Considering some of the trials a laptop must undergo during airplane travel for example, you can easily see the benefits of a good laptop messenger bag. Not only is it very easy to get in and out of a plane if you carry on, but is also very easy to store and identify if you are checking your bags before travel. You can store your mouse, keyboard, USB Flash drives and other laptop accessories directly in the bag. If it is a well made and durable, reinforced bag, you can travel with the assurance that it will protect each and every one of your components.

It is also very important to select a laptop messenger bag that fits your laptop. If you have a slim laptop, you will obviously be able to get by with a smaller bag, but you should consider what else you might want to keep in that bag.

Sometimes you might assume you won’t need to put much stuff in it, then find out later while you’re traveling that you want somewhere to store small items. A laptop messenger bag can almost be thought of like a backpack or a small carrying case.
Finally, it is a good idea to consider just how protective your laptop messenger bag is going to be. If it is really meant more for lightweight travel, you should only use it when you are carrying your laptop rather than storing it or putting it through customs and plane rides where it is going to be transported in the plane’s cargo. If you get a better quality bag with reinforced materials, you can be a little more flexible in just where you take it. The main thing to keep in mind is how much the bag can withstand and how good it looks on your shoulder.

hard drives over the years

One of the most important components of laptop computers are the hard drives. These components store all the valuable information that the computer carries and serve as the long-term “memory” for its applications and documents. Some people may describe it to you as part of the computer’s brain. That is not strictly true. Think of it more as the computer’s library. When it needs to think about something it takes a quick peek in the library to find the information it needs.
In the past few years the price of hard drives has tumbled and their capacity has surged. It was only a few years back when people used to measure the size of hard drives in terms of megabytes. Now it is gigabytes and even terabytes. What’s more, even as capacity has gone up, prices have largely come down. This has allowed us to completely change the way we use data and interact with it. Cheap storage means we can now rip our compact disks to our computer hard drives or iPods or store films on the drive, rather than just on DVDs. This trend will likely continue with ever more data being stored and manipulated. It also allows us to create far more data than in the past. Now instead of shooting a roll of 24 or 36 photographs on film, we can shoot hundreds and often we end up keeping them all. The same is true with video cameras and now even HD video.
Yet this also places a greater premium on having a reliable hard drive and backing it up regularly. Previously you might have just had a few important files to worry about. Now you may have your entire music collection, all the photographs and videos you have taken of your summer holiday and perhaps a couple of films that you have bought and downloaded. When you look at the value of all that data, it is worth far more than the cost of the drive that it is stored on.
Caring for a laptop hard disk is a very important task. One of the most common ways you can care for you hard drive is to limit its movement while operating. Traditional hard disks use physical movement to access the data. They consist of an actual disk that spins at high speed to process the data that being read. Speeds can vary between 3,600, 5,400, 7,200, 10,000 and 15,000 RPM. The faster it goes the more heat it produces and will require more fans or cooling mechanisms. If a disk is working and a sudden or rough movement happens the disk might lose stability and get damaged. They can get scratched or broken, depending on the amount of movement. Usually, for this to happen the movement needs to be really drastic. Normal laptop movement is supposed to be safe for hard disks.
Like laptop batteries, drives tend to have a limited lifespan. This is usually due to their constant use and unstable setups. It is a good idea to always have a backup of your data in case something happens to your information. Recovering data from damaged storage devices can be a very difficult an expensive process. You will need to hire a company that specializes in repairing data. They will charge you high fees and they will not guarantee that the data is going to be recovered in full. In some cases they are not able to recover any data and your information gets lost forever.
Another important aspect about notebook hard drives, is that they are usually hard to replace. Portable computers house their drives inside the computer. This makes replacing the hard drive mayor surgery. Upgrading you hard drive is possible in most computer setups. You can try to do the procedure yourself following the laptop’s manufacturer instructions on how to open the computer and replace the drive, but your best bet is to go to a computer specialist. They will do the job quickly and will offer guarantee the on their service. It is advisable to purchase the new drive form them. They will usually add an extra warranty for the equipment and service that can be very handy in the future.
Right now most laptops carry between 160 to 300 GB of memory on their factory 5,400 RPM installed drives. This is a considerable amount of storage space for the common uses a portable computer gets. If you require extra space, there are some options you can evaluate if you don’t want to replace the internal drive.
External storage drives, are a great alternative if you need to expand the storage capacity of your computer. They come in a great variety of sizes and budgets. The newer drives are usually bus (otherwise known as USB) powered. What this means is that they don’t need an external power source to be turned on. They use the computer’s power source as their own. If you are connecting one of these drives to your laptop, be aware that they use your laptop’s battery as their power source. This can cut up to half the battery time you are accustomed to. Bus powered drives do have an advantage. They are substantially smaller and can fit easily in you laptop bag. They are great for schoolwork and also serve as a great alternative to portable media. In the past I’ve owned several Western Digital Passport external drives and have had no trouble with them.
A smaller option is to use USB Flash drives such as the Kingston Data Traveler or SanDisk Cruzer. These are pretty cheap if bought in small sizes of 32 gig or 16 gig. For more storage than that you get better value for money using a hard drive.
The other alternative you have is to have a virtual storage device. The Internet serves as a great source for virtual storage. Some services offer up to 10GB of free storage space that can be used from any computer at any time. They also let you share files with your coworkers and even play slideshows on the road. I’ve recently signed up to SugarSync and am a great fan. I use their free service which offers 2 gig of storage. The best thing about it though is that it painlessly synchronizes files across multiple computers. I use it at work and on my laptop so I know I’m always working on the most current document but also that I’m always backed up.
In conclusion, drives are sensitive storage devices that need to be taken care of. They carry all the information a computer needs to function and serve as home to the operating system the computer uses. Recovering data from a damaged drive is very hard, so you always need to have a backup of your information

