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One thing I still have difficulty making customers at my day job understand about netbooks is that they don’t have an optical drive. Ok, some thin and lights like the Gateway EC14 do, but they’re not that plentiful on Liliputers. “Then how do I get my Norton CD  installed?” they ask. It’s frustrating for customers, and it’s more work for me.

HP’s help desk analysts have probably gotten numerous phone calls about the same issue. Now they’ve got an alternative solution: send netbook owners over to the newly-opened HP Download Store!

But wait, aren’t there already a ton of places where you can buy downloadable software online? Sure, but HP sells a ton of netbooks — and that ton of netbooks will no doubt start shipping with a nice, obvious “click here to buy software and games for your HP Mini!” icon somewhere on their desktop. Customers love simplicity, and not having to hunt around on the ‘net will be probably be enough enticement to drive sales.

The store  is currently considered beta, but it’s open for business should you be inclined to make a purchase. It’s worth noting that notebooks.com did some price checking and HP seems to be a bit high on most items — MS Office Home and Student lists for double what you’ll find it for at some other resellers.

via notebooks.com