There are a few downsides to netbooks, though.  Their light weight and portability is mostly due to a very small display.  Just because you can run all of your favorite applications on your netbook doesn’t mean they will render correctly on an 8″ or 10″ screen.  Netbooks also typically lack some hardware (like an optical drive) that a normal computer would have.

In this article, I’ll show you some great Netbook optimization applications that will help fix these inherent downsides and allow you to make the best use of your netbook.

Winsupermaximize (Windows)

Winsupermaximize is a tiny application that allows you to put folders and applications into full screen mode just like your browser.  After launching the Netbook optimization application (no installation required) just press WIN + F11 to enter and exit full screen mode.

Winsupermaximize works by removing the title bar of your folders or applications and maximizing the window.  For ideal results, the program creator recommends setting the Windows taskbar to auto-hide.

Before:

After:

Dropbox (Windows, Mac, and Linux)

Using a netbook means you’ll typically be separated from your files and documents on your main computer.  Maintaining your files on USB flash drives can be cumbersome (and I typically misplace them anyway), but Dropbox provides a free and easy way to keep your netbook optimized and synchronized with your other computers.

To use Dropbox, just register for a free 2GB account and install the client on any computers you want to synchronize.  Any files and folders you place in your Dropbox will immediately be synchronized across all folders.  A web interface is also available so you can access your files anywhere you have an internet connection.

If you like Dropbox, check out the many other ways you can use it.

VirtuaWin (Windows)

Managing multiple folders and applications on a netbook can be difficult because of their limited screen size.  VirtuaWin gives you multiple virtual desktops (Linux users will recognize these as workspaces) so you can spread your work out across multiple “screens”.

It can take a little time to get accustomed to using virtual desktops, but they can greatly increase your productivity and serve as yet another method of Netbook optimization.  VirtuaWin is highly customizable and allows you to use convenient hotkeys to switch between your workspaces.

Daemon Tools Lite (Windows)

Since most netbooks don’t include optical drives, many people are forced to purchase an external CD or DVD drive to install their favorite software.  Daemon Tools lets you ditch the external drives and mount disc images from CDs, DVDs, and Blu Rays instead.  When you mount a disc image you can use the software just as if the disc was inserted in your computer.

Another great perk of mounting discs from a file is that the access speeds are much faster than from an optical drive.  That means when you use software from a virtual CD it can install up to 50x faster.

Check out these articles for more information about ripping and mounting disc images.

Google Chrome (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Google’s web browser was created with netbooks in mind.  Besides being really fast, Chrome has a great user interface that maximizes web content and keeps the browser bits to a minimum.  Now that Chrome supports extensions, Firefox users can install many of their favorite add-ons so to get the same browsing experience.

With these applications, you should find that you can maximize your productivity and get a lot more out of your netbook.  Have any suggestions that would be a good addition to this list?  Share them with us in the comments.

Image credit: zieak / CC BY 2.0

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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LAlarm is a free laptop security alarming software. It has several different alarms to help protect your laptop, the most important of them being the Theft Alarm.

Install LAlarm

Download and install the free laptop security software here. LAlarm is free for personal use, and version 4.0 works with Windows Vista, XP (SP2 or SP3). On Windows 7, you can try the latest beta version 5.0. The download is less than 1MB, and the setup program looks the same as the main program that you launch after installation.

LAlarm runs as a background process when you start your laptop. In my tests, it took up an insignificant 7.5MB of memory, so you probably won’t even notice that it is running.

Improve Laptop Security and Protect Against Theft

Securing your laptop is simple and can be done in two ways:

1. If your laptop is connected to a power outlet, simply lock it with the Win+L key shortcut

2. If there is no power outlet available:

a) Use a neck-strap or USB extension cord with any old flash drive and insert it into a USB port

b) Tie the neck-strap or cord to a firm table

c) Lock the laptop with the Win+L shortcut

The LAlarm website shows an example of how this is done:

That’s it. Now, when someone attempts to steal your laptop, either the power cord or the USB flash drive will get disconnected from the laptop. This triggers the Theft Alarm, and the thief will get a nasty shock because the laptop will emit a loud siren like a car alarm. In my testing, I was worried about neighbors rushing to see what was happening! The alarm stops only when you unlock the laptop by entering your login credentials.

For additional laptop security, you can also enable the Inattention Alarm in the Options > Alarm tab. This will trigger if there is a specified period of inactivity on your laptop in unsafe zones. Let’s see what “unsafe zones” are next.

Restrict Laptop Use To A Safe Area

You can use IP addresses to define “Safe Zones” in which your laptop is considered safe. If anyone tries to use it outside the pre-defined safe zones, it triggers the Perimeter Alarm.

The Inattention Alarm also makes use of these zones, so that alarms don’t go off when you take a lunch break at work.

Email and SMS Alerts

After installation, one of the first things you probably want to do is setup email alerts for the alarms, for which you can only use a Gmail account and need to supply your Gmail password. As this is software installed locally on your laptop, you need not be concerned about supplying your Gmail password. LAlarm sends you a test email to verify that the email is working properly.

You can also configure SMS alerts to your mobile phone using Email-to-SMS gateways. Note that these alerts will work only if there is an Internet connection present at the time of laptop theft.

