Most companies either buy or lease their laptop and notebook computers, but why or when should a company rent?

Here are a few reasons for renting a laptop computer: -If you need a wireless laptop computers for travel and all your company laptops and notebook computers are wired.

-If you need technology on short notice or for a short time, it is best to rent a laptop.

-If your laptop is broken or in the shop.

-If you need a large quantity of laptop computers for a training class, it is best to rent laptops.

-If your laptop computers are on back order but your staff isn't, it's best to rent laptops for immediate installation.

People confuse computer renting with leasing. Renting is short term in nature and is very flexible. Leasing, like buying is a fixed arrangement.

And a company can extend the rental term or even cancel the rental entirely at any time with no penalty.

Leases can't be cancelled without a 'severe penalty'.

Renting laptop computers is totally flexible, requires no capital budget and can be accomplished with a company credit card. For most companies, renting is as easy as getting office supplies.

Most rental companies have expert computer technicians who will deliver, and test your laptop rental right at your office, training room, trade show booth, seminar, convention or conference. Other companies only ship their laptops. If at all possible, have your laptop delivered and tested in front of the users. That will ensure you have 100% operational equipment.

Other reasons why businesses rent laptop computers include short term offices, executives on company business and temporary workers.

Temporary offices can be completely setup with rental laptop computers, printers, copiers and fax machines. The hardware can be installed at any remote location in the United States or Canada.

Rentacomputer.com has set up temporary offices for companies in hotel rooms, trailers, warehouses and rented apartments.

Temporary offices have been set up for State and Federal Government agencies such as the Federa Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), the FBI and the IRS.

Offices have also been setup for legal firms, television networks covering hurricane disasters, movie studios setting up "on location", and new building construction sites, corporate mergers and takeovers use temporary offices.

Temporary Employees

Temporary employees need temporary technology. By renting laptop computers you can coordinate the installation and removal of computers, printers and other technology for any period of time specified. If you hire a temporary employee, hire temporary technology also.

Gone are the days when you would have been laughed at if you walked into an all-night LAN party carrying your trusty laptop and expecting to hang with the giant computer towers standing at everyone’s feet. The gaming laptop computers of today sport huge, crisp LCD screens, cutting-edge video cards and full-size keyboards. Not only can these gaming laptop computers hang with the standard clunky computer tower, but they can also be ordered fully custom to meet the exact specifications of any gamer.

Since there are so many customizable components in these laptops, a standard practice has been to create what some call a “system builder.” This is the page where you get to add and subtract components through drop-down menus in order to create the best gaming laptop computer for your needs and your budget. This type of page can be overwhelming to someone just starting the gaming laptop shopping process, but it is very manageable if you take it just one component at a time.

The Gaming Laptop GPU

This is the heart of a gaming laptop computer. The GPU (graphics processing unit) is a component that will make or break your gaming experience. If your GPU isn’t up to snuff, your games won’t play.

Without getting into specific models since they change all the time, the key is that the graphics card not share resources with the computer. A gaming laptop video card must have its own memory on board. Generally speaking, standard off-the-shelf laptops will not have this feature. The two current makers of laptop video cards are nVIDIA and ATI.

Without the Screen, You Don’t Have Much

What good is a gaming laptop without a screen that can actually render your games? Now certainly, you can connect an external monitor, but if you can’t actually play on your gaming laptop without that external monitor, then your laptop isn’t all that mobile.

While the technology and terminology for LCDs (liquid crystal displays) could take up an entire article in itself, there are a few key points to keep in mind when choosing from available LCD options for your new gaming laptop computer: native resolution, aspect ratio, rise and fall time, contrast, viewing angle, and size.

Native Resolution. The native resolution is simply the setting at which your screen will render the clearest images. Since games are constantly in motion, slightly soft edges may not bother most gamers, but keep in mind that while this is your gaming laptop, you will likely also use it for other things like surfing the Internet. If the resolution isn’t comfortable, you aren’t going to enjoy using it.

Aspect Ratio. As you probably know, a movie theater screen and a TV screen have different proportions. Likewise, there are widescreen format gaming laptops and there are laptops that have a standard aspect ratio –- like that of a TV. A widescreen format gaming laptop (a 16:10 ratio) has advantages and disadvantages. Many games today do not have a widescreen mode. This means that the game may stretch across the screen and become distorted or you may run it with black bars that fill in the sides. There are ways to get around this, but if you want an out of the box perfect experience, the widescreen format may not be for you.