Laptop computers are getting lighter by the day. Even asscreens get larger, with many people now regularly using 17 inch laptops, themachines themselves seem to get slimmer and lighter as technology advances.Even so, the addition of an extra battery, a couple of cables and accessoriesand a power adaptor can quickly add to the weight and bulk of even the smallestor lightest laptop or notebook computer. And if you are on the move all day andneed to keep your computer with you while also protecting it from bumps anddrops, a computer backpack is sometimes your best solution.

Now when it comes to laptop bags, I generally prefer messengerbags to carry my laptop. But I still keep a computer rucksack in the cupboardand it does still come out for those days when I know I’ll be on my feet a lot.

It is a fairly obvious point to make, but the one bigadvantage of a laptop backpack is that it shifts the weight off your arm (ifyou normally use a briefcase style laptop case) or off one shoulder and ontoboth shoulders. In practice this means you can carry a heavier weight forlonger without getting tired as quickly. When I’m travelling for business orout visiting factory sites and doing other work in the field I’ll often use abackpack instead of a more conventionallaptop case.

Some of the features you may want to look for are:

Well padded straps

My backpack has quite wide and well padded straps so iscomfortable enough for a long day’s use. Yet one often sees backpacks andrucksacks with straps that are a bit of a joke. The other thing you want todouble check is that the straps are actually sturdily made. A friend of mineonce had a laptop bag break its strap at the buckle, causing his bag with thelaptop to go crashing down and damaging it.

Shock-proof compartment

Another useful feature is to look for a padded, orshock-proof compartment in the backpack that will hold the computer. Someversions come with elastic retaining straps, others with normal foam padding.Mine looks especially robust as it has a thick inflated airbag at the bottom. I’mfairly confident that this will provide protection against a drop from quite aheight.

Size

The other thing to look out for is size. As it happens minecould take a 17inch screen laptop even though my computer in daily use is quitea bit smaller. I don’t find that if jiggles about. I know a lot of times peoplewill advise you against getting a bag that is too big, but unless you have areally small netbook computer you can’t go too far wrong getting a bag that isbigger. That way you won’t have to replace your backpack if you trade up to abigger screened machine later.

Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Computer Backpacks

If you travel on airlines quite a bit you may want to go fora TSA approved checkpoint friendly laptop backpack. These usually open rightout so that you can lay them flat on the x-ray machine with the laptop itselfin a compartment all on its own. The reason for this is that the TSA wants tobe able to x-ray the laptop without any cables or other bits of gear obscuringthe operator’s view. Having an approved bag can really speed your progressthrough the checkpoint as you don’t then have to remove your laptop from itscase. Just be sure not to pack anything else in the same compartment as thecomputer or you will be asked to remove it.

Targus Zip-Thru Air Traveler Backpack for 15.8 Inch Laptops TBB012US (Black)

The Targus Zip-Thru Air Traveler Backpack is a great way to carry your computer if you are a regular traveller. This is because it adheres to the TSA guidelines for checkpoint friendly laptop bags, which means you do not have to take your computer out of your bag when going through security.

It also has loads of space for you other gear such as USB flash drives and a portable mouse.

The straps are well padded and fit nicely, giving a good weight distribution so you shouldn’t end up with sore shoulders.

Among its other features are pockets for water bottles and a key holder.

It also gets great reviews from users. In short, this is a well made bag from a respected company. You can’t go too far wrong with it.

Belkin 15.6-Inch Core laptop Backpack (Pitch Black/Soft Gray)

Belkin is another respected name in computer baga and backpacks. This is a fairly simple and relatively slim design. It doesn’t have too many frills but should provide a good level of protection in a smart and business-like package that will be right at home in the office unlike some other bags that will make you look like a student again.

SYNERGY from SwissGear by Wenger Computer Backpack

The Swissgear synergy is a more upmarket design with a few features missing from the others such as backpadding that is designed to allow some air through to help keep down sweatiness. It has all the bells and whistles you would expect such as a pocket for your MP3 player, a little port for your earphones and pockets for all your other bits fo gear

In more recent years, however, we have grown to be a lot more relaxed aboutour laptops. They have come down in price (relative to the price of most otherthings) and are not seen as quite so fragile. Moreover, they are no longer thepreserve of the rich or of business sorts. Go onto a campus or into auniversity lecture hall these days and all you will see is laptops. So they arenow much more everyday items that get tossed into a backpack or normalmessenger bag.

Yet they do still need some protection and often a laptop sleeve can providea useful compromise between not protecting your precious computer at all andbetween carrying it in a huge padded bag.

The great advantage of a laptop sleeve (or, a notebook sleeve if you have ana really small notebook) relates to its small size. They are usually made ofjust a few millimeters of rubbery fabric such as neoprene, which is the samesubstance that diving suits are made from. They fold down pretty flat when notin use and add hardly any bulk to your notebook so you can carry it in aregular back.

A laptop sleeve will help provide protection against basic bumps andscratches. This is especially important if your laptop has a glossy finish orif you have an iPad or other tablet computer where the screen is exposed todamage.

It will also help protect it from minor spills of liquid, very short andquick downpours of rain and will also keep dust out of its sensitive workings. Inshort, if you need some extra protection for your computer but don’t want to gothe whole hog and use a big laptop bag, then consider a simple sleeve. The addedprotection it affords is usually enough for most people’s purposes. Just becareful not to drop your bag from too much of a height, or you could hear thehorrible sound of breaking glass and plastic.

Light weight computers and laptops are great to carry on the go because they can keep anyone who is traveling entertained and work can be completed in transit. This is a great advantage but the iPad also has to be carefully protected and guarded when it is being transported. The iPad does not close like other laptops so the screen has to be protected with an iPad case or cover. Every iPad has to be covered with a case or cover but iPad cases do not provide enough overall protection while the iPad is being used. The iPad that is covered with a case needs to also be transported inside some sort of a bag or tote. There are many different types of laptop and iPad carrying cases and bags but there is one type of bag that is very multifaceted and can be used by almost anyone because it meets so many specific needs.

