Tutorial for building a Bart PE CD made by Runtime Software at http://www.runtime.org

A Notebook or commonly referred to as a laptop computer is a smaller version of the desktop computer. But its advantages are that all of its components it comes in one neat mobile notebook shaped digital display box, and is easily portable. It usually weighs around 2 to 17 pounds (1 to 8 kgs) depending on the make, materials and different other factors that come into play such as the parent company etc.

Notebooks run on a singular battery from (usually) an external AC/DC adapter. It charges the battery and in the meanwhile supplies power to the laptop too. Numerous `notebooks` have a 3 volt back-up cell to supply power during power failures and when in places where there is no steady power supply. Notebooks, as personal computers are worthy and capable of doing the same work as of desktop computers. But they are less powerful than their desktop counterparts at the same price. This is because of the fact that most parts used in desktop computers are miniaturized to fit into the slim notebook version of the machine.

Notebooks usually have LCD (liquid crystal displays) and they use separate memory modules for their RAM. Notebooks usually have a touchpad (or trackpad) for a mouse and an in-built keyboard. But external installments of these can also be attached if the user wants to do so.

The first commercially available laptop (the name notebook was not feasible at that time as they were much bigger than the versions available now) was the Osborne I in 1981. Though it was much heavier and had only a tiny CRT monitor, yet it had a revolutionary effect on the business and industrial sectors. The idea of taking back work to home was given a full new meaning. A better installment of the laptop or the `notebook` came in 1983. Compaq Portable was the first tech-product of Compaq and was a notebook version of the then hugely popular IBM Personal Computer. It became a hit as it was more IBM-compatible than portable from its predecessors!

But the first notebook was arguably the GRiD Compass 1101, released in 1982 by Bill Moggridge. The `clamshell` design, or the `notebook` design, where the LCD monitor remains shut against the keypad, was introduced. It was enclosed in a magnesium case, and could run on batteries. The first commercially successful notebooks were from the SupersPort series from Zenith Data Systems (ZDS), which competed with several other companies such as IBM, Toshiba, Compaq and others to notch up a deal with the U.S. Air Force for a contract of supplying 200,000 notebooks in 1987. This made the laptop popular and penetrative to the business and affordable price ranges to the common consumers.

Even though the notebook might seem a powerful and mobile genius of this age, it has its fallacies too. The major ones may be listed below.

Standardizing and weaker parts:

Parts of the notebook are miniaturized parts of desktop computers themselves and hence are weaker in comparison. The miniaturization process also takes a toll on the prices of the notebooks, which are generally higher priced than their desktop counterparts. Also, notebooks count a lot on steady power supply, even though supposed to be mobile, for a decent performance. Though, today technology has improved this negative facet of notebooks.

Durability Issues:

The portability, make, integrated composite structure and design of the notebooks make them more liable to shock, wear and physical damage than desktop computers. And the worst part is that the purchase value of a new LCD screen or motherboard, if damaged, is more than the whole purchasing value of the notebook itself!

Performance Issues:

Desktop computers are generally high performing machines when compared to notebooks of the same price range. This even though is being abolished slowly by improving cutting edge technology, this will not hold true. As energy and portability are prioritized goals for a notebook than absolute performance.

All in all, notebooks are the rage of the new generation today. And slowly but surely, the era of desktop computers is fading into oblivion.

The computer that you use has a hard drive in it, which stores everything that you put on it, plus all the settings that you prefer. You can then imagine how difficult it would be if you were to lose all of your data and have to set everything back up again. That is why a full hard drive backup is the preferred method of data backup, because every last bit of data is stored and not even your daylight savings time preference will be forgotten. There are many ways to make a perfect mirror image of your hard drive, and some are better then others. Let’s talk about the various strategies and find out what will best suit you.

The first way to make a perfect copy of your hard drive, quickly and seamlessly, is to use good hard drive image software. A great example of this type of software is True Image from Acronis, which is complete imaging software that helps anyone make a perfect image of their hard drive and save it anywhere, even the hard drive if they want to. Of course there are also many other types of software on the market, and all are just as unique too. Just be sure to choose a good one, because if you don’t, it could end up being the biggest mistake you ever made on your computer.

If you are a little more technically inclined, and have some knowledge of installing computer parts, then you could always use the RAID method. RAID, which stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks, requires you to install another new hard drive and can be used to make a perfect mirror image of your current hard drive, which will always be up to date by the second. There are many different levels to RAID, but if you were using it for hard drive backup purposes, you would use level 1. Level one is called disk mirroring or duplexing, and this level will write data to both hard drives simultaneously, so when something happens to one there will always be the other one to fall back on.

The final way to make a copy of your hard drive is to backup everything individually yourself. This is of course the hardest and most time consuming strategy, but is preferred by some experts, because you can choose what to save. If you do use this method, you need to make sure you back up your registry files, system files and other important files and folders that you have. You might also want to save your entire software program folders, as they might contain important data related to the program that you want to definitely save. If you are using Windows XP, there is a backup utility that you can use for free, located in your “System tools” folder. Go there by clicking “Start” on your bottom toolbar, then go to “All Programs”, and then “Accessories”. You should now see a folder labeled “System tools” and once that is open, click on the “Backup” program.

Now that you have gotten some ideas on how to create a perfect backup of your hard drive, you should know where to save that backup. There is always the option to save your hard drive image backup on the hard drive itself, but most likely this will not work for everyone because of space limitations. Also, if the hard drive should be literally destroyed by a fire, tornado or some other act of nature, then the backup would be destroyed with it. That is why I recommend backups, especially hard drive images, be stored on a DVD-R, external hard drive or a device like a Zip drive. Then just be sure to backup once every week, or month, and store the backup in a secure location. Now you have a perfect copy of ALL of your data, and it is secure from this dangerous world.

Be careful dealing with computer repair firms, even the bigger ones. Learn to fix it yourself!

Do you need a stronger wireless signal or greater network access? Made by Mark Erickson & Infinite Solutions. He’ll show you a simple hack to extend the range of your wireless card.

video made by HowStuffWorks.com

Here’s a neat trick that can help you take a few seconds out of your day. And it’s really simple to do.

First, right-click on the desktop-> go to new -> ’shortcut’

then in the box type in: “shutdown -s -t 0” (Without the quotation marks.). Proceed to name it whatever you want.

Now you have an icon that can either be put in the quick launch bar or desktop. Click on it and it will automatically shut down the computer.

Computer repair firms have found a growing market. Spyware, adware, maleware and viruses removal has become a service with great potential. With good reason, they are all part of a growing problem and definitely add to their profit margins.

Most users notice their system slowing down after a few months of usage. The first step most users take is to call a local computer repair company. They do not realize they could have avoided this expensive service.

Not only are these problems bad for your computer. They can also be extremely bad for you as well. You see these programs running on your system without your knowledge; have been installed by YOU, to steal your personal information. Yes you read that right; you installed them. In this case ignorance is definitely not bliss.

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