Nowadays, computer technology is developing at a very fast pace. Prices have become affordable. Consumers cannot resist the temptation to replace computer systems too often, sometimes neglecting the importance of environmental care. How to help keeping the balance between a technical progress and ecological protection?
The reasons why people rid of old laptop computers can be different - obsolete models, broken or malfunctioning parts, or the combination of many factors. A fast developing technology makes computers outdated at a very quick pace. An additional factor, why people are prone to look for the replacement of currently owned laptop, is low prices. Decreasing prices make it affordable to replace the old computers more often with the latest improved ones.
A laptop computer is a complex system. Since it consists of many parts, the probability that one part can be out of order within a finite period of time is quite high. To make it more clear, let's do a simple math for a single notebook. If probability for one part to fail within one-year period equals, for example, only 0.01%, and the notebook has, for instance, 1,000 parts, the chance of failing one of the parts in a single laptop is around 10% (0.01*1,000). Now let's assume there are 10,000 laptops that people bought in a city. Since the probability that one laptop in each group of 10 has 100% chance to be broken, we get 1,000 broken laptops annually. We could estimate the number of broken laptops worldwide every year. This number is huge - the millions of broken laptops.
Besides the complexity, laptops are pretty fragile devices. A small defect or even damage can be easily introduced by users. So what would you do if only some particular part of your laptop is broken? What if laptop's warranty has expired or does not cover the part replacement? Would you try to find some place to repair? Despite the obvious benefit of repairing - money saving, some people say that it is easier to look for a new laptop. Of course, it is up to user if it is time to say good-bye a non-fully functional or defective laptop. But if you decided to throw out your old PC, think about recycling.
Why is it vital to recycle old laptop computers? When computers decompose, dangerous chemicals contaminate the water supply and the air. The disposal of old computers is a serious problem. If even a very tiny battery can make soil seriously contaminated and causes a water pollution, a much bigger laptop battery creates much more troubles, not to mention about other parts of computer. Additional problem is a growing demand for laptops because their production pollutes the Earth.
First of all, if your computer is still functional, consider donating it to someone, to a charity, or budget-limited organization. If you are buying a new laptop, sometimes the option is to recycle an old one at store. Now many manufacturers offer different computer recycling programs. If your computer is still in a good shape, they may even refurbish it and re-sell. Nevertheless, most components inside of the computer contain valuable resources that can be reused.
Computer technology is moving now at a breakneck speed, sometimes diminishing the importance of environment protection and care about our green planet. Fortunately, more and more laptop users become ecological-minded. They understand that recycling helps converting used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the pollution of the Earth. Some of them have found places to repair; others have learned how to replace broken screen, keyboard, and other parts on their own.
© Alex Smartson. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Showing posts with label notebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notebook. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Most Popular Laptops for May 2010
Each month NotebookReview.Com presents data for the number of times a particular notebook is viewed on their site's product pages. It is to get an idea for what mainstream consumers are looking at and maybe thinking about buying. While these laptops are not necessarily the most popular in terms of sales, they are the most popular based on the number of times the visitors clicked the links to find out more details about them. The Lenovo G550 still holds the most popular spot as one of the preferred value notebooks. The Dell Studio XPS 16, Lenovo ThinkPad X201 and ASUS G73JH are holding their 2nd, 3rd and 4th list position respectively. New to the list this month are the Dell Inspiron 14 and Inspiron 11z, in spots 5 and 10. The the most discussed item is Alienware M11x.
