Why You Need To Find Out More About DVD Rental By Mail

Going out every time you want a DVD rental can be so taxing, that is why it is so fantastic that there are places where you can get a DVD rental by mail. These guys make renting movies almost too easy and fast, who needs brick and mortar movie stores now? Not me that is for sure! I don’t know about you but the late fees are what get me every tie I try and go to a movie rental store in person. It is so hard to remember that you have a movie due back. I mean, how often do you have them tot take back and we are all so busy and we all have so many things on our minds. That is why I do all my renting from online movie rental places. This way I never have to worry about late fees and I can take my time watching the DVDs. That takes such a load off of my mind! And I can actually enjoy the movies now. When you are an online movie rental membership that allows you to take part in DVD rental by mail you will be able to rent as many movies as you want each month and you can send them back whenever you get around to it. There is never anything to rush about and never any worries because you didn’t get to watch the movie yet. If you have a hectic schedule you will be able to relax and take your time because there are no penalties for sending your movies back weeks from now even. You can put off your watching for a couple of weeks and that won’t matter either. No matter what you can have the peace of mind knowing that you have no deadline to stick to, your time is your own again. And look at it this way: Blockbuster and those other regular DVD rental stores are not ever going to bring their movies to your door. They expect you to get in your car and pay the zillion dollars for gas to drive there even though it is out of your way. Getting DVDs by mail is much easier because you get to choose your shows online and then have them shipped right to you. The farthest you will ever have to go is your front door! Things don’t get much more convenient than that. Don’t you love what you can do with the Internet? I know I sure do! When it comes to getting your rentals by mail it doesn’t matter if you watch two movie a day or one every 6 months you are still going to love being a member of an online movie rental store. They are cheaper and easier to deal with and they won’t run your life like those other stores will. These types of rental services will change your life and make it a whole lot simpler not to mention way more fun.

How To Shop For Portable DVD Players

If you're always on the go, traveling or taking long road trips with the children, portable DVD players are likely one of the most important accessories to take along for the ride. The convenience of being able to watch movies anytime, anywhere is a huge benefit. If you are taking a long flight, experiencing delays on a commuter train or just want to keep the children entertained in the backseat during a road trip, portable DVD players are more than convenient - they are a sanity saver. Before looking at portable DVD players, take the time to create a realistic budget. Most units range from $100.00 and up to several hundred dollars. If you know that there is an occasion coming up and you may want to purchase a unit, consider placing it on layaway at your local retail store. A layaway program typically consists of 10% down and convenient monthly payments until the balance is paid. At that time, the layaway ends and you take the product home. It's fully paid and you own a brand new portable DVD player. This is especially helpful if you don't have the cash on hand to pay for the unit all at once, but still want to secure the purchase. If you have the cash to pay upfront, that's great. If not, try layaway as opposed to charging the purchase on a credit card. With interest, you will likely end up spending a lot more in the long run unless you pay the balance off over a few months. Now that you know how much you can spend, start looking at portable DVD players and their features. When making any type of investment in a product, you will want to check out the warranty. Most quality units offer 1 year labor and up to 3 years for replacement parts. Always be sure to save the original receipt, along with the warranty information. Portable DVD players offer a variety of screen sizes, so be sure to select one that is convenient for travel, easy to see and offers good quality images. Another important feature is that most portable DVD players offer the capability of both music and video playback, which means you can insert a music CD or movie on DVD and either can be enjoyed in a single unit. With most portable DVD players, weight is not going to be an issue. They are designed to be lightweight because they are portable and the manufacturer expects that you plan to travel with the unit. But, some products are more lightweight than others, so shop around until you find one that isn't going to add a lot of extra bulk and weight to your travel bag.

