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Introduction to choosing a laptop

Choosing a laptop is not a simple decision, and probably will involve you delving
through tons of technical documents and jargon, just to be at the end of it
completely none the wiser.

First off, ignore all the jargon like cpu speed, and look at the way you would
use the machine, think about things like it’s likely environment, what are it’s
primary uses likely to be, how is it likely to be handled? For instance do you
require it to be just used at home permanently nestled in the corner, or are
you likely to use it as a gps navigation device whilst mountain climbing in
sub zero temperatures?

OK so the sub zero temprature part we’ll leave alone for this article, but you
get my point? Link these two factors up with what your budget is, and you are
armed with a good deal of the knowledge you will need to make the correct choices.

Factors in choosing a laptop

1. The laptop’s environment, this; in the life of a laptop can be anything from
- bouncing around in the boot of a car to sitting unmoved on a desktop apart
from the odd dusting. For most users of laptops it’s usually a mixture of both,
plus a few train journeys, a little sunbathing over the park or in the garden,
a few slips from the lap onto the floor and the odd, “It’s my turn now - Mum!”
scream from the kids.

Why should the environment affect my decision? I hear you ask. Well imagine
this scenario; Your in the shop, with your pockets full of money, and you spot
a shiny laptop you just have to have. You think, great I can do some work at
home, reply to emails whilst sitting in that long boring train journey home,
and best of all it looks great. What you should be thinking is - How is the
weight of the laptop going to affect my shoulder whilst I carry it from office
to train station to bus stop to home each working day and will the battery last
long enough.

2. The laptop’s use, mostly this can be classed into two types, business and
home usage. For the typical business user, battery life may be a more important
factor than say a DVD re-writer, where as for the home user, who may well run
the laptop from the AC adapter most of the time, battery life would be way down
the list of decisive factors.

But this is really where you need to start making a wishlist of what you will
and would like to use the laptop for, just try and think of a list of ten things
and then priorities them.

3. Laptop budget. This is the part where, if your wishlist above overstretches
your budget, you will need to loose one or two of the lower prioritised items.
I guess for most people, this is the one factor they find the hardest to be
flexible on, but think about finance, most of the major manufacturers offer
finance direct from their websites.

I would advise everybody buying a laptop to take out an extended warranty plus
additional accidental damage cover, if it’s not covered on your home contents
insurance. The warranty speaks for itself, laptops are designed to be mobile but not always made to be,
and things that move around go wrong more than stationary objects, they also tend to get a little more battered. So remember
to factor these extra costs into your budget.

I’m the owner of the http://www.laptop-repair-service.co.uk, I can’t help you choose a laptop more than this article but if it ever goes wrong, or you do something like drop it and break the lcd screen, give us a call and we’ll do our best to get you up and running again.

Like millions of others, you may be the victim of cell phone abuse. What is cell phone abuse? Let’s say you’re in a public place trying to concentrate on something or having a face-to-face conversation or just enjoying a peaceful moment when a stranger 5-10 feet away starts talking on his or her cell phone. If, as a result, your concentration is broken or your conversation is interrupted or your peaceful moment ruined or you are otherwise disturbed, then consider yourself the victim of cell phone abuse.

Making or receiving one or two short calls in public among strangers is okay but extensive cell phone use or long cell phone chats which disturb other people is an invasion of privacy. It’s inconsiderate, it’s annoying, it’s discourteous.

And worse, it’s abuse.

And if the victim of cell phone abuse politely (or rudely) interrupts the abuser (as they talk on and on) and asks them kindly to take their cell phone elsewhere, or kindly be quiet; it’s disturbing, the victim is all too often met with a perplexing look or even more abuse, as in “what’s YOUR problem, I’m on the phone here!” Sure. Right. Every cell phone call is important and meaningful; so important and meaningful that people expose it to total strangers in public! Pul-eese.