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Monday, May 31, 2010
Fujitsu LifeBook AH550 Notebook
* Intel® CoreTM i3-330M Processor (2.13 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache, 1066 MHz FSB)
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
* 15.6" (1366x768) LED-backlit display
* Intel HD graphics with up to 1.6 GB of shared video memory
* 4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz SDRAM memory (2 GB + 2 GB)
* 500 GB S-ATA, 5400 rpm hard drive
* Dual-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer
* Integrated webcam and digital microphone
* Gigabit Ethernet LAN
* Integrated Atheros XSPANR 802.11BGN (802.11 b/g/n) wireless
* Integrated Bluetooth
* HDMI, four USB 2.0 ports, MemoryStick®/SD slot, ExpressCard® slot
* Main battery: Lithium ion (6-cell, 10.8V, 4000 mAh)
* Standard spill-resistant keyboard with separate numeric 10-Key keypad
* Price $749
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Thursday, May 6, 2010
Most Popular Laptops for April 2010
Each month NotebookReview.Com compiles data for the number of times a particular notebook is viewed on their site's product pages to get an idea for what mainstream consumers are looking at and thinking about buying. While these laptops are not necessarily the most popular in terms of sales, they are the most popular based on the number of times the visitors clicked on them. The Lenovo G550 still holds the most popular spot as one of our preferred value notebooks by a wide margin. The Dell Studio XPS 16 moved up to #2 and the ASUS G73JH gaming notebook moving up to #4. Two newcomers this month are the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 and Lenovo ThinkPad X100e taking the #9 and #10 spots respectively.
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Thursday, April 29, 2010
How to Manage your PC Power Consumption
If you are a notebook computer user, you may know the frustration of running out of battery power, sometimes, at critical moments. However, knowing how to set a proper power management is not just about extending battery life of your laptop. Configuring power management also can reduce electrical usage on your laptop and desktop computer as well. And it can lower your electric bill and save environment.
Why some users do not turn off their computers for long, even during the nights? The reasons can be different. Some people prefer to keep unfinished tasks in the same order - they leave documents and programs opened. Others prefer to start working immediately. Some users consider PC rebooting as a waste of time - often MS-Windows start-up process takes too much time. The last issue may be resolved in the future with faster computers, Solid-State Disks, and optimized operating systems. Nevertheless, it is good to have some options not to shut down computers completely in order to be able quickly to resume working.
What options do we have these days to balance power consumption and working convenience? Except screen saver mode that does not save too much energy with new types of LCD screens, there are other power saving options - “Stand By” and “Hibernate”. These two options allow users harmonically combine the convenience of smooth work and energy saving. These are also ways to prolong your notebook battery life. What are the differences between Standby and Hibernate? How to activate these modes and choose their settings correctly?
“Stand By” means that PC is ready to go once called. Your computer returns to a state of readiness when you press a key or move the mouse. It only takes a few seconds to resume a computer from Standby. Computer recovers quickly because data are stored in RAM. It is a low power consumption mode. However, energy saving is moderate because power has been cut only to hard drive and monitor. This power saving option is good for a short-term while you take short breaks. Another disadvantage is that power disappearance in this mode can cause your data loss.
Hibernate is similar to Standby and it also enables recovering your working space. It is a good state for a long-term to save energy because it allows reducing power consumption of your PC to a few watts. In this mode, data are saved to your hard disk (not RAM). So that in case of power interruption, your data are protected. On the other hand, it takes longer to recover from hibernation when you need to use your computer again.
MS Windows operating systems allow you to set various power options. These options make it easy to conserve power after a certain period of inactivity. You may create a few profiles that first switch automatically your computer into Standby mode and then after a while into Hibernate mode if no activity. To create a Power Profile in Windows XP, go to “Start“ menu, “Control Panel“, then “Power Options“. First, if you are going to use Hibernate mode, you need to activate it. Go to Hibernate tab-page and check box “Enable hibernation”. This will create a special file called “hiberfil.sys” where the data from RAM and other info will be saved.
Notebooks have extra settings relating to using battery. Also on notebook computers, you can significantly extend the battery life by setting the “When I close the lid on my portable computer” option to “Stand by” (“Advanced” tab). Note, you can switch also anytime to Standby or Hibernate mode manually. Go to “Start”, and then “Turn Off Computer”. You should see dialog with “Stand by” button. If you press and keep the Shift key, “Stand by” button changes to “Hibernate”. But do not forget, in order to see and use Hibernate option, it needs to be enabled - Hibernate does not show by default.
