Netbooks

[anon]

'Sup,

as some of you may know, I'll be getting a free netbook courtesy of my country's government, and it looks like it will finally arrive tomorrow.

So, because I love you so much and have a similar amount of trust for your knowledge, I'd really appreciate if you could give me any tips I should be aware of, as well as programs that may come useful, stuff like that.

Thanks in advance!

[Mihai]

Glad you're getting it finally.I'm not sure you actually need advice since you know pretty well your way around operating systems and computers.The only thing I could recommend is joining a forum where you can find other people who share the same netbook and use it for a long time.They should know all you might want to now.

[anon]

Thanks for your trust on my l33t skillz, but I've never used a netbook in my life, so there's a lot I don't know, and that doesn't necessarily apply to this specific model. For example, that you should always let it "breath" through its chassis, or that leaving it running overnight (which I plan to) without a base cooler will eventually rip it apart - two lessons a few of my father's friends had to learn the hard way. So I'd appreciate tips like that.

The only thing I could recommend is joining a forum where you can find other people who share the same netbook and use it for a long time.They should know all you might want to now.

"Ding-dong, yo, anyone else got teh government netbook? Any stuff I should know?"

[cheatos]

Finally !!!

or that leaving it running overnight (which I plan to)

then the battery info is useful:

#1, The battery The battery The battery

1) Don't leave the netbook plugged in for a long period of time, you'll damage the battery
just like me: (i know you've seen it before, but i'm using the vB4 nifty attachment system)


Laptop battery tips at laptop-battery.org

New battery pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.

New battery pack must be fully charged before use.

And:

http://www.ataarticles.com/computers-hardware-laptops/how-to-prolong-sony-vaio-laptop-battery-life-in-less-than-1-minute/

For many business users, they use the same laptop in office and on travel. If you are leaving the battery connected while on AC power in office, it’s in the loss of charge cycles. Battery’s temperature is higher on AC power resulting in accelerated aging. That’s not good for battery’s life. Therefore, just use the battery when you need it. When on traveling, try to rely only fitfully on your batteries. The optimal charge level is 40% for prolonged storage. For Lithium-Ion Sony VAIO laptop battery cells, full discharge/recharge cycles result in an increased loss of capacity, so, partial charge is better for keeping the battery life. If you run your laptop remotely all the time causing deep battery drains, you won’t get as much life out of your batteries.

#2, Windows 7? downgrade to XP (I'm sure you'll install xp anon's edition on it though )

#3, Don't eat on it, seriously.

#4, Don't leave it exposed to dust, sand-storms (if you have any in your country ), and clean around it, if you do like me; leave it on, in the same place for days...

Or you'll have to take the whole netbook apart, which I did, and that was a sensitive "experiment" which caused a little headache to me!

#5, netbook huh?, get some money ready for an external CD/DVD reader

And finally, pics or it didn't happen (when you get it)

[anon]

1. is 12 hours a long period of time? I've learned the full charge and discharge trick from reading a computer magazine. It applies to other stuff that's battery-powered, also.

2. yep, Windows 7 (and a local Linux distro). Thanks to the theft-deterrent system, I won't be able to switch for a while. But afterwards, it's FORMAT C: (a mere expression, as the XP setup program can format disks by itself) and MicroXP with a side of fries.

3. I don't do that.

4. No sandstorms. Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Dust and technological toys don't carry on well, in general.

5. already have one.

Will of course post some pics once I get it!

[cheatos]

1. is 12 hours a long period of time?

I'm not really sure, there is no definite answer about batteries,
because usually laptops are to be carried out and just for travels.

If I had a new laptop I won't put 12 hours plugged in, I think cheating common-sense fits better here,
batteries don't die immediately and there is no approximate age (my father's 6 years old battery hasn't died yet which is only used for travels, on the other hand I've killed 2 batteries since 3 years so far )

2. yep, Windows 7 (and a local Linux distro). Thanks to the theft-deterrent system, I won't be able to switch for a while. But afterwards, it's FORMAT C: (a mere expression, as the XP setup program can format disks by itself) and MicroXP with a side of fries.

So you'll use Windows 7 :wohoo:!
I bet you'll like it!...even if it will make the netbook slow.

3. I don't do that.

good, because i cleaned tons of biscuit pieces from the small keyboard

[anon]

You've got to love noobs that use this place as a trading hub and don't search nor use the Thanks button.

I'm not really sure, there is no definite answer about batteries,
because usually laptops are to be carried out and just for travels.

If I had a new laptop I won't put 12 hours plugged in, I think cheating common-sense fits better here,
batteries don't die immediately and there is no approximate age (my father's 6 years old battery hasn't died yet which is only used for travels, on the other hand I've killed 2 batteries since 3 years so far )

Fair enough. You're right about common sense, it may not be a good idea to stress the netbook out so much on its first day. Maybe I'll tell my friends it's OK and see what happens when they leave their terminals running constantly.

So you'll use Windows 7 :wohoo:!
I bet you'll like it!...even if it will make the netbook slow.

I'd appreciate if any of you could give tips to make 7 faster and turn unused stuff off, like TuneUp or ServiceTuner for XP. I could go and try different apps myself, but an experienced tip-off would be better

good, because i cleaned tons of biscuit pieces from the small keyboard

There's lots of junk in my desktop keyboard, also.

[theintervurt]

Are you planning to use your netbook as some sort of low-bandwidth home seedbox ?

[anon]

Yes, among other things. I doubt it can be considered a seedbox when it's on a 3/0.2 line, though. More of a leechbox.

