Tag: laptop

  • How to Find A Great Laptop

    How to Find A Great Laptop

    buying-laptop

    When you’re ready to buy a new laptop, your selection deserves plenty of careful thought. You need to consider a ton of information. Fortunately, the article below was written to help you with that. Read more to find some tips you can use.

    Read through testimonials and reviews prior to buying a laptop. You may think that a budget computer is your best option, but later on you may wish you had chosen a different computer. That is why you need to see what real buyers are saying.

    To save money, buy a laptop that does not have word processing software already installed. Preloaded software can be more expensive, whereas buying it separately and installing it yourself is usually much cheaper. Instead, shop online for a discount vendor for your software. You will end up saving a large percentage.

    Consider buying a laptop on the Internet. Check there before buying at a store. You can get great Internet deals using online coupons that are not found offline. Look online before buying one in the store.

    Before purchasing a laptop, consider the type of work you will be doing on it. That should dictate your budget. If you’re basically a web surfer, then a super pricy laptop with uber-powerful chipset is not necessary at all. When you’re trying to figure out what the laptop will be doing for you, it will allow you to get yourself a machine with the right price.

    Once you decide on a budget for a laptop, consider bumping it up just a bit. Technology is always changing and a simple laptop will become outdated quickly. Just a small spec bump can make a difference between the laptop that only lasts one year and one that will last more.

    Buy-Laptop

    Be gentle with your laptop when you are traveling with it. Get a sturdy, firm bag that does not bang or bump into you when you walk. This can cause damage to the components on your computer.

    Think about a tablet for mainly entertainment applications. Tablets have apps that allow for easy software downloads. You can even connect the tablet to a keyboard so that you can write emails or take class notes.

    When you’re going to be purchasing a laptop, try to shop smartly. Check out traditional stores and play with the laptops a bit. Play around with different ones so that you can find one that you’re comfortable with. Once you’ve figure out which model you enjoy, you can get on the Internet to see if there are any deals.

    When you’re going laptop shopping, don’t decide on a laptop just because of the brand. Lesser known companies often have great deals. Understand the hardware inside the laptop, so you can determine if the less expensive models offer the same level of technology. It is often easy to find a comparable product with a less recognized company.

    There are many things to consider prior to buying a laptop. Whether you’re buying a new machine, or upgrading it, you needed some basic information and that has now been provided to you. Use the helpful information you received in the above article to assist you in making the right purchase.

  • CES 2014: Asus Transformer Book Duet laptop runs Windows 8.1 and Android

    CES 2014: Asus Transformer Book Duet laptop runs Windows 8.1 and Android

    asus_transformer_ss_2The ASUS Transformer Book Duet TD300 unites Windows 8.1 and Android. Thanks to BlueStacks’ virtualization software, this 13-inch combo tablet-laptop can switch between Microsoft’s and Google operating systems at the press of a button. That gives users access to Word Excel or documents spreadsheets in Windows, and lets them swing a quick game of “Angry Birds: Star Wars” over in Android. With a detachable keyboard dock, the Duet hits high notes on specs: there’s up to a 1TB storage drive, USB 3.0, HDMI and a 1080p display upgrade.

    The Transformer Book Duet also features a microSD card expansion slot, a front-facing camera, and audio enhancing SonicMaster technology to complement the tablet’s dual speakers.

    Though the dual-OS packing convertible tablet is an impressive release, the tablet has a few downsides. It runs an older version of Android (4.1) and, with the dock, it’s a thick and hefty package.As for the hardware, well, this feels like a $599 machine, and that’s actually us being generous. Granted, the build quality is solid, but the textured plastic back has a cheap, hollow feel to it. Also, at 1.9kg (4.2 pounds), it’s rather heavy for a 13-inch laptop, even a touchscreen one, so if you’re going to get this, you better be really excited about the dual-OS feature (and we’re sure some of you are). On the plus side, the tablet itself feels relatively light, given its 13-inch screen size, and for that, we probably do have the plastic construction to thank. Also, keep in mind that that thicker design gets you up to 1TB of storage in the dock, up to 128GB of space in the tablet and nice-to-have ports like an Ethernet jack and full-sized HDMI socket. A fair trade, we’d say.

