But what if money wasn’t an obstacle? What would you buy then? You’d probably consider laptops that never even popped on your radar before – like the five listed here.

Sony Vaio Z

The Sony Vaio Z has always been the company’s super-high-end ultraportable. It’s basically a “halo product” that shows what Sony’s engineers are capable of when they’re given a large budget to work with.

At first glance, the hardware specs don’t seem that impressive. The Sony Vaio Z comes standard with a Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid state drive. All of that can be had for a fraction of the price. What makes the Z expensive is the fact all of this has been crammed into a chassis .66 inches thick that weighs just 2.57 pounds. And Sony did this before Intel started making a big deal about ultrabooks.

Pricing starts at $1,999, but if that isn’t expensive enough for you, Sony offers the Signature Collection. These usually offer unique styling and always offer insane hardware. One model, priced at $4,499, upgrades the Z to a 1080p display, a Core i7 dual core processor and a 512GB solid state drive.

Lenovo ThinkPad T420s

You don’t hear much coming from Lenovo about the ThinkPad T series these days. The company has been working on a lot of other new models which have taken the limelight away from this stalwart of the company’s lineup.

That’s a shame, because there’s still good laptops in the T series – and some expensive ones. The T420s, which is a thin-and-light version of the standard T420, starts at $1,149. For that you receive a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB mechanical hard drive.

But if you can spend as much as you’d like, that’s not the one you want. No, you want the T420s with the solid state drive, the Core i7 dual core processor and an optional extended life battery that can fit into the slot normally occupied by the removable optical drive. Configured like this you’re looking at a lofty $1,959 price tag – and it’s worth every penny.

Alienware M18X

When it comes to customized gaming laptops, it’s hard to beat Alienware. And when it comes to Alienware, it’s hard to beat the M18x. This is the company’s fastest, biggest and most expensive laptop.

In base guise, it’s only $1,999. You’ll want the fully upgraded model, however, that starts at $3,299 and includes dual graphics. But why stop there?

Load the M18x with an Intel Extreme Edition quad-core processor. Upgrade the dual video cards to a pair of Nvidia GTX 580Ms. Improve the solid state drive to a 512GB monster. Now you’re looking at one of the most powerful laptops ever sold, along with a price tag of $4,974.

If you’d like to tip the system over $5,000, just for kicks, pick the dual layer Blu-Ray drive.

Panasonic Toughbook C1

What? Panasonic makes laptops?

Yes, they do. But you won’t usually see them in stores because they’re not built for the average consumer. Panasonic calls its laptops Toughbooks, and they’re specifically geared for users who need a laptop that can survive extreme environments.

The C1 is the company’s most accessible model, and one of the few a consumer could potentially find a use for. It’s a 12.1” convertible tablet weighs 3.28 pounds. Most models are powered by Core i5 processors and an optional solid state drive.

Specifications aren’t what this laptop is about, however. It’s about features like hot-swappable twin battery design. It’s about resistance to falls up to 30 feet. It’s about the weird but effective ergonomic strap that can be attached to the bottom, making the laptop easier to hold with one hand.

Price? It can vary a bit because Panasonic does not sell laptops directly but instead relies on third-party resellers. Typically you’ll have to pay $2,500 for a base model and over $3,000 for one with all the goodies.

Dell Precision M6600

Deciding which mobile workstation would make this list was a tough call. They’re all expensive, they’re all nice, and they’re all way more than your average person would ever need.

Ultimately, I decided on the M6600. Why? Three hard drives. If you have money to burn you can buy a Dell Precision M6600 with 1.5 terabytes of solid state storage. That will set you back $3,670 for the drives alone.

The other options are nothing to laugh at. Dell’s UltraSharp 1080p mobile displays are available, and they’re beautiful. You can also pick Nvidia Quadro 5010M graphics and quad-core Intel Extreme Edition processors. It’s not hard to price a M6600 over ten grand if you want all the goodies.

Conclusion

This list isn’t about expense just for the sake of it. It is about dream machines – computers that are absurdly powerful, rugged, beautiful or all three, but also priced well outside the average person’s budget. If you have a suggestion that you think would fit this list, let us know in the comments.