How to protect your Computer. Wery useful Tips

Today, many people rely on computers to do homework, work, and create or store useful information. Therefore, it is important for the information on the computer to be stored and kept properly. It is also extremely important for people on computers to protect their computer from data loss, misuse, and abuse. For example, it is crucial for businesses to keep information they have secure so that hackers can’t access the information. Home users also need to take means to make sure that their credit card numbers are secure when they are participating in online transactions. A computer security risk is any action that could cause lost of information, software, data, processing incompatibilities, or cause damage to computer hardware, a lot of these are planned to do damage. An intentional breach in computer security is known as a computer crime which is slightly different from a cypercrime. A cybercrime is known as illegal acts based on the internet and is one of the FBI’s top priorities. There are several distinct categories for people that cause cybercrimes, and they are refereed as hacker, cracker, cyberterrorist, cyberextortionist, unethical employee, script kiddie and corporate spy. The term hacker was actually known as a good word but now it has a very negative view. A hacker is defined as someone who accesses a computer or computer network unlawfully. They often claim that they do this to find leaks in the security of a network. The term cracker has never been associated with something positive this refers to someone how intentionally access a computer or computer network for evil reasons. It’s basically an evil hacker. They access it with the intent of destroying, or stealing information. Both crackers and hackers are very advanced with network skills. A cyberterrorist is someone who uses a computer network or the internet to destroy computers for political reasons. It’s just like a regular terrorist attack because it requires highly skilled individuals, millions of dollars to implement, and years of planning. The term cyperextortionist is someone who uses emails as an offensive force. They would usually send a company a very threatening email stating that they will release some confidential information, exploit a security leak, or launch an attack that will harm a company’s network. They will request a paid amount to not proceed sort of like black mailing in a since. An unethical employee is an employee that illegally accesses their company’s network for numerous reasons. One could be the money they can get from selling top secret information, or some may be bitter and want revenge. A script kiddie is someone who is like a cracker because they may have the intentions of doing harm, but they usually lack the technical skills. They are usually silly teenagers that use prewritten hacking and cracking programs. A corporate spy has extremely high computer and network skills and is hired to break into a specific computer or computer network to steal or delete data and information. Shady companies hire these type people in a practice known as corporate espionage. They do this to gain an advantage over their competition an illegal practice. Business and home users must do their best to protect or safeguard their computers from security risks. The next part of this article will give some pointers to help protect your computer. However, one must remember that there is no one hundred percent guarantee way to protect your computer so becoming more knowledgeable about them is a must during these days. When you transfer information over a network it has a high security risk compared to information transmitted in a business network because the administrators usually take some extreme measures to help protect against security risks. Over the internet there is no powerful administrator which makes the risk a lot higher. If your not sure if your computer is vulnerable to a computer risk than you can always use some-type of online security service which is a website that checks your computer for email and Internet vulnerabilities. The company will then give some pointers on how to correct these vulnerabilities. The Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center is a place that can do this. The typical network attacks that puts computers at risk includes viruses, worms, spoofing, Trojan horses, and denial of service attacks. Every unprotected computer is vulnerable to a computer virus which is a potentially harming computer program that infects a computer negatively and altering the way the computer operates without the user’s consent. Once the virus is in the computer it can spread throughout infecting other files and potentially damaging the operating system itself. It’s similar to a bacteria virus that infects humans because it gets into the body through small openings and can spread to other parts of the body and can cause some damage. The similarity is, the best way to avoid is preparation. A computer worm is a program that repeatedly copies itself and is very similar to a computer virus. However the difference is that a virus needs o attach itself to an executable file and become a part of it. A computer worm doesn’t need to do that I seems copies to itself and to other networks and eats up a lot of bandwidth. A Trojan Horse named after the famous Greek myth and is used to describe a program that secretly hides and actually looks like a legitimate program but is a fake. A certain action usually triggers the Trojan horse, and unlike viruses and worms they don’t replicate itself. Computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are all classifies as malicious-logic programs which are just programs that deliberately harms a computer. Although these are the common three there are many more variations and it would be almost impossible to list them. You know when a computer is infected by a virus, worm, or Trojan horse if one or more of these acts happen: ? Screen shots of weird messages or pictures appear. ? You have less available memory then you expected ? Music or sounds plays randomly. ? Files get corrupted ? Programs are files don’t work properly ? Unknown files or programs randomly appear ? System properties fluctuate Computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses deliver their payload or instructions through four common ways. One, when an individual runs an infected program so if you download a lot of things you should always scan the files before executing, especially executable files. Second, is when an individual runs an infected program. Third, is when an individual bots a computer with an infected drive, so that’s why it’s important to not leave media files in your computer when you shut it down. Fourth is when it connects an unprotected computer to a network. Today, a very common way that people get a computer virus, worm, or Trojan horse is when they open up an infected file through an email attachment. There are literally thousands of computer malicious logic programs and new one comes out by the numbers so that’s why it’s important to keep up to date with new ones that come out each day. Many websites keep track of this. There is no known method for completely protecting a computer or computer network from computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses, but people can take several precautions to significantly reduce their chances of being infected by one of those malicious programs. Whenever you start a computer you should have no removable media in he drives. This goes for CD, DVD, and floppy disks. When the computer starts up it tries to execute a bot sector on the drives and even if it’s unsuccessful any given various on the bot sector can infect the computer’s hard disk. If you must start the computer for a particular reason, such as the hard disk fails and you are trying to reformat the drive make sure that the disk is not infected. More about Computers and Internet on : http://bestofcomputers.blogspot.com Find some useful TIPS about investment and financing on: http://investmentandfinancing.blogspot.com

