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It’s amazing how much streaming content is available online, and more is being added every day. YouTube, Netflix, cable channels, and now even the old traditional broadcast networks are streaming their content over the web. This is even better than TiVo or a DVR because all these programs are just waiting for you to view on-demand.

But you probably already know how difficult it is to have everyone gather around a laptop to watch something. The whole point of a laptop or notebook is to have something small and light. So there is usually not a huge screen for everyone to watch. And if you have a netbook, forget it. You might be able to share that video with one close friend.

Obviously the best solution is to connect your laptop to a TV. The laptop serves up content from the Internet, and the TV displays it so that everyone can see it. Hooking up your laptop to your TV will depend on what kind of outputs you have on the laptop and what kind of inputs you have on your TV or video receiver.

The kinds of inputs and outputs that will be avilable really depends a lot on the age of your laptop or television. If you have a brand-new fully loaded laptop, there’s a good chance it has an HDMI output. Pair that up with a brand-new flatscreen with HDMI inputs and all you will need is one of those very simple (but remarkably expensive) HDMI cables.

Your next best bet in terms of quality is S-video. Both S-video inputs and outputs are round black sockets with an arrangement of holes for the S-video plug pins. You can find S-video cables in many different stores, including the big discount stores like Wal-Mart or Target. The only problem with S-video is that it doesn’t contain audio information. If you want the audio to play through the television speakers you’ll have to get an additional plug for that. Unless you have stereo audio output on your laptop — which is unlikely — then you need to find a cable that goes from a stereo headphone plug to “RCA” plugs. RCA plugs are usually red for the right stereo channel and white for the left.

Some laptops might have an RCA video out, which will look pretty much like the yellow plug on the back of many old VCRs. That’s another way you can get the video to your TV. You’ll need an audio cable for this solution too.

Those are the basic options for connecting your laptop to a TV. There may be other ways, or sometimes you can mix and match. If you would like to share your solution or you are stuck with a combination you can’t figure out, leave a comment below.

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When a desktop computer starts to struggle, they’re usually a few options for upgrading the core components and give new life to its performance. Unfortunately, upgrading the laptop is impossible, or at best very, very difficult.

If your laptop is no longer working, or is much too old to keep pace with the demands of today’s software, the temptation is to throw the whole thing away. But don’t give up on your baby just yet. With a little transformation, your “laptop-formerly-known-as-useless” could turn out to be quite useful. Recently, TechRadar.com published an interesting piece about cool things to do with your laptop. Let’s take a look at some of their suggestions.

Believe it or not, you can salvage some of the components inside. This is an option you should reserve for laptops that are truly and finally dead. Start with the hard drive. Is it still working? Then you can have a “new” external hard drive (and also recover any files you may have lost in the death throes of your laptop). Purchase an external case for a 3.5 inch drive and your old laptop’s hard drive will plug right (usually). There may be a chance that it won’t fit-I’ve run into a few old IBM drives that are two thick for the enclosure. But guess what, it works without the enclosure too, although it does look a little Borg-ish. It’s a quick, easy and inexpensive route to an additional external drive.

Pull the memory cards out. They may be of no more use to you, but lots of people are always on the search for replacements for their broken laptops (broken less than yours, of course). Actually, there may be a few people farther behind the curve than your laptop and would love to upgrade their memory with your cards.

What about the optical drive? Do you fancy a new home theater computer? To fit with the living room décor, cases for media computers are usually thinner and require a slimline optical drive. Your salvaged laptop drive may be just the thing.

There you have it, at least three components that you can extract from your dead laptop and use to make something else, save some money, or even make money by selling them on eBay. Just don’t start throwing your laptop around to hasten its demise!

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As much as laptops, notebooks and netbooks have progressed in terms of raw computing power and vivid graphic displays, there is one component that just isn’t pulling its weight in term as technological advancement-the battery. If you’re a mobile computer user, you already know this.

Let’s take a look at some tips that are easy to implement and may add up to an hour onto your average battery life.

Close programs you aren’t using. Better yet, never open them in the first place. The more programs you have running simultaneously, the harder your laptop’s components have to work. When they work hard, they use more power. Plus they eat up your system resources, slowing down your computing in general. Keep open just the applications you need and save the big power drainers until you’re plugged in again.

You would probably be surprised to know how many processes are running on your computer at any given time. Many of these processes are related to handy little items on your computer desktop that might be nice, but not worth the power drain when you want to maximize your battery. Start by removing some of the programs from the automatic start-up list.

If you are confident that you won’t stop a needed process, you can also remove some of the power hungry processes using task manager. Are you using wi-fi? If not, turn off the wireless radio on your computer. There’s no point in wasting watts just to look for a connection that’s not there or not needed. And if you’re not online or using a suspect USB stick, you can probably kill your virus protection as well. Just remember to turn it back on when you reconnect with the world.

Use a little common sense. If you are starting a business and will need to hit the ground running with your computer, then by all means, don’t sit in the airport lounge watching a movie or playing a graphics intensive game. Save that battery power for when you’ll really need it-your big presentation that lands you the next big client!

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In the world of mobile computing, it seems like new models are released every day. The pace may not be that fast in reality, but it’s hard to assimilate the last greatest thing before the next greatest thing comes along. Recently, the marketplace has witnessed the invasion of netbooks, very small versions of the venerable laptop primarily designed to access the web. Their advantages include their small size, light weight and multiple connection options. But don’t expect the netbook to replace your desktop. In fact, if your computing needs give your laptop a workout, don’t give it away when you get your netbook.

For the longest time, you could only compute at home. The desktop computer was everyone’s only option. A few portable (or transportable) computers came and went, but they were like carrying luggage. Reasonably well-performing laptops that you could actually carry began to proliferate in the mid to late 1990s. The IBM Thinkpad was a definite leader in this era. Over time, laptops actually grew in size and power to become true desktop replacements.

A funny thing happened at this point. People began complaining that their laptops were too heavy, too hot and ran short on battery power too quickly. Manufacturers responded by introducing the notebook computer. These new machines were lighter, lasted longer without being plugged in, and accomplished this with only a small sacrifice in performance (but a sacrifice nevertheless).

Not long ago, the mobile computing customer changed again. With the advent of socially interactive sites like Facebook and Twitter, people began wishing they could stay connected to the web pretty much all the time. Smartphones filled the gap for a while, but people wanted more. Enter the netbook.

The netbook is perfect for whipping out to update your Facebook page or post your Twitter updates. Widespread wi-fi and 4G networks make it possible to stay connected in most urban and suburban areas. However, if you think the netbook is something you want, you should not expect it to replace your laptop, notebook or desktop. The netbook is designed primarily for the ‘net (hence the name). So you’ll be getting a machine with a less powerful processor, no optical drives (CD or DVD), a much smaller screen and a really tiny keyboard.

As long as you know what you’re getting into, you may be perfectly happy with a netbook. Just remember it’s probably better to think of it as an oversized phone.

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