Foreword By The Editor

Five laptop upgrades you can do yourself are covered in this excellent article by Francua Smith. Most people, even those who are basically familiar with the workings of their tower PC, do not realize how easy it is to keep a laptop in good order. If you are one of those, the following processes will probably help.
Mike Alexander
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Tired Laptop Needs A Tune-Up?

Do you have an aged laptop which you feel is in need of an upgrade? Well, the possibilities for upgrading an

existing laptop are, fortunately, quite good. From Bluetooth to wireless adapters, extra RAM to a fresh tough drive, there are many things you can do to upgrade your existing laptop. In this article we will lookat five laptop upgrades you can do very simply yourself, without taking the machine to the manufacturer.

Upgrade Number One

Increase the memory of your laptop. Now, dollar for dollar, increasing your system’s RAM is the most value for money upgrade you can perform. If your Windows Vista is chugging along with a lot of hard disk swapping and slowing down terribly, pump in another 2 GB of RAM and watch what happens. You’ll be amazed at the speed improvement. Head over to Crucial.com to check out some good laptop RAM deals.

Upgrade Number Two

Install a new hard drive. Another favorite improvement can be the laptop tough drive. I used to have a miserable 60 GB tough drive in one of my aged laptops and I can say to you now that in this day of enormous videos and MP3 music, 60 GB is not enough. Do yourself a favor and improve that tough drive to something like 160 GB. The other option is to get an external tough drive (say a 320 GB monster) and then you can forget about running out of tough drive space.

Upgrade Number Three

Arrange Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth technology is incorporated in some laptops but not others. For laptops without in-built Bluetooth, you can buy a USB dongle with Bluetooth capability from any good computer shop. This usually comes with some software which allows you to install Bluetooth capability into your laptop. Very important for those you like to synch their Bluetooth enabled mobile phones to their laptop.

Upgrade Number Four

Get a laptop stand. Ok, this is not precisely an upgrade, but I find laptop stands increasingly the favored improvement with the mobile computing crowd. Laptop stands are good for your posture and some of them also allow your laptop to cool better. It’s surely a fine ‘upgrade’ to assume, whether you leave your laptop at home a lot or not. Just plonk the laptop stand on the desk and you’ll be able to enjoy better computing without ruining your posture from then on.

Upgrade Number Five

Invest in an extra battery. If you’re on the road a lot, you should really consider buying an extra battery. In particular, if your laptop runs out of battery juice quickly, a second battery is almost a must. I bought an extra battery for my ThinkPad X61 and I can sit at a cafe typing away for 8 solid hours, without requiring a recharge. Heaven!

Conclusion

Well, now you know about five laptop upgrades you can easily perform yourself. The next time you feel your laptop needs a bit of a tune up, look to the above list and see what components you can upgrade. Sometimes a small upgrade (especially additional RAM) will do wonders for your laptop and overall computing experience. By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about the ins and outs of laptops, you may want to check out my laptop guide.

About the Author

Francua Smith is a computer specialist who has a lot of experience on laptop computers. He will help you to choose your own good laptop computer.

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Foreword By The Editor

Wireless technology, especially in relation to computer networking and cellphones, is a hot topic right now so it should be no surprise to hear that we welcome the following excellent article on the subject by kensnow. As he quite rightly says, wireless technology, due to a number of recent developments, will most likely make tremendous advances over the next few years.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Practical Applications

Wireless technology is gaining ground because of its low cost and ease-of-use. We all are familiar with radio and phones that use wireless technology. There are many more possible practical applications for wireless and the breakthrough developments happening in this field are set to revolutionize the future.

Wireless Networking

Image via Wikipedia

Wireless networking means less maintenance and less cost. The advent of radio has put a stop to the use of telephones that use wires to transmit signals. The new age cell phones based on wireless technology have made it possible for us to reach anyone anytime. Wireless technology translates into a lower cost since it obviates the laying down of cables and wires and regular maintenance. The other area where a significant impact has been felt is in the networking of computers. The usual scenario of having a wired Internet connection is all set to change. Wireless connections are soon going to be cheaper than the wired alternative and will also be easier to use. This will result in a lot of people shifting to the wireless option, when available.

Microwave Access

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) will be the next generation of wireless, an improvement over the existing wireless networking that uses a standard called 802.11. The good news is that you will not need to change your equipment, as it will run on the existing hardware. Though scientists are still working on it, it is poised to take the world by storm. The first WiMAX equipment was launched at the end of 2005.

Its biggest advantage will be that it will cover a wide area, which could be as much as up to 50 kilometers! The term Local Area Network (LAN) will be replaced by Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), which would cover the whole city! It will also offer higher speeds of up to an astounding 10MB per second, coupled with improved security. All you would need to do is buy a subscription, plug into a network and you are ready to go!

The Latest Technology

Bluetooth technology is becoming a part of our lives now. Apart from replacing your USB port, it has the potential of replacing all the wires in your equipment, except for the power cord! Imagine the convenience of staying in a house that does not have wires, where Bluetooth connects all the equipment. It would mean fewer hassles in cleaning the house coupled with freedom from the fear of tripping over wires!

It wouldn’t be surprising if by the end of the next decade wireless technology would becomes commonplace. It sounds convenient and should also be lesser in cost. Given its potential, we all seem to have a much easier life, with a faster and safer access to the world!

Article Source

Author – kensnow
Location – http:/articledragon.com/?page_id=40&catid=19&subcatid=336&artid=975

About the author

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