Symptoms of Cell Phone Abuse -

while in the immediate vicinity of strangers using their cell phone common symptons may include:

• inability to concentrate on what you are doing

• mild or severe irritability or annoyance

• sensitivity to stupid or loud ring tones

• initially thinking the cell phone user is actually talking to YOU

• wishing they would hurry up and finish the call

• wishing they would leave

• wishing their cell phone battery would die

Cell phone abuse is a worldwide epidemic which is now affecting millions of men, women and children, with no relief in sight.

To the victims of cell phone abuse we say; we feel your pain and, though it’s difficult, you will survive this horrible public abuse.

To the cell phone abusers we say … try a little cell phone courtesy … and do not burden or abuse others with your pseudo social and/or business self-importance. Or, at least, if you are in public and there are strangers around, keep your cell phone calls interesting … and short. On behalf of the millions of us who suffer cell phone abuse every day, we thank you.

About The Author

Andrew Lawrence is a philosopher, founder of the Life Purpose Society and strives to help people feel better, do better, be better. He can be reached via http://lifepurpose.0catch.com

What is 3G

The download speeds surpass that of GPRS many times. Products include video calls, video
messaging plus voice calls and SMS. Multimedia functionality allows you to play music,
send pictures and video clips and play games real time.

What is GPRS

GPRS sits on top of GSM technology and mobile service providers can offer the general
packet radio service to its subscribers as an always on connection rather than the
traditional dial up data connections.

So what are the benefits of GPRS to the user?

For a start its always on, the mobile device will gain an IP address from the DHCP pool
available at each cell, the network will then allow you to exchange data whenever you need
to without having to dial up an authenticate. Practical uses of this allow for swift
recovery of email with frequent pop3 checks of your mailbox and messenger style
applications can work on GPRS too so having MSN on your mobile is possible, although
Symbian messenger and other 3rd party applications are far more common.

What is GSM

The international, pan-European operating standard for the current generation of digital
cellular mobile communications. It enables mobile phones to be used across national
boundaries.

The arrival of GSM technology gave the chance for a different type of data connection one
where data is moved in packets, IP data is already packetised and bytes of info are sent
all round the world in this form everyday

GSM networks are made up of a number of transmitters or cells each of these can have a
range of a few kilometres or just a few hundred meters depending on their proximity to
each other

What is MP3

MP3 stands for MPEG layer 3 audio, MPEG being a form of compression used in both video and
audio, so why compress why not just capture digitally, well its all down to size, in this
case size of captured files a WAV file (the standard for CD) produces massive files which
even with the event of broadband connections are just too big, for example a 1 minute file
equates to 10mb of storage.

What is SMS

Short Message Service (SMS) is a quick and simple way to communicate
short messages via mobile phones, handheld devices, and increasingly even landline
telephones. Commonly known as text messages, SMSes, or even texts the practice has spread
rapidly throughout the world, evident by the fact that 500 billion such messages were sent
in the last year alone.

What is WAP

WAP phones don’t display graphics and the sites only offer text. Typically this is menus
and scrollable lists form which you choose an option and an information list will be
displayed.

WAP Phone uses can include sending and receiving email, accessing news, weather,
schedules, financial data and the like; all in a mobile environment (like in the middle of
a field) - an advantage the PC can never truly emulate.

What is Bluetooth

Everybody has heard of it, but what is Bluetooth. It’s
a great feature, developed by Sony Ericsson, that enables other Bluetooth devices to
communicate with your mobile phone. It’s great for downloading photos taken with your
mobile to your pc. It’s also invaluable for synchronising your mobile’s calendar and
scheduler features with your PC. Most good mobiles have features that integrate to
Microsoft’s Outlook Express, this enables tasks and events to be entered on the PC then
downloaded at your convenience to the mobile phone.

Another great use is to swap photos and contact numbers with your mates, providing they
also have Bluetooth mobiles, of course.

To connect to the PC requires a “dongle” to be fitted to your PC, usually in the
USB slot, and the software to be installed on your PC. That’s all there is to it.