To support my arguments and recommendations made at the end of this article, I have to provide some background information. So let’s start with the basics…

How Does A Laptop Battery Work?

The type of battery found in laptops today is called Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion). In this type of battery, lithium ions are loosely embedded (intercalated) in the porous carbon of the anode (negative electrode). When the battery is used, the ions flow from the anode to the cathode (positive electrode) through the electrolyte and the separator. This process releases energy and results in a discharge of the battery. When charging, energy is applied to make the ions move in the opposite direction. A charge thus forces them to return to the anode.

How Do Lithium-Ion Batteries Age?

Theoretically, this process can go back and forth forever. Practically, however, the lifetime of a battery is limited. What happens is that ions get trapped and are no longer available to flow from the anode to the cathode. In other words, the battery loses capacity over time. In fact, Li-Ion batteries start aging the moment they are produced.

What Causes Lithium-Ion Batteries to Age?

Several things:

1. High voltage and Overcharge
   Laptops typically have a charge threshold, which prevents overcharging and high voltage. However, constantly keeping the battery at a full charge also is a stress factor that contributes to aging.
2. Heat
   Room temperature (21°C / 70°F) or higher temperatures promote chemical reactions, ultimately causing Li-Ion batteries to lose capacity.
3. Low Temperatures
   Temperatures below 0°C (32°F) can damage materials inside the battery.
4. Prolonged Storage
   Li-Ion batteries self-discharge at a rate of approximately 8% per month at 21°C (70°F). This increases with higher temperatures. When stored over long periods of time, the battery can reach a state of deep discharge (charge below 20%).
5. Physical Shocks
   Batteries can break.

To Remove or Not To Remove

As indicated in the introduction, the answer is: yes, remove the battery to extend its lifetime!

When you continuously run your laptop on a reliable AC power source, you should definitely remove your battery. Firstly, the battery will not be exposed to heat from your laptop. Secondly, there is not even a remote chance that it will be overcharged or exposed to high voltage. Hence, removing the battery eliminates the two main causes for battery aging.

When I say remove, I don’t mean that you should simply take out the battery. Please turn off your laptop, remove the battery, and then boot your laptop. For safety reasons, please do not remove the battery while your laptop is running.

What Should I Do To Increase My Battery Lifetime?

You can do multiple things. I wrote an entire article on this topic (link above). Below you will find a summary.

Proper treatment of a Li-Ion battery:

• never discharge battery below 20%
• always partially discharge, then recharge
• cycle* battery every few weeks or after 30 partial dis/charges
• charge at lower voltage (if possible)
• never leave charged battery in laptop when running on AC power

* Cycle means that you discharge the battery to around 20% and then recharge it fully. Going below 20% equals a deep discharge, something you will want to avoid.

Preparing a Li-ion battery for storage:

• charge battery to 40-50%
• remove from laptop
• put into an air-tight zip-lock bag
• store in fridge at 4-8°C
• re-charge to 40-50% every few weeks

When storing your battery, take note how fast it self-discharges and make sure it never goes below 20%.

For times when you have to run your laptop on battery, you should have a look at this article: 20 Ways To Increase Laptop’s Battery Life

What are your experiences with laptop batteries? Do you go through all the hoops to extend the lifetime of your battery?

Image Credits:MedusArt, Pavel Ignatov, D.R.3D, Andresr

While it’s important to address potential damage immediately, for example by changing passwords stored on the computer or securing your backups, there are also steps you can take to potentially get your stolen laptop back. The effort you put into trying to retrieve your laptop in case of theft, depends on how valuable the laptop and the data stored on it are to you.

Contact the Police

Let’s be clear, the police won’t go out hunting for your laptop. However, when you file a report, depending on where you live the hardware information will be entered into a national database. And with that there is a slim chance that your laptop will be retrieved, since this database is typically checked by pawn shops and other dealers of used hardware.

More importantly, the police should be able to help you with the steps listed below, for example by telling you where to search for your laptop, which people to contact, and how to go about in general.

