Tag Archives: Laptop
Don’t Throw Away That Laptop, Get A Replacement LCD Screen
Don’t Throw Away That Laptop, Get A Replacement LCD Screen
Many people are paralyzed when their laptop computers are broken or damaged. They are willing to do almost anything or pay any price to get the offending piece or part replaced so that they can get on with their lives.
One part that is especially vulnerable on a laptop computer is the screen. An LCD screen, the type of screen that is used in most laptop computers, is very vulnerable to scratching or other damage.
Fortunately, a damaged LCD screen is not the end of your laptop. Replacement LCD screens can be very affordable and the turn around time to getting them fixed can be very quick if you know where to go and what to look for.
The first thing you will want to do when you are looking for replacement LCD screens is to not panic. Many people get too upset when their computers aren’t working and then they set themselves up to get taken advantage of.
Investing even an hour or two into finding the right price and an honest repairman could make all the difference in the quality of repair that you get.
However, that extra hour or two that you should spend shopping for replacement LCD screens usually won’t get your computer back to you any faster and may end up costing you time.
Look for local places with good reputations. Call around and ask about pricing before you show up. You may also want to call friends, family, and acquaintances for recommendations.
Actually, the ideal time to locate honest and good computer repair people is when you first get your new computer. After the warranty runs out, you will need to take care of problems yourself.
Ideally, you should do the research on where to get replacement LCD screens and other parts and repairs when you first get your computer. However, if you didn’t do that, all is not lost. You can still quickly determine where the best place to go to get replacement LCD screens with just a couple of simple tips.
There are many stores that offer great prices on the internet for replacement LCD screens. However, unless you are sending your computer back to the manufacturer for a covered repair, sending out your laptop for repairs like getting replacement LCD screens is ill-advised.
With the mail, you are only lengthening the amount of time you are without your computer. Secondly, replacement LCD screens are a common repair and don’t require sending it to some company far from where you live.
Also, you run the risk of losing or damaging your computer while it is being shipped. Lastly, what do you really know about the company where you are mailing your computer?
It could be a scam of some kind and taking action would be very difficult and expensive. Staying close to home is usually a much better and quicker policy.
Why Buy a Used Laptop Instead of New?
Why Buy a Used Laptop Instead of New?
If you’re planning to purchase a laptop or notebook (note that laptops and notebooks are the same thing), consider buying used or refurbished laptop. A refurbished laptop is a used laptop that has been rebuilt by a professional, and made to be like new again.
First, let us take a moment to consider your needs in a laptop. What do you plan to do with your laptop? Do you your plans include the following:
Surfing the internet
Checking emails
Instant messenger
Writing papers
Printing Papers
Making spreadsheets
Slide Presentations
Playing Solitaire
Downloading MP3’s
Listening to MP3’s
Burning to CD’s
Watching DVD’s
Digital camera photo
Children’s games
Keeping bank figures
Small business use
The lists goes on…
Most used laptops will easily complete all of the above mentioned tasks for you. What’s really great is that for most current applications on a refurbished laptop, you won’t notice a performance difference compared to a brand new laptop.
How is that possible to not notice a difference between a brand new laptop and a refurbished one?
That’s a good question. The fact is, most current software for your computer is not designed to need the high performance of a brand new laptop. Computer manufactures are moving so fast, that software makers simply do not keep up. Most current software will run on a computer 4 times slower than the fastest laptops made.
Most current software will run flawlessly on a computer 4 times slower than the fastest laptops made.
What does that mean for you? It means that it’s not necessary to spend 00 or more on a top of the line laptop. Depending on your needs from your laptop, you may be able to buy a laptop for as low as 0. A 0 laptop will perform all the necessary tasks for most people. However, if you are looking for a laptop that will burn CD’s and watch DVD movies, expect to spend 0 – 0.
Dell says I can buy a brand new laptop for 9, why should I buy a used one?
