The New York Times comes to rescue thankfully and breaks it down in an easy to understand format. Computing Without a Whirring Drive

“Netbooks  are defined as clamshell notebooks with 7in to 10.2in screens, “purpose built for internet use“. – Read more: Intel Explains MID, Netbook Definitions

In this article, I will attempt to explain what it’s all about while leaving the jargon nonsense out.

Simply put, a cloud OS is an Internet based operating system. It means that the applications that you use to perform the different computing tasks that you need to do are Internet based instead of being on your desktop.

An example that will make it easy for anyone to grasp the whole cloud OS concept is email.

Most of us have a Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail personal email account while at work we have an Outlook or other desktop based email client. You could say that Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail are email cloud applications because the software (email client) and the data (the actual email messages) are stored on a cloud* (a metaphor used for the Internet) instead of your desktop.

With cloud operating system, other computing tasks beyond email such as document writing and file storing can be done over the Internet and so Microsoft Word in your computer is not needed nor is an external hard drive to store your data.

What does all this mean?

Well it means that your computer does not have to be that powerful and that you do not have to store everything on a physical hard drive because everything is stored on a server somewhere.

It’s the same principle when you upload your photos to Facebook or Flickr. While most people upload their pictures to such sites to share them with friends, some (me included) store them there because they would rather keep there than on a computer. In that case, they are always accessible no matter the computer used.

Cloud operating systems help out a lot because what you are doing is being on the Internet all the time. The only software that you load up from your desktop is your browser that you need to connect to the Internet to access all your web based applications such as email, photos, music, video and yes word editing (Google Writely or Spreadsheets or Google Calendar to name a few).

Cloud OS benefit netbooks because the netbooks do not need that much power to run the browser that controls the web applications. That’s why netbook manufacturers are adopting them en masse.

They can still include slow processors as long as they can run the browsers that run the cloud applications.

I hope that this makes sense for now. If you have questions, please feel free to drop me a line at the usual contact email address. 

*Photo: notsogood [in malaysia nov18-dec4th]

And then he goes on to do mini-reviews of the Acer Aspire One, Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind U100 and the Asus Eee 1000H (Mr Mossberg calls ASUS “the king of netbooks“) netbooks.

At Notebook Era, I try my best to keep the talk a 100% jargon free. But when it comes to batteries, I had no idea how to approach the topic without getting technical and confusing you and I in the process. 

Thank goodness for Dustin Sklavos at Tablet PC Review. He went all out and wrote a whole guide to how batteries work and exactly how to tell what is what from the different options out there.

Yes, his website is about Tablet PCs but the guide is also very relevant to netbooks. He will tell you:

- Which netbook batteries last forever and which ones dry up within minutes
- How a laptop battery works
- The connection between cells and power hours and what they actually mean
- All about battery life
- How to really shop for netbook battery life
- How long batteries of netbooks can be expected to last
- Which netbook brands have the longest lasting batteries

And that’s just a sample! Check it out for yourself: How It Works: Batteries. Thanks Dustin!

If you have any questions, feedback or other type of comments, please do not hesitate to post to the comment section below or send me an email at jay@netbookera.com.

What is a netbook?

The generally accepted definition (Wikipedia) is that a netbook is a small to medium sized, lightweight, low-cost, energy-efficient laptop, generally optimized for internet based services such as web browsing and e-mailing.

Intel, the company credited with coining the name defines netbooks as “as clamshell notebooks with 7in to 10.2in screens, “purpose built for internet use“” (See:So, What Exactly is a Netbook? )

The Asus Eee PC Netbook is one of the popular netbooks out there at the time of this writing.

What’s the difference between a netbook and a laptop?

The netbook could be called a mini-notebook computer because it’s basically a miniature version of a laptop. The screen is smaller, it’s lighter, it’s cheaper and what really makes it standout from a laptop is that it has a longer battery life and it’s much cheaper (at least on the surface. More on this later).

The most visible difference between netbooks and laptops is the size but also the weight

The software that come with both types of computers are also different. Netbooks tend to come with Lunix or Windows XP Home Edition installed whereas laptops come with Vista (again, the software differences will be discussed later).

What’s the difference between a netbook and a subnotebook (aka the ultraportable or minilaptop)?

A subnotebook is still a lightweight and small notebook. The major difference between this type of computers and netbooks is that subnotebooks run full desktop operating systems whereas netbooks are generally based around using the Internet and checking emails.

In other words, they are much alike physically (size, form, weight) but it’s what they’re able to do that makes them different.

Here at Netbook Era, we also include subnotebooks in the netbook category because you may find yourself wanting a small, light and cheap laptop with a long-life battery that you’d want to use for more than just web browsing or checking email. You may for instance want to work on your essays using Microsoft Word or produce a tune using Live.

What is the difference between netbooks and Tablet PCs?

Wikipedia has the simplest definition once again: a Tablet PC is a notebook or slate-shaped mobile computer, equipped with a touchscreen or graphics tablet/screen hybrid technology which allows the user to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse. I should also add that these buggers are pretty expensive!

In this case, a picture is worth a thousand definitions. Below, you will see a picture of a Tablet PC (also called pen computers). By the looks of it, you will see a clear difference between this type of ultra mobile computer and a netbook and subnotebook.

Notice the lack of a keyboard or mouse? Photo courtesy: diluvi

What is the difference between a netbook and an Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC)?

UMPC is the name used to describe the shape and size of Tablet PCs, netbooks and subnotebooks. It would be like to Starbucks and you’re asked whether you want your coffee in a large, medium or small cup.

I have no idea who came up with such a jargon filled term that only seems to confuse consumers when that same person could have just said minilaptop or mininotebook (tongue in cheek).

What came first? The netbook or the subnotebook?

The subnotebook came first. They were first spotted in the early 90s as really small laptops. Only in 2007, did the first mainstream netbook branch out from subnotebooks courtesy of computer maker Asus who released ASUS Eee PC for sale to the general public creating the revolution that seem poised to make laptops as passé as what the laptop computers did to desktops.

If you really wanted to get technical, computer maker Psion coined the term in 1999 but it’s really Asus that put it on the map.