Inform Local Dealers, Repair and Pawn Shops

Contact any local shops that deal with used hardware, including repair and pawn shops. Give them a good description of identifiable physical features of your laptop, for example scratches, worn paint, cracks, or custom addons, such as engravings, stickers, or paint jobs. If possible, also give them your laptop’s serial number.

Contact Your Insurance

If you cannot retrieve your laptop, you may at least be able to minimize the financial damage. Check your insurance policies whether any of them covers stolen computer hardware. This includes your household belongings, homeowners, automobile, or company insurance, depending on where the laptop was stolen from. Get in touch with the respective insurance agent to file a claim. This is where you will probably need the police report.

Spread the Word

Post the news that your laptop was lost or stolen on your online social networks and add a photo of the device if you have one. Think of other local online markets where the thief could try to sell the laptop, for example Craigslist, kjiji, eBay classifieds, Blocket (Sweden) etc. and post notices there. You can also post a WANTED poster around where you live or advertise in the local newspaper. Offer a reward that equals the value the laptop and the data has for you or if that’s too much, offer what you can afford.

Keep an Eye On Potential Sales Markets

With the above actions you have done all you can to alert people around you. Now you have to put in your share of searching for the laptop. Screen online markets commonly used in your area, for example Craigslist or eBay. Check the classifieds of local papers and local bulletin boards. If you see your laptop turn up anywhere, put the police on the case or at least ask what they recommend you to do.

Have you ever had a laptop stolen and were you able to retrieve it? What helped you in tracking it down or finding the thief? Please share your experience with us!

Image Credits: Serg Zastavkin, Palto, alexskopje, lavitrei

The great risk that comes with all portable devices is theft. Not only do you risk losing an expensive piece of hardware, a stolen laptop also contains private and potentially confidential data, for example photos, personal data, work emails, and passwords. In this article I have summarized ways how you can protect your laptop from getting stolen or how to prepare it for a case of theft.

Use Locks for Laptop Theft Protection

The first line of defense to prevent unsolicited access to your data is a lock. You are probably reminded of the Kensington Security Slot and Lock and that is indeed something I recommend you to use. However, there are several other ways to lock your laptop, for example using a USB flash drive and software. These locks can trigger an alarm when someone tries to break them, for example by removing the flash drive or by entering a wrong password.

We have covered several such tools in depth. I recommend consulting the following articles:

• LAlarm Laptop Makes Your Laptop Scream When Stolen
• Protect And Track Your Laptop In Case Of Theft with LaptopLock
• How To Set Up An Anti-Theft Alarm On Your Mac Laptop

The setup procedure for Predator, another tool you can use to lock your PC, is described in The Office Worker’s Guide to a USB Thumb Drive.

Password Protect All User Accounts

The second line of defense are passwords. Whether you’re running Windows, Linux, or OS X, create a password for your user account. Also make sure there are no hidden accounts that remain unprotected, for example the Administrator account on Windows. The following article explains which passwords you need and it will refer you to further material on how to create safe passwords: 3 Default Passwords You Must Change & Why

I realize it is very convenient to store passwords on your laptop and enable the auto login for desktop clients and online accounts. However, I recommend not to store passwords for any accounts that hold sensitive or confidential information, such as bank or email accounts. I also recommend you to use a password-protected password manager to help you mange safe passwords. We have covered the following on MakeUseOf:

• 4 Open Source Password Managers To Keep Your Passwords Safe
• Password Manager Battle Royale: Who Will End Up On Top?
• KeePassX – Secure Password Management For Linux & OS X
• Securely Synchronize Your Browser Passwords With LastPass

Encrypt Sensitive Data

User account passwords are easy to crack. In fact, it’s not even necessary to crack them. Someone who has physical access to your laptop can just remove the hard drive and read it externally from another computer. Any data stored on your hard drive is easily accessible, regardless of how strong your user password is. Hence, your best bet is to encrypt data stored on your laptop.

For Windows users I recommend TrueCrypt, a free, open source, and easy to use disk encryption software. Also have a look at the following tools:

• Sync, Backup & Encrypt Your Files With Toucan [Windows & Linux with Wine]
• How To Secure & Encrypt Your Information If Your Laptop Gets Stolen [Mac]

Backup Your Data

Yes, I keep telling you this and it’s a mantra worthwhile. Whether or not your laptop gets stolen or your hard drive breaks, it will give you peace of mind. And if the worst happens, it will save you a lot of trouble.

