How to make your netbook a perfectly useful tool for school.
Sure, iPads are in. Tablets are all the rage. Even your favorite local Geek is rejoicing over tablet ownership. But here's what no one is telling you:
No matter how cheap the tablet, it will never be a full substitute for a netbook or laptop in school situations.
"Hmm," you might wonder, "Why the heck is that?"
Well, mostly because the tablet isn't designed to produce bundles of material. Sure, it's a great replacement for the usual binder or notebook, and apps like Evernote and StudyBlue mean you can take your notes from class and study without having to kill an entire forest to make flashcards, but it's not made to churn out papers. It isn't built to handle the amount of Excel/Numbers that your statistics class will need. And since you don't want to be that douche setting up a tiny fortress of accessories every time you head for the library, the on-screen keyboard is probably going to annoy the heck out of you someday.
So if you're a budget conscious student who values portability, what can you do? Netbooks are notoriously awful: not enough memory, not enough battery life to justify their size, limited storage capacity! What's a Geek to do?
FEAR NOT! I'm here to help. The following is a list of five upgrades you can make to your existing netbook or a netbook you're looking to purchase. Some of them might surprise you, and ALL of them will get (or keep!) your netbook running so well that a tablet seems like a stupid purchase.
Most modern netbooks can hold way, WAY more RAM than they come out of the box with, and upgrading your RAM is a really inexpensive way to give you more bang for your buck. If you're not comfortable opening your unit and performing the transplant, you can ask your local Geek to do it for you. I recently double the RAM on my netbook and can tell you up front: this was the biggest performance differentiator. Since it also took some of the strain off of the processor (causing the processor to overheat less and the processor fan to run less), it also helped extend my battery life. Win-win!
Estimated Upgrade Cost: $35 - $50
Your economy netbook probably didn't come with the amount of storage space you wanted. It probably also didn't come with a hard drive of the performance level you'd want or,say, a fancy hard drive stabilizer. If you've gotten a chance to create restore media (USB or DVDs--it doesn't come with your netbook anymore!) so that you can reinstall your operating system, a hard drive upgrade might work in your favor. I'm a huge fan of either the Seagate Momentus line or Western Digital's Scorpio Black with shock protection (models ending in BEKT). Both models will be slight performance upgrades, protect your data, and come with 5 year manufacturer warranties. Not to mention you can now store more music, movies and nonsense! important student-y stuff.
Estimated Upgrade Cost: $65 - $90
3. An External Multi-Drive
One of the great things about a netbook is how light and portable it is--unfortunately, that comes at the expense of a CD/DVD-RW Drive. Lucky for you, these drives have gone way down in price. I'd definitely suggest buying one with your netbook (to burn the almighty recovery discs) or having your recovery discs created by your local Geek at time of purchase. Don't underestimate the value of having this little drive in your arsenal, though! It's a great item to have if you even need to troubleshoot your little monster.
Estimated Upgrade Cost: $30 - 40
4. An Extended Life Battery
You're a student. You go: to class, to work, to the library, to a friend's house, to your parents' to ask for cash for a visit, and who knows where else. The last thing you want is to be lugging an A/C adapter everywhere with you. Yes, these batteries are larger, but the extra 8 oz. is a sacrifice you'll be willing to make when you realize you're the only one at the study group with a still-living laptop. As an added bonus, the extra size tends to prop up your netbook keyboard, making the set-up more ergonomic. Fight our generation's true enemy: carpal tunnel!
If you can, look for a generic battery that is compatible with your model and read the reviews. Manufacturer's batteries can be significantly pricier based almost entirely on branding.
Estimated Upgrade Cost: $40+
5. Cloud-Based Antivirus Software
No matter how much you upgrade it, your netbook will still be a unit that was designed for mobility over performance. Now you've got it running like a zippy little beast, you're hesitant to install that almighty eater of the CPU: antivirus software. Don't fret, my friends, because Panda Antivirus has given us a new option.
This sturdy, malware-smashing company has created Panda Cloud Antivirus software, which runs on remote servers. This means it's not using your computer's resources to run! This might not matter much on a top-of-the-line build or be a plus for someone who hordes their bandwith for gaming, but for you, this is golden. Added bonus? Panda offers a free version for download, which is right within your budget.
Estimated Upgrade Cost: FREE!
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So there you have it. This is how I got my netbook running like a dream, and I hope if you use any of the suggestions that you'll have a success story for me. If you've become a master of limited resources, too, feel free to share your tips! I can always use some more info for my arsenal.
