I will need to buy a laptop since I will be moving to Europe, Netherlands or the UK depending where I decide to go for my postgraduate studies. I have already seen several laptops, especially about reliability, because I will be two years in another continent, but now I am wondering which manufacturer has the best international service if something goes wrong. For my thesis project I will probably be traveling a lot between the United State, Europe and Latin America, reason for which I need a really good support service worldwide. Thanks for your help.

look for one with accidental damage>myself i would never get one since they cost as much as getting a new computer

My daughters are turning 15, and we considered getting them each a laptop for their birthdays, but agreed it was way to expensive. We have to do big things like that x4 every time, so we’ll be waiting a little longer.

My niece is heading off to college in the fall and is receiving her first laptop in May at her high school graduation, since she’ll need one for college. She told me it was highly uncommon for teens to receive their first laptop this late.

What age should children get their own laptops?

I got my first laptop when I was 18 as a high school graduation gift. That was about 6 and a half years ago and most of my friends at that point were in the same situation but it’s amazing how much things change in 6 and a half years. With work loads becoming heavier and heavier in high school I can see getting a 16 or 17 year old their own computer (whether it’s a laptop or a desktop should be their choice pending on if they can pay for at least half of it) even a 15 year old I can see needing a computer of their own. BUT any younger than that a family used computer should be just fine. Like cell phones, computers are NOT toys they are tools and should be used as such.

Presently have a desktop and a laptop connected wirelessley but want to change to two laptops instead, and connect them both wirelessley as in our present set up without having to purchase anything else for our internet set up. Is that possible?

Yes it is possible most of laptop’s these days have WiFi card in-built you just need to connect to your router/modem as usual. If you mean you want to access one laptop from another that is also possible you just need to do some settings in windows.

I need a laptop pc for college that has openGL support and at least 2GB of memory. My school offers the Lenovo Thinkpad T61U, but i would rather get an HP because I hate the Thinkpads.

What are some good laptops that have openGL and at least 2GB of memory under $1,500. Thanks for your help.

nearly every laptop sold supports openGL and HP would almost surely support it…personally haven’t dealt with a computer that didn’t in years hp’s a good quality…so are acer, asus, sony. stay away from toshiba and gateway…but realistically almost all laptops are the same they all use the same parts…I personally would look for something in the HP dv series intel core 2 duo (aka celeron core 2 duo) anyway (1.83ghz or higher) get the 2.0 or 2.5 if you can afford it…and if you doing something with like graphical design or animation or engineering you may want one with a discreet (dedicated) video cards such as the nvidia 8600gt m or 8800 gtx m for example.

I use my blackberry to get online, Is there anyway to get online with both of my laptops with 1 blackberry? Please describe how.

Unfortunately you left out one minor detail. Are you tethering? And if so, are you trying to get on the internet with both laptops at the same time?

If you’re trying to do it both at the same time, it’ll be complicated, but I’m sure possible. I know Bluetooth has "networking profiles" as does WiFi Networks has profiles to "share" an internet connection. I’ve just never had to do it.

On the other hand, if you’re just talking about using one BlackBerry to connect to the internet on two different computers separately, it just requires you to load the tethering software on each machine. That sounds too easy to be the solution you’re looking for though.

How do I prevent unauthorised laptops from accessing the wired lan network - the wired lan network has about 10 machines on it - 9 desktops and 1 laptop. I want to prevent unauthorised laptops from plugging in physically to the network - by removing the CAT 5 cable and plugging in the same to the laptop - and then accessing information on the entire network.

The best way to protect your network is to use explicit access control based on Media Access Control (MAC) addresses that a uniquely identify each network interface. Most broadband routers have such access control feature readily available, but the degree of simplicity to configure and enable them depends on make/model and firmware revision of the router. You’ll need to consult the documentation for specific instructions for “Access Control” and/or “MAC Filtering” for wired and wireless services.

Securing the wireless portion will be relatively easy: Choose the most advanced algorithm and the longest encryption key possible. WPS is the latest and simplest technology (pretty much all systems made in the last 2 years support it), followed by WPA2 and WAP (which has 1 known vulnerability that occurs only in 1 specific type of configuration). Avoid WEP – it’s relatively easy to crack (but it’s better than nothing, as outlined in the article “Securing your wireless network” listed in the sources below).

I would suggest the following measures:

1.Change the administrator password to a non-default password.
2.Don’t broadcast your SSID (so it won’t show up in a network list).
3.Change channel from default (unless your router is capable of sensing conflicts).
4.Reduce your Wifi transmitting power (reduce the area of coverage to a minimum).
5.Use MAC filtering for access control.
6.Use the most sophisticated encryption available.
7.Use a non-default IP address range (e.g. 192.168.121.x or 192.168.137.x is better than 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x because these ranges are harder to guess)

For the wired ports, things are a bit more complicated (and again depend on make/model and firmware revision of your router and switches): There is usually less security on wired connections because of historical evolution and an assumption that physical access can be limited to trusted people. So, let’s start with physical access: Put all routers, switches and modems into a lockable room (or a lockable cabinet with sufficient ventilation). Try to protect CPUs and wall outlets so that there is no easy access (i.e. expose only keyboard mouse and monitor and hide the CPU and network connections in cabinets).

