Laptop tips and advice

[December]

Hey guys!

Thanks for the great advice and comments about laptops in my earlier post. I've decided to get a DELL Inspirion 8500 series laptop because I thought it offered a lot of bang for the buck. It should arrive soon, and I'm quite excited! It's gonna be the shits, as they say ;) Here are the specs:

-Mobile P4 2.0Ghz
-30GB harddrive
-512MB DDR memory
-24x CWR-DVD-ROM
-15.4" WXGA display
-32MB DDR Radeon video card
and a bunch of other stuff

I recently purchased a DELL external floppy drive for $39.95. (A few days later I see it go for $35.95, grrrrr!) How much do external floppy drives for laptops go for anyway? On the DELL site, there were some that were like in the fifties-plus range. Anyone have any recommendations? I guess it's too late for me now, as I already purchased one. But I'd still like to know what they usually go for and which ones are good.

Now, I'm new to laptops, so I hope some of these questions don't sound silly. I know with desktops you can leave them on for hours, even days. Can you do that with laptops? I don't think I would leave my laptop on all day/night, but can you use your laptop on for hours (using AC power)? Or is anything over 3 hours (or battery time) bad for your laptop and screen? Are laptop screens delicate?

My laptop comes with a 56k modem (plus DSL/cable connection) and it's portable. Does that mean I can connect to the internet anywhere that has a phone jack (like at a school, coffee shop, friend's house, etc.)? My friend said yes, but just make sure I adjust the dial-up area code so I won't rack up any phone bills for the place that I dial up from.

Last question. What is a good laptop bag? Do any of you laptop users feel like you have to be gentle when lugging yer system around? Thanks guys!

[scottschoe]

yes u can leave your laptop on forever. only real issue is heat build-up; depending on the design, certain parts of the laptop will heat up after prolonged use.

laptop screens are not that delicate, but don't go prodding it. actually, try not to touch it at all with your hands (oil).

internet: most likely, the coffee shops/schools will not have available phone jacks.......but they might have 802.11b

[pokerface]

a nice padded laptop bag helps. better than say, stuffing it into your backback. I'm generally careful with anything expensive in general :o but a laptop bag would i guess buy you peace of mind on the occassional bump or knock.

I think floppy drives are on their way out. Perhaps you should have invested in a USB flash drive.. much more portable, relatively cheap, and store way more than a floppy. Mind you, some older computers may still not have USB ports..

as for battery issues, you can run the laptop on AC all the time (charging it ALL the time is a different story... I generally wont leave anything plugged in longer than it has to), but you have to discharge the battery every now and then (say, once every two months, let the battery run out completely to zero.. til it wont turn on at all) this keeps the battery properly conditioned.

that's a HUUGE screen, btw.. nice! ;)

edit: is it just me or are some members' post counts decreasing?? :confused: I'm pretty sure MBZer had 300+, and I thought December had at least 25... :hmmm:

[redline]

Originally posted by scottschoe
yes u can leave your laptop on forever. only real issue is heat build-up; depending on the design, certain parts of the laptop will heat up after prolonged use.

laptop screens are not that delicate, but don't go prodding it. actually, try not to touch it at all with your hands (oil).

internet: most likely, the coffee shops/schools will not have available phone jacks.......but they might have 802.11b

Yes, there is a fan inside the laptop. Locate this fan and if you set it down for the night or whatever and leave it on, you'll want to hang it over the edge a bit so that the fan can get some air. Also be careful it doesn't burn you... no I'm serious! I had a gateway that would burn me !! jeasus!@@#$

[dumpsta]

Hi,

Inregards to running the laptop day and night, turn off the screen because LCDs have the tendency to go 'yellow' if u have them on too long. Also dont ever use alcohol to clean the screen even if the cleaner says its lcd safe (expensive lesson learnt) , because that will also turn the screens yellow.

Also, I have been running servers on my laptops..some of which have been on for more than 6 months. However, the stickers on the bottom (serial number, that windows license sticker) have all melted, so I suggest to remove those first if you are planning on having it on for THAT long. or you can try proping it up allowing air flow around and under.


With regards to lugging around the laptop, I try to be gentle with the abs plastic shell ones because they feel like they are going to break even if I hold it with one hand. Thats why I went titanium composite for my new laptops and never looked back.

Just my two cents :)

[mjax]

Where did you get thge external floppy? I've been looking for one also, because my laptop doesn't have a floppy.

[December]

mjax, I got my external floppy drive from DELL. It is a DELL brand and looks pretty nifty. I got it for around $47 after tax and stuff. I think DELL dropped the price down to $35 (a few days after I bought it, grrrrr!). I was at CompUSA the other day and at Fry's today and saw that the external floppy drives they carry were a little pricey compared to DELL's. They were in the 50s range.

btw, the floppy drive uses a USB port and is plug and play (no software needed to operate!).

Oh, how do you clean a laptop screen?????? You know how computer screens attract dirt and lint? How do you wipe them off?

[pokerface]

i use windex on a soft cloth (do NOT use kleenex!) seems to work fine for me :o