Both of my ideas involve good systems that will allow college kids to word process, chat, email, listen to music, watch DVD's, browse the web wirelessly(for school research of course), create presentations, spreadsheets, download and edit photos and much more. Neither involve Windows and thus don't require a degree in computer security and maintenance. One of the computers costs between $1200-1800 and the other costs less than $700.

We had a call last weekend, and I get the same question from many laptop users: "Why is the battery life on my laptop so poor?". The biggest reason is that the battery doesn't get enough exercise. Most rechargeable batteries today don't have the memory problem like they did eight and ten years ago. However, unless the battery does get used on occasion, it tends to lose its ability to hold a charge.

Even if you don't take your laptop outside of the home, I recommend that you run your laptop off of the battery at least twice per month. You don't have to drain the battery all the way down (some battery experts say not to let it completely deplete ever), but use it until it's pretty close to empty then plug it back in to recharge. Cycling the charging and depleting of the battery will give your laptop many more productive hours of battery time.

When running from the battery, your laptop will show a little blue battery icon by your clock that shows the approximate batter life remaining. The time shown isn't 100% accurate, but gives you a quick place to eyeball the remaining time you have on your battery.

I just finished installing the Windows 7 Beta version released by Microsoft on Friday. I installed it on my Toshiba Intel dual-core processor with 4 GB of RAM. It was running Windows Vista which took more than 4 minutes to fully boot (I consider the boot up process to be finished when the hard drive stops spinning and I don't have to compete with a still booting computer to do what I want to do), and running any applications was like walking through molasses. I can say that my expectations were pretty low, but I am pleasantly surprised...so far.

• It took exactly 21 minutes from]]> http://helpmerick.com/windows-7-first-impressions.htm/feed 17 http://helpmerick.com/ricks-answers-his-email-videocast-023.htm http://helpmerick.com/ricks-answers-his-email-videocast-023.htm#comments Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:56:21 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=2308 ]]> http://helpmerick.com/ricks-answers-his-email-videocast-023.htm/feed 0 http://helpmerick.com/netbooks-are-not-made-for-windows-xp-or-vista.htm http://helpmerick.com/netbooks-are-not-made-for-windows-xp-or-vista.htm#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:50:18 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=2291 One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC.  I wrote about this subject just a few months ago, but with the holidays approaching and netbooks are high on gift giver's radar screens so I want to explore netbooks a little more in depth.

  Netbooks make attractive gift giving ideas for a few reasons:

  • They are inexpensive; usually cost less than $400.
    
  • They are extremely portable (2-3 pounds).
  • They are cute.

  Here are some facts you need to know about netbooks:]]> http://helpmerick.com/netbooks-are-not-made-for-windows-xp-or-vista.htm/feed 18 http://helpmerick.com/microsoft-arc-mouse-2.htm http://helpmerick.com/microsoft-arc-mouse-2.htm#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:53:55 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=2279 My old cordless mouse quit on me this week. It was a simple Logitech 2 button scroll mouse (optical). I'm not a big fan, actually I'm not a fan at all of mice with all the extra buttons and features. I want a simple 2 button mouse with a scroll wheel. As I was shopping, I noticed that the only simple mice were either cheap crap, corded (I wanted cordless), or came bundled with a keyboard. Since I didn't need a keyboard, I thought I was out of luck. There are simple 2 button laptop mice, but for everyday use that's a little too small for me. After almost giving up, I spotted and tried out the Microsoft Arc Mouse. It's a futuristic looking rodent, cordless, has a micro USB adapter, and has only one extra button (a back button on the left side that is easy to avoid). I tried it side-by-side with one of the simple mice bundled with the keyboards and it felt good.

  The arc seems to provide three functional purposes:

  1. Less surface are contacting the desk or mouse pad making it extremely easy to move around
  2. Much lighter than a conventional mouse, again making it move around effortlessly
  3. The slightly taller profile makes the hand fit more comfortably with it than a traditional mouse.

  I'm on day 3 with the Microsoft Arc Mouse and am extremely pleased with the purchase. At around $50-60, the Microsoft Arc Mouse costs about 20-40% more than other good mice, but for the comfort, unique and functional design, and lack of too many extra buttons, I think the cost is justified.

  ]]> http://helpmerick.com/microsoft-arc-mouse-2.htm/feed 3 http://helpmerick.com/lazy-computer-users.htm http://helpmerick.com/lazy-computer-users.htm#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:37:25 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=2254 Over the past few days, the tech news sites and blogs have carried a story centered on a quote from a NetBook (tiny laptop) manufacturer stating that the company receives 4X the returns of Linux based systems versus Windows systems. The more often I saw this headline and read the articles, the more irritated I became.

  Computers are still in their infancy compared to much of the technology we use today. Americans have had indoor plumbing for 75 years, electricity for almost 100 years, telephones for almost 100 years, televisions for 50+ years, and radios for 70 years. Computers, however, have been around just over 15 years en masse, and even today they only exist in about 70% of American households.

  My point is that computer technology has not matured enough to]]> http://helpmerick.com/lazy-computer-users.htm/feed 5 http://helpmerick.com/new-dell-mini-laptops.htm http://helpmerick.com/new-dell-mini-laptops.htm#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:21:44 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=2225 Dell has joined Everex, Acer, HP, Sony, and the ground breaking Asus Eee PC in the arena of the netbook. Netbooks are small laptops with a screen of 9" or smaller and a weight of less than 2.5 pounds. They all run on either a form of Linux or Windows XP. The Dell Inspiron Mini (click the picture above to buy or read more about them) is Dell's entry into this increasingly crowded and popular market. Remember that these netbooks are not for everyone, but they fill a niche for frequent travelers, train or bus commuters, and computer users who want an inexpensive yet capable second computer.
  ]]> http://helpmerick.com/new-dell-mini-laptops.htm/feed 1