PCinfospace

What in the world is all this USB stuff? It stands for Universal Serial Bus.  Why? I guess somebody didn’t have anything to do the day it was named.

These can be called other names such as Thumb drive.  They range in size from (now at least) 8 GIG all the way up to 16 GIG.  As the sizes increase the price per gigabyte tends to decrease. As I am writing this the prices have been dropping on the smaller units.

Why do you need this? This depends on what you are trying to do with it.  The are small, easy to carry and store a fair amount of data.  They are also compatible to almost any computer out there.  If you still have a Win 98 or Win ME computer you need to make sure it is compatible before you buy it. Some do have drivers that will work in these older units.  Usually it is used to store files that need to be transferred to a different computer normally at a different location.  It “sort of” took the place of the old 3 1/2″ floppy disk.  HOWEVER!!!! they are huge in comparison when it comes to storage space.  Strangely enough they are much smaller in physical size.

What else can you do with them? I am not sure if I can even give every possible thing they can be used for.  Many people do use them for backups however.   Files can be stored of these drives and taken home or off site for safe keeping.  In case there is a fire or natural disaster, theft or any other event you have the data files to get up and running quickly.

WARNING !! If for any reason you can not access the USB drive you may be out of luck.  Things can go wrong.  I have seen this happen.  Be sure you have the file in more than one location.

It is extremely hard to repair a Laptop.  Here is why:

Graphics, Sound, Network port, USB port and other peripherals are integrated into the motherboard.  The number of integrated ports, accessories are related to the price your pay for the Laptop.  You can not change the size of the screen either.  By luck a port is provided to hook an external Screen if you wish. Most laptop are now coming with touch pad, which takes the place of the mouse.  This pad is both loved and hated.  It does do away with the mouse.  The problem is that is can be touched by accident when you are typing.  This creates a lot of four letter words that I can not say here.   Again by luck Laptops do allow you to connect a PS2 mouse to a provided port.  If this were not the case there would be a lot of Laptops in the junk.

What can I repair?
Not much.  The Hard drive can be replaced as can be the RAM chips.  Anything that is on the Motherboard will cost you a lot of money to replace.  Actual repair is normally not possible.  I treat software problem as repair items also.  In fact most Computer repair is associated to software which includes the operating system. If you want to order a Motherboard and replace it yourself you can.  However!!! you will need a lot of time and patience.   The screws that hold it together are very small and some Laptops need special tools to take them apart.  Due to the fact they are plastic it is possible you could break something.  I do not recommend doing this. You can normally have it sent to the manufacturer and they will replace it.  Cost may be high however.  It may be cheaper to buy an entirely new Computer.

Who should own one?
This does depend on what you want to use it for.  I feel you should only own one if your work depends on it.  If you travel and need it for business this may be a good choice for you.  If you want to free yourself from being tied down to one room or you want to multi-task by watching TV or doing some other activity it can be a good choice.  You will need wireless capability to do that.

What about cost?
Laptops have finally come down in price and are affordable for most people.   You can get some for around $500 especially on a sale. BUT! REMEMBER! REMEMBER! REMEMBER! There is normally no software on it.  OK! there are some trial programs and maybe some small insignificant ones. Now you know why they are so cheap.  Even the virus program is usually a trial program.  (60 days on the average).  You MUST buy programs for these computers or you will not be able to do anything.  Obviously you must have Virus and Spy-ware protection.  Buy the best you can afford.

I hope this gave insite into the pluses and minuses about repairing and buying a laptop.