If you’re about to start recommending that your clients buy extended service plans for new notebook PCs, be sure to get a written statement detailing what’s included and not included.

Unfortunately, PC vendors won’t always tell you specifically what’s not included. Sometimes, you’ll only be able to surmise what’s missing by comparing written warranty statements from different PC vendors.

Hazard Coverage

For example, most notebook PC vendors specifically exclude warranty claims arising from obvious neglect issues, such as spilling liquid on a notebook or dropping it. Other notebook PC vendors, for a hefty price, may cover such calamities under limited circumstances.

Also, consider whether your clients’ end users will be traveling with their notebook PCs. Unlike their desktop PCs, which likely stay relatively stationary throughout their life cycle, notebooks go “on the road” a lot.

International Coverage

Some notebook PC vendors include international warranty coverage in the base price of the extended warranty. Others charge extra for this supplemental coverage. Regardless, if your clients’ end users of notebook PCs travel abroad, be sure to ask about specifics.

Just as with a desktop PC, find out whether the notebook PC extended warranty is on-site, whether technicians come to your clients, or whether your clients will need to ship their notebooks back to a service depot for warranty work. Also, ask about promised response times and estimated turnaround times.

The Bottom Line about the Notebook PC

Make sure you have reviewed a price list of available notebook warranty upgrade options. Also, examine the related terms and conditions of what is and isn’t covered under various warranty upgrade plans. Find out if the notebook PC warranty limits coverage under certain circumstances.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Business Computer Consulting . com. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg helps small business computer consulting firms get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for your free access to a one-hour audio training program on Small Business Computer Consulting Tips.

Mobile has become essential part of our life in today’s fast world. It has become the main source of communication in our life. Mobiles are also used for surfing internet and playing games. So mobile keeps you update on latest happening plus keeps you entertained when you feel bored. But sometimes it may burn your pocket if you do not take proper care of your mobile.

There some very basic steps you can take to keep yours mobile safe

1. Always keep your mobile free from dust. Try to use some covers to cover the mobile and protect it from dust. Dust is one of major enemies of a mobile.

2. Use only genuine charger as per specified by the mobile company to charge your mobile. It will help in properly charging your mobile plus it will boost the battery life of your mobile.

3. Avoid frequent charging of your mobile. Try to charge mobile only when it is required, that is when your mobile indicates that the battery is low.

4. Do not download software and games from unauthorized websites and unknown sources.

5. Try to have good anti-virus installed in your mobile (Symbian OS mobile).

6. Keep away your mobile from moisture and water because that could damage its sensitive circuits. If your mobile has fallen into water then immediately take out the battery from the mobile and take it nearest company service Centre.

If you keep the above points in your mind then you will be able to properly safeguard your cellular device (both GSM and CDMA).

Take care,

Cyber Force is always with YOU!

www.cyberforce.info specializes in Computer Technology and other fields articles.

Website: http://www.cyberforce.info

Author’s Educational Achievements
Masters in Business with Specialization in Marketing and Information Technology
Bachelors in Electronic Science

Let the battle begin, should teens have cell phones? Well you will be pleased to know that over 94% of parents agree that cellular phones are good for teens and that’s according to a survey conducted by AT&T with parents and teens in LA and New York. Most teens have their very first cell phones by the age of 15 and in many cases 13. Like with all mod cons teenagers want them but they should be used in a practical manner.

The Bill

Paying for the cellular phone is one thing but the on going costs thereafter tends to cost some friction in households. If you are the parent who insists that your son or daughter has a cell phone then understandable you should pay the bill once it’s within reason. Teens who insist on having a cell phone should pay some part of the bill with their weekly allowance that you give them. Teens who are left without any supervision on bill phones will run riot and it will be you who foots out the bill. Even if you have the money to pay the bill monthly no matter how high you should draw the line, you may not always be there to pay for everything. Prepaid cell phones are a good idea to keep the expense down, the calls are more expensive to make on these phones but you can only make the calls once the credit is there. It is a great way for teenagers to learn about financial management of their own bills.

Teens and camera phones:

Camera cell phones are more popular with teens for the obvious reasons. It’s easy to use and fool around with and let’s face it they are harmless fun. There is a downside to having the camera phone and that’s the ongoing cost. If the phone is prepaid it’s simply, you can only text friends photo’s when you have the credit but if the phone is linked to monthly bill payments camera phones are by far the more expensive to operate. If your teen insists on sending SMS via the camera phone, why not encourage them to do so through email. Simply connect the phone to the PC via a usb cable (normally supplied with the phone), upload the photo’s and with broadband in most area’s email is much cheaper.

