Computer Note Book

Knowing what to look for when choosing refurbished laptops is important. Here is a list of certain features that you should compare when shopping for one.

Let’s begin with laptop basics-

Processor Speed- This is the speed at which the laptop can retrieve data and information. You’ll often see speeds like 900MHz or 1.2GHz. The larger the number the faster it is. 1.2GHz is 1200MHz. Gigahertz is more than megahertz. When choosing a refurbished laptop this is sometimes important. If you are only going to use it to surf the internet (surfing the web only depends on your internet speed and not the computers speed), or operate a few application software programs, or use if for document creating a lower speed is all you need. The lower the processor speed the cheaper it usually is. If you plan to use it in a business setting, gaming, or need it for several operating procedures then you’ll need a faster processor speed.

System Memory- Here is where you’ll see the 128mb, 256mb, or 512mb system memory. The system memory is the place where the computer holds current programs and data that are in use, or holds the instructions that the processor executes and the data that those instructions work with. Picture it as the central nervous system of your laptop. It allows everything to work and also is needed for faster processing speeds. The system memory is essential for operating multiple functions at once. The 128mb and 256mb are ample amounts of memory. If you plan to do a lot of things at once the higher number is better.

Hard Drive- The hard drive is what holds all your memory on the computer. The higher the number the more storage you have. An example is a 20GB hard drive. That holds all your programs, downloads, pictures, music and more. Many users don’t need much more than 10GB of storage, but if you plan to keep a laptop for an extended period of time you may want to consider a larger hard drive.

Optical Drive- The optical drive is either CD-ROM, CD-RW, or DVD-ROM/RW, or a combo of both. ROM stands for "read only memory" and RW stands for "re-write", for copying disks. The CD drive is for software and can play music CD’s. The DVD drive can do everything a CD-ROM can do and more. It can play music, software, and DVD movies. It’s like an upgrade to the CD drive. Some laptops do have a floppy drive which operates floppy discs. Most programs are on CD though.

Modem- This refers to how your laptop connects to the internet. A 56K modem is for dial-up and DSL internet. There is also wireless internet called Wi Fi. If you choose a laptop with a 56k modem it is still possible to buy hardware for Wi Fi.

Network- You’ll see something like 10/100, or 10/1000 and this refers to how fast a laptop computer can transfer data to other computers on the network. Although most don’t use a computer on a network it is important if you’re in a business setting, or something similar. For most people this isn’t a determining factor in choosing a computer.

Operating System (OS)- The operating system is referring to what system the laptop is using. The most common are Windows, Linux and Unix and Macintosh. By far the most popular is the Microsoft Windows programs like Windows 98, 2000, Millenium, and the most current XP home, or professional. This is a big factor in choosing a refurbished laptop. You need a compatible OS to function with what you need it for. For a few highly inclined individuals the Linux and Unix systems are great. For the vast majority of people a Windows based OS is the best. It is the most user friendly and most compatible with more software and hardware programs. If you are not sure what’s the best operating system for you choose the Windows program.

Expansion Slots- Most laptops will have open slots like USB, serial, or ethernet slots which allows for multiple items to be added like a mouse, printer, external hard drive, modem and things like that.

Upgrades- Most refurbished laptops can be upgraded. You can add things like external hard drives(for more memory), external optical drives, add the wireless internet capabilities, flash drives, and more. The advantage is you can choose a refurbished laptop with a fair amount of hardware and just add to it what you need. It’s nice feature that will come in handy when you rely on your laptop computer to do more. It’s just like upgrading a desktop, most external hardware uses a USB connection and there is also hardware to add more USB connections. It’s great!

We hope to have answered some of your questions about which refurbished laptop is right for you. Technology is wonderful these days and refurbished laptops are a great investment for school, business and general use.

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Online Crazy Deals informs you on what is important in mobile computing. www.onlinecrazydeals.com

Some laptop computer batteries dealers offer a refurbished laptop battery claiming they are restored to original specs. "Caveat Emptor", buyer beware. Most are cheap and won’t hold the charge for very long. You might get lucky and get a good one, but the life of the battery is in jeopardy.

Why take the risk? New laptop batteries are not that much more in price and they are going to last a much longer time. If you buy a refurbished laptop battery it may only hold a good charge for a couple of months and once it’s dead, it’s dead!

