Hand on heart, when it arrived I don't think I have seen a second-hand laptop in as good a nick. Either Toshiba were making self-healing plastics back in the nineties or this little machine has been shut up on someone's desk, in docked mode with the screen off, for ten solid years.With no real idea whether it would work or not I grabbed a 16GB CF card (¡ê40, the largest expenditure) and a no-name CF to Laptop IDE adapter card for another ¡ê9. As it turned out, the hardest part was taking a pair of cutters to the "extra" pin on the adapter card - laptop drives blank off one pin, and I was left guessing which way up the adapter went.Clearly I picked right, because when it came to taking out my very precious original retail CD of Windows 98 Second Edition, the whole machine behaved as if it had a very, very fast drive in it. Installing Windows 98 wasn't quite the breeze I was hoping for - incredibly, Toshiba still allows you to download the NeoMagic graphic card drivers, but there are diverting listing sites that point you to other installers, and these make the Portege behave as if the LCD controller chip has had an aneurism.
Once built up, I was delighted by the two things that matter to writers above all else; battery life and keyboard quality. The little devil even connects to the net - but only on the docking station, which improves my writing no end by obliging me to stay offline while tapping away.So no queuing for me, no applause from the Jobsworths (that is a pun - I said my writing was improving) - just a terrible sequence of ever more shakily-justified small purchases to support the revived laptop. Now I have a 6000mAh battery (four whole hours!) and I'm hunting for PCMCIA network cards, and the elusive USB key storage driver for Windows 98. That is, until I saw a Lenovo Thinkpad X100, which ticks all the same boxes as the Portege (apart from keeping off the net!). It also fits into the 'Red Watch' rule, because while it has an Atom-speed processor, it's from AMD, not Intel. Could this be another way to stay out of reach of temptation?
We've seen plenty of touchscreen all-in-ones since the debut of Windows 8, but the Acer DA241HL is the first we've seen running Android. See also the 11 best tablets of 2014 It's an interesting idea, and externally it looks like a respectable system. It offers a 24in, Full HD infrared touchscreen, with sensors embedded in the gloss-black bezel to detect your fingers; below this sits a row of buttons, embedded in the centre of the silver speaker grille; and around the rear is a single leg that's used to prop the whole thing up.The single-leg arrangement means you can't adjust the height, but you can tilt the display backwards until it lies almost flat against the desk ¨C useful if you want to put the DA241HL to use as a kitchen worktop machine, or while standing at a workbench.Tap the power button and the DA421HL boots into Android 4.2. The OS has barely been customised, so if you've used a Nexus tablet or smartphone, you'll know exactly what to expect. It's not locked down, either: you're free to install apps via Google Play.
Being a desktop machine, the Asus includes a compact wireless keyboard and a mouse. However, the keyboard feels rather mushy, and the mouse isn't a natural fit for Android's touch-first interface: right-clicking, for instance, is substituted by a long press, which takes a lot of getting used to, and swiping down the notifications and quick settings areas doesn't work well. We felt more comfortable prodding, poking and swiping at the DA241HL like a giant tablet.Other aspects of the hardware are more practical. Under a panel at the rear are three full-sized USB 2 ports, which allow the connection of hard disks and wired peripherals, and an SD card slot. At the bottom, you'll find wired Ethernet and a full-sized HDMI input, which means the DA241HL can be used as a monitor (for a laptop or games console, perhaps). The port supports MHL, so you can also mirror the screen of a smartphone or tablet via micro-USB.The quality of the Full HD display is excellent for an all-in-one this cheap: a maximum brightness of 235cd/m[sup]2[/sup] doesn't sound like much, but it's a VA panel, so contrast is a superb 2,350:1, and colours really jump off the screen. Touch detection works well ¨C it's responsive and accurate.
