The devices, which are becoming popularly known as netbooks, or my favorite term, "laptots," have caught on because they offer people a mobile, easy way to wirelessly access the Web.

They come with 7-inch to 10-inch LCD screens and are about half to two-thirds the size of a mainstream laptop. They weigh around 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) each, carry batteries that last up to 8 hours and generally cost between US$199 and $699.

I've written several netbook reviews and after some consideration, offer these tips for your first netbook.

1. Know what you want to use it for and how much you're willing to spend.

This is a cliche in reviews and doesn't tell you much but it's actually very important. What do you want this for? Do you want a lightweight device for easy Internet access? Or are you really looking for a full-featured laptop computer? Don't buy a netbook if you're really looking for a laptop, it would be a mistake.

To ensure longer battery life, some key components on a netbook, such as the microprocessor, are far less powerful than common laptops. That's why they're good for surfing the Internet, doing homework on a word processing program, working on spreadsheets or for presentations and other Office-like work.

Anyone looking for a gaming laptop or one for video-editing or other multimedia work should shop for true laptops, not netbooks.

2. Buy a netbook with an 8.9-inch screen or larger.

I tried out an Eee PC with a 7-inch screen and the annoying part is not being able to see an entire Web page because the screen is too small.

That's less of a problem on the slightly larger-sized screens and in the 8.9-inch screen size, the weight and size of the netbook is nearly the same as devices with 7-inch screens.

3. Make sure you get a 6-cell battery for your netbook, although you may have to pay $50 more and the device will weigh more.

Most companies are offering netbooks with 3-cell batteries as the standard, but that doesn't offer a whole lot of run time, just 2 to 3 hours. A 6-cell battery doubles that, and in some devices designed around a 6-cell battery, such as Asustek Computer's Eee PC 1000 and Eee PC 901, you can get up to 8 hours.

In a mobile device, battery life is vital. You don't want to always be looking around for plugs, nor fighting over the last one.

Most vendors are now following Asustek's lead with 6-cell batteries. Micro-Star International recently announced a line of Wind netbooks with 6-cell batteries, and Acer recently put out a formal version of its Aspire one with a 6-cell battery, and larger HDD to boot.

Vendors generally offer 6-cell batteries for all models. But most devices come standard with a 3-cell or 4-cell battery, so if you want a 6-cell then you have to ask for it, and expect to pay a bit more.

Another benefit of the larger battery is that it props up the back of the device, putting it on a slight angle that makes typing easier. Keypads on netbooks are smaller than normal keypads, and comfortable typing was one area I was not willing to compromise on.

4. Try out the keypad and make sure it's right for you.

None of the devices I tested had a better typing pad on a cheaper netbook than Intel's ClassMate PC, which has a keypad far smaller than the Eee PC 1000. Keys on the ClassMate PC's keyboard are raised and there is a lot of space between them, making them easy to find by touch.

By contrast, the Eee PCs, Wind and Elitegroup Computer Systems' G10IL designed their keypads with flat keys and little or no space between keys because, I was told by Elitegroup staff, it makes them look nice.

The trouble is, it also makes typing more difficult.

I really liked the keypads on Acer's Aspire one and Everex's CloudBook Max, but the best keypad was on Hewlett-Packard's Mini-Note.

5. Software: see what it comes with and consider trying the Linux OS.

There are two lessons on software.

First, some vendors have skimped on including software in their netbooks on the pretense that users can download a lot of free software on the Internet. That's true, but it's a bogus excuse. Who wants to spend time downloading when many netbook makers have added lots of software so users can play with their new netbook right away?

Asustek included a lot of useful software on its Eee PCs 1000, 1000H and 901, as has Acer, which also added a nice opening screen that boots up in just 12 seconds.

Second, it may be time to the give the Linux OS a try.

The Acer opening screen I just referred to is based on Linux, and the Aspire one comes with the Linpus Linux Lite OS, which is very user friendly. I've used Windows for most of my life but switching to Linux to try out the Aspire one was smooth and easy.

Most of the netbooks I tested with Linux OSs booted up far faster than Windows XP or Windows Vista (I would not buy a netbook with Vista, it's just too slow).

There are also free Linux-based word processing programs, spreadsheets etc. available on the Internet such as Open Office, Google Pack, which includes Sun's StarOffice or Web-based software such as Google Apps.

Of course, it would be nice to see a Web site devoted to netbooks, with software specifically designed for low-power devices and smaller screens. Netbookdownload.com, anyone?

6. Price: if it costs more than $500, start looking at a regular notebook computer.

Companies have started promoting a wide range of netbooks at ever higher prices, but once you pass $500, netbooks start to compete with laptops, and a laptop will almost always give you more value for your money in that case.

Laptop computers have far more powerful microprocessors and other components than netbooks, and sport DVD drives. There are no DVD drives on netbooks.

If size and weight are your main concerns, there are plenty of small, full-featured laptops, including the Sony Vaio VGN-TZ340, Lenovo Ideapad U110-23042BU, and of course, Apple's lightweight MacBook Air.

7. Look around at what's available.

There were a lot of devices that impressed me and that are worth considering.

Giga-byte's M912, is the netbook that has by far the coolest technology on board with its touchscreen. The screen can also swivel around so you can show someone else what you're working on or looking at on the Net.

But I was quoted a price of NT$19,900 (US$632) for the device, and since I'm not really sure how much I'd use the touchscreen, I figured it wasn't right for me.

I almost decided on one of the netbooks with the bigger, 10-inch screens. My top choices were Asustek's Eee PC 1000 with the Xandros Linux OS and a 40G-byte solid state drive (SSD) for storage and 6-cell battery, or Micro-Star International's Wind with a 6-cell battery.

Both devices are very nice to use but were a little bigger and more expensive than what I was looking for. Size is important to consider in terms of weight. Ten inch screens, hard disk drives (HDDs) and 6-cell batteries add a lot of extra weight to a netbook.

All of the netbooks I tried out include wireless Internet access through Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, but only Asustek's Eee PCs 1000, 1000H and 901 offered speedier 802.11b/g/n as of this writing.

