A Little History

Windows ‘95 was a new direction for Microsoft and there were serious challenges with it, and then things got fixed with Windows ‘98, especially the Second Edition.

Windows ME was rushed out the door too fast and back then when someone came to me with a computer problem that made no sense, I learned to ask, “Are you running Win ME?”, and they would say yes, and I would tell them to revert back to Win ‘98. Then XP came out, and things got fixed again.

Then it was Vista’s turn, and once again the populace got out their pitchforks. Vista had issues, but I still run it without many problems, and while I think that Windows 7 would be an improvement, I’m not running out for an upgrade. Perhaps you are looking for something new, though, and if so, this post is everything I’ve been able to dig up about what your options are…

Upgrading to Windows 7

There are several ways to buy Windows 7, if you do want an upgrade. The best price you will find is through Microsoft’s Student Offer. If you live in the US, you can get an upgrade for $30, in Canada for $40. Considering that the Canadian Dollar was almost at parity with the US dollar when Win 7 was released, it seems pretty steep to charge an extra 30% just for being Canadian. Not that I’m bitter.

The thing to know about this offer is that you don’t get physical media. You don’t get a CD or a DVD. You just download a program which upgrades your existing installation. From what I read, it can’t be used to do a clean install (deleting everything off the hard drive and starting from scratch with a clean installation). It can only upgrade, which likely means you have to have Vista installed, since an upgrade from XP isn’t possible. It also means you’ll have to stay with 32-bit, and won’t be able to switch to 64-bit, because transitioning your computer requires a clean install.

If your computer crashes or you want to reinstall, you’ll have to reinstall your older version of Windows, and then run the upgrade program again, which may mean having to download it again. The only way you can download it over again is if you still have access to your student email. So, if you’re in your final year, make sure you don’t delete the upgrade program you download. If you lose your student email account on graduation, you may not be able to get access to the upgrade you paid for. This upgrade option is provided by a third-party vendor, you’re not buying directly from Microsoft.

I only know what I’ve read, but some people seem to be suggesting that each download will only install once, meaning that if you need to reinstall, you’ll have to re-download. I don’t know if that’s the case, but if it is, it means that if your computer ever crashes once you graduate and lose your email, you’ll be shopping for new software. $30-40 for the new Operating System is a really good deal, but buyer beware, there are some drawbacks. The offer expires at the end of 2009, so don’t wait too long if you want to take advantage of it.

The Family Pack

The second-least-expensive way to get Windows 7 is through the Family Pack. This gets you three installations of Windows 7 Home Premium for the same household. In Canada, you can find it for $180. In the US, $150. So, not quite so severe a ‘Canada Tax’. Not that I’m bitter.

If you have several Windows machines in your house, and they’re all fairly new, this might be a good option for you. In the US, that’s $50/machine, and in Canada, $60/machine.

Fortunately, Family Pack version of Windows 7 appears to come with both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the program available on the disc, so there’s no need to make a choice when you’re buying the software, you can choose the best option for each of your machines.

Running the 64-bit version if your hardware will handle it has one huge advantage: memory. 32-bit systems have a built in limitation of 4GB of RAM. 64-bit systems are capable of using much more RAM. Your motherboard will have a maximum amount of memory you can install, but even if your motherboard can handle 8 or 16 GB of RAM, if you’re running a 32-bit Operating System, you can’t install more than 4GB.

Some sources seem to be indicating that the Family Pack is a short term program that won’t be around too long. So, don’t wait too long if you want one.

Half Off with a New Machine

Several retailers are authorized to drop the price of an upgrade copy of Windows 7 to half price if you buy a new machine that comes with Windows 7 already installed. If you plan to continue using an older computer alongside your new computer, its often more convenient to have them both running the same system. This is yet another a limited time offer.

University Bookstore

If you’re a student, but want physical media, you can buy a copy of Windows Ultimate from your bookstore. I’m not sure what the prices are like in the US, but here in Canada, it will be around $99. This is the fancier version, which is normally much more expensive. Most people will be happy with the Home Premium version, however, so this probably only makes sense if you’re not in a position to share, you want to make sure you have physical media, or you really want the best possible version of Windows 7. Unlike the other student upgrade offer, this time you’re buying directly from Microsoft, not a third-party vendor.