© Alec Smith. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Why some users do not turn off their computers for long, even during the nights? The reasons can be different. Some people prefer to keep unfinished tasks in the same order - they leave documents and programs opened. Others prefer to start working immediately. Some users consider PC rebooting as a waste of time - often MS-Windows start-up process takes too much time. The last issue may be resolved in the future with faster computers, Solid-State Disks, and optimized operating systems. Nevertheless, it is good to have some options not to shut down computers completely in order to be able quickly to resume working.
What options do we have these days to balance power consumption and working convenience? Except screen saver mode that does not save too much energy with new types of LCD screens, there are other power saving options - “Stand By” and “Hibernate”. These two options allow users harmonically combine the convenience of smooth work and energy saving. These are also ways to prolong your notebook battery life. What are the differences between Standby and Hibernate? How to activate these modes and choose their settings correctly?
“Stand By” means that PC is ready to go once called. Your computer returns to a state of readiness when you press a key or move the mouse. It only takes a few seconds to resume a computer from Standby. Computer recovers quickly because data are stored in RAM. It is a low power consumption mode. However, energy saving is moderate because power has been cut only to hard drive and monitor. This power saving option is good for a short-term while you take short breaks. Another disadvantage is that power disappearance in this mode can cause your data loss.
Hibernate is similar to Standby and it also enables recovering your working space. It is a good state for a long-term to save energy because it allows reducing power consumption of your PC to a few watts. In this mode, data are saved to your hard disk (not RAM). So that in case of power interruption, your data are protected. On the other hand, it takes longer to recover from hibernation when you need to use your computer again.
MS Windows operating systems allow you to set various power options. These options make it easy to conserve power after a certain period of inactivity. You may create a few profiles that first switch automatically your computer into Standby mode and then after a while into Hibernate mode if no activity. To create a Power Profile in Windows XP, go to “Start“ menu, “Control Panel“, then “Power Options“. First, if you are going to use Hibernate mode, you need to activate it. Go to Hibernate tab-page and check box “Enable hibernation”. This will create a special file called “hiberfil.sys” where the data from RAM and other info will be saved.
Notebooks have extra settings relating to using battery. Also on notebook computers, you can significantly extend the battery life by setting the “When I close the lid on my portable computer” option to “Stand by” (“Advanced” tab). Note, you can switch also anytime to Standby or Hibernate mode manually. Go to “Start”, and then “Turn Off Computer”. You should see dialog with “Stand by” button. If you press and keep the Shift key, “Stand by” button changes to “Hibernate”. But do not forget, in order to see and use Hibernate option, it needs to be enabled - Hibernate does not show by default.
© Alec Smith. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Monday, April 26, 2010
How to Make Your Notebook Run Faster and Last Longer
Newly bought notebook worked fast. Then after a while the performance of your notebook dropped noticeably. Startup process became longer and the software programs that worked fast before became slow. It is time to perform some maintenance.
Normally when you just bought your notebook and started using it, you are happy how it works. However, in most cases, after several months the performance of your notebook starts to degrade noticeably. It takes longer and longer to start up your computer. The software programs that worked fast before become sluggish. And eventually, your overall productivity starts depending on speed of your computer. What happens? How to restore the performance of your “assistant”?
Maybe it is hard to believe but your notebook is slow because it is dirty. To fix this issue you need to clean software and hardware. Yes, the hardware too. The reason is that dust clogs the vents, which causes CPU to heat up. When temperature increases, Pentium 4 and later models go slower until they are no longer at a critical temperature. Your notebook even can burn if you do not keep it clean. Generally, heat is the biggest cause of component failure in computers. So that regular cleaning also can help to avoid costly repair and replacement costs.
For mentioned reason, it is important to limit the use of your laptop at high temperature and to keep your notebook in a open area that has a good air circulation during the power on. Clean your notebook regularly. You may use an old tooth brush to rid of the dust in the area around the fan. Shut it down before cleaning. Keep drinks and any liquids away from your notebook because short circuits by liquid destroy notebooks quite often. Also it is wise to not eat over because crumbs can go easily in the keyboard that cause PC to fail eventually.
Now software. The first step is to rid of unwanted and not-used-anymore programs. Normally programs are provided with uninstall option that can be used to completely uninstall programs and their components form your PC. If some software does not have this option, the best way is to use the Add or Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel of your MS Windows. Doing so ensures that any registry items associated with that application are removed safely.