This is a very smart, and very much overlooked, marketing trick. Let me start by saying that I think Dell is the best computer manufacture on the market, and I endorse their products myself. However, try this yourself on any given day with any manufacture : Today I went to do www.dell.com and browsed new inspiron laptops (The Dell line designed for home users). On the home page was an ad for a laptop “from” 9. This is after a 0 rebate, so make that price 9. I click the ad and attempt to purchase the item. I am offered to “Customize” or choose “Recommended Solutions”. Customizing sounds great. I’m the customer, and I should get what I want. After choosing “Customize”, without selecting any upgrades at all, suddenly the price of the laptop is 71. I don’t like that, so I chose all of the lowest possible choices for all available features to achieve the lowest price. The lowest available configuration made the price 7. I don’t want to give up, so I go back and choose “Recommended Solutions” because these configurations are pre-manufactured in quantity, and are therefore cheaper. Four options were offered at these prices: 9, 49, 9, and 19. Each one of these options was offered a 0 rebate (keep in mind this is a mail-in rebate so it doesn’t lower your price at checkout) so respectively, if I were to purchase, then wait for my rebate, I could get a laptop for 9, 99, 9, or 69. Not one option was available to purchase this laptop at the advertised priced price of 9, even after a mail-in rebate! You will find the same scenario anywhere you go, no matter what manufacture.
No option was available to purchase a laptop for 9, even after a mail-in rebate!
They have to get you to buy from them somehow. All of the computer manufactures have been using this marketing technique (as described above) for years. Imagine if everyone knew about this and the money they could save on buying a refurbished laptop, without having to sacrifice any of their goals and needs from the computer. These manufactures would not be the same companies that they are today.
There are more reasons to consider a refurbished laptop.
Another aspect of buying a refurbished computer that should be considered is this: Most refurbished laptops available are not the “low end” home user based laptops. Examples of home user laptops are: Compaq Presario, Dell Inspiron, eMachines, Hewlett Packard Pavilion, Sony Vaio, and Toshiba Satellite. Refurbished laptops are almost always business model laptops that are off-lease from major corporations.
Business laptops have parts available even long after warranty expires.
Business laptops provide a better solution because they are the laptops provided by a company that are proven to work well. Examples of business laptops are: Compaq Armada, Dell Latitude, Hewlett Packard Compaq Mobile/Business Workstation, and Toshiba Tecra. Home user laptops, believe it or not, are usually testing grounds for new engineering of laptop equipment. Home user laptops are typically given shorter warranty, and are designed to last until that warranty expires. After the laptop’s warranty has expired, the newer “experimental” home user model available uses different parts. Since the older models are no longer under warranty, and they use “out of date” parts, the manufacture no longer stocks the parts. Therefore, when your home user laptop has an out of warranty problem (which it will), the parts that are available to fix your laptop are very expensive, if they are available at all. This leaves the home user with the attitude to “throw away and buy new”, which is exactly what the manufacture wants you to do.
Since business laptops use technology that is proven to work, their parts seldom change from model to model. Due to this fact as well as the fact that business laptops are leased to corporations, huge stock piles of parts are kept at the manufacture for extended warranties as well as out of warranty purchases. For example, you can still call Dell today to order parts for an out of warranty laptop that was manufactured in 1997 or 1998 for the same cost as laptops manufactured in 2002.
Business laptops are more expensive than home laptops (as much as 00), buy used and save a ton.
Business laptops, due to their stability, are far more expensive than home user laptops. Using the Dell example, the cheapest Dell business laptop (Latitude), currently available is 00. Many of the refurbished laptops being sold today for 0-0 originally sold for 00 or more. This means you can buy refurbished and save as much as 80% over buying new.
Purchase a refurbished laptop that will suit your needs and last for years, at a great savings.
What all of this means is that if you purchase a refurbished laptop, you can expect the following:
Able to complete all tasks necessary to an everyday user
Half the cost of a brand new home user laptop
Up to 80% less than a brand new business laptop
Proven technology that will last for years
Parts always available if your laptop has a problem
Take control in your life, and put extra money in your pocket for other things that are important to you!
