 11 different computers, ranging from netbooks to standard laptops to desktops. These included machines from Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer, Asus, Toshiba and Sony, and yes – wait for it… even on an Apple Macintosh laptop.

The Upgrade
Windows 7 will come pre-loaded on most new purchases. For those with existing equipment, the upgrade path will vary.

1. Vista to Windows 7: This upgrade is doable but lengthy. It can take from an hour to several hours. The system for upgrading is complicated, but Vista migrates keeping all files, settings and programs in place.

Some upgrades may result in:

• Slow start-up and reboot times.
• Some features, like the display or touchpad may not work properly.
• Some drivers may need to be restored.
• Requires add-on security software re-install.

2. XP to Windows 7: The transition for XP is just plain hard. It requires wiping out the hard drive (after backing up their files offline!), then going forward from scratch.

Note that the Windows 7 Transfer wizard moves only personal files, not programs. Therefore it has limited use in the XP to Windows 7 upgrade which is long and painful. Also, Windows 7 no longer has several built-in applications, such as email, photo organizing, address book, calendar and video-editing programs.

All in all, these are exciting times. The industry is clamoring that Windows has hit the nail on the head with this release…just 2 more days and we’ll be able to see for ourselves!

John Boyd

In January of 2007, Microsoft released what some would say is one of the worst software products in the market. I’m talking about none other than Microsoft’s current operating system, Windows Vista. Now, I know that some of you who just read those words may have had a cold chill run down your spine, but I’m here to talk about why I don’t think Windows Vista desserves such negative views.

I admit I was one of the many who criticized the entire operating system before I ever had a chance to work with it. And I’ll be among the first to admit that I was wrong. I have been using Windows Vista on my personal computer for about six months now in a dual boot environment with Windows XP. It’s been about five months since I’ve used Windows XP on that computer. Let me address the top three complaints I’ve heard about Vista:

• It’s a resource hog. While this canbe true, I’ve found that people are looking at the requirements to run Windows Vista Premium. In reality, Windows Vista Basic requires only an 800 Mhz Processor, and 512Mb of RAM. Most of the computers you can buy today come with at least these specs. Vista is only a real resource hog when you want to use nice features such as Windows Areo (the slick semi-transparent interface), or all of the new advanced display options. While these features are great, they’re not essential, and I could live without them if I had to.
  

  Windows Vista logo

• The User Account Control (UAC) feature is irritating. This is that little message that pops up every time you try to run a program, or install a new program, or make a change to anything inside of the system. I will admit that I was endlessly annoyed with it, but after disabling it, I found my experience with Windows Vista was far smoother. While this is mostly okay for personal computers, I do not recommend it for a corporate environment. Whether at home or work, the UAC can actually help detect a rogue program trying to make changes within the system, so disabling it makes your system a bit more vulnerable. The easiest way to disable User Account Control is to open up the control panel in Windows. Once inside this window you can type ‘UAC’ in the search box located in the upper right hand corner of the window. The first result of the search should be, “Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off”. Simply click this option, and make sure the check box on the next screen is not selected. Windows will show one last UAC prompt to make sure that this is what you wanted to do, and then Windows will ask you to reboot the machine. Once the PC starts up again you should no longer be prompted by the UAC to make changes.
• Windows Vista won’t run programs that run in Windows XP. While I can’t vouch for every program ever made, I can say I have yet to personally encounter a program that runs fine in Windows XP but not in Windows Vista. I have installed programs that range from Microsoft Office to Rational Rose. I suppose that there may be cases of a software company that does not support its product running in a Windows Vista environment, but I have yet to run into even one case of that.

I feel that Windows Vista is a hidden gem, and because of a few minor bugs that showed up when it first came out, it developed an undeserved reputation. I also feel that if people would just give Vista a chance, they will be impressed with it. Yes, there are some annoyances, but with a few small tweaks, these annoyances can become a thing of the past. If you really want to try Vista, but don’t want to buy it, go to your local Staples or Circuit City and try some of the floor models they have, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

Chuck Lindblom