The second step is not necessary but recommended. You need to find and remove all invalid registry items on your PC. It might be not easy to do manually because it is difficult to determine which items correspond to which applications (you might accidentally remove a valid registry item, causing software crashes and errors). So that for this purpose it is better to use some tool, for example, Windows Live OneCare safety scanner or Norton tools.
The third step is to delete all unnecessary data files. If some files are rarely used, you may archive them. If you have MS Windows XP or later OS, open any folder, right-click on blank area, select New, then Compressed (zipped) Folder. After creating empty zip file, move in it all files that you want to compress. Also as one-time measure to make the next step more effective, it would be good to clean Recycle Bin - right-click the Recycle Bin icon and select Empty Recycle Bin.
The final step to speed up your PC is to defragment the hard disk of your notebook. In case if you have MS Windows XP or later OS, open My Computer, right-click the local disk volume that you want to defragment, and then click Properties. On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now. Click Defragment. If your OS does not have a disk defragmenter, you may use some software tool, like, Norton Utilities. For the defragmenter to properly run, ensure you have no other applications running. Also note, the defragmenter can take a considerable time to run.
© Alex Smartson. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Normally when you just bought your notebook and started using it, you are happy how it works. However, in most cases, after several months the performance of your notebook starts to degrade noticeably. It takes longer and longer to start up your computer. The software programs that worked fast before become sluggish. And eventually, your overall productivity starts depending on speed of your computer. What happens? How to restore the performance of your “assistant”?
Maybe it is hard to believe but your notebook is slow because it is dirty. To fix this issue you need to clean software and hardware. Yes, the hardware too. The reason is that dust clogs the vents, which causes CPU to heat up. When temperature increases, Pentium 4 and later models go slower until they are no longer at a critical temperature. Your notebook even can burn if you do not keep it clean. Generally, heat is the biggest cause of component failure in computers. So that regular cleaning also can help to avoid costly repair and replacement costs.
For mentioned reason, it is important to limit the use of your laptop at high temperature and to keep your notebook in a open area that has a good air circulation during the power on. Clean your notebook regularly. You may use an old tooth brush to rid of the dust in the area around the fan. Shut it down before cleaning. Keep drinks and any liquids away from your notebook because short circuits by liquid destroy notebooks quite often. Also it is wise to not eat over because crumbs can go easily in the keyboard that cause PC to fail eventually.
Now software. The first step is to rid of unwanted and not-used-anymore programs. Normally programs are provided with uninstall option that can be used to completely uninstall programs and their components form your PC. If some software does not have this option, the best way is to use the Add or Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel of your MS Windows. Doing so ensures that any registry items associated with that application are removed safely.
The second step is not necessary but recommended. You need to find and remove all invalid registry items on your PC. It might be not easy to do manually because it is difficult to determine which items correspond to which applications (you might accidentally remove a valid registry item, causing software crashes and errors). So that for this purpose it is better to use some tool, for example, Windows Live OneCare safety scanner or Norton tools.
The third step is to delete all unnecessary data files. If some files are rarely used, you may archive them. If you have MS Windows XP or later OS, open any folder, right-click on blank area, select New, then Compressed (zipped) Folder. After creating empty zip file, move in it all files that you want to compress. Also as one-time measure to make the next step more effective, it would be good to clean Recycle Bin - right-click the Recycle Bin icon and select Empty Recycle Bin.
The final step to speed up your PC is to defragment the hard disk of your notebook. In case if you have MS Windows XP or later OS, open My Computer, right-click the local disk volume that you want to defragment, and then click Properties. On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now. Click Defragment. If your OS does not have a disk defragmenter, you may use some software tool, like, Norton Utilities. For the defragmenter to properly run, ensure you have no other applications running. Also note, the defragmenter can take a considerable time to run.