Martin Burgess is owner of affiliate sites Firmex Online
Shopping, Firmex Gaming, and Uk Shopping Directory

If you are a part of the modern information age today, you would have noticed that everything these days is moving at a blistering pace. It wasn’t that many years ago that we were tethered to our walls if we wanted to talk to someone that wasn’t within earshot. These days you are hard-pressed to find a place that average everyday users like you or I would go where a mobile phone will not get coverage. If we indeed do happen to find such a place, we are outraged at the inconvenience. It is surreal to think that something that sounded like science-fiction such a short time ago is now so ingrained in our society today that we seemingly cannot live without it. Well brace yourself for Round Two, because Internet connectivity is about to come of age as well.

Wireless routers seemed to enter the market place without too much fanfare. This may have been in part due to their slightly less reliable nature in first incarnations, or the fact that people just couldn’t see the use for wireless connections in the home. Why have wireless connections when for years we have become used to the fact that if you have a computer in your house, there will be a phone line next to it? Now that we are on the move more and more, wireless connections are starting to make a lot of sense to the average Internet user.

To cope with our new thirst for data-on-the-go there is a new wave of ‘hotspots’ springing up. These are places where people can take wireless compatible computers and connect to the web with minimal fuss. Airports, hotels, and bus stations were the first logical places for this type of connection but they are now spreading to places wherever people use computers. People have even begun to list free hotspots at sites like http://www.wififreespot.com/. This is great if you are traveling across country and need to check your email or send photos back to loved ones.

The games-makers have also realized that this is a booming area. Nintendo have just partnered with McDonalds to start bringing consumers wireless gaming via the Nintendo Dual Screen (www.nintendo.com/systemsds) handheld console at selected restaurants across the country. When I connect wirelessly to other people in the world and race around a track in Mario Kart, there is barely time to reflect on how amazing this technology truly is.

There are also certain Internet service providers who now have begun to offer ‘unwired’ services to their customers. This type of connection requires no physical link to the end consumer. Traditionally you would have your wireless router plugged into your existing land-line connection and then you could connect your computer without the use of a cable. Now, the only requirement is that the consumer is based within the large hotspots that the service provider has created. No more hooking up to the phone line.

With all this data flowing freely through the air at ever increasing speeds it is hard not to get carried away thinking about what could actually be done with this sort of technology. Your DVD collection could be stored anywhere in your house and available on demand to any one of your displays, be it in the kitchen, lounge room, or bedroom. The same thing would apply for your music. You could even have a small chip stored in your shoe, clothing, or wallet that linked your personal ID to your play lists. As you moved from room to room in the house, your data could follow you. Ovens could have a direct stream of your recipes for easy access. The trusty alarm clock could wake you at any time with only the day’s News that you want to hear. There could even be an in-depth weather report from your closet as you get dressed. Removing the constraints of ‘where’ we can access information means that rather than slowing us down while we gather it, information can be fed to us as we need it.

As these hotspots grow you won’t even have to leave your data at home. Even the traditional act of sitting down and watching television could be tailored to your personal needs and streamed to you at times when you are able to watch it, such as bus trips or waiting at the dentist. Doing the shopping could be as easy as picking up an order that you mailed ahead during a lunch break. To some this all might sound like information overload and to an extent, you could be right. There is however an upside to packing more into the small, unutilized spaces of our day. If we can get small jobs done while we are commuting or waiting at the dentist, rather than having to go home, sit down, and log on, it frees up a larger chunk of time for us later to go out and enjoy life. Just don’t forget to turn your phone off so you won’t be interrupted while you do!

So you’ve finally decided to buy an external hard drive as a backup option for your computer. This is a great choice for you because you’re making backing up your data faster and easier than you could ever have imagined. You’re also making your data far more portable in larger quantities than before.

