This is what happens when you’re rushing to catch your flight: you end up leaving behind something as valuable as your laptop.

According to a study commissioned by Dell last year, over 12,000 people misplace their laptops at US airport, per week. That adds up to approximately 624,000 incidents a year!

The trend’s hotspot? LAX, featuring 1,200 absent-minded laptop owners a week. The laptops are usually lost at security checkpoints, with people trying to go through them as hastily as possible. Here’s sound advice from an airport manager, who’s probably witnessed laptop-loss numerous times:

Besides geek-squad mantras to encrypt and back up data, the tips also include some very down-to-earth wisdom: Only take a laptop if it’s really necessary to your trip and give yourself lots of time “to avoid mistakes made more likely by having to hurry. Airports are a physical and mental obstacle course.”

Amen to that.

Have you left your laptop behind? Why, where, and how?

Here’s a key to getting more people to adopt Nokia’s software (and in turn, the Ovi suite of online services):

Running the Ovi Suite installer of the Nokia N97, it’s clear that Nokia’s PC software could use improvement. A lot of improvement.

At first glance, it’s nice to see the installer provide the user with some options during setup. Install Nokia Photos? Leave out Nokia Music? But in hindsight, this approach—separating the various facilities into different applications—does not work. Not only does it come off as cumbersome (What, I have to install all of this?!), it lets users potentially miss out on functionality required to maximize their phones.

The rant/article continues on Philippine-affiliate Technograph.

From Business Mirror:

Courtesy leocub of sxc.hu

Enterprises that extend service life of notebooks beyond the prescribed optimum performance of three years will pay more in the long-run than buying new computers, according to a recent study conducted by market research firm J. Gold Associates.

In its report entitled Keeping Notebooks Past Their Prime: A Study of Failures and Costs, J. Gold said adding two more years in the laptops’ prime usage may cost a company $1,050 per device as older, slower and less reliable machines result in productivity loss.

While the study focuses on the corporate situation, not on your Every Joe gadget user, it’s still a warning: I know that manufacturers are less enthusiastic with their support for consumers, so it’s likely multi-year warranties are totally useless for non-corporate customers. At least, that was my experience with my first Dell laptop.

What do you think?

No matter what you think of Dell, their prices still represent the highest spec-for-buck ratio I’ve ever seen.

Studio XPS 13. Courtesy Dell.

For instance, the basic Studio XPS 13 laptop costs $999. Here’s what you get for that price:

• A 2.0 GHz Processor (Intel P7350)
• Vista Home Premium
• A 13.3″ 1366 x 768 display, with an integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam
• DVD/CD burner
• 3GB DDR3 RAM
• 250GB 7200 rpm hard disk
• NVIDIA 9400M G
• Support for Wireless N (802.11n)

That setup won’t be able to run more demanding games like the notorious Crysis, but it’s powerful enough for practically any other task. Shop for an XPS Studio 13.

Other Deals

Dell’s also upped the ante by discounting their offerings further, as part of the current Dell Days of Deals promo, running until this June 25 (5:55 AM CDT). To paraphrase some writer: “Dell’s discounts depend on the phase of the moon, astronomical alignments, and the direction of the wind.” Anyways, here are some laptop promos that seem interesting:

• Studio 15 for $699
• Inspiron Minis starting at $299
• Studio XPS 16 laptop for $1199

Just remember the lower price comes at a price though; Dell’s reputation for poor customer service is in vogue right now. Though this shouldn’t be too much of a problem for computer savvy owners. Hopefully.

Savvy laptop owners learned a long time ago that manufacture claims on laptop battery lives were essentially best-case scenarios. An XPS M1330 for instance never reaches the promised 3 hours—even with all connectivity off and the screen dimmed to minimum.

Courtesy jyrik

But why, you ask? Here’s Daniel Lyons’s theory

These battery-life numbers are based on a benchmark test called MobileMark 2007 (MM07). The test was created by a consortium called BAPCo (Business Application Performance Corp.), whose members are—you guessed it—computer makers and other tech companies.

Read more

The advent of Blackberries marked the beginning of the frequent mobile use era. It’s not uncommon to see people today check their email or their favorite websites through their phone.

Courtesy Quo Vadis

This is where smartphones still fall short versus laptops. For some reason, and I’ve seen this happen many times, people who use laptops to essentially not pay attention while getting things done on their own agenda come off as more polite. More businesslike even.

It’s a reality that will probably not change soon. You can tap away on the keyboard, do a little furious clicking, all while glancing quickly at the speaker. All in the name of pretending that you’re doing an activity related to the current business conversation. So long as you pretend to follow the 7 rules for using laptops in meetings I guess.

Heck, so long as no one else can see your screen, you can even dabble in casual gaming. That’s also something I’ve seen happen with my own eyes.

In the video below, you can see the Android OS—originally designed for mobile phones—boot up relatively quickly and take full advantage of the laptop’s built-in HSDPA. Yes, you heard that right, a laptop:

Featured at the recently concluded Computex, it’s obvious that Google needs to change at least one thing: you don’t tell a laptop owner to turn of his or her “phone”. Interesting though how the apparently unvarnished version of the OS automatically adapts to a laptop’s larger-than-mobile resolution. According to the video’s uploader, Asus was publicizing their own Android-based laptop, but reportedly chose not to showcase a demo unit.

Compal, the company behind the laptop, is known as the outsourced manufacturer for big brands like Dell and HP. It specializes in the production of notebooks and computer displays.

I have a feeling that many of us know unconsciously what can be done with a Hacked PC, but it took The Washington Post to illustrate the concepts, categorizing the various badness into six neat categories (click the pic below to see the Post’s graphic in full):

I will admit considering the vulnerabilities of Financial Credentials as a revelation. Aside from the almost-cliche possibility of stolen credit card numbers and bank accounts details is the potential to manipulate stock trades and mutual funds on your non-consented behalf. Overlooking those is understandable, especially since many of us don’t really have the sound long-term financial planning needed to drive such investment-related online activity. That’s a pitfall I hope to remain aware if and when I decide to manage my financial future on the internet.

To be clear though, there are much more practical—and pressing—considerations. As I attempt to maintain the secrecy of my real email address, the crown jewel for any would-be identity theft, I hereby declare: You can pry my Steam collection from my cold, dead hands.

This story of a girl killed in a car accident is relatively old, but I honestly can’t let her death go to waste; there’s a lesson to learn here!

Heather Storey (courtesy of her family)

The lap top was in a knapsack and hung over the back seat and swung up like a slingshot.

the warning is a purse, briefcase, lap top, camera, club, etc could when violently stopped become a missle in the car.

It’s honestly mind-boggling that a laptop could be so dangerous. Yet ultimately the scenario makes sense. Any object heavy enough can be fatal, especially if circumstances conspire to apply the force to a very vulnerable part of our body. The death of Heather Storey could be considered a freak accident, the repeat possibility of which can be minimized—even eliminated—if we learn from her mistake.

So dear readers, make sure that all items in your car are secured during transit, especially your gadgets. Anything light enough to fly during a collision may be still heavy enough to cause serious injury.

(Kudos to Marilyn for actually interacting with readers online, even putting up with some idiotic statements to make sure people get the message. The full story here)

Is it just me, but is the second Lauren Laptop Hunter (the one with mom) cuter than the first?

Video: Laptop Hunters $1700 – Lauren and Sue get a Dell XPS 13

Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 - Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion