What is a netbook and how would I re-install the operating system on a flash drive?
A netbook is a really, really small notebook. The screen is usually less than 10" and to keep the size down they don't have any DVD, CD or other drives although they do have USB ports and memory card readers. Although you can get them with a hard drive installed the ones that use a solid state drive are what you want - these have no moving parts. To keep the cost down some don't include Windows but opt for a version of Linux instead. The one I decided to go with was the ACER Aspire One with the following:
Acer Aspire One 110-1588
Intel Atom processor
8.9" screen
1GB RAM
16GB storage (8GB SSD + 8GB SDHC)
Windows XP Home
For $299 it also includes built in Wireless G and a network port and comes with Microsoft Works 8.5
When it arrived, I was truly taken back by how small this thing really is. You can hold it in one hand! It does include a 60 day trial version of McAfee Security and a 60 day trial version of Microsoft Office - Both of which I promptly removed. I really wish they would ship computers without any trial software or at least give us the option of installing it ourselves. Now without a CD drive it does make it difficult to install other software such as your printer. Not to worry, Once I had the wireless network up and running I just went to their website and downloaded/installed the proper driver that way. These things are not the fastest things in the world but surfing the Internet and checking Email is no problem. The included Works program has almost everything you need, word processor, database, spreadsheet, calendar and will even let you create cards.
The netbook came with a Windows XP SP3 disk and a system CD but how in the world would I be able to use them if I had to reload Windows without a drive? As it turns out, you would have to have an external drive connected with a USB cable to reload from the disk or you can run the disk in another computer that will allow you to create a bootable flash drive.
updated January 2009