Identity Theft: Stolen Laptop Response

Encrypt, secure, prohibit or pay the price!

That's what Congress and state legislators should tell Ernst & Young, Veterans Affairs and other companies and agencies that play fast and loose with our personal data.

In the last several days, major news networks and countless online news sources reported two more incidents of lost or stolen laptops containing personal data of millions of individuals. The first theft involved a laptop stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee. Follow-up reports on that theft go from bad to worse, indicating 2.2 million active-duty personnel are now at risk for identity theft [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/07/vets.data.ap/index.html]. The lost data in this case includes Social Security numbers.

The second incident involved a laptop stolen from an Ernst & Young employee. That laptop contained the personal data, including credit card information, of approximately 243,000 customers of Hotels.Com who had booked rooms between 2002 and 2004. In a way, this second incident is more egregious because losing laptops is reportedly commonplace for Ernst & Young.

Nokia staff jacked by Ernst & Young laptop loss (30 March 2006)

40,000 BP workers exposed in Ernst & Young laptop loss (23 March 2006)

Lost Ernst & Young laptop exposes IBM staff (15 March 2006)

Readers amazed by Ernst & Young's laptop giveaway (4 March 2006)

Ernst & Young loses four more laptops (26 February 2006)

Ernst & Young fails to disclose high-profile data loss (25 February 2006)

According to The Register, a British technology news site, password protection was the only security available on some of the laptops lost by Ernst & Young during a prior incident, which any avid computer user knows can be easily compromised. What about the laptops more recently lost by Ernst & Young employees? Was the data contained in those laptops encrypted? Are there any company policies limiting the extent of personal data that may leave the office where presumably network security standards and firewall protection are in place? Are there any company rules prohibiting employees from leaving laptops unattended (though you would think common sense would be enough)? Or better still, are there rules prohibiting the transfer of personal data to employee laptops? I expect there aren't. If any such measures were in place, Ernst & Young’s public relations people would have plastered that all over the media to reassure clients and the public in an attempt to save the firm’s corporate derriere.

Ernst & Young and the VA are not the only entities that have lost laptops with personal data, and most of these entities have developed a typical response straight from the Corporate Playbook. Ernst & Young has agreed to offer Hotel.Com customers a year's free credit monitoring. That’s no compensation for someone who will have to spend potentially years clearing up a resulting bad credit history. Anyone who’s been in the tenuous position of having to prove they do not owe a debt they do not owe will tell you that. If Ernst & Young created a task force to help consumers clear identity theft issues, then maybe that could be considered compensatory. If they offered to pay legal fees for anyone having to clear resulting bad credit histories, or pay state fines for prosecution of identity thieves, that might be considered compensatory. If they committed to and implemented a program to encrypt and secure the data and, in particular, prohibited downloading of personal data to portable computers in the first place, that would be considered the best move of all.

Employees of the auditing companies don’t seem to care what happens to your personal data. The Register reported that, in one case, employees left laptops in an unattended conference room while they went off to lunch. You can just see how that might happen. They’re in Miami at yet another conference. The conference is at a downtown hotel they’ve been to a couple times. They’re familiar with the hotel and the area so already they feel some sense of false security. Someone’s been talking for hours about converting more sales, pushing certain investments, or their company’s new data recovery center that will help clients feel more “secure.” Anyway, the speaker stops to take a breath and everyone realizes it’s a good time to break for lunch. They’re coming back to the room so, hey, why lug around those heavy laptops? Aren’t they coming back to the room for the second half of the conference? Do they even ask if the conference room will be locked during lunch? Of course not. They’re company laptops. What’s a few lost laptops to a big corporation like Ernst & Young.

Maybe these irresponsible employees need a little incentive to show better judgment. Suspending reality for just a moment, wouldn’t it be interesting if, any time one of these employees acted that irresponsibly, his or her Social Security number were posted on StupidIrresponsibleJerks.Com? That way they could sweat it out with the rest of us who have personal data floating out there and possibly in the wrong hands. While we’re at it, lets also expose the personal data of policymakers at these auditing companies who are too shortsighted to better secure your data and the company’s reputation. Let them sweat it out too. At a minimum, how about if these employees immediately lost their jobs, were required to be individually named in negligence lawsuits filed by victims of identity theft, or at a minimum SIMPLY HAD TO PAY FOR THE LOST LAPTOPS? I bet we’d see a decrease in stolen laptops then. Seriously people, some of these employees were so careless you can almost imagine them extending their arms and presenting the laptop to Joe Thief. “Here, take it. I’d give you my Windows password too, but you won’t need it. I didn’t bother to log off before going to lunch – check out my Paris Hilton screen saver.”

Most of these companies who have lost laptops with sensitive data try to pacify the public by saying the thieves are just after the hardware. Sure. That’s like telling a home burglary victim the burglar just wants your jewelry box. He’s not really interested in the $50,000 tear-drop diamond earrings you had inside. Bull. When a thief steals, every part of the stolen item has value. Everything. Even a computer illiterate thief knows there will be programs on a laptop and, if he knows what’s loaded, he can better evaluate the asking price when he fences it.

Ernst & Young’s web site praises the company’s network security measures in their section titled "Security and Technology Solutions." These measures may well be admirable. However, too often individuals, companies, and the public in general are so focused on stuff going over the Internet that they forget about stuff sitting in hard drives. A truly secure network focuses on data stream (information being transferred) and on data storage (information waiting to be used). In my dreams, my personal data is properly stored in a secure location, in a building with armed guards, vicious dogs, and an unfriendly receptionist. Well, I can hope. I can also hope that some of that data might also be encrypted. I realize my personal data with one institution may be stored in more than one location; for example, Building A (their main offices) and Building B (a branch office or, better still, a data recovery center). But, not in my wildest imagining would I expect that any business storing my personal data would allow it to be downloaded and stored on a laptop that an employee can take home where he does his online shopping. I know I also don’t expect that the laptop with my personal data is being left unattended in a hotel conference room, a bar counter or someone’s car. I don’t care how many financial or online banking agreements I sign. I’m never consenting to anyone downloading my personal information to a laptop. No one consents to the mishandling of their personal data.

I have yet to read any banking or credit agreement that expressly states the information will be downloaded to a laptop or in any way made available to anyone outside the secured network of the financial institution. There is a vague all-encompassing comment about information sharing, but the appearance given by these institutions is that the information will be handled and “shared” in a secure method over an encrypted Internet connection. Everything they say about their security has to do with their firewalled and encrypted data streams. To me that means that anyone working from home and needing access to my personal data is doing that using one of the many encrypted remote access programs that are out there: for example, Windows Remote Desktop or GoToMyPC or some other Citrix product. These programs are by no means impenetrable, but they are simply a better option, utterly available and far more secure. That’s just not the case with data downloaded to laptops without encryption or adequate password protected (though passwords are simply not enough). Over the years, I have used a number of remote access programs to log into my office and work on client files. I’ve even used a laptop to work downstairs on files stored on my main computer in an upstairs bedroom. The remote desktop creates a window that shows me the programs and data files on the main workstation or network server that is hosting my connection and contains what I need to see. I am NEVER required to download any data to the laptop to work remotely on it. That’s the whole point of the remote access software.

By compelling employees to log in, do the work and immediately exit the remote access program, Ernst & Young, the VA and any other entity that stores personal data minimizes the window of opportunity for your personal data to fall into the wrong hands while remaining behind an encrypted and presumably firewalled connection during the entire time that your personal data may need to be accessed. During remote access sessions, the company retains control of your information and there is oversight of the employee’s use of your information. Best of all, if your personal data is not needed during that particular remote access session, it never even becomes part of the encrypted data stream traveling over the Internet. This would expose even fewer people from the threat of identity theft. Think about it. Can any Ernst & Young employee work on the data of 243,000 Hotel.Com customers during one remote access session? Can one VA employee work on the accounts of 2.2 million active-duty personnel during one online remote access session? And yet, both these individuals collectively had the personal data of nearly 2.5 million people stored on their laptops and immediately available to anyone using their laptops. Why?