Find a Great Refurbished Laptop on the Web Today at www.computerspricedright.com
Why purchase a Dell Laptop?
Why purchase a Dell Laptop?
One of the most well known brands on the market are Dell laptops. Of course, this comes from a lot of advertising. But their quality goes a long way in explaining why they are so big in the IT world.
Let’s take for example the new Dell Inspiron 6000. This is a high powered notebook that features the so-called Sonoma chipset which happens to be the latest Intel processor. Now, this chipset is strictly for mobile computers, so it is specifically designed to make sure your laptop works as optimally as possible. This involves the best in battery power life, the fastest graphics for gaming and multimedia, and wireless connectivity.
As far as wireless technology goes, these Dell laptops pack the latest technology. For example, they offer the optional Bluetooth for you business users out there. Of course then there is the standard 10/100 ethernet card and Wi-Fi access, so you can use your card in wireless hotpsots at home, in your local coffee shop ar at work.
Here are a few other accessories that round out the connectivity of these computers. It has an IEEE 1394 port, a Firewire port, an S-Video port and four USB ports. Now, if that’s not enough, the Inspiron 6000 also has a slot for Secure Digital Memory cards.
Now, no matter how many digital cameras, music players, personal digital assistants (PDA’s), or cell phones you have, your Dell Inspiron 6000 notebook will have enough access for all of them.
This computer also has a big brain! You can choose from either a 1.30 GHz Intel Celeron processor or the 1.60 GHz Pentium processor. As far as hard drives go, they also come in a selection of ranges from 30 GB to 80 GB. You can also pack the computer with optical drives like a DVD double layer burner or a writeable CD/DVD combo.
What does this mean for the layperson? All these numbers and abbreviations mean only one thing, no matter what you need your computer for, there are Dell laptops out there that are perfect for the task.
I have had nothing but Dell computers in my office as well as my home and I will continue to buy them and recommend them. Not just because they are excellently made computers, but because Dell stands behind their products in price as well
as service.
Just to give you an example of the Dell Service, I purchased a Dell Desktop last year for my office, one of many. This one computer did develop a problem with the DVD drive. I could read DVD’s but I couldn’t burn one. I called support they responded very quickly and while I was on the phone with them the technician had me run some tests. The DVD unit was found to be defective. The technician offered to send me a new unit by next day air or have a technician come to my office. I chose the latter, and the technician showed up within 24 hours replaced the unit and had me up running. Now for me I couldn’t have asked for better or faster service.
Replace Your Desktop With A Laptop
Replace Your Desktop With A Laptop
Gone are the days when a businessperson needed a desktop at work, a desktop at home, and a large, cumbersome laptop for travel. With the steady march of technology come lighter, more portable laptops with higher performance than ever before. Processors are advanced enough on almost any laptop to consider completely doing away with your desktop PC altogether.
For the gamers out there, laptops have always been too slow and too far behind the technological bandwagon to consider replacing your gaming computer with one. Now, however, laptops are being designed with the gamer in mind with faster processors, bigger screens, and high end graphics.
For the student going off to school, a small, lightweight laptop means that you can take your laptop to class with you to take notes as fast as you can type (which is often a lot faster than you can write), and be sure that they will always be legible. Additionally, laptops can have planner features to help you remember when that next assignment is due, and you will never lose your notes or keep them in a disorganized pile. Even if the rest of your life is a little hectic, keeping a laptop as your new PC can help your grades considerably.
If you decide that it is worth the investment to be able to bring your laptop to work and home with you, technology is allowing for easy set-up of your laptop with a docking station that makes time-consuming plugs a thing of the past.
There are so many benefits to consider to using a laptop as your new desktop computer. These include:
1) having your work with you at all times
2) creating far more desk and floor space now that your huge tower and monitor are gone
3) the ability to work from any location with a wireless network set up
With the only negative aspects being: if you feel the need to have the most modern technology available, you will find it difficult to upgrade many laptops, and laptops are more expensive than a desktop because of the size and convenience.