You’ll no longer be limited to storing a few hundred megabytes or even several gigabytes. Nope. Now you can look forward to portable and reliable storage capacities ranging into terabytes. That frustrating desktop computer or network file server backup job just got a whole lot easier.

If you’ve never bought an external hard disk before then there’s a few pointers here that may help to have on your shopping list before you go and make that final purchase.

1. Buy A Brand
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a brand name that you easily recognize. Sure these may cost a little more than brand x but with computer accessories like this you really do get what you pay for. If a Maxtor 100GB external drive costs $200 and another brand x 100GB drive costs $80 why do you think that is? Because the company likes you? Because they like making smaller profits? No it’s because it’s a cheaper drive made with inferior parts that’s going to break a lot sooner than you might expect.

The other aspect of sticking with a brand is your warranty. For example Maxtor, Western Digital and Iomega are all reliable companies and well known for their external hard disks. If something goes wrong with your drive you can have it fixed. With brand x you’ll probably not even be able to find an email address that you can contact the parent company on. Is saving a few dollars worth that risk?

2. Google It
Whatever brand or model you decide on make sure you do some research before purchasing. Always, always Google the exact brand and model of the drive you’re considering buying. Look for reviews and especially any feedback on how reliable a drive is. You’ll be very surprised to find that some companies have particularly bad reputations in terms of equipment reliability and what’s known as the “click of death” in the external hard drive industry.

Spend time in Google checking out your prospective purchase. You’ll be glad that you did.

3. Connectivity
When it comes to external hard drives you’ll need to choose carefully when selecting your connection types. Your external hard drive will support either USB or Firewire. Firewire is the fastest option available at the moment but your computer may not support this. The vast majority of modern computers will, however, feature a USB port.

The next question now is what type of USB port do you have - USB 1.0 or 2.0? If your computer only has a USB 1.0 port then your external hard drive is going to transfer data VERY slowly. USB 2.0 is the minimum you should consider as connection options for both your computer and your external hard drive. If you don’t have a USB 2.0 port (also called HiSpeed USB) on your computer you may need to get a USB 2.0 card fitted.

4. Speed
Now of course we need to talk about speed. The faster your hard drive operates the faster data will get transferred to your computer and vice versa. Without boggling you with comptuer jargon there’s a couple of technical things you need to include on your shopping list.

Seek time - this needs to be 10ms (milliseconds) or less

Buffer size - more is better. Get a drive with at least a 4MB buffer.

RPM - higher is better. 5400rpm as a minimum. 7200rpm being preferred.

Stick to the above basic pointers and you’ll do just fine.

5. Size
This is the simple part of the whole “buying an external hard drive” equation. Buy as much as you can afford. If you can afford 100GB then get it. However if you can afford 200GB then get it. Then again if you scraped together a few dollars more you could afford 300GB then do it.

This isn’t a sales pitch. Far from it. There is simply no such thing as having too much data storage space. The 160GB drive that I have here was filled up in a little under a month. Currently a terabye option sounds good for my future needs.

Always add 50% to your data storage requirements. Honestly. You’ll thanks yourself within the first 90 days of buying your external drive.

Hopefully now you’ll be better prepared for purchasing your new external hard drive. It’s one of the best purchases you’ll ever make.

Looking for the best external hard drive? Visit BackupAdvice.com for more information on your options.

Choosing a cellular phone plan for all your needs.

Cellular phone plans are offered by a variety of cellular phone companies like AT&T, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, and many more. A cellular phone company of your choice can offer you a cellular phone plan that is right for your individual needs.

Each buyer has access to many promotions offered by cellular phone companies when you sign up for one of their cellular phone plans. These promotions can include free cellular phone, best camera cell phone, free cellular phone services like text messaging, and many more. You can also receive free cellular phone accessories such as a free car charger.

Characteristics of a cellular phone plan.