There ought to be a law, right? Oh, absolutely. Congress should immediately implement its own measures, including possibly levying fines against any entity that acts irresponsibly with your personal data, and should impose broader guidelines regarding access to your personal data. In 1996 Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulating the use of and access to personal health information and related identifying personal data, like medical record numbers and Social Security numbers contained in patient medical records. Though HIPAA caused a lot of headaches in the medical and legal communities, it validated concerns over privacy. HIPAA was still a step in the right direction even if, like most legislation, it needs to evolve to better reflect the legislative intent. Similar, legislation needs to be considered with respect to the personal data maintained by businesses and financial institutions. A person shouldn’t have to get sick to protect his or her personal data, though the apparent lack of security is sure to make you sick.

Although HIPAA addressed privacy concerns, the issue of protecting personal data isn’t a question of privacy; it’s a question of security. Protecting personal data could easily fall within the purview of Homeland Security. Personal data needs to remain secure because the casual criminal is not the only one making use of it. Whether it’s to raise fear or awareness, consistently our government tells us about the manner in which terrorists make use of other people’s personal data to create phoney IDs, buy cell phones, or book plane tickets. It’s not a leap of logic to suggest that protecting personal data thwarts terrorist activity. A bold politician might even say failure to do so is a breach of national security. But that’s going a bit too far, don’t you think? Certainly, though, it’s conceivable that personal data has the potential of falling into the hands of someone desiring more than just an overpriced pair of shoes, hair extensions or HDTV.

Other measures offer consumers far more protection than we’ve been seeing. There are currently legislative initiatives in certain states that would allow their residents to place a security freeze on their credit files prohibiting any new credit or loan application to go through without the consumer’s authorized PIN number. The freeze would allow consumers to lock their credit and temporarily unlock it when they know they will be applying for a loan or need to make some other type of major purchase. For more on security freezes, read the June 8, 2006, Home Watch article on WomensWebWatch.Com. A link to that site is provided in the author's bio below.

Ernst & Young is not a small operation. It is a successful business with, I imagine, an exceptional track record and the ability to provide solid services or it would not be retained by so many reputable businesses. However, the best company can show poor judgment and in this case it has. To be fair, I surmise that, like all companies, Ernst & Young has careless employees and most certainly careful ones. The company as a whole may be undeserving of the resulting bad reputation it’s getting. On the other hand, it has not shown it’s done enough to curb the loss of personal data. Frankly, even the most careful employee can be overwhelmed during a crime, or overly fatigued, and become dispossessed of his or her laptop. There is little compelling reason for those laptops to contain personal data. Every entity that handles personal data needs to implement a zero-download policy and issue essentially dumb terminals to their employees (laptops just for remote access).

Too many times, these institutions forego implementing some security measures because, they argue, no measure is 100% foolproof. They claim it would not be cost-effective for them to implement measures that can be breached. Well, every one of them has already implemented security measures which are not impenetrable. Most of these places already use encrypted Internet security connections for their data streams because failure to do so in this day and age is unthinkable, right? I’ve even heard that some of these places lock their doors at night so someone can’t walk in and steal the CEO’s favorite coffee cup. Adopting a company policy prohibiting the download of personal data to laptops is as expensive as sending around a memo about the upcoming company picnic. There is no need to download the data. Workers can still remote access the encrypted data using adequate alphanumeric passwords through a secure Internet connection behind firewalls on both sides, on the host computer and remote desktop. No, it’s not 100% foolproof. That’s true. My front door can be broken down, but I still lock it at night. Allowing downloads of sensitive data to laptops is the same as leaving the front door wide open.

About the Author:

N. Saco is a contributor and founder of several information web sites, including WomensWebWatch.Com [http://www.womenswebwatch.com] and WetwareSolutions.Com. Her blog is located at InternetExplorerBlog.Com [http://internetexplorerblog.com], and a copy of this article can be found there. She has a degree in Communications, focusing in critical analysis, a minor in cultural anthropology, and 20 years experience in research, writing and investigation, primarily in medical litigation support.

[This article may be freely distributed at no charge to your readers along with the author's bio and web links. Copyright 2006 Nikki Saco. All other rights reserved.]

Best Student Laptops - Choosing The Best Laptop For College Students

Going to college and you find yourself in need of a student laptop? Student laptops tend to vary a whole lot from cheap ones to really cool quad core ones (a.k.a. not so cheap ones). Finding the best student laptops isn't always an easy task. One thing to take into consideration would be what the laptop will be used for. If it will just be an accessory used to check mail, watch movies and surf the web, then those don't go that high on the price range and you could probably get away with a 400$ model. But, if the student in question will be needing a laptop to work with, or demands power from the laptop, the price can go quite high sometimes.

Depending on what area of studies the laptop will be used for, there are a few factors that need your consideration.

A laptop for someone who attends some form of social studies will mainly be used for writing papers, creating PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets. These are the average laptops which you can find almost anywhere. They don't require a lot of horsepower to run simple programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel.

If the student attends classes which require graphics work or design, then a high end laptop might be needed. If it's graphic design, then a laptop with more than one CPU core, about 3GB or RAM minimum and a decent dedicated graphic card will be needed for things to run smooth. If there's architecture involved or complex 3D rendering, then, again, some powerful CPU, a minimum of 2GB or RAM and a more than decent graphics card that's able to display a quality rendering to the very last pixel will be needed.

Another type of student laptop would be the one that is used for gaming. These laptops, like the previously mentioned ones, can go quite a lot up on the price scale, since the newest generation of games demands quite a lot from the whole computing system. A nice start is a dual core processor, with 2 GB of RAM and some of the newer models of the nVidia or ATI dedicated graphics cards. Some of the newest laptop models even feature two graphics cards in SLI configuration for ultimate graphics performance!

Before going on and purchasing the student laptop, you really have to ask yourself what it will be used for.

Portability is another issue to take into account. You don't want a bulky laptop that's extremely heavy to carry around from class to class. Its size should also be taken into consideration, since you really don't need a 21 inch screen laptop to get a paper done.

Also, the size of the laptop should also be determined by the size of the student also. If the student is of a shorter statute, then a smaller laptop would be recommended.

Baseball players or jocks could probably fit a whole 21 inch screen laptop in their bags and won't even perceive the thing as an obstacle.

Since college is a also a huge social experience, the looks of the laptops should also be considered. If you are going to study business, or marketing, then you should go with a classic black model laptop that goes with a suit.

If you are going to study art or design, then the laptop case could have the whole color palette on it for all you care. Choose something that goes with the type of person you are and the type of classes you attend.

The problem most people find themselves stuck in when choosing a student laptop is the lack of variety to choose from. Stores don't carry quite a lot of options when it comes to laptops, so you might have to be a bit more patient in your searches. For a store to carry more than a small selection of laptops, it would have to be quite a giant in the IT niche. This is where the internet comes into play, since you can compare several laptops from mega-sellers such as Amazon and choose the perfect student laptop based on your needs.

Before you jump in and purchase a laptop, you should review a few basic features for the best student laptop you should buy:

CPU - Laptop Processor

Laptop processor can vary quite a lot in speed terms, so you need to carefully choose when deciding what you should go with. A single core processor can handle quite a few tasks, such as web browsing; email access, IM chatting, movie watching and other low processing power applications. You could easily write your paper on one of these and would be happy with it.

