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.
Battery life is certainly an issue; if you don't have an extra battery or you've no way to charge it back up, you're pretty much out of luck until you find a way. And because of the tiny size of laptop computers, many dishonest people will not think twice about stealing one. So now that we've established the cool factor of laptops, let's go through some tips that'll make your laptop experience even better.
Tip: Prolong the Battery Life:
There are certain advantages of having a personal computer at home. One of them is that you can keep them plugged during usage, which means that you do not have to worry about batteries. With laptops, things are exactly the other way around. Battery life is an issue, but we can learn you how to prolong its life, in order to get more from your laptop when you are outside and away from any outlet.
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.
Data Savings:
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.
Guard Your Laptop:
Always take care when connecting to an open wireless network. Install a robust firewall, like ZoneAlarm, and make sure that you set its security settings high to get the best protection. Folder sharing on an open network is just asking for trouble, so make sure you turn this setting and others like it off.
Because of the compact size of laptops, they're really easy to steal, so always know your laptop's whereabouts. Encrypting your laptop's hard drive can give you peace of mind; if your laptop gets stolen, as least the files residing on your hard drive are encrypted and cannot easily be viewed or accessed.
Keep Out From the Heat:
An usual shortcoming of laptops is that they tend to heat up during usage. In order to keep all this heat away, you need to protect your lap and your knees. Some shops sell laptop sleeves that can be used to fend off the heat, but any piece of clothing large enough to cover your skin where it comes in contact with the hot laptop will do just fine.
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.
