Amanda is considering purchasing an e-book or an iPad and asks the following question: “What are the limitations of e-books? I plan to use it as a book, MP3 player and internet browser.” My suggestion is to save your money and go with the e-book. E-books will do everything you’ve outlined in your letter to me, plus a handful of other functions. I think you’ll be amazed by the price difference between the two.
The most common e-books are manufactured by three companies which are independently supported by three major book retailers. Amazon sells the Kindle, Barnes & Noble has the Nook, and Borders sells the Kobo. Each are pretty similar in function and price with the major function of providing a means to efficiently read a book with minimal eye strain. Most have built in MP3 players and web surfing utilities. For around $200.00, buyers get a specialized device which includes free mobile internet.
iPads are pretty similar in function to their baby brothers; the iPod Touch. The big difference is screen size – which is 9.7 inches. The iPad’s starting price is around $500.00 (more than twice an e-book); however, the functionality of the iPad is much more. With an iPad in-hand, users can surf the web, play movies, listen to MP3’s, and have more functionality than an e-book.
For reasons I’ve already listed, I would suggest sticking with an e-book. No matter the choice you make, you will be able to download books and read them on the screen. E-book manufacturers have geared their devices towards minimizing eye strain and providing decent battery life. The few books I’ve seen have matte e-ink screen technology and rival paper books in their readability.
As you’re making your decision, each technology has separate qualities which make them stand out from each other. I would take a close examination of each product prior to making a decision. If your primary goal is to read books, then I would ask the sales person to show you a book on each product.
Scott is concerned his hard drive may be failing and would like some advice as to what he can do. He asks the following question: “My computer is very slow and constantly has to run a check disk at startup. What steps should I take to prevent losing data and maintain my system?” Scott, you need to backup your data immediately to prevent losing any data. A USB key drive or external hard drive are two great tools for performing this task. From what you’ve described hard drive failure is imminent.
Hard drives are one of a few mechanical components in your computer. Unfortunately, the hard drive contains the operating system and all of your data. In the event of a complete failure, you run the risk of losing everything near and dear to you. It can cost many hundreds of dollars to resurrect your data in case of a fatal or catastrophic failure. Fortunately for you, the computer is operable so retrieving data won’t be a major chore.
Most major hard drive manufacturers package software with their retail products to make duplicating the existing drive fairly straight forward. Usually the process is pretty straight forward and includes connecting the new drive, installing some software and following a predefined process. For around $100.00 you will be up and running with a new hard drive which exactly matches your old one.
In the case where you can’t duplicate the old drive – either due to failure or limitations of the computer, you can sometimes re-install the operating system on the new drive and drag and drop your old documents. In this case your programs and settings will not transfer.
Of all the possible scenarios, hard drive failure is probably the most daunting and disturbing for most people. This is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Tech-Tip of the week: Before you dispose of your very old computer you should check around to see if anyone might purchase it. I have some processors worth $40.00 each for gold reclamation.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can e-mail him at Jeromy@LocalComputerWiz.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)