However, with a little bit of hardware hacking, you can add GPS functionality to just about any netbook... Add a Second Memory Card Reader One of the defining features of a netbook is a
Trang 1Chapter 22: Top Ten Internet Netbook Resources
related to Dell’s Mini line of netbooks
netbooks
commentary
aggregator that pulls headlines from many popular netbook sites No photos or frills; just the facts, ma’am
lives in Tokyo, Japan, so you find out what’s happening in Asia Most books debut in Taiwan and Japan before appearing in the United States and Europe, so you get a sneak peek
netbooks, this site has everything you need
British computer review site that provides some of the best, no-holds barred reviews of netbooks on the Web
As you can see, there are a whole lot of Web sites devoted to netbook news and reviews — and I haven’t even come close to listing them all
For any netbook blog, check whether the author offers an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed or Twitter tweet That way you can easily check whether new content has been added without visiting the full Web site
Trang 2324 Part V: The Part of Tens
Trang 3Chapter 23
Ten Cool Hardware Hacks
In This Chapter
▶ Backlighting a keyboard
▶ Adding an internal GPS receiver
▶ Swapping in a touch screen
▶ Making an extended battery
▶ Modifying the case
▶ Hacking hardware without solder
▶ Adding a second memory card reader
▶ Turning a netbook into a picture frame
▶ Installing an external Wi-Fi antenna jack
Good, Igor You’re just in time (Cue high voltage electricity arcing
through the air in a dark, dank, evil scientist’s dungeon lair.) The ject is on the table, and I’m about ready to begin Yes, I’m going to turn this mild mannered netbook into a Bwah, ha, ha, ha!
sub-If you’re one of those mad scientist types who’s never happy with things as they originally came from the manufacturer, because you just know you can make them better, this chapter is for you Here I supply the inveterate tin-kerer with ten (actually a few more than that, but who’s counting) hardware projects for modifying various models of netbooks
I absolutely have to throw one of those little bomb icons in here Be warned: Many of these projects require a steady soldering hand and a rudi-mentary knowledge of electronics There’s a good chance you can turn your netbook into a brick if you mess up — and forget about a manufacturer honor-ing your warranty
fore-With the disclaimers out of the way, please follow me down to the laboratory
Walk this way (Even if you’re not planning on modding your netbook, it’s still fun to see what other people have done.)
Trang 4326 Part V: The Part of Tens
Add a Keyboard Backlight
If you’re a touch typist who’s used to normal-size keys, using a netbook with
a small keyboard can be a bit challenging — enough to make you look down
at the keys every now and then When the lights go out, it’s even worse — especially for hunt-and-peck typists If you can’t see what you’re pressing, the typo count will be sky high
The first hardware hack in this chapter is installing a keyboard backlight inside the case This provides a soothing glow between the key spaces, softly illuminating the keyboard (as shown in Figure 23-1) — kind of like having a nightlight inside your netbook
Popular Science has step-by-step instructions, using an Eee PC The cost is
under $15, and the work takes just a couple hours of your time Check it out atwww.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-05/eee-pc-school-add-
keyboard-backlight-under-15
Figure 23-1:
Light shines
up through the spaces between keys, back-lighting the keyboard
Add Internal GPS
In Chapter 11, I tell you about using an external GPS receiver to turn your netbook into a nifty, nimble navigator But wouldn’t it be nice if you could dis-pense with the cables or Bluetooth connections and forget about yet another accessory to carry around?
