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By now, many people have heard about companies that will buy your used laptop for cash. These companies buy your laptop and refurbish them to sell as used. It’s essentially laptop-recycling, and can be a great option for people who may have an extra laptop that isn’t being used or a laptop that doesn’t work (as many companies will buy it from you whether it’s working or not).

Selling your used laptop is also a great way to get some extra cash if you are trying to save up for a newer laptop. Technology is always changing, and eventually you will want to upgrade to a newer, faster computer that is more compatible with ever-changing software. Why not get rid of your old laptop while at the same time making some cash to put towards a new one?

No matter what the reason, once you decide to sell your laptop, there are a few things that you should know. There are many companies that will buy your laptop and some are better than others to do business with. The following paragraphs will help guide you through some of the important things to know when starting the process of selling your laptop.

The most important thing that you need to consider when selling your laptop is the protection of your personal information. It is vital to your security and identity that you choose a company that will remove all information from your hard drive before refurbishing it. This is especially important if your laptop isn’t working and you can’t access the information on it yourself. Make sure that the company that you sell your laptop to will erase all the information off your laptop as soon as it is received.

The next thing you’ll want to look for is a company that will get you the best used laptop value. Some companies will give you an instant quote for your laptop. If you can get an instant quote online this is the best way to find out right away of you are getting the best value for your laptop. Check this out and find out how much you may receive for selling your laptop before you send it in. And remember – you should never have to pay to ship your laptop. Sell your used laptop to a company that will pay for shipping and ensure that you pay absolutely nothing in the process.

Once you find a good value with a good company and decide to sell your laptop, another thing to look into is when you will be paid for the laptop. You should be able to find out from the company approximately how long it will take for them to receive your laptop and send you your check. It might take a couple of weeks from the time you get your estimate, but if you know when to expect it, you shouldn’t have to worry. If you want to receive your check as soon as possible, you may even be able to get your check over-nighted for a fee.

You can use the cash to save up for a new laptop, or just make some money from a laptop that isn’t used or doesn’t work. No matter what your reasons, selling your laptop can be financially beneficial, environmentally-friendly, and a smart move for people who like to upgrade.

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As with buying a PC laptop or for that matter any electrical equipment, it is a case of different strokes for different folks, what might be good for Rama may not be right for Krishna. With laptops, you should consider a few things before you purchase. With the new school, collage, and university terms, starting you may find yourself being convinced that your offspring would do so much better in education with this new top of the line ever so expensive laptop computer. Alternatively, you may be a travailing sales person and find that you need access to the office database while out of the office and the company has given you free reign to choose your own piece of IT kit whatever the situation you should consider the options available that will meet your needs.

Laptop computers are more expensive then an equivalent desktop unit with similar specification and if they go wrong they are much more complicated to repair (and did I mention more expensive as well).

So the first consideration is do you actually need a notebook computer, a desktop unit will give so much more bang for your buck.

So if your still with me, then you have decided being mobile is the only way to go. what things should you be looking for with a new laptop. However, the actual question should be what do you need the laptop to do.

Let’s start with the basics, are you going to be using it for your main computer if so we should be looking for a larger screen. When you spend a lot of time in front of a screen you want to be able to see what you’re doing. If you’re only going using it as a support for your main computer, I would advise a smaller compact unit as the larger laptops begin to weigh you down if you have to carry them around for any length of time.

The hard drive size is another important factor bigger is better in this case go as large as you can afford with what your budget will allow.

Memory again same as above, but just think what you will be using it for, the standard amount of memory for most computers is 512 RAM, which is more then enough for most people. Exceptions to this are if you are going to be using large graphics in application like Photoshop, working with movie files, or any sort of 3D work then I would recommend going for a larger memory directly proportional to the size of the files you will be working with.

Graphics card

For office applications the basic built in graphics adaptors are fine but if your doing any 3d gaming or anything even slightly graphically intense , or want to run windows vista in all is glory then a better card is needed, one with at least 256 Ram

DVD/DVD-RW

A DVD drive is now the minimum you would get in most laptops but for backing up data a DVD-RW is necessary, your data depending on what sort of business you are in can be worth a lot more then your computer, you should make sure you back up regularly.

Wireless

Wireless internet is now a common reality and having a built in wifi card can be a real help when in need of information from the office or the internet I would recommend including this option if at all possible

Operating system

Most of the world has been focused on the Windows operating system with windows XP and now Windows Vista. There is an alternative that a lot of the general public don’t know about, Linux. In the past Linux has been seen as an operating system for computer nerds and geeks and to complicated for Joe public, but with Linux distributions like the excellent Ubuntu this is changing. The benefits of Linux are legion, the best being its free with lots of software available also free.

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When traveling, the main point is to keep your laptop in sight and it is not at all wise to leave it unattended. Try not to leave your laptop in a motor vehicle; it should be covered when placed in the trunk. Some companies provide a fully bonded security box with high-density safety cables to maximize security when the laptop out of the usual protected surroundings, such as while traveling in a vehicle. Don’t ever forget and leave a conference room without your laptop; it should be taken along or it may not be there when you return. Locking your laptop is the best way if you leave it in your office or workplace out of hours. Top security systems can be used to lock laptops securely away.

Therefore, the security of a laptop is a matter of great concern for those with large IT assets and people who are constantly traveling. Laptops represent a nearly impossible temptation for thieves, in the workplace, at the coffee shop, or on campus. They’re small, portable, usually of high value, and next to impossible to trace.

Current estimates say that a laptop is stolen about once every minute in this country, or half a million of them per year, and 97% of them are never recovered. Even more frustrating than losing the hardware is losing any data that’s on them – particularly if it’s a corporate laptop, where the files may be more valuable than the hardware!

Even if it’s not a corporate laptop, it may have your passwords for web sites, financial sites like PayPal or eBay embedded in it, or your bank. This can let a laptop thief make utter hash of your accounts in minutes with virtually no way to trace it back.

Holding on to your laptop is critically important and there are some simple, common sense guidelines to help you do this.

- Don’t advertise. Carry your laptop in something that carries other things as well. Obvious laptop bags are tempting targets on campus and in airports.

- Keep your eyes on it. Don’t let it out of your sight. If that means you wait to go to the bathroom until after you’ve put it in the car, you do that.

- Deterrence counts. Use a visible lock and cable to latch a laptop down to the table or chair you’re at – you don’t need to make this fool proof, but you do need to make it look hard to steal.

- When you’re computing in a public place, use passwords, use encryption, and read all the network availability lists carefully. One particularly ruthless trick is to impersonate the WiFi network of a public place, generally by changing the letter “l” to the number “1? in the name, and hope someone connects to them thinking they’re connecting to the real network, and using a keystroke logger.

- Don’t be afraid to encrypt important data. You can even set these things up so that someone who has your laptop needs to have your thumb drive to read the data on the hard drive.

- Look at all security options – marking your laptop with UV markings, including your name and phone number means that if it’s recovered, it may be returned. You can also buy software called LoJack for Laptops that will secretly report it as stolen after you’ve notified the company, and is hooked up on the internet.

- If you’re doing corporate laptop management, have policies in place – laptops will get stolen. Look into remote data destruction; in conjunction with a unique ID, to remove sensitive data from laptops that are stolen. Likewise, back up everything on a laptop – nothing should ever exist on a laptop that’s company critical that doesn’t have a backup on your servers.

So take care. Guard your laptop and keep your information safe.

So stay alert! Beware!

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