Finding the Right Computer Desktop for Your Needs

When it comes to buying a computer, the choices can make you dizzy. You not only have to decide between desktop computers and notebooks (also known as laptops), but you need to determine which features will work best for your needs. This is all the more difficult because technology changes so rapidly. Given that most people buy computers infrequently, what may have been state-of-the-art the last time you bought a desktop or laptop is now considered obsolete. Here, then, are some things to consider before purchasing a new computer. Computer Desktop vs. Notebooks Not that long ago, no one would consider using notebooks or laptops as their primary computers. After all, when compared with desktops, they didn't have much RAM, had small, less-than-crisp displays, and didn't have features like DVD players and multiple USB ports. Today, though, LCD monitors make notebook displays brighter, and multiple ports make hooking up printers a cakewalk. Because hard drives are so much bigger and RAM is so much greater, it's no longer necessary to worry that software will either overload the hard drive or slow down performance. But just because notebooks are more powerful, it doesn't mean that they're the right choice for everyone. If, for example, you regularly work from home, you probably want a computer desktop. Bigger displays, traditional keyboards and mice, and more versatility are just some of the advantages of desktops. In addition, many people use have begun choosing computer desktops that can double as media centers. If high quality sound is important to you and your computer will have a dedicated space in your home, you probably want to choose a desktop. Mac vs. PC Computers Although Apple is gaining market share with notebooks, when it comes to a computer desktop, PCs still reign supreme. Making the choice between a Mac and a PC really comes down to how you will be using the computer. If you're a creative type who wants to, for example, take photos from your digital camera and create albums and slideshows, a Mac might be the right choice. Similarly, if you're interested in editing home movies or doing work with graphics, Macs rule. On the other hand, if you or members of your family are avid gamers, you probably want to go with a PC, since most games are Windows-based and not compatible with the Mac operating system. And, while software like Microsoft Office is available for the both the Mac and PC, other software often isn't compatible with Macs. Extras When you're shopping for a computer desktop, you need to consider which "extras" are important to you. For example, do you need a computer that can burn a DVD? Do you need six USB ports, or will four suffice? Is a built-in webcam a must-have? Can you live without wireless connectivity? Are you willing to pay a little extra for a higher resolution LCD monitor? Is surround sound speaker output an absolute necessity? Before you make a buying decision, it's important to understand what's available in the market, what kind of operating system you would like, and which features are important to you. When you do, you'll know that you're paying for only what you need, and will end up owning the computer desktop that's perfect for you and your family.