Laptops for the Businessperson:
• Dell Latitude D820
• Acer TravelMate 4650
• HP Compaq nx9420 (2.16GHz, 1GB RAM)
• Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch)
The Dell laptop is an excellent business portable, and is priced around fifteen hundred dollars. It is one of the highest rated laptops for replacement of a PC, and the reviews call it perfect for the modern businessperson.
The Acer TravelMate is a great value for the price. It has a good battery life and nice processing power with all the features a home-office user will need. The Acer costs around twelve hundred dollars, making it the least expensive laptop on this list.
The third laptop, the HP Compaq, offers corporate caliber security according to the reviews, and has a nicely sized seventeen-inch screen for ease of use for those of us who stare at computer screens all day. This model is a lot more expensive, though, running between two thousand and twenty-two hundred dollars.
Last on our list, the Apple PowerBook delivers the features and power that most users require, but at two thousand dollars is more expensive than comparable Windows laptop. Still, it is a good option for replacing your bulky desktop PC.
Laptops for the Gamer:
• Dell XPS M1710
• Toshiba Satellite P105-S921
• Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513
• HP Pavilion zd8000
Hard core gamers will appreciate the Dell XPS, which will play the newest games at the highest settings. Running at thirty-four hundred dollars, though, this laptop does not come cheap. With all the technology packed into this case, it will at least be a long time before you need an upgrade.
The Toshiba Satellite offers lots of features for an affordable price, but will not play the most intensive games at their highest performance levels. This is still a wonderful machine, and will cost about two thousand dollars.
The Toshiba Qosmio is designed to deliver the most high-quality multimedia experience available in a laptop. The Qosmio combines TV, DVR, stereo, DVD player, and high-performance PC in one big laptop. Replace your entire entertainment system (except maybe the speakers) for anywhere from fourteen hundred to twenty-four hundred. It seems like shopping around for this model might be well in your best interests.
The HP Pavilion’s price is a relief at only twelve hundred dollars, is powerful and can play many of the newer games, if not quite the newest according to reviews.
Accessories to Consider
These laptops are all wonderful replacements for the bulky desktop computer sitting in your home office right now. There are just a few more things you need to make your laptop absolutely perfect for your office or game room.
When you go on the road all you need is your laptop and power cable, but when you bring your computer back home, you might feel more comfortable using an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor. The hook-ups for these can be painful if you have to do it frequently, but a docking port takes away the stress by mirroring all the ports, plugs, and slots on your laptop.
The first accessory that everyone should consider is a docking port. Especially wonderful for business users, these ports hook up to your printer, scanner, keyboard, monitor, mouse, network cables, power source, and any other gadgets you need them to. Instead of connecting a dozen or more wires and cables every time you move your laptop, push the laptop into the docking port and one little connection brings you back online with everything you need.
The rest of the accessories suggested here are just options, so we’ll be brief. An external mouse, keyboard, and monitor might make you more comfortable at your desk, and a joystick or controller of another sort might be essential to the hardcore gamers.
No matter what you are considering your new laptop for, replacing your space-eating desktop PC is a move that you will never regret. Your new laptop will be portable, powerful, and just more fun because of all the things you can do with it. Save yourself some time and effort and consider replacing your PC with a laptop.
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A Smart And Safer Way To Carry Your Laptop In Tow
A Smart And Safer Way To Carry Your Laptop In Tow
Laptops are a great investment. They provide an easier way to work and to have fun. Keeping that laptop in tiptop shape should be of importance to you as well. Here’s what you should look for in choosing a great laptop bag or case.
Laptops were made for convenience. With the advent of this technology, people have been able to work anytime and anywhere they feel like it, thanks to the invention of laptops.