That said, a widescreen LCD does offer plenty of screen real estate for web surfing and other type of computer activities, and a game played in a wide format setting offers an expansive field of view. For this reason, there are some very loyal widescreen-loving gamers out there.

Do your best to find a balance between current and future technology and what your computer habits are beyond gaming. Even with its limitations, the widescreen format is found on most of the best gaming laptop computers.

Rise and Fall. The phrase ‘rise and fall time’ is used to describe how fast the LCD can respond to changes. In the past, LCDs have been plagued with the inability to render images as fast as computer games can spit them out. This presents a major problem for laptop gamers because if they can’t see the images properly, they can’t play the game properly. This lag can mean the difference between playing to win and barely playing.

Fortunately, gaming laptop LCDs have come a long way and they are only getting better. While once it was impossible to game on a laptop screen, the gaming laptop LCDs of today offer 25 milliseconds or less rise and fall time while generally off-the-shelf laptops have 40 milliseconds or less rise and fall time.

Contrast. If a gaming laptop LCD has poor contrast, that means that the black areas aren’t quite as black as they should be and the white areas aren’t quite as white. This is important to a laptop gamer because you have to see the game properly -– as it was intended to be seen -– in order to compete effectively. Look for a contrast ratio of 400:1 or higher in a custom gaming laptop computer.

Viewing Angle. This is an often-overlooked LCD feature, but it must be considered if you are building a gaming laptop computer. Many high quality LCDs on the market are difficult to see clearly at any angle other than straight on and at the right height. This can be a big drawback to gaming on a LCD screen because a screen with poor viewing angles won’t allow others to watch the screen as you play and also hurts your view when doing something as simple as adjusting your seating, which can require you to then adjust to position of your laptop screen to see it properly again.

But gaming on a laptop does not mean that you are doomed to have poor viewing angles. There are LCDs on the market that have amazing viewing angles –- up to 120 degrees. These screens not only allow gaming onlookers, but they also allow you to use that giant, crisp screen to do things like play movies and even make presentations.

Size. In a gaming laptop computer, size is everything. Most gaming laptops are large, robust pieces of electronics. Having a machine of this stature means you also get to have a large screen. The best gaming laptop computer LCD screens out there are at least 15 inches. A crowd favorite is a 17 inch widescreen (even with the challenges that widescreens present). Largr 19 inch laptop screens are just starting to be talked about with consumers expecting to see 19 inch or even large models on the market in the near future.

The best way to really get a feel for what laptop LCDs are all about is to take a trip to a local box store and play with the LCDs on the display laptops while keeping in mind what you have read here. While these laptops are not custom gaming laptops, you can see what the sizes really look like, what different resolutions look like, and what the viewing angles truly are so you can start to develop your own preferences.

The RAM – What Type and How Much?

The RAM (random access memory) found in laptops is called SODIMM (small outline dual inline memory module). The RAM is responsible for your processing power. If you are shopping for a custom gaming laptop, you will generally be offered DDR2 RAM with the choice of how much you want in your computer. Most high-end games being released today need 1GB of RAM for optimum, lag-free game play. Some people are going with 2GB to ensure that they can run multiple applications along with the game and not experience any slow down in response time. This is a large investment and you want to be able to use this gaming laptop for some time in the future. Most custom laptops are user upgradeable, but this should be left up to professionals.

The CPU – Not Just Mobile Technology

The CPUs (central processing units) found in many custom gaming laptops are identical to those found in desktops. These chips require a great deal of cooling power, which in turn can make your laptop louder than light weight, lower power ultra portables when the fans kick on and it can become somewhat warm to the touch. Don’t be alarmed by this -– it is normal. And with these desktop processors comes screaming power! Don’t waste your money on the latest CPU release that likely has an inflated price tag (and that price will likely come down before long). Stick with a current CPU speed that is offered by a reputable custom gaming laptop reseller, and you really can’t go wrong.

The Gaming Laptop Hard Drive

This is the final component to consider when building a gaming laptop. Laptop hard drives come in a variety of speeds and capacities ranging from 4200 to 7200 RPMs and 40 to over 100 GBs. For the most part, this is user preference. Whenever possible, go for a 7200 RPM hard drive, but if you need a capacity not offered in this speed, it’s okay to go for the 5400 RPM drive. Take a look at your current computer, and buy your capacity based on this. Also keep in mind that with many custom gaming laptop manufacturers, you have the ability to upgrade or add another hard drive at a later date.

