About this time last year I brought my first netbook, an Acer Aspire One, so I could use it at university as my laptop was getting pretty outdated and use Love Mesh to be able to access the work I have done in my flat, at home or via the internet around university. The Aspire One came with Windows XP on, not something I enjoyed using that much seeing as I had used Vista on my personal PCs since it came out. I intended to use the netbook in lectures, to take notes, and to do research and write assignments in the library.

For the first term at university I was able to cope using XP on the netbook but would have much preferred to have Vista installed on it. By the Christmas holidays I was aware that Microsoft would soon be allow users to download a beta version of Windows; as soon as it came out I have downloaded it and installed it on my netbook. From then on I have used my netbook more and more as being able to take the power of Windows 7 anywhere and everywhere is, as it turns out, extremely useful.

Use at University

Using the netbook became much better for things like checking the lecture notes or timetables because of Aero Peek, allowing me to have multiple windows of the same application open, like Internet Explorer, Word or Acrobat Reader, and then quickly switch between the different windows. Another advantage to Windows 7 over XP on such a small screen is that the taskbar can show icons which allows more applications to be open without the taskbar getting cramped.

Another advantage to having the netbook and Windows 7 was being able to use on the train when I went home, normal laptops are just too large for the tiny tables in the seat backs. It was great being able to do work on the go, especially when using Office 2010.

Use at Home

At home I had much less need for netbook but I still found uses for it such as listening to music, on the improved Windows Media Player 12, outside or accessing the internet around the house rather than being stuck in one room.

Use on Holiday in the UK

During the summer I went to see relatives around the UK and took my netbook with me so that I could access the internet, as any tech enthusiast needs to, and so that I could take pictures and then take them off the SD and edit them on the netbook using Windows Live Photo Gallery. However to go on the internet I was hoping to be able to access wifi but my relatives internet was down so I had to use my Windows Mobile to create a tethered connection.

Use Abroad

I have taken my netbook abroad too so I can access the internet, play music and edit photos, it great to be able to access and do things away from home and get the most of the experiences abroad.

Now I know most people can do most of these things on any mobile PC whether it is running XP, Vista, 7, Linux or OSX but very few can do these things on a such a small, lightweight form factor with all the power, simplicity and ease of use of Windows 7. I know I wouldn’t want to use any other operating system on my Aspire One, it just works so well anywhere, anytime.