Old Notebooks, New Lives
More tips on how to dispose of that old notebook.James A. Martin
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Feature: New Life for an Old Notebook
In February I offered ideas and advice for getting rid of aging portables. That column, "How to Dispose of an Old Notebook," generated nearly 50 e-mail messages from readers offering creative repurposing and disposal ideas.
What follows is a sampling of those ideas--along with a few more of my own.
Trade It In
If you're about to replace an old notebook with a new model from the same manufacturer, check to see if the manufacturer accepts trade-ins.
For example, P.D. Fyke of New York says he recently traded in his Sony VAIO PCG GR-170K notebook for a new Sony VAIO VGN S360P. "It was a hassle filling out the [trade-in] paperwork," P.D. writes, "but it'll be worth it."(At the time, Sony was offering an allowance of up to $400 to those who traded in old VAIO notebooks for new models.)
Hewlett-Packard also offers trade-in allowances for used notebooks (and other equipment). Most recently, HP was offering up to $325 on used notebooks to those who bought a new HP notebook between December 22, 2004, and April 30, 2005.
My Two Cents: Before you opt for a trade-in, check the value of your notebook on EBay or other auction sites. You might get a better price elsewhere.
Give It to a Relative or a Student
Many readers suggested passing along a portable PC to school-age kids who could use it in class, or to an elderly relative.
In most cases, an older notebook is just fine for e-mailing, Web browsing, or word processing, which is what most students and seniors might want to use one for.
"My grandmother would love an older laptop that could go on the Internet," writes Scott Siegel of Pasadena, California. "The compact design would be easy for her to maneuver around the house." With a notebook, Scott writes, his grandmother could use e-mail to keep up with family members.
My Two Cents: If you don't have a student or a senior handy, donate your notebook to a local school or senior center. Even better, volunteer to teach students or seniors how to use computers, too.
Turn Your Old Notebook Into a Jukebox
A number of readers wrote that they had transformed older notebooks into dedicated music players.
To do so, delete any unneeded files and applications from the notebook's hard drive. Next, load up the drive with MP3s or other music files. "Hook that old laptop up to your... sound system... and you're in business," writes Jim Laurel of Redmond, Washington.
You can use Windows Media Player or any other audio software to play the files.
Radio Shack is among retailers selling the necessary cabling to connect your notebook to a stereo receiver. The retailer's 3' Gold Series Cable ($6) is available online.
My Two Cents: If you have a wireless home network, consider adding a Wi-Fi adapter card to your old notebook, if it doesn't already have wireless capability. Then you can subscribe to an online music streaming service, such as Real Rhapsody ($15 a month; 14-day free trial) and play thousands of tunes through your stereo system. For more about online music streaming services, read Eric Hellweg's "Music Unlimited."
Give It to Someone in the Hospital
Some hospitals are beginning to offer network connectivity for patients. As a result, giving a hospital patient an old notebook for e-mail and Web browsing could help them stay connected to others during what would otherwise be a lonely, frightening time. "We can give to others the simple opportunity to communicate... that many of us take for granted," writes Brian Wallenstein.
My Two Cents: Before he died in 2003, my friend Mark spent a month in the hospital receiving chemotherapy. A movie and TV buff, Mark was desperate for entertainment beyond what the limited cable TV in his room offered. Luckily, I was able to give him an old notebook with a DVD drive. Later, seeing how much Mark was enjoying watching DVDs, an executive at the company Mark worked for bought him a portable DVD player. Being able to watch DVDs made a huge difference for Mark--and that, in turn, made a difference to his friends, family, and colleagues.
More Creative Ideas
Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips
Notebook News: Tax Break Proposed for Proper Computer Disposal
The last thing you want to do with an old notebook or other computer is toss it in the trash. Why? Computers contain hazardous toxins such as lead, mercury, and cadmium.
"Growing mountains of e-waste are clogging our nation's landfills and posing great risks to Americans' health and to our natural environment," says U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).
Wyden and Senator Jim Talent (R-Missouri) recently introduced legislation to give tax breaks to individuals and businesses for safely disposing of computers and other electronic devices.
Notebook Accessory: A Remote for Watching DVDs on a Notebook
Most notebooks don't come with a remote control for watching DVDs. But don't despair: The IWand 3-in-1 PC DVD Remote Control ($50) works from up to 30 feet away, according to the company. The remote features buttons for play, pause, stop, advance, mute, and chapter, as well as screen capture. It works with the Windows Media Player, WinDVD, and Power DVD. For details, go to the Mythix site.
Notebook Reviews: Updated Centrino Models Set the Stage for Future Improvements
PC World recently tested Dell, Gateway, and HP notebooks featuring the updated Intel Centrino wireless platform.
The verdict: We didn't see a dramatic performance boost. But the updated Centrino notebooks don't cost much more than other notebooks; and they include more advanced technology in memory, audio, and wireless networking. Also, they use the fast new PCI Express bus. These enhancements should set the stage for future improvements.
Notebook News: Dell's Latest Notebooks Designed for Games, DVDs
New from Dell: an updated Inspiron XPS gaming notebook that incorporates the latest Centrino technology and uses a new NVidia graphics card that's currently available only from Dell. The company has also announced the Inspiron 9300, which has a 17-inch display for watching television or movies. Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system is available on both notebooks, allowing easy access to movies, games, and music files.
A typical Inspiron XPS configuration will set you back $2749 and includes a 2-GHz Pentium M 760 processor, 512MB of DDR2 memory, the NVidia graphics card, a 60GB hard drive, and Windows XP Home Edition; the Media Center Edition operating system is available for an additional $39.
The Inspiron 9300, which features buttons for DVD and TV controls, starts at $1599 for a system with the Pentium M 760, 256MB of DDR2 memory, and a 40GB hard drive.
For more details on Dell's newest offerings, read "Dell Rolls Out Flashy New Gaming Notebooks."
Wireless News: Theories Behind the Paris Hilton Hacker Affair
By now you've probably heard that hackers recently gained access to Paris Hilton's T-Mobile Sidekick account and posted Paris's address book (full of famous names) on the Internet. How did that happen?
One leading theory is that a flaw in a Web site feature for resetting T-Mobile account passwords played a role. The password reset flaw is just one of hundreds, or possibly thousands, of similar flaws in T-Mobile's Web page that could give hackers easy access, according to one security expert.
Gadget First Look: M:robe Does Many Things, but None Particularly Well
The Olympus M:robe ($500) is a music player, photo viewer, and a 1.2-megapixel digital camera. Unfortunately, it doesn't excel at any of those functions, says PC World reviewer Tracey Capen. For example, the device is a bit bulky for a music player, at 4.3 by 0.8 by 2.9 inches in size. And digital images taken with the built-in camera were on par with a cell-phone camera.
Suggestion Box
Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.