What are the main reasons parents offer teens cell phones?

Knowing that your son or daughter is safe and sound is priceless. If ever they need your help you are only a phone call away. With many late teens driving cell phones are a necessity, let’s face it most cannot even change a puncture. Please remember if you allow your teen a cell phone in the car, make sure you or they purchase a hands free kit or earpiece. Teens have so many things to talk about and can get so wrapped up in conversation that the driving aspect takes a backseat. For a few more dollars play safe.

Trust your teen with the cell phone:

We live in a world of technology and it’s going to keep growing at a rapid pace, all teenagers are curious. Once you have gotten over the argument of bill payment your teen will be fine, they may overindulge on the first bill or two but by confiscating the cell phone for a day or two will soon teach them the importance of money management. You will always know where they are and from the sound of their voice on the other end of the phone your mind will be put at ease.

Cellular phones family plans to keep costs down:

Family plans from cell phone carriers such as AT&T are ideal if there is more than one cell phone in the household. It helps keep the costs down and maximise the free talk-time minutes per month. If one person is not using up the free minutes the other can before they are lost. Some cell phone carriers are offering rollover minutes. Rollover minutes allow all the used free minutes from one month travel over to the next so you are not losing out. Cingular offered this and since they merged with AT&T, AT&T customers can avail of this too, remember the onus is on you to ask them.

About the Author
Declan Tobin is a successful freelance writer providing advice for consumers on purchasing a variety of
Prepaid Phone Plans which includes
Cell prepaid plans,
Carriers,
and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information for all of your phone interests and needs.

The technology world is no stranger to format wars
Since the showdown between Betamax and VHS to the current struggle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, companies intent on owning technology standards are willing to spend big bucks persuading other companies to join their respective camps. Some companies do this for the royalties while others do it to increase the availability and distribution of their intellectual property.

A much quieter format war has been waged on the PC over the past ten years
The Universal Serial Bus standard, more popularly known as USB, was distributed with the Windows operating system in late 1996. The standard was jointly created by Compaq, IBM, DEC, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, and Northern Telecom and is now available on 90% of all computers manufactured today.

FireWire owned the high-speed market from the beginning
In 1995, the same year that the USB standard was being formalized, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) approved the IEEE-1394 standard, also known as FireWire or i.link, which had been developed by Apple. The fast speeds promised by FireWire (100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 400 Mbps) was overkill for most peripherals not requiring a massive amount of bandwidth, such as mice and keyboards. Sony quickly embraced the technology (referring to it as i.link) and, along with a host of other manufacturers, integrated it into bandwidth-hungry peripherals such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, optical drives, scanners, web cams, etc.

USB and FireWire lived together happily in the beginning
In the early days these formats were not mutually-exclusive - there was very little overlap between the technologies and hence little competition. FireWire owned the high-bandwidth market while USB owned the low-bandwidth. At a max speed of 12 Mbps USB could not begin to compete with the 400 Mbps standard that evolved from FireWire for data transfer.

USB 2.0 is introduced
The end of the year 2001 marked a drastic change in the competitive landscape for these two standards: USB 2.0 was released. USB 2.0 offered the ease of use of (renamed) USB 1.1 and, at 480 Mbps, comparable speeds to FireWire. Note that while the theoretical limit of USB 2.0 is 80 Mbps faster than FireWire, empirically FireWire seems to be more efficient and thus has a higher effective transfer rate.

FireWire lost its competitive advantage
To simplify the process of purchasing peripherals and devices, manufacturers have identified no clear advantage of including FireWire ports on many new laptops and desktops and it is becoming increasingly more common to find new computers with only USB 2.0 ports. Even the digital video industry, which has long favored FireWire as the interface of choice, has begun to accept USB 2.0 as an alternative to FireWire because of the universal availability of USB ports.

Who will win the next battle?
So while there may be slight performance gains by using FireWire, many people are abandoning the technology in favor of the more popular USB standard. To compete for high-end, data intensive applications, FireWire 800, with a maximum speed of 800 Mbps, is helping FireWire maintain its position as the interface of choice for bandwidth-hungry devices - it will be interesting to see how the release of a faster USB technology will be received by the consumer market.

Preston Wily is the Director of Marketing for Sewell Direct, a retailer of USB adapters and accessories. Sewell is currently securing relationships with manufacturers of Wireless USB hubs and devices to prepare for the inevitable wireless revolution.