One is the Loneliest Windows that You’ll Ever Buy

Finally, you have the option to just buy a single upgrade if you’re not a student. The single upgrade is about 2/3 the cost of the Family pack, though, so if you’re upgrading only two computers, the Family Pack is still more cost effective. Who knows, you might find some use for that third install at some point.

If you buy a single copy of Win 7 upgrade, make sure that you check whether it is 64-bit or 32-bit. You can test your machine before you go shopping by downloading the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor for free from www.microsoft.com.

If your computer will handle it, the 64-bit version will allow you to install more memory and run 64-bit programs, which should be much more common in the coming years. 32-bit machines are going to get very rare because the default amount of memory included in a new machine right now is 4GB, and if you aren’t running 64-bit, some of that memory gets wasted. As machines offering 6 or 8 GB of memory become more and more common, 32-bit machines are going to start to look second-rate really quick.

So, this is really exciting news…eventually. USB 3.0 is sure to become the standard way to connect stuff to your computer in 2010, and some devices may leak out in time for Christmas 2009. Windows 7 will not initially support USB 3.0 because the standard got finalized too late, but you can be sure that both Mac and PC computers will jump on this bandwagon along with the rest of the tech world.

What’s New?

What are the advantages of the new plug? First of all, it’s fast. USB 2.0 was 20 times faster than the original USB 1.1 specification at 0.48 Gbps and the new specification will be 5.0 Gbps, another 10 times faster. The fastest way to get information in and out of your computer right now is eSATA at 3.0 Gbps. But, eSATA is still rather rare, and probably will be ignored once USB 3.0 becomes commonplace.

Second, USB 3.0 is more powerful and more power efficient. USB can both power a device and allow it to communicate with a computer, as long as the device doesn’t require too much power. The new specification allows for more power to more devices and at the same time is able to tell which devices require power and only supply power to those devices, saving electricity.

Third, USB 3.0 is backward compatible. Just like USB 2.0 connections still worked with USB 1.1 connections, you will still be able to plug all your old devices into your new USB 3.0 slot on your computer.

The Long Wait Begins

Computers and devices with USB 3.0 could start appearing at any time, now that the specification is finished. You can bet that computer makers have been preparing and will do everything they can to ensure that they are first to market. It will, however, be a while before you can reliably assume that any decent computer will have USB 3.0 like you can with USB 2.0.

Look For Deals

Six months from now, everything that doesn’t have USB 3.0 stamped on it is going to look old and tired. From now until then, manufacturers are going to be eager to clear out old inventory to make room for the new and snazzy. Computer makers who have prepared well for the shift will be able to transition smoothly to the new standards, but those who weren’t paying enough attention may be stuck with old inventory that suddenly isn’t moving at the old prices.

There are likely to be some good deals in the near future for those who are paying attention. Keep your eyes open, and you may score big if you can deal with not having the latest and greatest.

I’m writing from recent, personal experience in this post. I’m hoping that my advice will be preventive for you. I was getting myself a drink of water and I set it down next to my laptop, then managed to jiggle the cup and lost about half a cup of water directly onto my laptop keyboard. Most of the water stayed on the keyboard, but a little seeped through to the hardware underneath, causing to laptop to spontaneously shut down. Not a good sign.

How much is too much?

Spilling a mouthful of water onto your laptop generally isn’t too much of a big deal. The keyboard on a typical laptop is generally a tray that is water-tight and can take minor spills. The problem is when the quantity of water that is spilled onto the keyboard is so great that it runs over the side of the keyboard tray and gets underneath. Dribbling a little water on your laptop isn’t a big deal, it’s when you get a slosh that’s more than about a quarter of a cup that things start to get hairy. That’s when you join the Brotherhood of the Bedraggled Laptop (sisters welcome too).

First Steps

The first thing to be done is to unplug the laptop as quickly as possible and turn it over as smoothly and quickly as possible and remove the battery. You’re fighting gravity here, and seconds count. Unfortunately, my laptop shut itself down within three seconds, which was too fast for me to do anything about it. The goal is to get the laptop turned over fast enough that the water stops seeping downward and reverses course, at which point gravity becomes your friend, not your tormenter. It is important not to shake the laptop back and forth. One might assume that this dislodges water, but really all you are doing is spreading the water over more internal components.

Once the laptop is opened up flat, with the keyboard and screen face down and the power plug and battery pulled, move it somewhere it can dry out like a towel or a bed. Something that will help soak up the water.

