I’ll start this with a quick definition of types of computer “form factors” or the amount of floor or desk space a computer takes up.

First, the one that most of us are most familiar with, the desktop which takes up a larger amount of space on your desktop or possibly floor.  Next, the one that (this comment will generate disagreement but I’m right on this one) people mostly confuse, laptop.  A laptop was around for a short period of time in the early ’90s and due to battery size it took up your entire thigh…therefore the name.

Next in the list is the notebook that most people incorrectly refer to as a laptop.  It was named because it is about the size of a spiral bound notebook although much thicker than most of the paper ones.  In actuality it is larger than a notebook but much smaller than a laptop, again due to battery sizes now being much smaller.

Finally, we arrive at netbook which came about from the “One Laptop per Child Association” last year.  These were originally called sub-notebooks but that changed in 2007 when ASUS came out with their ASUS Eee PC.  For my birthday & Christmas (yes, one week apart) I got an Acer Aspire One netbook.  The size is small and I like it.  It measures about 10.75″ x 6.75″ x 1.25″ and weights a little under two pounds.  Compared to my now dead notebook it is super small and light and that makes me happy since I usually carry it around with me.

It also has a 120GB hard drive and decent speed and memory.  I really can’t complain as it suits all of my needs.  Now I have to come up with a few cons since I am really pro-netbook!

The keyboard and screen are a little smaller than I am used to.  It took less than an hour to get used to them but I find both of them very satisfactory now.  Due mainly to the 1GB of RAM it will run Windows XP perfectly but VISTA would be a no-go for now; though, I bet that will change soon as these continue to catch on.

The biggest con, in my opinion, is that they do not have a DVD/CD drive.  You can plug an external one in one of the three USB ports.  However, that would require hauling something else around.  My workaround to install MS Office was by copying the DVD to a thumb drive and then installing it from there which worked perfectly.

My review would be that it runs all of Microsoft Office applications, any browser I have tried, surfs all websites, writes this column and does everything I could ask of it.  However, I am not a game player so I don’t need to put “Call of Duty” on the system, which is good since I don’t believe it could handle many of the modern games.

If size and cost are factors I highly recommend a netbook.  Most all of the major computer manufacturers have this form factor now so feel free to look around for a good deal.  Just make sure you read what comes with each so that you recieve what you intend to get.

So you have your new Christmas computer. What software should you install?  Next question, do you have boatloads of money or are you broke – like most of us?  Final question, what do you intend to do with your computer?

I will suggest a few for you regarding the first question with the Windows operating system.  I figure the answer to the second question from you will be, “No, I’m broke, I want freebies!”  The final, I will guess that you have standard needs for your computer like most everyone else; word processing, email and virus protection.

Let’s look at word processing first.  The world standard of word processors would be Microsoft Word.  I just made that up that “world standard” part but I bet I’m correct.  I wrote a column a couple of months ago about other office programs.  I won’t belabor this point, but I believe that the best free office software out there would be Open Office (www.openoffice.org).  Using OpenOffice will not only allow you to have an excellent free word processor comparable to MS Word.   It includes their version of a spreadsheet, graphics, database and presentation programs.  Possibly even more important to many users is that anything you create using OpenOffice may be saved in the same format as MS Office.  So these programs are totally compatible.

On to email.  There are really two options for this one.  I suggest using Windows Live Mail (get.live.com) first because I really appreciate Microsoft products.  Secondly, it works very well and comes preinstalled on VISTA machines and can be downloaded to XP.  It includes several other programs you may choose to install with Live Mail, but more on those another day.

The other email program is called Thunderbird (www.mozilla.com/thunderbird) which is made by the makers of Firefox.  Either of these email apps are excellent and should take first-rate care of you.

Now to the most important applications if you intend to ever use your computer online – virus protection.  Keep in mind that these are my opinions and you may feel free to disagree.

For anti-virus I like Avast! (www.avast.com). Choose the “Free Software” link and you must register but it is free.  You SHOULD ONLY run one anti-virus application on your computer.  More than one and you will have problems!

For spyware protection I recommend “Windows Defender”, from MS (Google to find it) and also Spyware Blaster (javacoolsoftware.com).  You are perfectly safe to install more than one or two anti-spyware applications.

Make sure that you also update your operating system automatically.  Update all of the freebies I suggested manually on a regular basis.  Finally, turn on Windows Firewall.  Take into account that you also need to stay away from disreputable sites.  If they involve any illegal downloads and/or scandalous activities, then stay away or you could still get in trouble.

