Now a days having a wireless network available to you is more normal than abnormal. Many reasons have led to this change, one being cost. It is very cost effective so set up a wireless network as opposed to a wired network.

Because of the rise in wireless network popularity, more and more computer manufacturers are equipping their systems with the right wireless networking hardware. I am going to discuss 3 big points, wireless networking in laptops, desktops, and also the software on these machines

So we start off with a very important question – Is your laptop or home computer wireless enabled? This is how you can check if your computer has wireless capabilities or not.

Laptops

Many newer laptops have wireless networking capabilities already built in to them. If you laptop came with the hardware built inside of it, then all you need to do is make sure it is enabled and the button on the front (usually) of the laptop is lit up. If a wireless PCMI card is needed in the laptop computer, then make sure it is compatible with your brand of computer first. When you install it, make sure you have the driver disk associated with the hardware, and that it’s driver matches what version of Windows you have.

Desktop Computers

If you need to check to see if your desktop computer has a wireless connection, turn off the computer and turn it around and look for a rod sticking out near the bottom of the tower. This would be the wireless antenna just like an antenna would be on a radio. If you see nothing like this then your desktop probably does not have a wireless card installed in the PCI slot. So buy one that matches the version of Windows that you have on the desktop.

Windows to check the Wireless Capacity

Once everything is installed on your laptop or desktop you want to use windows to check the wireless capacity to make sure the settings are correct. Open up the Device Manager in Windows. Look for the network adapters + sign and click it. Look for something under there that should have the term “wireless” attached to it. If you see that there then you know everything has been configured correctly and all you need to do is connect to the available wireless network.

When it comes to laptop computers, the choice of display size is one of the most important considerations you have to make. It is just as important as ram size, hard drive size, and processor speed. The display size will also heavily factor into the overall weight of the notebook computer. A larger display size means a larger physical footprint, which is more or less desireable depending on whether you need an ultraportable, mainstream, or gaming style computer. The most important factor, however, is your comfort level. A smaller screen (ultraportable size) may mean great mobility, but none of that is helpful if text or pictures appear uncomfortably small.

Types Of Displays

Due to increasing demand, more and more manufacturers are making widescreen displays available as well as standard displays. Standard TV’s and computer displays utilize a 4:3 (or 1.33:1) aspect ratio, including notebook computers.

Standard 4:3 Aspect Ratio

The standard 4:3 aspect ratio has been in use by notebook computer displays for a long time and is offered in several screen resolutions:

- 800 x 600 (SVGA) - 1024 x 768(XGA) - 1400 x 1050 (SXGA+) - 1600 x 1200 (UXGA)

Resolutions higher than 1024 x 768 can only be found in displays sized 14 inches and above. Ultraportable notebooks with displays sizes under 14 inches are unable to have high-resolution displays.

Widescreen Display

Using a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio, widescreen displays can generally display about 25% more content than a standard display. Computer manufacturers offer several size displays from 8.9″, 10.6″, 11.1″, 12.1″, 13.3″, 14″, 15.4″, to 17″. These sizes are popular now with even larger sizes in the pipeline.

When used for entertainment, DVD movies in particular, a widescreen display is in its element as it shows widescreen movies in their intended 16:9 aspect ratio. This means a bigger picture, more comfort and thinner or no black bands on either side of the picture.

The widescreen display also makes it easier to edit and view panoramic images and may eliminate horizontal scrolling on your computer altogether. When editing images of normal 4:3 aspect ratio, you can simply place your GUI tools/utilities in the unused spaces on either side of an image. In any case, a widescreen display can help you increase work and play efficiency.

Another benefit of the widescreen display is evident when it comes to serious work - the ability to display two windows side by side and to drag and drop (or copy n’ paste) data without having to switch windows is invaluable.

Common Widescreen Display Resolutions

Here are the common resolutions found in :

1280 x 768 And 1280 x 800

1280 x 768 (16:9.5) and 1280 x 800 (16:10) are the two most common resolutions used in 10.6, 12.1, 13.3, 14, and 15.4-inch entry-level widescreen notebook computers. They provide about a 25% more onscreen content than standard screens with 1024 x 768 resolution.

1366 x 768

This resolution provides a 16:9 aspect ratio and a great widescreen DVD movie experience without any black bands above and below the picture.

