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Laptops are great if you’re always out and about or want to save some desk real estate with the tiny foot print a laptop takes up as opposed to a bigger desktop system. There’s just something cool about folding up your computer to go outside in the summer breeze to type up your essay or to blog about the events of the day. But there are disadvantages to having a laptop.

It is true, you can take your laptop with you whenever you travel, or just for a quick trip in the park outside the house. But keep in mind that the life of a laptop battery is on the short side, so if you find yourself in the situation of recharging it, without an outlet nearby, you cannot do much about it. Another downside is that, due to the small size of these computers, they are easy to steal, so keeping an eye on your gadget is highly recommended. Despite these disadvantages, you still have ways to enhance your laptop experience and we are about to show you how.

Tip: Prolong the Battery Life

There are certain advantages of having a personal computer at home. One of them is that you can keep them plugged during usage, which means that you do not have to worry about batteries. With laptops, things are exactly the other way around. Battery life is an issue, but we can learn you how to prolong its life, in order to get more from your laptop when you are outside and away from any outlet.

One method you can use to keep your battery from dying too quickly is to dim your screen to its lowest configuration. Your laptop’s screen sucks up the most power, so if you don’t need a super bright screen, dim it down to conserve battery juice.

Data Savings

No matter how sturdy a laptop can look on the outside, you should know that the components inside are delicate enough that a hard knock can inflict serious damage. From all of them, the one that you must be most protective of is the hard drive, the component where all your data is stored. What you need as an assurance is a serious backup. Make a habit out of saving your files and documents from the laptop onto CD-R’s, DVD’s and thumb drives. This way, any possible damage will be minimized.

Laptop Security

Are you glad when you find a wi-fi hotspot? Of course, because you can have all the advantages of your laptop and log on to the Internet, while enjoying a fine day out of the house. But Internet holds many threats, so, if you do not want any harm happening to your files, or nasty spywares installing, against your will, on your laptop, install a firewall to guard your computer. Also, avoid sharing files freely on the net, as this is like inviting small time hackers to play with your secrets documents. You can do so by simply turning off this option.

Also, there is no better protection than encryption. In order to protect your data, in case your laptop gets stolen by evil doers, use an encrypting tool so you will be the only one able to access the documents on your computer.

Keep Out From the Heat

An usual shortcoming of laptops is that they tend to heat up during usage. In order to keep all this heat away, you need to protect your lap and your knees. Some shops sell laptop sleeves that can be used to fend off the heat, but any piece of clothing large enough to cover your skin where it comes in contact with the hot laptop will do just fine.

Desktop PCs take up desk space, and even with flat LCDs quickly replacing all CRT monitors, flat screens still take up precious desktop space. The portability and compactness of laptops make them so convenient; follow the tips above to make your laptop experience more enjoyable.