Automatically Destroy Data In Case Of Theft

In case your laptop does get stolen, you can configure LAlarm to automatically destroy pre-defined data folders. You set these via the Options > Destruction tab.

In addition to destroying data, you can also run any custom programs you want to execute in case of theft from the Options > Theft Response tab.

Battery and Disk Protection Alarms

LAlarm also has Disk and Battery protection to help you maximize your laptop battery life and warn you of impending hard disk failure. The battery alarm is triggered at low battery levels that you can customize, and works with Li-ion type batteries.

Doesn’t this laptop security software sound too good to be free? Will you use it to protect your laptop against theft? Let us know in the comments!

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Whether it’s a desktop computer or a laptop, whether or not it’s broken, and no matter how old it is, it can still be useful to you or someone else.

So if you still don’t have any idea what to do with it, you might find some inspiration in this article.

1. Run a Geek Beamer

It’s an unlikely scenario, but say you had an excess TFT screen, maybe with a broken backlight so it remains black, you could still use it to build your own geeky projector. You will need a working overhead projector and a computer or laptop to run the movies or whatever else you want to watch with it. Here’s the how-to video:

Unfortunately, Tom’s Hardware Guide took down the complete guide.

2. Create a Digital Photo Frame

If your old laptop screen is OK and if either the hard drive or CD/DVD drive are working, you can use it to build a cheap digital photo frame. With a working wireless connection you could even make it show your latest Flickr photos.

You’ll find detailed instructions all over the net. Repair4Laptop.org provides an extensive list of instructions sorted by laptop models. Unfortunately, some links are outdated. If you have a spare G4 Powerbook, try this article at Instructables, and for the digital photo frame connecting to Flickr, Mike from PopSci used an old IBM ThinkPad T21 and Slickr, as described here. Shuttertalk has instructions using a LCD monitor and laptop.

3. Create an External Hard Drive

If parts of your laptop or desktop computer hardware are broken, you can salvage the working parts. So if the hard drive is still working, you can dismount it and transform it into an external and portable hard drive for your new computer. You’ll have to invest in a USB caddy, which can be acquired cheaply through eBay, Amazon or your local hardware dealer. Be sure to get the right format and connector for your hard drive. For a laptop hard drive, you’ll need a 2.5″ IDE or SATA caddy. For a regular hard drive, generally a 3.5″ IDE or SATA caddy is in order.

4. Make Money

You can dismantle your entire broken computer or laptop and sell the working parts on eBay. Hard drive, RAM, A/C adapters, motherboards, graphics and audio cards, and even an intact case will return some cash.

It’s not a very unique use, but you may be able to save up some extra money to buy that cool tool you’ve been wanting to get.

To learn more about the inside of your computer, try Karl’s Own PC Building Guide, a free MakeUseOf free guide. To succeed on eBay, apply my 7 Tips for Private eBay Sellers.

5. Make Someone Happy

The next best way to use your still working old computer is to make someone else happy!

You could offer the computer on your local FreeCycle.org group or ask friends, family, and people in your community whether anyone needs a computer for simple tasks. Alternatively, you could donate your laptop or computer through an official organization, such as Computers with Causes.

Freecycle is mentioned in my post about 6 Amazing Web Communities for Exchanging Favors.

6. Donate CPU Time

If you would rather donate to something bigger, such as science, you could hook up the old computer to the internet, install a program such as SETI@home or Proteins@home, and run these programs all day and night.

The computer could sit in a dead corner of your house and would require a monitor only occasionally. You would invest as little as a bit of electricity and bandwidth.

Ryan has composed a great article about how 10 Ways To Donate Your CPU Time To Science.

7. Try Linux

If you’re a Windows user, having an extra computer to play with is your prime chance to get familiar with Linux. And you may just be surprised by how smoothly Linux runs on your old machine. The reason is that Linux demands much less power.

Stefan has written a Linux guide for Newbies, which will guide you through setting up Ubuntu and your first steps with it.

8. Use it as File or Print Server

Transform your old computer into a workhorse with only the essential software components, including Windows File and Printer sharing. Next, hook up all your external devices to it, such as an external hard drive or printer, and make them available to all other computers in the house.

9. Set up an external Firewall or Router

Separating your firewall from the PC you are using, and running it on a standalone computer that sits between the internet and your actual operating system, is a powerful way to protect your data. With Linux as the firewall computer’s operating system it’s almost perfect.

Lockup has a guide on how to turn your old PC into a NAT firewall router. At Associated Content, you will find an article that explains how to use free software to set up a first class firewall. And finally, Instructables has a guide on how to build your own gateway firewall.

10. Turn it into a Media Station

Load all your music and videos onto this computer, if necessary supply it with an external hard drive, set up your favorite media player, listen to Last.fm, install a TV tuner card and record movies, record music from radio stations, download MP3s, stream music throughout the house using wireless speakers etc.

There are many more options of how you can use an old computer for entertainment purposes, just be creative!

To help you set it all up, we have some material in store for you. Will wrote about the Top 5 Free Media Players For Windows. Ryan covered the Best Sites To Watch TV On Your Computer Over The Internet. Using a wireless connection, you could set up this additional “internet TV” in the kitchen or office. If you would like to record music, read my article about 3 Easy Tools to Record Streaming Music as MP3 Files. And I’m sure you’ll discover many more resources on MakeUseOf.

