How long will my laptop computer last?

Don’t Be Clumsy

What I can tell you that if you’re clumsy, it will be a miracle if your laptop computer can make it for six months without something breaking.

A personal friend, who shall remain nameless, got a shining new computer but she does not really care much about computers and she really treated it like a piece of dirty laundry. Within a few weeks, the computer overheated because it had accumulated dust though the CD/DVD tray that she had not closed.

On the other hand, I just purchased an 8-year-old computer that is in mint condition because its previous owner simply gave it so much tender loving care.

People say that different laptop computer brands have different life expectancies. I am not too sold on that argument. I have not seen a well-researched study that dug into this so, I will not comment on this issue.

All I can say is that knowing that the same companies make most components in every laptop computer, I don’t see why they’d give quality preference to one brand over another.

Want to increase your notebook computer’s life expectancy?

Treat it right.

Notebooks are delicate and expensive pieces of technology. If you put your laptop computer to sleep when you’re not using it. If you keep it in an area free of dust and other things that can leave a mess on your computer such as liquids and if you regularly clean it using the suggested cleaning tools, I don’t see why your computer could not last more than five years.

Expect To Need More in A Few Years

The only caveat though is that as computers get faster and more performing, software developers usually create applications that might not work on your slower machine. It does not matter how fast and powerful your laptop computer is today, in five years it will be a tortoise that will have a hard keeping up with the then specifications requirements.

You could of course make minor to major upgrades to your laptop computer to keep it on the edge but it’s a losing proposition, as eventually the costs will mount so fast that it will be in your best interests to simply purchase a new one.

What Apple Laptop To Shop For?

Portable, powerful, durable

A DJ friend of mine interested in Apple laptop computers called me this morning asking for what MacBook to get as he’s switching.

As a DJ and a music producer you definitely need an Apple laptop from the professional line. The reason is that your software requires a lot of processing power, a huge amount of RAM and since you’re dealing with Wav files (audio file format) which are very heavy thus demanding a lot of storage space that is only found on the professional line of Apple MacBook laptop computers.

Since you’re also highly mobile (my DJ friend uses his laptop in his gigs), you will need something highly portable and small to fit in the small DJ booths out there. Trust me, you don’t want to be lugging around a heavy machine as it’s prone to be damaged easier and it will break your back or shoulders!

As of this time (September 2006), you are facing a few Apple laptop options but here are my recommendations:

1) 13-inch Black MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo

Main specifications:

• 13-inch Screen
• 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo
• 512MB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2×256
• 80GB Serial ATA drive
• SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth
• MacOS X 10.4

2) Apple PowerBook G4 12-inch

Main specificiations:

• G4 1.5 GHz
• RAM : 512 MB
• HD : 60 GB
• CD-RW / DVD
• 802.11b/g, Bluetooth
• MacOS X 10.4

Note: these Apple laptop computers are very hard to find as they’re part of the previous Mac notebook line that’s no longer in production. This means that you won’t find anywhere easily but I see that Amazon still has quite a few in stock.

Personally, I was so disappointed that the PowerBook G4 got killed. It was my future purchase and now I will have to settle for the MacBook Black which apparently is its replacement.

3) MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.0/2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo

Main specifications:

• 2.0/2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo
• 512MB/1GB 667 DDR2 - 1 SO-DIMM
• 80/100 GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
• MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
• SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• AirPort Extreme Card, Bluetooth
• Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
• 15.4-inch TFT Display

This would be my most recommended choice and the one that I will be getting to replace my current Apple laptop computer. This is a professional computer at it’s best but don’t pass out when you see the price which might be a little bit higher than your average computer!

Getting your Apple laptop computer will not be enough though… you might also want to consider investing in a decent laptop bag or sleeve, external hard drive to store your large Wav audio files and to back-up your computer’s other data as you never know what might happen on the road with your current Mac, a mouse and other audio software and hardware.

Going Mac with your music set-up will make life easier as most DJs and producers are based on this platform and you will find that the community is very helpful and you will never find yourself alone or confused. Good luck!

Free Laptop Computers

Myth or Little Known Gold Mine?

Alright… once for all, I am going to address the “free laptop phenomenon”. I have been getting countless of emails from people asking me how to find free laptops and where. Here are a few thoughts (disclaimer: these are personal so take this into consideration whilst reading the rest of the below article).

