Getting an entertainment laptop, or a desktop PC for watching TV
Jack Williamson's Toshiba is on the way out, but should he get another laptop (from the category known as "desktop replacements") or a desktop or something else? I've got a Toshiba Satellite Pro M70 laptop. It's now four years old and, basically, it's full. (I got a 500GB external hard drive but I think the issue is bigger than that.) My partner has a two year old Samsung R60 Plus: it's not full. We would like to be able to watch TV in our study, including downloaded programmes. Should I buy a bigger laptop with Windows 7 -- I was thinking of the HP Pavilion dv7-2215SA -- or should I carry on with my current laptop and buy a new desktop PC? Jack Williamson PS I've always liked your column and I really miss the Thursday tech section first thing. Going online is just not the same. There are a lot of different options, and picking the best one for you is probably a matter of taste. My preference would be to get a decent desktop PC running Microsoft Windows 7, which has outstanding media centre software, and plug it into a big monitor or LCD monitor/TV (see below). Desktops are better value than laptops. However, I fear the Toshiba Satellite Pro M70 is approaching the end of its useful life. It was never the snappiest PC (1.73GHz Pentium M 740) and if yours has the 60GB hard drive, it's no surprise if it's full. If you need to replace the old Tosh, then the HP Pavilion dv7-2215SA would be a good choice. It might not be quite as solidly made, but it has a very big screen (17.3 inches) and a decent specification for a low price. However, it's being replaced by the HP Pavilion dv7-3101sa (£599.99), and you should be able to get one from 15 March. I'd wait for that. If you do not need to replace the old Tosh, then you could get a touch-screen all-in-one PC with a built-in TV tuner.
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Getting an entertainment laptop, or a desktop PC for watching TV
Which (British) computer magazine?
Now Personal Computer World has ceased publication, Tim Heeley wants something else to read Personal Computer World has been my tech bible over the last two decades for learning about computing. Where do I turn now to get my monthly fix? Tim Heeley PC Pro is my favourite read (and, to declare an interest, I've written for it), while the fortnightly Computeractive is friendly and very easy to read. PC Advisor is also worth a look. Computing guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Which (British) computer magazine?
Flat battery leads to date problems
Caroline Good's home PC boots up with the wrong date and time Our PC says: "CMOS check sum error. Defaults loaded" on start up, and the date and time are always incorrect. Caroline Good This almost always means the CMOS battery on the motherboard is out of power though, rarely, it could be a memory corruption problem. You will need to take the lid off your PC and look for a flat silver cell of the sort often used in watches and hearing aids , or other small battery. It's very easy to change, but make sure the PC mains power is off and that you are not carrying an electrostatic charge. Computing guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Flat battery leads to date problems
Should we be protecting our NAS network storage devices?
John Palmer is considering a NAS hard drive but says he is unclear about what protects his data I'm considering a NAS hard drive for my home network, but I'm unclear about what protects my data. Can I rely on the router firewall and the protected PCs? John Palmer It's a good question and this is a neglected area. At the moment, I suspect most people rely on the firewall in their router, and use the PC's antivirus software to scan external hard drives. This should be safe enough but doesn't provide real-time protection. Symantec is selling SAV for NAS (Symantec Anti-Virus for Network Attached Storage), but it's not altogether clear how this helps. Storage servers, which run their own operating system, should also be able to run their own antivirus software. A very small example is a Windows Home Server, but this is a much more expensive type of storage. Computing guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Buying a PC that will last
Doug Wright's PC has lasted seven years, with a couple of upgrades. Now he wants to buy a replacement that will last another seven years or more I want to replace my 7-year-old desktop PC, and I'm considering a slimline Dell. Is there really enough room in these small chassis to put in what's necessary to keep a PC going as long as possible? Also, is 64-bit Vista worth sacrificing my Canon LiDE 30 scanner for? Doug Wright I still buy big tower systems because they are much easier to upgrade or repair, they run cooler, and they are generally more reliable. I don't care if they aren't cute. However, times have changed, and most people no longer open or upgrade their PC's internals, they buy external plug-ins.
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Buying a PC that will last
Fairly easy transfer to a new PC
Peter Ball wants to buy a new PC. Will the File Transfer Wizard move his software and data across? I am thinking of buying a new computer. Will the File Transfer Wizard transfer the programs and anti-virus protection? Peter Ball If you are upgrading from a Windows XP machine to one running Vista, you will need to use Vista's Windows Easy Transfer program, not XP's wizard. There's a guide at Digital Trends: How To Transfer Your Data from XP to Vista .
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Fairly easy transfer to a new PC
AVG doesn’t like Roxio’s Easy CD Creator
Colin Johnson wanted to install AVG 8.5 but it said he needed to update Roxio Easy CD Creator. When I tried to download AVG 8.5 it said I needed to update my Roxio Easy CD Creator. The latest version is $99, which I am unwilling to spend as I rarely use it. Is there any free software you would recommend for burning CDs/DVDs? Colin Johnson The clash with AVG software has often been discussed on the Roxio forums, and apparently Roxio fixed it "years ago". If you go to the Roxio software update page then you should be able to update the Roxio drivers. However, as you ask, CDBurnerXP is a good free Windows program that can burn CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray BDs. Computing Windows guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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AVG doesn't like Roxio's Easy CD Creator
What’s the best use of a second hard drive?
William Hudson wants views on the best use of a second physical hard drive Do you have any views on the best use of a second physical hard drive with Windows? I use video editing software, which generally says that a second hard drive is fairly important. William Hudson I think the days of the second hard drive have gone, for most users. They were handy for backups when drives were smaller, and they're still useful for video rendering, where there's an advantage to having a big open space to write to. But cheap USB hard drives and network drives are now more useful options, and much easier to install. Well, does anyone have a better idea? Computing guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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What's the best use of a second hard drive?
Wanted, a portable PC with a built-in printer
Michael Meadowcroft has owned a couple of Canon NoteJet portable PCs and would like something similar Why is there no longer a laptop with an integral printer? In 1996 I bought the first Canon printbook and in 1999 I purchased the last version. I work in off-the-beaten-track countries and carting around a separate printer is a bind. Michael Meadowcroft I don't remember a laptop with a built-in printer since the Canon NoteJet, and I don't expect to see any new models now that wireless printing is generally simple
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Wanted, a portable PC with a built-in printer
NAQ: Can you be too optimistic?
Definitely - as technology investor Roger McNamee discovered to his cost yesterday. Last week McNamee, a director at beleaguered smartphone maker Palm, decided to give the company a boost by bragging about its prospects in an interview with Bloomberg . As co-founder of Elevation Partners – the venture company that owns 39% of Palm - he decided to get talking about the forthcoming Pre handset . Among his comments: "You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two-year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later." "Think about it – if you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market. Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they're going to buy." An investor boasting about his company's chances? Usually no surprise. But this time, executives at Palm decided he'd overstepped the mark – and tried to roll his comments back. In an official filing to America's financial regulator, the Security and Exchanges Commission, Palm rejected some of McNamee's most effusive statements and clarified others. In particular they slapped down claims over speed, claims about its operating system, and the statements mentioned above: "The statement in the second paragraph of the article that "not one" person who bought an Apple, Inc. iPhone on the first shipment date "will still be using an iPhone a month" after the two-year anniversary of that day is an exaggerated prediction of consumer behavior pattern and is withdrawn." In these dark and gloomy times, you'd think a ray of optimism might bring a smile to the faces of troubled Palm bosses – but it seems that fear about a potential legal action resulting from McNamee's ebullience has left the company trying to keep the volume turned down for now. Mobile phones Gadgets guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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NAQ: Can you be too optimistic?