The CloudBook Max will be sold with subscriptions for WiMax wireless networking, and some netbooks will also be sold with built-in 3G modules so mobile phone service providers can offer them with 3G (third generation telecommunications) contracts, so people can access the Internet from anywhere on their mobile phone network.

People can also buy add-on 3G (third generation telephony) or WiMax cards for any netbook.

8. And finally, the best netbook available is....

I tested several different netbooks and published reviews on them all, and after trying out some pretty cool devices, I decided to buy the one that's right for me: Acer's Aspire one.

Based on the criteria above, here's why:

I already have a laptop PC, so I don't need a powerful netbook. I just wanted a smaller, lighter device easier to carry around that I can use to surf the Web and write outside my office.

The Aspire one comes with an 8.9-inch screen and a 3-cell battery, standard, but I will pay a little more for a 6-cell battery. I get stranded in airports sometimes, often take trains, and simply like to sip my coffee very slowly. I need a long lasting battery.

The keypad on the device is quite comfortable, and the software it comes with is easy to use, especially the Linpus Linux Lite OS.

The price sealed my decision.

Last Friday, Acer slashed prices on three Aspire one models in the U.S., to US$399 for an Aspire one with Windows XP, a 160G-byte HDD (hard disk drive) and 6-cell battery. An Aspire one with Windows XP, a 120G-byte HDD and 3-cell battery costs just $349, and a similar device running on Linpus Linux Lite is just $329.

I plan to buy the $329 Linux-based Aspire one, which has an 8.9-inch screen, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom microprocessor, 512M bytes of DRAM and 8G bytes of flash memory storage and a 3-cell battery. I'll add more DRAM and buy an additional flash card, as well as trade up to a 6-cell battery, which will likely raise the price to around $420, in all.

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Anyone who searches for a domain registrar wants to get the best service for the best price. Often people think that means that customers must pay premium prices to get good, quality domain registration services. This simply is not true. Many cheap domain registration

companies offer very good service for affordable prices. Besides, the process is going to be the same whether you choose a cheap domain registration company or a more expensive registrar.

It is important to state that while all domains are created equal, all registrars are not. One domain will not be better than another. A customer can purchase mypersonaldomain.com at Network Solutions, Register.com, or CheapDomains.com. No registrar has exclusive access to a domain name that all other registrars do not have. However, registrars differ in the quality of service they offer. This fact will determine whether or not a consumer will choose cheap domain registration or not.

Some registrars offer very basic domain registration services. Others offer bonus features like a domain control panel, starter web page, email forwarding, domain locking, and technical support. It would seem that technical support would be a standard feature of domain registration. However, many companies do not offer technical support. Therefore, customers who are not very knowledgeable about domain registration must beware. Prices increase as customers choose domain registration packages with more and more features.

Cheap domain registration definitely does not suggest an inferior domain. It is important to remember that all domains are the same. The quality of service offered by the registrar is what makes the difference. While customers will find cheap domain registration companies, they may not receive the services offered by more expensive registrars. However, if the person seeking to register a domain does not need as many services, the cheapest route may be the best route.

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When you attempt to register a domain name, you must choose which top-level domain you will be using. The top-level domain (TLD) is actually the extension of the domain name. For example, the .com is the top-level domain or extension in yourdomain.com. Many people think that the extension is included for no specific purpose. This could not be further from the truth. The domain extension or TLD actually indicates what the kind of entity the domain belongs to. For business you always want to buy a domain name that ends in .com. Here is a list of the most common TLDs and what they are used for.

.COM – Anyone with a personal or commercial site may buy a domain name with this extension. However, it is most commonly used by commercial entities. It is, by far, the most popular web domain extension and also the most valuable.

.NET – This is another general TLD, but it is mostly companies involved in internet communications and infrastructure buy a domain name with this extension.

.ORG – Buy a domain name with this extension and you are likely to operate some type of organization. Mostly non-profits register this type of domain.

.BIZ – Since .com has become so crowded with names, many business are registering this domain extension. It still reflects a commercial identity and allows you the opportunity to purchase your company name if it was already used under the more prevalent .com extension. Personal web sites may not use this extension.

.INFO – This top-level domain is steadily rising in popularity. If you have a personal or commercial web site, you can buy this domain name extension.

.PRO – Doctors, lawyers and other professionals buy this domain name extension when they are ready to display web sites with information about themselves and their occupations.

.COOP – This TLD is used by organizations that want to denote their status as cooperatives.

.NAME – Individuals buy this domain name extension to promote their personal web sites It must be comprised of your first and last name.

.AERO – This is a new option for the air-transportation industry.

.MUSEUM – The domain name extension is self-explanatory. In case it’s not obvious, only official museums may use this TLD.

.EDU and .GOV – Both of these domain names are not available for public registration. Only educational institutions and government agencies respectively are allowed to use these domain extensions.

IMPORTANT: For commercial and business use you should concentrate on finding a .com name first. Numerous studies show that surfers will consistently type .com into their browsers before any other extension. If you own MySite.net but your competition owns MySite.com then you will lose hard earned business. This is why .com names are so valuable and why NameSeek deals almost exclusively in the .com TLDs.

Once you own your .com name then you can acquire the .net, .biz, etc. names to keep those names from your competitors. You can point all your names to one web site.

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Biometrics are used to identify people based on their biological traits. This growing technological field has deep implications because proving identity is becoming an integral part of our daily lives. To uncover the prevalence that biometrics could attain, let us consider an ordinary day of Thomas.

Thomas wakes up in the morning, and checks his email on his computer. His service provider requires that Thomas confirm that it is he that is checking his account; instead of entering a username and password, he presses his thumb against a biometric scanner on his keyboard. The system confirms that it is, in fact, Thomas and grants him access to his messages. On his way to work, he enters his car but instead of using a key to identify him as the owner of the vehicle, another biometric scanner checks his fingerprint to confirm that he has the permission to enter.

A biometric hand-recognition device confirms that it is Thomas and allows him entrance to the building at work. Thomas' work computer uses a voice-recognition system that requires him to say a short phrase; it recognizes him and confirms that he has permission to access all programs and files on the computer network.