Each cellular phone plan’s characteristics include price, included minutes, promotional offers, etc. Various cellular phone plans are available based on your cellular phone usage. Many low usage plans are priced as low as $29.99. If you use you cellular phone a lot, you can get a plan with unlimited minutes. If all your family uses cellular phones, you can sign up for a family wireless plan. Prepaid cellular phones are also available for purchase.

Before choosing a cellular phone plan, list all the cellular phone services that you would like to have and specify the amount of minutes you will need each month, the price you are willing to pay, and the features you would like to have in your cellular phone. Based on that information select a cellular phone company that offers a plan that suits all your needs. If several cellular phone plans are available with the same features, select the one that offers better promotions.

Selecting the best cellular phone when you sign up for a cellular phone plan is also very important. As technology advances, many new cellular phones with new features are offered. An example of a new technology advance would be a camera cell phone.

Visit http://www.camera-cell-phones-2u.com

Laptop Notebook – Your Portable Office

In much of today’s business world, portability and mobility are the keys to success. Having a laptop notebook computer provides business men and women with portable computing capability, and these notebooks help them take their mobile business functionality to a new level.

Notebook Computers Provide Portability to Today’s Workers

Advances in computer electronics have brought us to the point where we can take these mobile and portable notebook computers all over the world, conduct business from home with our notebooks, and even connect our laptops to a computer network in Los Angeles from a coffee shop in Atlanta. These notebooks have changed how we conduct business, and in order to keep up with these changes more and more professionals and companies are making the investment of notebooks for themselves and their mobile workforce.

For the small company or individual business owner, the investment needed to buy notebooks and move into the world of portability and mobility doesn’t have to be enormous. Some companies, especially larger ones, will make the decision to invest big money in the top of the line notebook computer. Other companies will choose to make a lesser but equally valuable investment in discount or used laptops. As long as the laptop computers meet the mobile business needs, making the smaller investment in notebooks works out great for companies or individuals who are conducting mobile and portable business on a tighter budget.

Want to read more about Electronics? Visit electronicsme.net or electronicsme.com for the latest articles on televisions, digital still cameras, and notebook computers.

Electronicsme: Where electronics are made easy!

Written by the eme team

Electronicsme.net: Where electronics are made easy! The latest articles on televisions, laptops and digital cameras.

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Electronicsme.com: Where electronics are made easy! The latest news, reviews and comparisons of electronics, photography, and computers.

Li-Polymer (Lithium Polymer) is still quite rare and an even more advanced type of batteries. That technology helps make even thinner and lighter batteries. Lithium Polymer batteries are molded into more varied shapes and it will be squeezed into smaller phone casings. Lithium Polymer Battery (Li-Poly) is the newest and most advanced technology for cellular phone batteries. This brand new chemistry of battery allows for the most compact cells available. Li-Poly batteries are extremely light and thin and allow the most battery life for the size. Lithium Polymer cellular batteries share all of the benefits of Li-ION batteries but will last over twice as long.

The Li-polymer differs from other battery systems in the type of electrolyte used. This electrolyte resembles a plastic-like film that does not conduct electricity but allows the exchange of ions (electrically charged atoms or groups of atoms). The polymer electrolyte replaces the traditional porous separator, which is soaked with electrolyte.

The dry polymer design offers simplifications with respect to fabrication, ruggedness, safety and thin-profile. There is no danger of flammability because no liquid or gelled electrolyte is used. With a cell thickness measuring as little as one millimeter (0.039 inches), design engineers are left to their own imagination in terms of form, shape and size. Theoretically, it is possible to create designs which form part of a protective housing, are in the shape of a mat that can be rolled up, or are even embedded into a carrying case or a piece of clothing. Such innovative batteries are still a few years away, especially for the commercial market. This lithium polymer innovation will go long way in reducing the weight of the cell phone. The major reason for switching to Li-ion polymer is form factor.

The main advantages are:
- It provides more than three times of energy density
- Polymer electrolyte allows for flexible design
- The design of the battery is as one millimeter (0.039?) in thickness
- It looks very slim unlike other prevailing batteries
- The batteries are molded in a more variety of shapes and sizes.

