Tag: Battery Life

Panatech PX-500 PCMCIA Sprint EVDO BroadBand Card

Paul

[ad#tmi-right-1-1]The Pantech PX-500 wireless mobile broadband card for Sprint gives you data communication access for your PC laptop anywhere you roam on the Sprint network at faster speeds than ever before. EV-DO rev A compatibility gives you download speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps and beefy upload speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps. Simple to use, the Pantech PX-500 wireless mobile broadband card lets you surf the Internet, send and receive email and text messages, and connect to corporate networks from just about anywhere.

Technical Specs:

  • Dimensions – 4.57 in x 2.13 in x 0.51 in

  • Weight – 1.8 oz

  • Data Download Speed – EV-DO rev A (Up to 3.1 Mbps Down/1.8 Mbps Up), EV-DO rev 0 (2.4 Mbps Down/153 Kbps Up), 1xRTT

  • Download Protocol – CDMA 850, 1900

  • Compatible Carrier – Sprint PCS

  • Network Compatibility – CDMA 850, 1900

  • 3G Data Speeds – Yes

Compatibility Features

  • Device Supports Data Plans – Yes

  • Available For Purchase Without Service Plan – Yes

Saw this card and did a little digging.  I looks like the newest updated software and drivers for this card can also make it Vista and Linux compatible.   Although with any card you will use up more battery life but it is a small price to pay to check email and surf the web. Also if you have an newer laptop or am about to upgrade I’d suggest Getting a Sierra Wireless Compass 597 USB Modem from Sprint! This is good for anyone who wants to surf the web and not have to buy the hardware to do it with.  Both are free to buy and ship with a two year contract. If in doubt please get the USB card that way you know you know you will be able to use it.

Is Vista just Windows 7?

Paul

[ad#ad2-left]According to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols from Computer World, He talks about how Microsoft is scared on Linux and that people are flocking to remove Vista off there Machines. I say otherwise, you see according to some experts like Mark Hall from Computer World, he states Vista is better than Mac OS X. So why do people say one thing and do another?

Now I know Vista isn’t what people expected and that it had high expectations when they first released it.  I think that is due to the fact Microsoft tried so hard to make Vista seem more than it actually was.  Now According to Ina Fried from CNET her post was about Windows 7: A better Vista?. In her post she talked about the features of Windows 7, and how Windows 7 is almost like Vista. I tend to agree because of the look from screenshots I’ve seen to make me think it will be Version 2 of Vista. I don’t think it is anything that will change from Vista to Windows 7. It will however be more ready to boot up and shutdown that is according to what Microsoft said to Ina.

What is Windows 7 going to have?  Some reports are saying:

[ad#ad2-right]I did some research and everything so far is either confirmed to be in this next release of Window 7 or is speculation.  I don’t know if these are true.  I do know however everything they talked about is looking to me to be like Vista Version 2.  Nothing they’ve said so far couldn’t of been an update like a service to pack to fix all these things people are wanting right now.  Vista to be faster, have better battery life, be lean, be embedded, better Uac, and boot faster.

Now I could be wrong but that is everything Vista could of done and still is possible to do!!  If only Microsoft would do what is needed people wouldn’t be wanting Windows 7.  Although I suspect people will have there hopes broken, or complain about it when it comes out.  I suspect the ones who want Windows 7 will be saying Vista is great!!  I will just have to watch what happens in the future!!

Ways to improve Battery Life in Vista

Paul


Turn off Sidebar:
Turning of the windows Sidebar helps with performance and reliability of Vista. Some people tell me it is nice to have that up. I say this, it’s using system resources and isn’t going to help you out when you’re running on a battery. Here is how you do this:
Control Panel>Classic View>Windows Sidebar Properties


[ad]Check your Power Plan when you are on battery:
Doing this will help you with your battery power. By making sure your got your CPU on power Saver when on battery power you will save battery life and will give you more time to use the laptop.

Control Panel>Classic View>Power Options


Change windows for Performance:

By changing Windows Aero to look like basic you can boost your battery life by not using any unneeded video acceleration. Doing this will save your battery and will give you 30 more minutes on your battery. It’s 4% to 5% battery increase but all this will make your battery last longer.
Control Panel>Classic View>Performance Information and Tools>Adjust Visual Effects

As you can see, if you like some of the effects, you can customize it to your liking, but keep in mind the more you use the less your have on battery life. It also affects your system speed, so you may want the computer speed so keep the appearance to a minimum.

Turn off UAC:
UAC has been nothing but trouble for me so I’ve just turned it off, I suspect it is also helping my battery but I am not going to hazard a guess on how much.
Start Menu>type>Msconfig on the Search bar. run the Msconfig and then you go to: Select Tools Tab, then find Disable UAC and double click it. Reboot and you no longer have UAC.

Download Battery Saver:

Downloading Battery Saver will let you pick when and how to deactivate some of these things when you unplug your power cable. This little Utility comes with a lot of possibilities. It allows you to decide when to deactivate Windows Aero and Sidebar which helps on battery life.

There are several other things to consider when you’re trying to save battery power:

Turn off all unnecessary programs in the background.

Dim your LCD by hitting the Function Key + Left Arrow several times.

This also will improve battery life by not draining it. It will dim it to the lowest setting and will extend the battery.

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These tips will improve your battery life in Vista but I do not know by how much time will be extended. I hope these tips will help you out when it comes to using your laptop out in the wild and not wanting to worry about time. Let me know what you think and I’d like to hear all the comments. Enjoy