Hardly a week goes by without me seeing a sob story on one of the social networks or forums I frequent about someone having lost their phone.Am I sympathetic? Hardly ¨C many of them are just plain daft. If they had a ¡ê500 roll of ¡ê20 notes in their pocket they¡¯d be on their guard, walking with one hand firmly clamped around the cash.But they¡¯re quite happy to place ¡ê500¡¯s worth of Cupertino¡¯s finest shiny in their jacket pocket or handbag, or leave it on a pub table while they talk to friends. Frankly, I¡¯m surprised more phones don¡¯t go missing.For some time, there have been tools available to help you locate a lost phone, display messages on its screen, make it ring and vibrate, change its passcode, lock it down or even wipe all its data.If they had a ¡ê500 roll of ¡ê20 notes in their pocket they¡¯d be on their guard, walking with one hand firmly clamped around the cashIf they had a ¡ê500 roll of ¡ê20 notes in their pocket they¡¯d be on their guard, walking with one hand firmly clamped around the cashIn the enterprise space, such tools became prominent with BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or BES. Over the intervening years, however, many other mobile device management (MDM) products have appeared in the enterprise space, along with apps and tools that are aimed at consumers.
Typically, these display the location of your device on a map, although their reliability varies ¨C some products take a position every half hour or so, giving you a rough idea where your phone was, while others report in real-time.Some work only when your phone¡¯s GPS receiver can see satellites (outdoors or close to a window, for example), while others employ cell-tower triangulation and use known Wi-Fi network locations to home in on a position if GPS isn¡¯t available. Some use your phone¡¯s data connection, while others communicate via SMS.While there are apps in the App Store that let you track your iPhone from your iPad, or vice versa, Apple¡¯s own system is neat. Simply log in to your iCloud account in a web browser; here, you¡¯ll see an icon that says ¡°Find My iPhone¡± (it also finds iPads, iPod touchs and Macs).It doesn¡¯t merely find them, either: you can play a sound, which is great for finding phones that have slipped down the back of the sofa or under the car seat; use ¡°lost mode¡±, which tracks and locks the device; and remotely wipe all its data. You need to set this up, though; if you own a Mac or other iDevice and haven¡¯t done this, I urge you to do it now.
On a Mac, go to System Preferences and click on iCloud. You¡¯ll need to enter your Apple ID, or create one by clicking ¡°Create an Apple ID¡±, then follow the simple steps. Tick the box beside ¡°Find My Mac¡±, which will be located towards the bottom of the list, and click ¡°Allow¡± when you see the dialog requesting permission to track the location of your computer.To stop a thief from bypassing the system, make sure that your user account requires a password and that automatic login is switched off. If you¡¯re using an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, go to Settings and tap iCloud.Again, you¡¯ll need to sign in with your Apple ID or follow the steps to create one. Then, turn on ¡°Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod¡± (the wording will differ depending on which device you¡¯re using); when prompted, confirm your permission to track the device.It¡¯s crucial that you set a passcode for the device. Also, if you¡¯re running iOS 6 or earlier, you¡¯ll need to turn on ¡°Restrictions¡± so that a thief can¡¯t switch off the ¡°Find My iDevice¡± function; do this by going to Settings | General | Restrictions.
Google has announced a new update to Chrome, which promises to lower the web browser¡¯s impact on your computer¡¯s battery life. Episode 37of the Digital City, where we discuss the new Apple iPhone 3Gs and the Palm Pre; the best of E3, according to Nielson; a record legal judgment against online music sharing; and why you can't trust anyone's laptop battery life tests, except ours.
Episode 37of the Digital City, where we discuss the new Apple iPhone 3Gs and the Palm Pre; the best of E3, according to Nielson; a record legal judgment against online music sharing; and why you can't trust anyone's laptop battery life tests, except ours.
Like many laptop makers, HP's current obsession is for super-slim ultrabook machines that are so skinny and light you could skim them across a lake. But the company hasn't forgotten about good ol' regular-sized laptops, showing off the new 15.6-inch HP Pavilion m6. But does this mid-range marvel have the power to hold its own against a wave of ultrabooks?I've been hands-on with the Pavilion m6, so read on for a fistful of first impressions. The m6 is due out in the UK at the end of July, starting at ¡ê599.If you thought yesterday's Lenovo battery recall would be the end of laptop battery news for the week, think again. Now, Toshiba and Fujitsu are recalling more Sony-made batteries, while Dell is adding more systems to its own massive recall.