Give It Time

Once you’ve performed the laptop first aid described above, it’s time to get some tools together. You’ll want to pull the hard drive out and inspect it for water, and this usually involves a Philips #1 screwdriver. Fortunately for me, my HD came out unscathed and none of my data was lost. You’re going to want to undo all of the screws that hold panels onto the bottom of your laptop, open it up and look for signs of water. Also, this will help air it out. Leave the laptop as dissassembled as you can manage to let it breathe. The harsh reality is that you should leave your computer like this for a week. Yes, I said a week. A major spill is a serious situation and you want to allow the computer to fully dry out before attempting to start it up again.

Recover Your Data

If you aren’t tech saavy, you may need help for this next step. You’ll want to find a way to check your hard drive. This may mean installing it in another computer. Another option is to buy a device which will allow you to hook up your hard drive to another computer via USB. This can either be an enclosure, which turns an internal device into an external device. Or, it could be just a cable that attaches to your hard drive. The cables are usually about half the price of the full enclosure, but your laptop may be out of commission permanently, and if you need your data to be portable to survive a while without your trusty computer by begging computer time from friends, an enclosure may be a good investment.

Pick up the Pieces

Once you’ve allowed a week for your laptop to fully dry out, put the pieces back together and see if it starts up. If nothing has been seriously damaged by shorting out, it may start up OK. Laptops do sometimes survive a dousing, but damage can happen to a laptop in two ways in this situation. If water hits a critical component while electricity is flowing through it, that can cause the component to short out, which is very bad.

The second way that an internal component can be damaged is if the internal components get corroded. Essentially, the components rust. Even a small amount of water can start this process, and once it starts it just gets worse. The tough part about this is that it doesn’t cause obvious damage, it just causes the computer to start to behave unusually as electricity starts to have a hard time getting to where it’s supposed to go. So, once your computer successfully restarts, keep an eye on it. If you’re very, very lucky you might suffer no ill effects from your misadventure.

Replacing Parts

The most likely part of your laptop to suffer damage in this situation is the motherboard. The motherboard is the large part that everything else plugs into. It’s like the frame of a car. It is a flat piece of silicon that sits internally just a little smaller than the width and depth of the laptop. The reason why it most easily gets damaged is that it’s everywhere inside the computer. If your computer starts up alright, but then starts acting funny, take it to a repair shop and have them open it up. With luck, they’ll be able to see where the water got in, assess the damage, and find you a replacement motherboard. If you’re unlucky, it won’t be obvious where the water was or else the cost of a motherboard replacement will be too large a portion of what the laptop cost in the first place.

The Bottom Line

Spilling water on your laptop is a bad idea. Desktops are less of an issue, because they usually are better protected from spills by their cases and the fact that they don’t lay like a sun-basking cat directly beside where you like to place your drink.

Be careful. If you do spill water, act quickly and use common sense to pull the plug and use gravity to reverse the water that’s seeping toward your motherboard, then dry the computer out.

Ruggedized Laptops

Some computer makers provide a line of Rugged laptops. a Ruggedized laptop usually is sealed against spills, has a stronger outer shell, and a shock-mounted hard drive that’s less likely to get damaged in a fall. For those of us who have been through the horrors of a water spill, that sort of thing starts to make a lot of sense.

Scanners are used to transfer hardcopy onto your computer. Whether it’s a photo or a document, a scanner uses a bright light and a sensor to collect an image from a flat surface. Before digital photography became the standard, scanners were the best way to get an image onto a computer. Now that digital photography has almost completely elminated the old film style of photography, it can be hard to find a scanner if you just want to scan documents. They are still available, but the selection has largely dried up unless you go to a specialty store. Most computer stores will only stock one or two low-end models.

Quality

One of the most important questions you want to ask is about the quality of the scans. The detail that a scanner is able to produce is measured in DPI, or Dots Per Inch. Just like your printer can produce more detailed documents if it has a higher DPI rating, a scanner can produce more detailed scans if it has a higher DPI.

Most scanners will list an Optical DPI and an Interpolated DPI. The first number is what the physical mechanism is able to detect. The Interpolated DPI means that the software that comes with the scanner can make the image quality even better than what the scanner can do naturally by making some educated guesses. It predicts what dots should fall between the dots it actually sees, and makes the image a little bit better.

