Computer Technology And Gadgets

Thursday, 7 January 2010

Apple Macbook MC207LL-A Vs Asus UL30A-X5 13.3-Inch Laptop

Specifications: These laptops are two of my favorite laptop model for the past year. The Apple MacBook MC207LL/A is a full-featured 13.3-inch laptop while the Asus UL30A-X5 is a sleek ultra-thin model. Both these models have very strong selling points and I would definitely have a very hard time if I had to choose to buy either one. The Apple model has a 2.26Ghz processor, 2GB of DDR3 Ram and 250GB for storage. The Asus model on the other hand comes with a 1.3Ghz processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 500GB of storage. Although the Apple laptop has a more powerful processor, the ample storage and RAM on the Asus model more than makes up for it. If you don't perform a lot of heavy computing tasks on your laptop (such as running heavy applications), the specs on the Asus machine would prove to be more than sufficient.
Design: The Apple MacBook MC207LL/A is full-sized laptop, weighing in at 4.7 pounds. The Asus UL30A-X5 is just 0.98-inches in thickness and is much more portable at just 3.74 pounds. The Apple MacBook sports an all-white uni-body polycarbonate external casing while the UL30A-X5 has a beautiful brushed-metal casing. It is of no doubt that the Asus model is the more portable machine but in terms of aesthetics, these two models are some of the most stylish laptops in the market.
Features & Performance: Considering the ample RAM on the Asus UL30A-X5, it is designed for heavy multitasking. The average user will find this model to be more than enough for running everyday computing tasks. The Apple MacBook MC207LL/A is more suited for handling moderate to heavy PC tasks. The DVD drive would also prove to be useful (not found on the Asus model). The battery on the MC207LL/A can last 7 hours on a single charge while the battery on the UL30A-X5 can last up am impressive 12 hours on one full charge. All in all, both models prove to be excellent 13.3-inch laptops depending on your personal preferences and computing needs. At the moment, the Apple MacBook MC207LL/A is price at around $954 each while the Asus UL30A-X5 is priced at around $691.

Gateway's New LT21 Netbook Promises 10 Hours of Battery Life

Today Gateway introduces their new LT21 Series netbook, which offers up to 10 hours of battery life thanks to the new Intel Pineview N450 Atom processor. The Gateway LT21 netbook models with the 6-cell Lithium-ion Extended battery (5600mAh) are the ones that promise to deliver double-digit battery life, and when combined with an 802.11N Wi-Fi wireless connection should help boost productivty as well.
Additional Gateway LT21 models are available with the standard 6-cell Li-Ion battery (4400mAh) and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and provide up to eight hours of battery life. The new design of the LT21 is sleeker and more modern looking than previous Gateway ultraportables. Weighing only 2.76 pounds and measuring only about an inch thin, the Gateway LT21 netbook is easy to carry by hand or in a book bag or purse, so customers will have it handy to connect to the Internet, stay in touch, and access social networks like Facebook and YouTube.
The new design of the Gateway LT21 netbook features a 10.1-inch LED-backlit TFT display that delivers a 22.2 percent power savings compared to traditional netbook displays. The 10.1-inch widescreen display has a 1024x600 resolution. The keybaord is a new larger model that is 93 percent of the size of a full-sized keyboard. Also, the 6-cell-batteries were designed to prop the netbook up slightly for a more convenient typing experience.
The LT21 also features a multi-gesture touchpad, 1GB of memory and either 160GB or 250GB of hard drive space. If connectivity is your concern then you'll be happy to know the LT21 has three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet and VGA as well as a multi-in-one digital card reader.
Gateway LT2118u Specifications:
* Intel Atom Processor N450 (1.66GHz, 667MHz FSB, 512KB L2 Cache)
* Windows 7 Starter
* 10.1-inch WSVGA 16:9 ratio TFT LCD (1024x600 resolution)
* Mobile Intel NM10 Express Chipset
* 1GB DDR2 667MHz SDRAM
* 250GB SATA 5400RPM Hard Drive
* Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
* Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
* 802.11b/g/N Wi-Fi
* Built-in Web Camera
* Multi-Gesture Touchpad
* Two Built-in Stereo Speakers
* Dolby Headphone Technology
* Digital Microphone
* Three USB 2.0 Ports
* 6-cell (5600mAH) Extended Li-ion Battery
* Chassis: Cherry Red
* Energy Star
* One-Year Standard Warranty
* 2.62 lbs.
* 10.17 (w) x 7.28 (D) x 0.99 inches (H)
* MSRP: $349.99
Available in Cherry Red, NightSky Black and Glacier White, the Gateway LT21 Series netbook line has a subtle wave pattern in the lid of the chassisl. Models are available with either Windows 7 Starter or Genuine Windows XP Home.
The new Gateway LT21 Series will be available later this month at many retailers in several configurations at a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $299.99 for the entry-level configuration.

