Tag Archives: Laptops
Used Laptops and Accessories
Used Laptops and Accessories
Today’s technology is moving at lightning speed and it’s an expensive prospect to keep up and keep all of your own personal technology up to par. For instance, you may love taking digital photos with your camera, but do you have a computer or laptop that is compatible? Do you have a digital camcorder and you want to play around with digital video editing or that you’d like to hook up to your TV at home? Maybe you love your webcam, but your computer doesn’t have sufficient memory to keep up?
If you plan to buy, or have bought an inexpensive refurbished laptop, what do you need to power all of these nifty features? Once you have everything ready, how do you actually use everything together?
Here is a quick guide to using various components and accessories with your refurbished or used laptop computer!
Using Your Camcorder with Your Used Laptop
You can if you have an S-Video connector. S-Video-In allows you to connect laptops to a television or camcorder or VCR to transmit their signal and be able to view them on the laptop’s display. S-Video inputs use a four-pin jack to receive video signals from camcorders, gaming consoles, TV, or any device that has an S-Video out port. The S in S-Video stands for separate: S-Video connections transmit the chrominance (color) and luminance (brightness) portions of a video signal along different paths, allowing them to be processed separately. This is a common way to display content from a digital camcorder or any device that has an S-Video Out port.
S-Video Out: Connects a plasma or newer TV to your notebook to display video content streaming from the notebook. The most common way to connect a TV to a notebook, S-Video Out uses a four-pin jack to send signals from your notebook to your TV or anything that accepts S-Video In.
This feature is not standard to all laptops, so you need to check the feature list to make sure it is included if this is something you whish to do.
Using Your Used Laptop and a Web Cam
If you want to use your laptop and a webcam to talk to relatives or friends across the country it is best to have the same camera on both sides of the connection to be able use all the features of the cameras.
You can talk by using cell phones or telephones or can use instant messaging or even send e-mails back and forth. Using the webcam will allow you to see each other to add another dimension to the phone call.
You will need the following:
· A computer.
· An Internet connection (the faster the better).
· A connection from the laptop to the webcam (most common is the USB, others include Serial, Parallel, etc).
· Two cameras.
· Software (from the webcam vendor or from others, like Microsoft).
If you already own the webcam then check the systems requirements to determine what you need in the way of a laptop, should you not already own one. If you aren’t sure about which webcam to purchase then check out the reviews at ZDNet to get a better idea. Logitech (a market leader) has a low priced webcam the QuickCam® Communicate™ for .95 (on their website). It requires Win 98 or later OS, P3-700 MHz with 64MB RAM if you use their VideoCall software for broadband. It costs less than per month if you sign up for their one year plan.
Free software you can use for video chatting with friends includes: Microsoft’s NetMeeting. It includes video in multiple directions, chat, and audio. The systems requirements of NetMeeting are minimal as it will work with a Pentium 90 and Win 95 or later and a 56K modem. EyeballChat is another option. It lets you chat live, share messages, music and photos and communicate securely. Its systems requirements are a Pentium II 400 MHz with at least 64 MB RAM. Another option is a web based conferencing tool for per month like MegaMeeting Personal
So now you know how to use a refurbished laptop and how to buy a refurbished laptop that can help you use exciting accessories like your WebCam or your camcorder! The possibilities are endless and so are the savings!
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Apple Powerbook – Is It Better Than The Other Laptops?
Apple Powerbook – Is It Better Than The Other Laptops?
There has been a long standing debate as to whether Mac laptops are better than PCs. Owners of Mac laptops say yes. Many owners of other brands hate Mac laptops and vehemently say no. Let’s compare the Apple powerbook to other brands based on a set of features.
Processors:
Powerbooks are now capable of using the same Intel processors as other laptops, so processor speed isn’t really an issue anymore.
Operating system:
This is probably the area with the most intense debates. The Mac OS X utilized in powerbooks uses a Unix platform to drive it’s system. Many programmers believe that this gives the powerbook an edge as it is a superior system, since it can handle a large number of applications running at once.
Software:
It’s true that much of the software being created is geared more towards PCs than powerbooks. In terms of productivity tools, powerbooks come with a complete set of software that is comparable to the typical Windows software. You can get web browsers, email tools and even antivirus software. However, if you plan on using Mac laptops for gaming, you may run into some problems. Many of the popular games just aren’t compatible with the powerbook. Even the graphics software, for which Mac laptops were famous, are now compatible with PCs.
Customization:
This may just be the area where PCs win outright. Just take a look at Dell. While you can customize your powerbook, up to a point, it’s nowhere near what companies like Dell and HP are offering.
Security:
Anyone would be a bit skeptical about an operating system which prompts you to download and install security updates to fix bugs on a regular basis. Windows isn’t the most secure system, as evidenced by the tens of thousand of viruses that attack it. The powerbook does have a more secure system, but there are viruses out there that attack Mac laptops, just nowhere as many.
Cost:
You only need to take a look at various company websites to know that powerbooks are more expensive than PCs. The powerbook operating system itself is cheaper so it may be an option if you’re building a system yourself.
So what’s the bottom line? Mac laptops ruled the roost, as it were, for many years. While the OS X operating system is still superior, PCs have come a long way in catching up. Unless you really have a strong preference, you might be better off getting a PC with a good antivirus program.
Why Are Laptops Popular?
Why Are Laptops Popular?
