laptops

Lynette watched all of the speeches at Google I/O this week. And she thought all the talk of the Google environment was interesting. She was thinking about getting a Chromebook but doesn't know if it'll run Java because she loves playing games online. Leo says you have to hack the Chromebook to get Java on it, and Leo doesn't advise that. Just get a real computer.

Drew has an Acer Aspire 1 with a broken screen. He's looking at something around $300 or less. Leo says that the Asus VivoBook has a touchscreen that will work better for around that price. A Google ChromeBook is a great option for the price and it'll be more powerful than a netbook. It's only a Chrome OS, though.

Daniel wants to get a new laptop and wants to know which one to buy. Leo he's been using the Asus S7 ultrabook of late, and running Windows 8, it's great. But he also likes Dell and Lenovo for Windows. i5 or i7? Leo says that i5 is sufficient for most stuff and you'll save $300 that way. Get up to 8GB of RAM AND A 1TB hard drive and you're good to go.

David's laptop shuts down while he's playing Call of Duty. Leo says that's a protective measure. If the laptop gets too hot, it will shut down by design. The best thing he can do is make sure the laptop has free flowing air all around it so it can cool itself. Make sure that dust isn't blocking the airflow slots. Look to see if the laptop's fans are working properly. It could also be the thermal paste has been misapplied to the processor. It may be worth bringing in to get looked at.

Charlene would like to get a new laptop that has a large screen. Leo says that will impact her mobility, but if Charlene is looking for a desktop replacement, then it may make more sense to have a larger screen and more power.

Should I get a solid state drive?
Leo says that SSD drives start up faster, run faster, and he doesn't get a computer anymore without them. She should get either a 128GB or 256GB SSD drive.

Louie has a laptop that has an echo. Leo says that there may be a sound enhancement setting enabled in the audio settings. Also, make sure the microphone is turned off, and it may also be that there's a mic pass-through option that's enabled. That would definitely cause it.

Chris is a gamer and his laptop computer is shutting down after awhile. Leo says that's likely an overheating problem, which is causing the computer to shut down to protect it. The best thing to do is to make sure the laptop has proper airflow, or maybe have a fan underneath it. He could send it to a technician to clean it out as well.

Judy bought a Windows 8 computer recently, and is having problems with it. Leo says to try and do a system restore - but make sure to backup the data so it isn't lost. If the problems go away after she does, then it was a software issue. If the hard drive continues to crash, then there's a hardware issue and it needs to be returned. As for the hard drive structure getting messed up, it could be a failing hard drive, which can happen at an early stage. She should take it back and ask for a replacement as Leo doesn't think this sounds like something she could have done to cause it.

Charlie wants a tablet, but he also needs a laptop. He's wondering if the Microsoft Surface Pro would be a good solution. Leo says it's a very nice option, and he'll want the 128GB version, which is in short supply. If he orders it from the Microsoft store, he'll get it within a week to ten days. Charlie will also want the type keyboard cover as well.