Digital News and Review

Archive for October, 2009

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 ṐJ 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 ṐJ has the Nvidia GeForce GT240M dedicated graphics card, which has 1 GB of video memory. With these specifications, the Asus ṐJ is a force to contend with. The Asus ṐJ 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 ṐJ 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 ṐJ’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-ṐJ has an optical drive that has DVD burning and playback capabilities. One can also load his Asus ṐJ 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 ṐJ is supplied with Altec Lansing speakers. The Asus-ṐJ 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 ṐJ 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.