First of all, you and I have learned from a tender age than nothing is really free in this life. Everything has a price whether visible or hidden, whether direct or indirect, whether cheap or high and so on.

That leads us to the second point: with the many free laptop offers out there, there must be a catch or some conditions to put it mildly. After all, someone pays for these free laptops before they are “given” away and we all know that no one in his right mind just donates free stuff just for the sake of being nice.

What’s the best and most direct way to find out what the catch is with these free laptop computers offer?

Easy: check out the terms and conditions of the site where the free laptops are being promoted.

Of course, my hunch was right… even though you might eventually end up getting a notebook delivered to you at no charge whatsoever, you still have to do you part. Your part being (and I quote):

III. ELIGIBILITY FOR RECEIVING A FREE ITEM FOR laptops.freepay.com WEBSITES

(a) For this particular website, laptops.freepay.com, users must do the following to be eligible to get approval to receive their free product:

i. Complete at least one offer within 90 days of a new account signup and receive credit for the offer within that timeframe. A 30-day grace period may be extended for certain offers that require a longer duration to issue credit.

ii. Refer at least 20 unique people who signup for new accounts, each must complete at least one offer within 90 days of referrer’s new account signup date and receive credit for it within that same timeframe. A 30-day grace period may be extended for certain offers that require a longer duration to issue a credit.

iii. A user who signs up with our website must successfully complete the requirements to obtain a free item within 90 days, starting from the day the user signed up. These requirements are: 1) Complete one advertising offer and 2) have 20 unique people sign up as referrals via the user’s unique referral URL and complete an advertising offer. In order to connect these referrals to the user, we issue the user a unique referral link to our site. Users of this web site may distribute their unique referral URL in

anyway they may choose, including using our form located on our “Refer Friends” page of our web site.

I will stop here but you see the point…

You have to complete one advertising offer meaning that you might have to purchase something, click on something or give out your personal mailing details for them to send you more offers.

This actually would not constitute junk mail or SPAM as by participating in this, you would have agreed to the terms and conditions which mean that all subsequent offers are solicited and therefore are not SPAM or junk.

If you give out your postal address, your phone number and your email address, you know that you will be on mailing lists that you will have a hard time getting off from!

Secondly, you have to get twenty people to sign-up. You might think that it’s easy as you can just get a few of your friends, siblings and so on but 1) not as many will be as enthusiastic to join as you 2) they also have to be active participants in the offers which less than 3% will do.

By now, you should have seen how free these free laptop computer offers really are. If you’re willing to meet the requirements to justify the opportunity of accessing the pool of free laptops then by all means, get started and get busy because it takes a while to get all offers completed, to sign-up 20 people and to get all of them to respond to offers.

Good luck!

Exactly How to Compare Laptops

Sorry, this is a work in progress…

Shopping for a used Dell Laptop?

Start Here!

Tracking down a decent used Dell laptop computer is not difficult thanks to the mighty Internet. (By the way, I am sure that in a previous article, I have discussed this but since myself, I can’t find it, I will once again tell all dear readers where to find used Dell laptops).

Dell Outlet

This is the first place to track down any used Dell laptop in excellent conditions. I have spoken about refurbished laptops and how they are the ultimate shopping option for budget conscious buyers. At the Dell outlet, you will find an inventory of used laptops that have been returned used or not but that were examined, repackage and are even better than new.

eBay.com

The world’s largest consumer to consumer marketplace. You simply type in or browse for used Dell laptop computers and the search results might overwhelm you. Be a smart shopper though. Ask pertinent questions. Figure out where the catch is and check out the reputation of the seller. eBay is great but things can go haywire pretty quickly so be safe. I have written some thoughts about all this entitled: Is eBay a Cheap Laptop Sales Heaven?

Refurbished Dell Laptops at Amazon.com

Nowadays, it’s kind of difficult to differentiate between Amazon.com, eBay and all the other big online retailers. They seem to be selling everything under the sun at diverse prices. Here too, you will likely find a good used Dell laptop and you can actually buy with the peace of mind as Amazon.com is pretty thorough and scares away scammers and crooks. Personally, I would trust Amazon.com to eBay.com but the latter can have better prices and selection on used Dell notebooks.

