HP's rumored cloud-based tablet

When HP acquired Palm last year, the rumors as to what their plans were had been circulating wildly around Tech blogs. It seems that, hopefully, we'll know by February 9th 2011, when HP's "Something big, something small, something beyond" event happens.

A recent article on PCworld.com suggests that HP plans to launch "the world's first true cloud tablet." (Link)

Basically this means that the device would store data online rather than on the device memory. What this means as far as you are concerned, is that all your data is backed-up permanently online which not only keeps it secure, but also leads to a faster tablet.

The tablet will make use of Palm's WebOS (adored for its multi-tasking capabilities) and will have a 1.2GHz processor. If rumors are accurate, you'll have a choice of both a 7" and a 9" version. Certainly very exciting stuff.

We'll be watching this space and keep you informed of updates regarding this tablet. We're excited, and for good reason.

Great Deal for the Holidays!

So we hate to bore you with deals on this page, but this is simply not to be missed out on.

So here it is:

Get the HP Pavilion DV6 - 3060si (2.26GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD), the HP 500GB Portable Hard Drive, a super cool laptop bag as well as Norton Anti-Virus 2011 - - ALL this for only R8999.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, buy it here.

If not, keep an eye out for some more great HP Shop deals coming soon!

The HP Envy - One Beautiful Machine

The HP Envy is one beautiful machine. It is a perfect blend between performance and art.

Its sleek design and extraordinary performance ensure that it meets every need of a Notebook PC and more. Its powerful Intel i7 Processor, huge amount of RAM(up to 8GB), 500GB hard drive and the excellent ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5850 Graphics Card joins many other remarkable features to make the HP Envy one of the most desirable notebooks money can buy.

Click Here for the Engadget review.

HP Shop is currently running a massive notebook sale, and the HP Envy 17 is yours for R13799 and can be in your hands in 48hrs.

Buy the HP Envy 17 now from HP Shop.

The HP TouchSmart tm2 - the perfect Christmas gift for the gadget lover.

Video courtesy of Wannahaves.com

This multi-touch tablet notebook gives you the versatility to touch, draw or type. Enjoy a sophisticated convertible design, eight hours of battery life and outstanding graphics performance (varies by configuration).

Here's some specs for you guys:

• Intel® Pentium® Processor U5400 1.2 GHz, Level 3 cache 2 MB Intel® HM55
• Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 1.89 kg
• 3 GB DDR3 (Duo-Core - 1 x 1024 MB + 1 x 2048 MB)
• 320 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm up to 12 GB partition for system recovery
• LightScribe SuperMulti DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
• ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5450 Graphics
• 30.7 cm (12.1") diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView Touchscreen Convertible Display (built-in capacitative digitizer with multi-touch gestures) Display Resolution: 1280 x 800
• 6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery
• Bluetooth® wireless networking

This versatile tablet notebook is available from HPshop for only R9359.

Spoil yourself or somebody else.

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HP SpareKey

HP SpareKey helps you, or the administrator of the computer, recover lost system passwords, such as the power-on, drive lock, or BIOS passwords. When setting up the SpareKey, you are prompted to provide answers for a sequence of three predetermined personal identification questions.

The HP SpareKey uses these questions to identify you if you need to reset the passwords. Examples of the personal identification questions presented by HP SpareKey are listed below:
-What is your mother's maiden name?
-What was the name of your first pet?
-What is your father's middle name?

It is very important to write down the answers to these questions and put them in a safe place, away from the computer, so that you can always access them.

HP SpareKey cannot help you recover a Windows 7 or Vista administrator account password. It is intended solely to recover system-level passwords.

This feature is available on most HP laptops.

Manage your laptop battery power

There are actions you can take to make your laptop battery last longer. HP always recommends following the instructions for charging and storage that came with the battery or laptop.

Tips for conserving battery power on laptop PCs:

You can manually change the power consumption of your notebook PC and conserve battery power.

- Reduce the brightness of the screen to the minimum readable level. Use the function keys on the top of your keyboard to adjust the brightness.
- Remove peripherals when not in use. External hard drives, CD-ROMs, Zip drives, PC cards, and other peripheral devices can draw power from your battery even when they are not in active use. Disconnect them when you have finished using them.
- Turn off the Wireless On-Off button when it is not in use. If your laptop has one, press the Wireless On-Off button so that the light turns off.
- Remove the battery if the laptop will be stored (turned off and not plugged into AC power) for more than 2 weeks.
- Remove the battery if the laptop will be plugged into AC power continuously (via a wall adapter or docking station) for more than 2 weeks.
- Calibrate your battery. (We will cover this in our next Battery post)

Steps to clean your PC for performance

Some simple maintenance tasks once or twice a month can keep your PC running smoothly.
Spyware, adware, and viruses need to be detected and removed frequently to maximize your computer's efficiency. Your hard drive and personal files must be managed and stored properly to ensure that they are not corrupted over time. Important data should be backed up onto a storage source such as a DVD or an external hard drive.

Use the following steps to Clean Your PC:

Step 1 - Undo Harmful changes using Windows System Restore

Undo harmful changes to your computer by using the Windows System Restore feature. This tool returns your computer to a date before you installed that unwanted software or began receiving those annoying pop-up advertisements.

Step 2 - Remove malicious software

Installing Anti-Virus software and keeping the virus definition files current is the very best way to maintain the health of your computer.

Step 3 - Manage your hard drive more effectively

Manage your hard drive more effectively by using Microsoft Windows built-in system tools. Disk Cleanup deletes temporary files and other data that make your computer run slower.

Disk Defragmenter takes all of the scattered bits of program data and groups them together in the front of the drive, helping your hard drive to work faster and store more data.

We will go into detail on how to do these steps in upcoming posts.

Dr. Dre and HP

Laptop Gaming

I always hear people talking about the possibility of gaming on their laptops. For this, one needs quite a powerful laptop. If you are playing very low end games, such as those on Facebook, then power and speed is not too important. Most laptops should play those small games. Today's fancy games (the ones you purchase in the shops) need a built in graphics card to process all the gaming goodness.

Keep in mind that it is also, most of the time, not possible to upgrade the graphics card inside a laptop. This is only possible on laptops that have been custom built. Games that you purchase at a store on a DVD need these type of graphics cards inside the laptop.

If your games run slow then you can try upgrade the RAM and Hard-Drive. When purchasing your laptop, you should always check how many slots the laptop has for RAM. This will give you an indication for future upgrade space. Once you are using the laptop, always ensure to update the software and drivers. This will also keep your laptop in good shape and give your gaming a healthy speed boost. What you can also do, is lower the resolution of the game in its options menu. It might not look as pretty but your game should run much faster.

And the best idea is to 'try before you buy'. Download the demo of the game you want to play on your laptop. If it runs nicely, then purchase the game. If not, then don't waste your hard earned money. Our Pavilion range of laptops are great for gaming and home entertainment. Lastly, always ensure to check the required specs of the game to the specs of your laptop.

Microsoft Office 2010 Comparison Chart

The below chart will help you compare the various options of Microsoft Office 2010.