Can you think of even better ways to use an old computer or laptop? Let’s hear!

Image credits: ryas, dolar, svilen001, ilco

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It was a mystery because at first I didn’t realize that the erratic cursor movement is caused when your hand touches the touchpad while you are typing. It can get annoying pretty quickly when all of a sudden you find that you are typing the password in the username box all because the touchpad mistook the accidental contact as tap.

If you want to know how to disable the touchpad while typing, here are the steps:

On Windows

It is pretty straightforward to disable the touchpad in Windows. The settings can be generally accessed via the control panel. Open up Mouse Settings from the control panel, move over to the Device Settings tab and you can access touchpad settings in there.

Depending on the make and model of your laptop you will find options such as ‘disable touchpad when an external USB pointing device is connected‘ which is helpful if you use a USB mouse and want to disable the touchpad when a USB mouse is connected. You can also disable the touchpad entirely from here, or you can choose to disable only the buttons.

If enabling/disabling every time you are in for a bit of typing feels like too much work, you can look into the sensitivity settings for the touchpad and lower the sensitivity a bit. Although this doesn’t solve the problem in its entirety it helps to reduce it.

On Linux

Things get a bit more involved on the Linux side. You need to make sure that xorg.conf located at (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) contains the line: SHMConfig true under the input section.

• Fire up your preferred text editor and open up /etc/x11/xorg.conf. Look for a section like:
  

  Section “Input Device”
  Identifier “Synaptics Touchpad”
  …
  End Section

• This needs to contain the line Option “SHMConfig” “true”. Note that if you are using Jaunty Jackalope you would have to create a file /etc/hal/fdi/policy/shmconfig.fdi with contents as under

• If you added it to the file you need to restart the GUI. You can use Ctrl + Alt + Backspace. If that doesn’t work, just restart the system.
• Next open up the sessions manager. System > Preferences > Sessions and add an entry for syndaemon -i 1 -d. You can use man syndaemon to check out additional options like.

That should just about do it.  Syndaemon monitors the keyboard and as soon as you start typing it disables the tapping and scrolling action (according to the options you choose) on the touchpad. This means that you can still move the cursor, only you wouldn’t be able to accidentally tap it and thus wander off to another line.

I really like the Linux solution. You don’t have to do anything, it detects that you are typing and disables the tapping and scrolling while still letting you to move around the cursor and use the touchpad buttons to click. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a similar solution for Windows.

Maybe you are aware of one? Let us know in the comments how do you tackle the problem.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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You can follow these steps and guidelines while cleaning your laptop or LCD monitor to keep out of harm’s way and have a sparkling clean screen.

Materials you would need

• A soft lint free cotton cloth (microfiber cloth works best).
• Distilled Water. Isopropyl Alcohol or white vinegar (if there are oil stains)
• A bottle (atomizer bottle works best)

How to Clean Your LCD Monitor

• If it is just dust you are getting rid of, distilled water would be sufficient and you don’t need any other cleansing agent. If there are fingerprints on the screen or some oily stains than the best thing to use is a solution of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol. Note that you should NEVER clean off the screen with a dry cloth. This way the dust particles can easily scratch the surface of the screen.
• If you are going to need Isopropyl Alcohol, you should make a solution consisting of equal amounts of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol.
• You then need to put this solution (or just distilled water if that is the case) into an atomizer bottle.
• Spray the contents of the bottle onto the soft lint free cloth, DO NOT spray directly on the screen, make sure that you are holding the cloth away from laptop when spraying. A damp cloth (or perhaps an edge of cloth) is what we are looking for, we don’t need to soak it in the solution.
• Gently wipe the screen with the cloth. Horizontal and vertical movements work best, however if there are areas that need a little extra attention or streaks going along the screen, you can concentrate on the area with some circular movements.

What you should not do

I have been pointing out the Do’s and the Don’ts all along, and here are some more absolute NO-NO’s:

• Never use cleansing agents like window cleaners, soap solutions etc. These contain chemicals that can harm the screen. In particular you should avoid anything that contains the likes of ammonia, acetone, toluene or ethyl alcohol.
• Don’t spray directly on the screen. If you can’t find an atomizer bottle, you can pour some liquid onto the cloth just make sure it is not soaking wet. Again do all this away from the laptop
• Do not use tissue papers, newspaper or shower towels to clean the screen. You can easily scratch the screen with these.
• Don’t use tap water, it always contains some dissolved salts that can harm the screen.
• Don’t clean while the laptop/computer is powered on. Turning off not only gives you a nice black screen that lets you see the stains easily, you also avoid the risk of damaging your computer accidentally.
• Don’t put too much pressure on the screen while cleaning. Doing so can permanently damage the screen.

How do you clean your LCD monitor or laptop screens? Any ‘top secret formula X‘ that you might want to share in the comments? We won’t tell anyone. Promise!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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MakeUseOf had an article 20 Ways To Increase Laptop’s Battery Life which mentioned a number of useful tips. This time we introduce to a rather different app called BatteryCare which can help you understand the ways of battery guruness….is that a word? Probably not but hey it sounds good!

