Netbooks have become very popular lately, almost  every pc maker  has one, but what is it, and how does it differ from a notebook computer.  The truth is, a netbook is just a smaller, lighter cheaper notebook computer.

The chart below shows the general differences between a netbook and a notebook:

Differences between a netbook and a notebook

As you can see a netbook is basically a smaller, lighter, less expensive notebook computer.  Many applications will run slower on the a netbook, and some won’t run at all. Besides, if you follow the sales, you know that you can  get a pretty decent laptop on sale for between $450 and $600.  So, why get a netbook?  There are two reasons:

1. You travel a lot and want a small computer to check mail, surf the web, and give presentations on.  A netbook is great for this, since it’s small, it doesn’t weigh you down or take up a lot of space, and it won’t break the bank if it’s lost or stolen.  You still need full sized laptop or desktop PC to use when you are not on the road.

2. You run your business on a desktop, but sometimes need a computer to take with you to clients’ offices, or to do lite work off-site.

In either case, the netbook will do better for you of you have a lot of web based apps (google, salesforce.com, etc)  to use.  But remember, DON’T BUY A NETBOOK TO BE YOUR PRIMARY COMPUTER–the keyboard is too small, the monitor is too small, and stuff runs too slow (or not at all) on it.

Before you buy a netbook make sure you check the following:

1. Try out the keyboard – can you type on it?

2. Is the monitor big enough for you to comfortably use?

3. Will the Operating System installed on it run the applications you need. (Linux won’t run Windows applications)

4. Does it have enough disk space to store your data?

5. If you are using it for presentations, does it have the proper video outputs, and resolution?

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think about netbooks.

I mentioned in a post Friday that Microsft is no longer going to support MS Money after Jan 2011.  So now what do you do? This may be a time to re-evaluate  at your accounting software in order to figure out what will meet your needs, and how they can be  best met.

If you are like me, when you started your home business, you used your current personal financial software, I used Quicken, but both Quicken and Microsoft have business features. Now, you have a  couple of options, replace MS Money with an equivalent copy of another brand of financial software, or upgrade to a full-fledged accounting software package. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself to help make this decision:

1. Does your Accounting Software handle expense/revenue categories the way you want?
2. Is it difficult to enter transactions?
3. Are you able to easily get accurate reports on profit and loss, net income, and margin?
4. Do you need online integration with a web store?
5. Do you need customized invoices/easier email delivery?
6. Do you want to better segregate business and personal activities?
7. Do you need to track inventory?
8. Do you need to support double entry/accrual  accounting?

Some options to consider are (this is by no means a complete list)

Outright — Fee basic online accounting. (Well reviewed)

Quickbooks Online (Both Free and Paid Versions)- A next step from personal financial software. (I use this for my consulting business)

Quickbooks – Also free and paid versions — Also easy to transition to, lots of free templates and wizards

Peachtree – More advanced for a businesses that need full support of double entry/accrual accounting

If you have an accountant,  consult him or her, before you make a decision about acounting software (I’m not an accoutant so they will know better then I.) Also since this is in no way a complete list, so please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment section.

According to CNET Microsoft has announced that they will discontinue Microsoft Money. Their schedule is to stop selling it by the end of June 2009, and stop supporting it  as  of January 31, 2011 (19 months from now). The software will still work, but  it won’t be able to download data from banks  after Jan 31 2011.  Here’s a link to the CNET story.

Time to look for a replacement. Quicken is the obvious choice, but you may also want to look at Mint, a free online personal banking app.

As you can see by my lack of content on the subject, I have not gotten very far on my Site since the last update, as you can imagine, without advertising no one knows I have this stuff , and the reason that its junk in my closet is well..because its junk. I’m planning to use the domain for some other stuff soon, so I’m going to retire the site.

I do ant to say that I’m pretty impressed with the Auctiva commerce product. I think that it has a lot of potential, and is worth considering for an online store.  (You can now actually sign up at the site!!)

More here from the Wall Street Journal.
I guess we are off the hook …for now

Related Posts

• 10 Ways Usage Based Internet Access will Change the Internet Landscape

• Fast Read: More usage based pricing for Internet access

One great thing about the Internet is the wide variety of information that is available at your fingertips. The bad thing is that anybody can publish anything (look at me), so you have to make sure that the the site has something of real value, and is not just a rehash of old dated information.  On the subject of marketing, there are two sites that I feel would be valuable to ANY small business owner. These sites consistently provide quality, timely, and useful information.

