Technology Metro

Another deal on offer here. Not the best of deals but a Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook PC for just $400 is a good deal in my book. Staples has a Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook PC on sale for $400 after $147 instant rebate. This Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook is not the top of the line laptop by any means but for a web surfer and for people who doesn’t need much processing power or don’t want to play new games on it, this is a good choice. Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook is not the lightest of laptops as it weighs 5.68lbs but for $400 who cares. The regular price of Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook at staples is $546.98 but after a $147 instant rebate, the price comes down to $400. For those who want to know, here are the specifications for this Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook:

• AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core TK-57 (1.90GHz) processor
• 1GB of pre-installed RAM (Expandable to upto 3GB if needed)
• 120GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
• Super Multi 8X DVD-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• 15.4″ WXGA High-Definition BrightView Widescreen display
• NVIDIA GeForce 7000M with up to 287MB
• 802.11b/g WLAN

This Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook comes with Windows Vista OS pre-installed so I don’t think 1GB of RAM will cut it. If it were me, I would remove Windows Vista and install Windows XP. Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook has a battery that will last up to 2.5 hours depending on what you are doing. Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook comes with a 1 year warranty. The design of this Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook looks slick (better than a Vostro 1500 looking at the picture). If it were me, I would buy this laptop in an instant. I already have one (Dell Vostro 1500) so I don’t need another, otherwise I would have bought Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook. Good value for the money.

Here is another great deal on Lenovo Laptops. You can get upto 40% off on Lenovo Thinkpad R Series Laptops. It is a very very good deal. 40% off on any laptop is a steal and this too on a Lenovo Thinkpad Laptops is just crazy. Well 40% off deal is only for Lenovo Thinkpad R Series Laptops but you can still get 15% discount on other Lenovo Laptops if you use paypal as a payment method. I would have chosen this specifications if I were to buy a Lenovo ThinkPad R Series laptop because it is cheap and has a decent enough configuration.

• Intel Core 2 Duo processor T8100 (2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2)
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
• 15.4″ WXGA
• Intel GMA X3100, GL960, PC Card
• 1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
• 80 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM 24x/24x/24x/8x Max Combo Ultrabay Enhanced
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
• 6 cell Li-Ion Battery ( 2.4 Ah )
• 1Year Depot Warranty

Ok, here is what you should do to order this specification Thinkpad R series laptop.

• Visit the Lenovo Thinkpad R series page
• Under ” ThinkPad 15.4” widescreen R Series notebooks” click on View Models
• Then select ” Customize and Buy” for the least expensive model
• Add these to the default configuration
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor T8100 (2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2) [This will add $142.50 to your order]
• 1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) [This will add $0.00 to your order]
• Now checkout and apply this “USP2PAYPAL” coupon
• Your total will be $905 but after subtracting 25% instant off offer and 15% coupon code, you will only pay $577

Shipping for all or any items purchased comes with free shipping so no extra payment needed for shipping cost. Well I chose this specification because of the price. It is not the best configuration by far but for the price and brand, it is not bad. You could choose anything on any Lenovo ThinkPad R Series Laptops and still get the 25% instant off offer and 15% coupon code if you have plenty of cash.

For other model Lenovo Laptops, you won’t be able to get 40% off but still you could use the stackable coupon that will give you an instant 15% off and you will also get the 15% off (instead of 25% on Lenovo Thinkpad R Series Laptops). Here is a review of Lenovo Thinkpad R61 Laptop at Notebookreviews.

As we depend more and more on technology and specially computers, we should be always on the safe side as it can fail. We store a lot of valuable data and other stuffs like pictures and stuffs on our computer’s hard drive. Hard drive is liable to fail at any moment as it has a lot of movie parts. This has happened to me a couple of times. The hard disk just crashed without notice and I lost a lot of media files that I had collected. I didn’t have any knowledge of Data Recovery at that time and I just threw the hard disk away. It would have been very useful for me as I could get back almost all the files I had on the crashed hard drive.

Well, professionals can recover almost all the data from a crashed hard drive if you do it in time. Don’t try to run the hard drive if you hear any odd noise and it might damage the hard drive even more. Leave it for the professionals. Dtidata.com is just one of those sites that offer data recovery services for customers. They provide data recovery services of all kind, for servers, for laptops, for desktops, for Mac computers and anything you can think of that has a hard drive. They also provide valuable raid data recovery service. You could use a data recovery software and do it yourself but for a bit complex situations, you will have to get professional help and dtidata.com provides just that kind of service. You might want to look at their data recovery blog if you want a bit more information on data recovery. Their blog has a lot of valuable information on anything that has to do with data recovery. If dtidata.com can’t recover your lost files, they won’t charge you a think. They are a Microsoft certified partner so expect quality work from them. All the softwares found on the site was developed by them and they also offer a class 100 clean room which you won’t find on many data recovery companies so you will get quality for your money. You can ask for a free data recovery quote for single hard drives if you need to know the charges.

