You may have seen the small computers that are only nine to ten inches in size. While very small, these netbook computers are very powerful machines that use newer technology to keep them affordable for most people.

There are many items missing from a netbook computer that you would find in a normal laptop or desktop computer. The first thing you will find missing is the CD or DVD rom. Since the drive is missing, programs must be downloaded from online sources rather that from a CD or DVD.

Some of the small computers do not include a traditional hard drive, but depend on a solid state memory device, much like the memory in a USB thumb drive. This type of memory is more resilient than a hard drive and is smaller in size and lighter in weight than the typical hard drive. The one drawback is that you will not find a typical 160 GB hard drive in these small computers but may only find a 32 GB memory.

If more memory is needed, the Netbook can easily be connected to a USB external hard drive. Prices for external hard drives have also dropped recently. A one TB (1000 MB) external hard drive can easily be bought for $100 or less.

Most netbooks also do not have a way to connect to a phone line for dial up internet connections. They must be connected through WiFi to the internet or they can be connected by use of a USB cable to a router.

Originally, these computers were sold with older versions of Windows or a Linux operating systems. The Windows operating systems were XP and Linux were little known systems. Today they are sold with the current operating systems used on other computers.

Prices on netbook computers began to fall around Christmas of 2008. As prices continue to fall, some will sell for under $175 on Black Friday of 2009.

The size of a netbook computer makes them very handy for transportation. A nine inch netbook will easily fit into a woman’s purse and a nine to twelve inch computer can fit into almost any men’s briefcase.

As more and more applications become web bases, the usefulness of netbook computers, even with their smaller memory continues to grow. Examples of the web based documents include many of the new features of Google, including Google Documents that can be stored online. Documents do not require hard drive space and can be accessed by anyone you give permission to access the files.

As prices continue to drop, these computers will become very popular as a first computer for children. The smaller keyboards make learning to keyboard even easier for children. Teens will like that the computers fit easily into a backpack. Necessary documents can be sent to any WIFi equipped printer. Netbook computers will make great Christmas gifts for almost anyone this year.

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