Digital News and Review

Archive for October, 2009

For a busy population that’s always on the move but still wants to be connected to the rest of the globe via the World Wide Web, portability and functionality are key in any piece of technology. Laptops have the market cornered – each one that comes out is lighter, has better battery life and more functions. But the rise of the Netbook has been a serious challenge to laptop manufacturers. So which is better? And why should you still come down on the side of the laptop?

Weighing up the options

The obvious advantage that a Netbook has over a laptop is the size. Netbook displays usually range from seven to 10 inches, whereas laptops normally start at between 13 and 14 inches. While this inevitably makes the Netbook smaller and more compact, it does restrict the size of the screen, making it limited in its ability to show applications such as films, pictures or games. They also have limited resolution, currently a maximum of 1024×600. Anything below this maximum level of screen resolution doesn’t allow you to view the whole width of a web page at once. So the user has to resort to scrolling across the screen to read an entire line of text. A laptop has a larger screen and higher resolution, allowing you to view the entire web page in comfort.

When it comes to power and battery life, the Netbook wins. Their smaller size makes them much more power efficient than a laptop, giving them a battery lifespan of about three times longer than an average laptop. However, the latest generation of laptops are addressing this issue, and some of the best are now comparable with Netbooks.

Where the laptop beats the Netbook hands down is in the performance. Netbooks may have the advantage of being much smaller and lighter than a laptop, but that strength is also a weakness when it comes to performance. Because a laptop has a larger internal hard drive, it is capable of running a far greater variety of applications than a Netbook. You could, of course, upgrade your Netbook with an additional external hard drive bolt-on, but that really detracts from the point of having a Netbook in the first place. A laptop gives you greater hard drive capacity, higher processor speeds (particularly if you have a dual core processor) and greater graphics memory, making them a far more versatile tool.

Netbooks are also lacking in one major department – they don’t have optical disc drives, so you cannot use CDs or DVDs as you can with a laptop. Yes, they do have Wi-Fi connectivity built in, but that doesn’t make up for the lack of a CD-ROM drive, particularly if you do a lot of work with programmes like Auto-CAD, or have to re-install Windows in the event of a crash!

Smaller isn’t always better

One of the commonest complaints about Netbooks is the size of the keyboard. If you have large fingers, you’ll probably spend as much time correcting typing errors as actually typing out your work. This makes them impractical for exercises such as note taking, for example. The limited processing power in a Netbook means that running any kind of processor-heavy application will also slow the Netbook down considerably – not the most desirable situation if you are trying to watch a download from the Internet or even play a game.

Finally, that clincher – the price. Netbooks are cheaper than top of the range laptops, but even a cheaper, entry-level laptop will have more processing power than a Netbook, and will only be slightly more expensive. So if you want a piece of technology that will do everything you ask it to, the choice has to be a laptop every time.

Thinking about buying your first laptop? Many people quote portability and convenience as top reasons they purchase laptops instead of desktops for their computing needs. With such a wide variety of laptops available for purchase, it’s important to consider carefully what your needs are before buying your first laptop. The first thing you need to decide is what kind of laptop you need, so you should ask yourself what you will use the laptop most for. Different needs dictate different specifications of the laptop best for you.

People choose laptops for a variety of purposes. One of the largest group of new laptop owners are students, who tend to be on tight budgets. It used to be that laptops were much more expensive than desktops, but today, laptops called notebooks are in a student’s price range. These notebook computers are small and light, making them very portable However, these laptops tend to be limited in function, as many of them do not have a CD/DVD drive. These laptops are ideal for doing homework and reading the news and are generally ideal for students.

Another type of laptop user is the business person. People who only require access to spreadsheets, and word processing can get by with a lower end laptop. However, many business people require a little more in their laptops. In this case, there are laptops that have more memory, faster processing and many more functions. These computers are going to be more expensive and a bit bulkier, but they offer the business world the ability to use their computers for everything from memos and email to PowerPoint presentations.

