I am NOT an engineer. I am an admin to engineers and, more importantly, I am an end user. I am the one who benefits from all the hard work Intel (and other) engineers and developers do. My life, both at work and at home has been enormously improved by the hard work of hardware and software engineers and developers. You Guys Rock!

That said, I thought there might be a niche that I could fill for all my creative, hard working benefactors out there, sort of a pay it forward for all the great things you’ve done for me. I’d like to give you a view from the cheap seats; feedback from the lowly end user who does not have a degree in computer science. So here goes, my thoughts on netbooks.

It has been almost a year since I was a winner in a contest that Intel sponsored and I became the owner of an Acer netbook. At first I was delighted to win, especially after all the excitement surrounding the Atom processor launch. And let’s face it, we females love cute little gadgets. (Can’t you almost hear my high pitched squeal?) Then I powered up my cute new toy and thought, “OK, now what?”

Sure, I could surf the web, but I already have a MacBook and a Sony VAIO (yes, I’m computer bilingual), in addition to my work laptop, so I do not lack access to the internet. The netbook did not have a DVD so I could not watch my movies or load games I already own. Drat! So for most of 2009 my netbook was unused other than some “test drives” by my sons who wanted to try a netbook before buying one of their own. I figured it would be used only for trips when I did not want to lug my laptop.

Then I learned about the new Intel App store that would be launching (in Beta form) at CES. This really grabbed my interest. A way to get apps on my netbook? Cool! From someone I already felt a great deal of trust? Even better! I could hardly wait for CES when I would learn the name of the store and how to get on the bandwagon.

Long story short, I am now a registered user of AppUp. I have downloaded 9 apps so far and have only had one issue – an app for weight loss that was listed as free took me to a site that wanted money to continue. It should have been listed as free trial, not a free app.

On the whole, I like AppUp and am looking forward to seeing it grow into the wonderful site the team envisioned. Having tried it out now, I have several suggested improvements for the site. I would love to be able to see a demo of an app (as opposed to just screen shots) before I commit to buying. Descriptions can be unclear and ratings only tell you what others think, not what your experience will be. (i.e WOW gets really high ratings from my family, but World of Warcraft leaves me yawning, not my cup of tea.) Another cool thing would be a user “wish list” we could use to encourage developers to create apps we end users really want to see.

So, after almost a year with my netbook, I am beginning to really like this different format. I still want to add my favorite Hoyle card games to it without having to pay for it again and I don’t have an external DVD so does anyone have suggestions on how to get it loaded on my netbook?

I am also open to testing new software on my netbook so if that would be helpful to anyone, please contact me. All comments/suggestions on improving my netbook experience are welcome and please check back for updates as my adventures continue.

. Read the rest at Intel.com.