Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Leisure Laptop - How Laptops Have Adjusted To Consumer Needs

Although laptops were originally designed for the busy traveling businessman always on the go, we lesser goal oriented mortals (college kids) can also have fun with these shiny, new babies. These are other things you can do with the technology aside from making money and keep you from getting bored:

* Surf the net on your laptop

A laptop's portability enables you to surf the net anywhere you are. On the beach, in your dorm, at your Aunt Hattie's, etc. Check out the latest and hottest buzz on entertainment news. Google your friend's latest boyfriend. Look for amusing anecdotes and pictures to send home. Check out the latest trends in fashion. Look for your high school crush and start getting re-acquainted. Find new friends and greet old ones on Friendster. Go on a virtual date with someone. Find out the origin of the word "hoopla" or if there is such a word. Chat with someone in a different timezone and in another language.

* Watch TV shows on your laptop

With the right equipment, you can watch your favorite shows on television instead of actually buying a television set. There are many portable high-definition tuners, receivers, and antennas available for laptops such as NetComm Banksia Digital HD USB TV Tuner, Elgato EyeTV DTT Stick and the ComPro VideoMate U3 DVB-T Stick.

* Watch home videos and listen to music on your laptop

Use your CD-ROM player and play whatever music or home video cd you have. You can also movies or listen to music online. You can even download music from your cell phone into your computer. If you have Windows Media Player installed you can get the latest and hottest music online. Another software, Kazaa, will allow you to share your music and videos with other Kazaa users.

* Play games on your laptop

For most of us, playing games on the computer is really what computers were made for. The variety of games available is unbelievable from racing games, to role-playing games, to I-don't-know-what-else. There are even dress-up games for kids (and kids at heart) and brain teaser games such as Sudoku. There are whole companies being built on the computer-based gaming industry alone. Online lotto is another popular game you can play on the web. There are also software based games like the ones bundled with Windows applications such as Pinball, Minesweeper, Hearts, and many more. Be aware though that most virus from the net are in downloaded games and can cause unknown applications to wreak havoc on your computer and cause it to crash

* Edit pictures and home videos on your laptop

Now this is something that's both fun and can actually add to your marketable skills. With the many photo and video editing software out there from such big companies such as Adobe, you can actually fix your own photos or make your own movies. Microsoft's PowerPoint is probably the easiest tool you can use to create slideshows and AVPs.

There are probably more things you can do with your laptop. The most important thing is to explore the possibilities this technology has to offer.

F Stewart is an IT Professional. He launched CollegiateWallpapers.com to allow college students, alumni, and fans to feature their favorite teams on their websites. Visit http://www.CollegiateWallpapers.com for more information.

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