Hard drive space- Laptop HDD

This is one difficult choice. There are people who use the basic applications they get with the laptop and don't require to store anything else on it. Then again, there are media freaks who tend to store up on everything, so they require something similar to a central library when it comes to storage space. You should start with a standard computer HDD, of 100GB, if you don't intend to store too much on it, and should go up to 500 GB if you intend to manically save everything you encounter on a daily basis.

RAM - Laptop System RAM

This, along with the processor, is the most important aspect you should look for in a laptop. Think of it this way, the more RAM you have, the faster the laptop will run, the more applications you can have open at a single time and the more work can you do in the least possible time. The less RAM you have...well... you will have to figure out how to tweak your system for best performance to go with a low RAM specification laptop.

Optical Drives

Do you intend to use your laptop as a multimedia player? Most students do, so choose a laptop that comes with an optical drive - a standard DVD burner should do just fine for starters. But if you really have a big spending budget, then choose a laptop with a Blu-Ray burner. This can ensure you could write up to 50 GB of data to a dual layer Blu-ray disk.

Wireless Connectivity

When choosing a student laptop, make sure you choose one with wireless connectivity. This is because you won't know what sort of internet connection you run across on a college campus, so a wireless connection assures you will have internet access where there's no wired connectivity.

There are of course countless small things and perks you should be looking for a in a student laptop. But keep in mind the essential features when choosing the best student laptop and all the small upgrades and perks can come at a later time!

If you are looking for the best laptops to be used by college students, you have to check out the best student laptops. You will find all the information you need to make an informed decision when buying laptops for students.

The Chic Styling of Laptop Cases

How does one keep up to date with the latest fashion trends in technology, whether as a student or as a professional? To protect a laptop, a laptop carrying case is handy and essential. Laptop bags now can match the personality of the laptop owner.

While the briefcase style bags are still most popular among people who want to buy laptop bags, there are three notable developments in the laptop bag fashion department that provides owners with enough flexibility to reflect their personalities and lifestyles:

o Portable laptop sleeves or messenger bags perfect for students or individuals who are always on the move

o Bags that also have matching separate laptop sleeves

o Branded laptop bags that double as an equally stylish evening bag

Those students or young professionals in cities who are always on the run have latched themselves on to the trend of portable laptop sleeves that provide users an option of attaching a set of detachable straps provided. These have lightly-padded messenger bags that offer protection without the bulk. Laptop owners can choose to use a separate sleeve on the laptop to provide additional protection. These light laptop bags can also be used as regular everyday bags. Laptop sleeves, originally used on the laptop even when it is placed inside the laptop bag, now come with detachable straps. This allows the owner to flexibly choose to either put the laptop in the laptop sleeve inside the laptop bag, or attach a strap so as to carry the laptop sleeve as a shoulder bag on its own.

Laptop bags that also include matching, separate laptop sleeves have grown more popular today. These laptop bags are often lightly insulated. The removable sleeve that comes with it is also lightly padded to increase protection. Putting the laptop inside the sleeve is enough to have an easy time carrying the laptop as you go from one destination to another without the need for the bulky laptop bag. Moreover, the laptop bag can house the laptop even if it is not encased in the laptop sleeve.

There are alternatives to the laptop briefcase, such as fashionable totes and other bag styles that can provide laptop protection without looking bulky. These laptop totes use stylish designs and materials much like those used in other designer bags. Fine stitching, leather, and even clasps are used, such that these bags double as laptop bags and as fashionable handbags. Messenger and Baby bags from a variety of makers are perfect for this as these are naturally deep and long to suit their original function which lends itself to being a perfect tote for a laptop.

The one advantage you have in finding a bag that works well with you is that the designers probably carry laptops themselves while out and about and have based their designs within the constraints of what is functional.

For a laptop case that is as individual as it is handy, Bland recommends Hello Kitty laptop skins and for laptop totes with as much sass as class, see Juicy Couture laptop cases

Custom Gaming Laptops - Five Things You Must Consider When Building a Gaming Laptop

Gone are the days when you would have been laughed at if you walked into an all-night LAN party carrying your trusty laptop and expecting to hang with the giant computer towers standing at everyone's feet. The gaming laptop computers of today sport huge, crisp LCD screens, cutting-edge video cards and full-size keyboards. Not only can these gaming laptop computers hang with the standard clunky computer tower, but they can also be ordered fully custom to meet the exact specifications of any gamer.

Since there are so many customizable components in these laptops, a standard practice has been to create what some call a "system builder." This is the page where you get to add and subtract components through drop-down menus in order to create the best gaming laptop computer for your needs and your budget. This type of page can be overwhelming to someone just starting the gaming laptop shopping process, but it is very manageable if you take it just one component at a time.

The Gaming Laptop GPU

This is the heart of a gaming laptop computer. The GPU (graphics processing unit) is a component that will make or break your gaming experience. If your GPU isn't up to snuff, your games won't play.

Without getting into specific models since they change all the time, the key is that the graphics card not share resources with the computer. A gaming laptop video card must have its own memory on board. Generally speaking, standard off-the-shelf laptops will not have this feature. The two current makers of laptop video cards are nVIDIA and ATI.

Without the Screen, You Don't Have Much

What good is a gaming laptop without a screen that can actually render your games? Now certainly, you can connect an external monitor, but if you can't actually play on your gaming laptop without that external monitor, then your laptop isn't all that mobile.

While the technology and terminology for LCDs (liquid crystal displays) could take up an entire article in itself, there are a few key points to keep in mind when choosing from available LCD options for your new gaming laptop computer: native resolution, aspect ratio, rise and fall time, contrast, viewing angle, and size.

Native Resolution. The native resolution is simply the setting at which your screen will render the clearest images. Since games are constantly in motion, slightly soft edges may not bother most gamers, but keep in mind that while this is your gaming laptop, you will likely also use it for other things like surfing the Internet. If the resolution isn't comfortable, you aren't going to enjoy using it.

Aspect Ratio. As you probably know, a movie theater screen and a TV screen have different proportions. Likewise, there are widescreen format gaming laptops and there are laptops that have a standard aspect ratio -- like that of a TV. A widescreen format gaming laptop (a 16:10 ratio) has advantages and disadvantages. Many games today do not have a widescreen mode. This means that the game may stretch across the screen and become distorted or you may run it with black bars that fill in the sides. There are ways to get around this, but if you want an out of the box perfect experience, the widescreen format may not be for you.

That said, a widescreen LCD does offer plenty of screen real estate for web surfing and other type of computer activities, and a game played in a wide format setting offers an expansive field of view. For this reason, there are some very loyal widescreen-loving gamers out there.

Do your best to find a balance between current and future technology and what your computer habits are beyond gaming. Even with its limitations, the widescreen format is found on most of the best gaming laptop computers.

Rise and Fall. The phrase 'rise and fall time' is used to describe how fast the LCD can respond to changes. In the past, LCDs have been plagued with the inability to render images as fast as computer games can spit them out. This presents a major problem for laptop gamers because if they can't see the images properly, they can't play the game properly. This lag can mean the difference between playing to win and barely playing.

Fortunately, gaming laptop LCDs have come a long way and they are only getting better. While once it was impossible to game on a laptop screen, the gaming laptop LCDs of today offer 25 milliseconds or less rise and fall time while generally off-the-shelf laptops have 40 milliseconds or less rise and fall time.

Contrast. If a gaming laptop LCD has poor contrast, that means that the black areas aren't quite as black as they should be and the white areas aren't quite as white. This is important to a laptop gamer because you have to see the game properly -- as it was intended to be seen -- in order to compete effectively. Look for a contrast ratio of 400:1 or higher in a custom gaming laptop computer.