Although a few netbooks are available with built-in GPS chips, most aren’t
However, with a little bit of hardware hacking, you can add GPS functionality
to just about any netbook
Trang 5Chapter 23: Ten Cool Hardware Hacks
Thanks to folks like Tom Beauchamp, adding GPS isn’t as hard as you might think Tom bought a USB GPS receiver (shown in Figure 23-2) and engineered
a way to fit it into his Dell Mini’s case Tom shares instructions and photos with you in this informative forum post:
http://mydellmini.com/forum/integrated-gps-on-my-mini-9-t167.html
Figure 23-2:
This GPS receiver is ready to be installed in a
Dell Mini
Swap in a Touch Screen
When netbooks first came out, a lot of users were clamoring for touch screen models About two years later, manufacturers are finally starting to release little laptops that give you a tablet computing experience But in the mean-time, hardware hackers have been modifying existing netbooks right and left with touch panels — and if you’re a bit of a geek, you can too
A good place to start is with netbook guru and blogger JKKMobile He’s been building touch screen Eee PCs since a few months after they first hit the streets Check out this URL for video instructions:
Trang 6328 Part V: The Part of Tens
http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/asus-eee-pc-with-touch-screen.htmlFrom an engineering standpoint, it’s not that difficult to swap a default net-book screen with a touch panel With a little searching through Google or through Web forums devoted to your netbook make and model, you should
be able to find hacking instructions — or people offering customized models
Or you could just wait and buy a new touch screen netbook
Make Your Own Extended Battery
Do you want to power your netbook with an extended-life battery but don’t want to shell out the bucks to purchase a new one? No worries, because those crazy French hackers over at www.blogeee.net show you how — using an MSI Wind netbook as shown in Figure 23-3 Here’s the URL:
www.blogeee.net/2008/07/31/une-batterie-9-cellules-pour-msi-wind-u100-faite-maisonOops, I forgot to mention the tutorial is in French There are enough photos
to give you a pretty good idea of what the process is, but understanding the words that go with the pictures is always nice
If your French is as bad as mine (or even worse), head over to Google’s free translation service at http://translate.google.com Type in the Web
address and specify to translate from French to English Mon dieu! The
transla-tion is a bit fractured, but quite usable
Figure 23-3:
A yourself extended battery
Trang 7Chapter 23: Ten Cool Hardware Hacks
The original article on this how-to came from an MSI Web forum and is in English (but is missing the photos) Check it out at
http://forums.msiwind.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1245
Mod the Case
An interesting subculture of hardware hackers known as case modders has
cropped up These artistic hackers hack the outside of a computer — and sometimes the insides, too In a nutshell, they swap the original computer case for something infinitely cooler Modders have put computers in man-nequins, old radios, movie props, and just about anything you can possibly
think of — do a Google search for case mods to see what I mean.
The popularity of netbooks is focusing modders’ attention on the little tops For example, Figure 23-4 shows a sleek Eee PC crafted by a Japanese modder who ditched the original case and keyboard and turned it into a tablet PC You can check out more photos at
lap-http://dvice.com/archives/2009/02/gutted_eee_pc_d.php
Hack your Dell Mini
I have to hand it to Dell Whereas other facturers treat the internals of their netbooks like state secrets, Dell happily provides the ser-vice manual online for free
manu-If you’re a hardware hacker, you know how much easier it is to have the service manual available to find out about all the components and how they’re connected For example, say you have a Mini 910 and want to swap out the
built-in digital camera for something a bit better
No problem; just point your browser at
h t t p : / / s u p p o r t d e l l c o m /support/edocs/systems/ins910/
en/sm/index.htmYou get step-by-step instructions, includ-ing color photos That’s what I call hardware hacker friendly — yet another reason why the Dell Minis are turning into a favorite of geeks
Trang 8330 Part V: The Part of Tens
Figure 23-4:
An Eee PC modded and
transformed
into a tablet PC
166.957
No-Soldering Hardware Mods
I’ve always thought that if you’re going to hack hardware, you need a cool hand with a hot soldering iron Touching the wrong component with the sol-dering iron tip or blobbing solder in the wrong place is a recipe for disaster
I was pretty amazed when I saw the following tutorial on installing a touch screen in an Eee PC with no soldering involved — and for under $50, mind you
www.instructables.com/id/how_to_touchscreen_EEE_without_
soldering_/
The secret to holding everything together without the silver melty stuff is simply pieces of high-temperature tape Wow, that opens up all sorts of pos-sibilities for soldering-phobics
Add a Second Memory Card Reader
One of the defining features of a netbook is a built-in SD memory card reader The reader allows you to boot different operating systems and transfer photos from digital cameras — on first-generation netbooks, it was essential for expanding storage on models that came with low-capacity solid state drives
Trang 9Chapter 23: Ten Cool Hardware Hacks
But more is always better, so why not add another memory card reader?
