WorldCAD Access

How to make your aging netbook run like ZIP!

Netbooks were the first ultrabooks, the first Macbook Airs. ASUS invented the new category of diminutive computer back in the mid-2000s. Its first model was too small -- 7" 800x480 screen and just 4GB disk space -- and ran a customized version of Linux with a severe bug: CAPSLOCK would turn on permanently until it was rebooted. (I have that first EEE 701 model, and it cost me $400; naturally, I put on a better version of Linux.) Microsoft grew jealous of this fast-growing category, and so made Windows XP available cheaply, and arranged with Intel to limit the hardware... Read more →

How I upgraded my netbook from Windows 7 to XP

Shortly after I bought my LG X110 netbook last January, I installed Windows 7 beta when it became available publicly; later, I changed it to 7RC. (I also installed Linux Mint 7 dual-boot, and then upgraded it to Mint 8; Linux runs much better.) The beta version of 7 ran fine; RC had a serious problem where it would cause the netbook to react so sluggishly at times that it could take minutes to complete a single operation. Inserting a high-speed 4GB SD card for ReadyBoost did not make a difference. As time went on, I wondered what I would... Read more →

Successful upgrade to Linux Mint 8

I upgraded my LG X110 to Linux Mint 8 yesterday. Everything works. Unlike Windows upgrades, the Linux upgrade involves no reboots and no fresh incompatibilities. Mint warned that I should do a fresh install, since an upgrade will probably fail. The logic made no sense to me, because... Even though the upgrade process takes longer than a new install, I saved the time of re-installing software and data. Why not try the upgrade? If it fails, I could always do a fresh install. In any case, a fresh install means dealing with partitions, which frighten me. www.linuxmint.com Read more →

Netbooks Plummet in Price

As the market is crowded with netbook models, the price of older ones is plummeting. My son sold me yesterday about an eBay crazy-price special on an HP netbook for $350, "but it ran Linux," he moaned. $350 didn't seem all that cheap to me -- not any longer. Today's eblast from FutureShop features an HP netbook for $259, including case and mouse -- probably worth $59 on their own. Checking the site, I found a refurbished HP netbook sans extras for $229. As for the LG model, well, the database filler-outers weren't quite sure of the model number: Read more →

Older Software Great for Netbooks

Josh Lowensohn of C|Net's Web Crawler blog writes: One of the things that has been most-surprising about the advent of netbooks is that it has become less about the hardware as much as how mainstream operating systems and applications have had to adapt to fit within their confines. I agree. I especially wish Google would adapt Picasa to netbooks, allowing us to collapse areas of the screen that we rarely need, like the lower fat bar that holds the Mail, Export, and other buttons. However... Last week I was on "vacation" visiting the in-laws, taking along my LG X110 netbook.... Read more →

Netbooks Aren't That Slow

I've run AutoCAD 2010 on a netbook, and so I know the netbook class of computer is too slow for that. But for activities carried out by regular folks, are netbooks too slow? That's the line I've twice heard from salesmen at London Drugs (a Canadian chain that has a significant computer department) tell customers interested in netbooks. Earlier I timed the bootup speed for Windows 7 on a netbook (1GB RAM, 1.6GHz Atom CPU). I thought do the same timing on a "powerful" notebook computer. This one's an HP with 64-bit dual-core GHz AMD Turion CPU and 3GB RAM,... Read more →

LG X110: Presto Linux/Windows 7 Dual-Boot

My LG X110 netbook came with Windows XP, and I almost immediately installed beta-7000 Windows 7 on it. Today I read about Presto Linux from Xandros (the same people who provide the Linux for my other netbook, the original ASUS EEE 701.) The Presto forums indicated that it probably would work with Windows 7, so I gave it a try -- especially since uninstalling it was apparently just like unistalling any other app through the Windows Control Panel. I installed it, and it works. Here's how to do it: 1. Download the 0.5GB file from www.prestomypc.com/get_prestopc.php 2. Install. 3. Reboot... Read more →

Calibrating Battery Guages

Elsewhere I read that it helps to let the computer calibrate the new battery, using these steps: Fully charge the battery. Remove the power cord, allowing the battery to run the computer. Ensure that the screen stays lit (turn off screen savers and screen blanking). Leave the computer on, until the battery dies. The computer apparently records the power levels and times to create a accurate profile of the battery's characteristics. Battery Charging Time The drawback to high-capacity batteries is that they take a long time to charge, especially while the computer is on. With the LG X110 netbook, the... Read more →

Marketing Firm IDs Me as Netbook Purchaser

Chris Mellor of The Register tells me that I'm likely to have purchased a netbook: If you have a desktop or notebook computer and are aged between 25 and 55, there's nearly a one in five chance you have already bought a netbook. Price comparison firm PriceGrabber says we Tween-25-and-55'ers see the netbook as the third leg supporting our desktop and notebook computers "because the three systems complement each other and are used for different things." Darn right! The firm lists reasons why people aren't buying netbooks: Limited battery life -- my netbook gets 7 hours. Limited processing power --... Read more →

9-cell Battery for LG X110 Netbook

The LG X110 netbook comes with a 3-cell battery that runs for 1.5 hours (with WiFi on) or 2 hours (WiFi off). One of the first things I do after buying a new portable computing device is to head over to eBay and buy a large capacity battery from the helpful folks in Hong Kong. (How do I know which seller to buy from? I pick one with lots and lots of sales, like over 10,000, along with nearly perfect positives, like over 99.5%.) For my first netbook, the ASUS Eee 701, I wasn't very happy with the larger battery's... Read more →

Windows 7 Impressions

For the most part, Windows 7 beta works well on my new LG X110 netbook computer. These are some areas that still need fixing: Accessing files on the netbook from other computers works poorly. Windows 7 has a new concept of the "Home Group," which allows any computer in the group to access any other's files. Problem is, Home Group works only for other computers running Windows 7. In the meantime, I continue to use a USB drive to copy files to and from the Windows 7-based computer, because Microsoft doesn't want me accessing my data on my computers. The... Read more →

AutoCAD on a Netbook

I installed AutoCAD on my new LG X110 netbook. This is a computer with just 1GB RAM and an undersized 1024x600-resolution screen, but a healthy 160GB hard drive and 1.6GHz dual-core CPU assisted by a 4GB high-speed ReadyBoost memory card. First problem: AutoCAD's installation dialog boxes are too tall for the 600-pixel high screen. I could not reach the Next buttons at the bottom, even after minimizing the taskbar. Solution: Attach a second monitor with a higher resolution to see the entire dialog box. I did a minimal install, since I just wanted to see if AutoCAD would run. No... Read more →

Windows 7 on LG X110

I did the 2.5GB download of Windows 7 beta last week, and then wondered where to install it. Over the weekend, I bought the LG X110. (It is based on the Wind series of netbooks from MSI.) Windows 7 will install over any operating system; it places the existing Windows into a folder named "Windows.Old". The install was straight-forward, other than taking a long time. After a few reboots, Windows 7 started up with its light-rays-from-above "Microsoft is god" background screen. What Works -- And Doesn't Everything worked under Windows 7 on the LG X110 -- even the useless Aero... Read more →