Netbook PCs
Tech jargon made easy
Here are the most baffling tech terms explained for you in plain English.
Card reader
A memory card reader allows you to access data on a memory card such as a CompactFlash, Secure Digital (SD), or MultiMediaCard. While some netbook PCs come with a small solid state drive (SSD), you can increase the overall capacity by putting a larger SD card (up to 8GB) into the built-in card reader.
CPU or processor
The central processing unit (CPU), also known as the processor, is the main chip inside a PC where the bulk of the work gets done. Most netbook PCs ship with the Intel Atom processor, but some come with processors from Via or AMD. Processor speed on netbook PCs is 1.6GHz or below, while processors on desktop and notebook PCs these days typically run at 2 GHz and higher.
Laptop/notebook PC
A fully-featured portable computer capable of running demanding applications like HD movies and photo editing.
Multitouch
Multitouch refers to a set of ways you can interact with a screen or touch-pad to control applications with several fingers—versus a standard touch-screen that recognizes only one touch point. Some netbook PCs boast multitouch touchpad functionality. If you place two fingers on the touch-pad instead of one, your gestures will do different things. It's great for quickly scrolling through a web page without having to hit a small target area down the side of a regular touch-pad.
Netbook PC
A small notebook PC that is designed for simple computing tasks, such as web browsing, document review, and e-mail when you are on the go.
RAM
Random access memory (RAM) is the way a computer stores data and allows data to be accessed in any order, hence the word "random." Most netbook PCs come with 1GB of RAM, which is fine for most computing tasks. Any less, though, and you'll notice an impact on the overall speed of the machine.
Screen size
Most of today's netbook PCs have a diagonal screen width (measurements are made from the bottom left corner to the top right corner of a screen) of 8.9 or 10.2 inches. The resolution for both sizes is usually 1024x600, which is fine for most basics tasks. However, since the Internet is optimized for 1024x768 resolution, a netbook PC typically requires you do more page scrolling.
Solid state drive
An SSD is a data storage device that uses flash memory, like the SD card in your camera. These drives are more expensive, so an SSD-based netbook PC might have as little as 4GB of storage. However, SSDs help extend battery life, are more shock-resistant, produce less heat, and make no noise in operation.