For lunch, Thomas takes a short trolley ride with some colleagues to a nearby restaurant. Upon entering the trolley, a biometric face-recognition camera recognizes him and automatically bills his bank account. At the restaurant, he pays by 'credit card' but instead of using an actual card, he presses his thumb against a portable biometric scanner. No signature is required and he is authenticated almost immediately. On his way home from work, he stops at the library to pick up a book, and he checks it out with a biometric retina scan instead of a library card.

It is evident that our identity is frequently required; For the time being we use a wide assortment of methods to verify our identity: usernames, passwords, signatures, keys, cards etc. Biometrics allow us to authenticate ourselves with things that we carry with us wherever we may go, such as our hands, eyes, voices, faces, fingerprints etc. In addition to the convenience, biometrics can be much more effective; a key or card, for example, can fall into someone else's hands. The promise of ease and increased security are perhaps biometric's most appealing features.

The downside of all of the benefits of biometrics is personal privacy. If we are going to be identified at various points during the day, will large companies, the government or other institutions track our behaviors and use this data in unanticipated or invasive ways? These questions must be addressed before biometrics have the chance of pervading our daily lives.

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Digital cameras have changed the way photographs are taken and stored. With so many models of digital cameras on the market and in so many different price ranges, it can be difficult to know what to look for when buying one. Basically, there are three factors to consider: resolution, storage capacity, and special features for picture taking and storage.

The resolution of the photographs taken with a digital camera is measured in pixels. The greater number of pixels or dots per inch, the higher the resolution of the finished photograph will be. Digital cameras generally range from 2.0 megapixels to 5 and above. The next generation of digital cameras have higher and higher resolutions as consumers are looking for detail and color accuracy in their images. Older digital technology used under 2.0 megapixels.

Since film is not used in digital photography, the images are stored on internal disks in the camera. Most mid-priced digital cameras do not contain very much storage space and this requires users to download their pictures to their computer before snapping more shots.

More memory can be added to the interior of the camera, just like in a computer. A less expensive method is to add memory by using a small card that pops into the camera. These disks can be purchased with capacities between 64MB all the way up to 2 gigabytes. Larger disks can can hold hundreds of pictures at their highest quality!

Digital cameras come with an assortment of options and features. Some digital cameras can use wide-angle and telephoto lenses for added flexibility. Also when buying a digital camera, it is important to look at how easily the photos can be off loaded to a computer for storage or sharing and how easy they are to print. Some digital cameras come with docking systems that easily transfer the digital images to the computer. The images can then be modified using special editing software, stored to the hard drive or CD-ROM and even emailed.

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An iDog® or any type of iPet, such as iFish or iCat or even the iPenguin, is a clever children’s toy that allows you to use your MP3 player in a very different way. These little animals, which are made of hard plastic and come in a variety of colors, interact with music and will "dance" when they are either plugged into an MP3 player or placed next to a loud speaker. The toys also respond to things like being petted, and are similar in some ways to toy predecessors like Furbies®. The latest version, the iDog Amp’d has more interactive features, even sulking if you don’t allow it to listen to music regularly.

Though one might hope that the iDog, made by Hasbro®, would really do some serious dancing, the toy is a bit more passive. It may shake its head a little, raise its ears up and down, and tap its foot, but it won’t be dancing all over your table or floor. Its principle use, which can be especially helpful in the Amp’d version is as a speaker so you can play your MP3 player without earphones. The earliest versions of iPets did not have stereo sound, so they weren’t necessarily for music aficionados. Amp’d versions of the toy feature stereo sound, about equivalent to an inexpensive boom box, and often good enough for kids who’d like to share music with friends.

Volume on the toy is adjustable, usually by moving the dog’s tail up and down. You can also set the volume on the MP3 player lower if you’d like to turn down the Amp’d iDog. The Amp’d version does tend to play at a higher volume than others around you might appreciate, so it takes a little adjusting. You can also purchase iPets in a variety of colors. Some lean toward the distinctly feminine in color and others are more unisex in color.

Age recommendations for the toy are eight years and up, and it does take careful reading of the instructions to get the most out of any iPet. Kids who are not techies and who don’t read directions well may need to get help from parents at first to get their iDog to respond appropriately, and even parents should read any accompanying instructions carefully.

Price is definitely one of the most likeable features about the toy. While you can spend quite a bit to get docks or stereo systems to accommodate your MP3 player, the Amp’d iDog can retail on sale for as little as $20 US Dollars (USD). When not on sale, the average price of the toy is still under $30 USD, and you might want to do some comparison shopping for the best price. Do expect to use batteries aplenty if you use your iPet frequently. Though the pet only takes two AA batteries, you still might want to consider rechargeable batteries if you find yourself using the iDog all the time.

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Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors work basically through grouping of subpixels, one each for the red, the blue, and the green colors. Using these three colors the monitor can create any of the colors needed to display images. Unfortunately, because of the fragile nature of LCD monitors, a number of things can go wrong with them, causing defective pixels of one sort or another.

Two of the main types of monitor defect involve a pixel being stuck either on or off. The first of these, when a pixel is stuck on at all times, is known as a hot pixel. Hot pixels look like pure white marks on the screen, and usually show up most clearly against a dark background. The second of these, when a pixel is off, is known as a dead pixel. Dead pixels are simply black spots on the screen, and show up most clearly against a lighter background.

The third type of defective pixel is a stuck pixel. A stuck pixel can be any of the six main pure colors or color composites: red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, or yellow, but most often is one of the three pure colors. The most noticeable to most people is the red pixel, since it jumps out more clearly than green or blue. A red pixel is exactly what it sounds like, a pixel that has a single red subpixel stuck in the always-on state. Rather than being white or black, therefore, a red pixel manifests as a single red mark on whatever image you’re trying to look at.

Unlike a dead pixel, which is largely unfixable by a consumer, a red pixel can often be fixed fairly easily. There are a number of different ways to go about fixing a red pixel, from software solutions to actually playing around with the hardware. Although some of the fixes aren’t necessarily recommended, because they can cause damage to the screen, others have no negative consequences, so are worth trying. It’s also worth noting that many times a red pixel will simply repair itself after being left alone for a while. The stuck pixel eventually works its way clear and the monitor returns to full operation.