Acer Laptop - Acer Aspire Timeline AS4810TZ-4508

The 14-inch Acer Aspire Timeline laptop is thin and very light weight. Many of it's owners have said that this laptop offers you a great performance to money ratio. Others have said that it's very stylish and is highly recommended. But what does this laptop have for you.
Why You should own the Acer Aspire Timeline...
• Compact size - The Timeline weighs just 4.2lbs. and is 1'' thick
• Battery life - Acer says you can get 8-hours out of the 6-cell lithium ion battery and they didn't lie. You will be able to get all day use with the Timeline
• Lots of fast memory - Coming with 4GB of super-fast DDR3 memory, multi-tasking will be no big deal with this laptop
• Great HD screen - Available for your viewing pleasure on the Timeline is a 14" HD widescreen LED-backlit Display, which is great for watching your movies.
• Case design - You'll fall in love with the alumnimum case, once you see it you'll never want to go back to a plastic laptop again.
• Processing power - Are you going to use your new Acer laptop for work? No problem How about media? No problem with the Intel dual core processor can handle anything that you will ever want to do with your new Acer laptop
• Wireless card - You'll be able to go anywhere that has a wi-fi connection like your local coffee shop or library and use the Internet with the wireless card on this system.
• Price to performance - The Acer Aspire Timeline is only $646.99 and I say only because for the amount of stuff you get with this laptop this is a great bargain for you.
If your ready to get this deal before it's gone you can pick this laptop up at Amazon.com for the price of $646.99 which is below retail.

Plymouth man sues HP over laptop battery fire

For John Norrie, the recall of his HP Pavilion notebook computer came too late.
The laptop allegedly overheated, causing a fire that ripped through Norrie's Plymouth home in November 2006 while he was sleeping. The house was destroyed and Norrie suffered serious injuries in the process of escaping.
His lawyers have now filed a civil lawsuit against laptop-maker Hewlett-Packard and are seeking more than $225,000 in damages. The suit, first filed in Plymouth County Superior Court, was transferred to US District Court yesterday.
According to court papers, the laptop -- a gift Norrie received six months before the fire -- was defective. "Hewlett-Packard Company was negligent with respect to its manufacture, sale, instructors, and/or distribution of the subject laptop which was defective or was otherwise unfit for use by consumers," the suit says.
Norrie could not be reached today and his lawyer, Francis J. Lynch III, did not return phone calls.
Boston attorney Christopher G. Betke, who is representing Hewlett-Packard in the case, also did not return calls.
Since 2005, Hewlett-Packard has announced recalls of its lithium-ion batteries four times in conjunction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory authorities. Customers affected by the recalls were able to receive replacement laptop batteries at no cost.
In recent years, other computer makers, including Dell and Compaq, have also recalled millions of lithium-ion batteries because they were prone to overheating and posed a fire hazard. In 2006, Apple Inc. recalled 1.8 million battery packs because of the same issue.
The problems with computer batteries have led to several deaths. For instance, a 56-year-old Vancouver man in was killed last August when his Hewlett-Packard laptop burst into flames on a couch. The death prompted a warning by Canadian government officials that the devices should not be left on soft furniture because the material can block air vents and cause overheating.
Others have said laptop battery overheating may be due to internal problems with computers, not where the devices are placed. Last fall, Reuters reported a Taiwanese national research organization was working on new technology that would prevent lithium-ion batteries from short circuiting malfunctions that can cause them to rapidly heat to 500 degrees and sometimes explode.

