Smart Tech for Small Biz 
by James Gaskin
James E. Gaskin writes books (16 so far), articles and jokes about technology and real life from his home office in the Dallas area. Gaskin has been helping small and medium sized businesses use technology intelligently since 1986.
This blog covers IT news, views, and product info with the small business angle in mind.
Write him at readers@gaskin.com.
Microsoft Throws Windows 7 Discount Bone to SMBs: Throw It Back
Take the bone Microsoft is throwing us with the measly Windows 7 upgrade discount and throw that bone back. If Windows 7 Professional Upgrade isn't worth $199 until Microsoft has had time to add a service pack or at least some tweaks, it's not worth $169 with the discount before the service pack. Ignore this discount.
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Neither Netbooks Nor Desktops Are “The Answer”
Why do some IT people get so upset about netbooks? Story after story from “real IT” people accuse netbooks of trying to take over the world by fraud or trickery or magic. What IT pundits, like the writer of Forget Netbooks, Desktops Rule, forget is that "normal” people don't care about ideology when they buy a netbook, they care about price, portability, and getting their work done. If a netbook does that for them, why does that upset the IT people?
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Netbook Upgrade Article Interesting But Misguided
PCWorld just released Ten Ways to Upgrade Your Netbook. While I applaud the research and effort that went into the article, the entire concept misses the point of netbook use for the majority of users. Three of the ten ways make sense for netbooks, but the rest are ways to hack your netbook into becoming more like a laptop. They aren't laptops, they're netbooks. And the article skips the best way to improve your netbook: install Google's Chrome as a browser, because it processes Javascript faster than other browsers.
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Nokia Releases Details on Booklet 3G, Their New Netbook
Nokia, the global leader in cell phones (but lagging in the US), hinted about a netbook product launch last month. On Monday, they released more details (Nokia Enters the Netbook Market with the Booklet 3G). It appears to be a classy rendering of a modern netbook with all the standard screen (10 inch) processor (Intel Atom) and memory options. One nice touch: it has an HDMI port for external monitors, not the traditional 9-pin VGA port.
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