Home users are another group of people who have started using laptops more and more often. This group of people uses their computer for a very wide variety of reasons: browsing the internet, paying bills, email, IM-ing and, frequently for games. If gaming is a priority for this individual, a dedicated graphic card is a must. Downloading music, pictures and videos are also done very often by the home user, so it’s important to consider the memory of the laptop.

A few things to look for when buying your first laptop are battery power, display screen, hard drive, memory and processing. Do your research ahead of time, and you’ll know exactly what your needs are to get the best first laptop for you.

Buying a new laptop can be an expensive business. With the top of the range models changing hands for close to a thousand pounds and a mind-boggling array of dual-core processors, VGA graphics and other techno-speak to confuse the uninitiated, it can also be an intimidating process. So if you′re planning on investing some of your hard-earned cash on a laptop, what should you be looking for?

Comfort and ergonomics

If you′re going to be spending any length of time working at a laptop, you want it to be comfortable. Neck strain is a real problem when using a laptop, because the monitor is rarely at the optimum position for comfortable usage. Problems such as RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are also associated with extended use of keyboards, and as the keyboards on laptops can be considerably more cramped than those on desktop PCs, the advice here is try before you buy. The larger the laptop, the closer its keyboard will resemble a desktop PC design.

Most laptops also incorporate either a touchpad or tracking pointer as a replacement for an external mouse. Although fine for occasional use, if you′re using a mouse constantly (such as with gaming or graphics packages), you may find that a touchpad makes the cursor more difficult to control. Check the sensitivity of the touchpad on the laptop you′re interested in and if it doesn′t match your needs, shop around for one that does.

Connectivity

Upgrades are not as practical an option on a laptop as they are with a desktop PC, so being able to connect to external devices is important. Cheaper laptops may not have as many USB ports and often will not have a printer port at all, so if you′re using external devices that require connectivity through a printer port, a laptop may not be the answer. The best option is to look for a laptop that more than meets your needs, and has plenty of ‘wriggle room’ if you want to use it for more advanced applications.

Connectivity to the Internet is also vital. Internal modems that will connect quickly and easily to Wi-Fi provision has made the laptop a modern marvel, allowing you to surf the ‘net almost anywhere in the world. Check the speed of your connection, whether it has Bluetooth and how easy it is to use on the go.

That all-important battery life

The whole point of a laptop is to free yourself from the confines of cables, wires and being tethered to one place. But laptop batteries are notorious for their limited lifespan, with even the very best laptops only just managing to achieve seven or eight hours before they need to be hooked up to the mains. The average is four to five hours, but if you′re using processor-heavy applications, that figure could be reduced considerably. If you′re looking for a laptop that will download movies or operate high-resolution graphics packages such as games or CAD programmes, then go for one that has the longest battery life, unless you′re happy to be tethered to the mains all the time.

Size matters

The whole point of buying a laptop is to give you the flexibility to use your computer on the go. So the size and weight is a key factor when choosing your laptop. Larger displays, multiple hard drives and other integrated components will all add to the weight and size of your laptop. The largest source of weight may be the battery, so if you decide to choose a model that has two batteries to benefit from the extended run time in between recharges, expect it to be considerably heavier. There are small, lightweight laptops with extremely long battery life times, but these are far more expensive than the average laptop.

If you′re spending a lot of time travelling abroad, the size and weight of your laptop is going to be much more important, so once again, shop around and if you′re only using your laptop for a limited range of functions, consider looking at Netbooks as an alternative.

Finally, remember that laptops are not future-proof. The technology used in laptops is advancing at an astonishing rate and laptops are difficult to upgrade, particularly the central processing units. Buy one that is more than capable of doing everything you want it to do right now, and has plenty of memory to cope with additional software that you may be tempted to add in the future.

If you are having Toshiba laptop issues then maybe I can help. Many things can and do go wrong with today’s modern laptops and Toshiba laptops are no different, but one problem keeps cropping up.

