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Even if they are smaller and admittedly less powerful than laptops, netbooks like the Asus EEE, HP Mini, Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, and all other mini laptops can still hold your files through external space that you can access wherever you are. This is where portable storage devices and the Internet can help without costing you more.

Intel recommends eight easy ways to extend your netbook without installing extra software:

1. Use free Internet storage. You can choose from hundreds of online storage services that offer as much as 25GB. The advantage of online storage is you can access the files anywhere, even from an Internet kiosk or café. Try signing up for accounts in sites like The Linkup, Xdrive, and Divshare.

2. Stream your music. With limited storage space, it's not possible to store a lot of music in your netbook, so it's more practical to access free and legal music libraries that can stream music using Internet radio services like last.fm, Jango , and Musicovery.

3. Use multi-account messengers or online messaging services. The Asus EEE series comes with Pidgin, an instant messaging software that allows you to log in to your Yahoo, MSN, and other protocols all at once. You can also try using web-based messengers like Meebo to communicate with family and friends, instead of installing software on your netbook.

4. Edit your photos online. Some netbooks come pre-installed with basic tools to crop and edit your photos, but if yours doesn't, you can use online tools to edit photos. Some of the newest ones are the free service Picnik or the more professional Snipshot, which costs US $9 per month. These tools do not require installation and may work with online photo storage tools like Flickr or Photobucket.

5. Upload your photos. Once you've edited your photos, share it with friends and family using online image storage services such as Flickr or Photobucket.

6. Use removable storage devices. It's always useful to back up files in a more tangible device like USB thumb drives or larger external drives. If you find external drives too expensive, you can use free online services like Mozy, which can hold as much as 2GB for free.

7. Subscribe to Internet TV. You can always turn to YouTube or Soapbox for great streaming videos. If the video you're searching for is not on either sites, you can also try tracking your show with Find Internet TV.

8. Use online office suites. You can use the Internet to back up office files and let your colleagues peruse them. Google Apps even comes with Google Docs, Google Video, and other tools that you can share with colleagues without worrying too much about security, since access to these can be limited easily to select few.