Some people choose to carry the computer in a back pack or inside of a briefcase. People who are really on the go and use many modes of transit like walking, biking, trains, planes, and cars will get the most benefit out of a messenger bag. A messenger bag has one strap that is worn across the body and the bag either hangs at the side or the strap can be tightened up so the bag is secured at the back or front of the body. This bag keeps the iPad safe, protected and close to the body while in transit so the hands can be freed up to do other things. It is easy to ride a bike while carrying the iPad with an messenger bag because there are no bag handles to hold onto. When choosing a messenger bag for the iPad choose one with a bag size that is similar to the size of the iPad. If the bag size is too large the computer will float around inside of the bag and will have a better probability of being knocked around or banged up. The iPad should fit snugly inside the carrying portion of the bag.

I’m generally a huge fan of messenger bags for laptops and this is no exception. As small and light as an iPad is, you still do want to keep it safe.

This guide will help talk you through some of the issues you may want to consider when deciding which external laptop hard drives you may need.

The first question you need to ask is what you want to use it for. There are lots of different reasons why someone may purchase one of these devices and they are all little bit different. The first thing to consider is whether you need a huge amount of storage space. If you are just carrying small quantities of data with you then a USB Flash Drive may be all that you need. They are cheap, small and have no moving parts. They also have quite large data capacities so unless you need more than say 32GB (or even 64 GB) then they may well be a better option that a proper hard drive.

If you are planning to hook it up to your laptop then there is probably a good chance that you have run out of room on your laptop’s hard drive and buying an external drive is easier than purchasing a new internal hard drive to replace your current one. This is a common scenario for many people and it can be a good idea to buy an external hard drive because you don’t have to mess around with opening up your laptop and replacing the current drive it has. If you plan to use it for backing up data then you may want to purchase a little bit different type of drive as compared to if you just needed the extra space.

Other times people will use these products for extra storage for certain types of things such as photos, music, and movies because these types of files take up a lot of space on a hard drive. The last reason that people usually buy these products for is so that they can take their data with them wherever they go. It is kind of like a really large thumb drive and you can store everything on it without having to erase any data because of the large size of these drives.

The next thing you will need to consider is what type of external hard drive will work well for what you plan to use it for. If you just want a way to keep your data with you and take it wherever you go then there are some smaller 500 GB drives that are designed to be moved around frequently. These will allow you to easily move data from one location to another without too much work. If you need a drive to backup data then you most likely will want to buy a larger drive with at least one terabyte of storage and you also want to make sure that it is a solid product. When you are backing up data, you do not want that to become corrupted because then you will lose all of your information. You need to make sure that you buy a reputable brand as well as model to help ensure the safety of your information. You will probably also want to take care of it by keeping it in a sturdy padded back. Hard drives are pretty shock resistent these days so they can take quite a few bumps or drops (just think of the iPod Classic), but it can’t hurt to provide some padding and protection as your data is usually quite precious. Either use your standard laptop bag or get a small hard drive case.

Two of the most common sizes you can purchase right now are the 500 GB as well as the one terabyte drive. You want to make sure that it has 2.0 USB connectivity and that the product has a good history of working correctly. One of the best drives you can buy for the money is the Iomega Prestige 1 Tb external hard drive. This device has received close to 1000 customer reviews on Amazon website with an average of a four-star rating. It is a quality and proven product then you would be very satisfied if you were to buy it.  The drive currently costs right around $90, which is a steal for the size of this device.

I’ve also had great success with Western Digital Passport Drives. These are really slim and fit into a pocket. I’ve never had any trouble with mine, though they are so small that I’ve actually managed to mislay two. One I left in a file at the office and it disapeared during a cleanout because it was so small that I didn’t notice it when I threw out some old files. The other lay hidden in a desk drawer for months while I wondered what had happened to it.

Another brand that gets really great reviews is LaCie. These are really well made products. You pay a bit of a premium for them, but they produce excellent and rugged hard drives that stand up well to life’s little knocks. They also produce a very cool key USB drive, that just fits on a key chain.