© Alex Smartson. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Choosing between Matte and Glossy LCD Screens
It is easy to take the quality of your PC display for granted. But when you consider that you spend more time using your monitor than any other component of your PC, you realize that the LCD screen you stare at every day is a vital part of your computer system. What differentiates one LCD panel from another is image quality. The light source, the viewing angle, and the system's graphics card can have a dramatic effect on an LCD's performance. Also such parameters as, text readability, sharpness, grayscale range, color quality, or image uniformity are important. However, the recent researches show that the surface of your LCD panel is very important characteristic. There are two major types of LCD screens distinguished by surface – matte and glossy.
A matte LCD screen has an anti-glare coating that diffuses ambient light. A side effect of the coating is a slight blurring, reduced contrast, and a narrow viewing angle. A matte screen may be the best one for a color-minded professional. Also a matte LCD may be better for your eyes in the long run.
In general, a glossy LCD screen has a better contrast, brighter colors (more saturated), and better viewing angles. A glossy screen may look more vibrant to watch movies or play games. The major disadvantage of a glossy screen is the reflection of a light and other objects. Sometimes it is not easy to adjust the screen to make it less reflective. Glare may interfere with color perception. Also in print, supersaturated colors will not show up. Overusing a glossy screen may cause a vision problem (eye strain). Also the distractions from reflection may cause a headache (brain overloaded thought eye's nervous signals). Many visual designers find that the glossy screens present unrealistic colors and overly contrasted images. Sometimes photographs cannot be accurately matched to the final print.
So matte or glossy? Actually, it is a personal preference. When you choosing between two types of screens, make your decision after careful consideration. It is better to buy after seeing and comparing matte and glossy types first. Often a laptop manufacturer does not offer the option (or at least for now) to choose between glossy and matte screens. However, there is a solution how to get the LCD screen that you like. Just replace it. It is easy to do even if you are not a technical person (use some illustrated guide). Since most laptop manufacturers charge too much, you may try to find third-party companies on the market that are selling laptop screens. Some of them have a lot of brand new genuine LCD screens for laptops.
© Alex Smartson. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
A matte LCD screen has an anti-glare coating that diffuses ambient light. A side effect of the coating is a slight blurring, reduced contrast, and a narrow viewing angle. A matte screen may be the best one for a color-minded professional. Also a matte LCD may be better for your eyes in the long run.
In general, a glossy LCD screen has a better contrast, brighter colors (more saturated), and better viewing angles. A glossy screen may look more vibrant to watch movies or play games. The major disadvantage of a glossy screen is the reflection of a light and other objects. Sometimes it is not easy to adjust the screen to make it less reflective. Glare may interfere with color perception. Also in print, supersaturated colors will not show up. Overusing a glossy screen may cause a vision problem (eye strain). Also the distractions from reflection may cause a headache (brain overloaded thought eye's nervous signals). Many visual designers find that the glossy screens present unrealistic colors and overly contrasted images. Sometimes photographs cannot be accurately matched to the final print.
So matte or glossy? Actually, it is a personal preference. When you choosing between two types of screens, make your decision after careful consideration. It is better to buy after seeing and comparing matte and glossy types first. Often a laptop manufacturer does not offer the option (or at least for now) to choose between glossy and matte screens. However, there is a solution how to get the LCD screen that you like. Just replace it. It is easy to do even if you are not a technical person (use some illustrated guide). Since most laptop manufacturers charge too much, you may try to find third-party companies on the market that are selling laptop screens. Some of them have a lot of brand new genuine LCD screens for laptops.
© Alex Smartson. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Notebook-Tablet Combo
It is all-in-one PC. The U1 comes with 11" LED multitouch screen that can be removed and used as an independent slate tablet. The device basically combines a notebook and a slate tablet into one, each with its own processor OS. When the multi-touch screen is detached, it becomes a slate tablet with Qualcomm SnapDragon processor, 16GB SSD and Lenovo's customized Skylight Linux OS. In the traditional configuration, it uses Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor running Windows 7 Home Premium and a 128GB SSD for speedy storage. The U1 supports 3G connectivity in addition to Bluetooth. It has also integrated webcam and stereo speakers. The Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid will be available on 1 June 2010 for $999.1.
via http://www.itechnews.net/2010/01/06/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-notebookslate-tablet-combo
via http://www.itechnews.net/2010/01/06/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-notebookslate-tablet-combo
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