Computer Help

Laptops are great if you’re always out and about or want to save some desk real estate with the tiny foot print a laptop takes up as opposed to a bigger desktop system. There’s just something cool about folding up your computer to go outside in the summer breeze to type up your essay or to blog about the events of the day. But there are disadvantages to having a laptop.

The main issue is represented by its battery. As they do not need to be plugged in order to work, laptops rely on the energy coming from the battery. So far, most laptops, when in use, consume their batteries in several hours. After that, you have to plug them in again, for recharge. Another great disadvantage is that laptops are easy to steal, as their weight would not encumber a swift thief. But let’s see how you can enjoy your laptop at optimal parameters.

Energy Saving Strategies

As said before, laptops work with batteries that are not fit for long runs. Still, you can enjoy your laptop for a longer time, if you know how to squeeze your battery juice to the fullest. This strategy that we are about to show you can save you a few hours of stress until you reach a place with an outlet where you can recharge the battery.

One method you can use to keep your battery from dying too quickly is to dim your screen to its lowest configuration. Your laptop’s screen sucks up the most power, so if you don’t need a super bright screen, dim it down to conserve battery juice.

Backup, Backup, Backup!

Portability is the greatest feature of laptops, but these gadgets are also more fragile than your desk computer at home. A little mistake and your precious laptop crashes on the sidewalk, when you least expect it. Oh, no! What a disaster! Even when nothing seems to have happened on the outside, always check the status of your hard drive, after an episode like this one. While you can buy another hard drive or send the laptop into service, your data, that was stored on that hard drive, is lost forever. Avoid these nuisances by saving it often on USB portable drives or CD-R and DVD.

Hire a Watchdog

Are you glad when you find a wi-fi hotspot? Of course, because you can have all the advantages of your laptop and log on to the Internet, while enjoying a fine day out of the house. But Internet holds many threats, so, if you do not want any harm happening to your files, or nasty spywares installing, against your will, on your laptop, install a firewall to guard your computer. Also, avoid sharing files freely on the net, as this is like inviting small time hackers to play with your secrets documents. You can do so by simply turning off this option.

There are even more threats to deal with concerning the documents you carry on your laptop. There is more than virtual danger, as laptops can be easily stolen. People that you do not want to rummage through your files will have instant access to all of them, if they steal your laptop. The solution is to protect the files by encrypting them and protecting them through a password that only you know about.

Fend Off the Heat

Another thing about laptops that can become quite annoying is that they tend to heat up after just a few hours. It is not at all pleasant to keep a hot item on your knees while outside is summer, so, if you did not buy special laptop sleeves, find any piece of clothing that can keep the heat from the laptop off your body.

Laptops are simply more convenient than desktop computers and nobody can deny it. PC producers are more and more oriented towards making the old style computer more space saving, but, even with the revolution of LCD screens, you still need a sturdy desk to keep all the components in the same place. As for laptops, with the advice we have given you this far, you will get to enjoy them even more.

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From a design standpoint, Microsoft developed Windows to be easy and intuitive; most computing tasks can be accomplished with relative ease within the cozy Windows environment, and, most of the time, Windows will get out of your way and let you do your thing. But every version of Windows has a dark side that gets a little illumination from time to time: lurking in the cyber shadows are annoying security alerts, long unplugged USB device notifications, and pointless balloon messages that announce the obvious and lame, just to name several Windows annoyances that can be quickly disabled at your whim if you’ve got the inclination and information.

These are some of the common Windows nuisances, along with their solutions.

Irritant: “Delayed Write Failed” Error caused by Disconnecting USB Drive

This problem occurs when you disconnect a USB drive without notifying Windows first. There’s a chance that Windows will still be writing data to your USB drive if you just suddenly disconnect it, which may result in scads of corrupted files, a gamble most users don’t want to take. To ensure that Windows has completed all write operations to your USB drive, always use the “Safely Remove Hardware” utility located in your system tray; this tool will notify you with a message balloon when you can remove your USB drive. For the computer aficionado that craves more control over their numerous USB devices, throw Google a query, as there are plenty of free programs on the web that can manage your USB device collection for you.

Irritant: Die Hard Security Alerts

No matter what kind of a security freak you may be, there is no way you can outclass Windows. You have your firewalls, you have your antivirus software, but still Windows tries to prove you wrong, by sending you annoying security alerts letting you know that a virus is about to take control over your computer. Here is how you can silence these messages. Click on the next one you see and go to Virus Protection Panel. You will see in the Recommendations menu the option saying “I have an antivirus program” that you can mark in order to get rid of these nuisance.

Printer Messages Are A Hassle

If you send files to a network printer, you may have been annoyed at the “item printed” balloon message that pops up every time. To disable this lame option, navigate to the Control Panel and go to Printers and Faxes; next, click File, Sever Properties, and choose the Advanced Tab; at the bottom of the box, uncheck the “Notify me when remote documents are printed” check box.

When URL’s Don’t Act As URL’s

Today, we can use more than just one web browser to surf the Internet. The thing is that Windows do not like changes like these and it acts accordingly. If you wanted to use for some time Mozilla Firefox, and then just returned to Internet Explorer, you will see what mess you have gotten yourself into. Just after you made the switch and you uninstalled Firefox, you get an e-mail through Thunderbird or Outlook. And, surprise! Any URL from the e-mail no longer works and you get annoyed and frustrated. Here is how you should do to save yourself a headache. From Control Panel, choose Internet Options; there, in Programs, make Internet Explorer the default browser for surfing the net. That’s all!

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