You now should have a good idea of some of the things you need to think about before purchasing external laptop hard drives. Remember to read reviews of the particular product you are interested in buying to make sure that it works well and that it has a good history. Previous customers are not shy and will provide you with the details that you will want to read about how well the product works.

So what sort of data might you not want to leave home without? I have a lot of different passwords for various websites and the like. So I recently bought some password management software that keeps them all encrypted for easy use on a USB drive (I use RoboForm, if you are interested). In theory I could stick them on any drive and just try hard to remember to pop it into my pocket. As I’ve mentioned before I’m a huge fan of the SanDisk 16GB and now own several of these (so much so that it has become a problem for me figuring out which has got what data on it). There is no reason for me not to keep my passwords on that. But I liked the idea of having my passwords on a key. Besides, I never leave my keys at home, unlike my USB drives that I’m always forgetting at home or at the office.

The other great thing about this drive is that it feels really sturdy and I get the feeling that it would take a lot to destroy it. To be fair it gets some mixed reviews and I’ll lay out some of the positives and negatives that people report about the LaCie key.

The main advantages of the LaCie iamaKey

The big advantages of this drive are its small size, good storage and robust housing that makes it pretty sturdy. It also comes in a range of capacities from 8 GB all the way up to 32 GB.

It doesn’t get lost

It is strong

The main disadvantages

The biggest complaint that people make about the LaCie key is that it is slow. Its data transfer rate isn’t as great as some other drives and you’d expect better from a premier name such as LaCie. That said, there are sometimes complaints about the speed of the SanDisk cruzer whereas I’ve never found it much of a problem. Sure, it can take a while if you are moving big files, but for retrieval such as watching movies or listening to music I’ve never had any trouble.

The other big complaint about the key drive is reliability. A couple of users have reported failure after 6 months. It is difficult to know without decent data what the failure rate is and whether it is any worse than for other thumb drives by other manufacturers.

Another issue is that the plastic plugs that cover the connectors are easily lost.

LaCie iamaKey 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130870 With the new LaCie iamaKey, inventive storage meets data protection. The key-shaped design is functional and memorable, and the protection that the LaCie… $26.33

LaCie iamaKey 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130871 (Silver) With the new LaCie iamaKey, inventive storage meets data protection. The key-shaped design is functional and memorable, and the protection that the LaCie… $47.99

LaCie itsaKey 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130873 Introducing the LaCie itsaKey, a fun new way to store your data in your pocket. The inventive, key-shaped design helps it fit onto a keyring, and into… $26.25

A pelican laptop overnight case - plenty of space and waterproof too

If there is anyone who knows a thing or two about getting wet and keeping sensitive equipment dry it is white-water kayakers and rafters. These guys get dumped under water all the time and even if they manage to stay upright are constantly drenched by spray from the surging waters on a raging river. Yet in many cases they have to keep stuff such as camera equipment bone dry. When I went down the rapids on the Zambezi river a few years back, two of the guides leading us down brought along camera equipment to shoot video footage and some still photographs of our party’s raft. They went ahead in small kayaks and shot the rapids before us, then quickly set up to get shots of us going through them.

And what did they use to keep their equipment safe? Pretty much the same thing that every serious outdoors sportsman and professional camera crew knows is the best when it comes to keeping expensive equipment safe; Pelican cases.

If you have ever looked at a Pelican case you will see just how tough they are. These things are made from really thick and heavy-duty plastic (technically they call it a resin) and they provide a level of protection that no laptop bag will ever give you. I have heard stories of people driving trucks over these cases without doing them any damage. It is not just that they are super strong that makes them so loved. More important is that they are really well engineered with great attention to detail. To stay really waterproof Pelican cases usually have an o-ring seal that runs all the way round the opening. They have special hinges that fold down flush for protection and latches that do not pop open when you drop them.

