9500 Acer Aspire Notebook Does Both

Sometimes looking through the market place for notebook computers it can be hard to decide where to start. An overwhelming number of models, manufacturers and optional components and accessories can freeze your brain. I've found short reviews helpful to get some focus and define a starting point.

The Acer Aspire notebook series and particularly the 9500 have impressive features and options that offer a great deal of flexibility at a rational price. The Aspire 9500 Acer notebook will serve as both an excellent tool for business and as a high quality entertainment center. Top drawer ATI graphics, a large 17 inch screen and a fully functional TV-tuner combine with an Intel Centrino Express chipset and comprehensive multimedia software so that this Acer Aspire notebook offers you some of the finest multimedia entertainment available on any affordable notebook..

Using Intel Centrino or Intel Pentium M (760) mobile technology, the Aspire can provide better battery duration, wireless connectivity and excellent performance. The PCI Express architecture, working with DDR2 533MHz or 400MHz memory, provides rapid multi-tasking operations and allows significantly faster access to data residing on external devices. This model of the Acer Aspire notebook also features 100GB of hard drive storage (larger drives are also available) and up to 2GB memory. You get serious storage capacity and remarkable performance.

And if you like TV? You can turn your Acer Aspire into a fully functional TV via an integrated digital or analog TV tuner coupled to a DVB-T digital antenna. And you can get a full function remote control. Just make sure the boss doesn't catch you watching TV when you're supposed to be working.

The TFT LCD screen is a superb 17 inch WXGA CrystalBrite and delivers amazing picture quality and spectacular image clarity from the ATI Radeon X700 graphics. The audio quality is excellent, backed up by S/PDIF and MS Sound components which include a subwoofer as well as two integrated 2.1-channel stereo speakers and stereo microphones. Add in the Acer Arcade or Windows Media Center editions and you have the capability to not only watch movies and listen to great music but you can also do some serious image editing. To top it off, you can choose either a DVD/CD-RW optical drive, a dual-layer DVD writer or the integrated variable-speed DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive which does just about everything. A 5-in-1 card reader is also included

Wireless connectivity on the Acer Aspire notebook is via Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG - a Wi-Fi certified network solution - which supports the Acer Signal-Up technology. Conventional Ethernet connectivity is normally 100Mbps but the Acer has Gigabit Ethernet with the capability of delivering data at 1000Mbps - 10 times faster. Other available options for wireless connectivity are Integrated Blue-tooth and the Fast Infrared technology.

The Acer Aspire notebook has the ability to meet your needs for both work and fun in a single high quality, high performance package.

Copyright 2006 Richard Keir

How to Choose a Laptop, It's Your Money Don't Waste It

Introduction to choosing a laptop

Choosing a laptop is not a simple decision, and probably will involve you delving

through tons of technical documents and jargon, just to be at the end of it

completely none the wiser.

First off, ignore all the jargon like cpu speed, and look at the way you would

use the machine, think about things like it's likely environment, what are it's

primary uses likely to be, how is it likely to be handled? For instance do you

require it to be just used at home permanently nestled in the corner, or are

you likely to use it as a gps navigation device whilst mountain climbing in

sub zero temperatures?

OK so the sub zero temprature part we'll leave alone for this article, but you

get my point? Link these two factors up with what your budget is, and you are

armed with a good deal of the knowledge you will need to make the correct choices.

Factors in choosing a laptop

1. The laptop's environment, this; in the life of a laptop can be anything from

- bouncing around in the boot of a car to sitting unmoved on a desktop apart

from the odd dusting. For most users of laptops it's usually a mixture of both,

plus a few train journeys, a little sunbathing over the park or in the garden,

a few slips from the lap onto the floor and the odd, "It's my turn now - Mum!"

scream from the kids.

Why should the environment affect my decision? I hear you ask. Well imagine

this scenario; Your in the shop, with your pockets full of money, and you spot

a shiny laptop you just have to have. You think, great I can do some work at

home, reply to emails whilst sitting in that long boring train journey home,

and best of all it looks great. What you should be thinking is - How is the

weight of the laptop going to affect my shoulder whilst I carry it from office

to train station to bus stop to home each working day and will the battery last

long enough.