All-in-One Printers

As standalone scanners began to become less popular and thus less expensive, printer manufacturers saw a golden opportunity. By integrating a scanner into a printer, suddenly you can fax, scan and photocopy as well as print. Initially this was used as a way to cram more features into high-end printers to make them more attractive. Lately, though, you can find All-in-Ones (also known as MFPs, or Multi-Function Printers) at lower costs than some standalone scanners. This is due to the printer-makers’ tactic of selling inkjet printers for rock-bottom prices to get you hooked on their ink.

So, the best option for a document scanner may be an All-in-One printer. Not only does it have a scanner, but almost all of these units include a sheet-feed mechanism. This means that you’ll be able to plop a multi-page document into the sheet feed, and let your computer churn away converting the entire document into text while you’re off enjoying a refreshing beverage reading a book on the sofa. Beats typing it out by hand.

OCR Software

Once you have a scanner to be able to convert your document into a computer image, you also need software which will turn the computer image into a text document. A good OCR program will do this all in one step, converting as the document scans.

Be sure when you’re buying a scanner or an All-in-One printer that it comes with OCR software (Optical Character Recognition). Virtually every standalone scanner somes with a trial or ‘lite’ version of one of the major OCR packages which will be fine for occasional use. Not all printers that include scanning functions will come with OCR software, though, so be sure that the printer you buy includes the software or you’ll have to buy it separately. You may want to do that, but better to try the free one first and see if it fits your needs.

If you plan on converting documents regularly, you may want to spend money on the full version of an OCR program. These run around $200, which isn’t cheap, but if you consider that one of these programs can turn a 20-page document into text for you in less than 5 minutes, you’ll save time and money in the long run. How many hours would it take you to type out 20 pages? How much would you have to pay someone to do it for you?

Let’s say you needed to re-type five 20-page documents, that would probably take you 12-15 hours of typing. Unless you can find a typist who is 99% accurate for $10 an hour, $200 starts to seem like a wise expenditure.

What is refurb?

There are a number of reasons why a machine might be marked refurbished. It might be that the item was returned to the store and sent back to the factory. As someone who worked on a return desk, I could tell lots of stories about items that were returned for no reason, or at least no good reason. If the factory determines that nothing is wrong with the item or that the problem can be easily corrected, then they will simply repackage the item and ship it back out as a refurb.

Sometimes an item is marked refurbished because it was damaged in shipping or while on the sales floor, and the damage is only cosmetic. A product can also be sold as refurbished because it was a demonstration unit. Clearance merchandise that hasn’t been sold or damaged can sometimes be marked as refurbished as well.

Whatever the reason it was marked down, refurbished equipment can be a good buy. It helps stores and manufacturers recover the cost of returned items and it can mean a great deal for you.

What you need to watch out for

Most stores have a different return policy for refurbished items. The return may be exchange-only, the window of time for returns may be shorter, or the item may not be returnable at all. Be sure you understand how the store handles refurbished returns and how they may differ from the store’s normal return policy.

Sometimes a store will sell refurbished equipment alongside the new stuff. This is an excellent opportunity to compare prices and return policies. For example, an MP3 player that would normally be $100 with a one month return policy compared with a refurb for $30 and an exchange-only return allowed for one week. Clearly the price is right, and if you aren’t picky, then this might be a fairly obvious choice. But, if you buy the unit and realize later that it doesn’t have a function you consider crucial or it doesn’t perform as you want it to, you might regret spending your $30 on something you’re not happy with.

Buying refurb makes sense when:

1. You’re sure about what you want and know that this model is the right one
2. There’s a deep discount in the price
3. You are comfortable with the return or exchange time frame
4. You don’t care about imperfections or cosmetic damage
5. You’re comfortable with the store’s reputation
6. They have several refurb items in stock, allowing you to choose the best of what’s available

I have purchased many refurbished items over the years. I tend to buy refurbished for items that I want but don’t need. When I’m buying something that I really rely on or a product that I don’t know much about, I tend to opt for new unless the discount is really deep.

The store you’re shopping at also makes a difference. If it’s a store that I shop at regularly, I’m more likely to trust the items they put on refurb. Putting an item on refurb is a judgement call on behalf of the store, and you want to make sure you’re shopping at a place where they exercise good judgement. A store with nothing to lose in terms of their reputation has no incentive to avoid unloading their junk on you.