To prevent logical damages, you might want to use NTFS as it provides more protection because of its encryption process. To prevent physical damage, there is almost nothing you can do. Well don’t let your hard drive get too hot and handle it with care. Don’t let it endure shocks. Thats it, nothing more you can do for physical hard drive crash so it is best to backup your important data to another hard drive or DVD’s. Prevention is better than cure.

I have written a couple of posts on Dell Vostro Laptops before. Well Dell are giving away another great deal on Dell Vostro 1500 Laptops again. This time a Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop would only cost $499. This Dell Vostro Laptop is almost as good as mine. I configured a Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop to suit my needs before I bought it and it cost me $700 including taxes. If you purchase a Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop at default configuration, it would only cost you $499. Not a bad deal if you consider the hardware inside it. Here are the default specifications for this Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop.

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
• Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
• Microsoft Works 9. Does NOT Include MS Word
• 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Anti-Glare Display
• 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
• 8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD
• 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
• 80GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
• Dell Exclusive MediaDirect Instant Play Software Application
• Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
• 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
• 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
• High Definition Audio 2.0
• Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Well this configuration has 1GB of more Ram than mine. The battery that comes with it ( 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery ) is not that good if you plan to travel a lot with this laptop. You might want to get a 85WHr 9-Cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery. This Dell Vostro Laptop is well worth $499. I don’t regret it a bit and I have been using a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop for 6 months now. Just get a powerful battery and you are good to go. One bad point about this laptop is it is a bit on the heavy side. Other than that, if you consider the usability it is good value for the money.

Everyone wants to make their operating system their own and to do this you have to either use a skin which will take up lot of memory as you will have to install some third party software (Wincustomize of some other similar softwares). The easiest and the fastest way to customize your computer is to place a set of icons which doens’t need any special software. Just download the set of icons you like and set them as you might want to. Downloading a free icon is not that hard, there are lots of sites that offer free download of icon packs and also some paid ones. Apart from using these icons in your computer, you can apply it to your own software, websites or anything whatsoever you want to do.

FreeIconsDownload is one of the free icon downloads sites and there will be no legal issues if you want to use it in your software or websites as all of the icon sets found at FreeIconsDowload are royalty free. Free Icons download has very exclusive collection which you can not find on the popular icons website and most of the all the quality of icons are really great. There are more than 15 categories in which icons are divided as well as you can also list icons as most download icons. They have a huge collection free icons on offer. I searched around this site for quite a while and I really liked the Social Bookmark Icons. I think I am going to use these icons on this blog. I am thinking of removing the big one that I have right now and use the Social Bookmark Icons set I found at Free Icons Download.

lol this is a very very cheap deal. $5 for a Ethernet switch is a very low price. Well actually the price is set at $15 on Newegg for SMC105DT Fast Ethernet Switch. You will need to use a $10 off coupon code (EMCADCFCH) to get the SMC105DT 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch for $5. There is nothing special on this SMC Ethernet Switch but for $5 its a cheap ethernet switch and will work as advertised. Nothing more to it. I almost forgot, this SMC Network’s Ethernet Switch’s shipping is free so for a total cost of just $5, you will get if right on your doorsteps. The price of this SMC Ethernet Switch elsewhere is:

• CostCentral.com $32.90 + $8.06 shipping
• POWERMAX $34.88 + $7.05 shipping
• PC Connection $35.28 + $9.49 shipping
• TheNerds.net $36.99 + $9.99 shipping
• Super Warehouse $37.99 + $6.99 shipping

So considering the price of the SMC105DT 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch on other shops, $5 is a great deal. Well this SMC SMC105DT 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch has 5 x RJ45 Ports. It is built on IEEE802.3, IEEE802.3u and IEEE 802.3x standard. It also has a 4K Mac Address table and 1MB of buffer memory. The size of the SMC105DT 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch is pretty small ( 4.3″ x 2.8″ x 0.8″ ). Here are some of the features of this SMC Networks’ Fast Ethernet Switch:

• Auto-negotiation of half or full duplex
• Auto-sensing of transmission speed on all ports
• Auto configuration for MDI/MDI-X cable connections
• ANSI/IEEE 802.3u compliant