Viewing Angle. This is an often-overlooked LCD feature, but it must be considered if you are building a gaming laptop computer. Many high quality LCDs on the market are difficult to see clearly at any angle other than straight on and at the right height. This can be a big drawback to gaming on a LCD screen because a screen with poor viewing angles won't allow others to watch the screen as you play and also hurts your view when doing something as simple as adjusting your seating, which can require you to then adjust to position of your laptop screen to see it properly again.

But gaming on a laptop does not mean that you are doomed to have poor viewing angles. There are LCDs on the market that have amazing viewing angles -- up to 120 degrees. These screens not only allow gaming onlookers, but they also allow you to use that giant, crisp screen to do things like play movies and even make presentations.

Size. In a gaming laptop computer, size is everything. Most gaming laptops are large, robust pieces of electronics. Having a machine of this stature means you also get to have a large screen. The best gaming laptop computer LCD screens out there are at least 15 inches. A crowd favorite is a 17 inch widescreen (even with the challenges that widescreens present). Largr 19 inch laptop screens are just starting to be talked about with consumers expecting to see 19 inch or even large models on the market in the near future.

The best way to really get a feel for what laptop LCDs are all about is to take a trip to a local box store and play with the LCDs on the display laptops while keeping in mind what you have read here. While these laptops are not custom gaming laptops, you can see what the sizes really look like, what different resolutions look like, and what the viewing angles truly are so you can start to develop your own preferences.

The RAM - What Type and How Much?

The RAM (random access memory) found in laptops is called SODIMM (small outline dual inline memory module). The RAM is responsible for your processing power. If you are shopping for a custom gaming laptop, you will generally be offered DDR2 RAM with the choice of how much you want in your computer. Most high-end games being released today need 1GB of RAM for optimum, lag-free game play. Some people are going with 2GB to ensure that they can run multiple applications along with the game and not experience any slow down in response time. This is a large investment and you want to be able to use this gaming laptop for some time in the future. Most custom laptops are user upgradeable, but this should be left up to professionals.

The CPU - Not Just Mobile Technology

The CPUs (central processing units) found in many custom gaming laptops are identical to those found in desktops. These chips require a great deal of cooling power, which in turn can make your laptop louder than light weight, lower power ultra portables when the fans kick on and it can become somewhat warm to the touch. Don't be alarmed by this -- it is normal. And with these desktop processors comes screaming power! Don't waste your money on the latest CPU release that likely has an inflated price tag (and that price will likely come down before long). Stick with a current CPU speed that is offered by a reputable custom gaming laptop reseller, and you really can't go wrong.

The Gaming Laptop Hard Drive

This is the final component to consider when building a gaming laptop. Laptop hard drives come in a variety of speeds and capacities ranging from 4200 to 7200 RPMs and 40 to over 100 GBs. For the most part, this is user preference. Whenever possible, go for a 7200 RPM hard drive, but if you need a capacity not offered in this speed, it's okay to go for the 5400 RPM drive. Take a look at your current computer, and buy your capacity based on this. Also keep in mind that with many custom gaming laptop manufacturers, you have the ability to upgrade or add another hard drive at a later date.

At the end of the day, gaming laptop computers are all about power. Don't expect a twelve-pound notebook with a desktop processor, numerous fans, a giant heatsink, and independent video card to last on battery power all that long. But do make sure to enjoy the jawdrops that you'll get as you walk into your regular LAN party location with your new, screaming-fast gaming laptop computer. Crack that puppy open, fire it up, and stand clear of the drool as you take on your favorite game with fellow gamers gathered around to take in the action. Gaming is not just for desktops anymore!

Laura Alter works side by side with the gaming community everyday at http://www.pctorque.com -- a recognized authority on custom laptop news and technology. Visit PC Torque to learn even more about building the best gaming laptop computer.

Please feel free to reprint as long as article and bio stay intact.

How to Buy a Laptop / Notebook Computer

You want to buy a laptop do you? And looking at the vast choice available you are confused.....not to worry....heres some advice.

Before I go into details, a quick recap of processors is essential. Be aware that it is the processor (cpu) that governs the price of the laptop (along with the screen size). The two major companies manufacturing CPUs are Intel and AMD (there's Apple too but lets stick to mainstream laptops). Intel makes the famous line of Pentium processors (''Intel inside'' ting tong ting tong!). For laptops you have three main cpus available - Mobile Pentium 4 (basically a desktop P4 processor), Pentium M (low voltage cpus which enhance battery life and are specially built for laptops) and the Mobile Celeron processor (poor man's P4 cpu). Wait a minute, you say, you didnt mention the Centrino processor. That's because Centrino is not a processor - it's a technology. Centrino is a combination of 3 things - Pentium M cpu + 855 chipset + Wireless Pro (802.11b). The other company is AMD - they make really good cpus that rival Intel's cpus. Traditionally AMD cpus have had heat generation problems but lately there aren't many complaints. I would advice you to stick to Intel processors which have good re-sale value.

The next Q is....what will you use the laptop for? Are you going to use it for simple stuff - spreadsheets/word processing / internet browsing? Then go in for a Celeron CPU. If you are going to do more serious computing, intend travelling frequently and want to run the laptop on its battery, go in for a Pentium M laptop. If you need wireless access go in for a Centrino laptop or a Pentium M laptop (u can add wireless technology using a pcmcia card). If you aren't going to move the laptop around much or you want a laptop for games, get a Mobile P4 laptop. But be aware that a Mobile P4 laptop is a desktop replacement - it will be heavy and will run hot.

Now that you have the CPU decided, think about the size of the screen. 15'' is today's ''sweet spot''. But you do get smaller or bigger screens. Choose the size that fits your budget. 14'' or less is a bit too small these days unless of course you want a ultra portable (read expensive) laptop. For gamers, the bigger the screen the more fun they will have. Bigger screens are also good for spreadsheet warriors and DTP professionals.

The next item on your list is RAM (temporary memory). Most laptops come with Windows XP which needs at least 256 mb ram to run happily. I urge you to upgrade to 512 ram for best results. The more RAM you have, the better your laptop will behave. It is said that increasing your RAM is the best and cheapest way of improving performance of any computer (i.e. without changing the motherboard/cpu).

Another thing to look at is the graphics memory. You can either choose dedicated video memory or shared architecture. Dedicated memory means that your video card has its own memory and does not have to ''beg'' for memory from the system memory (RAM). A rule of the thumb - dedicated memory = fast performance. Gamers and DTP guys must insist on dedicated memory. Good graphic chips are ATI Mobility Radeon or Nvidia GeForce. The more video memory you have, the better it is. Try to get a laptop with at least 32 mb video memory. Most laptops use shared architecture these days which is a cost cutting measure (an example of shared architecture is Intel's extreme graphics). If you are not going to play serious 3D games or run heavy duty graphic programmes, shared architecture will be just fine. But make sure that you have enough system RAM (read 512) because the video memory is going to steal part of your RAM.

The hard drive capacity will be in the region of 30 gb and above. Get the maximum bang for your buck - don't fall into the ''I'll never need that much capacity'' rut. You will need all the hard drive space you are given so get the biggest capacity you can afford. For normal laptop users 40 gb is sufficient. You can easily increase hard drive space by buying an external USB 2.0 hard drive.

Battery life is very important for road warriors. Expect 3-5 hours battery life from most laptops. Mobile P4 laptop batteries will last much less. Always go in for a lithium ion battery as against a nickel hydride one.

Most laptops offer optical drives - the best value for money today is DVD-ROM + CD-RW drive. This means that you can read DVDs and read/write CDs. If you have lots of money to spend, get a laptop with a rewritable DVD drive.

Sound quality on laptops is just about acceptable for movies/songs/games - you cant go wrong with Harmon Kardon / Altec Lansing speakers.