After all, you do have two or more USB slots
Your friends at Popular Science were so enamored with modding the Eee PC
they ran a series of hardware hacking how-to articles This article shows you how to install a microSD card reader (shown in Figure 23-5):
www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-05/eee-pc-school-2-add-second-microsd-card-reader
Figure 23-5:
A netbook with a second memory card reader
Turn a Netbook into a Picture Frame
Digital picture frames were a big hit a few Christmases ago The novelty has since worn off, and the prices have dropped, but that hasn’t stopped the hardware-hacking community from continuing to play around with the idea
There’s an old saying that if you give a bored hacker some old hardware, you’ll probably be surprised at what that hacker comes up with A case in point is a hacker who goes by the name of Q, who took a cheap, first-generation Eee PC and turned it into a digital picture His meticulously documented how-to is here:
Trang 10332 Part V: The Part of Tens
http://awooga.nl/the-eee-pc-digital-picture-frame
Q also has some detailed information on hacking Dell Minis elsewhere on his site
Add an External Wi-Fi Antenna Jack
For a tiny PC, most netbooks get surprisingly good Wi-Fi reception — especially considering the space available for an internal antenna is much less compared to a full-size laptop
However, there may be times when you want to boost reception with an external antenna — for example when war-driving, er, I mean, performing wireless security audits Unfortunately, netbooks don’t come with PC card slots where the simple solution would be to purchase a Wi-Fi card that sup-ported plugging in an external antenna
But a hardware limitation can’t stop a determined hacker In an excellent tutorial, Terry Porter shows you how to install an SMA jack into the back
of an Eee PC (shown in Figure 23-6) When attached to an external antenna, signal strength for the built-in Wi-Fi card is considerably increased
Here’s the Web address for more information:
http://wiki.portertech.org/doku.php?id=eeepc900-ext-antenna
Swiss Army Knife Mod an Eee PC
I love Swiss Army Knives — they feature tools of every manner and are ready for any job And I have to give a tip of the hat to Torsten Lyngaas, who per-formed one big Swiss Army Knife of a modification to an Eee PC He stuffed over $400 of additional hardware into the little laptop, including a USB hub, GPS with antenna, Bluetooth, card reader, flash drive, new power switch, FM transmitter, modem, touch screen, temperature sensor, and heat sink
The cool thing is that he provides detailed information about the parts he used and how he added them — complete with close-up photos Check out his wiki at
http://beta.ivancover.com/wiki/index.php/Eee_PC_Internal_
Upgrades
Trang 11Find out about even more hacks
I close by pointing you toward even more book hardware hacks — I just scratch the sur-face in this chapter, and new hacks seem to appear every week
net-Two of my favorite Web sites for keeping up with little laptop hardware hacks are
Trang 12334 Part V: The Part of Tens
Trang 13Acer Aspire One User Forums, 136
Acer support sites, 320–321
Acronis True Image, 262
air travel, carrying cases for, 190
air vents (illustration), 79
alerts
incoming IMs, 164incoming tweets, 157Amazon.com, 57
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) chip, 44
Android operating system, 69
animated screen savers, effect on battery
power, 210AntiVir, 139
antivirus software, troubleshooting
tool, 247
Anything But iPod, 237AOL Mail, 102
Apple operating system, 68–69