Toshiba offers you more

One product area that Toshiba has been doing very well in lately is the DVD player market. This includes normal DVD players and recorders that hook up to a TV, DVD drives that go inside computers, and portable DVD players that can be used to watch films on the go.

When it comes to TV DVD players, Toshiba was part of the original DVD working group that worked together to come up with the format, and had some of the first players on the market. Unlike the cheap clones that have since come out of the Far East, Toshiba DVD players implement the standards consistently and reliably, making sure that all DVDs will play, all the extra features will always work and the picture quality will be the very best that the disc can manage. Although Toshiba DVD players can be expensive, their reputation is second to none, and they are considered by many home cinema fans to be some of the best players available at any price.

Given its mastery of the high-end DVD player market, then, it is understandable that Toshiba has made moves to expand its product offering in this area. As recordable DVDs came on the market, Toshiba was again in the working group and one of the first companies to offer the product. The same goes for portable DVD players, where Toshiba was at the forefront of building a market for them, combining the great DVD playback of their DVD players with the build quality and light weight of their laptops to come up with some of the best portable players out there.

Finally, if you’re thinking of buying a new DVD drive for your computer, you would do well to consider getting a Toshiba. Toshibas tend to be able to read DVDs slightly faster than some other brands, and are much more reliable when it comes to burning discs. They are a favourite among computer enthusiasts, as they can copy some discs that other players can’t, making them especially good for making backups of copy-protected commercial software.

Las Mejores Biografias de Los Artistas Visuales Mas Destacados

Las biografías de artistas visuales es un tema popular en el mundo del cine. Los productores de películas siempre estuvieron fascinados por las biografías de artistas visuales, especialmente si incluye locura, adicción a las drogas u otros temas duros. De hecho, les da una oportunidad de mostrar obras de arte restauradas u originales en la pantalla grande.

Aquí, puedes leer a cerca de algunos de las más interesantes películas a cerca de la vida de artistas visuales.

1)"Lust for Life", dirigida por Vicente Minnelli en 1952:
La biografía de Vincent Van Gogh ha ganado varias adaptaciones cinematográficas. Esta en especial es interpretada por Kira Douglas como Vincent la cual la ha hecho muy notable. La película esta basada en un libro (best selling) por Irving Stone, quien también escribió "La Agonía y el Éxtasis" a cerca de Michel Angelo, la cual también fue convertida en película. Si disfrutas de las obras de Van Gogh, disfrutaras de "Lust for Life", que presenta casi 200 pinturas originales del Van Gogh. SI eres familiar con Kirk Douglas, verlo como este torturado pintor es un poco extraño. Otra película recomendable sobre Van Gogh es Robert Altmans Vincent y Theo de 1990.

2) Sobreviviendo Picasso, dirigida por James Ivory en 1996:
Como Van Gogh, la imagen de Pablo Picasso lo convirtió en una figura icónica fuera del círculo artístico. Mientras que Van Gogh simboliza la propia destrucción, maniaco depresivo el cual su éxito apareció luego de su muerte, Picasso representa lo misantropito y mujeriego del artista. Las relaciones de Picasso con mujeres es el enfoque de esta película. La historia es contada desde los ojos de la ayudanta de Picasso Francoise Gilot y caracteriza solo reproducciones de las obras del artista. El talentoso Anthony Hopkins interpreta a Picasso teniendo un parecido al artista muy increíble. Esta película logra crear un retrato tan cruel, egocéntrico y genio como el verdadero.