2. The laptop's use, mostly this can be classed into two types, business and

home usage. For the typical business user, battery life may be a more important

factor than say a DVD re-writer, where as for the home user, who may well run

the laptop from the AC adapter most of the time, battery life would be way down

the list of decisive factors.

But this is really where you need to start making a wishlist of what you will

and would like to use the laptop for, just try and think of a list of ten things

and then priorities them.

3. Laptop budget. This is the part where, if your wishlist above overstretches

your budget, you will need to loose one or two of the lower prioritised items.

I guess for most people, this is the one factor they find the hardest to be

flexible on, but think about finance, most of the major manufacturers offer

finance direct from their websites.

I would advise everybody buying a laptop to take out an extended warranty plus

additional accidental damage cover, if it's not covered on your home contents

insurance. The warranty speaks for itself, laptops are designed to be mobile but not always made to be,

and things that move around go wrong more than stationary objects, they also tend to get a little more battered. So remember

to factor these extra costs into your budget.

Laptop Reviews - Want To Know About The Latest Notebook Reviews?

When laptop's first became available there where few choices of brands and even fewer choices of options. Now there are new laptop computers coming on the market continuously, all with specialized options. Before choosing a laptop decide what your focus is. There is probably a laptop computer that comes with exactly the standard features you are looking for. Below is a sample of just a few laptop computers and the features that make them unique.

Dell

With an exceptionally fast processor and graphics engine, Dell has developed a laptop especially geared for gaming. The lightweight laptop, weighing only 8.6 pounds is very portable. In addition the Dell XPS M170 has a 2.26 GHz Intel processors, one of the fastest available.

Toshiba

Toshiba has focussed its laptop computers on multimedia features. Their line of laptops have TV, DVR, stereo, DVD players as well as all other traditional multimedia components. For music, video and visual effects this is the best laptop computer.

Hewlett Packard

Hewlett Packard has focussed on developing a laptop that includes all the features of a desktop without the space requirements. It has both entertainment and computing features and great performance ratings. It comes with a CR-RW/DVD-ROM combo that can read and write all types of multimedia.

Apple

Apple Powerbook laptop computers have a unique designed that make them stand out in a crowd. Apple laptop computers use the Apple MacOS X 10.4 and come with speakers, Bluetooth antenna and wireless LAN antenna as standard features.

Acer

Acer laptop computers come with a 40 GB hard dive, 256 MB ram, DVD-RW drive and a 15-inch screen. There is a good selection of bundled software included that has games, Norton AntiVirus and a CD maker program. It is silver in color and stylish in design.

Sony VAIO

Sony has focussed on their original XBRITE LCD technology and Smart Display Sensor to enhance visual presentation on the viewing screen. The screen automatically adjusts to various lighting to maximize the viewer's ability to see the display. Using Windows XP Pro and a 3-hour standard battery this laptop notebook is designed for presentations and getting information across.

Laptop Accessories - Any Good Notebook Accessories Out There?

There is a wide range of accessories available for laptop notebooks that make working with your notebook computer so much easier. These accessories range from mini hubs and mini zip drives to security locks. All accessories are add-ons to the basic laptop notebook sold and are designed to meet the various needs of users.

Some of the top must have accessories for laptops are:

Laptop Backpacks

These very functional and practical laptop carriers are a terrific option for students or business people who travel. The versatility of a backpack allows much more storage room that a traditional laptop carrying case. In addition they are water resistant and come in a wide variety of colors and designs.

Laptop extended use batteries

This laptop notebook accessory is a must for computer users who will be away from a power supply for extended periods of time. These batteries will last well over an average workday and still have power left over.

Laptop desk stand

Ergonomically designed, these portable desk stands allow the laptop computer to be tilted up to move the display area to eye-level for ease of reading. This lessens back and neck strain as the laptop user is not constantly looking down or typing on a flat surface. The lightweight plastic design makes them very easy to use when traveling or moving from one workspace to another.

TV card bus

A great device for people who travel with their laptop, this accessory allows your laptop to receive and record TV, video and also to be used as a radio receiver. It is a simple card that uses your PCMCIA card slot on your laptop. This small accessory is greatly appreciated by music lovers.