applications See software
ARM (Advanced Risc Machine) chip, 32, 44–45
Ars Technica, 221
ASUSmodel numbers, 40support sites, independent, 321support sites, offi cial, 320ASUS EEE Hacks, 322
ASUS Eee PCs For Dummies, 40
Atom chip, 42–44Audacity sound editor, 125
audio See also music
BIOS settings, 311drivers, 300input (microphone) port, 78–79output (headphone, speakers) port, 78–79
AutoGK ripping program, 130automatically launching programs from USB fl ash drives, 222
AV Comparatives, 140avast!, 139
AVG, 139AV.Test, 140
“away from desk” feature, IM (instant messaging), 165
AxCrypt encryption program, 146
• B •
back problems, 52
backing up data See also restoring data
by copying fi les, 257–258offsite storage, 259online storage, 262–263selected fi les, 257–258whole disks, 259–263
Trang 14336 Netbooks For Dummies
backing up data, commercial utilities
Acronis True Image, 262Carbonite, 262
Cobian Backup, 263Jungle Disk, 263Macrium Refl ect, 263Mozy, 263
SyncBack, 263backing up data, Windows utilities
Backup, 260Backup and Restore, 261Backup Status and Confi guration tool, 260–261
SyncToy, 258Windows 7, 260–261Windows Vista, 260–261Windows XP, 260, 262backlighting keyboards, 241
Base, 114
basic input/output system (BIOS) See BIOS
(basic input/output system)batteries
availability, 200brand name, 199–200carrying a spare, 19cells, 50, 198charge indicator (illustration), 77, 79charging, 74–75, 203–204
compartment, 80–81extended life, building your own, 328–329locks (illustration), 80
mAh (milliamp hour), 50, 198memory, 198
Mugen Power Batteries, 200online reviews, 200
rechargeable lithium ion, 50, 198status lights, 76
storage capacity, 50, 198Tekkon myPower ALL, 201–202third party, 200
troubleshooting, 252
universal, 201wattage, calculating, 205weight, 50
batteries, alternative power sourcesAC/DC converters, 205
cigarette lighter adapters, 203–204human power, 202
sine wave inverters, 204, 205solar panels, 206
batteries, lifespanfactors affecting, 198
fi rst generation netbooks, 30future, 32
increasing, 92, 209netbook evolution, 30–32second generation netbooks, 31selecting a netbook, 12
variability, 19batteries, saving poweranimated screen savers, 210common power drains, 211dimming the display, 208hibernation, 208
Kill A Watt meter, 210low power settings, 208multitasking, 211standby mode, 207–208turning off the netbook, 207USB devices, 209–210Wi-Fi, 208
wired Ethernet connections, 210wireless mice, 233
Battery University, 209BBC Radio, 127BIOS (basic input/output system)CMOS (complementary oxide semiconductor chip), 308overview, 21, 307–308updating, 313–315BIOS settingsaccessing, 308–309audio options, 311Bluetooth options, 311boot options, 312camera options, 311card reader options, 311changing, 309–313
Trang 15Index
CPU options, 313hardware options, 311–312Help dialog, displaying, 311LAN options, 311
memory card options, 311navigating the screens, 310–311password options, 312–313saving changes, 311
SD card options, 311security options, 312–313sound card options, 311webcam options, 311WLAN options, 311bit.ly, 158
keyboards, 233netbook adapter, 95speed, 95
status lights, 76Windows confi guration, 95–96Bluetooth cards, connecting to
netbooks, 20Blu-ray drives, 225–227
boot, BIOS settings, 312
booting another operating system, 214,
217–219botnets, 138
brand-name batteries, 199–200
Briefcase, sharing data, 85–86
browsing the Web See Firefox
buddy lists, IM (instant messaging), 164
buffering streaming audio, 126
bug fi xes, troubleshooting tool, 247
burners
Blu-ray drives, 225–227CD-ROM drives, 226business uses for netbooks, 15–16