There have been a few times that I’ve bought a refurbished product that I was unhappy with, but the same could be said of my new purchases as well. It can be easy to blame my dissatisfaction on the fact that the item is refurb, when it just might be that I got suckered by clever marketing on a substandard product.

Buying refurb doesn’t always make sense, but there are times when the deal is too good to walk away.

Memory in a Flash

Flash memory is very useful stuff. It holds the pictures, songs and videos in your camera or portable device. It stores your files on your thumb drive. The best part is, it’s non-volatile, which means it doesn’t need a constant flow of electricity like the RAM in your computer. There are dozens of varieties of flash memory, and I’m not going to describe each of them here, I’m just going to focus on the three most popular.

SD

SD memory, created by memory manufacturer SanDisk, is probably the most common form of flash memory available. The initials stand for Secure Digital, not SanDisk, though. It’s inexpensive, it’s widely available, and it comes in several sizes, including mini and micro, which are more compact forms that fit well into smaller devices like cell phones, which are constantly looking for ways to reduce size.

The original specification for SD cards only worked up to sizes of 2GB. A whole new specification called SDHC, the HC standing for High Capacity expands the amount of memory that SD cards can hold beyond 2GB. Devices created before the new specification was finalized will not be able to use the newer cards. So, be sure your device has SDHC stamped on it, not just SD before you buy a card bigger than 2GB, or you may be disappointed. However, the specification has been in place for several years, so devices that won’t handle the new stuff are getting more and more rare.

Compact Flash

Compact Flash is generally limited to high-end Digital SLR cameras. You don’t find it elsewhere very often. Compact Flash is much larger and heavier in physical size, but it has a significant advantage over SD in speed and capacity, which is why it is popular among high-end camera manufacturers. Just like SD is coming out with new specifications to allow for more memory and speed, CF is also developing new specifications which will allow for better performance. So, it’s important to know what revision number (1.0, 2.0, etc) your camera will handle so you don’t wind up buying a card that won’t work with your camera.

Memory Stick

Sony really likes to be original. They usually wind up doing their own thing and no one else joins in. Memory Stick is a format that only works with Sony devices. It’s the only other format that has any real traction in the marketplace, but no one else seems to be interested in using it. It has gone through several revisions from MS to MS Pro, which offer higher capacity, better speed and smaller size, just like SD and CF.

Shopping around

Finding the right memory for your camera isn’t that hard unless you’re buying memory for old equipment. If your camera is more than 2 years old and you’re buying the largest capacity card you can find, it’s generally a good idea to pull out the manual for your device and compare the specifications it will take with what you’re buying. Either that, or make sure you understand the store’s return policy.

What type of Battery?

The first thing to consider in selecting a battery is the material it is made of. NiCd (Nickle Cadmium) is an old style of battery, which is very difficult to find these days because it has been replaced by lighter and more efficient alternatives. NiMH (Nickle Metal-Hydride) is also very rare for the same reason. Most laptop batteries today are made from Lithium, because they are lighter and last longer. Lithium Ion is what most laptops use, while Lithium Polymer is gaining in popularity. For the most part, laptop battery makers switch very quickly to the latest materials available, so you probably couldn’t find a battery included in a laptop that itsn’t Lithium right now.

How much power does it hold?

Laptop batteries are composed of several smaller batteries called ‘cells’. The more cells, the more powerful the battery will be and the longer it will last. But, the number of cells doesn’t tell you how large each cell is. For a better measure of how much power a particular battery will hold, look for ‘amp-hours’ (Ah) or ‘milliamp-hours’ (mAh). These two numbers are the same rating, but one is measured a thousand times more precisely, like meters and kilometers. It’s hard to give ranges for what’s good, but an inexpensive battery often starts at around 2000 mAh, a decent battery is going to be around 4000 and an excellent battery is going to be 6000 or more.

How long will it actually last?

That’s a tough question to answer, because there are many factors which affect the performance of a battery in a given laptop. The basic idea of the mAh rating system is to provide an indication of how many hours a battery should last. So, a 2000 mAh battery should last 2 hours on a typical laptop under typical usage. A 6000 mAh battery should last for six. But, there are a lot of ways efficiency can be improved or reduced.