[cheatos]

You've got to love noobs that use this place as a trading hub and don't search nor use the Thanks button.

I should have ignored them or told them to use the search, my bad,
as for the 'Thanks' I'm not caring about them anymore

Fair enough. You're right about common sense, it may not be a good idea to stress the netbook out so much on its first day. Maybe I'll tell my friends it's OK and see what happens when they leave their terminals running constantly.

. thats soo evil

I'd appreciate if any of you could give tips to make 7 faster and turn unused stuff off, like TuneUp or ServiceTuner for XP. I could go and try different apps myself, but an experienced tip-off would be better

I'm a fan of raw OSes as you know , I don't use these utilities because I've never believed in them,
but whenever I install Windows 7 I Do:
1) Turn Off System Restore
2) Disable taskbar grouping thing because its so damn annoying
3) Remove/Exit/Disable the annoying Gadget bar

But I heard:
1) Turning off search indexing is a good idea
2) Disabling Aero would be better specially if its a netbook

Notes:
1) UAC shouldn't be disabled, it may be annoying but it protects the computer, also Windows 7's UAC is much less annoying than Vista's.
2) You shouldn't use 'Maximum Performance' power profile all the time, the fan's sound will get higher and it'd never shut-up (annoying at night if the netbook will be in your room), use Balanced for non-cpu intensive tasks.

---
Probably, users of those utilities will help you much better than me.

[desodorante]

I will skip any tweaking tips, and get to the point:

-Notebooks do not heat up that much, so you do not really need a base. In fact those thigs hardly work.
Just make sure it is not in the sun light, keep it open and all vents clean. A running draft is helpful.

-Remove the battery and plug in the charger whenever you are not in the move, this will extend your battery lifespan.

-I wouldn't let it run all night long...If you do not have any other choice, just make sure there is a low CPU usage and a minimum ammount of I/O

-DO NOT leave it in hibernate mode on your bag pack! (yes some people actually do this!)

-If you plan on transporting it a lot, get a good bagpack, and don't run when carrying it!

-Make sure to clean all vents. A good trick is to place a vacuum cleaner on them so you can "suck out" all the filth (As long as it is not an industrial vacuum )


That is pretty much all I know

Good luck!

[cheatos]

-DO NOT leave it in hibernate mode on your bag pack! (yes some people actually do this!)

Why not?
hibernate *shuts down(no fans/no lights)* the computer, so it'll appear as its turned off, then it'll resume windows normally,

maybe you meant not to use Stand By?
because (stand by) doesn't turn off the computer and will make the netbook heats if the it was in a bag, because its still running...

In fact, I read somewhere that hibernate is recommended for laptops/netbooks!

[theintervurt]

Yes, among other things. I doubt it can be considered a seedbox when it's on a 3/0.2 line, though. More of a leechbox.

That is exactly what I' had been thinking the past 2 months since my pc does drain a decent amount of power because of keeping it running all day and all night. I am mainly planning to get cheating tools on there rather than download with it.
I see people talking about windows 7 on a netbook and it sounds a little strange. I never had one so you could say I am just a nub but think about this' ubuntu is a well known linux distro which is obviously a lot more lightweight than windows in general and still canonical have released a netbook version of it. So why put 7 on a netbook since its heavier than linux and not optimized for netbooks
desodorante are you sure its safe to keep a netbook running continuesly without something to cool it off ?

[desodorante]

That is exactly what I' had been thinking the past 2 months since my pc does drain a decent amount of power because of keeping it running all day and all night. I am mainly planning to get cheating tools on there rather than download with it.
I see people talking about windows 7 on a netbook and it sounds a little strange. I never had one so you could say I am just a nub but think about this' ubuntu is a well known linux distro which is obviously a lot more lightweight than windows in general and still canonical have released a netbook version of it. So why put 7 on a netbook since its heavier than linux and not optimized for netbooks
desodorante are you sure its safe to keep a netbook running continuesly without something to cool it off ?

Unfortunately Ubuntu is hardly lighter than windows were it stands today. Windows 7 is supposedly optimized to work with netbook's hardware.
It all depends on the specifics of the netbook hardware, but as you all may imagine, a netbook has a way more delicate circuitry than a notebook and let alone a desktop.

hibernate *shuts down(no fans/no lights)* the computer, so it'll appear as its turned off, then it'll resume windows normally,

Hibernating does not shut off the computer, just parts of it, which in the case of a notebook is nothing more than the HDD and probably an underclocked CPU.
Heat is still generated, which is not good when inside a bagpack, under the ~100°F in Buenos Aires during summer

[cheatos]

Hibernating does not shut off the computer, just parts of it, which in the case of a notebook is nothing more than the HDD and probably an underclocked CPU.
Heat is still generated, which is not good when inside a bagpack, under the ~100°F in Buenos Aires during summer

Hibernating does shutdown the computer for me,
I do that when i need to remove the battery,
so i put windows into Hibernation, remove the battery, turn it back on..

Do you have a laptop/netbook?
maybe you're doing it the wrong way.

Anyway:

Stand by:

Your machine recovers quickly as your data is stored in RAM. The slower part is waking up the peripherals. Although your machine is in "standby" the power has been cut to items such as your hard drive and monitor. You're running your machine in a very low power mode, but it is still on. This mode can be useful if you're on a notebook and need to conserve your battery while you step away.

With Hibernate:

The big difference is that your PC has shut down and is not pulling power. Another difference is that your data is saved to your hard disk and not RAM. This makes it a safer, but slower option for shut down and resume.

http://lifehacker.com/311701/hibernate-vs-standby