businesspeople, selecting a netbook for, 55
cameras See digital cameras; webcams
capital lock indicator (illustration), 77capsule speakers, 238
Carbonite, 262
cards See SD (Secure Digital) cards
carrying casesfor air travel, 190hard cases, 193–194makeshift alternatives, 191–194making your own, 195–196OtterBox brand, 193Pelican brand, 193–194shopping for, tips, 188sleeves, 188–189soft cases, 189–192TSA compliant, 190case (computer housing)future improvements, 32icons on, 78–80
ruggedized, 32selecting, 53thinner, 32
case (computer housing), components See
also hardware, basic netbooks
bottom side view, 80–81inside view, 77
left side view, 78rear side view, 79right side view, 78status lights, 76case (computer housing), modifyingexample, 329–330
laser engraving, 231skins for, 230–231
cases (carrying) See carrying cases
Category 5 (CAT5) cables, 96CCleaner, 141
CDex CD ripper, 126
Trang 16338 Netbooks For Dummies
CD-ROM drives
burners, 226emulating, 135overview, 225–227Celeron M chip, 42
Celeron processor, 29
cells, battery, 50, 198
cellular providers
disabling netbooks, 58free netbooks, 58charging batteries, 74–75, 203–204
charts (nautical), 180–181
chat See IM (instant messaging); Skype;
social networking sites; Twitterchat software, 120
children, selecting a netbook for, 55
chips See also processors
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), 44ARM (Advanced Risc Machine), 32, 44–45C7-M, 44
Celeron, 29Celeron M, 42for graphics, 43Intel 945 GSE, 43Intel Atom, 30, 42–44Intel GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator), 43
Intel GN 40, 43Nvidia Ion, 43Qualcomm Snapdragon, 45chipset drivers, 300
cigarette lighter adapters, 203–204
codecs (video), downloading, 128, 131
collecting evidence, 245–246
commercial backup utilities, 262
Comodo Internet Security, 143
Compact Menu, 101
compression, saving space, 293–294
computer manufacturer drivers, 300
connectivity, netbook evolution, 33
Consumer Reports, netbook reviews, 57contact management software, 120contacting the manufacturer, 246–247Cook, Tim, 68
Coolest Gadgets, 242copy protection, 124, 130copying fi les, as backup method, 257–258
copying music or video See ripping music
from CDs ; ripping videos
copyright issues, 124, 130–131 See also
DRM (digital rights management)corrupted fi les, SD cards, 218
cost See price
Cox, Doug, 178CPU, BIOS settings, 313Crackle, 132
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, 121
• D •
Daemon Tools, 135Dammond, Howard, 167
data, sharing See sharing data
database applicationsMicrosoft Works, 110–112OpenOffi ce Base, 114Zoho, 121–122DDR2 (double data rate, generation 2) memory, 271
dead system, troubleshooting, 255–256DecalGirl, 230
defragmenting USB fl ash drives, 223Dell Mini, hacking, 329
Dell support sites, 320–321DeLorme
GPS receivers, 171, 173street maps, 177topographic maps, 178DeLorme’s Street Atlas USA, 176desktop USB hard drives, 223device drivers
defi nition, 21list of, 300device drivers, updatingdeciding to update, 305installed version, determining, 301–303
Trang 17Index
installing the update, 304–306latest version, getting, 303–304process overview, 301
DHCP (Dynamic Host Confi guration
Protocol), 97dialup modems, 234–235
Diamondville chip See Intel, Atom chip
digital cameras, SD cards, 215
digital picture frames, 331–332
digital rights management (DRM), 124 See
also copyright issues
DIMM (dual inline memory module)
memory, 271dimming the display effect on battery
power, 208disabling a netbook, 58
disaster recovery See backing up data;
restoring dataDisk Cleanup program, 286–287
disk encryption, 145