Bluetooth Wireless USB Adapter

This is a simple plug-in component that allows your computer to become a wireless communication device. Your computer can be linked with a handheld device, mobile phone, printer or anything else that uses2.4 GHz Bluetooth technology. There is built in security with this system that allows for safe transfer of information. In addition it gets rid of the cables that are necessary when using other forms of data transfer.

Online Comparison Shopping Made Even Easier with Mobile Phones

Jane is a value conscious shopper. She is always looking to compare prices before buying any product. One day, she walks into a local retailer pricing out digital cameras. She writes down several camera model numbers so she can go online later that evening to see if she can find it cheaper elsewhere. Later that evening, Jane spends two or three hours surfing the Internet before she finds the camera she likes at the price she is willing to pay.

Sound familiar?

Imagine if Jane could just call a phone number, punch in the UPC code of the camera, and wait a few seconds while a database searches the Internet to compare prices for her. Imagine if she could then buy the camera right there on the spot. Sounds like a future technological advancement, doesn't it? Not quite the future; it's already here.

Online shopping has made it easier for consumers to get what they want, whenever they want it at the prices they want. Every major brick and mortar retailer now has a presence online not including the smaller, more specialized retailers located around the world. However, the vast array of online retailers can make it difficult for consumers to find the products they are looking for at the most affordable price. In addition, consumers do not have time to spend hours in front of their computers scouring across Internet looking for products. Consumers are demanding a better, more efficient and less cumbersome way to compare and buy products online. Frucall has stepped up to the challenge and has introduced a new way to compare prices online.

Frucall is a new, innovative service that enables consumers to compare products online using their mobile phones. This alleviates the valuable time spent trying to accomplish the same thing in front of a computer. In today's increasingly connected world, everyone has a mobile phone with them at all times which makes the Frucall service so attractive.

Here is how Frucall works. Customers first sign up online for their free account. In their profile, they store their mobile phone number and optional credit card information. Then, when they are shopping at the mall, they simply call the toll free phone number and type in the UPC code of the product of interest. In seconds, the Frucall service will return the results and customers can choose to buy the product right there on the spot, or add it to their shopping cart, or bookmark it for later review. It's that easy.

At the present time Frucall's service only queries Amazon.com because that's currently the only service that allows Web Services queries. However, that will change as additional online retailers allow Web Services queries.

The ability to do online comparison shopping through a mobile phone is a captivating concept whose time has definitely come. In a world where so many of our daily activities are performed with a mobile phone, the Frucall service takes its capabilities one step further. If you are a busy consumer that values convenience and services that are helpful in saving you time, then Frucall is exactly what you need. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from using the Frucall service.

Copyright 2006 Michael Brito

Attention Real Estate Professionals, It's Time to Secure Your Email

If you have a wireless laptop, listen up! It's time to make sure your email is secure.

When you sit at your local coffee shop to surf the internet and get your email, you

are most likely using a connection that is not encrypted. This means the data flying

through the air from your laptop to the internet is not secure. It can be intercepted.

Most wireless hotspots don't bother turning encryption on because it would make

them crazy having to hand out the password to everyone and then deal with all of

the people that did not know how to use it to connect. To keep it easy for everyone,

encryption stays off.

What this means is that when you send and receive your email, your username and

password go flying through the air for any computer geek to grab. The tools you

need to do it are so simple to use these days that even some non-geeks are getting

in on the action.

It's a real risk to your security and the security of your real estate data that most

people aren't aware of.

Fortunately, most email providers offer the option to encrypt your email

transmissions (both sending and receiving) with the same level of security that you

find when you log into your bank accounts on the internet. The tricky part is that

you actually have to turn the option on for it to protect your email. And what's

worse, some of the big name ISPs (like SBC) don't offer this option for subscribers.

If you have your own real estate website and corresponding email service, check

with your web host as they probably DO offer the extra security.

This "extra security" is called SSL. It doesn't matter what it stands for, just know

that it means that your email will be encrypted and therefore protected from prying

eyes when you use the internet at wireless hotspots.

The quickest way to see if you "qualify" is to follow these simple steps:

1. Contact your ISP or web host and ask them if they support sending and receiving

email with SSL encryption.

2. If they do, ask them for the correct settings to put into your email program.

As wireless hotspots become more and more widespread and the software that

allows people to do wireless "snooping" becomes easier and easier to use, it is

important that you take precautions to protect your data.

Check into it now, because somebody's watching...