Laptops are basically a smaller portable version of a desktop. Now even though it is convenient to bring your laptop where ever you go, a laptop’s performance may be a little slower than the traditional desktop computer, and if you are running power from a battery, much more short “on time”. Laptops originally was never meant to replace the desktop computer, but now there are laptops called “desktop replacements” being created. Each new generation of laptops are more powerful and is catching up to their desktop counterparts. New Laptops today usually come with the latest software for general access computing, gaming, and Internet access. Laptops, because of their easy access and mobility are the most convenient computers to use today; you can do basically almost anything with a laptop that you can do with a desktop computer.
Since laptops are more flexible, mobile, and almost as powerful as desktops, laptops outsell desktops in the market. Laptops are now everywhere across the world; with people at work, at school, on the road, airplanes, and college campuses, and is used by people of all ages. The first laptops were released to the public around the time of the 1980’s, but laptops as a new technology did not grew into popularity until around the 1990’s. Laptops over the course of time have come a long way, and many laptops now even offer the incredible realistic feeling of a full sized desktop keyboard. Laptops have flexibility for high action software such as gaming, and are almost or just as powerful as their desktop counterparts. How powerful you want your laptop may come down to just how much you want to spend on a laptop.
Wireless electronics is the wave of the future, so when you is searching to buy your laptop you should be certain to buy a laptop with wireless equipment built in. Wireless access will give you higher flexibility because you do not have to stay within a single spot at any time or place. Many laptops now today are equipped with built-in wireless hardware for Internet access for Wireless Internet hot-spots. Many college campuses offer wireless Internet access to their students throughout the entire campus. Wireless access also now is available in a continually growing number of locations of business and homes across the USA and other countries.
Laptops are sold in several types of categories based on weight, size, height and brand. Laptops are not usually assembled by the companies that are selling them but instead by the manufacturer. Even though in most cases laptops are more convenient than a desktop computer, there still may be some functions a desktop computer may be able to do better than a laptop. Laptops definitely are a part of technology history the world is very grateful for, and will especially be more so in the future as laptops improve.
Toshiba Laptops Offer some Surprising Features
Toshiba Laptops Offer some Surprising Features
Toshiba laptops are always worth considering when looking for a laptop for yourself or a family member. In addition to a great product Toshiba actually stands behind their products offering great service even after the sell. Toshiba laptops are competitively priced and have constantly evolving technology that can hold its own as work laptops as well as gaming platforms.
If you’ve been in the market for laptops for very long, you’ve probably found that there is often very little to set one company apart from another. They all offer something that seems similar on the outside; however, when you look at the history of certain companies you may find that not all computer makers are equal.
The Toshiba Portege is one computer that has set itself apart from almost all other laptops. It offers the functionality of notebook with the convenient added features of a tablet PC. If you haven’t checked out the tablet PCs on the market today, you may wish to do so and while you’re at it, compare the features of the Portege which combines a Toshiba laptop with a tablet PC in order to create a truly extraordinary computer experience.
No matter what your specific needs in a laptop, whether you need a machine that is excellent for gaming, offers superior business functionality, or has upgraded security measures, Toshiba laptops have something spectacular to offer. In this day and age of companies not standing behind their products, isn’t it great to know that there are companies such as Toshiba that truly stand behind the products they create.
Toshiba laptops may not be the best in the industry, but they have a diverse range and are an excellent value for the price. If you are in the market for a laptop you would do well to seriously consider the laptops that Toshiba has to offer.
The Top Gaming Laptops
The Top Gaming Laptops
Do you have the latest PC game that you love playing and want to play it while you is traveling? Do you want to play World of Warcraft while you is on a long boring road trip? Then you need to start looking for gaming laptops. Gaming laptops are specially built for playing PC games without slowing down. Now not any laptop will perform good enough for all PC games, because some games have very high graphics and need plenty of processor speed. This article review describes in detail about the top existing gaming laptops that you can buy.
Alienware Aurora mALX
The Alienware Aurora mALX laptop is SLI-based, 19 inched and weighs about 15 pounds. This laptop will dominate any gaming laptop in its immediate surroundings. The Alienware Aurora have dual HDD support up to 240 Gigabytes, 1680×1050 pixel display, and a 2.4-GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-44 processor. This laptop may be the best laptop for playing the latest action packed fly-by PC games released. The gaming performance is great, but the AMD processor is a little slower than Intel’s Core Duo chips. The Alienware Aurora maLX will use a lot of power, as the battery can be drained within just one hour. The price for this laptop will be in the range starting from 00 up to 00 (with configurations)
Hypersonic Aviator Fx7
The hypersonic Aviator features a 2.6GHz Athlon 64 FX-60 desktop CPA and has 2GBs of RAM, and a built in Webcam and a TV turner card. This laptop is built purely for your entertainment. The laptop weighs about 13 pounds and has a 17 inched LCD. The video display is excellent and can turn up to 85 frames a second for several PC games. The Hypersonic Aviator FX7 have a high score (8.5) among many gaming laptop fans. A downside to this laptop is that it can get hot pretty fast, and the cooling fans will make noticeable noise. The laptop price range is around 00.
Voodoo Envy U:734
The Voodoo Envy weighs 8.7 pounds and has a 17 inched display, so it is pretty light for a gaming laptop. The color display is very good but will darken a little when viewing from a 45 degree angle. The Voodoo Envy U:735 has four built in speakers which produce very good position audio sound. During two straight hours of game play the laptop generates about the average amount of heat most gaming laptops creates, but would do poorly for usages of regular laptops. The price of the Voodoo Envy U:734 is around 00.
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