display panel (illustration), 77
displays (monitors) See also projectors;
screensconnecting to netbooks, 20drivers, 300
effect on battery power, 208external, 79, 239
output jack, 79, 81distributions, Linux, 65–67
DNS (Domain Name System), free
service, 104double data rate, generation 2 (DDR2)
memory, 271Draw, 114
drive indicator (illustration), 77
drive partition recovery image, reinstalling
Windows, 266–267drive status lights, 76
drivers See device drivers
drives See specifi c drive types
DRM (digital rights management), 124 See
also copyright issues
dual boot capability, 214, 217–219
dual inline memory module (DIMM)
memory, 271DVD drives
basic confi guration, 10burners, 226
emulating, 135external, 17overview, 225–227playing movies, 17DVDs
ripping videos from, 129–131watching movies from, 128–129Dynamic Host Confi guration Protocol (DHCP), 97
DynDNS, 104
• E •
Easy Peasy, 218Eee PC, netbook evolution, 28Eee PC Blog, 322
EeeUser, 322EeeUser.com Forum, 136802.11 protocol, 90–92802.11 wireless card, 15
electrical power See batteries; power
e-mailattachments, sharing data, 85programs, 102, 120
Thunderbird, 102Zoho, 120e-mail servicesAOL Mail, 102free, 101–102Gmail, 101Hotmail, 101Yahoo! Mail, 102emoticons, IM (instant messaging), 165encryption
AxCrypt, 146disk, 145
fi le, 145music, 124TrueCrypt, 144–150tutorial, 146types of, 145video, 130virtual volumes, 145
Trang 18340 Netbooks For Dummies
Eraser program, 149–150
erasing fi les securely, 149
Ethernet connections, 96–97
Ethernet (LAN) port, 15, 78–79
Everex support sites, 320–321
Facebook For Dummies, 162
Facebook versus MySpace, 159–162
FAQs (frequently asked questions), 22
Adblock Plus, 100add-ons, 99–101built-in features, 98–99Compact Menu, 101extensions, 99Forecastfox, 100Full Fullscreen, 101languages, 100maximizing viewing area, 100–101miniFox, 101
pop-up blocking, 99–100RSS reader, 99
search engine support, 99security, 99
session restore, 99speed, 99
spell checking, 98status bar, hiding, 100tabbed browsing, 99themes, 100
Tiny Menu, 101
toolbars, hiding, 100user interface themes, 100Video DownloadHelper, 100weather forecasts, 100Windows taskbar, hiding, 100
fi rewalls, 142–144FireWire ports, basic confi guration, 10
fi rst generation netbooks, 28–30
fl ash drives See USB fl ash drives
fl ash memory, 221 See also USB fl ash
drivesFLV (Flash Video) format, 133folding keyboards, 233followers, Twitterattracting, 158following tweets, 155sending tweets to, 157Forecastfox, 100formatting
SD cards, 216–218USB fl ash drives, 221–222free e-mail services, 101–102free netbooks, 58
free phone service See Skype
FreeCharge 12V, 202Freeplay Energy, 202Freeware Windows XP Games, 136frequently asked questions (FAQs), 22
friend sites See social networking sites
Fujitsu support sites, 320–321Full Fullscreen, 101
function (F) keys, 82–83
• G •
Gameeer.com, 136games
CD-ROM drive, emulating, 135installing without a DVD, 135Internet resources, 136limitations, 18
netbook limitations, 134–135Garmin GPS receivers, 171, 173, 184GelaSkins, 230
Gibson, Steve, 143
Trang 19Index
Global Positioning System (GPS) See GPS
(Global Positioning System)GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator)
chip, 43Gmail, 101
IM network, 163language translation service, 328GottaBeMobile, 322
GPS (Global Positioning System)
accuracy, 170adding to a netbook, 19defi nition, 170
GPS For Dummies, 170
GPSGate program, 184internal, adding, 326–327minimum netbook requirements, 171netbook evolution, 32
overview, 170Spanner program, 184tracks, 176
waypoints, 170, 176
GPS For Dummies, 170
GPS map software