Craigslist

Everyday people get rid of things that they don’t want or need anymore and that include good to bad used Dell laptop computers. Shopping for a notebook from classified ads is like searching for a treasure. You might get lucky or unlucky. But millions of people buy things off Craiglist, university or college websites and so on. If it were totally bogus, no one would do it. Here again, it’s a matter of being careful and using some strong caution.

Asking around

This may sound so simplistic and I am sure that you too have already thought of it but folks, this tactic works wonders! A while ago, I asked a group of friend if they knew anyone in Brazil. I thought that I would get a negative answer but now I have more than five contacts! Moral of the story (if you really cared about it…): it does not hurt to ask your friends, family members, co-workers. Just pick up your phone list and ask and before you know it, you will be presented with a few used Dell laptop computers to choose from.

Now that you know how and where to track a used Dell laptop computer, get going and don’t waste any time. My first choice as said earlier would be Dell Outlet as you get a good as brand new machine, warranty, fast delivery and support (although Dell’s support sucks according to thousand disgruntled customers).

PS: I forgot Apple’s Special Deals site!

What Advice Do You Have For A Used Laptop Computer Shopper?

If you happen to come across a used laptop computer and you’re considering purchasing it, below are a few questions that you might want to ask the seller.

1) Why?

Simple question. The answer will probably make you decide whether to carry on or forget about that used laptop.

If the seller does not need her computer anymore because she’s just moved in with her boyfriend who also has one, that’s good. If the seller told you that the computer was acting funny, that’s a big red warning flag that’s your hint to move along.

2) How old?

If the used laptop is more than five years old, you are asking for trouble. Fine, the machine might be still working like a piece of Swiss technology but everything dies and the fact that it has made it five years is a miracle.

If the laptop is less than a year old, you should go back to the first question and ask why a one year used laptop is suddenly for sale. It might be that the seller sees it as a lemon

3) Is it still under warranty?

If the used laptop computer is still under warranty and something wrong happens, you’ll be covered. If it’s not and something happens, you will have to pay for the repair costs from your own pocket. If it’s a broken key, it’s OK as it’s a cheap fix. If the motherboard goes all erratic, the cost to repair will be so high!

4) Is the original proof of purchase available?

Buying a second-hand laptop is not like buying a used lamp or a second-hand desk. It’s pretty expensive piece of technology and the last thing you want is for the manufacturer to ask you for a proof of purchase before any repairs are undertaken and for you to give a “err, I don’t have it” type of answer.

Needless to say, some of these used laptop computers might have belonged to anyone who’s not the seller and the last thing you want is the police knocking at your door and to your amazement and embarrassment having to explain exactly how you acquired the second-hand notebook.

5) What’s your personal guarantee?

This is a guarantee from the used laptop seller and not the manufacturer. If the seller is certain that he or she is selling you a fine notebook that will not break down within the first five seconds of your ownership, he or she won’t hesitate to take it back and give you back your money.

If the personal guarantee is “after you buy it it’s no longer my problem”, politely decline the offer and move on.

6) How much?

I almost forgot that one… You need to ask this question to compare with the original price but to also see if you’re buying a messed up used laptop computer or not.

If the notebook is one year old and the selling price is one tenth of the original price, there’s something fishy. If the used laptop goes for almost the same price and it’s three years old, you’re getting ripped off. If this second hand notebook is in mint condition and sells for half the price, you might have a good deal.

Used laptop shopping does have its risks. But for the cheap price you end up paying, it’s well worth the risk. Your best bet is to shop for used laptops from legit retailers or a person whose credentials are impeccable.

Laptop Memory Shopping: What You Should Know First

Anyone considering upgrading her or his laptop memory should first read the following story detailing my shopping experience.

Sloooooow… I Needed a Memory Upgrade

I don’t consider myself a multimedia professional who needs the most powerful and fastest notebook on the block. However, I have a nasty habit of working on many tasks at once and the applications that run them tend to demand a lot of RAM. I did not want to get a new computer but knew that a laptop memory upgrade was the cheapest and fastest way to get my computer to stop dragging its feet when asked to perform.

My first instinct was to go to the manufacturer’s site to figure out what laptop memory brand and model I needed for the upgrade. That information was very easy to locate and the manufacturer was kind enough to include the purchasing link.

Smart as I am (or thought that I was), I know that these manufacturer’s seem to think that we customers are stupid enough to purchase from their sites without doing some shopping around comparing prices and extra bonuses. I started my laptop memory shopping and my journey led me to the online auction giant, eBay.

