Netbook

It's February, the month set aside to celebrate African American heritage. This year's celebration is enhanced by the fact that for the first time in American history, the citizens of the U.S. have chosen a president of mixed heritage - President Barack Obama. So, in honor of both occasions, here are a few Web pages featuring our new president. President Barack Obama's page on the official White House site at www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president_obama/ . Biography.

When the netbook crazy took off, one of the common complaints dealt with the netbook’s keyboard. Some claimed the keyboard was too cramped while others complained of the layout of the keys. The netbook keyboard complaints made me chuckle after a recent experience setting up a new laptop. I began to think about the many other laptops I’ve set up in the past, which brought me to this topic of keyboard layouts. Most PC desktops and laptops have from six to seven full rows of keys.

Netbooks, netbooks and more netbooks! OK, so it's no secret, I love netbooks! But I'm getting to the point where I will probably have to commit myself into tech rehab soon. Tech rehab - the state of mind I must put myself into when a bit of technology comes around that engulfs me. I've gone there only once before, back in the early 90s when the Internet first became more accessible to the public. I was totally addicted to the Internet during the pre-Web days. Back then, that was long distant Internet access via telnet (i.e.

Netbook fans who also are logo sticker-loving computer users should be forewarned about the upcoming Windows 7 logo sticker. Don't be surprised if you see an Atom-based netbook capable of running Windows 7 but doesn't display a Windows 7 logo sticker. The reason for the absence of the Windows 7 logo sticker on these netbooks is because the current Atom processors do not support the 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Only systems that can handle all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 will be allowed to carry the Windows 7 logo.

Netbooks were listed among my 2008 technology favorites. I was lucky enough to test three different brands of netbooks - Asus' Eee PC ( http://eeepc.asus.com/global/index.html ), Acer's Aspire One ( www.acer.com/aspireone ) and Dell's Mini 9 ( www.dell.com/mini ). I actually tested four different machines because two were different version of the Eee PC. Here is my personal take on those four netbooks. The Eee PC 4G was black and it has a 4GB Solid-State Disk (SSD)

Hurrah for us! The chance to purchase a subsidized netbook is finally an option here in the U.S. The 3G netbooks are subsidized when purchased in combination with a mobile data plan. Dell was the first netbook manufacturer to provide this option. Dell is offering its Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with an optional AT&T built-in mobile broadband for an additional $125. Dell's offer includes a $120 rebate when you sign up for a new, two-year, $60-per-month AT&T service plan. Read more at Click here to see Website . Other netbook manufacturers also are offering their netbooks with AT&T 3G access.

Students are heading back to school soon and families are faced with the question of which portable computing device is best to handle the job for students. In this week's column, I will compare features of notebooks versus netbooks. There are several key topics to compare between notebooks and netbooks. Here are a few: Cost: Features determine the price ranges in this category. Retail prices for new budget notebooks start as low as $298 and top off at $400. Midrange to high-end notebooks are $450 and higher.

Cloud gaming adds some spice to the holiday season. Gamers who participate in cloud gaming can play games instantly. There is no high-end hardware required and no need for patching or upgrading either. OnLive, a cloud gaming service, began providing streaming games to entry-level PCs and Macintosh computers via broadband Internet connections in March 2009. Next month, OnLive will expand their gaming service by including gaming via TVs. OnLive will begin shipping their OnLive Game System on Dec. 2. The system will enable gamers to play on the OnLive game service on their HDTV via their broadband Internet connection.

We all know times are tough at the moment, economically speaking. Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to include at least one free software product in my column. So, from now until the end of the year, I will direct you readers to at least one such offering. Folks would be surprised at how much great free stuff there is out there. Now, keep in mind I'm not just referring to simple utility programs or just your typical freeware offerings. On the contrary, I'm planning to also direct you to full version commercial products that are being given away during special promotions.