Laptops, Notebooks, & Tablets, Oh My!

Kathleen Hamby M.S. CBPAGovernors State University

Internet and Classroom Teaching

• Portability• Anywhere and anytime• Stay in touch• A smarter classroom (tablets)• Office PC backup• Model for tech courses

Lots of Choices

• Laptops

• Notebooks

• Tablet PC

• Palm/Hand Held

• PDAs and Cell Phones

Extremely lightweight personal computer

Different and the Same• The Same

– Computing Power• CPU• Memory (RAM)• Disk Drives

• Different– Battery: Look Ma!

Almost no wires!– Portable– Display Screens

Advantages/Disadvantages

Advantages

• Portability

• Battery

Disadvantages

• Portability

• Battery

So, this affects me how?• Not a gameboy—this is still a computer• Portable, but hard on those drives• Limited upgrade capabilities• Limited expansion capabilities-drives• Edges are vulnerable• Recognition of PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card

International Association) • Battery

So how is a laptop battery like an elephant?• They never forget

– 3-4-not likely• NIMH batteries 1.5 - 2.5• LiION batteries 2.0 - 3.0• Lithium longer than nickel

– Physical devices consumes battery power: hard drive, floppy, CD– Memory

• when battery is used before fully charged several times • Will not accept a full charge• Drain and recharge

Need or want

What do you want it to do?

What is important to you?

Things to think about• Memory• Storage• Drives• Ports• Wireless• Programs• Power Cord

• Hard Drive Protection • Security – data & PC• Multimedia• Screens • Plastic or metal alloy• Size • Case

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1783410,00.asp

Connecting to the Internet

• Wireless-for portability• Share folders and move files easily• Your computer is only as secure as the Network• Wireless based on standards: www.ieee.org (Institute of

Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.)– 802.11 a, b, g, I

What you need for a Wireless Network

• Access Point• Wireless adapter or network card (NIC) for

each computer on the network– Install first

Important: choose one standard and make sure all components are compatible

Access Point configuration & Data Security• Default wireless settings for the router are not secure!• Basic changes for security

– Change the default SSID Service Set Identifier.– Disable the SSID broadcast option. – Change the default password. – Enable MAC address filtering.– Enable Web Encryption (128)– Ad Hoc or Infrastructure options:

• Use Ad Hoc for direct card-to-card communication. This allows only internal devices to communicate with each other.

• Use Infrastructure to allow your AP access to the Internet.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,844020,00.asp

Change Password

WEP Encryption (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

Configuring your laptop• Click Start, network places, network connections • Right-click Wireless Network Connection, and then

click Properties. • On the Wireless Networks tab, do one of the following:

– To enable automatic wireless network configuration, select the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box. This check box is selected by default. For information about what happens when you enable automatic wireless network configuration, see Notes.

– To disable automatic wireless network configuration, clear the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box.

To connect to an existing wireless network: Access point (infrastructure)

• To connect to an existing access point (infrastructure) network, under Available networks, click the network name, and then click Configure.

• In Wireless Network Properties, specify the wireless network key (Wired Equivalent Privacy) settings, or, if the network key is automatically provided for you (for example, the key is stored on the wireless network adapter given to you by your administrator), select the key is provided for me automatically check box. If you are unsure about whether a network key is needed or which settings you need to enter, contact your network administrator or the wireless network adapter manufacturer.

• Important– If a network does not broadcast its network name, it will not appear under Available

networks. To connect to an access point (infrastructure) network that you know is available but that does not appear under Available networks, under Preferred networks, click Add. In Wireless Network Properties, specify the network name (Service Set Identifier) and, if needed, the wireless network key settings.

To connect to an existing wireless network: Computer-to-computer (ad hoc)• Under Available networks, click the network name, and then click Configure. • In Wireless Network Properties, specify the wireless network key (Wired Equivalent

Privacy) settings, or, if the network key is automatically provided for you (for example, the key is stored on the wireless network adapter given to you by your administrator), select the key is provided for me automatically check box. If you are unsure about whether a network key is needed or which settings you need to enter, contact your network administrator or the wireless network adapter manufacturer.

• If you want to connect to a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network and both computer-to-computer and access point (infrastructure) networks are within range of your computer, click Advanced, and then click Computer-to-computer (ad hoc) networks only.

• To configure a new wireless network connection, click Add, and then do the following: – In Wireless Network Properties, specify the network name (Service Set Identifier) and, if

needed, the wireless network key settings. – If the network connection that you are configuring is to a computer-to-computer (ad hoc)

network, select the This is a computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are not used check box.

Client Configuration• Windows XP offers programs for connectivity. • Each vendor wireless access card generally comes with client

software to configure wireless connectivity.• Most notebooks will recognize nearby Access Points unless

security is set.– You must add computers to secure networks

• To connect to outside networks from a notebook, a profile is needed.

• If the SSID is not broadcasting, the SSID needs to be entered into the client profile

Schools, work, hotspots, etc.

Computer Security• Keep up with Windows & Office updates• Use an Internet firewall (DSL router)• Use an antivirus program—live updates• Use an anti-spyware program: Spybot S & D

– http://www.safer-networking.org/microsoft.en.html

• Use adware software: Ad-aware– http://www.lavasoft.de/ms/index.htm

Other tips

• Don’t save passwords

• Make sure that hotspot is secure

• Password protect you laptop

• Clean out temporary files

• Defrag and scan your disk for errors