Ultimate Laptop Owner's Guide Part - 1

Am sorry about the delayed post. Was caught up with life and everything else =). Now without further a do on to the post.

                                Our lives are now mobile with laptops and net books, so i dedicate this post to all the students, professionals and road warrior alike. The following as the post title specifies are some methods and steps on how to get the most out of your laptop.

Applications :
                These simple yet versatile tools not only prevent others from accessing your PC but also allow you to get that extra out of your laptop CPU, making them must-haves for your mobile PC.

1. Daemon Tools :
                                Imagine carrying all your movie and music CD's with you on a vacation. Apart from the extra baggage you will be carrying, you might just misplace them on your trip. A more viable option would be to create images of your favorite CD's and DVDs and mount them as virtual discs on demand. Daemon Tools is by far one of the best image mounting apps. The free version though allows you to create a total of four virtual disk drives. Daemon tools is available for Download.

2. Notebook Hardware Control :
                                                        Notebook Hardware Control (NHC) is a system monitoring tool that shows you exactly what lies under the hood. NHC allows you to take control of your CPU speed and temperature as well as tweak CPU voltages. CPU Speed Control allows you to automatically switch between various power plans depending on whether your laptop is connected to an external power source or running on battery. You can also exactly see how much charging capacity is left. Download.

3. USB Locking :
                             Ever been scared of losing your data to anyone who has access to your laptop without your knowledge? Well, there are various ways of keeping strangers from reading your documents and messages. Stop them dead in their tracks by locking your working environment with a USB drive using the application ID USB Lock. This program generates a unique key on the specified USB stick. You can even have the choice of using the protection when windows starts. Once locked, only the specified USB drive with the key file can unlock the laptop. The is particularly useful if you leave it unattended for long periods. You can also double your protection by password locking your disks and partitions. Disk password protection gives you that extra layer of protection if you are paranoid about data theft. Download.

4. NetSetMan :
                          Changing from one network to another can be quite a pain especially when you need to remember a list of network settings. But wouldn't that require you to manually change the settings every time you move from one place to another? That shouldn't be a problem with NetSetMan installed. you only need to manually enter each set of IP addresses once and you're done at the click of a button - no more digging through network properties. You  even have the choice of exporting your settings which gives  you the flexibility of setting up multiple machines quickly. To make things easier you have the choice of renaming each preset according to your location or purpose. Download.

5. Network Stumbler :
                                       If you want to test your Wi-Fi router's reach and signal strength or discover how many other networks are in range, Network Stumbler is the tool for you. It can detect networks with SSID broadcast disabled and show you whether they're encrypted. It's an indispensable tool for making sure your router is in the perfect location, and even for auditing your own Wi-Fi network security. But remember, even if the program shows you open hotspots, it might not be legal to connect to them. Download.

Laptop Care :

1. Getting more from your battery :

• Battery care begins right from the day you unpack your brand new laptop. New battery packs have some charge in them, so drain it completely by using it all and then charge the battery for 12 to 14 hours to fully top up the battery. Do this for the first three r four times. After that you can charge the battery normally - plug in the adapter and let the battery charge for around two hours until it is full.
• If you want your battery to last longer, avoid unplugging the adapter when the battery is not charged completely. Also, don't put the laptop to charge until the battery level has reached less than 20 percent. Keep an eye on the battery indicator in the notification area to monitor the battery level when the laptop is running on battery.
• Many users don't bother to adjust the display brightness and keep it set to full at all times. Lowering the display brightness to a lower level will make a difference. Also switch off the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters when not in use.
• Optical drives and 2.5-inch external hard drives consume a lot of power. If you need to access a particular CD/DVD very frequently, copy the entire contents to the laptop's hard drive. Remember to disconnect any storage devices when you don't need to access them.
• If you will not be using your laptop for more than a weeks time, detach the battery and keep it separately.

2. Other Tips :

• Open and close the lid gently by holding it from the middle or both the sides. Holding the lid from one side stresses the hinge of that side. The hinge can bend or snap over a period of time.
• Avoid using your laptop on soft surfaces such as bed or sofa, as it will sink in causing the exhaust vents on the sides and base to get blocked. The hot air will get trapped within and your laptop will heat up.
• Don't slip the laptop in the bag immediately after switching it off. Let it cool down for 15 minutes and then pack it up.

 There will be a follow up post on the best gadgets to use for using your laptop to its full potential. So watch out for it.

P.S : Kindly leave comments so that i could improve on the blog post and topics to post on. Thanks =)