Many people trust buying refurbished laptops and computers because the replacement parts are new and can make it last an extended amount of time. The laptop battery is different. Think back to when Dick Clark was selling the battery re-charger for regular AA, C, D and AAA batteries? If you bought one you quickly found that the charger worked great. One bad thing- the battery only held about half the original charge and you could only charge it a few times and then the battery wouldn’t charge at all anymore.

If you take the same concept with refurbished laptop computer batteries you get the same results. They will last for a short time and most people only saved a few extra dollars, but were not happy with the overall performance. The technology just doesn’t exist yet to supply a good refurbished battery. In the case of refurbished laptops, we have figured out that you can replace the hardware and it works as good as new. Sorry, but a laptop battery doesn’t have hardware parts to replace, so the end result could be bad.

If the laptop battery isn’t too old it should work just fine, but how many dealers tell you the age of the battery? Not many. If you want to save a few dollars then please buy a better MPG car, not a refurbished laptop battery. A lot of the time you don’t know exactly what you’re getting like how many times has it been charged previously, or how old is it. If you know the answers you probably can get a decent deal, but good luck finding out the answers.

Although a great way to save money it to buy refurbished electronics because they have replaceable parts, the technology to recondition batteries isn’t quite up to the same speed. The good news is most new laptop computer batteries have a one year warranty and a discount price. You are much better off buying a new laptop battery.

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Online Crazy Deals specializes in mobile computer technology including refurbished laptops, but only new laptop computer batteries. We recommend visiting us for more info. www.onlinecrazydeals.com

While computer operating systems today are much more secure than just two years ago, there is still some user management necessary. These operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows XP are becoming more and more “user friendly” from a security standpoint. Many potential security problems are locked down by default and the user generally does not need to be concerned with implementing them.

However, computer security (“cyber-security”), in general, is still somewhat reactive. Good examples of being reactive are the Anti-Virus products on the market today, for example Norton Utilities by Symantec. While they try to anticipate new types of attacks, they still can not effectively predict specific attacks, because the creators of such attacks are effectively on the “offensive.”

Most laptop computers today use Microsoft’s Windows XP, SP2 as the operating system. This release has some of the best security features currently available for a computer, but they need to be checked or in some cases implemented by the user. A good example of this is an anti-virus product installed on your laptop. Not only does the Anti-virus software need to be enabled, but the Microsoft XP settings may need to be changed to accommodate the anti-virus changes. It is the user’s responsibility to make sure this protection in enabled.

These checklists outline the steps you should take to reach a baseline of security with Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional computers, either on their own or as part of a Windows NT or Windows 2000 domain. Additional information about these checklists can be found on the Microsoft Website. Just search on the Microsoft site using the term “security.”

Important: The purpose of these checklists is to give instructions for configuring a baseline level of security on Windows XP computers. This guide does not provide a complete list of all security features provided in Windows XP or how to use them. A complete list of new security features available in Windows XP is available on the Microsoft Web site.
Windows XP Professional Configuration - 12 Steps

1. Verify that all disk partitions are formatted with NTFS
2. Protect file shares
3. Use Internet Connection sharing for shared Internet connections
4. Enable Internet Connection Firewall
5. Use software restriction policies
6. Use account passwords
7. Disable unnecessary services
8. Disable or delete unnecessary accounts
9. Make sure the Guest account is disabled
10. Set stronger password policies
11. Set account lockout policy
12. Install antivirus software, antishareware software and updates

These security tips are suggested by Microsoft to provide a baseline level of security for your computer. Additional security steps that are very important to protect your laptop and desktop computers include:

• Keep your data safe and backed up
• Use the Internet safely
• Protect your networks and servers, especially when wireless access points are used

Microsoft has a tool called the Baseline Security Analyzer that is excellent. It helps detect security threats and is a must have tool for anyone interested in security for a laptop, desktop or computer network.

Laptop Theft

Another very real security threat to your laptop is theft. According to Safeware Insurance, “387,000 laptops were stolen in the US in the year 2000 - versus 319,000 in 1999.” The FBI notes that “over 98% of stolen laptops are never recovered.” Also “notebook theft is the 2nd most prevalent computer crime, following virus related offenses” according to a CSI/FBI PC Crime and Security Survey.