Last week I started the annual, “2008 Links in Review, Part 1” which revisits all of the sites mentioned last year.  You readers seem to appreciate that each year so here is the second part of 2008.  Also, to answer a question from last week about my list:  Some of the sites listed have a name and a link where some just have a link.  When the name of the site is different from the link I listed both.  When they were the same I only wrote it once to save space.  (Listed by order of appearance.)

I hope you all have a great 2009!

• Wunderground.com – weather site.
• Trafficland.com – traffic camera site.
• Fat Fingers, – site used to find deals on Ebay due to misspellings.
• Auctionsniper.com – helps you win more on Ebay.
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary, – online dictionary.
• Excelforum.com – tricks, tips and help for MS Excel.
• Daily News Record Online, – the best newspaper’s online site.
• Google Alerts,  – set up daily email alerts for whatever interests you have.
• Wikisend & Drop,  – sites that allow you to send emails that are too large for your email server.
• Desktopsidebar – a sidebar program like the one for Google and VISTA but better, in my opinion.
• Libra,  – keep track of your Book, DVD, Games & Music collections.
• Icon Restore – keep your desktop icons where you want them.
• Eraser – totally erase files.
• Firefox,  – my favorite browser.
• Orbitz.com – good prices on trip reservations.
• Netflix.com – DVD rentals via snail mail.
• Google Chrome – Google’s internet browser.
• Live Mesh – free online document storage & syncing from Microsoft.
• OpenDNS.com – free surf control software.
• Jooce.com – another online document storage app that also provides you with an online desktop setting.
• Open Office,  & Symphony, symphony.lotus.com – two free MS Office replacements.
• Google Desktop -searches your actual hard drive, email, documents, etc.
• GoodSearch.com & GoodShop.com – allows non-profits to make money off of each search and sale done on them.
• McAfee, Norton & NOD32 – commercial anti-virus software.
• AVG & Avast! – free anti-virus software.
• LetMeGoogleThatForYou.com – a site that animates a Google search for you to send to others.
• iSpring, ispringsolutions.com – converts PowerPoint presentation into an animation for the web.

That’s all and I will see you next week with something new for all of you computer users out there!

I’ve added something new to the site today from Answers.com.

Try double-clicking on any word and see what happens.  Pretty slick isn’t it.  This is a free service provided by Answers.com so if you are a webmaster consider adding it, if you are a web surfer consider trying it on different sites.

Well, it is the first Double Click column of 2009!  Hard to believe we are here again.  As usual…per the many email requests I received, we will look at all of the Internet sites I mentioned last year.  So sit back and get your fingers ready.  By-the-way, if you are a clicker you can go to the DoubleClicks.info site and read the column the day it comes out in the paper and actually click the links.

You asked for it, you’ve got them (in order of their appearance) with short descriptions when needed.

• My Space.com & Facebook.com, – the top two social networking sites.
• Twitter.com, twitter.com/rondoyle – my personal social networking site, from one of the top five, but my favorite.
• Google Maps – excellent mapping site with hotels, landmarks, etc.
• Zune.com – home of Microsoft’s MP3 player.
• iPod/iTunes – home of Apple’s MP3 player.
• Mojopac.com, an application that allows you to add an almost entire computer to your Zune or iPod.
• Picnik.com – free online photo editing site.
• Flickr.com, Photobucket.com, Picasa.com (my favorite) & Webshots.com – free photograph storage sites.
• IRS – you probably understand this one and it’s time to start thinking about it again.
• Geocaching.com – the outdoor gaming site for computer geeks, like me.
• Google.com – I just have to mention it every now and again.
• DoubleClicks.info – you guessed it – you are here.  T site corresponds to my newspaper columns – please visit often.
• WordPress,org,  – site for setting up web forums and sites like Double Clicks.
• Dell.com – where I bought my desktop computer when my “old faithful” died.
• Google Docs – free office suite software online or in the cloud.
• Zoho.com – another free office suite software in the cloud.
• Wakoopa.com – software that shows others what programs you are using on your computer (not details) just what software you run and how often. (visit my stats – http://wakoopa.com/elyod)
• Firefox,  – the number one most used browser per Wakoopa.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer,  – the number two most used browser per Wakoopa.
• Maxthon.com – the number three most used browser per Wakoopa and at that time my favorite.
• Hollywood.com – current movie information.
• TVguide.com – it’s in the name.
• Major Geeks – free software downloads.
• Jetable – pick up a temporary email address.

Next week we will visit part 2 of last year’s links.