A number of software packages exist to help try to fix stuck pixels, for Mac, Windows, and Linux. These programs work by just flashing colors through the pixel region, trying to jolt it clear with energy. Allow for a few cycles, and hopefully the stuck pixel will just disappear. If not, however, there are two other, more direct approaches you can take.

The first is called the pressure method, and involves applying direct pressure to the red pixel itself. You want to take a slightly damp washcloth and put it over the screen first, to make sure you don’t scratch your screen while trying to fix it. Then take some solid object, like a stylus or eraser, and press through the cloth directly on to the stuck pixel with the monitor off. While applying pressure, turn on the computer or monitor and hold it for a moment longer, then remove the pressure and the red pixel should disappear.

If this doesn’t work, you can try the tapping method. To do this, turn on the screen and open a document that is completely black, or go to a black image somewhere on the internet, or set your desktop background to black. Then take a pen with a rounded cap, like the one found on a Sharpie®, and start tapping on the stuck pixel. When you tap, you should see a bit of white glow through, which will let you know you’re tapping with sufficient force. Continue tapping ten or twenty times and the red pixel should right itself and vanish.

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The quick answer to this question is that there is no difference between the two addresses for most modern domains. For example, typing www.eg.vg or eg.vg into the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of your Web browser will bring you to this site with equal ease. However, leaving “www” off of some websites can result in the browser being unable to find the site. This problem is correctable by the domain holder. A cursory understanding of how the World Wide Web (WWW) works will be helpful in understanding the problem.

The Internet is a massive network of computers that communicate by using agreed upon protocols. For example, every computer on the Internet is assigned a unique numerical address so that information can be sent and received without being lost. These unique addresses are called Internet Protocol addresses, or IPs for short. In the case of a website the numeric IP maps to a name, as names are easier for surfers to remember than numbers.

The Domain Name System (DNS) database contains a record for each website, which stores the website's name and IP address. When clicking on a link or entering an address in a Web browser, it sends a request to the DNS database to resolve the name to the corresponding IP address. If the “www” prefix is left off and the browser stalls, it is likely that the DNS record does not contain the short version of the domain name: the version without the “www.”

Once the name is found in the DNS database it is resolved to the corresponding IP. This allows the browser to create a connection with the server that hosts the site. It requests the page and supplies your IP address, akin to sending a self-addressed stamped envelope. The host server sends the webpage to your computer and the transaction is complete.

In the past many host servers created websites as subdomains under www., following then-current naming conventions. "WWW" identified the server as a Web server, versus a server dedicated to other tasks. As the Internet became more widely traveled by the general public, however, the ubiquitous “www” was often overlooked when entering website addresses into browsers. This resulted in lost website traffic and frustrated surfers, as many DNS records only contained www.example.com, and not example.com for the domain name.

Over time hosts began dropping the “www” designation for Web servers, and domains were created as example.com. To catch traffic that might arbitrarily include “www” in the browser request, DNS records instead included an extra entry to cover this occurrence. CNAME is the DNS tag that maps an alias to the main name in the DNS record: in this case the "www." version of the name. With this solution surfers could include or exclude www. and reach the site either way.

DNS records can be modified to include a mapped alias. If you require this service for your domain(s), contact your domain registrar.

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Computer speed is one of the most sought after features of both desktops and laptops. Whether gaming, surfing the Web, executing code, running financial reports or updating databases, a computer can never be too fast. Will adding more random access memory (RAM) increase computer speed? In some cases it will, but not in all.

If RAM is the only bottleneck in an otherwise fast system, adding RAM will improve computer speed, possibly dramatically. If there are other problems aside from a shortage of RAM, however, adding memory might help, but the other factors will need to be addressed to get the best possible performance boost. In some cases a computer might simply be too old to run newer applications efficiently, if at all.

In Windows™ systems you can check RAM usage several ways. One method is to hold down the keys, Ctrl + Alt + Del to bring up the Task Manager. Click the Performance tab to see a graph of RAM resources. Third party freeware memory managers will also check memory usage for you. Some even monitor memory to free up RAM when necessary, though this is a stopgap measure.

If your system is low on RAM or routinely requires freeing RAM, installing more memory should improve computer speed. Check your motherboard before heading to your favorite retailer, however. The board might be maxed out in terms of the amount of RAM it will support. It can also happen that existing memory might need to be replaced if all ports are occupied by 1-gigabyte sticks, for example, on a motherboard that will support greater sticks.

If you are a gamer or work with video applications a slow graphics card might be a contributor to poor performance. A good graphics card should have its own on-board RAM and graphics processor (GPU), otherwise it will use system RAM and CPU resources. Consult the motherboard manual to see if you can improve performance by upgrading to a better card. If your present card is top notch and RAM seems fine, the central processing unit (CPU) is another upgrade that can drastically improve computer speed.

Maintenance issues also affect performance and might need to be addressed to remove bottlenecks. A lack of sufficient hard disk space will slow performance, as will a fragmented drive. Spyware, adware, keyloggers, root kits, Trojans and viruses can also slow a computer by taking up system resources as they run background processes.

In some cases a computer serves fine except for one specific application. Most software advertises minimum requirements but these recommendations are generally insufficient for good performance. One rule of thumb is to double the requirements for better performance. If your system can only meet minimal requirements this is likely the problem.

Taking the measures outlined should improve computer speed unless the system is already running at peak and the motherboard cannot be upgraded further. If so, the only alternative is to invest in a new computer that supports newer, faster technology. With prices falling all the time it should be easy to find an affordable buy that will reward you each time you boot up.

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If you’re trying to save money on your utility bills, you may find yourself wondering how much electricity a computer uses. However, finding the answer to this question can be a somewhat complicated task. The amount of electricity a computer uses depends upon what type of equipment you have and what applications you are running.

Typically, the amount of electricity a computer uses is between 65 watts and 250 watts. The monitor often needs between 35 watts and 80 watts of electricity as well. Most desktop computers have a label that lists how much electricity they need, but this is generally the theoretical maximum and not an average representation.

