Unsatisfied with your Netbook’s Storage Capacity? Here are Your Options

Netbooks are possibly one of the best things to happen to computer users in years. Now you can get things done without the need to lug around a full-sized laptop. The price point has become so low that buying them is practical for almost everyone and the market continues to get introduced to newer, faster, slimmer models for everyone to choose from. Netbooks are amazing, but the SSD models still lack in a few key areas, storage being the primary one.

Because the netbook was meant to be small, lightweight, easy to transport and most importantly, cheaper than a laptop, many components were scaled back; storage capacity was one of the first ways to cut costs. Some of the smaller Netbooks utilize solid-state drives, or SSD for short. These drives require less power to operate and when combined with more efficient, smaller screens, increase battery life compared to standard notebooks. Because SSD technology is still new though, most drive capacities are very small, and in order to keep the system price low, sometimes under $300. For example, you might get only have four to eight gigabytes of storage. That’s fine, since a netbook wasn’t designed to store your entire iTunes catalog or do heavy Photoshop work. However, that shouldn’t stop you from having access to photos, music or any other digital file, from anywhere you are.

There are a few options to expand your Netbook’s storage capacity. Online storage providers like Mozy and iDrive come to mind, but they require a broadband connection and monthly fees to use. Your data is also held on someone else’s servers and not everyone is comfortable with that, especially for sensitive documents.

Network attached storage devices, NAS for short, are an option. Products like the My Book World Edition by Western Digital kill two birds with one stone. Actually, more like three or four. The My Book World Edition offers 2 TB of storage and plugs directly into your router via the included Ethernet cable. Any computer on your home network can now gain access to the NAS device and move, read, write, create or modify files. In addition, you can access the My Book World Edition via the Internet if you so choose. It gives you the equivalent of online storage but also the capability to keep it private and secure.

You can probably tell, I really like the NAS solution; however, there is one drawback. It is a physical device stored at a specific location where Mother Nature may cause a bit of grief. So of the three options available to expand the storage capacity of a netbook, a NAS device packs the most features, has no monthly costs and doesn’t require you to take anything special with you when you’re on the go. But you will be wise to also have copies of your data stored in some other locations on the off chance that something physically happens to your NAS device, whether it be an online solution or backing up to an external drive periodically and storing that device in a separate physical location.

How do you manage your expanding data collection on your netbook? Do any of you use a thumb drive for this purpose? How do you handle synchronization? Please share your tips and tricks with us in the comments.

This is a guest post from Mike Panic. He is a network administrator and professional photographer who has passion for both technology and fine art and sometimes the two become merged, other times not. His ramblings can be read at Randomn3ss.com and his art can be seen at MikePanic.com.