    As for the hardware, well, this feels like a $599 machine, and that’s actually us being generous. Granted, the build quality is solid, but the textured plastic back has a cheap, hollow feel to it. Also, at 1.9kg (4.2 pounds), it’s rather heavy for a 13-inch laptop, even a touchscreen one, so if you’re going to get this, you better be really excited about the dual-OS feature (and we’re sure some of you are). On the plus side, the tablet itself feels relatively light, given its 13-inch screen size, and for that, we probably do have the plastic construction to thank. Also, keep in mind that that thicker design gets you up to 1TB of storage in the dock, up to 128GB of space in the tablet and nice-to-have ports like an Ethernet jack and full-sized HDMI socket. A fair trade, we’d say.

    Follow it all at CES 2014 on Gizmantra

  • How To Install Android On Your Laptop/Netbook

    How To Install Android On Your Laptop/Netbook

    Install Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android, on your netbook. Whether you want to play with Google’s mobile operating system or give new life to an otherwise discarded device, Android-x86 gives everyone a way to install Android on Intel netbooks.

    It’s fast. Even better: the latest version of Android-x86 comes with access to the Android Market, something almost impossible to set up on older Intel versions of the software. This means you can try out Android apps before you decide to buy an Android device.

    Heck, your netbook could end up becoming your Android device.

    I showed you how to install Chrome OS on unsupported computers, but some of you complained that it’s little more than a browser. Of course, that’s all Chrome OS is supposed to be, but I understand the disappointment. Android, I think, is a little more exciting. With access to thousands of apps it’s versatile, and its integration with the Google eco-system is much deeper than that of Chrome OS.

    It’s not terribly complicated to install, especially if you’ve installed some form of Linux in the past. Let’s walk through the process, then briefly explore Android on the netbook.

     

    Step One: Download Androidx86

    To get started, head to the Androidx86 project page. You’ll find the download here, but make sure you download the latest version: 4.0, better known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

    install android on netbook

    There are a few different versions of 4.0 offered. Grab the version that best fits your netbook. Not sure what this is? Google your computer’s model along with “Androidx86″ and see what other people have had luck with. If you own an EEE PC like me, however, you’re in luck: everything works perfectly with the “eeepc” ISO.

    Desktop users: it’s probably not worth trying.

     

    Step Two: Copy To A Flash Drive

    Now that you found the ISO file you need, it’s time to write it to a USB drive so you can boot from it. There are two main programs for doing this: UNetBootIn, which is cross platform, and Linux Live, which is only for Windows but very straightforward.

    Use whichever you prefer; just copy the contents of the ISO to a flash drive. It doesn’t need to be huge: 1 GB should do it.

    Step Three: Install

    Now that you’ve got your USB drive, it’s time to boot from it. You’ll see this boot screen:

    install android on netbook pc

    If you just want to try out Android, go ahead and select the LiveCD mode. You won’t be able to save any customizing you do, of course, but it’s a good way to see how well Android works on your system.

    If you’d rather get straight to installing Android, go ahead and pick the “Install” option. There’s not a lot of options for dual-botting built into the installer, so be warned: getting that working might take some skills on your part. See the Androidx86 installation instructions for more information. If you don’t care about losing your current OS, though, installation is straight-forward.

     

    Optional: Install to SD Card

    There’s another way, of course: you can install Android to an SD card. This won’t affect whatever operating system you typically use on your netbook but still lets you keep your apps and settings in place.

    You’ll need a flash drive and an SD card to do this: the flash drive to install Android from and the SD card to install Android onto.

    The process is simple: run the installer, but select your SD card to install to instead of your hard drive. This won’t affect your netbook’s primary drive, giving you a clean dual-boot environment.

     

    Android on Your Netbook

    So how does it work? Quite well. You can set up your home screen to look however you like, just like on a phone or tablet:

    install android on netbook pc

    You can also browse every app installed on your computer:

    install android on netbook

    Many Google staples are included, along with a number of other utilities and games. The best part: AndroidX86 now comes with access to the Android Market. Not everything will work, but I got my favorites apps working: Dropbox, Evernote, Wunderlist and Toggl. I even found a remote for XBMC that I’ll surely be writing about later. With some help from Google Voice I even got SMS messaging up and running!

     

    Conclusion

    Why try this? First of all: because it’s fun. Sure, it’s not the same as buying a new Android tablet, but breathing new life into an otherwise idle netbook is cool.

    I’d consider writing a manual about this, if there’s an audience. Would you guys be interested? If so, let me know in the comments below. Also feel free to let me know about any Android apps I should try out on my netbook.