Construction and Components

A laptop that is put together efficiently, which has solid connections and well organized components will use less battery than a laptop that is put together sloppily. A laptop that uses high quality components will often perform better. Also, how much hardware is included in a laptop can make a big difference in how well it performs. A laptop that has 2 GB of RAM will use less power than a laptop running 4 GB. Right now there is debate over whether a Hard Drive or a Solid State Drive which has no moving parts gets better battery life. A 17″ monitor built into a laptop is going to use way more power than a 14″ screen. If battery life is more important to you than raw processing power, consider buying less machine or upgrading to more efficient components when selecting your laptop.

Operating System

The operating system, such as Windows or Linux, is constantly making decisions about how to allocate power. Do I shut down the monitor because the computer hasn’t been used in a few minutes? Do I shut down the hard drive? Does the DVD drive need to be spinning right now? There are many ways in which an operating system can be designed to recognize how a user operates and how a machine performs and to coordinate the machine’s use of power to best suit the user’s pattern. Take some time to fiddle with the power settings on your computer, and you could eke out a few more precious minutes from your battery.

Usage

How you use a computer affects how long the battery will last. If you are writing a document, or watching a movie or playing a video game, each of those activities will use a different amount of battery. If the computer has to be constantly accessing the hard drive or keeping the DVD drive spinning, then it’s going to use more power. Dimming the brightness of the screen can also make a big difference. Putting your computer to sleep when you know you won’t be using it for a few minutes will preserve the battery.

Why not Wifi?

Your laptop probably comes with Wifi, and there are lots of places that you can find Internet access. If all you need to do is find some quick information or surf the web, any open Internet connection will do. Some restaurants and coffee shops offer free wifi as an enticement to stop in for a coffee. Some people deliberately leave their home Internet open for anyone to use as a public service. Some people just don’t know how to secure their Internet connection, and leave it available unknowingly.

There is an ongoing ethical debate surounding whether its OK to log onto an open connection, or whether you should find the person who owns the signal and specifically ask permission. When I’ve needed to look something up while driving, I have on occasion just stopped in a residential neighbourhood to pull out my laptop and see if there’s an available connection. My conscience wasn’t bothered by it, and asking permission would have meant knocking on every door in  a ten-house radius to ask each homeowner if the signal I was about to use happened to be theirs.

On the other hand, if I found out my next door neighbour didn’t have an Internet connection of their own and was constantly using mine without asking permission, I would say it was inappropriate. If they had their own, but occasionally hooked into mine when theirs was acting up, I’d probably be OK with that, especially if they asked permission.

There are times, though, when you aren’t anywhere near a wifi hotspot but you still want to get access. In those cases, it might be useful to have a secure way to access the Internet in remote locations. Also, one of the things about tapping into whatever Internet connection you find is that if there’s no security on the connection keeping you out, there’s no security keeping your information private. If you are online banking or transferring client information, then you might not want to do so over an unsecured connection. It’s very unlikely someone will be eavesdropping on your Internet connection, but being careful with confidential information is important.

Mobile Internet Adapters

Most mobile phone companies now sell Internet Adapters for use with their service. The devices are reasonably priced, in fact I’ve seen some given away for free, but the pay-per-use Internet access they provide can get real pricey real quick. If you have a mobile phone, you have one for the convenience and security of being able to make a call wherever you happen to be, as long as you’re in range of a transmission tower. A Mobile Internet Adapter brings the same convenience to any computer with a USB port.

If you absolutely need Internet access for business purposes or just because you need your net fix and you’re willing to pay through the nose for it, then one of these devices might be just the thing.

The PDA

It wasn’t too long ago that the PDA, or Personal Digital Assistant, really took off in the business community and became a must-have gadget. Before that, truly organized people did it with paper, and some still do. PDAs were small, easy to backup and useful…very useful. This one little device could carry around all of your contacts, all of your appointments, all of your task reminders and could run simple programs to calculate, convert or store important data. It allowed someone with a mobile phone to bring critical data along wherever he or she went.

PDAs could synchronize with computers. This meant that information added to a computer or the PDA would magically appear on the other device. Mobile Phones had phone books, but keeping a comprehensive list of clients on your mobile phone up to date was tedious work, typing away on a little keyboard where you had to press keys multiple times to get a particular letter. Most people only kept a few phone numbers stored in their actual phones for the people that were most important or that they called the most.