Way back when, it was very bad to leave your laptop plugged in and charging after the battery was charged. Nowadays this is not the case because the computer switches to a trickle charging mode when the battery hits 100%. BatteryCare not only gives you a glimpse at a glance of your available power including the time you have left it also does some neat tricks that can help you extend your laptop battery life.

After downloading and installing this small application you will have a new system tray icon. Mine is all the way to the left. It tells me that my battery is 95% charged and can operate for 2 hours and 36 minutes at the current rate. This is a HUGE improvement over the normal battery meter you see in the middle of my system tray.

The first trick it can do is change your power settings to a different profile depending on if you are plugged into power or not. These profiles can turn down your screen’s brightness or turn off Bluetooth.

To setup a power profile you can visit your Power Options in your Windows control panel. Once you have them set up or you decide to use the built in ones, click on the BatteryCare icon and open the application. You will see the screen below.

Next up, hit the options button and then Power Plans. Simply check the box that says Automatically select Power Plans. Then choose the plans you want to switch to when you are on battery or AC power. When you are done click accept -  yes, it is that easy!

While we are in the options let’s see what other choices we have.  Under advanced options you can be notified when a Full Discharge is necessary to improve the performance of your battyer and extend the laptop battery life. The program tells this by noting how many discharges your machine has had since it started running. You can manually adjust this number if you are not running this against a new battery, do this by setting the Discharge cycles count manual adjustment number at the bottom. I set mine to three. When you reach your set number you will be prompted to fully discharge your battery.

By clicking on the detailed information tab you can see the battery manufacturer as well as designed capacity and total capacity, this can tell you if your battery has degraded. Thankfully mine is fine.

Even after leaving the app running for several hours some of my numbers were at zero but for the sheer power of changing profiles on the fly and the detailed battery meter this app is AWESOME!  Thanks guys keep up the great work. Their website also has some awesome information on debunking the battery myths.

We’ve also discussed two alternatives to the Windows laptop battery meter which is something else you can consider.

Do you use something similar? Let us know about it in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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However, when buying a new laptop, there are always several questions to ask yourself. What size do I buy? Which brand should I get? HP, Dell, Acer, Apple? Reflective versus non-reflective screen? What good is a backlit keyboard? I know, there are heaps to choose from.

Here are 9 sites to help you find a laptop that suits you, your budget and its application. But before you start your hunt, you should read the MakeUseOf Laptop Buying Guide first to know what to look for in a laptop.

Alright, in no particular order, here are 9 great sites to help you on your hunt for a new laptop!

Liliputing

Liliputing has great reviews, has a developing community and reasonable size product database that gives the specification of everything you need to know when comparing laptops. Each laptop is subjected to personal opinions and links to more reviews about a laptop.

Cnet Reviews

Cnet is a very popular site that covers a lot of reviews on a lot of different products from Televisions, Camcorders, Car Tech, Cell Phones to Computers. Finding a laptop is very easy. Just select your budget, manufacturer, notebook type, product line or other options such as RAM, hard drive or weight, and your choice will be narrowed down. When beginning your laptop hunt, you should start off at Cnet.

Notebook Review

Like Cnet, Notebook Review can help you find a laptop that suits your needs. However, there is one advantage. Not only does Notebook Review provides links to buy products online, they also have a database of promotional codes and deals for huge discounts.

ZDNet

ZDNet is another popular site that allows you to search and narrow down your choice of laptops. The specifications that ZDnet provides are good and comparing different laptops are a breeze. Most of the information you find on ZDnet is from Cnet, so you might want to check out Cnet first.

Engadget

Engadget provides some great articles on laptops and on other gadgets. It’s more of a blog so it doesn’t provide you with the comparisons that Cnet and Liliputing provides. However, they provide good images and provide you with their opinion on the device. Their reviews are based on daily and real-life use, something to consider when purchasing a new laptop.

PC Magazine

PC Mag keeps you covered on news, reviews, prices of laptops and computer accessories. Just visit the Laptop compare prices section and you can get reviews, specs and price ranges from different suppliers and online websites.

PriceGrabber

Price Grabber mainly gives you the specification of laptops, their prices and where to buy them. The main aim of Price Grabber is to allow you to perform a comparison between many different products and suppliers. When you have found your perfect laptop, head over to Price Grabber and see where you can pick up a good deal.

Laptop Magazine

Laptop Mag is great because they give a round-up of best laptops for certain group of people. Whether it be students, or for dads. They also publish news about the latest on laptops, when manufactures are releasing products and more. If you don’t know how to do something, then Laptop Mag has some handy tutorials and How To’s which are worth to check out.

Laptopical

Laptopical provides a range of laptops to fit your budget. Although I wouldn’t suggest finding a laptop through this site, but once you have found a laptop that you want, visit Laptopical and have a read what they say.

