Leading computer part manufacturer, Logitech has introduced a new all-in-one laptop keyboard to the market. Alto, as it is called, combines a keyboard, notebook riser and a USB hub into one portable device.

One of the main advantages of the Logitech Alto is the ability to fold and tuck it away with your laptop whenever you need. Also, the 3 high speed USB ports in the Alto will eliminate the need to buy an external USB hub. Alto’s new design will elevate and extend your notebook’s display to an optimal height and distance for viewing comfort. Setting up the device is very easy and straight forward, as it does not require any software installations.

Alto’s keyboard includes a separate 10 key number pad and a rubberized area in which to rest your wrists. A fold-out support beneath the keyboard enables you to adjust your typing angle.

Logitech’s all new design may have a few draw backs for some users – depending on the size of your laptop the fixed height may not be the best for you; depending on the design of your laptop the Alto may block off all the ports on its front edge.

According to the Logitech’s design team, this new innovative design makes a very practical and comfortable way to use your laptop at a desk and helps you to relax while making you more productive.

The Logitech Alto is priced at $99.

Since public hotspots usually don't use encryption, your Internet traffic can easily be viewed unless you take precautions - Be sure it's a legitimate hotspot: Nefarious types are known to set up pirate routers with familiar SSID names like "wayport" or "t-mobile," and then use them to capture unsuspecting users' log-on information and other private data. Verify that your PC's software firewall is turned on, and that Windows' file-sharing feature is off. By default, it's off in Windows XP with Service Pack 2. To check this setting, open Control Panel and choose Windows Firewall. If necessary, you may need to click Security Center first in XP or Security in Vista. In XP, select the Exceptions tab, and look in the Programs and Services to be sure "File and Printer Sharing" is unchecked. In Vista, click Change settings, and then select the Exceptions tab and follow the instructions for XP. Never send bank passwords, credit card numbers, confidential e-mail, or other sensitive data unless you are it's a secure site: Look for the lock icon in the bottom-right corner of your browser, as well as a URL in the address bar that begins with https. These types of web sites build in their own encryption.

On Wednesday, April 25th, Acer, Inc. recalled 27,000 laptop batteries made by Sony, which could overheat and create a fire. These batteries are in models (TravelMate and Aspire) sold from May 2004 through November 2006. Customers should contact the company for a free battery replacement.

What's the best way to preserve a notebook battery? Even if you use your laptop primarily when it is plugged in, it's not recommended to remove the battery. Your battery will function better and last longer if you simply keep it in the machine. However, if the battery is unused for extended periods, it can lose its ability to hold a full charge. Optimal battery use should include charging it up all the way when you first buy your notebook. You should then discharge it all the way down, followed by a full charge up again. This procedure will calibrate the battery and enable it to run for more cycles.

On Thursday, April 26th, AOL will launch its portal in India – http://aol.in/ in English. It will offer free email accounts, search services provided by Google Inc., news, sports and other areas of interest to the people of India. AOL’s president, Ron Grant, has stated, “India is one of the world’s fastest growing online markets, and our India portal will help us compete for users and advertisers in this important region.”

We have found that users of XP (we have no knowledge as of yet if it is affecting other operating systems) may experience an Operating System error because of their USB keyboard and mouse. It may load up to the point of the log on screen; however, the user cannot type or move the cursor. This mainly happens with PCs that only have USB connections and no PS2 connections.

Booting up in safe mode as well as running a repair on Windows may not work. This is due to the fact that there are errors in the driver startups for the USB keyboard and mouse. At this point, you are left with two options in order to fix this issue - you may be fortunate enough to have Remote Desktop enabled or you will have to reinstall the operating system.

By default, Remote Desktop is not enabled. However, due to this recent issue, it is highly recommended that you have it enabled, so you can prevent loss of data and other conflicts. Microsoft is still researching this issue because even though you may go into the BIOS of the machine and see that the keyboard and mouse are being recognized, it isn’t being recognized by Windows.

Thus, the best way to prevent the need for your PC to be reformatted from scratch and a big hassle is to enable Remote Desktop;

• Simply, right click on the icon on your desktop called My Desktop and scroll down to Properties. Once there, click on the tab called Remote.
• Make sure that the box titled Remote Desktop (Allow users to connect remotely to this computer) is checked

Users may encounter the common svchost.exe error when booting up their computer. For some users, if you simply close the error message nothing seems to be affected. There may be other users who close it out and their computer freezes and their machine becomes inoperable.

The error appears like this -

So what is this error? According to Microsoft, the svchost.exe is described as: In software svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic link libraries (DLLs) within modern versions of Microsoft Windows Operating systems.

At startup, Svchost.exe checks the services part of the registry to construct a list of services that it must load. Multiple instances of Svchost.exe can run at the same time. Each Svchost.exe session can contain a grouping of services. Therefore, separate services can run, depending on how and where Svchost.exe is started. This grouping of services permits better control and easier debugging, but it also causes some difficulty for end users wishing to see the memory usage or vendor legitimacy of individual services and processes. Many applications use this executable file during startup in order to complete its function and at times it may become corrupted. Here are two options for a solution -

The first solution is to log in and turn off automatic Windows updates. You simply click Start, go to All Programs and then select Windows Updates. Once there, you will have the option on the right pane to turn off Automatic Updates. You turn it off and then reboot. Once you log back in, you go back to the same site and click on Updates and install. Reboot again. Then turn back on automatic updates.

The second solution is to go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, click on Services, then go to the following Service - Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework then Right Click and choose Properties - in the start up type choose Disabled. Reboot the system.  

1. Use a different email address when posting at public forums.

2. Create multiple email addresses for different purposes, for example, for sending personal emails and commercial inquiries. Free email services like Gmail, Yahoo can be used. Avoid using corporate and business email addresses, which will reduce spam and maintenance cost.

3. Do not post your personal email address on your website, as it will be targeted by email address harvesting robots. Use website based forms instead to reduce the threat.

4. Do not use the reading pane in your Outlook and web based system for reviewing emails. This will stop automatic opening of undetected spam by the anti-spam system through the reading pane. This practice will reduce the susceptibility of your email address from receiving further spam.

5. Use an email filtering system built into your mail reviewing software (Outlook, etc) or through your anti-virus software. Use it for marking spam sending addresses and adding them to junk email and blocked addresses lists. Simply deleting the messages will not help.

6. For short-term compulsory web-registration sites (such as online newspapers), use a website like http://temporaryinbox.com/ instead of your permanent email address.