3-D topographic maps, 179aerial photos, 177
charts (nautical), 180–181customizable maps, 177DeLorme topographic maps, 178DeLorme’s Street Atlas USA, 176Google Earth, 180
Maptech topographic maps, 178National Geographic Maps, 178netbook interface, 177
NOAA nautical charts, 180–181OpenStreetMap, 177
overview, 175–176POIs (Points of Interest), 176RNCs (Raster Navigation Charts), 180–181routable roads, 177
satellite images, 179–180
SeaClear program, 181street maps, 176–177Streets & Trips, 177TerraServer-USA, 177topographic maps, 177–179USAPhotoMaps, 178voice support, 177GPS receiversBluetooth, 173–174DeLorme, 171, 173Garmin, 171, 173, 184handheld, 171–172Lowrance, 171Magellan, 171Microsoft, 173mouse units, 172–173
SD cards, 175tailless mouse, 173GPS receivers, connecting toNMEA protocols, 182overview, 181protocols, 181–182USB connections, 183–184virtual serial ports, 183GPSGate program, 184Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), Linux, 65graphics
chips, 43drivers, 300features, turning off, 291–292software, OpenOffi ce Draw, 114Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) chip, 43GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces), Linux, 65
• H •
Handbrake ripping program, 130handheld GPS receivers, 171–172hands-on trial, selecting a netbook, 14hard carrying cases, 193–194
hard disk drives (HDDs) See HDDs (hard
disk drives)hardwareadding to a netbook, 20BIOS settings, 311–312laptop downside, 36
Trang 20342 Netbooks For Dummies
hardware, basic netbooks
air vents (illustration), 79audio-in (microphone) port, 78–79audio-out (headphone, speakers) port, 78–79
battery charge indicator (illustration),
77, 79battery compartment, 80–81battery lock (illustration), 80capital lock indicator (illustration), 77card reader, 80
display (monitor) output, 79, 81display panel (illustration), 77drive indicator (illustration), 77Ethernet (LAN) port, 78–79function (F) keys, 82–83HDMI port, 81
headphone jack, 78–79high-defi nition multimedia port, 81icons, on the case, 78–80
Kensington lock port, 79, 81keyboard (illustration), 77memory card slot (illustration), 79memory compartment, 80–81microphone (illustration), 77microphone, built-in, 80microphone (external) jack, 78–79minimum features, 10–11
monitor, external, 79, 81power indicator (illustration), 79power input (illustration), 79power switch (illustration), 77projector, external, 79, 81projector (monitor) port, 79, 81reset button (illustration), 80
SD (Secure Digital) memory card reader, 80
speakers, built-in, 79–80speakers, external, 79–80status lights, 76
super hybrid engine key (illustration), 77touchpad, 77, 81–82
USB ports, 78VGA (monitor) port, 79, 81webcam, 77, 81
wireless/Bluetooth indicator (illustration), 77
HDDs (hard disk drives)capacity, 48
hybrid systems, 48netbook evolution, 30–31
versus SSDs (solid state drives), 48–49
standard, 48swapping, 278–283technical details, 48HDMI port, 81headphone jack, 78–79headphones, 237–238headsets, 237–238health problems, 52heat, effect on SD cards, 218
help See Internet resources; online help;
publicationsHelp dialog, displaying, 311hibernation mode
effect on battery power, 208saving space, 295–296high-defi nition multimedia port, 81home computer users, selecting a netbook for, 55
Home Power Magazine, 206Hotmail, 101
HP 100LX netbook, netbook evolution, 25–28
HP support sites, 320–321Hulu, 132
human resources software, 121human-powered netbooks, 202Hupfer, Ryan, 162
• I •
icons
on netbook cases, 78–80
in this book, 5ICQ, IM network, 163IDE drives, converting to USB drives, 225
IM (instant messaging) See also social