If you are searching for a laptop, MakeUseOf hopes that you find the right computer for you. If you have any other suggestions for good laptop review sites, let us know in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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While looking for a solution to the problem, I came across SpeedFan from the awesomely altruistic Alfredo Milani Comparetti. I saw it on MakeUseOf, over at Monitor Your Computer Fan Speed With SpeedFan. That article covers all the neat stuff, like adjusting fan speed, graphing temperatures and so on. But what it missed is what was most important to me, and anyone else who has to monitor computers on a shoe-string budget – it can send me an e-mail when conditions cross thresholds that I set! Awesome!

SpeedFan can also be set to popup a message, execute a program or script, or beep.

Here’s how I set up SpeedFan for my users:

Open SpeedFan and click on the Configure button.

From there, you need to click on the Mail tab to set up access for SpeedFan to your e-mail account. It’s got to send the message somehow.

The profile name will be default, since Alfredo hasn’t added the ability to have multiple profiles yet. No sweat Alfredo. It’s epic as it is.

Then click on the Events tab.

The bottom of the screen is where you can set the parameters for the event you want triggered. On this example I’m using the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) temperature, but on the work laptops I used the HDD and CPU temperatures. There are an awful lot of variables that can be monitored beyond that though. Check a few:

That’s about half of the list. As you can see, you can monitor your HDD health as well. That should help you head off a few hard drive failures at the pass, and keep your data doggies rolling (remember, I work in the oil patch in Alberta. Gotta have a cowboy analogy in here somewhere!).

I researched the operating parameters of the laptop’s CPU and HDD and then used 80% and 90% of the maximum operating temperature as the trigger points. The lower 80% temperature triggers a pop-up to let the user know that the computer is too hot and that they should blow out the dust and elevate the back of the laptop.

The 90% temperature setting then sends me an e-mail so I can phone the user, wake them up with some Macarena and let them know they are about to have a dead computer. So far I haven’t had to do that.

The For n times parameter allows you to decide how many times the temperature has to exceed the limit before it triggers the event. The temperature is in Celsius. The Allow every n seconds parameter determines how often the event will be triggered. If 60 seconds hasn’t passed since the last e-mail was sent, then it won’t send another one. Keeps form crashing my mail provider.

Then I chose the event send mail. The next field is the subject of the e-mail that will be sent. I use the laptop’s name so I know who to call. Finally, the last field determines which e-mail profile to use. This will be default until the developer adds the ability to have more than one e-mail profile.

Here, let me show you what I mean….

Of course, feel free to adjust those numbers to meet your needs.

All 55 of my field computers are set up with this system that runs silently in the background until something happens. Since I’ve put this into place, I haven’t lost a single laptop to a burnt out CPU or HDD. The time and money this has saved the company is in the thousands. And the software is free!

If you’ve used a different software to achieve something similar, let’s hear all about it in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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If you use Linux, there is an excellent tool that gives you loads of information about your computer’s power consumption as well as the software that is causing your battery to drain. Its called PowerTop.

PowerTop was originally developed by Intel and it lets you measure and explain your computer’s power consumption.

Installation

As always, check your distribution’s package manager for a package named ‘powertop’. If you cannot find it listed there, head over to the PowerTop website and download the tar ball which you can compile and run.

Be sure to run PowerTop with root privileges. It takes about 5 seconds to collect data and it then presents its findings for your consideration. The output can be overwhelming for the uninitiated so lets go through it briefly:

The first part represents the C-States. C-States are the operating modes of the CPU and are usually represented in the form of “Cx” where x is a number. The higher this number, the less power will be used by the CPU in that state. So in this first part you will see the amount of time the CPU has been in each of these states.

P-states shows the frequency the processor is currently running on. In its idle state it will be running at the lowest supported frequency.

The next part represents “Wakeups per second” and means how many times the CPU has been woken from an idle state. Of course, the smaller the value of this number, the better your computer is performing in terms of power consumption.

The next part shows the battery information if you are using a laptop or no information if you are on a desktop.

Then it lists the top reasons for wakeups. This is the most interesting part as it shows which of the software is causing the CPU to wake from an idle state and thus consume power. The PowerTop website also offers patches for many software which are reported to be reasons for unnecessary power consumption.

Lastly the program lists some suggestions you can follow to decrease the power consumption of your computer.

So once you have the output and you’ve read it, what should you then do about it? Well a couple of straight forward steps that you can follow:

• Look for the top causes for wakeups and see if you can disable some of them. It may be bluetooth or wi-fi when you don’t need them or something else. If you don’t need them then disable them.
• Check out the most common known reasons for wakeup and how to tackle them.
• Look for software patches on the PowerTop website and apply them (make sure to check versions, as some of them may be outdated). They tend to take care of bugs (or provide workarounds) to code that causes the CPU to wake up constantly.
• Follow the suggestions PowerTop has to offer. You might want to Google the message it gives you if it seems to be a bit too geeky for you. Chances are you will find a step by step guide to achieve the same.
• Read Saikat’s article on conserving battery power. Although not directly related to the analysis method which we just followed, he provides some pretty nifty tips in general that you must check out.

PowerTop not only monitors the power consumption but also provides you with detailed information on how you can minimize the consumption. An indispensable tool for laptop users especially. After tweaking for some days I really got the battery power back up and I am still not convinced I have the perfect setup (working on it).

How do you minimize your laptop’s power consumption? Turning off Wi-Fi or turning down the screen brightness or something else? We would really like to hear about them in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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When walking around with a laptop, you need to constantly watch out for it. Lose your attention for a second and your computer can be gone.

