New Toshiba Laptop Has Interesting Features

Some information about a new Toshiba laptop has been leaked and some of the details are pretty interesting. The information, which came from VozExpress, may have you asking yourself if it's all too good to be true!

The new laptop will featured a 512GB solid-state-drive, instead of a 500GB hard drive, which may be one reason the laptop is said to be extremely light. (Rumor has it, it'll weigh about 2.2 pounds, making it one of the world's lightest.) However, the solid-state-drive will probably drive the price up compared to what its counterpart with a hard drive would cost.

It will use standard-voltage Intel Core i3 or i5 processors, which is a big difference compared to most other ultra-portable laptops, that use a low-voltage processor. For this reason, Toshiba has been extremely inventive with its battery...or should I say batteries. The higher-voltage processor would eat up the battery life of a normal battery. But for this computer, in addition to the primary battery, the new laptop will feature a second battery, using Super Charged ion Battery (SCiB) technology.

According to CNET, batteries that use the SCiB technology have the ability to be recharged to 90% in a matter of ten minutes...yes, ten minutes. Many tech experts have been drooling over that information. Imagine, recharging your laptop in less time than it takes to wash a load of dishes or clean out your email inbox. This could mean huge things for the laptop industry and send Toshiba's competitors into panic mode.

In addition to the SCiB technology, the laptop is said to be the first laptop with a "honeycomb rib structure. It will also supposedly feature the new Blaze Mountain CPU cooling. There are no details as to when the 13-inch laptop will be released, or how much it will cost, but you can bet the details have many people waiting impatiently for more.

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Get the Most From Your Laptop With Free Downloads

Most people want to get the most from their laptops, but many do not know how. More importantly, most people don't know how to do it for free! Yes, there are free downloads out there that can help you with everything from battery life to Wi-Fi. They'll definitely make your life a lot easier! Let's take a look a some of them:

Battery Managers - It seems as though every laptop owner has a gripe about their battery, whether you don't think your battery has enough power or you lose power too quickly, the following downloads will help you keep track of battery life and maybe even get more power out of your charge.

• BattCursor - This program shows your remaining battery life on your mouse cursor so you don't have to to continued checking how much is left, over and over again. You have your cursor's color and transparency change based on the power level. It also offers lots of little extras including tips on how to improve battery life.
• BatteryBar - If you don't like the idea of your cursor or pointer displaying battery info, this alternative hows up on your taskbar. It shows exactly how much power you've already used and how much you have left. You can decide if you want it to show your battery life in percentage or minutes and when you hover the mouse over the bar, it'll show you even more info, including capacity, discharge rate, battery wear, and how much total capacity your battery has per charge.

Wirless-Networking Utilities - Most laptop users connect wirelessly. Here are a couple of downloads that can help you find a wireless connection and keep you safe when connected.

• Hotspot Shield - Anytime you connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, whether you're in a restaurant or an airport, you put yourself at risk for hackers. Criminals can find your data packets, invade your computer, and steal your log in information for a number of websites. This programs keeps you safe by encrypting your connection so no one else can read your information. It's easy to install but it will change your homepage and add toolbars to your computer if you're not careful.
• WeFi - This program not only helps you find Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to, it also helps you find people to connect to, as well. Upon installation, the program lists nearby hotspots along with their information (signal strength, encryption info, etc.). To connect, all you have to do is click it. It also allows you to connect to people who are connected to the hotspots near you and get in touch with them via the program. It can also help aid in secure browsing.

USB Flash Drives - You may rely on USB flash drives to make your information portable but do you ever worry that your files aren't compromised or lost if your computer goes nuts? These programs can do just that...and then some.

• PortableApps - If your software leaves you with very little hard-disks space, this program will provide you with smaller alternatives. It comes with antivirus utility, a small version of Firefox, OpenOffice (an alternative to Microsoft Office), and other programs that can clear up some of your space. It takes 150 MB once it's installed (or you can opt for the 355 MB full-featured version) and it can be installed on any laptop or netbook, not matter how much space you have available.
• TrueCrypt - USB drives are great for traveling but what happens if you lose them? All of your sensitive personal files could end up in the wrong hands. This program keeps your files safe from prying eyes by allowing you to encrypt the files and folders and hide them so no one but you knows that they're there.
• USBDriveFresher - With each use, your USB drive becomes more and more cluttered and even when you delete certain files, you can end up with leftovers you don't need. This program is simple but it cleans the mess for you and sweets up unnecessary files that are plaguing your computer.

Synchronization - If you're constantly interchanging files between your desktop and laptop, it's easy to make mistakes. Pulling up old versions or overwriting new ones can be a problem. These programs help you avoid those mistakes.

• SugarSync Free - This program not only synchronizes but also serves as a backup program. It's easy to use and offers 2GB of free backup space. It uses very little RAM and a few system resources and can work with your PC or your Mac. Install the software, indicate what folders you'd like to synchronize and it works in the background, backing up your files at the same time. It offers lots of other options such as sharing files and folders with other people and also keeps older files online in case you need them. It only works with two computers, though you can pay a fee to have it work with more.
• Windows Live Sync - If you don't want to pay the fee to synchronize more than two computers, this program is for you. Sync folders on as many computers as you like, but this one doesn't inlude the free backup. It's easy and straightforward, and you can manage it all from a website. It also works with Macs and PCs.
• Xmarks - This program synchronizes your favorites and bookmarked sites between your desktop and laptop and on multiple PCs. It even works between browsers and multiple operating systems.

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Windows 7 will drain your netbook battery faster than XP

When Microsoft released Windows 7, one of their big selling points was the extra battery life it provided over Vista. The guys at LaptopMag.com found that it was indeed true, but only on full-sized notebooks. When it came to netbooks, it was a completely different story. The batteries of the netbooks actually drained faster than with XP.

They tested three netbooks, Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and the HP Mini 311, all with Windows 7 OS. They tested them with the "laptop battery test", continuous web surfing over wi-fi, and found that each of them got a lot less battery time.





The results:               Win XP Battery Life         Win 7 Battery Life

Toshiba mini NB205             9:24                                       8:51


ASUS Eee PC 1008HA           5:40                                       4:43


HP Mini 311                         5:43                                       4:52



According to the tests, the netbooks average about 40 minutes less battery time with Windows 7, which is a big chunk of time. If you're looking for the longest possible battery time on your netbook, it may not be wise to upgrade your XP system just yet.

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New Dell Laptop Offers up to 19 Hours of Battery Life

In recent discussions with many of Dells customers, the Senior Vice President for business products group, Jeffrey Clarke, revealed that the number one priority customers looked for in a laptop was extended battery life. In order to meet these desires in a laptop Dell has completely redesigned the Latitude product line and has developed a new power cell technology that will allow the new Latitudes to run continuously for a minimum of 10 hours, and up to 19 hours while unplugged.

This new battery life technology will be implemented in all seven of Dells new laptops, but as expected the battery life will differentiate between models due to different screen size and other factors that will change from model to model. However, Dell promises at least 10 hours of battery life with up to 19 with their new technology and has created quite a buzz around their new line of laptops.

It has also been revealed that within the next coming weeks there will be an ultra-portable version of the laptop called the Latitude E4200.

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