As you might expect, desktop computers with faster processors use more electricity than computers with slower processors. LCD monitors only use about half the electricity of similarly sized CRT monitors, however. Accessories and peripherals such as cable modems, routers, or webcams contribute to a slight increase in how much electricity a computer uses as well.

Regardless of what type of computer you own, the type of work you do on your computer makes a difference in electrical consumption. Using your computer to edit digital pictures, design a website, or play a video game uses more electricity than reading email or completing simple word processing tasks. In addition, the amount of electricity a computer uses significantly increases when it is connected to the Internet.

One common misconception about the amount of electricity a computer uses is that using a screensaver saves money. A screensaver does not use less energy. It's series of moving images is aimed at protecting the screen from having a static image ingrained into it.

If you’re worried about high utility bills, a better option is to leave your computer in standby mode when it’s not being used. In standby mode, a computer uses approximately 6 watts of electricity and the monitor’s electrical consumption drops to almost nothing. Of course, it’s even cheaper to turn your computer completely off when it won’t be used for several hours at a time.

Although many people prefer laptops because of their added convenience, it is interesting to note that a laptop computer can also result in a significant energy savings. Most laptops use between 15 watts and 45 watts of electricity. Switching to a laptop may be a smart decision if you’re concerned about how much electricity a computer uses.

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The question of extending laptop battery life is one of the most vexing concerns of many of those who take advantage of mobile computing. A laptop battery can be a very expensive component to replace, with most costing at least $100 US Dollars (USD) and some costing considerably more than that. Therefore, it is to the computer owner's advantage to follow a few simple steps to extend battery life.

Of primary importance is to know the type of battery you have. For example, lithium ion batteries work differently than NiCD or NiMH batteries. The latter two should be fully discharged to avoid a memory effect, which will work to deplete laptop battery life. The lithium ion battery should never be fully discharged.

Whenever possible, avoid needless recharge cycles. Any rechargeable battery has only so many of these. Discharging a battery for a few minutes, then plugging it in could prematurely cause laptop battery life to decrease dramatically. Rather, if you do not need the battery and it is charged or even if it is not charged, take it out and run off the cord.

Most laptop computers have power saving settings. Use them. Nearly every computer expert will tell you this, for a good reason. It simply may be the best way to extend laptop battery life. Dimming the screen, hibernation, not running the CD/DVD drive any more than absolutely necessary when on the battery all will help.

Use the battery at least once every couple of weeks. While this may seem counterintuitive given the instruction to avoid needless recharge cycles, it is not. This is because in order to get the most laptop battery life possible, you must use it. Rechargeable batteries need to be worked or they will lose their effectiveness. This does not mean recharging the battery after every 15-minute use, but rather using the battery for substantially longer periods of time.

For those who rely heavily on their battery, consider a long-life laptop battery. This will help extend times needed between charges, cutting down on the number of recharging cycles needed. While this may seem like an expensive option, it also provides the added benefit, if you already have a standard battery, of having a backup when away from a corded power source.

Watch the use of peripherals, which can substantially drain energy from the battery. If running on battery, use the touchpad instead of the USB mouse. Avoid other such connections as well, as these tend to drain laptop battery life.

Defragment your hard drive regularly. This is a good idea even for desktops, but it is especially important for laptops. Defragmenting should be done when on corded power as it takes a substantial amount of resources to do. However, a properly defragmented hard drive will help keep your hard drive from working harder than it has to when it is on battery power.

Also, don't run unnecessary programs or devices. This will also cause your battery to drain prematurely. When extending the laptop battery life is a concern, this may be one of the easiest things to do. For example, if there is no WiFi access where you are, having that component turned on is nothing but a waste of resources.

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There are several reasons why it may be a good idea to turn off your computer at night. For some, it may not matter whether the computer is on or off. Most newer computers have a sleep mode when they are inactive which doesn't use much power. However, in businesses or at home, it may be wise to turn off the computer at night for security reasons.

For example, computers connected to the Internet via DSL or cable modem are vulnerable to hacking if they are still connected. You can either turn off the connection or turn off the computer. You may need to keep the computer turned on, conversely, if the computer is used as a fax machine as well.

However, if you work from home and log into a business, you should definitely turn off the computer at night, or at the very least, log out from the business. Not only does leaving the computer on threaten the security of your personal computer, but it could also give hackers entry to your business.

Sleep mode on computers still uses some electricity, and the most economic thing to do is to turn off the computer at night, especially if you're is penny pinching. Saving electricity also has environmental benefits. Older computers may not have the sleep feature, so if you have an older computer you might want to turn it off to save money. Obviously, laptops, which run on a battery, will have a longer battery life if they are turned off when not in use.

You may turn off the computer out of the common misconception that this will protect the computer from power surges. Actually, this is not the case. Even when people turn off their computer, the computer is still vulnerable to power surges if it's not hooked up to a surge protector. Be sure to purchase a good surge protector and do not skimp on money in this case. Find a well rated one that will protect your computer whether off or on from power surges.

Some computer experts suggest that certain programs benefit from getting a break at night, like Windows®. Turning off the computer at night may help eliminate crashes during the day, since the program is rebooted when the computer is turned on again in the morning.

If you aren't concerned about money, computer security, and crashes, then you don't have to turn off the computer at night. But, since at least one of these issues is usually a concern, you might want to turn off your computer at night.

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Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 is an external serial interface used on computers and other digital devices to transfer data using a USB cable. The designation “2.0” refers to the standard or version of the USB interface. As of fall 2006, USB 2.0 remains the current standard.

USB is a plug-and-play interface. This means that the computer does not need to be powered off in order to plug in or unplug a USB 2.0 component. For example, an iPod or other MP3 player can be connected to a computer via a USB cable running to the USB 2.0 port. The computer will register the device as another storage area and show any files it contains.

Using the USB 2.0 interface, one can transfer files to or from the MP3 player. When finished, simply unplug the USB cable from the interface. Because the computer does not need to be shut down to plug in the device, USB components are considered “hot swappable.”

Aside from MP3 players, many other external devices use USB 2.0 data ports, including digital cameras, cell phones, and newer cable boxes. Native components also make use of USB, such as mice, keyboards, external hard drive enclosures, printers, scanners, fax machines, wireless and wired networks keys, and WiFi scanners. One of the most popular and convenient USB gadgets is a memory stick.

