You might also have a look at
Wubi. It allows you to dual boot between Windows and Ubuntu Linux, but you don't need to repartition your hard drive or use a thumb drive.
I think you would find
installing and using applications in Ubuntu (Wubi is just a specialized version of Ubuntu) pretty straightforward. In fact I would consider installing software in Ubuntu to be quite a bit easier than Windows, since you install all software through the "Ubuntu Software Center". There's no need to go to a bunch of different web sites and download each program (Firefox, etc) separately, you just select the program(s) from a list and click install (the program will be downloaded to your netbook and installed).