1440 x 900

This resolution 16:10 is found only in 17″ notebooks and is positioned as entry level in 17″ widescreen notebooks.

1680 x 1050

This is currently the mainstream resolution, also 16:10, for 17″ widescreen notebook computer displays. There is a 35% increase in onscreen content compared to normal 17″ screens using a standard display resolution of 1280 x 1024.

1920 x 1200

At this time this is the highest for 17″ widescreen notebook displays, and provides a 75% increase in onscreen content when compared to a standard 17″ screen of 1280 x 1024 resolution. A great display for movies and gaming, however this relatively heavy laptop computer has tradeoffs in mobility.

Netbooks are a popular, cheaper alternative to full size notebook and desktop computers. While some netbooks ship with Linux, most consumers are opting for Windows XP-based netbooks. What makes a netbook different from a notebook or desktop computer? The primary difference is size - netbooks fall somewhere between the smallest notebook computers and a large smartphone. Netbooks are also less powerful PCs - to reduce the cost. As a result most netbooks can’t run Windows Vista and ship with Windows XP (and in a few cases Linux). To save even more money some consumers install OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office. Netbooks are available from many manufacturers including Acer, Asus, HP, MSI, Dell, OLPC (One Laptop Per Child), Medion, Kohjinsha, Lenovo, Toshiba and others.

Netbooks have even caught the attention of Google - the search engine company - who are working with computer manufacturers on a next generation netbook based on Google’s Android platform.  And Microsoft is looking for Windows 7 as its sequel to Windows XP for netbooks.

So where does that leave consumers? Should you race out and buy a netbook today with Windows XP or wait until later this year or 2010 for the Android / Windows 7 based netbooks? Or should I instead pay a bit more (likely $100 - $150) and get a full-size notebook?

Here are some things to think about:

Speed - if you are planning to run anything beyond email, basic Internet browsing and basic text document creation you should get a laptop; for the basics a netbook is good enough.  And pretty much forget about gaming on a netbook - and likely most high quality Internet video. Power Typer- if you are power typer take some time to type on a netbook in a store - are you really going to put up with the smaller keyboard? If you are just tapping out Twitter updates or email messages you’ll be fine - but if you are writing your next novel the netbook’s smaller keyboard might be frustrating. Vista Experience: if you like or are used to the Windows Vista experience, look and feel and features then you only have two choices - get a full-size notebook now or wait until Windows 7 enabled netbooks come out later… and heres a catch - Windows 7 may be limited to basics for netbook use (details from Microsoft still pending). Compatibility: Linux-based netbooks have pretty much disappeared from the shelves of retailers because Linux doesn’t allow you to run popular applications like Microsoft Office.  Google’s Android-based netbooks will likely have the same restriction.  So if you use Microsoft Office at all stay clear of netbooks that aren’t running a Windows-based operating system (for now that means XP, later this year Windows 7).

One thing that isn’t different are problems.  At support.com we deal with thousands of computer problems every day including netbook and laptop problems.

Netbook computers can be affected by the same problems as a full-size notebook or desktop computer. Because netbooks aren’t as powerful, anything impacting computer performance (like a virus or spyware, or too many installed programs) will be even more noticeable.

Common problems include:

Slow startup and/or shutdown time Frequent crashes or lockups Help getting printers and other devices / peripherals to work Problems upgrading netbook BIOS to the latest version USB devices are not accessible after being plugged in Problems transferring data to my used computer Unable to synchronize an iPod, iPhone, Treo, Centro, Windows Mobile or other portable device Problems accessing media content (pictures, videos, music) in Windows Media Player Windows Update errors preventing the latest security updates from being applied Errors with Flash, Java / Javascript, ActiveX Help connecting a used computer to a home network Frequent pop-ups and/or warnings that my PC is infected with a virus No audio or choppy audio / sound problems Problems installing and configuring anti-virus / anti-spyware software CD-ROM drive unavailable error

 

My advice is don’t jump out and buy a netbook just because it is $100 - $150 cheaper - it may be a great deal if you are the right kind of user.  Take the time to really use a netbook in a store, understand how you will use it at home and make sure you can live with the limitations.  If you can, netbooks are a great deal - if you can’t, you’ll just be returning the netbook and, at some stores, paying a restocking fee.