Wow! When I watched this…talk about nostalgia! It brought me back. The modem sound alone will strike memories and allow one’s brain to begin a playback of all things he or she can relate to in this short. I truly cannot believe 25 years have gone by with the internet and communication via the “World Wide Web.” There are so many new innovations in the technology world being created both mentally and physically every single day. What is “top of the line” today, could be extinct tomorrow. For that reason alone, it is very important to choose something that will meet your needs and last accordingly.The first feature that many want to day is the ability to connect to the internet. Unless otherwise specified, all laptops we sell will have this highly desired ability. But the desire goes deeper…

First, allow me to formally introduce myself, Hi! My name is Jessica! I am the Senior Technician here at Usedlaptops.com. I will be here for all of your questions, concerns or just to say hi. You can reach me at 1-800-642-6094 x.202 or deen.jessica@usedlaptops.com

Okay, back to what was at hand…

We don’t want wires anymore. We want to be wireless!!! We want to be able to sit on the couch and relax while we “surf” the web and watch our reality television shows.

Now, some may wonder, “What does wireless truly mean?” “I also hear about bluetooth, what is that?” These are very good questions. Wireless means “without cables” or “over the air.” Yet the understanding of the concept goes deeper. Let’s take a look…

Wireless internet communicates through a signal. This signal has a speed assigned to it. There are various speeds and levels identified through letters. For example, there is wireless “b” which is also known as 802.11b. This signal transmits data at 11mbps or mega-bites per second. A good comparison for just how big a mega-bite is to think of an audio track. An song is usually between 3 - 5 mega-bites in size.The next step up would be wireless “g” which is also known as 802.11g. This signal transmits data at 54Mbps.

Both of the “b” and “g” signals transmit on a 2.4GHz frequency. When routers first became popular and consumers were still widely using cordless phones this created an issue. Cordless phones used to transmit on frequency of 900MHz but then too upgraded to a frequency of 2.4Ghz. This created issues for wireless internet users who also talked on the phone while browsing the internet. This has since been corrected as most cordless phones transmit on a frequency of 5.8GHz allowing technology users to multitask.

More recently, a newer signal and speed has emerged. The letter assigned for this signal is “n” or 802.11n. This signal improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding “multiple-input multiple-output” (MIMO) and several other newer features. This signal allows the transmission of data to be upto 270mpbs. This is currently the fastest wireless signal available.

Technology certainly has upgraded since the internet first came on the scene. It is important to recognize that while there are many options, it is not necessary to always choose “the best” and “the greatest” if you truly will not use it. You could save a few hundred dollars by selecting the options you need most rather than the options that sound good at the point of purchase.

Another popular feature that many hear about these days is “Bluetooth.” Many recognize a bluetooth device as the ear bud we here in California place in our ears while we operate vehicles. (Here in CA its a law to be hands free while driving) Yet this is not the name for the device rather it is the name for the technology the device uses. Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices. It was originally designed as a wireless alternative to RS232 (9 pin serial port) data cables.

Bluetooth or “BT” (abbreviated) uses radio technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which chops up the data being sent and transmits chunks of it on up to 79 frequencies.

Basically, BT doesn’t allow for a “wireless” connection to the internet which may be the first thought that pops in to our heads when we hear the word ‘wireless’; rather it allows for a wireless connection from one device to another. If the laptop you select is BT capable it is able to connect to other BT devices such as mobile phones, keyboards, mice, printers, and coming in April of this year, monitors. See this article, Sony Bluetooth Monitors for more information.

I think that’s enough for today. The next post will discuss the different technologies used with optical drives. It used to be simple. We used to know our options — CD, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-RW.

But now there are so many different selections to choose from it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed. Stay tuned….