If you cannot physically protect the network connections (i.e. somebody can unplug a cable either at the computer or a wall outlet), you can implement some logical measures but these are somewhat limited with consumer-level hardware (because of costs and the fact that such devices are meant to enable access rather than prevent it). In some cases, routers also apply the above mentioned MAC filtering rules to wired connections. This would be your first line of defense.

However, on hubs and simple Ethernet switches, the data traveling on the wires can be seen by all devices on the network. This makes it relatively easy for a cracker to install a packet sniffer, look into the traffi and learn what devices are attached. The cracker then can configure his or her system to pretend it was a legitimate system – a process that is called “spoofing.” That’s why in high-security environments use more sophisticated ethernet switches (for example the Cisco 3550 series) that enable and disable physical ports and authenticate attached systems and their users based on access control systems like Tacacs+ or Radius. Taking advantage of such features requires authentication servers and software installed on the client systems that deal with the challenge/response mechanisms (additional hardware and software = additional costs).

Security is a trade-off based on a cost/benefit analysis (how much security do you need and how much time and money are you willing to spend on implementing and maintaining it compared to how much you could actually lose in terms of stolen data or stolen services). By the same token, cracking networks is also subject to a cost/benefit analysis: How much time and effort is a cracker willing to spend to intrude a network.

At the end of the day, no security measure is perfect and all networks can be cracked. It’s sensible to protect yourself by setting the bar as high as possible. So, I hope my answer provides you with some insights and guidelines for securing your network as good as possible with what you already have.

I want to know how many laptops are allowed per head when we are travelling from US to India. I have to carry two laptops with me. So can some one tell me, if it is allowed to carry more than one laptop? I doubt if the US customs or India customs will object if I carry two. If it is not allowed, can you suggest me how I can bring those two laptops to India? Thanks in advance.

as many as you can carry. You have a weight allowance and it is up to you to use it, the airlines don’t care what you have as long as it meets the regulations

My last business trip I carried my laptop, an LCD projector, a 2 way radio, and my mobile phone. The only one who cared how much electronic junk I was carrying was security when they wanted to test for bomb residue (Irish Terrorist) and if my laptop works. One of my colleagues regularly travels with at least 2 laptops and sometimes 3 domestically and has never had a problem except for paying for extra baggage (the boss hates when we do that). For my two cents worth Indian customs may have a problem with it BUT most likely they won’t .

Have a good trip and safe home.

I have read in laptop specification that mostly the laptops have any of these:

1)Pentium M
2)Core duo
3)Centrino
4)Pentium 4

Please can someone tell me what is the good and bad point of each of these and what quality does each one signify in particular.
Wich is the best one between Pentium M, Centrino and Core Duo?

First of all, that’s only 3 processors. Centrino is a name that Intel lets a company put on a laptop if it’s got a Pentium M, and Intel’s wireless G networking. So, what’s good about Pentium M’s? Battery life. A 1.73 Ghz Pentium M is faster than a 3.2 Ghz P4, but has more than twice the battery life. What’s good about Pentium 4’s (in a laptop)? Nothing, really.

And Core Duo’s are dual-core Pentium M’s, with an even better battery life. Intel didn’t change the processor to make it faster this time, just made it have a longer battery life, which was a step in the right direction, at least for laptops.

I saw that these days laptops don’t have that much of a difference from computers with their CPUs, so why would people buy a computer these days? Why do you own a desktop?

Desktops have several advantages over laptops:

1- No battery. Even when plugged into an outlet, a laptop’s power is coming from the battery. If the battery is entirely defunct than the laptop may not function even when plugged in. This goes back to the old engineering addage "the more parts there are, the more there is to go wrong."
2- Laptops are harder to service/upgrade. Space, heat, and power consumption are all critical factors in a laptop. Most (98%) of desktops can upgrade a video card with no problem in any of the aforementioned 3 areas. Simply because a laptop is compatible with a graphics card does not mean that it will cool the card efficiently enough for reliable operation.
3- Cost! Desktops offer more computing power at a lower cost. This is due to several factors including space, power consumption, cooling capacity, and ease of design. Laptops are also constructed to a higher standard because it is likely that they will be moving around while turned on. Desktops do not require this as most people set it on their desk and never move it unless it needs service.
4- More ports and drives. Desktops come with a DVD/CD drive as a standard and many will come with a second one so you can copy discs easily. Most desktops will have at least 2 USB ports in the front and anywhere from 2-8 in the back. Laptops come with a single disc drive (if it comes with one at all). In addition, laptops will typically have 2-4 USB ports total.
5- Screen quality. With a laptop, the screen attached to the computer is likely the only one you will ever use. While you can attach a monitor, most people don’t do this. Desktop screens are not constrained by the stringent power requirements of a laptop and usually offer higher resolutions, more HD capable models, lower prices, and better response times (which reduces the "ghost" effect).

So, i have all my songs in my itunes library on my desktop but it got infected with a virus so everything has to be wiped out. I’m just wondering how i can transfer my songs from my ipod touch into my laptops itunes. Is there any way to do this with all my songs even the ones that i didn’t buy from itunes? Any free and easy programs i can use?

You can use an extra tool to solve this problem. Its name is 4Videosoft iPod to Computer Transfer. I have been using it for a period. It helps you transfer music, songs, videos from iPod to Computer directly when you want to backup your iPod files to Computer.
You can free download it on the following website to have a try.
http://www.4videosoft.com/ipod-to-computer-transfer.html
Hope my advice can help you.