live.pirillo.com – Michael Trimm has a Dell laptop that’s about 3 years old, The battery used to last 4 hours, but now he’s lucky if he can get it to last an hour. What’s wrong? Well, there are a lot of things to consider, but Chris thinks that the main thing wrong with the laptop: the battery is just simply too old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdPmH3di15g&hl=en
www.tweaktown.com We managed to go hands-on with the brand new ViewBook Pro notebook. It is Viewsonics CULV notebook that comes with an Intel Core 2 SU7300 processor and 2GB of RAM, with the option to upgrade to 4GB of DDR3 memory. Viewsonic claims 8 hours battery life, but that can be extended to a maximum of 12 hours by adding in a secondary battery in the optical drive bay area. Distributed by Tubemogul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPALc0zSr4&hl=en
Is your laptop battery not lasting as long as it used to and you’re not exactly sure why it isn’t? There are several reasons why your battery charge is not lasting as long as it used to when you first purchased your laptop. One of the factors that could affect the length of time that your battery stays charged is your usage habit. The more physical devices that you use on your laptop that involves using electricity, the more you can expect your battery charge not to last long.
The devices that are the primary sources of the battery charge expended are the hard drive, floppy drive and the CD-ROM. There may be processes you are using that deplete the physical memory resources in your system, the system will convert to the virtual memory to complete the process you are currently involved in completing. Virtual memory is devised to expand system memory resources by creating a memory swap file on the hard drive and then transmit the necessary data between the hard drive and the physical memory. The hard drive is greedy when it comes to the electricity, so in turn the virtual memory will also drain the electricity because of the use of the hard drive. The audio and the display devices can also use a lot of electricity that will help drain your battery charge. You could try turning down the display screen where it is not as bright and this will help save electricity. Video devices that require graphic programs also consume electricity. Video software can contribute highly to on your electrical requirements because of its activity of virtual memory, computation and calculations.
Another factor to consider in why your laptop battery is not lasting is battery memory. Battery memory is where the battery becomes conformed to run for less time than it is actually created to run. For example, if you use your computer on battery for two hours and then plug it back up to recharge, the battery will become basically “trained” to be useable only two hours before it runs out of energy. In order to repair battery memory problems, you must totally drain the battery and then recharge it. Go to your Windows Control Panel and select power to totally drain your battery. Turn off Power Management. Then go into your BIOS and check and see if there is a power management setting there, if so, you must turn it off also. After you finish these steps, use your Escape key to return back to the top level menu, choose Save Settings and Exit. After you have finished turning off the power management in the BIOS and your operating system, unplug the computer, turn the computer on and let it go until it is totally drained of electricity.
After these processes, charge the battery for twelve hours. Once the charging time frame is over, run the computer again until the power is dead and charge the battery again for another twelve hours. Repeat this procedure four times and this will return the computer back to its original power management settings. It is suggested that you should use your battery once every two weeks, and to also keep the battery inside the system so the AC adapter can keep the battery charged all the time. Also, if you do not use the battery for more than two weeks, it is suggested that you totally discharge the battery and keep it at room temperature so it doesn’t become damaged from becoming too hot or too cold.
If you need to just start over with a brand new battery and you have Toshiba laptop, check out Laptop Battery Now and Laptop Batteries Four Less for the best deals.
The latest Eee PC, the 1005HA Seashell, boasts the longest runtime of any netbook to date with nearly 9 hours of battery life and its available at a very good price. Read more about it here: www.laptopmag.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V7TnAcZ5dY&hl=en
An up close demo of the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Notebook. The U1 is the first of it’s kinda. It’s a full function notebook and detachable 3G multitouch slate tablet. When docked the U1 runs Windows 7 off of a Core 2 Duo processor but in slate mode, the Qualcomm Snapdragon™ ARM processor kicks in with Lenovo’s customized Skylight (Android) OS. We really were impressed with the design of the U1 but a bit concerned for the polycarbonate top shell. It seemed a bit flimsy. Also the slate doesn’t have any ports, not even an earphone jack. Let’s hope Lenovo fixes that before production. We still want one though so when can we get it? Availability Summer 2010 More specs: -11.6″ HD LED screen (resistive multitouch) -128 GB SSD -3-cell battery (slate tablet), up to 4 hours -6-cell battery (laptop) up to 4 hours -combined 8 hours of battery life when used as a single unit -Built-in speakers on the back of slate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntN68sLna0M&hl=en
Refurbished notebooks are a great deal. They’re usually priced at significant discounts and they carry comparable warranties to their new counterparts. Many merchants sell refurbished laptops. They’ll pre-owned and used notebooks, test, clean and fix them up, and then sell them to interested parties. Consumers can also elect to buy refurbished notebooks directly from the manufacturer. Only a handful of computer manufacturers refurbish and sell their own products. Typically refurbished units sold by the manufacturer carry longer warranties and undergo a much thorough and stringent refurbishment process, as they have the familiarity of protocol and the materials to do a much better job.
Listed below are computer manufacturers that offer refurbished notebooks through their online outlet stores or through associated affiliates. These refurbished notebooks are typically from the current generation of products. Most are from sale returns and cancelled orders. Some may also come from inventory overstock or demo units. Regardless, all refurbished notebooks go through the manufacturer’s refurbishment process and are sold as fully functional units. They should look and operate like brand new units.
It is also important to be aware of the warranty coverage and the manufacturer’s return policy and procedure. Many have a window of time with which consumers can return their products along with a restocking fee. In the event that, something goes wrong, know that you’re covered and there are options to have your situation resolved. Look up your notebook manufacturer’s website for current information about refurbished notebooks, their warranties and their return policies.
A quick snapshot of computer manufacturers that sell refurbished notebooks:
Apple Certified Refurbished
1 Year Limited Warranty
10% Restocking Fee
Request RMA within 14 days upon the receipt of product
Ship product back within 14 days of the issuance of RMA
Sony Vaio Outlet
90 Day Limited Warranty
Request RMA number within 30 days following the shipment date.
Ship product back within 14 days after obtaining RMA number.
Lenovo Outlet
1 Year Limited Warranty
21 day Outlet Return Policy
15% Restocking Fee
Request RMA within 21 days of invoice date
Ship product back within 10 days after obtaining RMA
Dell Outlet
1 Year Limited Warranty
15% Restocking Fee
21 day Outlet Return Policy
Request CRA number before 21 day return window is up.
Ship product back to Dell within 5 days after obtaining CRA.
HP Business Outlet
1 Year Limited Warranty
21 day Return Policy
Request RMA number within the 21 day return window.
Ship product back within 5 calendar days after receiving issuance of the RMA.
I’m a fan and supporter of all things refurbished. So long as it works and it’s a good deal, why not. To track refurbished Macbook prices and deals I use http://www.refurbishedmacbookdeals.com