When USB standards change from an existing version to a newer version, as they did from USB 1.1 to USB 2.0, hardware made for the newer version is in most cases backwards-compatible. For instance, if a computer has a USB 1.1 port, a device made for USB 2.0 that is marked as “backwards compatible to USB 1.1” will work on the older port. However, the device will only transfer data at 1.1 speeds using a USB 1.1 port.

Currently, computers are built with USB 2.0 ports. The USB 2.0 standard encompasses three data transfer rates:

* Low Speed: 1.5 megabits per second, used mostly for keyboards and mice.
* Full Speed: 12 megabits per second, the USB 1.1 standard rate.
* Hi Speed: 480 megabits per second, the USB 2.0 standard rate.

Since USB 2.0 supports all three data rates, a device that is marked as “USB 2.0 compliant” isn’t necessarily hi-speed. It may operate through a USB 2.0 port at one of the slower speeds. Look for clarification when shopping for hi-speed USB 2.0 devices.

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A Live CD is a bootable compact disk that contains its own operating system (OS). Booting to a Live CD allows a user to try out alternate operating systems without making changes to the computer’s existing OS, hard drives or files. Live CDs, sometimes referred to as LiveDistros are used extensively for various incarnations of the GNU/Linux operating system.

When power is supplied to a computer, the first thing the computer does is process a set of instructions read from the BIOS, or the Basic Input/Output System chip. Settings contained here can be user-modified but typical default settings instruct the computer, among other things, to boot off the hard drive after checking to make sure there is no bootable compact disk in the CD/DVD drive.

If the computer finds a Live CD in the drive, it will boot to that system rather than the installed OS. Once the computer boots to the Live CD the user is free to explore the operating system without compromising the host computer. To get back to the locally installed system, simply remove the Live CD from the CD/DVD drive and reboot the computer, allowing it to boot from the hard drive.

Live CDs are useful for a number of reasons. For one, a user no longer has to invest time and internal storage space to set up a dual boot system in order to try out a new OS. Moreover, many Linux distributions such as Ubuntu are self-sufficient systems with a suite of free built-in programs including a word processor, spreadsheet program, graphics editor and the award-winning FireFox™ Web browser. This means one can take a Live CD to any computer to get work done without invading the desktop, workspace or system of the host computer.

If attempts to boot from a Live CD fail and the system boots to the hard drive, you’ll need to change your BIOS settings. To do this, hold down the Delete key during the beginning moments of the boot process. When the BIOS menu pops up, navigate to the options that will allow you to change the order of bootable devices. Rather than listing the hard disk as the first device to check, change the settings so that the computer will try the CD drive first. These settings can be saved without creating problems. When there is not a Live CD in the drive, the computer will boot from the hard drive.

Various Linux distributions are available online, many free. In some cases you can request a Live CD be sent through the mail, though this might incur charges for materials and shipping. You can also opt to download a Live CD file and place it on a CD yourself. The file will be large, however, and unsuitable for download through low-bandwidth connections such as dial up.

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Torrents are specialized files utilized in peer-to-peer (P2P) network environments. P2P is a network of personal computers that communicate with one another by running proprietary P2P software. The first P2P software designed to utilize torrents was BitTorrent by Bram Cohen. Other torrent clients have followed.

Torrents are distinguished by a unique transfer process. To compare how torrents download to standard files, let’s first consider how normal files download off the Internet.

At any given website a user might click on a file to transfer it to his or her computer. Upon clicking on the file, the website’s server starts sending the file to the visitor in discreet data packets. These packets travel various routes to reach the user’s computer and are reconstructed upon receipt to complete the file transfer.

While this works fine for smaller files, it is cumbersome to transfer larger files this way. If the server is busy, download time can be very slow. Communication between your server and the computer can even crash, causing corruption in the transfer, or at best, delays.

Unlike downloads off the Web, torrents do not point to a single source on a P2P network when requesting files. Instead, torrents contain specific information that multiple computers in the network can read to send various parts of the requested file simultaneously and en masse. Torrents keep active track of which parts of the file are needed to complete the request. By downloading bits of the file from dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of sources, large files can download very quickly.

Working with torrents is also unique for another reason. At the same time the user is downloading file parts, the computer is also uploading parts already received to others. This decreases download time because users do not have to wait for file sources to have completed torrents before receiving needed parts of a requested file.

Once requested torrents have downloaded in full, you become a seed for those files. A seed refers to someone that has the entire file available. It is considered rude to download torrents and disconnect, referred to as leeching. Instead, users are encouraged to participate by seeding the file for others so that a minimal 1:1 share ratio is maintained. A swarm refers to the entire group of people transferring a file at any given time.

To encourage sharing, software used for downloading torrents keeps track of the share ratio. The torrent client will automatically allocate more bandwidth for downloading at faster speeds when a user shares more than he or she downloads. This usually means leaving the computer running while doing other things, as upstream bandwidth is much slower for most of us than downstream bandwidth. While it might take 40 minutes to download a 250MB freeware suite, it can take several times longer to upload that same amount of data.

Torrents are archived in libraries that are searchable with a Web browser. One cannot download torrents without installing a torrent client first. There are many free torrent clients available, some of which are open source. Once a desired torrent is found, clicking on it will open the torrent client to begin the download process. The user may have to configure his or her firewall to allow the use of certain communication ports.

Many types of files are shared as torrents, including software, music and videos. While P2P sharing is not illegal, sharing copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder is illegal. The Recording Industry Artists of American (RIAA), and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have targeted some websites that cater to archiving illegal torrents.

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VPN, or virtual private network, is a catchall phrase for a variety of networking schemes that allow businesses to use public Internet lines to create a virtual network.

There is no standard model for a VPN, but in general it uses public Internet lines in one of several unique fashions to create a virtual private network. The VPN can operate between branches, regional centers and field representatives via a set of software and hardware protocols that authenticate users and encrypt traffic.

A few types of VPN security include:

Encrypted tunneling: utilizes SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption to authenticate users and send information between the remote client(s) and server(s).