3) Chica con el Aro de Perla, dirigida por Meter Webber en 2003:
Comparado a Van Gogh y Picasso, la biografía de Vermeers es menos conocida y menos controversial. Por eso, esta película es mucho más restringida y delicada que las anteriores. La película se focaliza en un corto periodo de la vida de Verneers en el que pintaba el retrato de su ama de casa de baja clase. A pesar de que la película no evita convenciones cinematográficas extra dramatizando el proceso de su pintura, vale la pena mirar la película por su diseño artístico que logra evocar la percepción de color y luz del pintor.

4) Basquiat, dirigida por Julian Schnabel en 1996:
La critica mas común en contra de películas que tratan de artes visuales es la manera en que expresan el proceso de las creaciones. Por eso, había grandes expectaciones de Basquiat, que fue dirigida por el celebre pintor Julian Schnabel. Este logro expresar bien la subida y caída de Michelle Basquiat. De todas formas, la principal razón para mirar esta película es David Bowe quien interpreta a Andy Warhol.

5) Frida, dirigida por Julie Taymor en 2002:
Como la mayoría de los artistas que tuvieron su biografía adaptada al cine, Frida Kahlo tuvo una bastante inusual, que incluye accidente de ómnibus, matrimonio problemático, y un romance con Leon Trotsky. Como Van Gogh, Picasso y Jackson Polloch, Frida Kahlo era un icono mucho antes de la creación de su película, pero los 123 minutos de ella ayudaron a esforzar su posición como idola feminista y la pintora más famosa del siglo 20. Este film intenta integrar a Frida con sus pinturas y el resultado es muy colorido y agradable. Muy recomendable.

Consumer Electronics

Consumer electronics have become a major part of our everyday lives, whether we think so or not. You don't have to be a tech freak to have most of your life somewhat dependant upon electronics. This dependency seems to grow more and more with each new generation as well. If you run through a typical day, you might notice just how many consumer electronics that you use. There are also many new devices coming out all of the time to fill the void that was lacking a device to fill it.

Most of us will start our day to the tune of an electric alarm clock. Then as we get ready in the morning we will use a couple of other devices ranging from an electric shaver to an electric iron. You may then heat up some breakfast in a microwave or toaster while the electric coffee maker brews a fresh pot. The point is that you have hardly started your day and most of the morning was spent using various electronics. With a normal work week most of us do not have time to manually do everything. Consumer electronics mainly fulfill two duties. They either provide a useful function and/or they entertain us.

Most of the electronics that fulfill a function of daily life are similar to the aforementioned products that you may use in the morning. Many others include things like refrigerators and washing machines. These appliances make everyday chores take a fraction of the time. Our electronics also make us more comfortable with climate control for our homes and water heaters for our faucets. You do not need to shop the latest products to be dependant upon electronics.

Besides consumer electronics that are used for everyday functions, there are ones that are purely for our interest and entertainment. MP3 player, portable gaming devices and camcorders all provide for entertainment everyday. There are also items like computers and cell phones that provide daily functions and entertainment. Our consumer electronics improve more every year to provide functionality and consumer satisfaction. More and more each year these products also fuse the gap between entertainment and functionality which promises them a place in our shopping carts.

Como hacer que tu tiempo sin compania valga la pena

Cuando empecé a escribir este articulo, pensé en como pase el ultimo mes sin necesidad de un compañero y aun así, muy entretenida. Es importante clarificar que sea la razón que sea que te encuentras sola o solo, mejor así que mal acompañado! Y que no hay por que avergonzarse! Una vez teniendo eso claro ya llega mi lista de recomendaciones, entretenimientos para ti.

Datos útiles para ayudarte a conectarte con ti misma:

1) Si eres miembro de un DVD club cerca de tu casa, mejor. Sino, hazte miembro! Películas que valen la pena para una noche que buscas un poco de acción: The Man Inside (con Live Owen y Denzel Washington), Blood Diamonds (Con Leonardo Di Caprio), Babel (Con Brad Pitt) entre otras.