Convergence

While PDAs were incredibly handy, it meant carrying around two devices, each of which needed to have a battery charged up on a regular basis, and trying to juggle both of them to look up a phone number while dialing the phone was an exercise in dexterity. The obvious solution was to merge these two devices into a single unit. Doing this in a small, attractive package, however, required a lot of clever engineering.

For several years now, there have been a number of devices available which successfully merged organizer and phone. The new trend is to add in wifi wireless Internet capability, so that the device can use local free wireless hotspots, instead of having to access the Internet through the phone company’s service which means paying the phone company for each piece of data transferred.

A Plethora of Choices

There are lots of devices available if you want a Smart Phone. There are devices focused on business users, average consumers, the tech-minded, those obsessed with the ‘cool new thing’, and teenagers. To make a good decision which is right for you, you need to know what these devices can do, so that you can ask informed questions about which phones offer which services.

Contact Management

Every mobile phone has a phone book, to store numbers you might want to call. Consider how much information you want to store. Just the phone number? The Phone number and the address? Everything about your client? Then consider how that information gets entered and how easy it is to synchronize that information with your computer or online address book.

Schedule

A good smart phone will act as an organizer, informing you where you need to be when. Again, how easy it is to synch it up with your computer is important.

Internet

An Internet browser is more and more becoming an important feature for your phone. Various websites offer versions of their site optimized for mobile phones, and some new smart phones offer full web browsers that allow you to surf just like you would on your computer at home. Of vital importance is whether the Internet is accessed through the mobile phone towers, for which you pay for every last byte of information, or whether the phone has Wifi, which would allow you to surf the Internet for free every time you’re near a Wifi hot-spot that offers free access.

GPS

Many phones offer GPS. Some phones will not only show you where you are, but how to get where you are going either walking, driving or taking public transit. We’ll soon be at the stage where every public transit system in North America is accessible through a GPS enabled smart phone. It will tell you which bus or train you need to take to get where you want to go, how long it will take, when you’ll arrive and how much you’ll need to pay. For me, the biggest disincentive for using public transit is having to figure out which route goes where and when I need to leave and how I find my connection to the next route. I’ve seen phones already that deal with all those hassles for you instantly in cities where routes are available online. Just punch in your destination and your phone will tell you just when you need to leave your house to catch the bus you need.

Camera

I never thought I would actually want a camera phone when they first came out, but I have to admit that I’ve really come to appreciate having a camera with me at all times. I often whip out my camera to take a picture of something I’m thinking of buying so I can show my wife and record the price. I take pictures of people I meet so that when I look up their phone number later I have a visual reference and I’m sure I remember who I’m calling. Having a video camera to record the circumstances of a fender-bender might help with your insurance company down the road.

Media Player

A lot of phones now offer playback of videos and music. You can load your favourite video of your child or grandchild and have a little something to show your friends about how cool your kid has become. You can get headphones, and use a smart phone to listen to tunes at the gym or while you’re out for a walk.

Invest Some Time and Money to Get the Right Thing

Having one device that does it all with just one battery that needs to be charged makes a lot of sense. If you use it well, then you’re quickly going to find that a smart phone is an indispensible device that organizes, entertains and offers security. Spending some time and money to get a device that you like and works well is a solid investment.

USB

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It’s a simple, easy way to connect things to your computer: Your printer, your digital camera, a thumb drive, a hot plate to keep your cup of coffee piping hot, a fan, a reading light, or one of thousands of useful or useless devices that are available for use with your computer. One of the great advantages of USB is that it not only communicates information, but is also capable of transmitting power. It carries information and powers the device. Larger devices that have significant power requirements tend to have separate power cords, but small devices often rely on USB for their power.

You can’t buy a computer these days that doesn’t include at least a few USB ports. If you need more connections than what the computer came with, you can buy a hub, which plugs into one USB port and provides 4 or more ports. This way, you can expand a single USB port to up to 127 devices: More than enough for a typical user.

Firewire

Firewire was standardized on Mac computers long before it became popular on PCs. When it was competing with USB 1.1, it had a significant speed advantage. It quickly became the standard for connecting MiniDV Camcorders to computers because it could transmit at 400 MBps (MB per second), which was 20 times the rate for USB 1.1 and necessary for transferring video files. Like USB, Firewire can both supply power and transmit data.

