Laptop Info Today

Archive for September, 2008

A new buzz has been hitting the online world and all in the fingertips of your laptop is the ability to get a car loan online.

I know somebody out there might doubt me but it’s true.

One such trusted site is at ApexAutoLoan.com .

This site has a fast approval system and getting approved is fast and free; no hassles nor obligations.

There is also an online calculator on the site where you can do  your own financial planning and a tab where you can check out the latest price model for a new car in the market. With all theses facilities provided to you on your fingertips, I bet you might be itching to check out a brand new car right now.

Car Loans has been revolutionized for a more fast and simple method for mankind and ApexAutoLoan.com has done just that. You will be amazed how easy it is to apply for a car loan and it only takes you 2 minutes to complete the application process ( it’s that fast) !

Hi there, welcome to another post from Laptop Info Today.

Anyway recently I’ve been to do some tasks lately on my laptop and that is to extract information from pdf files to an office file formats.

To make matters worse, some of the pdf files are needed to be exported in excel spreadsheet and powerpoint formats.

Whoa … this is a big challenge but nonetheless there is a solution in a software called Able2Extract.

This is NOT a freeware but it does a job for me, you never sometimes you came around request like these, especially if you are an IT Technician .

Read the rest of this entry »

Since iPod broke the music digital market, Microsoft has quietly come off their own - The Zune.

Something which is maybe overlooked, the Zune actually works hand-in-hand with your laptops, there’s a relationship between them which a lot of people tend to miss out.

Step 1:

Out of the Box

Included is a USB cable, you will use this to charge and upload music to your Zune PC to your Zune.
You will find headphones and small spongy coverings for the ear buds, called headphone socks. Fit them snugly onto the ear buds.
Finally, remove the owner’s manual, carrying pouch and the software CD.

Step 2:

Charge

Plug the larger end of the USB cable into the bottom of the Zune. Then, connect the smaller end to the USB port on your PC.
Don’t turn on your Zune until it’s fully charged -which takes up to three hours- and until your computer prompts you.

Step 3:

The Install

Insert the CD into your computer’s CD drive. Your computer should automatically recognize the CD and begin installing the software
Make sure you are connected to the internet, as your Zune software will need to search for the latest updates.
When prompted by your computer, turn on the Zune by pressing the Play/Pause button until the screen lights up.
Your Zune may require an update to its firmware, the software built-in to the device. If it does, updating will begin automatically.
The installation program on your PC will ask you if you wish to “Sync your Zune”

Tip

Be aware, your Zune comes with some free preloaded goodies. Syncing your Zune will erase all of that content. So, if you’re not done enjoying what’s already there, hold off on Synching your Zune and choose the guest option on the “Relocating” screen.

To finally end my illustrious journey to this series, the top budget laptop under $1K, is the champion of the lot.

Drumroll please

And the winner of the most budget laptop is the HP Pavilion dv2660se .

HP has since came out with big campaigns on promoting their laptops and computing equipment and not surprising the HP is “Top Laptop Vendor Of The Year ” this year.

The HP Pavilion dv2660se multimedia laptop with excellent battery life. It’s great design and cost ($899) is one of the most appeal aspects of this laptop.

The hardware specs is not bad at all, actually for an average user is good enough already.

It comes built in with a 1.5Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (T5250) processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and an Intel Express Intergarted Graphics chipset. The weight which an equivalent to a 6-pounder has a customized made 12-cell battery which can last you for 6.3 hours. That’s a lifetime of 2.5 hours compared to an average laptop !

The cons of it is that the outlook of the laptop tend to be unsightable with the battery protuding out as in the figure on the right.

This laptop is designed for Windows Vista Home Premium users as the multimedia functions tell it all.

Extra functions include the hotkeys or Quick Play for you to access your CD/DVD without turning on your set. It is also built based on the 802.11 n - networks for faster speed connections and for the user what more do you expect for the price that’s is being displayed.

This 14.1 inch laptop is a steal and a recommended product for those going in a tight budget.

Hi guys, I’m back after a few days of undesired happenings on this site; having some problems with my hosting and stuffs.

But I’m back and ready to kicked some news for you.

First things first ….. there will be some changes going on for these sites and some of them are in progress right now. I will announce it once it’s completed the changes that is happening on this site.

First some news ….

HP has been announced “TOP Laptop Vendor Of The Year” for 2 years in a row.

The announcement is being made by market research firm “Display Search“.

HP is tops in market share globally, while Dell is only the main deal back in the US. Acer is joint with HP on the biggest share in the European market and because of that Dell was pushed further behind to third position in the overall global standings.

And because of the powerful powerhouse that is HP, no wonder they are also the Number 1 in the Laptop Budget Series (a post which I’ve longed delayed to cover )

That review will be cover sometime very soon and as HP always say … “Let’s Make It Personal Again”.

All we know that Skype is one of the most popular (or should I say “The Popular”) VOIP software currently used by people around the world these days.

Because it is so popular, sometimes we tend to receive poor signals in term of voice chat or video chat ( I had it sometimes on my laptop when I’m talking with my friends on some blogging issues).

Anyway there’s an up and coming software that might be common to some laptops out there, and I’m not talking Skype.

Introducing CQPhone, an easy to use PC-to-PC phone, that allows voice chat, as well as video chat and text chat. In addition, you can easily exchange pictures and web links by simply dragging them onto the interface.

One thing I like about this software is that there is no registration involved, you simply install the software and it automatically assigns you a CQ phone number (how simple can that be).

It works with most firewalls out there and here’s a catcher …. you can even hook your camcoder to the software (it will detect and you’re off video chatting - how cool can that be).

It works on any Microsoft Windows operating system and guess what “It’s FREE” !

Download the software here today.

Being a former musician and songwriter, I’ve always understand that to do music recording you will need a desktop (it is my fundamental opinion, of course)

But to be on the go, one alternative is the Mac Book …… but they cost a blimey .

I was thinking back on doing a home based recording but a Windows based laptop ( well that’s some challenge).

I was surfing the internet and I could say the “Musician Friend” is indeed a musician’s friend (get what I mean) .

MusicXPC laptops are designed for musicians on the go ….. like me.

It’s hard to say at $999, i think it’s a steal.

The fun part is this … it is a Windows XP based sytem and it is tweak specifically for the music production.

Whether you’re using Cubase, Sonar, Reason, Protools, Cakewalk or others …. you will feel it is lightning speed.

Lets look more on the spec and you will definately know what I mean …..

Read the rest of this entry »

Free and personal for home use anti-virus are a plenty on the internet.

It is too many till one will get confused on which one to choose. That happens when my working colleague ask me the very same question this morning.

I can understand freebies on a tight budget, cause even the paid one aren’t 100% secure (let me tell you that).

Anyway she told me that she’s not into the yearly subscription stuff ….. so I put out these recommendations.

This post will be targeted for users who to use “free for personal use only” anti-virus. Always remember an anti-virus is always the last line of defense (the firewall is front line).

There are a couple of anti-virus which I experimented but these are the ones that give me good protection for your laptops.

1. Avast Home Edition
2. AVG Free Edition
3. Avira AntiVir Personal
4. PC Tools ThreatFire
5. Bit Defender Free Edition
6. Komodo Anti-VirusTrust
   

Trust me I’ve experimented on all of  them. Check them out.