When Microsoft introduced Windows XP it took them over three years to get it mostly bug free. So, the short answer is NO. I would wait until at least a year and several upgrades before considering it. Microsoft has extended retail sales of XP for five more months until June 2008. The new end-of-availability pushed back to June 30, 2010. Shows what the market is demanding.Sales of Vista have been lackluster, so maybe the buying public is making a statement? Only time will tell. Price. Very expensive. $399 new, or $299 for the upgrade to Windows Ultimate? The cheapest version, Basic ($199 full, $100 upgrade), isn’t worth the trouble. The extra hardware needed is even more daunting. You need to check first which version you intend on upgrading to? You might need 2GB RAM, a very, very fast CPU and even an integrated graphics chip with it’s own onboard RAM (not found in many laptops). Not much new. It looks pretty, but do you care about photo tagging and 3-D window flipping? Not me! It’s annoying. Most Vista users have turned off User Account Control, which nags you with an “Are you sure?” prompt every time you try to do anything beyond run the calculator. Many, many missing drivers. Who wants their scanner or printer to stop working? Lots of software won’t run on Vista, so one of your important applications might not run. It’s confusing. Everything that XP could do, Vista can do… only it’s buried under a different menu and it has a new name. Sigh! It’s doesn’t work that well. There are many bugs and flaws with the design of Vista and it needs a Service Pack. So, you should wait for one or maybe two. On the other side I expect over time Microsoft with its vast resources will fix the problems and you will get to the good stuff.

AERO: Transparent windows, tasteful animation, elegant design.

2. SEARCH: Fast, smart, and you can create virtual search folders to revisit your searches with a single click.

3. NETWORK MAP: Finally, Microsoft gets networking right; it’s a great way to get an overview of your network and its devices.

4. WIRELESS NETWORKING: Connecting to multiple wireless networks and hotspots is a simple affair.

5. SECURITY: You get a firewall with outbound filtering, a better browser, and a lot under the hood offering better protection.

Maybe in 2008 or 2009 Vista will be something worth considering. If you have decided to upgrade it is not simple a matter analizing your computing habits and then figuring out which of the seven versions of Vista meets your needs. Windows 9X, ME and 2000 cannot be upgraded without performing a clean installation. Various versions of XP can be only upgraded to various versions of Vista per the following article: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2082982,00.asp

You should also note that Micrsoft has set up the Vista Upgrade to install only if your hard drive already has Windows XP or Windows 2000 already loaded. According to Microsoft, only the full retail license of Windows Vista can be transferred to new devices. OEM versions are ostensibly tied to motherboards, and upgrade versions are now technically tied to previous installations.

People get hung upon what laptop is best, as the vendors push their features, but users should consider what they want to use the laptop for rather than trying to figure out which is the best one. If you want to do word processing, browse the web and send e-mail and only use the laptops an hour or so every few days then that is quite different from a power user on the road that needs a long lasting battery and the latest and greatest with the fastest CPU and a huge display.

If you only send e-mails and browse the web and the laptop is always plugged in, then you can buy a refurbished laptops for $300. You can find one by typing “used laptops” or “refurbished laptops” into www.google.com and checking out the first few vendors that show up. If you want a new laptop and are cost conscious type cheap laptops in www.google.com and check out the first few vendors that come up. If you stick with HP, Dell, Acer, IBM, or Toshiba, who are the top five manufacturers of laptops, in order of who makes the most, then you can”t go wrong.

It is expected in 2007 that over 125 million laptop swill be manufacutered. Each company makes millions of laptops each year and they are all billion dollar companies with organizations in place to design, sell and support their products. Dell does the most marketing, so is the best known to consumers, but if you were to ask my techs, who have been servicing laptops for many years they are not the best made. IBM and Toshiba are the best made with HP next and are very well know and respected in the corporate world. However, this is relative as most parts are made by third parties and the laptops are often built by third parties.

Have your wallet wide open. Gaming laptops can be expensive. Dell purchased the famed game laptop computer Alienware in March 2006. The first thing you should do is check out the Minimum Systems Requirements for your favorite games. Once you have done that you should have an idea what hardware and computing power will be required. A major component in a gaming laptop is a quality of the video chip. The video card needs to have at least 128mb of RAM and a fairly good processing speed. It would also be nice if it was in a socket, so it could eventually be removed and upgraded. The amount of system RAM the notebook has is critical. A decent gaming notebook needs at least 1gb of RAM or more if possible. I recently upgraded our desktop at home for a game my son likes that required 2GB of RAM. Speaking of the CPU get the fastest and latest chip available. If your laptop will be moving around then battery power might be important. A decent video card, fast CPU and lots of RAM will burn the juice. You should even consider a second battery or a unit that accommodates a second battery in one of the bays.

The first question to answer if you are student looking to purchase a laptop or a parent thinking about buying a laptop for your child is the budget. If there is no budget or you can spend $800 or $900+ consider buying a new laptop. Once the budget is in hand then consider the intended use for the laptop. For colleges and universities, visit the school’s Web site for useful information. They will often provide a recommended minimum required laptop specification. However, don’t be fooled they often will suggest much more than is needed.