Memory From Other Manufacturers

Within a few searches, I had located laptop memory that was way cheaper than the manufacturer’s retail price. Very quickly, I completed the purchase forms (I never bid at eBay as I am too impatient) and had to find something to occupy my mind for three days while the order shipped.

The afternoon the courier guy dropped of my laptop memory modules, he was shocked at the way I snatched the package out his hands and promptly slammed the door in his face… All I could think of was how within a few minutes, I would be able to run so many applications all at once without any glitch.

Carefully, I followed the laptop memory upgrade section from the notebook’s manual that I had never consulted before, as I am a “try first then read the manual or if you fail” kind of guy.

The laptop memory installation was a surprisingly fast and trouble-free procedure that even my friend’s eight year old could do it. I was so excited and rebooting my computer seemed so looonnnggg. It actually was faster due to the fact that the memory was doing what it had promised to do.

Everything Worked!

Everything happened as expected. Things ran faster and smoother. I could multi-task and the computer could keep up. No dragging feet, the computer seemed on stereoids!

And then, It Crashed

And then…. bam! Out the blue, the laptop just crashed. It was the first time ever it happened and naturally I suspected the laptop memory that I had just purchased. I figured that I had installed it the wrong way or something.

I re-installed it and within minutes the laptop computer would crash on me again. I am not a rocket scientist but I figured that buying a cheapo RAM from an obscure manufacturer had gotten me into this mess. By trying to save money, I had actually wasted a lot because I had to order new modules plus shipping and so on.

I was so embarrassed and when my friends asked me if my laptop was faster from the memory upgrade, I lied to them that I had not received my package yet. Thank goodness, they have other things that preoccupy their lives so they promptly forgot about it.

Moral: Buy Memory that Meets The Specification

Moral of the story? Cough up the money and purchase the laptop memory as precisely suggested by the manufacturer and buy from them as they’ll give you a refund if you experience trouble or incompatibility problems.

Those useless laptop memory modules are sitting on my desk and whenever I make a purchase, I remind myself not to go cheap. Thank goodness, it was only a couple of hundred bucks. Imagine if it was in the thousands?

I conclude with this famous quote: “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself”. The ball is in your court…

Is eBay a Cheap Laptop Sales Heaven?

Without any doubt, eBay has revolutionized the shopping pattern of millions. Until today, I still have to see another place where you can almost literally find anything under the sun available for purchase. But is eBay a cheap laptop sales heaven?

I will let you in on a secret. When I first started writing about notebook computer shopping, I was a little bit dubious about eBay as a source of cheap laptop sales.

A quick pick at the daily selection could easily reveal, the huge availability of discount laptop computers but I was always convinced that buying a used or refurbished machine from a private individual was a big risk due to the mere fact that some people are just crooks.

I still have not purchased a laptop on eBay but many friends around me who have more guts, I guess, have and none has any dramatic horror story. Curiosity won the best of me so I decided to check out eBay for these cheap laptop sales.

Needless to say, after an hour or two of poking around, I realized that searching for cheap laptop sales on auction sites is not as risky as it may sound. It’s actually like purchasing a notebook from a friend of a friend. That’s because there are so many elements in place to protect the buyer (and the seller! some buyers are crooks too!) that it would be hard for someone to pull a cheap move on you.

For instance, if a given eBay seller holding a cheap laptop sales has a low feedback score, it would be advisable to look elsewhere. On the other hand, one with lots of scores and plenty of praises make him or her, a credible person to do business with.

Another simple trick to figure out the good from the bad is to look for sellers with a PayPal Buyer Protection, the speed and quality of the response that you get from the seller when you ask a question, the item return policy, the different payment options and so on. All these elements are a vital sign of a legit seller who will not jeopardize his or her business by conning you

By the way, as an impatient person, I have never actually bid on any eBay item. I usually just use the “Buy it Now” option. The other reason is that by the time you’re done bidding on the cheap laptop, the total price can be as high as the norm.

To conclude, eBay is a good source of cheap laptop sales for those buyers who are very confident buying goods from the online auction giant. If you have never bought anything from there, you will find that sellers will not trust you either as you will have no history to warrant your credibility.

If you’ve ever used eBay or any other auction site to track down cheap laptop sales, please share your experience with me and let me know how it went. All of us will benefit from your experience and avoid any mistakes.