Your netbook is lean and mean. It's designed to be light and compact, perfect for keeping you connected when you're on the go. So, today we'll look at five must-have applications that deserve a place on every netbook. Apps like Rocketdock, Skype and Dropbox.

Making the switch to Linux, even part-time, can feel like a bit of a shock to the system. Doc helps to ease the transition by rounding up his 10 favorite Linux apps that are free for the download. This week, we look at one through five and in next week's show, Doc rounds it out with numbers six through 10.

When you install Windows, it comes with the basics to get online, chat online, send and receive email and more. However, you'll soon find that specialized applications do the job better. For everyone who loves free software, Michael "Doc" Callahan chats up his top 10 must have free Windows applications. He's going to cover a range of tools for browsing, instant messaging and much more. Part one covers the first five of his

top 10 free Windows apps

.

Ubuntu is a solid operating system and it comes with some really solid software as well. If you're concerned about missing something should switch from Windows, fear not: Ubuntu comes with all the basic tools you need to get started on the

Internet

.

There's such a variety of instant messaging clients today that it's hard to keep up. Adium lets you work from your Mac and stay in touch with family and friends that are on a variety of IM networks. With support for ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk and more, Adium is a perfect choice for coping with IM overload.

With so many instant messaging (IM) accounts, wouldn't it be nice to be able to manage them all in one place? From MSN / Windows Live Messenger to ICQ, AIM, Google Talk and more, Pidgin is the one-stop shop IM client. And it's free. We'll show you where to get it and how to set it up.