Robert is a Freelance Writer For Cellularbatts.com. They Specialize In All Kinds of Cell Phone Battery. No Matter What Kind Of Battery You Are Looking For Whether It Be A Samsung Cell Phone Battery, Or A Motorola Cell Phone Battery You Can Find it Here.

Ever since the popular television show “Candid Camera” was first aired, people became more aware of the possibility of hiding a camera to spy on somebody. This fascination with seeing people’s unguarded moments, combined with the technological advances in video recording tools gave rise to the hidden spy cam industry. Camera manufacturers had to take into account that people wanted to have similar equipment to the type seen in spy movies and on television.

There are various reasons to hide a small camera to spy on someone, and some of the reasons are not always wholesome. Many people use such cameras to spy on their neighbor while they get dressed, and several cases of people secretly filming others having sex have caused several problems. This is not to say that hidden spy cams are always used for immoral purposes, since they have been used to great effect by the police, FBI, and other law enforcement agencies.

Some cameras that are so small as to be practically undetectable are currently in use all over the world. Some of the surveillance devices commonly seen in popular spy movies are real. For example, there are several cameras on the market that look like simple pens. Even modern cell phones with high tech cameras can be used to spy on people. The most popular place to hide spy cameras is inside common household items that include an electric cord.

Several battery operated wireless cams can be hidden anywhere. Some people have caught their spouses cheating on them or caught nannies stealing or abusing their child thanks to hidden spy cams. Even people that don’t know much about technology or electronics can buy a miniature spy cam, hide it, and start monitoring in just minutes.

Spy Cams provides detailed information about spy cams, hidden spy cams, pinhole spy cameras and more. Spy Cams is affiliated with Discount Laptop Computers.

What’s Your Processor?

First and most important thing to consider when buying your motherboard - what CPU or processor are you using? Motherboards are made differently, not all motherboards will support all CPUs. What CPU you select will determine the type of motherboard you get.

For example, if you want to use an Intel Pentium 4 CPU, the motherboard you select must be able to support that brand and model of CPU. The motherboards are also designed to support specific speeds for a CPU, so make sure it can support the speed of the processor as well.

Choose Your Chipset

What is a chipset? Well, chipsets are the main controllers on the motherboard - they allow the CPU to interface with the various components and expansion cards installed.

When choosing your chipset, always bear in mind the type of memory supported by the motherboard. Make sure that the board supports the type and amount of RAM you need. Generally, choosing a chipset that supports high speed memory will allow your system to perform better.

Expansions Slots and Connectors

If you intend to various peripherals to the computer, then the number and type of expansion slots and connectors is important. By default, most motherboards these days have USB 2.0 ports incorporated into their design. If you do a lot of video capturing and editing, you’ll also want to have a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port. If you intend to buy expansion cards, make sure the board comes with an ample number of PCI slots.

Do You Need to Overclock?

If you want to overclock your CPU (though I don’t particularly encourage it) - you should ensure you get a motherboard that supports overclocking. You’ll want a motherboard that has a wide range of adjustments to CPU settings, including CPU voltage and bus speeds.

Other Features

These days, most motherboards have a whole host of extra features loaded into them. These can include things such as on-board Ethernet, audio, a RAID controller or even graphics. I find such features very handy as they help you save money - you need not buy additional expansion cards.

Conclusion

In short, make sure you do your homework when purchasing a motherboard. Go to the motherboard manufacturer’s website and read about its products. Download the motherboard manual and see if its well documented.

At the risk of sounding biased, I’ve always preferred ASUS motherboards. However, its all up to you. Consider what features are important to you and go get your motherboard. As I said earlier, don’t scrimp on the motherboard. Its one of the most important PC components, so get the best you can afford.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on building computers. Visit his
website at Build-Your-Own-Computers.com for tips and tricks on assembling a PC, as well as buying good computer components.