When your laptop is stolen, you not only lose the hardware, you lose the data on the hard drive. This happened to my daughter, an architecture student at the University of New Mexico. She lost much of her portfolio of architecture projects in her first two years because of this theft. As with most laptop owners, some of the data was backed up and some was not. We replaced the laptop but the sense of violation and loss was still there. She still misses that Fujitsu P2046 laptop, as she really liked it.

Think what would happen to you business or home records if your laptop was stolen. Even it you have it backed up and replace the computer, you will probably feel violated by the theft. There is also a psychological cost that is often not thought of until it happens to you. You would have no idea of where or if your data on the laptop was stored on some criminal’s computer waiting for the opportune time to steal your identity, or pull some other crime against you. You would not know if one of the many laptop drives sold on web auction sites was the one out of your laptop, or even if that laptop “just like yours” being auctioned was in fact yours.

As you can see, laptop security encompasses a number of things. Many of these things are not really very difficult or even very technical. They do take some thought, planning and often some research to find out the best way to counter some of the threats that are out there today.

The good part is that there are many security resources which can be very helpful and useful available on the internet today. Many software and hardware suppliers, like Microsoft, and Dell for example, have extensive security information, articles, whitepapers and books available. Many county, state and federal agencies, such as the Department of Homeland security, FBI and CERT, also have extensive security suggestions and information available for protecting your laptop, desktop computer, and computer network.

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H. Court Young is a writer, author, publisher and a geologist. His ebook entitled "Ten Most Needed Features in a Laptop Computer" can be found at

The laptop world is seeing double. The next evolution in laptops is dual-core technology. Dual-core processors are quickly raising the laptop experience to the next level and laptop users are benefiting from the extra boost in performance.

Dual-core means exactly what you think it means, you have two processors or CPUs in your laptop instead of one. Theoretically this should mean twice the performance level for all those multi-tasking chores we call upon our laptops to do. However, you must have ways or technology (the platform) to utilize and handle all this extra power. There is some catching up to do but to keep things simple, Hyper-Threading, PCI-Express and SLI are all ways of harnessing or using this extra power.

With the recent introduction of the new Centrino Duo Mobile Technology, Intel has entered the multi-core arena. All this extra dual power and Hyper-Threading will finally put some punch into laptops and especially gaming laptops. Now almost on par with desktop PCs, laptops and notebooks can finally hold their heads high when it comes to performance. This isn’t your last year’s laptop!

How quickly things change, Intel expects the Core Duo chip will be in 230 different laptop designs in the first months of 2006. Intel also claims this Duo chip will deliver 68% more performance over the current Sonoma processor (many manufacturers say this will be around 30%) and reduce battery consumption by another 28% (Giving 5 hours for a standard battery and 10 hours for an extended cell battery).

Still, dual-core processors coupled with Hyper-Threading technology, will and does greatly improve the multi-tasking functions of your next laptop. The only minor hurdle, many of today’s current video games can’t use all these multi- applications features. But as more games come on stream which can take full advantage of all this new technology, expect your gaming enjoyment to increase. As with any new technology there will probably be a lag time before all the multi-applications can be applied to the majority of new games hitting the market.

Some major laptop makers now sporting the Intel Core Duo include Dell with its new "entertainment" Dell Inspiron e1705 line of high end laptops. HP with its Pavilion dv1000 line of laptops, which comes with a remote and you can play CDs and DVDs without booting up.

Nor is Intel the only player in town with a lot of chips on the gaming table. Intel’s main rival AMD has introduced dual-core into its mobile Turion 64 X2 processors. Also keep in mind, in recent head-to-head CNET Labs testing, AMD’s Athlon 64 X2 chip performed better than Intel’s desktop Dual-Core chip. http://www.cnet.com/4520-6022_1-6410042.html

You’re probably wondering, how will all this new laptop technology be applied? And what does it mean for the average laptop owner? What does it mean for gaming laptops?

Well, lets examine one sample notebook to see what all this next generation technology will do for laptops. Take for example, the Xtreme SL, a new gaming laptop designed by Rockdirect. Rockdirect, formerly known as Rock computers, is a leading UK laptop manufacturer who introduced some of the world’s first dual core laptops last summer (2005).