Apple only produce quality products. I love what they have done to the portable music player industry. I have an iPod which I bought about a year ago (iPod Video 5.5 Gen). I have never been so satisfied with any other technological gadget. A friend of mine owns an Apple AirPort Extreme and he is more than satisfied with its performance. It is slick, small and does the job perfectly well. Apple AirPort Extreme is a wireless base station which is good for both personal use, business use and even for schools. Fifty users can connect using the AirPort Extreme Base Station using Wi-Fi technology (using IEEE 802.11 n standard). Apple AirPort Extreme also has three ethernet ports which can be used to connect computers to the network using Wires (using IEEE 802.3 standard). IEEE 802.11n is still on its development phase but it doesn’t pose a problem at all. EEE 802.11n is a good option because it can be used with all EEE 802.11a, EEE 802.11b and EEE 802.11g standards.

Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station also has a USB port which you can use to connect printers and hard drives. You can plug-in your external hard drive and share the space with all the computers connected to this network. For sharing your printer, you can use the USB 2.0 port and use AirPort Extreme Base Station power to print documents wirelessly. from any computers within your network. You won’t have to worry about any computer other than in your network connect to your network as the AirPort Extreme Base Station uses the industry standard encryption technologies such as WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP which will secure your wireless network from intruders. You will have to use a AirPort Extreme utility software to configure your Apple Router which is very simple and easy to use and after you have configure your AirPort Extreme, no one can connect to your network without entering the correct password.

Apple’s AirPort Extreme also includes a built-in firewall which will keep you safe from the dangerous world of the World Wide Web. AirPort Extreme’s built-in firewall is automatically turned on. This Apple Router works with both Mac’s and PC’s so there won’t be any compatibility issues with the computer platform or your WiFi card. The cost of an Apple AirPort Extreme is not that high, you can buy an AirPort Extreme for $180 plus there is no shipping cost. You won’t be disappointed at all, it works flawlessly. Here are some of the features found on an Apple’s AirPort Extreme Base Station:

• 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking
• MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) smart antennas
• dual-band antennas for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies
• three 10/100 Ethernet LAN ports
• one 10/100 Ethernet WAN port
• one USB port
• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA-2), 128-bit WEP encryption
• a built-in NAT firewall

You will find these items inside your AirPort Extreme box.

• AirPort Utility for Mac and Windows
• AirPort Disk Utility for Mac and Windows
• 802.11n Enabler for Mac³
• Bonjour for Windows
• Power cord
• Printed and electronic documentation

View Apple’s AirPort Extreme Router from all angles.

When you buy a brand new laptop, they don’t come with a carrying case inside the box. You will need to buy it separately. There are a lot, I mean a lot of laptop bags and sleeves to choose from. Some laptop bags look really hideous but some are really cool. I bought a laptop about six months ago (to be exact, a Dell Vostro 1500 ). For portability reason, I had to buy a laptop bag. I was looking for a laptop shoulder bags and it was quite hard to find one that I liked. Finally, I choose one. The design not that great but the options, like pockets etc was the main reason that drew me into choosing it. The material used in it was basic and the price was a bit high for the product (I think I paid $30 for it).

Slappa provides the best casing you will find anywhere on the web as well as on location. They are one of the top laptop bag manufacturers out there. I found quite a few cool laptop bags and sleeves at Slappa.com . Ballistix PTAC Stealth laptop sleeves was the pick of the bunch for me. All the materials used in the laptop shoulder bags and sleeves are of top quality. The material used in these bags are made of ballistic nylon which is usually used in bullet proof vests so this should provide more than enough protection for your precious laptop. Here are some of the cool features of the Ballistix PTAC Stealth laptop sleeve that I found on Slappa.com

• It is water resistant to you can carry it around even in the rain and be sure your laptop stays dry
• It is tear resistant as the material used (1680-D ballistic nylon) is very flexible and is used widely in bullet-proof vests
• Quilted soft padding inside of the sleeve for added protection to your laptop
• Has a compartment to carry laptop adapters and some documents at the back.

One bad point about this laptop sleeve is, it doesn’t come with a shoulder strap. You have to buy it separately and it costs $13. The Ballistix PTAC Stealth laptop sleeve itself only costs $39.99 but I can guarantee it will be money well spent. From the design point of view, these bags are just top quality and has lots of technology added into for better protection. These laptop bags are made for 15″ and 17″ laptops. There are other protective coverings available for other gadgets to besides laptops. You will find few protective covering for Play Station Portable and DJ Gears. Slappa also has a whole bunch of CD and DVD cases for very efficient storing and carrying of these optical disks which is prone to damage by mis-handling. you will be more than satisfied with these products as it is made for quality. Lots of high profile websites and blogs have made positive reviews about the Slappa’s products so you are safe getting their products.I wish I had found this bag a bit sooner.