Many people are reporting that their Toshiba laptop just will not boot up properly, you turn it on expecting it to boot up normally but you are left with a black screen with a cursor in the top left corner.

Do not panic as this is easily sorted and I will tell you how:-

The following may be able to help you with your Toshiba laptop issues

1. Make sure that your laptop is turned off.

2. Go ahead and disconnect every wire and cable including the power cable.

3. Take out the laptop battery.

4. Insert the power cable back in to the laptop making sure the battery has been removed.

5. Turn the power on and the screen should work and choose to start windows normally if given the option.

6. Go to Control Panel -then- (Mobile PC) -then- Power Options -then- Under Balanced, choose change plan settings.

7. Choose to change advanced power settings.

8. Under processor power management change the minimum processor state from 5% – 100% for both ON BATTERY and PLUGGED IN.

9. Go ahead and click apply then OK.

10. Shut down your laptop and disconnect the power cord.

Then your free to reinstall the battery, plug in the power cord and re-start the laptop.

This should solve your Toshiba laptop issues and will now boot up properly.

What makes a multimedia laptop? It must have the capability to run heavy applications and process heavy graphics so that viewing pleasure will not be compromised. It must also store a multitude of digital files as nowadays, the best multimedia files (HD and others) to take up a lot of storage space. And it must access a certain feature without needing to use many keys.

It is essential for a multimedia laptop to have a powerful processor. The Asus M60J is driven by the Intel Core i7 processor with a choice of 820QM and 720QM. The former runs at a speed of 1.73 GHz while the latter runs at 1.6 GHz. The processor is backed by 4 GB of memory, ensuring a seamless visual performance.

The Asus M60J has the Nvidia GeForce GT240M dedicated graphics card, which has 1 GB of video memory. With these specifications, the Asus M60J is a force to contend with. The Asus M60J is capable of storing up to 1 TB of digital files. Storage is really an important consideration for a multimedia laptop and a pitiful storage capacity is a turn-off for the multimedia addict. This Asus model is a dual hard dive multimedia laptop with a choice of 500 GB, 250 GB and 320 GB hard disk drive options.

Shortcuts are also very important in a multimedia laptop. Now, are you really in a hurry to access that digital multimedia file? Then worry no more. The Asus M60J has hot keys that may be used as shortcuts to various multimedia functions. With such keys, one does not need to fully open an application just to see a certain multimedia file.

The 1366 x 768 resolution is sufficient to view that HD movie. Plus, the Asus M60J′s screen is a generous 16 inches. It has dimensions of 37.5 x 26.5 x 3.43~4.06 cm and it weighs about 3.3 kg.

The Asus-M60J has an optical drive that has DVD burning and playback capabilities. One can also load his Asus M60J with a Blu-Ray drive for that HD experience.

Specs:

Central Processing Unit

* Intel Core i7 (820QM 1.73 GHz, 720QM 1.6 GHz)

Read Access Memory

* Up to 4 GB

Storage Drive

* Up to 1TB (dual) SATA Hard Drive 5,400-7,200 rpm

Optical Drive

* DVD Super Multi/ Blu-Ray DVD Combo

Display Size

* 16 inches

Native Resolution

* 1366 x 768

Dimension

* 37.5 x 26.5 x 3.43~4.06 cm

Graphics Card

* NVIDIA GeForce GT240M with 1GB VRAM

Weight

* 3.3 kg

Pros

A multimedia laptop must provide the ultimate audio experience. Thus, it is only fitting that the Asus M60J is supplied with Altec Lansing speakers. The Asus-M60J has a powerful processor, a gargantuan storage space, HD-ready display, lots of memory, a dedicated graphics card, and an optical drive. These are the most important elements in an effective multimedia laptop.

Cons

Powerful specifications really drain a lot of juice. It is no exception that the Asus M60J has a limited battery life. It can only allow you to enjoy that HD experience for about two hours before going poof. Now that is unfortunate if you want to view a movie that is more than two hours.