If you're keeping count, that's about 7 million Sony batteries worldwide that have been recalled.Toshiba is adding 840,000 batteries, on top of the 340,000 from a few weeks ago, while Fujitsu hasn't said yet how many problem batteries are out there, only that 19 laptop models are affected. Keep an eye on vendor Web sites for updated information on specific model numbers to see if you're affected.Dell is adding another 100,000 to its recall of Sony batteries, for a grand total of 4.2 million, making it the largest electronics recall in U.S. history. In addition, Sony has announced that it is going to work with PC makers on a global replacement program for affected batteries.Meanwhile, the government agency known as the Consumer Product Safety Commission says, "The CPSC is aware of at least 47 incidents involving smoke or fire associated with notebook computers, from January 2001 through August 2006." The agency has issued its own "Tips on Notebook Computer Use," which include the following:Dell has done more than anyone to keep the midsize laptop in play, churning out inexpensive, reasonably configurable systems, such as the Inspiron 1440. For less than $700, we got a perfectly fine 14-inch dual-core, wide-screen laptop, with plenty of configuration options if we wanted to add or subtract features.
We did, however, wish we could add a better graphics option, as we found on the similarly priced Dell s1440-022B (a retail-only model that is unfortunately no longer available). Also, be aware that usually standard features, such as a Webcam or Bluetooth, will cost extra here, so make sure to factor that into your price estimate.
In recent years Dell has expanded its options for laptop personalization, adding new colors and graphic images for lids. Our Inspiron 1440 had a glossy purple finish on the back of the lid, which adds a surprisingly stiff $40 to the base price. The interior contrasts a matte-black keyboard with a glossy gray keyboard tray. Combined with the somewhat chunky shape of the chassis, the overall effect looks and feel plasticky and vaguely toylike--this is not going to be mistaken for a high-end status symbol. That's fine for a laptop that starts under $500, but less so for a fully loaded $1,000-plus configuration.The wide, flat-topped keys are Dell's current default and provide a pleasant typing experience--the firm, quiet keys are among the most upscale-feeling features on the system. A large-enough touchpad works fine, but the diminutive mouse buttons it's paired with feel cheap and click down unconvincingly. With no media control or quick-launch buttons, you'll have to use the Function keys for volume control and the like. Oddly, it wasn't that long ago that even very inexpensive Dell laptops had a row of dedicated multimedia and quick-launch buttons.
The LED display measures 14.0 inches and features an extrawide 16:9 aspect ratio that matches up with HD video. With 1,366x769 native resolution, it's great for 720p HD content, although the glossy screen coating can attract distracting glare from other light sources. A 1,600x900 display is available as a $75 option if you want a higher screen resolution (keep in mind, this will make text and icons smaller at their default size).
Dell offsets many features to the optional accessory category, offering a Webcam ($25), Bluetooth ($20), Blu-ray drive ($125), and 802.11n Wi-Fi ($25). While it's a Dell mainstay, we didn't see a mobile broadband antenna as an available option on this particular model. We do like that 15 months of Norton antivirus protection is included in the base price.In the $600-$900 range, we'd expect to see a standard Intel Core 2 Duo CPU in a midsize laptop, such as the 2.2GHz T6600 found here. It performed on par with the most recent batch of similarly configured mainstream laptops we've seen, which all use the slightly slower 2.0GHz T6500 CPU. One area in which the Dell Inspiron 14 fell slightly behind was in our hard-drive-intensive Photoshop test. Interestingly, the systems we used for comparison all had 320GB Hitachi or Toshiba HDDs--the Dell was the only one with a 250GB Seagate HDD. (Even more interesting--Dell's online configurator now only offers 320 and 500GB drives as options).
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