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Folks often ask me what they need to look for when they go shopping for a new computer.
In a nutshell, they want to buy the best machine they can get without spending any more than they have to.
In some ways trying to find the right computer is a lot like shopping for a new car. There are always dozens of “current models” to choose from, and they tend to look a whole lot alike.
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Question from Greg: I dropped my heavy book bag onto my laptop’s keyboard several days ago, and when it landed I heard a cracking sound.
The keyboard still works, but at random times it’ll just start typing garbage on its own. It’s basically unusable so I’d like to disable the built-in keyboard and use a cheap USB keyboard
I know I can have the internal keyboard replaced but I don’t want to go to the trouble or expense since I’m going to be replacing this machine in a few months anyway.
So what I need to know is can I disable my laptop’s built-in keyboard? If I can, how do I do it? [Read more…]
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Question from Ken: Our church has a 2 year old Dell laptop in the church office that the pastor and deacons use to access the Internet for research and church business activities.
The laptop connects directly to the modem via Ethernet. For various reasons they don’t want to have a WiFi network in the church, so the only option is to connect via a wired Ethernet connection.
Our problem is the laptop’s Ethernet port no longer works and we’re wondering if it can be replaced?
Question from Lawrence: I’m getting ready to take my first trans-Atlantic flight in over 20 years to visit family in Italy.
I’m hoping to be able to use my laptop to play solitaire and Mahjongg while we’re in the air to pass the time.
My concern is this: I’ve heard that hackers can break into a laptop via WiFi and I have info on there that I need to keep private.
I know my laptop has an Airplane Mode. If I turn it on will that prevent other passengers from being able to break into my laptop? [Read more…]
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Question from Della: I’m in the process of shopping for a new laptop because my old one got stolen.
Every time I type the word “laptop” into Amazon’s search box there are usually a few Chromebooks included in the search results.
I remember seeing commercials on TV where they said Chromebooks aren’t laptops. If that’s true why do they come up in a search for the word laptop?