Rockdirect’s latest gaming offering, the Xtreme SL has specs or features which are rather awe-inspiring, even for the non-gamer. It comes with an AMD Turion 64 ML-44 2.4GHz processor, sporting 1MB L2 Cache and 2 Gigs of DDR 400MHz RAM. More importantly, it has twin NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX 256MB graphics cards with PCI-Express and SLI (Scalable Link Interface).

SLI lets you have two graphics cards on your laptop, working in tangent to increase or double your graphics performance and visual quality. Throw in a 19 inch WSXGA+ X-Glass TFT Screen and you have a perfect example of where gaming laptops are headed with all this new technology.

For those involved in gaming, this means the ultimate gaming experience can be best captured on a laptop with Dual-core processors and dual graphics cards using all the latest SLI or Hyper-Threading technology. And it is just not for gamers. The new mobile multi-core chips are turning heads for ordinary laptop users who want the best performance possible in their sleek shinny new laptops or notebooks.

Besides, why should gamers have all the fun, these new technologies will greatly benefit all laptop users. It means a sleeker, faster, and more powerful laptop for everyone. It also means longer lasting battery life for your laptop, a much needed improvement. For the demanding laptop user working in multi-media authoring, multi-tasking with video editing, spread sheets, large graphics… these dual core laptops offers a very capable alternative to the bulky and oh-so stationary desktop PC.

This new multi-core technology offers ultimate performance in a sleek, quiet package that buyers will find hard to resist. It will draw even more potential customers into the laptop market, looking for the ultimate in style, portability, and performance. Dual-core laptops may just deliver the goods.

This surely is not your last year’s laptop.

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The author has an unhealthy interest in all things laptop! Including Dual Core laptops. www.bizwaremagic.com/best_gaming_notebooks.htm © 2006 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

The gaming laptop is coming of age! It is steadily increasing in popularity as performance quality goes up. Gamers now regularly consider laptops or notebooks when searching for that perfect gaming machine.

With each new generation of notebooks we are seeing some novel breakthroughs: dual core notebooks, PCI Express, Sonoma Chipset, increased storage, increased RAM, faster CPUs, better battery life and better wireless connections including a Cellular Modem. All welcome news for gamers and notebook lovers alike.

Generally, gamers are a very demanding group, they know their computers and they know what they want in their computers. Most gamers like to order their gaming laptop with their own specs and configurations. In that light, if you closely examine the main points gamers consider when configuring or building their Dream Machine - you will have a good blueprint for the best gaming machine.

Since notebook technology changes every two years or so, it’s probably wise to purchase a laptop that can be easily upgraded as new products come on line. So consider the upgradable factor in any notebook that you plan to buy.

Now, lets look at some of these key gaming factors:

GRAPHICS

You must have the best/latest/fastest Graphics on the market. DUH!

Serious gamers are concerned with graphics, obsessed would probably be a better word. And rightly so! Graphics or the quality of the graphic chipset in your notebook computer will be your first area of consideration and it will greatly determine the gaming performance of your PC.

Go with the latest Graphic Chipset and also check to see if you can upgrade your Graphics Card on the particular machine you’re thinking about buying. Many machines allow this.

Here are some Graphic Chipsets that are highly rated: ATi Mobility Radeon 9700, ATI’s Mobility FireGL V3200 or NVIDIA GeForce 7900GT.

ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 is a high quality Graphics Card or visual processing unit (VPU) present in many next generation notebooks. It will give you higher performance at a lower power level, saving battery power.

It makes your notebook computer capable of many functions: 3D games, wide-screen HDTV, dynamic presentations, mobile video editing studio and graphic processor.

Many notebooks now come with integrated graphics, where components interact and are sometimes shared, especially memory. If you want a notebook computer for 3D games - check the amount of video RAM - this is memory that’s dedicated to graphic or video applications.

Other common graphic chipsets are: STMicro, NVIDIA, 3D Labs, Matrox, Trident S3 and SIS.

RAM

Get the largest amount of RAM possible. DUDE!

RAM or random-access memory will determine how much graphics your notebook computer will be able to handle. It’s best to get the largest amount possible on your machine or what you can afford.

It’s generally agreed that you need at least 256MB for Windows XP and Mac OS X. You will only need 128MB for other operating systems in Windows or Mac.