When I first started using a computer, I used to have a 500MB hard drive and that was a lot, I mean a lot of space at that time. There was no CD’s and CD writers back then and we used to transfer files using a 1.44MB diskette. Now these numbers are a joke. We can”t even fit in a full CD into a 500MB hard drive and as time goes on, file size will start to increase (in games as well as movies and other files). Right now I have a 160GB Hard Drive and that too is almost full as I have a lot of songs, movies, videos, pictures and games on it. I am almost out of disk space.

I don’t live in the US so can’t get in on this great deal from Newegg. Well, Newegg has a 1TB AcomData External Hard Drive on a great price. The price of this AcomData 1TB External Hard Drive used to be $300 but newegg have dropped $50 off its original price. Now you can get the AcomData 1TB External SATA Hard Drive for even less cost if you use this coupon code (COUPON: EMCADAHAF). This coupon will cut the price of the AcomData 1TB External Hard Drive to another $50 less (So the price of AcomData 1TB External Hard Drive is not cut down to $200 with the $50 off coupon). Wait, there is more on offer here, there is another $20 mail-in rebate offer. This cuts the cost of the AcomData 1TB External Hard Drive to $180. If you buy this AcomData External Hard Drive, you will have to pay an extra fee of $8 for shipping and handling. And the total cost of this AcomData External Hard Drive is $188. Great price if you consider the extra space you will have. 1TB of storage is not a joke.

Here are the specifications for AcomData External Hard Drive:

• Obviously, 1TB of storage capacity
• Uses USB 2.0 / eSATA for connecting to a computer
• 16MB Cache for faster data access
• Spins @ 7200 RPM
• Average data seek time is 8.5ms

This AcomData External Hard Drive is not that bulky. The dimensions of this external hard drive is 7.4″ x 4.4″ x 1.3″. AcomData 1TB External Hard Drive also comes with a vertical and horizontal stackable case. This product is out of stock as of now but do check back as it will be available at newegg again very soon and you won’t want to miss this kind of offer.

Dell Vostro Series Laptops are not that great looking. From the design point of view, the Vostro series laptops looks really average. There are some great points to Vostro Laptops though, they usually have a great hardware inside. Vostro laptops are quite heavy also so if you are looking for a light weight laptops, you will have to look elsewhere. Dell Vostro Laptops are priced reasonably and great for personal and small business.

Dell are offering a great deal on three of their Vostro Series Laptops (Vostro 1400, Vostro 1500 and Vostro 1700). If the final price of your selection on these Vostro series laptops is $1249+, Dell will give you a $500 off. No need to apply coupons or anything, your cart will be automatically updated with $500 off. (Cart discount: Save $500 when system priced above $1249)

For a Dell Vostro 1400 Laptop here are one of the best combinations.

1. Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) [add $280]
2. Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium [add $29]
3. 14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife [add $40]
4. 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator [add $30]
5. 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS [add $99]
6. Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Internal-card [add $35]
7. Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate) [$20]
8. Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera [add $40]
9. 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery [add $40]
10. 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery [add $59]
11. 2 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 2 Year NBD On-Site Service [add $79]

• Add to cart
• Your total will be $1250. $500 will be automatically substracted so your final price will come to $750 + applicable taxes with free shipping for the above configuration

For a Dell Vostro 1500 Laptop this is one of the best possible configuration:

1. Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) [add $280]
2. 15.4 in Wide Screen SXGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife [add $100]
3. 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator [add $30]
4. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT [add $199]
5. Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate), Vista [$20]
6. Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera [add $30]
7. 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery [add $99]

• Checkout, your total will be $1257 - $500 off = $757 with free shipping (excluding tax)

For Dell Vostro 1700 laptop, here is one of the specifications I liked for Dell Vostro 1700 series laptops.

1. Intel Core 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) [add $80]
2. 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM [add $75]
3. 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive [add $50]
4. 8X CD/DVD+RW Read and Burn CD and DVD [add $30]
5. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT [add $199]
6. Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)[add $20]
7. Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera [add $40]
8. 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery [add $40]

• Checkout, your total price will come to $1,263 -$500 off = $763 and shipping cost is free (This price is before adding any taxes).

Get the one you like before the offer expires. Something quite like this happened on an HP deal last time (coupon expired before time because of large purchase). There are lot better looking laptops around but the price of the Vostro series laptops are pretty cheap. There are some cons to Vostro laptops though, they are quite bulky, heavy and the design is pretty average.