One important factor to consider is weight. You don't want a dislocated shoulder do you? So ....the lighter the laptop, the better it is for your health! The catch is that the lighter the laptop, the more expensive it is going to be. Don't forget the AC adapter - some laptops have huge adapters which weigh a ton!

Don't ignore a floppy drive - most laptops don't have floppy drives any more. But don't worry - USB external floppy drives are cheap. Ask the salesman to give you one for free; he will oblige you if he wants to make the sale. While you are at it, ask him for a free laptop bag as well.

Get a laptop with lots of USB ports which will come in handy and will improve the versatility of your laptop. Make sure that the USB ports are USB 2 (technology which is much faster than the old USB 1.0). An external USB mouse is a must as the inbuilt pointing devices are really painful to use.

All laptops come with built in modems and usually have LAN connectivity. Some laptops offer card slots where you can read/write to memory cards (as used in cameras).

Most laptop companies offer minimum software - Windows XP and basic stuff. They won't even give you Office software. You will have to add more software yourself. To keep prices down, some companies offer Linux operating systems - unless you are seriously strapped for cash, I would advice you to stick to windows. As soon as you get your new laptop, make copies of the recovery CDs and store the original CDs safely. Carry the copies with you when travelling extensively.

Now, armed with the above knowledge dive into the market and choose the best laptop you can afford. Compaq and Toshiba make excellent laptops so check them out first. Compaq is generally cheaper than Toshiba. I used a Compaq laptop initially but later on moved to Toshiba as I found their laptops better. This is a personal choice so don't read too much into it. Compaq and Toshiba are well established in most countries so repairs are not a problem. Find out where the nearest repair centre is and keep that information handy.

A laptop is usually a long term buy - forget about upgrading laptops. So choose carefully. Check the warranty - National and International. Remember that some companies will not honour your International warranty and will tell you to take the laptop back to the country where you bought it! Make sure you clarify this point before you buy the laptop.

Take good care of your laptop. Invest in a surge protector. Don't move the laptop when it is switched on. And remember the golden rule - NEVER drink tea/coffee while working on a laptop!

I am a Merchant Navy officer living in Mumbai. When I am not sailing the high seas, I enjoy surfing the net, playing computer games, swimming, listening to music and reading books. Over the years I have picked up lots of information about computers that would be useful to non-technical people. I would love to share this information with other people and assist them in any way I can.

Cheap Laptop

A laptop computer or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook) is a small mobile personal computer, usually weighing from one to three kilograms, depending on size, materials and other factors.

While the terms "laptop" and "notebook" are often used interchangeably, "laptop" is the older term, introduced in 1983 with the Gavilan SC. "Notebook computer" is a later coinage, which was used to differentiate smaller devices such as those of the Compaq LTE series in 1989, which were, in contrast to previous laptops, the approximate size of an A4 paper sheet.[1] Either term is often used improperly: due to heat and other issues, many laptops are inappropriate for use on one's lap, and most are not the size of an A4 sheet. Although, some older portable computers, such as the Macintosh Portable and certain Zenith TurbosPort models, were sometimes described as "laptops", their size and weight were too great for this category.

Laptops usually run on a single battery or from an external AC/DC adapter which can charge the battery while also supplying power to the computer itself.

An Acer laptop with touchpadAs personal computers, laptops are capable of the same tasks as a desktop PC, although they are typically less powerful for the same price. They contain components that are similar to their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions, but are miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and efficient power consumption. Laptops usually have liquid crystal displays and most of them use different memory modules for their RAM (for instance, SO-DIMM in lieu of the larger DIMMs). In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may utilize a touchpad (also known as a trackpad) or a pointing stick for input, though an external keyboard or mouse can usually be attached.

Categories

Terms sometimes used for subtypes of laptop computers include:

Ultraportables

Laptops with screens typically less than 12 inches diagonally and a weight of less than 1.7kg. Their primary audience is usually business travellers, who need small, light laptops. Ultraportables are often very expensive and house power-saving CPUs and almost always have integrated graphics.

Thin-and-lights

Laptops usually weighing in between 1.8kg and 2.8kg with a screen size of between 12 and 14 inches diagonally.

Medium-sized laptops

These usually have screens of 15 - 15.4 inches diagonally and a weight of around 3-3.5kg. They usually sacrifice a little computing power for smaller dimensions and longer battery life, although the length and width are usually determined by the screen size.

Desktop replacement computers

Powerful laptops meant to be mainly used in a fixed location and infrequently carried out due to their weight and size; the latter provides more space for powerful components and a big screen, usually measuring 15 inches or more. Desktop replacements tend to have limited battery life, rarely exceeding three hours, because the hardware does not optimize power efficiency.

History

Before laptop/notebook computers were technically feasible, similar ideas had been proposed, most notably Alan Kay's Dynabook concept, developed at Xerox PARC in the early 1970s.

The first commercially available portable computer was the Osborne 1 in 1981, which used the CP/M operating system. Although it was large and heavy compared to today's laptops, with a tiny CRT monitor, it had a near-revolutionary impact on business, as professionals were able to take their computer and data with them for the first time. This and other "luggables" were inspired by what was probably the first portable computer, the Xerox NoteTaker, again developed at Xerox PARC, in 1976; however, only ten prototypes were built. The Osborne was about the size of a portable sewing machine, and importantly could be carried on a commercial aircraft. However, it was not possible to run the Osborne on batteries; it had to be plugged in.

A more enduring success was the Compaq Portable, the first product from Compaq, introduced in 1983, by which time the IBM Personal Computer had become the standard platform. Although scarcely more portable than the Osborne machines, and also requiring AC power to run, it ran MS-DOS and was the first true IBM clone (IBM's own later Portable Computer, which arrived in 1984, was notably less IBM PC-compatible than the Compaq[citation needed]).

Another significant machine announced in 1981, although first sold widely in 1983, was the Epson HX-20. A simple handheld computer, it featured a full-transit 68-key keyboard, rechargable nickel-cadmium batteries, a small (120 x 32-pixel) dot-matrix LCD display with 4 lines of text, 20 characters per line text mode, a 24 column dot matrix printer, a Microsoft BASIC interpreter, and 16 kB of RAM (expandable to 32 kB).

However, arguably the first true laptop was the GRiD Compass 1101, designed by Bill Moggridge in 1979-1980, and released in 1982. Enclosed in a magnesium case, it introduced the now familiar clamshell design, in which the flat display folded shut against the keyboard. The computer could be run from batteries, and was equipped with a 320×200-pixel plasma display and 384 kilobyte bubble memory. It was not IBM-compatible, and its high price (US$ 10,000) limited it to specialized applications. However, it was used heavily by the U.S. military, and by NASA on the Space Shuttle during the 1980s. The GRiD's manufacturer subsequently earned significant returns on its patent rights as its innovations became commonplace. GRiD Systems Corp. was later bought by Tandy (RadioShack).

Two other noteworthy early laptops were the Sharp PC-5000 and the Gavilan SC, announced in 1983 but first sold in 1984. The Gavilan was notably the first computer to be marketed as a "laptop". It was also equipped with a pioneering touchpad-like pointing device, installed on a panel above the keyboard. Like the GRiD Compass, the Gavilan and the Sharp were housed in clamshell cases, but they were partly IBM-compatible, although primarily running their own system software. Both had LCD displays, and could connect to optional external printers.