To learn more about backing up your Windows 7 data, I recommend reading the PDF guide Stuff Happens: The Backup & Restore Guide.

Install Applications to Track Down Your Laptop

Despite all protection in form of locks, passwords, encryption, and backed up data, your laptop can get stolen. Even if all you are losing is a piece of hardware, wouldn’t it be great if you could track it down and get it back? To make this possible, you need to prepare your laptop beforehand by installing tools to access the device once the thief uses it to go online.

The following articles will walk you through the process for the respective applications:

• Track Down and Recover Your Stolen Laptop with Prey
• Use LocatePC to Secure and Find Stolen PC for Free

And here are two more tools listed in our Directory:

• LockitTight: Helps to Locate Your Stolen Laptop
• FireFound: Locate Your Stolen Computer (Firefox only)

Customize Your Laptop Data and Record Information

Another way of protecting your laptop from accidental removal or theft, is to customize it. Add stickers to the backside of the screen, engrave your laptop, or get a custom paint job. This will make it unique enough to avoid an accidental mix-up and it might also make it difficult to sell and thus less likely to be stolen.

In addition, take photos of your laptop, record any identifiable features, including damage, and note down the serial number. In case your laptop does get stolen, this information can be very valuable in retrieving it.

In a follow-up article due to be published tomorrow, I will share what you can do in case your laptop does get stolen.

Have you ever had a laptop stolen and did you use any of the tracking apps recommended above? Was the police of any help?

Image Credits: bodhihillillustration, Sven Hoppe, Vladru, mmaxer, Matthias Pahl, igorlale

Now, a new category is being added, courtesy of Intel. It’s the ultrabook, and it will be coming to a store near you before the holidays are over. So what is ultrabook, and what does it offer that existing laptops don’t?

Intel Leads The Charge

When new products come to consumers, they’re sometimes the result of the initiative of a single company, which is then copied by others. Other times however, there is a puppet master behind the scenes. The puppet master here is Intel.

Unlike a netbook, which has never had an official specification, the ultrabook is a set of specifications set down by Intel. If it doesn’t meet Intel’s criteria, it’s not an ultrabook. We don’t know the precise details yet, but some details have been made public. I suspect that any further specifications will be minor additions, and won’t impact current expectations of the platform.

• Laptops with 13 inch displays can be no thicker than 18mm (~.71 inch). Laptops with larger displays can be no thicker than (~.82 inch).
• Battery life must be at least five hours for starters. This increases to a goal of 10 hours by 2013, with 10 days of standby time.
• Wi-Fi connectivity must be standard.
• Intel Rapid Start must be used. This is a proprietary Intel technology that uses flash memory embedded in an Intel chipset to improve boot times.
• Introductory prices should be near $999 or less, although this more of a goal than a requirement.

Other information may pop up, but these points cover the basics of what Intel wants from this new category device. It needs to be small (and hopefully light, as well). It needs solid battery life. And it needs to boot or resume quickly.

While this will be a class different from most of what’s currently on the market, it’s also not a revolutionary change. They are still laptops, with displays and keyboards like any other. Multi-touch displays are not a part of the specification. Even 3G wireless is optional.

Oh, and in case you were wondering – no, AMD can’t build ultrabooks. The company doesn’t have access to the proprietary Intel technology required, such as Intel Rapid Start.

Mimicking Tablets

The traits that Intel is shooting for should sound familiar, because they’re traits already possessed by tablets.

While the word tablet hasn’t been used frequently in official discussions about the ultrabook, I think it’s fair to say that the platform is Intel’s response. While it would be a bit absurd to claim that tablets are about to make laptops extinct, they do represent a potential threat. Compared to laptops they are thinner, have better battery life, and are readily available for use at any time.

Ultrabooks address these points, creating a product that is more like a tablet but also retains the advantages of a laptop, those being a larger display, faster hardware, and a better interface for text input. The trade-off for all of this extra stuff is, well, a higher price. Even if the goal of $999 is met quickly, it’ll still be far higher than your typical tablet.