IP Security (IPsec): encrypts IP packets like SSL, but can also encrypt UDP (user datagram protocol) traffic, one layer deeper in the network model. UDP traffic accounts for only a small percentage of network traffic, but is used in some key applications like streaming media, and Voice over IP (VoIP).

Point-to-point Protocol (PTPP): Microsoft's VPN protocol, not considered as secure as some others, including IPsec.

Other VPN models include "trusted VPNs," which rely on the third party services of an established network provider. The provider handles all network traffic and guarantees the security of VPN communications. Trusted network structures might use multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), layer-2 forwarding (L2F), layer 2 tunneling protocol (L2TP), or later versions of these protocols, such as L2TP version 3.

A VPN differs from a WAN (wide area network) in that the latter uses leased network lines, thus restricting all traffic to corporate business only. This is effective but costly, particularly when the network must span large distances.

Some companies use intranets or extranets to facilitate 'private' communication. These protocols involve password-protected pages or sites that, ideally, only employees and authorized personnel can access. However, connections between remote users and host servers are not always encrypted, and intranets and extranets are not technically private networks.

The alternate answer is a VPN.

A VPN is expandable, much more cost-effective than a traditional WAN, connects field operators, international offices, affiliated partners or clients, and improves productivity. Assuming care is taken to build a secure VPN, it is a highly beneficial step that can be a tremendous asset to any company with networking needs.

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AJAX is a term used to describe an approach to designing and implementing web applications. It is an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. The term was first introduced in an article by Jesse James Garrett of Adaptive Path, a web-design firm based out of San Francisco. He conceived of the term when he realized the need for an easy, sellable way to pitch a certain style of design and building to clients.

The primary purpose of AJAX is to help make web applications function more like desktop applications. HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the language that drives the World-Wide Web, was designed around the idea of hypertext – pages of text that could be linked within themselves to other documents. For HTML to function, most actions that an end-user takes in his or her browser send a request back to the web server. The server then processes that request, perhaps sends out further requests, and eventually responds with whatever the user requested.

While this approach may have worked well in the early days of the Internet, for modern web applications, the constant waiting between clicks is frustrating for users and serves to dampen the entire experience. Users have become accustomed to blazing-fast responses in their desktop applications and are unhappy when a website can’t offer the same immediate response. By adding an additional layer between the user interface and the communication with the server, AJAX applications remove a great deal of the lag between user interaction and application response. As AJAX becomes more common in popular web applications, users become more and more accustomed to this immediate response, helping to drive more businesses to adopt AJAX methodologies.

An AJAX application consists of a number of applications used in conjunction to create a more seamless experience. This includes Extensible HTML (XHTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for building the underlying page structure and its visual style, respectively; some sort of interaction suite using the Document Object Model; data manipulation using Extensible Markup Language (XML); data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest; and JavaScript to help these different elements interact with one another. AJAX is spreading quickly throughout the web, with examples visible at many major sites. Google Maps, for example, in many ways epitomizes the ethos of the AJAX model, with its complex functionality and virtually seamless interactivity.

Like most emerging philosophies of web development, AJAX has its share of detractors. One commonly leveled argument against AJAX is that in many cases it breaks some expected functionality, such as the use of the Back button, causing confusion. While some fixes exist for many of these breaks, they are rarely implemented to the extent that the behavior of an AJAX application conforms to the expected behavior of the larger browser.

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A dual core processor is a CPU with two separate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. It's the equivalent of getting two microprocessors in one.

In a single-core or traditional processor the CPU is fed strings of instructions it must order, execute, then selectively store in its cache for quick retrieval. When data outside the cache is required, it is retrieved through the system bus from random access memory (RAM) or from storage devices. Accessing these slows down performance to the maximum speed the bus, RAM or storage device will allow, which is far slower than the speed of the CPU. The situation is compounded when multi-tasking. In this case the processor must switch back and forth between two or more sets of data streams and programs. CPU resources are depleted and performance suffers.

In a dual core processor each core handles incoming data strings simultaneously to improve efficiency. Just as two heads are better than one, so are two hands. Now when one is executing the other can be accessing the system bus or executing its own code. Adding to this favorable scenario, both AMD and Intel's dual-core flagships are 64-bit.

To utilize a dual core processor, the operating system must be able to recognize multi-threading and the software must have simultaneous multi-threading technology (SMT) written into its code. SMT enables parallel multi-threading wherein the cores are served multi-threaded instructions in parallel. Without SMT the software will only recognize one core. Adobe Photoshop is an example of SMT-aware software. SMT is also used with multi-processor systems common to servers.

A dual core processor is different from a multi-processor system. In the latter there are two separate CPUs with their own resources. In the former, resources are shared and the cores reside on the same chip. A multi-processor system is faster than a system with a dual core processor, while a dual core system is faster than a single-core system, all else being equal.

An attractive value of dual core processors is that they do not require a new motherboard, but can be used in existing boards that feature the correct socket. For the average user the difference in performance will be most noticeable in multi-tasking until more software is SMT aware. Servers running multiple dual core processors will see an appreciable increase in performance.

Multi-core processors are the goal and as technology shrinks, there is more "real-estate" available on the die. In the fall of 2004 Bill Siu of Intel predicted that current accommodating motherboards would be here to stay until 4-core CPUs eventually force a changeover to incorporate a new memory controller that will be required for handling 4 or more cores.

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A multi-core processor is a processing system composed of two or more independent cores (or CPUs). The cores are typically integrated onto a single integrated circuit die (known as a chip multiprocessor or CMP), or they may be integrated onto multiple dies in a single chip package. A many-core processor is one in which the number of cores is large enough that traditional multi-processor techniques are no longer efficient — this threshold is somewhere in the range of several tens of cores — and likely requires a network on chip.

A dual-core processor contains two cores, and a quad-core processor contains four cores. A multi-core processor implements multiprocessing in a single physical package. Cores in a multi-core device may be coupled together tightly or loosely. For example, cores may or may not share caches, and they may implement message passing or shared memory inter-core communication methods. Common network topologies to interconnect cores include: bus, ring, 2-dimensional mesh, and crossbar. All cores are identical in homogeneous multi-core systems and they are not identical in heterogeneous multi-core systems. Just as with single-processor systems, cores in multi-core systems may implement architectures such as superscalar, VLIW, vector processing, SIMD, or multithreading.