The most amazing bit comes down to how they are able to seal and be waterproof without being airtight. Just think about it. If you had a completely airtight case it would want to pop open from internal pressure if you took it up in an airplane. Worse yet, if you flew from a high altitude to a lower one the air pressure on the outside would be much higher than on the inside. A pound or so a square inch doesn’t sound like much, but multiply that over the surface area of a big case and you soon get to a force that you can not easily work against to open the case. Airplanes are similar. Even if some crazy tried to open the door in flight they would never be able to budge it against the higher pressure inside because the door has to open inwards before it opens outwards.

So what Pelican did was they gave their cases little air equalizing valves with a Gore-Tex seal. The little value lets air in or out but no water can pass through so your precious cargo stays dry as a bone.

The strange thing is that these cases have not really caught on among laptop users apart from those in specialized fields like the military or those who regularly work in hostile environments such as geologists and surveyors. But there is no reason why you should not use one of these as a waterproof laptop case on a daily basis. The Storm Laptop Case, for instance, will keep your laptop really secure. It is waterproof, dustproof, guaranteed for life and can be carried on to an airplane. These cases have foam fillings so you can drop them and they should protect your laptop from the shock. They are also lockable so unless someone walks off with the whole case, it is unlikely they will lift your laptop, especially since these cases are really difficult to break open when locked.  They are also big enough that if you had an iPad you could put it, along with all of your iPad accessories, in as well as your laptop.

Another option is their hardback case. These come in sizes that will fit anything from a compact notebook all the way up to a 17 inch computer. And they are just about completely crush-proof.

If that does not give you enough space, you might look a the Pelican laptop overnight case, which is about the maximum size you are allowed to carry on a plane in a strong crushproof and waterproof box. It has wheels so you don’t have to carry it all the time, stainless steel padlock protectors so you are almost walking around with a safe and padding to keep your computer protected from bumps and shocks. If I were James Bond, this is the case I would choose.

So I was quite amazed to see the latest offering from Kingston. Now, as you probably know, Kingston has a long history of making laptop accessories and premium flash drives. Their little thumb drives aren’t the cheapest out there, but they do come with pretty nifty features such as password protection and other security enhancements.

The cool thing about their latest USB drive is its gigantic data storage. This little puppy can hold 256 gig. That’s huge. That’s more than the storage you get with most netbook and notebook computers. It’s bigger too than most compact portable disk drives such as the Western Digital range of passport drives. And it fits in your pocket. It is a bit bigger than the usual flash drive but not nearly as big as a hard drive.

I guess the downside to having so much storage in such a compact package is that it makes it really easy to lose the whole lot. If I worked for a government agency or big financial institution I would also be anxious. A spy or unscrupulous employee could download a huge pile of secret data if they could get this into the system.

I know it sounds silly getting excited about increased storage capacity. I mean remember how excited we got when we moved from an audio tape storage on home computers to floppy disk drives. I’m sure people will read this in a couple of years and laugh at me getting enthusiastic about a measly 256 gig. But until that happens, this little puppy looks to be the answer to my dreams for more storage space. The only flaw in my logic is the law that data expands to fill the available space. I’m sure it will be no time before I’ve taken up everything in this and am still hunting around for my old USB drives again.

It is not just uncomfortable it is downright unpleasant. And if you’re a guy, well, let’s not say too much about what is happening to your little swimmers if you heat them up too much. Suffice to say that once they’re well cooked they don’t go into homing mode the way they should.

Now there is a huge range of pads and coolers out there but the latest from Targus seems to be a real winner. It takes power from a USB port on your computer to run little fans that suck air in from the sides and pump it up through the computer to help keep it cool. The clever bit is that they’ve managed to keep them relatively quiet so you don’t feel as if you have a helicopter on your lap.

The mat also holds your laptop at a comfortable angle for typing and it has soft neoprene rubber for comfort and to provide a non-slip surface.

It has won a couple of awards, though I’m not 100% sure why. I mean it seems a sensible idea but also an obvious one. Anyhow, this is one laptop accessory that should help you keep your cool even if it does cut down on your computer’s running time by eating battery power.