Macintosh buying guide
'Tis the season to do some shopping, and if you've added a new Macintosh to you shopping list, you've picked a great time to buy one. Apple's current lineup features a nice variety of Macs that offer great value. Read more...

Mac laptops less reliable than ASUS, Sony notebooks

In-Flight Entertainment on a Netbook

Four ways to access files from afar

Missing features in Windows 7 Starter will disgruntle netbook buyers, survey says

Why is My Computer Slowing Down?

Switchers Guide: Understanding Mac security

Switchers Guide: Run Windows on a Mac

Switchers Guide: Moving hardware and software to Mac

Switchers Guide: Move your files from PC to Mac

More Laptops Stories

Solving the compliance vs. mobile dilemma
Compliance with federal regulations requires extreme care. On the other hand, users are walking out of your office carrying high-risk data on mobile devices. What's an IT manager to do?

Designed by Consumers - Screenless Laptops
As part of Google's tenth anniversary last year, Google asked for ideas on how to change the world. A great many suggestions were submitted, including the one below from me. Although Google has chosen not to fund this suggestion, I wanted to share it here with PCWorld.com readers for what it's worth. Admittedly, it's counterintuitive to think that a laptop without a screen could be more useful than a laptop with a screen. But as I explain, for some people, that can indeed be the case.

Opinion: Why Chrome OS will fail -- big time
A lack of flexibility will doom Google's latest ego trip to the dustbin of history

Google's Chrome OS stands to make waves
Google is ambitious, there's no question about that. It has both the privilege and necessity of being so and, given its position as a major player in multiple facets of the technology arena, it's got resources and opportunities that most other companies can't hope to match. So if you had to pick one company to enter the operating system market, a product category that's been largely bifurcated for the last two decades, Google's a pretty good bet.

Review: Track your stolen laptop for free with Prey
The free, open-source Prey service can help you locate and possibly recover a stolen notebook. Is it as good as a paid laptop-tracking service -- or is it simply 'better than nothing at all'?

Macintosh buying guide
'Tis the season to do some shopping, and if you've added a new Macintosh to you shopping list, you've picked a great time to buy one. Apple's current lineup features a nice variety of Macs that offer great value.

9 Things I Hate About Laptops
I'm a big man with big, goony hands. And if there's one thing I've learned from testing laptops for PC World, it's that a good keyboard and trackpad on a laptop is kind of like a toilet. You take it for granted until you're stuck with one that doesn't work so well. Read on for a list of keyboard-and-trackpad complaints, from yours truly and some of our readers.

Nokia Booklet 3G Netbook
Nokia spokespeople are quick to correct you if you slip and call the Booklet 3G a netbook. Well, let's see: It has a tiny, clamshell, laptop-like design. It has meager specs (1GB of RAM, Intel's Z530 1.6-GHz Atom CPU, and a 4200-rpm 120GB hard drive). It has a 10.1-inch screen. Last time I checked, that was pretty much the definition of a netbook. The Booklet 3G just happens to be a reasonably well-constructed model with a focus on being 3G wireless-ready. But are you willing to shell out $599, sans contract (price as of 11/13/09), for Nokia's maiden effort in the netbook market (or $299 subsidized through an AT&T data plan)?

Elgan: Can gadgets be too small, cheap and feature rich?
Is it possible for gadgets to get so small or so cheap that they are unusable? Yes, indeed, writes columnist Mike Elgan.

Dell Inspiron 14z
The Dell Inspiron 14z laptop makes a clear statement: You are probably a student, you want a whole lot of battery life on a Windows 7 machine, and you probably don't care much about performance. A small, sleek portable, the 14z mainly looks good and has a very long battery life. There's nothing wrong with it, as long as you know exactly what you're getting. As reviewed, the 14z would cost about $849--a sizable chunk of change considering its lack of horsepower. At first sight, this model seems to be an echo of the Dell Studio 14z that we reviewed just a few months back.

Editors' Picks

Getting to know Windows 7? Don't stop now: From speeding up taskbar thumbnails to reining in UAC, here are 20 ways to make Windows 7 act the way you want. Is Motorola's new Droid good enough to vanquish iPhone envy? To find out, we took it on a 3-day trip. Sure, you could always use Linux as a desktop OS, but Corel Linux 1.0 was the first distro designed for ordinary users. It's been a long, strange trip since then. New touch-screen laptops from Fujitsu, HP and Lenovo take advantage of Microsoft Windows 7's touch-friendly infrastructure.

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Laptops and mobile devices continue to go missing due to poor visibility once they leave the network. Absolute Software can help by giving you a complete view of mobile computers from a single web-based interface along with powerful anti-theft capabilities to keep your data safe. Success Story: Grant Thornton LLP Grant Thornton needed to reduce computer loss rates and streamline IT asset management across 49 offices. The company used Computrace by Absolute Software to recover and wipe data from laptops before end-of-lease. With Computrace, the company has reduced costs by increasing asset visibility to 100%. Endpoint Security: When Encryption Isn't Enough Missing laptops and mobile devices continue to be the number one cause of data breaches. Research indicates that over 60% of data breaches are caused by careless employees or insider theft. This white paper provides a case for endpoint security that remains effective regardless of end-user reliability. The Human Factor in Laptop Encryption This Ponemon Institute whitepaper examines the behavior of non-IT employees when it comes to encryption policy. It shows that many employees may not be taking the most basic precautions to protect their company laptop. View Entire Zone

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