The year 1983 also saw the launch of what was probably the biggest-selling early laptop, the Kyocera Kyotronic 85, which owed much to the design of the previous Epson HX-20. Although it was at first a slow seller in Japan, it was quickly licensed by Tandy Corporation, Olivetti, and NEC, which saw its potential and marketed it respectively as TRS-80 Model 100 line (or Tandy 100), Olivetti M-10, NEC PC-8201.[2] The machines ran on standard AA batteries. The Tandy's built-in programs, including a BASIC interpreter, a text editor, and a terminal program, were supplied by Microsoft, and are thought to have been written in part by Bill Gates himself. The computer was not a clamshell, but provided a tiltable 8×40-character LCD screen above a full-travel keyboard. With its internal modem, it was a highly portable communications terminal. Due to its portability, good battery life (and ease of replacement), reliability (it had no moving parts), and low price (as little as US$ 300), the model was highly regarded, becoming a favorite among journalists. It weighed less than 2 kg with dimensions of 30 × 21.5 × 4.5 cm (12 × 8.5 × 1.75 inches). Initial specifications included 8 kilobyte of RAM (expandable to 24 kB) and a 3 MHz processor. The machine was in fact about the size of a paper notebook, but the term had yet to come into use and it was generally described as a "portable" computer.

Among the first commercial IBM-compatible laptops were the IBM PC Convertible, introduced in 1986, and two Toshiba models, the T1000 and T1200, introduced in 1987. Although limited floppy-based DOS machines, with the operating system stored in read-only memory, the Toshiba models were small and light enough to be carried in a backpack, and could be run off lead-acid batteries. These also introduced the now-standard "resume" feature to DOS-based machines: the computer could be paused between sessions, without having to be restarted each time.

The first laptops successful on a large scale came in large part due to a Request For Proposal (RFP) by the U.S. Air Force in 1987. This contract would eventually lead to the purchase of over 200,000 laptops. Competition to supply this contract was fiercely contested and the major PC companies of the time; IBM, Toshiba, Compaq, NEC, and Zenith Data Systems (ZDS), rushed to develop laptops in an attempt to win this deal. ZDS, which had earlier won a landmark deal with the IRS for its Z-171, was awarded this contract for its SupersPort series. The SupersPort series was originally launched with an Intel 8086 processor, dual floppy disk drives, a backlit, blue and white STN LCD screen, and a NiCD battery pack. Later models featured an Intel 80286 processor and a 20MB hard disk drive. On the strength of this deal, ZDS became the world's largest laptop supplier in 1987 and 1988.

ZDS partnered with Tottori Sanyo in the design and manufacturing of these laptops. This relationship is notable because it was the first deal between a major brand and an Asian OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). At the time, Compaq, IBM, Toshiba, NEC, etc. all designed and manufactured their own machines. However, after the success of the ZDS offering other relationships, like Compaq and Citizen, soon followed. At this time the quality of Japanese engineering and manufacturing in conjunction with the strength of the dollar relative to the yen (typically about 130 Yen = $1) drove most brands to suppliers in Japan. Companies such as Sanyo, Tottori Sanyo, Citizen, and Casio were all heavily involved in this business as OEMs. However, by the mid-1990s a weakening dollar and the rising viability of Taiwanese OEMs such as Acer, Quanta, Compal, Twinhead, and Chicony lead the supply base to rapidly shift from Japan to Taiwan. Additionally, brands which were more nimble and relied less on internal engineering such as Gateway, Dell and Micron began to rise quickly to leadership positions. Combinations such as Dell/Compal and Gateway/Quanta eventually became powerhouse partnerships and greatly contributed to the prominence of Taiwanese OEMs as the center of PC manufacturing from about 1995 onward.

Another notable computer was the Cambridge Z88, designed by Clive Sinclair, introduced in 1988. About the size of an A4 sheet of paper as well, it ran on standard batteries, and contained basic spreadsheet, word processing, and communications programs. It anticipated the future miniaturization of the portable computer; and, as a ROM-based machine with a small display, can -- like the TRS-80 Model 100 -- also be seen as a forerunner of the personal digital assistant.

By the end of the 1980s, laptop computers were becoming popular among business people. The NEC Ultralite, released in mid-1989, was perhaps the first notebook computer, weighing just over 2 kg; in lieu of a floppy or hard drive, it contained a 2 megabyte RAM drive, but this reduced its utility as well as its size. The first notebook computers to include hard drives were those of the Compaq LTE series, introduced toward the end of that year. Truly the size of a notebook, they also featured backlit displays with CGA resolutions (though not CGA colors).

The Macintosh Portable, Apple's first attempt at a battery-powered computerThe first Apple Computer machine designed to be used on the go was the 1989 Macintosh Portable (although an LCD screen had been an option for the transportable Apple IIc in 1984). Actually a "luggable", the Mac Portable was praised for its clear active matrix display and long battery life, but was a poor seller due to its bulk. In the absence of a true Apple laptop, several compatible machines such as the Outbound Laptop were available for Mac users; however, for copyright reasons, the user had to supply a set of Mac ROMs, which usually meant having to buy a new or used Macintosh as well.

The Apple PowerBook series, introduced in October 1991, pioneered changes that are now de facto standards on laptops, such as the placement of the keyboard, room for palm rest, and the inclusion of a built-in pointing device (a trackball). The following year, IBM released its Thinkpad 700C, featuring a similar design (though with a distinctive red TrackPoint pointing device).

Later PowerBooks introduced the first 256-color displays (PowerBook 165c, 1993), and first true touchpad, first 16-bit sound recording, and first built-in Ethernet network adapter (PowerBook 500, 1994).

The summer of 1995 was a significant turning point in the history of notebook computing. In August of that year Microsoft introduced Windows 95. It was the first time that Microsoft had placed much of the power management control in the operating system. Prior to this point each brand used custom BIOS, drivers and in some cases, ASICs, to optimize the battery life of its machines. This move by Microsoft was controversial in the eyes of notebook designers because it greatly reduced their ability to innovate; however, it did serve its role in simplifying and stabilizing certain aspects of notebook design. Windows 95 also ushered in the importance of the CD-ROM in mobile computing and initiated the shift to the Intel Pentium processor as the base platform for notebooks. The Gateway Solo was the first notebook introduced with a Pentium processor and a CD-ROM. By also featuring a removeable hard disk drive and floppy drive it was the first three-spindle (optical, floppy, and hard disk drive) notebook computer. The Gateway Solo was extremely successful within the consumer segment of the market. In roughly the same time period the Dell Latitude, Toshiba Satellite, and IBM Thinkpad were reaching great success with Pentium-based two-spindle (hard disk and floppy disk drive) systems directed toward the corporate market.

An old (1997) Micron laptopAs technology improved during the 1990s, the usefulness and popularity of laptops increased. Correspondingly prices went down. Several developments specific to laptops were quickly implemented, improving usability and performance. Among them were:


Improved battery technology. The heavy lead-acid batteries were replaced with lighter and more efficient technologies, first nickel cadmium or NiCD, then nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and then lithium ion battery and lithium polymer.

Power-saving processors. While laptops in 1991 were limited to the 80286 processor because of the energy demands of the more powerful 80386, the introduction of the Intel 386SL processor, designed for the specific power needs of laptops, marked the point at which laptop needs were included in CPU design. The 386SL integrated a 386SX core with a memory controller and this was paired with an I/O chip to create the SL chipset. It was more integrated than any previous solution although its cost was higher. It was heavily adopted by the major notebook brands of the time. Intel followed this with the 486SL chipset which used the same architecture. However, Intel had to abandon this design approach as it introduced its Pentium series. Early versions of the mobile Pentium required TAB mounting (also used in LCD manufacturing) and this initially limited the number of companies capable of supplying notebooks. However, Intel did eventually migrate to more standard chip packaging. One limitation of notebooks has always been the difficulty in upgrading the processor which is a common attribute of desktops. Intel did try to solve this problem with the introduction of the MMC for mobile computing. The MMC was a standard module upon which the CPU and external cache memory could sit. It gave the notebook buyer the potential to upgrade his CPU at a later date, eased the manufacturing process some, and was also used in some cases to skirt U.S. import duties as the CPU could be added to the chassis after it arrived in the U.S. Intel stuck with MMC for a few generations but ultimately could not maintain the appropriate speed and data integrity to the memory subsystem through the MMC connector.

