A Definitive Guide to Longer Battery Life

Laptop batteries are like people--eventually and inevitably, they die. And like people, they don't obey Moore's Law--You can't expect next year's batteries to last twice as long as this year's. Battery technology may improve a bit over time (after all, there's plenty of financial incentive for better batteries), but, while interesting possibilities may pop up, don't expect major battery breakthroughs in the near future.

Although your battery will eventually die, proper care can put off the inevitable. Here's how to keep your laptop battery working for as long as possible. With luck, it could last until you need to replace that aging notebook (perhaps with a laptop having a longer battery life).

We've also included a few tips on keeping the battery going longer between charges, so you can work longer without AC power.

How to Recover Your Lost Gadgets

The best time to worry about cell phone security is now, before your phone disappears. By taking some sensible precautions, you can make your phone easy to recover, and even safeguard your data.

Losing a phone actually entails three separate losses: the hardware itself, the data on the device, and the security that you would normally enjoy by maintaining control over your data.
To minimize the collective impact that these losses can have on your life, you should address each of the three facets separately. First, take steps to make your phone recoverable, or at least easily replaceable, in the event that it goes AWOL. Second, keep an up-to-date backup copy of the data on the phone in a safe place. Third, make sure that nobody else can access that data if your phone gets lost or stolen.

The Ultimate Blackberry Phone Tips and Tricks

Get More from Your BlackBerry Smartphone

For such a tiny little device, that BlackBerry smartphone of yours has an amazing amount of functionality packed in behind the scenes. But, unfortunately, realizing the true potential of a Research In Motion (RIM) device isn't always as simple as opening up a user guide or surfing on over to Google. In fact, your BlackBerry's literally packing hundreds of "hidden" tips and tricks.
That's where we come in. We bring you a comprehensive set of tips and tricks - for the novice, the seasoned expert and everyone in between. We' take through a comprehensive list of shortcuts, performance tips, our favorite BlackBerry software downloads, battery-life advice, memory optimization methods, getting more out of the built-in camera, better browsing techniques, innovative uses for your BlackBerry's Bluetooth, and much more.
After learning these techniques, you'll wonder how you ever got by without them. Each tip takes only a second or two to learn and put to use, and they'll save precious time, provide valuable information about your device and make your smartphone run faster and more smoothly.So sit back, whip out that BlackBerry and pay attention.

How to Fix Your Friends's PC Problems

Become a Super Tech Support Guy

When the phone rings in my house, there's a 50/50 chance it's a call for help--tech help. Maybe it's my sister trying to figure out why her wireless mouse no longer works. Maybe it's Dad wanting to know why virus warnings keep popping up on his desktop. (Uh, oh.) Or it could be Aunt Judy looking for the file attachment she knows she saved--but doesn't know where.
Sound familiar? The curse of being even a little tech-savvy is that you automatically get elected Tech Support for friends, family members, and maybe even your coworkers.

Do More with the Middle Mouse Button

Supercharge the Middle Button

Take a close look at your mouse. Chances are good it has at least three buttons: left, right, and middle. (Note: Your middle button might be your scroll wheel, which on most mice is clickable.) I thought I'd home in on the middle button.
Why would I want to do that? Well, I just took an informal poll of about ten people, and guess how many of them actually use that middle button? A grand total of one. One! People, people, people...

Use Your Cell Phone as a Wireless Modem

Phone as a Modem

Phone Web browsers and apps can handle many of your on-the-go Internet needs, but sometimes you have to use a laptop. What do you do if no Wi-Fi hotspot is in range? That's when tethering--sharing your smartphone's 3G Internet connection with your laptop via USB or Bluetooth--can be a lifeline to the Internet. However, not all wireless carriers officially support it, and, depending on your mobile plan, you could get slapped with some exorbitant data charges.

Automate Multimedia Tasks in Your PC

Automate Your PC's Media Library

Using your PC to store your photos, videos, and music might save you the trouble of having to dust off photo albums and alphabetize your CD collection, but it can still be a pain to keep your media converted, stored, tagged, and uploaded.
Here's how to automatically download, convert, and sync your video files, dump your photos to Flickr, and take the pain out of tagging your music library.