(OK, this site is called Irunabiz:Technology, and these sites are about marketing, so how do I justify this post. First, They are on the Internet, that’s technology, isn’t it? Second, sometimes they talk about technology subjects like Twitter and Facebook. Third, this is my blog and I can write about anything I want to, so there!)

• Copyblogger. While ‘blogger’ is in the name, this site is about a lot more than blogging. Its about good writing, with a focus on persuasive, and engaging copy. I pick up great tips almost every time I go to it.  It’s also organized very well, so it’s easy to get lots of information on a specific subject.

• The Duct Tape Marketing Blog. This blog is written by John Jantsch (who also has  books and related media on this subject). His blog has a lot of cutting edge information on marketing in general with a focus, lately, on Internet and social media marketing. I think I have referenced material from his blog more than any other. He is well worth reading regularly.

Take some time to let me know about any site you think are worthwhile below.

Related Posts

• Figuring out Twitter when you can barely figure out email.
• Fast Read: Sales and Marketing

I’ve posted a couple of articles(here and here ) about how some major  ISPs (ATT and COMCAST) are piloting usage based Internet access, and it got me to thinking of the possible impacts this could have on how the Internet is used in the future.

1. Everyone will pay more.  (I guess this is kind of obvious). Even if there is an unlimited plan its going be more than what we are paying now. (Look at wireless phone service plans as an example.)

2. People will finally secure their WI-FI networks since they won’t want to pay for their neighbors surfing.

3. No more free WI-FI hotspots at coffee shops and hotels.

4. Large ISPs will partner with various bandwidth heavy sites/apps  (Video,Backup) to  provide services that are ‘exempt’ from usage charges.

5. There will be less video/multimedia on the web.

6. Alternate connection methods that provide unlimited access will see an upsurge (WI-MAX,Satellite, 2nd Tier DSL).

7. There will be less “cloud” computing apps for small business and home users.

8. Google will come up with a low bandwidth items search options.

9. People will be downloading less ‘free’ software to try out. (This may help the Post Office since it may be cheaper to mail a CD/DVD than download, and the Post Office needs help.)

10. Plain-text email will make a comeback.

Those are some of my predictions, what do you think ?

Beware, the Internet may be getting much more expensive:

Time Warner Cable Expands Internet Usage Pricing

Okay, I have a storefront application, now what? There’s a lot more to a web store then a slick application. Below is my list of other things that I’ll  need to start a store:

1. Web Address – I’m using Solutions4Tech.com– A site I registered with GoDaddy.com‡
2. Company Name — I’m using the web address
3. Inventory — Initially, that’s my closet.
4. Regulatory Issues — These are already setup through Solutions4Stuff,LLC.
   -Business License
   -Sales Tax
   -Business Organization
5. Payments — (My Favorite Part) – I’m going to use Paypal for now because I have an existing account. The down-side is  cusotmers will have to leave my site to pay, and it may be confusing. (Even with integration PayPal usulay requires you go to their site)  Luckily I sususpect my customers are used to buying stuff with paypal and won’t be too discouraged.
6. Shipping — I’m using my UPS Online account which integrates with Acutiva Commerce very well.– I’m happy about this

Lucily since my last post, Auctiva fixed most of the issues that I had, and now I have my own Terms and Conditions and I’ve put them in the header instead of on the front page.

“Fun”  Stuff that’s left to do:

1. Entering more inventory –Entering  Inventory is very tedious,  you need pictures, and descriptions — but at least it pays off in the end
2. Entering sales tax info — The state of Georgia has more than 70 different sales tax jurisdictions (mostly counties) . Auctiva lets me setup tax by zip code, but I still have to set them each up and each county doesn’t necessarily follow a zip code perfectly.  Georgia is not the most  Internet business friendly state.

As you know from my previous post. I’ve  started to use Auctiva Commerce for my web store. I was able to sign up because I’m an existing Auctiva customer for their eBay tools and they sent me an invitation. But if you go to thier site: Auctivacommerce.com, they have lots of marketing information, a limted-time offer, and no way to sign up–not even a note saying when you will be able to sign up. That’s got to be quite frustrating for anyone interested in doing business. Not a good way to launch a site in my opinion.