Laptops can come in different designs and sizes. Some laptops are small and light fit for those working on the go. While other laptops are more conventional, slightly larger, and heavier, which work perfectly well for those who want to file and save as much work as possible and still be able to enjoy other activities like gaming in the same device.
People used to settle for the ordinary laptop bags this gadget typically comes along with. Others have even made use of their ordinary backpacks and ordinary totes to carry their laptops along with their other belongings. This is the time to stop this habit.
Carrying your laptop in inappropriate containers can be damaging to your laptop, not to mention the clutter it makes of your bag. In order to get the most out of your laptop in terms of function and warranty, you should start choosing the appropriate laptop bag that meets your varied needs.
There are various factors one should look for in a great laptop bag. This laptop bag should be able to keep you laptop safe, this is the first and most crucial factor. If your bag does not have the capability of protecting your laptop, it’s as if you just throw away the money you invested. Keep your laptop for as long as you want by keeping it safe and protected! A great laptop bag should always have a secure strap to keep that laptop in place. A second factor that a great laptop bag should have is enough storage space. By storage space, it means space for all your other belongings aside from your laptop, of course.
An ordinary bag won’t do much of a good work in achieving this, although your everyday bag may contain enough storage space, it does not have the different compartments specific to different gadgets that can only be found in laptop bags and cases. Who said you could only carry your laptop in your laptop bag? Laptop bags and cases are specially designed to properly store all your other gadgets as well as your personal belongings in the proper places without compromising the safety of its main component – the laptop.
A third factor that is specific to laptop bags and cases is the durability of the material used. Your laptop contains most, if not all, the important files you have ever accumulated in your life, be it personally or professionally. It is only understandable that you should keep this in a bag that is durable and can withstand whatever terrain, whatever weather.
An example of this type of durable material is a new style of laptop bag that is waterproof, perfect for those rainy moments that you come unprepared for. The durability of the material used for laptop bags should also encompass its capability to properly separate one gadget from another. There is no use in storing your different stuff in one laptop bag if the material cannot prevent factors such as friction that could ruin not only the laptop but all the other gadgets you might be carrying. A laptop bag that has thick interior padding could help you achieve this.
The material of the laptop bag or case should be as lightweight as possible. You have enough burden of carrying all your stuff, a good laptop bag should not add to the weight you might be carrying. If your laptop bag has shoulder straps, these should be adjustable and afford a hefty amount of padding to protect your shoulders from the weight you are carrying. Finally, the greatest laptop bags and cases in the market are both stylish and functional! Not only is it good to look at but good to make use of, too!
Since there are different laptop bags and cases to choose from, you should be able to know what available designs there are and which of them are suitable to your personality and work. The most common style is the brief bag laptop bag. This type of bag offer a semi-formal means of carrying your laptop if you do not want to look too casual or too professional. Another style is the top loading laptop bag. This bag gives you an easier access to your laptop and to all your other gears inside, especially useful if you constantly have to go through security on your way to work and back home.
The casual types of laptop bag are the backpack laptop bag and the messenger style laptop bag. This is absolutely an inconspicuous way of carrying your laptop. If you don’t want others to know those highly important gadgets you might be carrying inside, then these types of bag are the way to go. Rolling laptop bags are a great option especially if you are constantly on the go and you keep on being jostled around in a crowd along with your gadgets in tow. The rolling laptop bag keeps your gear safe and protected inside despite the circumstances going on outside.
For more gender specific types of laptop bags you can choose from ladies laptop bags or men’s laptop bags. If you are a woman and don’t want your femininity being compromised by all those extra baggage, a ladies laptop bag is perfect for you. If you are a man, on the other hand, and want to maintain your masculinity and professionalism, then men’s laptop bags are appropriate for you. Laptop bags also come in different sizes. It is important to know that you should never fit your laptop in a bag too small. This does not provide the proper ventilation for your laptop or you just can’t fit the laptop in it in the first place.
It’s not just fun to choose a laptop, choosing the right bag is just as enjoyable and should be invested in, too.
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