Even more dangerous than getting your laptop stolen, in some cases, is getting your data stolen. A lot of people walk around every day, carrying information that must not be allowed to fall in the wrong hands. Identity theft and any breach of personal privacy are just one side of the problem. Imagine the horror of a big-time CEO when his laptop gets stolen, especially in these economic unstable times.

LaptopLock

LaptopLock, a nifty application, provides a nice and easy back-up plan, both for the relocation of your system after it’s stolen, and for protecting what’s on it.

The application can destroy or encrypt data, or run set actions, after you signal from a remote location. Even when the laptop never connects to the web, the application can trigger these actions after a given time, when the thieves fail to provide the right password.

Installing and Linking LaptopLock

Setting it up is quite easy, though it requires several steps.

For starters, you need an account on the LaptopLock website. Signing up is entirely free, and doesn’t even require activation.

In the online control panel, you can add one or more systems. Simply enter a name for easy identification, and hit the button. That computer will then be added to the database, and linked with a unique Computer ID.

Next, on your laptop, download and install the LaptopLock agent software.
We can now link our laptop to our online account. Upon starting the agent, you’ll be required to enter your Account Email, which you used to sign up, and the Computer ID.

You can choose whether to enter a password for accessing the software. This will also trigger any set actions if the system goes too long without an internet connection, and the user fails to provide the password. However, using this will cut back on the stealth as well, and might warn the thieves into taking additional precautions.

Configuring Security Plans

In the Security tab, you can configure and manage your plan of action. This basically says what needs be done in case of theft.

The available options include the deleting and encrypting of set data, showing a notification to the user – perhaps with a possible reward – or launching an external application.

All encrypted files can be recovered afterwards, in Security – Recovery Options.

Signaling Theft and Tracking

Back in the online control panel, signaling laptop theft is as easy as hitting the button. Your security plan will be carried out as soon as the stolen system connects to the internet.

Check Information shows the last ten locations of your laptop on a map. This probably isn’t as accurate as a GPS, but it will help the police in any investigation.

LaptopLock can help you in case your laptop gets stolen. Got any other tips? Share them below!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Somewhere in the path of iPhone software development, Apple opened its door and invited programmers to create applications for the iPhone. People began to create applications (mostly games) using the accelerometer feature. Users then could control the movements of the game character just by slightly tilting the position of the phone.

There are other Mac products with similar features, but overshadowed by their little siblings’ popularity, the feature is less known by the general public.

Brief history of Accelerometer

Accelerometer technology was first introduced by Apple to its laptop products (iBooks and Powerbooks) around March 2005 – way before iPhone’s first “public appearance” in January 2007. However, the Accelerometer feature on Apple laptops goes under a different name: Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS).

This feature is built to protect the hard drive and all the data inside by automatically locking the hard disk if it detects sudden physical position change – something like “heavily bumped”, “dropped”, ‘thrown”, and such. You get the idea.

Now, every Mac laptop (Macbook, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro) are equipped with the SMS feature. Yet, there are only a few applications developed to utilize this feature. Most are just for fun, some are even completely useless, but there are also SMS-based applications that are actually useful.

Installing The Anti-Theft Alarm

One of the most common problems for mobile gadgets – especially the mouth watering ones like Macbooks – is theft. The mobility makes them an easy target to be stolen. It’s true that the only way you can make sure your gadgets will never be stolen is by never buying them, but as the wise man says, “A little protection is better than no protection at all.”

Speaking of Mac laptops, I found several similar SMS-based applications to help you prevent thievery, such as: JackSMS, iAlertU, Lockdown, and MultiAlarm (abandoned but still useful).

JackSMS was mentioned slightly in the previous Mac article about Proximity, so why don’t we look at it more deeply now.

The first time JackSMS is opened; it will automatically display the Preferences screen. Here users can set several things according to their preferences.

Some of the settings are:

• Whether to launch the app automatically at every login
• Whether to set the sound every time the application is on or off.
• If user uses Apple Remote control, choose which button of the Apple Remote Control to use to activate/deactivate the app.
• Adjust the sensitivity of SMS and the duration of the alarm.

There are some special settings to choose to be implemented when the alarm goes off:

1. Send mobile text. Only applicable for US mobile numbers.

2. Email picture captured by iSight, to help you identify the thief.

Anytime you need to reconfigure, the Preferences is accessible through the menubar icon.

JackSMS also comes with sample AppleScript and PhoneEvents script for Salling Clicker and BluePhoneElite.

This application will be perfect as an automatic anti-theft alarm when paired with the Proximity sensor.

In the next part of “Utilize Your Mac SMS”, we will take a look at some games and fun SMS-based applications.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Over the course of a few months, the life slowly dwindles down more and more until you reach the end. Typically at the end of the warranty, one year, you’re forced to fork out another $100, purchase another battery, and go through the whole process again.

Along with the lack of life of your battery, you get the bonus of the boring and useless Windows battery meter that has been included with Windows. It would be nice to maybe have some additional information, or a more accurate calculation of your remaining battery life.