RAM or the amount of RAM on your notebook computer is extremely important if you want to handle heavy graphic files or want to play games on your notebook. The more RAM you have, the more applications you will be able to handle. Some notebook now come with up to 2GB of DDR2 533MHz RAM!

DDR2 SDRAM - is a new standard that can boost conventional SDRAM memory up to speeds well over 200MHz and beyond. For example, the IBM ThinkPad T43, thanks to the Sonoma Chipset or platform has 533MHz DDR 2 SDRAM.

This is much better than standard SDRAM which tops out around 150-166MHz and DDR SDRAM which starts at 200MHz and goes up to around 400MHz. Video RAM or VRAM is special memory that’s used by video adapters on your notebook. This is RAM that is dedicated to handling the visuals and graphics on your notebook computer. This is helpful if you want to play a lot of the latest 3D video games on your notebook.

It is somewhat different from ordinary RAM because it can be accessed by two different devices at once - enabling screen updates while the video processor processes new data. VRAM provides better graphics but is more expensive than ordinary RAM.

SPEED

You need the fastest computer money can buy. Period!

In order to get the maximum performance from your ultimate gaming computer you must have the fastest speed you can get or afford. Your ultimate PC must be able to process and handle the latest 3D video games with ease. There is nothing as annoying as your PC freezing up in the middle of some major gaming action!

Therefore, your Processor’s speed is very important.

CPU or Central Processing Unit, you probably know it as the processor! It’s the heart or rather the brain of your notebook or computer. It does all your computer’s data processing and applications. Since it does most of the work, it’s usually the most expensive part of your notebook computer.

Go with SATA!

SATA is a type of hard drive and stands for Serial Advanced Technology Architecture. It was developed by a whole group of companies including Seagate, Intel, Maxtor, Dell and others. SATA transmit data in a serially (in a single stream) as opposed to PATA or Parallel ATA which is commonly referred to as an IDE hard drive.

Serial ATA hard drives uses less power and are ideal for notebook computers, they are also more advanced than PATA hard drives which uses multipe streams of data - go figure! But Serial Technology carries data in a single stream and unlike PATA is not limited to a particular clock speed, Serial transfers data packets almost 30 times faster than parallel.

If top performance in your notebook is one of your goals, go with a SATA hard drive.

Intel Pentium M processors are commonly found in a lot of notebooks and laptops. When in doubt also go with a Pentium!

The speed of microprocessors is measured in MHz. MHz is short for megahertz. One MHz equals one million cycles per second. The speed of processors, usually known as clock speed, is measured in megahertz (MHz) or these days in gigahertz (GHz).

The higher the clock speed, the faster the computer will process applications and data. It determines how powerful your notebook computer will be. Processor speeds for notebooks or laptops are steadily increasing, not quite the same as a desktop but the gap is narrowing quickly. Speeds of 3.4GHz or more.

Don’t forget to ask or check the hard drive speed! A 7,200rpm hard drive is faster than a 4,200rpm or 5,400rpm and usually gives better performance.

DISPLAY

You need the sharpest, brightest display screen or all the above points are moot!

Display quality is also extremely important to your gaming experience. Make sure the resolution and display quality of your notebook computer can handle the graphics for 3D Gaming.

What to keep in mind…

SVGA Resolution. Put simply, computer images are made up of dots, the more dots you have - the better the image. SVGA Resolution is made up of 800 x 600 dots.

Many notebook computer have XGA (1024 by 768 dots) or SXGA (1280 x 1024 dots), these resolutions will give a higher quality image. WXGA stands for widescreen XGA.

TFT Active Matrix Display. TFT stands for thin-film transistors and many high-end notebook computers use (TFT) active matrix liquid crystal displays.

If display quality is your main reason for buying a notebook, it’s best to give it the ‘old eye test’ and check out the image quality first-hand and decide for yourself. Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, and others are known for their high quality monitors - this quality is also present in their notebook display screens.

So when buying your perfect Gaming Notebook Remember This:

Graphics + Ram + Speed + Display = Perfect Gaming Notebook

Consider all of the above factors before you buy or config your perfect gaming machine. Chances are high that you will get a top-notch quality Gaming Notebook that will give you hours and hours of pure gaming bliss!

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For a list of the latest top rated Gaming Notebooks and Laptops Click Here: www.bizwaremagic.com/best_gaming_notebooks.htm © 2006 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.