Improved liquid crystal displays, in particular active-matrix TFT (Thin-Flim Transitor) LCD technology. Early laptop screens were black and white, blue and white, or grayscale, STN (Super Twist Nematic) passive-matrix LCDs prone to heavy shadows, ghosting and blurry movement (some portable computer screens were sharper monochrome plasma displays, but these drew too much current to be powered by batteries). Color STN screens were used for some time although their viewing quality was poor. By about 1991 , two new color LCD techologies hit the mainstream market in a big way; Dual STN and TFT. The Dual STN screens solved many of the viewing problems of STN at a very affordable price and the TFT screens offered excellent viewing quality although initially at a steep price. DSTN continued to offer a significant cost advantage over TFT until the mid-90s before the cost delta dropped to the point that DSTN was no longer used in notebooks. Improvements in production technology meant displays became larger, sharper, had higher native resolutions, faster response time and could display color with great accuracy, making them an acceptable substitute for a traditional CRT monitor.

Improved hard disk technology. Early laptops and portables had only floppy disk drives. As thin, high-capacity hard disk drives with higher reliability and shock resistance and lower power consumption became available, users could store their work on laptop computers and take it with them. The 3.5" HDD was created initially as a response to the needs of notebook designers that needed smaller, lower power consumption products. As pressure to continue to shrink the notebook size even further, the 2.5" HDD was introduced.

Improved connectivity. Internal modems and standard serial, parallel, and PS/2 ports on IBM PC-compatible laptops made it easier to work away from home; the addition of network adapters and, from 1997, USB, as well as, from 1999, Wi-Fi, made laptops as easy to use with peripherals as a desktop computer.


The $100 laptop

A first generation prototype of the $100 laptop

In 2005, faculty members from the MIT Media Lab including Nicholas Negroponte introduced the $100 laptop and the One Laptop Per Child project. The aim is to design, manufacture, and distribute laptops that are sufficiently inexpensive to provide every child in the world access to knowledge and modern forms of education. The laptops are to be sold to governments and issued to children by schools. These equipments, of which many prototypes have already been presented, will be rugged, Linux-based, and so energy efficient that a hand-cranking dynamo can alone provide sufficient power for operation (although this hand-crank has since been removed). Ad-hoc wireless mesh networking may be used to allow many machines to share a single Internet connection.

Visit me at my consumers product websites http://www.bestgiftsdeal.com a website that provides links to consumer products and article reviews. Here are links in reference to this article.

Best Laptop

How to Make Your DDR3 Laptop Memory Easier by Remembering These Simple Facts

Might you be out searching for DDR3 memory for a laptop but somewhat dazzled by the display of information and misinformation out there making your laptop memory upgrade all the more tricky? If we've guessed correctly then here's a quick rundown on key facts of DDR3 laptop memory to get your on the right track.
What is DDR3 laptop memory?
DDR3 laptop memory is as of 2011 the latest memory technology to greet modern laptops. DDR3 is an evolution to its predecessor, DDR2 laptop memory, much in the same way as the latter was the successor to DDR and SDRAM laptop memory.
DDR3 laptop memory is faster than DDR2 due to doubling the data bus speed, an enhancement first introduced with DDR2. In DDR2 laptop memory the data bus speed ran at double the speed of the memory chips present on the DDR2 SODIMM memory module. DDR3 takes the same data bus, however runs it at twice its original frequency. Consequently, in DDR3 laptop memory, the data bus operates at four times the speed of the individual memory chips. In comparison to DDR2 laptop memory, DDR3 is capable of achieving the same memory bandwidth as DDR2 but in doing so only needs to run at half its frequency. This efficiency coupled with support for higher frequencies contribute to superior performance to that of DDR2 or older laptop memory.
Does my laptop really require DDR3 memory?
DDR3 memory started gaining popularity since its advent in late 2008. The type of memory for a laptop your own laptop requires primarily depends on the year it was manufactured. The build date (very often closely related to the purchase date and typically found on a sticker on its base or within its documentation) is a further indication.
A supportive indicator for identifying the type of laptop RAM your system requires is to run some diagnostic software.
A non-problematic method to find this out is to download and run software such as CPU-Z - it's a free application which can be easily found via Google. Once downloaded and launched, click on its 'Memory' tab and subsequently also the 'SPD' tab. This will inform you whether your laptop uses DDR3 memory, its specification and timings. If you notice it stating DDR2 then write down the type of DDR3, examples include PC3-6400, PC2-4200, PC3-8500 and PC2-10600. Next, write down an indication that this is the type of DDR3 memory for a laptop you need to buy.
Great, I need DDR3 memory for a laptop, but how much can I install?
DDR3 laptops support between 4GB and 16GB of RAM. Some, usually older DDR3 laptops have the memory controller featured within what's known as a northbridge chipset. Others, usually newer DDR3 laptops have a memory controller present within the CPU (Central Processing Unit) thus processor die. The exact amount supported by your laptop will depend on either - regardless whether the memory controller is external or internal to the processor.
If you would like to upgrade to the maximum supported amount and wish to find out whether this is 16GB then a quick way is to check how many SODIMM memory slots your laptop contains. If it's four (some may be located on the underneath side of your laptop, others under the keyboard) then the maximum will be 16GB. Similarly, if your laptop only supports two SODIMM memory slots then with a high degree of accuracy you can expect your laptop to support up to 8GB RAM maximum.
Also, take into account that in order to utilise more than 4GB or more of RAM, you need to be running a 64bit Operating System such as Windows XP Professional x64 (potentially problematic when running on laptops due to limited driver support), Windows Vista x64 (any edition), Windows 7 x64 (any edition) or any alternative such as a suitable release of Linux or MacOS.
I'm ready to buy, so it's i.e. PC3-8500 DDR3 I need and the rest will be problem free?
The specification of DDR3 memory for a laptop you need is whatever was reported by CPU-Z as noted above. If it stated PC3-8500 then yes, you will require DDR3 memory otherwise known as PC3-8500 DDR3. If it displayed PC3-6400 then you can still purchase PC3-8500 or PC3-10600 DDR3 in view of the fact that DDR3 computer memory is inherently backwards compatible. Meanwhile, if CPU-Z reported PC3-10600 then while you can buy and install a lower DDR3 specification (PC3-6400 or PC3-8500) this is not recommended. Doing so will cause your system to down clock the frequency at which it the memory runs, namely 400MHz for PC3-6400 or 533MHz for PC3-8500. A slower memory frequency will yield a lower memory bandwidth, which reduces computer performance.
As far as DDR3 memory for a laptop goes, you will need to buy 204pin SODIMM memory modules. A SODIMM (Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module) is a mini type of a DIMM used in desktop computers. If you've seen a DIMM before then a SODIMM will normally be about 50% of the length of a desktop DIMM module.
For DDR3 laptops you only need to install a single SODIMM memory module for your laptop to function, however it makes perfect sense to install pairs of DDR3 SODIMM memory modules. The reasoning is quite simple. Virtually all DDR3 memory laptops support what's known as dual channel mode. In compliant laptops, dual channel mode effectively links the data paths of two memory modules (DDR3 in this case) to run them simultaneously. All read, write or copy operations performed on the memory are thus in effect run at double their original bandwidth. The net result of this is improved memory throughput - this in turn contributes to the overall performance of your laptop.
I just have to ask - can my DDR3 laptop memory upgrade go wrong?
DDR3 laptop memory upgrades are amongst the least prone to causing problems due to a straightforward trait of the industry. With the computer memory industry much settled and controlled by only a handful of big players, and thus airtight to smaller players at times all too willing to not always follow JEDEC (Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council) standards to the last "T", it's practically safe to say that all DDR3 SODIMM memory modules produced are compatible with each other.
Much the same is also true in terms of memory controllers that by the time that DDR3 appeared were tweaked to no longer cause issues when mixing single and double-sided SODIMM memory modules.
There is however one thing you'll want to keep in the back of your mind, namely for best performance always install identical DDR3 SODIMM memory modules. Via doing so you'll automatically enable what's known as dual channel mode. What is meant by identical? By identical you need to install two likewise DDR3 SODIMM memory modules that are a) the same capacity and b) also the same specification. The brand of DDR3 laptop memory isn't as significant, nevertheless if you want things to be ideal then doing so will also work well.