USB 2.0

USB 2.0 uses the same size of connector as USB 1.1, but it increases the speed of transmission from 20 to 480 MBps, 24 times faster. This made USB competitive with Firewire, but with the added convenience of being backward compatible with all earlier USB devices.

Firewire 800

Firewire came out in a new, faster version called Firewire 800, twice as fast as the original Firewire. For a while it was the fastest available, but it didn’t maintain its lead for long.

eSATA

SATA is a way to connect your computer to its internal components. When you install a Hard Drive or a DVD drive into your computer, SATA is the name of the cable you’ll likely use to plug it in.

A new type of SATA for external devices is called eSATA, the ‘e’ standing for ‘external’. eSATA runs at 3.0 GBps. That means it is three and a half times as fast as Firewire 800. Until USB 3.0 is widely available, eSATA is the fastest way to attach an external hard drive, and it operates at the same speed as your internal devices.

Before, with other types of connections, there was an advantage to connecting a device internally, because there was a bottleneck if you used an external device. With eSATA, you can attach devices which will theoretically perform at the same speed as a device you install inside the computer. eSATA is really only an advantage for devices which need to pass a lot of information very quickly, like an external Hard Drive.

USB 3.0

USB 3.0 is a recently finalized standard which will soon be included on new devices and computers. It moves the top speed of transmission for USB from 480 MBps to 5.0 GBps, more than 10 times faster. That makes it more than 50% faster than eSATA. And, because it uses the same size of connector as older USB plugs, it will be backward compatible with all earlier 2.0 and 1.1 USB devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a way to connect devices to your computer and devices to devices…wirelessly. It’s like USB, without the wires. It’s what connects your wireless headset to your phone, and that’s how most people know the technology. Originally, it was meant to replace USB, allowing you to connect your printer or camera to your computer without the hassle of plugging in wires. But, the only place it’s really taken off and become standard is with mobile phone headsets.

Laptop or Desktop

It’s very easy to add the newest connector type to a desktop computer. You can buy a card and pop it in your computer fairly easily. It’s a little trickier with a laptop. It isn’t as easy to add in what you want later on, so it’s important to pay attention to what a laptop comes with.

What are the Essential Ports on a Laptop?

USB

The absolute necessity is multiple USB ports – USB 3.0 if you can find it. USB is aptly named ‘Universal’ Serial Bus, because at this point, almost everything uses it.

Firewire

Get a Firewire port if you’re into video editing or audio recording. Older video cameras almost exclusively use Firewire, and most of the better professional audio interfaces do as well. It is worthwhile to be compatible with older cameras if you’re doing a lot of video editing. But, a Firewire port can be added through a PC card so even if you find a great deal on a laptop but it doesn’t have firewire, you can add it in later.

PC Card

PC Card is short for PCMCIA card, which is jokingly referred to as “People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronymns”. It was a way to plug in modems and other devices back in the day which has now largely become irrelevant, but laptop makers still build them in. They’re only good for about two things: Adding in ports like Firewire that didn’t come with your machine and adding in wireless adapters.

They do a good job of those two things, though, because the cards can plug entirely inside your computer, making them very easy to just leave inside and not bother with. When you have a USB device, you need to unplug it and put it away before you pop your computer into your laptop bag or risk damaging the plug as it gets jostled around inside the bag. PC Cards just stay put, no muss, no fuss. They are often useful to have, but they’re a standard option on virtually every laptop, so advising you to make sure you have one is like advising you to make sure your laptop comes with a keyboard.

eSATA

Get eSATA if you want to use an external Hard Drive or other high-speed device, although if your computer comes with USB 3.0, then eSATA becomes redundant, and you should only get one if you want your computer to be able to interface with absolutely anything that it might have to. There’s nothing worse than being on a deadline or in a presentation and a file you absolutely need is on a device you can’t access. But, very few devices are eSATA-only. Most that have eSATA also offer USB as an option.

HDMI

An HDMI port is becoming somewhat standard on laptops these days. This type of port is solely for connecting your laptop to a Big Screen TV, but it’s a handy thing to have. Especially if your laptop comes with a Blu-ray drive, because then it can double as a component in your home entertainment system.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is nice to have in case you want to connect a keyboard or a mouse to your computer wirelessly, but this technology hasn’t replaced USB as it was originally hoped it would. I wouldn’t go out of my way to include Bluetooth, especially when you can just buy an adapter to plug into a USB port for $10-20.