One final thought: students need a notebook that is small and light enough to lug back and forth across campus but rugged enough to withstand bouncing around in a backpack. If it is to browse the web, instant messaging and type papers then a minimal laptop will work fine. Browsing the web only requires 128MB RAM. You can’t type faster than a very old Pentium 90 laptop, so word processing runs fine on older laptops. If you have any specialized applications it is always a good idea to go to the software vendor’s website and check out the Minimum Systems Requirements to make sure the application will work. If you are a serious gamer all bets are off as you might need 2GB RAM, a fast CPU and even a specialized graphics chip and have to spend $2000.

Most college campuses these days have wireless networks. Older laptops can accept Wi-Fi cards, which cost $30, so they are easily to upgrade. Older laptops often do not have working batteries and even on new ones after a year or two the battery may not work. It usually does not matter, as schools know students want to use their laptops everywhere and often provide many extra wall outlets, so they can be plugged in. New batteries often don’t last more than 2-3 hours.

When considering buying a laptop, the first thing to do is to determine what your needs are: What do you want to use the laptop for? word processing, e-mail, browsing web pages, moving it around (size and battery life will matter), gaming (a very fast CPU, graphics chip and lots of RAM), on-line shopping, a database application (fast CPU, big hard drive), personal finance, photos (big hard drive), music (big Hard Drive). Once you have figured out what you need decide how much you can afford to spend. Then check out IBM (Lenovo), Dell and Toshiba or HP. IBM and Toshiba make the best laptops and Dell spends the most on advertising, so has the best name, but perhaps the worst customer service reputation.

So, the question of new vs. used … depends upon your budget, battery needs and how much you will be using the unit. If you only have $300 to spend the only choice is refurbished. If you want a brand new battery then you will rarely find them in used laptops. As a matter of fact the battery might not even work. If you use the laptop a lot then seriously consider upping the budget and get new, as over 2-3 years the cost will be less. So, once you have shopped around and narrowed it down to two choices then search Google for and see who has the best deal. But remember the best price may not much matter if they have poor customers service, should you have a problem.

‘Your laptop is vulnerable to hackers and crooks. There are things you can do to protect yourself and your laptop. Create a virtual shield. Buy or find and use Anti Virus software. I use the excellent AVG Anti Virus program and it is free. Use an Anti-Spy software package. We include Ad-a-Ware on the laptops we sell. Microsoft purchased a spy ware bought a company and repackaged their applications and are now providing it to customers. Add a Firewall program. Microsoft has one and there are a number of other commercial packages. Beware of phonies. Companies and individuals pretend they are sending a message from Ebay, PayPal or others and ask for passwords and other personal information. Never, ever give it out. Sometimes they will install spy ware on your program or that can steal information from your computer. Never open a link unless you feel comfortable it is safe to do so. Make sure that the padlock icon is there and look for a seal from the BBB or Trustee. Don”t ever respond to unsolicited offers for free screen savers as you will wind up with pop-ups and some are very, very difficult to get off your laptop. If you get a message to update your account, instead call the company on the phone to verify it is a legitimate request and not a fraud about to steal your valuable account information.

That may seem like an oddity. A laptop without a working battery. As it turns out many people don’t care about the battery in laptops. Out of 1403 responders to our most recent survey only 30 or 2% indicated that the battery was the most important factor. Many people use them plugged into AC power. They like the small size and wish to move them around. We have been in the laptop business ten years, yet until the last six months we never, ever tested batteries. A main reason is that it is very labor intensive. You need to plug it in, charge it overnight, have a laptop available and a place to test it, turn on the battery meter and then watch it to see how long it holds a charge. Since, we have no idea how old the battery is there can be a lot of time just plugging in and checking laptops with a dead battery. Differing applications mean that differing amounts of juice are consumed. As an example, when you type on the keyboard it uses a lot less juice than when using a wifi card. So, you might wonder why not replace the non-working batteries. They are expensive and would add significantly to the cost of the laptop if we had to buy one for every unit. Batteries are unique in that most every laptop. They are different shapes, voltages and sizes, even amongst the same manufacturer. There are thousands and only those that specialize in batteries can cost effectively carry them for all laptops. About six months ago we started a program in selective cases to test batteries. We do this when we buy a large number of laptops and know there are working batteries. In these cases we warranty that the battery will hold a charge for an hour. If you really want a working battery it is best to purchase a new one. They have one year warranties and typically hold a charge for 2-3 hours.