networking sitesaddress books, 164
“away from desk” feature, 165basic features, 164–165buddy lists, 164clients, 163–164
Trang 21Index
defi nition, 162emoticons, 165incoming message alerts, 164MSN Messenger, 163
networks, 162–163Pidgin, 163search feature, 164Impress, 115
incoming message alerts, IM (instant
messaging), 164information management software, 120
initializing a netbook, 75
instant-on, netbook evolution, 32
Intel
945 GSE chip, 43Atom chip, 30, 42–44GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip, 43
GN 40 chip, 43marketing campaign, 37–38interference from wireless devices, 92
internal modems, basic confi guration, 10
Internet connectivity
802.11 wireless card, 15Ethernet port, 15netbook evolution, 28uses for, 15
via cell phone, 92–93
wired, 15, 33 See also wired networks wireless, 15, 33 See also wireless
AIM, 163Amazon.com, 57Android operating system, 69AntiVir, 139
Anything But iPod, 237
cloud computing, 33Comodo Internet Security, 143Coolest Gadgets, 242
Crackle, 132Daemon Tools, 135DecalGirl, 230Dell Mini, hacking, 329digital picture frames, 331–332Easy Peasy, 218
EeeUser.com Forum, 136encryption program, 146encryption tutorial, 146Eraser program, 149–150Facebook, 159
FAQs (frequently asked questions), 22Feedalizr, 157
fi rewalls, 143–144FreeCharge 12V, 202Freeplay Energy, 202Freeware Windows XP Games, 136Gameeer.com, 136
games, 136Garmin GPS receivers, 171, 173, 184GelaSkins, 230
Gnome interface, 65Hack a Day, 333hacking netbooks, 333Handbrake ripping program, 130Home Power Magazine, 206Hulu, 132
human-powered netbooks, 202
Trang 22344 Netbooks For Dummies
Internet resources (continued)
ICQ, IM network, 163
IM clients, 164
IM networks, 162–163Intel marketing campaign, 37–38Internet radio, 127
Iomega, 224is.gd, 158iTunes, 124Joost, 132KDE interface, 65Kill A Watt meter, 210K-Lite Codec Pack, 131language translation service, 328Lilliputing.com, 41
LinkedIn, 161Linux distributions, 65, 218–219Live365 radio site, 127
Lowrance GPS receivers, 171Macintosh OS X, 68–69MadTwitter, 157Magellan GPS receivers, 171manufacturers’ support pages, 22Maptech topographic maps, 178matte screens, 52
Maxtor, 224McAfee Virusscan Online, 140Moblin project, 67
Modern Output, 206MSConfi g utility, 289MSN, IM network, 163Mugen Power Batteries, 200music players, 124–125MyDellMini Forums, 136MySpace, 159
National Geographic Maps, 178NBC TV shows, 132
Netfl ix, 132Newegg, 57NOAA nautical charts, 180–181NPR (National Public Radio), 127OLPC computers, 29
Online Armor Personal Firewall, 143online storage service ratings, 84OpenOffi ce, 116
OpenStreetMap, 177
OtherPower.com, 206OtterBox carrying cases, 193Pandora radio site, 127
PC Tools Firewall Plus, 143Pedal Powered Generator, 202Pelican carrying cases, 193Pidgin, 163
Podcast Alley, 127Podcast Directory, 127Portable Apps, 222Potenco, 202PowerPoint Viewer, 240product database, 41program portability, 222Radio Locator radio site, 127Radio Tower radio site, 127Real Goods, 206
restoring data, 265ripping music, 126RNCs (Raster Navigation Charts), 180–181Safe Boot mode, 251
Schtikers, 230
SD card formatting utility, 217SeaClear program, 181Seagate, 224
security penetration testing, 143shortening URLs, 158
SHOUTCast radio site, 127SimpleTech, 224
skins for computer cases, 230–231Snipurl, 158
solar panels, 206Solar Power Forum, 206Songbird, 125
sound editor, 125Spanner program, 184speakers, 238
Spybot-S&D, 141spyware protection, 141Steve’s Digicams, 215streaming video, 131–132Streets & Trips maps, 177support, independent, 321support, offi cial, 320Surf the Channel, 132Swiss Army Knife modifi cations, 332