Multi-core processors are widely used across many application domains including: general-purpose, embedded, network, digital signal processing, and graphics.

The amount of performance gained by the use of a multi-core processor is strongly dependent on the software algorithms and implementation. In particular, the possible gains are limited by the fraction of the software that can be "parallelized" to run on multiple cores simultaneously; this effect is described by Amdahl's law. In the best case, so-called embarrassingly parallel problems may realize speedup factors near the number of cores. Many typical applications, however, do not realize such large speedup factors and thus, the parallelization of software is a significant on-going topic of research.

Advantages

The proximity of multiple CPU cores on the same die allows the cache coherency circuitry to operate at a much higher clock rate than is possible if the signals have to travel off-chip. Combining equivalent CPUs on a single die significantly improves the performance of cache snoop (alternative: Bus snooping) operations. Put simply, this means that signals between different CPUs travel shorter distances, and therefore those signals degrade less. These higher quality signals allow more data to be sent in a given time period since individual signals can be shorter and do not need to be repeated as often.

The largest boost in performance will likely be noticed in improved response time while running CPU-intensive processes, like antivirus scans, ripping/burning media (requiring file conversion), or searching for folders. For example, if the automatic virus scan initiates while a movie is being watched, the application running the movie is far less likely to be starved of processor power, as the antivirus program will be assigned to a different processor core than the one running the movie playback.

Assuming that the die can fit into the package, physically, the multi-core CPU designs require much less Printed Circuit Board (PCB) space than multi-chip SMP designs. Also, a dual-core processor uses slightly less power than two coupled single-core processors, principally because of the decreased power required to drive signals external to the chip. Furthermore, the cores share some circuitry, like the L2 cache and the interface to the front side bus (FSB). In terms of competing technologies for the available silicon die area, multi-core design can make use of proven CPU core library designs and produce a product with lower risk of design error than devising a new wider core design. Also, adding more cache suffers from diminishing returns.

Disadvantages

In addition to operating system (OS) support, adjustments to existing software are required to maximize utilization of the computing resources provided by multi-core processors. Also, the ability of multi-core processors to increase application performance depends on the use of multiple threads within applications. The situation is improving: for example the Valve Corporation's Source engine, offers multi-core support, and Crytek has developed similar technologies for CryEngine 2, which powers their game, Crysis. Emergent Game Technologies' Gamebryo engine includes their Floodgate technology[3] which simplifies multicore development across game platforms. See Dynamic Acceleration Technology for the Santa Rosa platform for an example of a technique to improve single-thread performance on dual-core processors.

Integration of a multi-core chip drives production yields down and they are more difficult to manage thermally than lower-density single-chip designs. Intel has partially countered this first problem by creating its quad-core designs by combining two dual-core on a single die with a unified cache, hence any two working dual-core dies can be used, as opposed to producing four cores on a single die and requiring all four to work to produce a quad-core. From an architectural point of view, ultimately, single CPU designs may make better use of the silicon surface area than multiprocessing cores, so a development commitment to this architecture may carry the risk of obsolescence. Finally, raw processing power is not the only constraint on system performance. Two processing cores sharing the same system bus and memory bandwidth limits the real-world performance advantage. If a single core is close to being memory bandwidth limited, going to dual-core might only give 30% to 70% improvement. If memory bandwidth is not a problem, a 90% improvement can be expected. It would be possible for an application that used two CPUs to end up running faster on one dual-core if communication between the CPUs was the limiting factor, which would count as more than 100% improvement.

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The more expensive a computer is, the better it's gotta be, right? So then that must mean that the Luvaglio One Million Dollar Laptop is the super best computer in the whole wide world. The name says it all about its price.


This English-made masterpiece has not been released yet, but put your bid in now. There will only be one made. Rumor has it that the Luvaglio will come with nothing less than a built-in USB memory stick, a 128GB hard drive, Blu-ray optical drive, and your choice of adornments--wood, leather, and metals of only the mostprecious kind. What's more, the Luvaglio will have an automaticscreen cleaner and allows its user to upgrade and swap outcomponents at will.

For No. 2 on our list, we'll have to take a steep drop in price. The Tulip E-Go Diamond laptop will only run you $355,000. The beauty of this computer is its, well, beauty. It has chrome handles and smooth curves, leather swatches, and white gold plating encrusted with diamonds. Underneath all this regalia, however, is a standard computer with 2GB of RAM and 160GB harddrive. But would you really want to risk scratching the leatherby opening up this laptop? I think not.

Now we get into the real "cheapies" of the most-expensive-laptoplist. There is the Voodoo Envy H: 171, the ultimate in gaming for$8768. No diamonds or leather here, but hardware that should meltthe chassis at their top speeds-4GB of RAM, two Nvidia Quatro FXGo 2500M graphics chips, two 250GB hard drives andguillotine-sharp to visualize your whirling gaming universe. TheEnvy still has some fashion sense, though: you can pick from oneof 24 chassis colors and a "tattoo."

Another gamer on this list is the WidowPC Sting 919, for only$7326. this 20-inch display weighs in at 20 pounds, about as muchas the gold bullion you'd need to pay it off. It also comes with4GB of RAM, but just one 160GB hard drive. The graphics set up,though, is second to none-with twin Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTXprocessors and an Nvidia nForce 4 SLI processor.

For another heavy desktop replacer, try the Dell XPS M2010, at18.3 pounds and $5898. One neat twist to this is the Bluetoothkeyboard and the Blu-ray drive. That and the 2.3 GHz Intel Core 2Duo processor and 4GB that make this thing fly-all for under $1million. And if you have a lot of media to store, the double200GB hard drives should provide more than enough room. If not,you're rich, buy another.

So I lied. The most expensive laptops out there aren't necessarily the best. The Luvaglio might be nice for a Saudi prince, and the Tulip might work for a drunken Hollywood vixen. But in my opinion the best expensive pcs on this list are the "reasonably" price.

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