Conclusion: Big Money Doesn’t Mean Big Success

You may be thinking that, with a company like Intel behind it, the ultrabook will be a hit. Next year will be swimming in Windows-based MacBook Air lookalikes, and in stark contrast to the MSI X340, they’ll actually be nice laptops.

But not so fast. Intel has tried pushing formats before, and it hasn’t always worked out. Perhaps the best example is BTX, a desktop PC form factor that was supposed to replace ATX. In comparison to its predecessor, it had a layout that allowed for more efficient cooling, yet it never caught on and now is essentially dead.

All indications are that ultrabooks will be competing in a premium market of products priced at about a grand or more, and that’s a market Apple has traditionally dominated. None of the PC manufacturers have shown themselves capable of consistently delivering the quality consumers expect for that much dough. This could stop these new laptops before they have a chance to shine, but we won’t know for sure until they go on sale this holiday season.

Image Credit: PC World, CNET

In this article I will introduce you to a selection of programs for laptops that address these hardware limitations. The tools in this list will make working with your laptop keyboard and touchpad more convenient and increase battery lifetime. And just in case someone takes advantage of its portability, you better had a tool installed that allows you to track your laptop.

TouchFreeze

One of the greatest annoyances on a laptop can be the touchpad. The most common issue is that the cursor is accidentally triggered and jumps to a random place while you are typing and gently brushing over the touchpad with your hands. This is especially common for people who touch type. TouchFreeze helps solve the issue by automatically disabling the touchpad while the keyboard is in use.

Unfortunately, it does not work on all hardware.

AutoSensitivity

Another tool that tries to deal with the touchpad dilemma is AutoSensitivity. The tool can be used to control the sensitivity of the touchpad and the mouse. A lower sensitivity basically means that the cursor will be less responsive or slower.

Unfortunately, my hardware doesn’t seem to allow separate settings for touchpad and mouse sensitivity and hence the tool did not work as expected. Note that AutoSensitivity requires .NET Framework 3.5 or 4.0.

Two-Finger-Scroll

Touchpads that only support the use of a single finger are utterly limited. Yet the hardware often is capable of interpreting the touch of two or even three fingers at once. This is where Two-Finger-Scroll comes in and taps into the unused potential of your touchpad.

It doesn’t exactly enable multi-touch features known from iOS or Android devices. However, it does enable some familiar behaviors. For example you will be able to scroll up and down when you swipe over the touchpad using two fingers, while using one finger will only move the cursor.

It also supports different behaviors for tapping the touchpad. For example you can assign tapping with two fingers to activating the left and tapping with three fingers to activating the right mouse button. ‘One + one‘ or ‘two + one‘ means that you rest one or two fingers on the touchpad and tap with a second or third finger, respectively.

Whether or not these features will work for you depends on your touchpad. Unlike some of the other tools above, they worked perfectly for me, although it does take some practice to get the tapping just right.

Two-Finger-Scroll received thorough coverage here - How To Easily Activate Two Finger Scroll In Windows Laptops

SharpKeys

Laptops are small and so are their keyboards, hence the transition from a full-sized keyboard can be hard. Moreover, some functions require hitting several keys, which can be inconvenient. At the same time, there may be keys available that you never use.

If you want to put some of your unused keys to good use, try SharpKeys, an application that allows you to remap your keys by tweaking the registry. Apart from remapping keys, you can also turn keys off, i.e. disable them.

SharpKeys was featured on MakeUseOf along with two similar tools in this article: Remap Keyboard Keys with These 3 Free Apps [Windows].

Aerofoil

Aerofoil tackles the limited energy resources when your laptop is running on battery power. Once you disconnect from A/C power, Aerofoil will step in and optimize your Windows Vista or Windows 7 system for saving power. It does that by disabling Windows features like Aero Glass, muting the sound, or switching to a different Windows power plan.

Some sources claim that Aerofoil can extend your battery life by up to 25%. The tool runs on minimal system resources and all features are optional. Aerofoil is available for Windows Vista and Windows 7 in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Note that if you get an error message saying msvcp100.dll is missing, you may need a Windows update. Details are listed on the download page for Aerofoil, below the download links for the tool itself.