WiFi and Network Security

Attacks on your network will be happening continuously on a 24/7/365 basis - attacks cause a range of issues from simple nuisance issues through to slowing your network performance and functionality and all the way through to causing your network and even worse, your data, to be lost or corrupted.

Attacks on your network are not just through email containing malicious code and attachments being sent to staff, or by simple web browsing and visiting sites which cause malware, viruses and Trojans to be downloaded - your network is exposed at any point where users (both authorized and non-authorized) can gain access to the network or wherever the network is connected to the outside world and particularly at the web gateway.

Security issues are very real and the losses which may be caused by attacks come with a huge financial price tag. The damage is not just to your bottom line but also to your assets, and particularly your business reputation. How many customers will be happy to learn that because your network security was breached, their private banking and personal information has been stolen or lost? What do you think a business regulator is going to make of your inability to produce financial records when they ask for them? How about an inability to produce email correspondence if you are engaged in a legal dispute?

Wireless connectivity is increasing and becoming an industry standard for accessing networks and the internet as well as being able to work remotely over the web. This means that there is a never ending variety of opportunities to gain access to the network by breaking in through the wireless gateway or by taking control of a remotely-linked machine.

One solution is to strengthen application security. Application security deals with the software programs which your staff are using and security solutions need to be put in place in order to ensure that hardware they are using cannot be compromised by non-authorized parties and also, that when they are running a program it only performs authorized tasks. For instance, an employee loses a laptop through theft - the laptop must not then be allowed to access the network remotely which can be achieved by using machine access codes, strong password policies to use an application and to access the network.

Another solution is to ensure that WiFi security is strengthened. Try this yourself, in your neighborhood, whether at work or at home, ask your computer to show you existing wireless networks (if you're running Windows you can usually see an icon in your bottom taskbar on the right hand side). If there are wireless networks in the area, it will show you whether they are secured or unsecured. If you see an unsecured network, which is likely, you will be able to hop onto the internet using that connection and wireless router. Effectively this is stealing someone's bandwidth but more importantly, it is allowing a third-party to come closer to gaining access to the network core, your data and your hardware.

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

How to resolve HP Compaq 394224-001 ac adapter jack issue

You cannot access and repair the HP Compaq 394224-001 ac adapter power jack while the motherboard is mounted to the metal bracket, it has to be removed first. In a Dell laptop the power jack is soldered to the motherboard. If the laptop loses power intermittently when you wiggle the power plug, most likely the Dell ac adapter power jack is damaged and has to be repaired. In order to repair the HP Compaq 394224-001 ac adapter power jack you’ll have to remove the motherboard.

Remove two screws securing the cooling fan. Disconnect fan cable from the motherboard. Remove the fan. Remove one screw securing the power button board. Lift up the board and disconnect it from the motherboard. Loosen three (red) screws and remove one (green) screw securing the heat sink. Remove the heat sink.

Remove four screws securing the hard drivebracket. Lift up the bracket and disconnect it from the motherboard. Remove two screws securing the HP Compaq 394224-001 ac adapter speaker assembly. Disconnect the speaker cable from the motherboard. Unplug the CMOS (RTC) battery. Remove two screws securing the PC card slot. Lift up the slot and disconnect it from the motherboard.

Remove one screw securing the modem card. Unplug the modem cable from the motherboard. Remove modem with the cable and phone jack. Remove six hex studs from the laptop ports. Remove one screw securing the motherboard. This screw is located on the left side from the HP Compaq 394224-001 ac adapter power jack.

Start separating the motherboard from the metal bracket. The motherboard has been removed. Now you can access the Dell AC Adapterpower jack and repair it. If the power jack is broken, you’ll have to replace it with a new one. If the HP Compaq 394224-001 ac adapter power jack is loose, you’ll have to resolder it to the motherboard.

Apple Macbook MC207LL-A Vs Asus UL30A-X5 13.3-Inch Laptop

Computer Technology And Gadgets