So again, with every Windows application, there is almost always an alternative and I have come up with a couple Windows laptop battery meter replacements to change the included battery icon.

BatteryBar

BatteryBar is a simple laptop battery meter that resides in your task bar and is constantly monitoring the battery in your laptop. It not only gives you the estimated remaining time, but it is continually tracking historical data, and is able to calculate the amount of wear you are putting on it. The free version includes everything you need, but there is also a Pro version, which adds certain alerts and additional modifications.

Power Meter Plus

If you’d prefer not to eat up any additional real estate on your taskbar, Power Meter Plus might be the other replacement that you’d lean towards. This application sits displayed on your screen, only when your laptop is running off of battery power.

With full power, the power meter sits completely invisible and as the life decreases, the meter becomes more and more prominent. The meter should never get in the way of your work because as you hover your mouse over it, it moves to the left, right, bottom or top of your screen.

When you plug the laptop back in, a message streaks across your screen to let you know that you are running off of A/C again.

If you’re happy with the provided Windows battery meter, then I would bet that you are in the minority because although it does get the job done, it makes it difficult to know exactly when you are about to ‘die’. You usually end up with the inevitable ‘Going to Stand By…’ message.

Try each of these out as a replacement, and I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed. Neither of them eat up a lot of resources and are just another couple more great Windows replacements, in the long line of this category.

Know of any other Windows battery monitoring apps? How accurate do you think these are?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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So what do you choose? The best looking one? The fastest? The most durable? … Which one?

To make it a bit easier MakeUseOf teamed up with Laptopical.com to give you a Laptop Buying Guide for 2009. It’s a quick 20 page guide with an abundance of screenshots and links to video reviews. This guide is intended to help buyers make an informed choice regardless of previous computer knowledge.

Get MakeUseOf Laptop Buying Guide 2009 in PDF format by subscribing to MakeUseOf ‘Cool Websites’ newsletter using the form below (or subscribe to our RSS feed).

The buying guide includes everything from an overview of key laptop perfomance indicators to most popular laptops in early 2009.

Part 2: Introduction: Essential Parts & Choosing The Right Size
Part 3: Most Popular Laptops [Early 2009]

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Modern graphic intensive operating systems and resource hungry applications are cutting down the life of your laptop’s battery every day. The average battery life per continuous use still stands at a maximum of three to four hours. So, a fast depleting battery could very swiftly put the crutches on your ‘mobile’ road trip.

Falling just short of carrying an extra pack of batteries in the back-pack, are several ways to keep the juice flowing through the batteries.

1. Ship shape with a defrag

Regular defragmentation helps to arrange data more efficiently thus making the hard drive work less to access the data. The quicker the moving hard drive works lesser is the load placed on the battery. Thus, your batter can last longer. The effect is minimal, but this efficiency goes hand in glove with hard drive maintenance.

2. Kill the resource gobblers

End the background processes that are not vital. Monitor the resource usage through a ‘Ctrl-Alt-Del’ which brings up the Windows Task Manager (in Windows). If you’re not on the internet, it is safe to shut down the immediate non-essential programs running in the taskbar like the antivirus and the firewall. Weed out unnecessary programs running as start-ups by launching the System Configuration Utility from Run – Msconfig – Tab: Startup. Uncheck the programs which you don’t want to launch and reboot the computer once.

3. Pause the scheduled tasks

It may be a defrag or a virus scan, but make sure it is scheduled for a time when you are near a power outlet. If not then nix them for the moment.

4. Unplug external devices

USB devices are the biggest drainers of battery power. Unplug all external devices like an external mouse, PC cards, Wi-Fi, external speakers, Bluetooth and even an attached iPod.

5. Empty the CD/DVD Drives

Even if you don’t intend to use it, don’t leave any CD/DVDs as leftovers in the drives. A spinning drive sucks battery power like a sponge.

6. Go local

Desist using the DVD/external drives while running on batteries. Shift the content to the hard drive or run using (free) virtual drives like Pismo File Mount or even Microsoft’s Virtual CD ROM Control Panel.

7. Lower the lights

The LCD screen of a laptop is another huge power sink. Calibrate the brightness to the lowest level you can tolerate using the Function key toggles or using the Display Settings applet in the Control Panel.

8. Kill the sounds

Mute the speakers and try avoiding the use of multimedia software to maximize the battery life. Installed sound schemes also drain a battery perceptibly.

9. Rid the screensaver

To maximize battery life by a little, switch off the screensaver.

10. Visit Power Options

Get familiar with power management through the ‘Power Options’ applet in the Control Panel. Both XP and Vista come with advanced power management features which shut off components like the monitor and/or the hard drive after specified intervals. This again depends on the chosen ‘Power Schemes’ (for XP) in the same applet. For instance in XP, ‘Max Battery’ under Power Schemes can be selected for maximum battery optimization.

Similar settings can be found under ‘Mobile PC’ in the Control Panel of Vista.

11. Turn off the looks

Today’s OS’s like Windows Vista come with features like ‘Aero Glass’ which are resource guzzlers. One can turn it off and go for the ‘Classic’ appearance which consumes less power. In Vista, click on Desktop – Preferences – View Colour – Appearance – Classic Appearance and Windows Basic graphical interface. In XP it’s – Display Properties – Theme – Windows Classic.