2) Si estas con amigas y quieren algo romántico, Prime (con Uma Thurman), In her Shoes (Cameron Dias), The Hollyday, (Cameron Dias, Kate Winslet).

3) Si buscas reirte con algo simple y un poco ridículo te recomiendo My Super Ex Girlfriend (Uma Thurman), Just Married, Monster in Law, y The Devil wears Prada.

4) Hablando de satisfacción culinaria, puedes averigua de buenos restaurantes delivery, en Sushi, Pizza, Pasta, Chino, Japonés, cualquiera sea que te guste mas. Si no estas en el humor de ordenar comida y disfrutas de cocinar es una buena opción!

5) Para descargar toda la mala energía o para refrescar tu mente reincorporarte en el deporte que mas disfrutes. Patinaje, Yoga, bicicleta, Gimnasio, etc. Te ayudara a sacar todas las preocupaciones y retomar energías. Si es un día soleado aprovecha una buena caminata o corrida con tu I-pod y relájate!

6) Si disfrutas leer, la literatura también es un buen método para ti. Autores como Pablo Cohelo, cuentos de Harry Potter, Gabriel García Marques, son mis preferidos para desconectarte de la realidad y pasar al mundo de lo imaginario.

7) Juegos en Linea son una gran opción si disfrutas juegos de azar o de mesa. Puedes jugar gratis o por dinero al Black Jack al Póquer mientras chateas con otros jugadores en línea.

8) La música es un acompañante esencial para muchas actividades. En el Jazz, Bossa Nova, Blues, y Soul mis recomendados son Ray Charles, Norah Jones, Maxwell, Jewel, Sting, Sade, Bilberto Gil y Tony Bennet.

Sin duda hay un sin fin de entretenimientos y cosas para disfruta de una noche o día sin compañero y aun así utilizar el tiempo de la mejor manera posible. Películas de acción, libros de fantasía deportes, música, buena comida, pueden ahora ser tus buenos amigos.

CD/DVD Burning on your Personal Computer

Recently CD’s and DVD’s have become very cheap, both in respect to the disposable media and the burning hardware. Buying a CD or DVD burner has become an affordable solution to making back-ups and a lot more.

CD media and burners have been around for a very long time. They have become very affordable for many. CD’s have a capacity of 750mb and re-writable ones can be bought. CD burners have dropped dramatically in price. So much so that they have become an absolute standard for any new computer. Some computers have multiple CD burners to make burning multiple copies of data a lot easier.

DVD media and burners were released a while after CD’s. They cost more than CD’s but also offer better features such as 4.7gb of storage space and compatibility with DVD players. DVD burners and media cost more than CD’s but the price gap is slowly closing. Most new computer will have DVD burners or at the very least DVD readers.

Using removable media for task such as back-ups, movies or music has become very popular with consumers. It’s simple, can be taken anywhere and is very affordable. In the case of back-ups it’s a viable solution to making off-site back-ups of important data and documents.

These two technologies have become a part of everyones lives but may soon become obsolete. In the near future different technology standards will be released. Sony is set to release the blu-ray technology that’s set to change the way we exchange data. It will have at least double the storage space of DVD’s and products such as the Playstation will incorporate this new standard.

The second is HD-DVD. This stands for High Definition DVD. This will have an even sharper image than the current DVD’s and will also have a lot more storage space. Deciding when to embrace these new technologies will be up-to the consumers.

Backup Schedule: Learn How Often To Backup

If you backup, you are one step away from a disaster. If you backup often, make it several steps. Learn how often to backup and how to make your own backup schedule.

Surely, one can backup to whatever backup medium he wants, but if one does not stick to a backup schedule, most of the efforts, aimed at storing or securing the important information will be spent in vain.