Find out more on DDR3 Laptop Memory including lots more on various other types of laptop memory at Laptop Memory Upgrades.

How To Secure Your Laptop

Laptops are quite expensive, hence the risk of being stolen. Laptops are smaller, easy to travel with, because of these, its patronage is on the increase. Laptops because of their new processing power is a delight of most companies today.
How Do I Secure My Laptop
Laptops these days contain vital data and are greatly used for remote data access. Its security should be top priority to all users. There are three aspects to consider in securing your laptop.


Physical Security.


Security Software.


Security Consciousness.

Physical Security
Physical security involves physical barriers put in place to inhibit access to where your laptop is kept.
Such barriers, hinder the following circumstances;

Theft of your laptop.


Damage to your laptop.


Theft of information on your laptop.

Using your laptop to commit fraudulent activities.

The physical barriers should have the following features;


The ability to properly lock the entrance to where your laptop is kept.


An alarm system should be in place to notify you in case of a break in.


An inbuilt security camera (cctv) should be placed where your laptop is kept. This is to monitor your laptop.


All windows or doors must be screened to prevent prying eyes from seeing expensive information assets such as your laptop.

The ability to fasten the laptop to a non-moveable object. This is stopping a thief from carrying the laptop away.

The ability to trigger snap shots in case of a break in. These snap shots are directly targeted at the laptop.

Security Software
Access to your laptop can also be prevented using security software.
This security software prevents access to your desktop. It ensures that only the owner of the laptop has access to using the applications on the laptop.
Features of a Security Software

It must prompt the user, to enter a user name and a password.

The ability to generate audit report such as successful logins, failed logins should be an essential feature.

The user should be able to lock the screen when not in use.

Optional but also essential, the software should have the ability to beep when the screen is tampered with.

Security Consciousness
After all said and done, without security consciousness on the part of the user or laptop owner, every control put in place to deter access to the laptop would be futile.
Security Consciousness Tips

Always lock the door to your office.

Always carry your laptop with you.

If not in use put it in a safe and lock it.

Make sure when nature calls you activate the screen lock and all access doors to your office are locked.

Always keep your laptop locked in a box and in the boot of your car when driving.

Do not use your laptop in overcrowded places.

All the necessary details about your laptop must be written and stored in a safe place i.e. serial number, brand name, model e.t.c.

Insure your laptop against loss, such as damage, fire e.t.c.

Advice
Laptop security is an ongoing process. The need for regular information on laptop security is vital. The more informed you are on laptop security, the less vulnerable is your laptop to theft or damage.







To Secure Your Laptop visit [http://www.compsana.com/itsecuritytools.html] Now!
Christopher Okoh
CEO
Computer Security & Network Associates.
Website: [http://www.compsana.com]
He has written over 100 computer security articles. He also writes for computer security magazines and newspapers. I'm always happy to take on a writing job on security.

Buying a Laptop that You Can Use as a Personal Assistant

Don't be surprised but buying a laptop can be even harder than buying a desktop computer. In fact, buying a computer is very straightforward. Laptops, however, are very personal stuff because it's something that you will carry around with you and sometimes act as more than just a computer for you to work on. They become a companion! That's why finding and selecting the right laptop can be very tricky.
Hard core computer gamers or people who will use their laptops for designing or video production may need more help than just reading about buying laptops. For conventional laptop users, here's something for you to digest.
The price for laptops varies drastically from brand to brand. Some laptops can cost $500 while some laptops can cost you $6,000. Some entry-level (meaning basic laptops) can be bought for between $600 and $900. If you grab a laptop off eBay or other rebate or dropshipping websites, you might get a mid-range laptop for far less than that.
Even for basic laptop users, the description and specifications for the laptop is very, very important. If you're not sure, check around and ask your friends for advice on how to buy a good laptop for the lowest price possible. You should be getting a laptop that comes with AT LEAST 512 megabytes of memory. The size of the memory ensures that your laptop can run multiple programs smoothly. As for hard drive, invest in as big a hard drive for your laptop as you can afford. Another thing that you may have to look out before you invest in the laptop is to find out how many USB ports that the laptop has. Most laptops come with at least 2 USB ports, the more the better. If you use a camera or thumb drive (disk key), this is where you insert the cable - the USB ports. You don't want to have to remove the USB cable for your printer and mouse every time you try to save pictures from your camera to your laptop! Some laptops come with slots for camera memory cards, for instance, your compact flash cards.
If you're keen on getting a Windows based laptop, the security of your laptop should be at the top of your priority lists. Windows SP2 XP should be ideal because it comes with antispam, antispyware, antipopups and antivirus programs. Some laptop retailers may offer you cheap or free programs that you can install into the laptop as a second layer protection to your laptop.
Other factors to take into account when shopping for laptops are the screen size, the life of the battery, the processor of the laptop, screen and keyboard, wi-fi networking, size and weight of the laptop.
Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of [http://www.laptop-source.net] on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.







Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of [http://www.laptop-source.net] on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

Information on Used Laptops

Used laptops are those that have been used by a consumer for a length of time and then they are resold for a number of reasons. Used laptops offer the potential savings of hundreds of dollars over a new laptop. Used laptops are a cheaper alternative to buying new, and are a great investment for a laptop capable of performing many tasks. Used laptops are just like used cars you need to check them out and be sure of what you are purchasing first. Used laptops are for the most part are a good value for the money.

Buying

Buying from eBay, smaller used laptop websites and other shops or the classifieds can be successful; you just need to know what to look for. Buying a used laptop allows you to pick up technology which is still in use today although it may not have the most recent operating system. Buying a refurbished laptop doesn't mean you're stuck with an outdated machine, as most of the refurbished units will be updated with some of the most current technologies today. A refurbished laptop is an excellent choice if you are not comfortable with buying a used laptop plus the do come with a warranty.

Price

A number of certified dealers trade in eBay, Amazon and Yahoo stores, offering very tempting prices for used laptops. Regardless of the brand, medium priced used laptops in the range of $500.00 to $650.00 are considered good money savers for those who do not require using the fancier laptops. You can for instance get a laptop without wireless capabilities at a better price, and you can add a wireless card to your laptop and save additional money. You should be considering used laptop or refurbished laptop which can get you most if not all the features you want, without paying full price. The brands named laptops tend to have higher prices for the same features as some of the less popular brands.

Used laptops are perfect for students doing homework, a professional that only needs to operate a few programs, or for someone who just wants to access the internet without the bulk of a desktop. They are perfect for people wanting to use a mobile computer for only a couple of applications, but still want the mobility of a laptop. Used laptops are sold for a number of reasons one of the reasons might be due to purchase of a higher configuration laptop, or might be tired of using the laptop for some time and would just like to have a newer one. Used laptops are a viable option to own a laptop at if you are on a tight budget.

By: RR Smith

If you are looking for used laptops or refurbished laptops follow this link we have access to all makes and models with some tremendous saving available to you!

Used Laptops at http://www.used-laptop-deals.com