Linux and even Macintosh are better optimized for longer battery life.

12. Hibernate is better than Sleep

In the Stand By mode (or sleep mode), the computer turns of the hard drive and the display but memory remains active while the CPU slows down. This draws on the battery. In contrast, hibernation mode is better because the computer saves the current state and shuts itself down completely thus saving power.

13. Get the most…work on the least

Working on too many programs while on the battery is a sure fire power drainer. Keep use of graphic intensive applications to a minimum. Working on a spreadsheet consumes much less than playing your favourite game. To increase the life of the battery open just one or two programs concurrently.

14. Ram in more RAM

Adequate RAM reduces the load on Virtual memory which by default resides on the hard drive. Though every extra bit of RAM uses up more power, it increases overall savings by short cutting access to the power hungry hard drive.

15. Keep it clean

A laptop with blocked air vents will generate more heat thus reducing the life of the battery. Clean the air vents regularly to keep operating temperatures low. Allow for open space around the vents for air to circulate freely. Keep the area around the laptop clean to avoid entry of dust.

16. Temperature is a silent killer

Undue heat kills off a battery slowly but surely. Avoid leaving the laptop under direct sunlight or inside a closed car.

17. Avoid the memory effect

A problem more for the older Ni-MH batteries than for Li-Ion batteries on which most modern laptops run. Memory effect relates to the loss of battery charge when they are repeatedly recharged after being only partially discharged. It can be prevented by discharging the battery fully and then completely recharging it. Li-Ion batteries on the other hand have no problems with partial discharges and re-charges and complete discharge is never recommended for this type.

18. Update software and drivers

This sounds a bit incongruous but then newer drivers and software are often designed to be more efficient (and hopefully less resource hungry).

19. Use the right adapter

Ensure that the adapter you use to charge the laptop battery is an original one or one with the correct specifications. A mismatch in the wattage could cause an overload thus damaging the laptop and the battery.

20. Pack it up

If you don’t plan to use the laptop on batteries for quite some time, ensure that the charge is nearly 40 percent – remove the batteries and store it in a cool place.

A typical lithium ion battery has an overall average life of 2-3 years. With some care and caution, its mortality can be delayed.

Have you found your own way to increase battery life of your laptop? Share the ‘life giving’ tips with us in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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It is indeed a much better solution and can be a lot of fun for everyone. So I will explain everything you need to do in order to connect your laptop or PC to your television.

There are a variety of different ways you can connect your computer to your TV. All will involve the use of different types of cables. Which cable you use will depend on a couple of different factors:

1. What type of connections your laptop/PC has
2. What type of connections your television has

The following is a list of the different types of cables/connections you will have to choose from with picture quality ranging from highest to lowest:

1. HDMI
2. DVI
3. VGA
4. S-Video
5. Composite/RCA

1. “High Definition Multimedia Interface” or HDMI is the highest quality connection now. All HDTVs will have this connection though chances are your laptop or computer will not. If you do happen to have an HDMI connection on your computer then by all means, use this connection. If you do not have HDMI on your computer you can use an adapter to convert HDMI to DVI.

2. DVI stands for “Digital Video Interface” and has pretty much been the standard for connecting computer monitors since about 2003. Your computer will most likely have this connection. HDTVs should also have this connection. If you wish to use audio with a DVI connection you must use a seperate audio cable. A cable from phones output connected to red and white audio in on your TV will work great!

3. VGA or “Video Graphics Array” connections are the most common video connections found on laptops and PC’s. HDTVs may have a VGA connection which means you simply need to connect the cable between your computer and televsion. However, older televisions will not have a VGA connection and will require a PC to television converter. There are USB converters that allow you to use this method. Just like DVI, VGA does not carry a audio signal. Just use the same method from above for connecting audio from your phones output.

4. S-Video or “Super Video” has been around for quite some time now. Some laptops and computer graphics cards will have a S-Video connection. Most televisions will also have a S-Video connection. This isn’t the best quality connection but its also not the lowest quality. S-video has the same audio limitation as the above two examples. Again, just use your phones output and a phones to RCA cable or adapter.

5. Composite connections, sometimes referred to as RCA connections, are the yellow, red, and white connections that most people will be familiar with. Red is right analog audio, and white is left analog audio. Yellow is composite video. This will be the lowest quality connection to use. If your computer has no RCA connections, you can use an RCA to S-Video cable.

Connecting your laptop or PC to your television is pretty simple. Just check both your computer and television to find out what connections they have in common. If by some chance you have no connections matching up, you can always buy adapters to make your connection types match.

Once you’ve passed the stage of physically connecting your computer to your television you’ll have to select the correct input on your TV. Just like when using your DVD player, select the input that your computer is connected to using your remote. This input might be called something like AV1 or AV2.  You should see this on the television screen.

If your picture seems distorted, play around with the pixel settings on your TV or change the resolution. New HDTVs will have a few different resolution settings.  Older TVs may only have one resolution setting.  In this case, adjust your computer resolution until the picture looks good.

Following the steps above will have you sharing media on your TV in no time. There’s nothing better than a 50″ plasma picture frame in the middle of your living room.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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