First, we need to figure out what we are backing up, as the backup schedule largely depends on the size of the backup data:

- small amounts of data (important work documents) can be backed up often, hourly, daily and at least weekly

- medium amounts of files (e-mail messages, project documents and work documents) can be backed up daily, weekly or monthly (at least)

- large amounts of data (e-mail messages, project documents, data files, settings files, etc) can be backed up weekly or monthly

- huge amounts of data (all of the above plus images, audios - mp3s and videos - mpegs) can be backed up monthly or yearly

- total backup (a backup of all the data on the computer) can be backed up weekly, monthly or yearly.

Which backup schedule to choose is up to you, but you will also need to choose a backup software to do that and set up the time when to perform a scheduled backup.

First of all, the backup software needs to support the backup medium you want to backup (CD, DVD, FTP, LAN, external USB or flash drive, etc). Next, you select the files you want to backup, choose the time you want to backup and leave it there. Some programs can run as a service and don't need to be launched, but some need to be running when you want the backup to be run. At any case, the computer has to be on at the time of your backup schedule.

Think the time of a backup schedule doesn't matter? What if it runs during your work day and slows down your work computer for an hour or two? To keep working _and_ to stick to the backup schedule, simply set the backup to run a couple of hours before or after your working time. This way you won't be interrupted with a scheduled backup.

5 Reasons to Choose a Notebook Over a Computer Desktop

Many of us are so used to working on a computer desktop that when it comes time to purchase a new computer, we don't consider other options. Today, computer notebooks - which were once called laptops - offer a number of advantages over a computer desktop. Here are just five reasons why you should take a second look at notebooks.

1. Mobility

You might be used to pulling up a chair to your computer, but it makes much more sense to pull your computer up to your chair. Laptops can certainly be used at your desk, but you also have the option of bringing them to the spot where you're most comfortable. Maybe you'd like to surf the Web in the evening out in the living room or catch up on your favorite blogs before bedtime. Notebooks with wireless connectivity can travel with you throughout your home, so you can check your email or do your Internet shopping anywhere.

Of course, notebooks also make sense for those who are on the go. Students can take laptops to class and to the library, while businesspeople can take them along while traveling. With WiFi so widely available, it even makes sense to have a notebook while on vacation. With the right notebook, it's easy to take photos with your digital camera, upload them, and email them to friends and family before you even get back home. Or you can use it to write a vacation blog and include those pictures from your digital camera.

2. Better Displays

The size and quality of computer notebook displays has improved so dramatically that there's little difference between laptops and a computer desktop. For example, you can get Apple's MacBook with a 13.3-inch LCD widescreen (1280 x 800 pixels), a 15.4-inch LCD widescreen (1440 x 900 pixels) or a 17-inch widescreen (1680 x 1050 pixels). Similarly, the Compaq Presario has a 15.4-inch display.

3. Lighter Weight

Just a few years ago, even the lightest notebook was a pain to lug around. Today, though, laptops are increasingly easy on the back. The MacBook is slightly over an inch thick and the Toshiba Portege weighs in at about four pounds. While that's still heavy compared to come of the new ultralight convertibles (Fujitsu's LifeBook U810 weighs only a pound and half), it's a significant improvement over the old seven-pound laptops.

4. Better Computing and Battery Power

Historically, two drawbacks of notebooks were their limited RAM, limited space on the hard drive, and short battery life. Times have changed, though, and laptops now have as much power under the hood as their computer desktop cousins. The MacBook, for example, has 1GB of memory (configurable up to 4 GB) and a hard drive that's configurable to 250GB. This means that your software will hum right along and you'll be able to zip through programs as quickly and as easily as you do on your desktop. Likewise, batteries in today's notebooks don't heat up and don't conk out.

5. More Features

In older laptops, the computer's size and weight limited the number and types of features available. Today, with smaller processors and other components, there's room to pack more features into notebooks. For example, the MacBook has a DVD player, built-in webcam, built-in wireless capability, two USB ports and a FireWire port, built-in microphone, and audio and digital input/output.

There are so many advantages to owning notebooks that, before you buy your next computer, it's worth your while to take one for a spin.