Prey

Do you often work in public places and are you worried that your laptop might get stolen? Prey won’t protect your laptop from thieves, but if it ever does get taken away from you, you can use the software to keep track of its location and possibly get it back.

For a comprehensive introduction to Prey, check out this article - Track Down and Recover Your Stolen Laptop with Prey.

You may also be interested in similar tools, that we have covered in the following articles and Directory entries :

• Protect And Track Your Laptop In Case Of Theft
• Use LocatePC to Secure and Find Stolen PC for Free
• LockitTight: Helps to Locate Your Stolen Laptop
• ihoundSoftware: Find Lost Gadgets and Cell Phones

For more great applications specifically for your netbook, please check out these articles:

• The 7 Best Powerful Netbook Applications That Don’t Chug System Resources
• 5 Killer Optimization Apps To Maximize Your Netbook’s Potential
• Netbook Reader: Turn Your Computer Into A Library

What are your best tips and tricks for working with a laptop or netbook? Are there any gems you would like to share with us?

Image credits: Yuri Arcurs

I’d like to be able to say that this new product line is easy to understand, but as is often the case with technology, it’s not. There are several different types of Fusion APUs available, and each has a difference balance of performance, price and efficiency.

Fusion In A Small Package – The C & E-Series

At the bottom of the entire AMD Fusion line you’ll find the C-Series, which consists of just two different APUs. In some odd positioning, the less expensive C-30 has a clock speed of 1.2 GHz while the more expensive C-50 ships at just 1 GHz. The catch? The C-50 has two cores.

The E-Series is more conventional. It again consists of just two parts, but the E-240’s clock speed of 1.5 GHz slots below the E-350’s speed of 1.6 GHz. Again, the part with the higher number offers two cores.

If you’re looking for easy product differentiation baked into AMD’s naming scheme, you’re going to be disappointed. There isn’t any. Both the C and E-Series parts are built on the same micro-architecture and have the same integrated GPU. The only difference is clock speeds. In addition to the lower CPU clock on the C series, the graphics solution is limited to just a hair over 275 MHz, while the E series clocks as high as 500 MHz.

AMD must be hoping that, with only two processors in each series, consumers won’t have cause for confusion. While I think they’re correct, I hope they don’t intend to release many additional options for each line.

The Latest & Greatest – AMD’s Fusion A-Series

While the original Fusion C and E Series parts have been around for months, they’re low-end processors, and not well suited for laptops selling over $500.  Those looking for a powerful processor are better off considering the new AMD Fusion A-Series.

There are more parts in the A-Series, but AMD has implemented a naming scheme that makes the list of processors somewhat easier to understand. The line is split into three different groups: A4, A6, and A8.

Among these, the A4 stands out the most. It is the only group that is made up of dual-core processors, and this also means that the clock speeds are high despite the budget focus. Even the basic A4-3300M has a base clock of 1.9 GHz, which matches that of the quickest A8.  Graphics power comes courtesy of 240 Radeon cores clocked at 444 MHz.

Both the A6 and A8 parts are quad-core, and there isn’t a clear difference between them in clock speeds. Instead, the difference between these parts is the integrated graphics. The A8 offers 400 Radeon cores clocked at 444 MHz, while the A6 offers just 320 Radeon cores at 400 MHz.

While this processor list isn’t as precise as Intel’s, the jist is clear. The higher the number behind the A, the better the graphics. Processor clock speeds and core counts, however, are not apparent in the processor’s name.

AMD for some reason decided to add the “MX” suffix to some of its A-Series processors. This is applied to the fastest A4, A6 and A8 options, but otherwise doesn’t indicate anything special about the processor.

Conclusion

While describing Intel’s processor list wasn’t easy, AMD has created a labyrinth of letters and numbers that don’t have little relation to the components they represent.

Fortunately, there are not as many parts to remember, so understanding AMD’s products isn’t as difficult as it could be. For now, at least. But if AMD continues to release parts into these same brands without clarifying the naming system used, consumers will not be at fault for their confusion.