Nine Applications to Make You a Netbook Rockstar

Look to the cloud to expand let your Netbook reach new heights.

Netbooks are the way to go for mobile computing. The iPhone can do a several things, but the typing for a man with hands that belong on Neanderthal. The feet about the same problem, I won’t attempt typing them.

The latest Intel Atom can churn through data impressively on the newer Netbooks. Still there are large programs can choke them down, much like it will some desktops. The limited resources shouldn’t deter any Netbook user from tackling projects in general, they should just look to the clouds. As in cloud computing.

Cloud computing can be something as simple as web-based e-mail to office productivity programs. Instead of having the programs installed on the hard drive of your computer they are installed and running on servers connected to the Internet through different software providers. The term of Software as a Service (SaaS) is also used to describe this type of computing. The advantage is that you do not need a lot of computing power of your end to run these programs as they are running on a group of servers. There are more examples of cloud computing than I will cover at this time, but The Cloud is one the best things to happen to computing since a couple of Steves started building computers in a garage.

Here are just a few of the cloud based programs that can help you complete the same core task you would want to do at home or at work. Keep in mind that you can also use these software services on any computer also.

Office

Google Docs is a full featured suite of office applications that can replace Microsoft Office in a pinch. Docs is built on top of Google’s App Engine. Google is constantly improving Docs to build an office platform for all users. Several Fortune 500 companies have Gone Google and switched Docs over Microsoft Office.

Social Wok lets you create an online work group that resembles Facebook in look and function that any group ware I have seen before. Twitter updates, videos, documents, spreadsheets and other can be uploaded and  shared for brainstorming. Social Wok is built with the Google App Engine, so all you need to get started is a Google account and a be Docs user.

Money

Manage your companies finances with QuickBooks Online. Intuit has their famous QuickBooks as an online version so you can user anywhere you have an internet connection. The price range is from free to $34.95 a month. If you have ever had your computer die along with your accounting, you know the nightmare that followed with hoping the last back-up is current and that you can restore the back-up. Having you accounting in a cloud computing it will take more than one computer to die before you data is a lost. Also there are several encrypted back-ups in several locations that Intuit can restore.

For personal finance look at Mint.com to synchronize and manage you checking, savings, credit cards and investments. The cloud based app was recently purchased by Intuit and remains free.

Telecommunication

Staying touch with local and long distance phone calls and video conferencing with Skype is simple and inexpensive. Netbooks with built-in or added on Bluetooth can use your wireless headset just as you would with a cell phone. Skype has several plans and options with some being a local dial in number, dialing out, voicemail and call forwarding. The service starts from free for PC to PC calls and goes up from there.

Video Editing

JayCut is an online video editing platform that thinks it’s a social network or is it a social network that thinks it’s a video editing suite. The JayCut editor has a long ways to go before it unseats AVID, Premiere or Final Cut, but it have enough features to create a professional looking edit

Photograph Editing

Editing of photographs and images is as simple or advanced as you want from Aviary. The Aviary graphics suite can also create, edit and store vector graphics and multi-track recordings. I can see the Aviary company also entering the video editing field in the near future. Aviary price is free or $24.99 per year.

Health Care and Record

Health care is part the national conversation and one the biggest changes lawmakers are wanting to cut medical cost is electronic medical records. Google Health is one product that is already avoidable for all to use. The online program can help you organize your medical records importing records from health care providers such as doctors, clinics, insurance companies and pharmacies along with you scans of older records. Once you have your health profile together you can allow access to who you see fit and check to see who has looked at your records.

Personally when I recently had a trip to the physician’s office I had to see a different doctor who prescribed some medications. As I was getting the prescription filled I began to update the visit to my Health file and it warned of a possible drug interaction that I was able to share with the pharmacist, who then contacted the doctor to correct the prescription.

File Sharing

Box.net is the easiest way to share documents and files period. On top of that you can let your friends drop files for you online if you allowing them access.

Update: June 17, 2010: Since this was first published and now I’ve changed my recommendation from Box.net to :Google Docs. Docs offers the the ability to upload files other than Office-type files that can be stored securely online where you can access your files from anywhere. The price is is $0 for normal use and go to $29 a year for heavy business (10gb_users.

A Growing Market

The programs discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg.  I just covered the ones that would allow Netbook user accomplish the same task that they would have on larger, more expensive laptop or desktop.

More developers are distributing their software online to reduce cost and improve reliability. The CD and DVD installations on your computer’s hard drive will slowly become a thing of the past, like the floppy drive. A Netbook can preform every new online arenas and making everyone more productive.