At the end of the day, gaming laptop computers are all about power. Don’t expect a twelve-pound notebook with a desktop processor, numerous fans, a giant heatsink, and independent video card to last on battery power all that long. But do make sure to enjoy the jawdrops that you’ll get as you walk into your regular LAN party location with your new, screaming-fast gaming laptop computer. Crack that puppy open, fire it up, and stand clear of the drool as you take on your favorite game with fellow gamers gathered around to take in the action. Gaming is not just for desktops anymore!

Are you wireless? Should you be? Does it matter?

With wireless capabilities being built into every new laptop under the sun, the internet is quickly becoming an always-on, always accessible way of doing business.

So what does that mean for you then?

Well, I don't need to tell you the value of being able to communicate with your clients from anywhere, at anytime. (Of course, we all have the power to choose just how accessible and available we are to our clients, but I digress...)

The real power of a quick email reply to an urgent client request from your wireless device of choice is this: it makes your client feel VALUED and IMPORTANT. It is a feeling we all live for. Delivering that feeling to your clients will do more for increasing your profits than many other activities.

That's the power of wireless.

Want to go wireless? Here are some basics. Much of this is not stuff you need to remember, but just information to help fill out your understanding:

*Wireless networks have flavors. There aren't many, but most wireless networks are one of three types, which are labeled by the letters a, b, and g. The differences are quite technical. In short, A and B are pretty old and G is the newest and the fastest. End of story.

*Wireless networks have names. These network names have been given the techie acronym SSID, which stands for Service Set IDentifier. When you sit down at your laptop and pull up the list of wireless networks in the area, the names in that list are, you guessed it, the SSIDs. Please don't bother to remember this acronym, you most likely won't need it again.

*Wireless networks can have extra security. This extra security comes in the form of encryption. Just like the technology used to protect your data when logging on to your bank accounts online, wireless networks can be (and should be) ENCRYPTED to protect your business data.

*New laptops are wireless ready. Most every new laptop comes with wireless access built in. No additional hardware or software is required. For older laptops, however, you will need a small wireless card that can be purchased for anywhere between $15.00 and $100.00 at your local computer store.

While wireless internet access provides many, many benefits to you and your business, there is a dark side...

As internet access becomes more and more interwoven into the business landscape, internet SECURITY, will become more and more of a priority.

Wireless security is not only something for the tech world to worry about. When dealing with private client data (which we ALL do), it is in your best interest to understand what you are dealing with. Don't worry, it's just a matter of understanding a few simple ideas and then applying them to protect yourself.

By default, most wireless networks send everyone's data flying through the air unprotected. If you have the proper tools (which are easily downloadable from the internet), you can pluck that data straight out of the air.

The wireless access at your local coffee shop or library is most often this type: completely unsecured and open to prying eyes. Yes, even Starbucks lets your data fly through the air, available for all.

So enough scare tactics...

The only word you have to remember when it comes to protecting yourself and your data is ENCRYPTION.

A good rule of thumb: If a wireless network is not encrypted, DON'T connect to it.

Some might say this is a bit paranoid. To that I might say, "Should my clients expect anything less?"

It is one thing if you are a college kid sitting at a coffee shop sending messages back and forth between your friends. It is quite another when you are preparing a legal brief or some other piece of confidential information that will be sent to your client.

So how do you tell if a wireless network is encrypted?

Simple...

If you need a password to connect, it is encrypted. If no password is required, you are operating in the open with no protection whatsoever.

There are various encryption strengths, some suited for your basic office environment and some more suited for even more confidential situations, like a doctor's office.

At this point, the important thing is not so much the strength of the encryption as much as whether or not you have it at all. Most would-be internet thieves (no, that is not their technical name), upon seeing an encrypted wireless network, will move on the thousands and thousands of easier targets with no encryption.

In November 2003, Toronto police arrested a man in an upscale residential neighborhood. They noticed his car driving slowly the wrong way down a one-way street. Upon stopping the car, the police discovered the driver naked from the waist down. What was he doing?

He was using his laptop to download and watch “kiddie” porn from the Internet! How? He was connecting to the internet using unprotected wireless systems in the houses near the road!

Here is the problem, if someone were to access the Internet and download illegal material, then disconnect and drive off; it would look like the homeowner did the downloading. How hard would it be to convince the FBI that you were a victim?

This is not the only time this has happened. In a recent interview, attorney Joseph Burton, of Duane Morris Law Firm, said, “Is it possible a home owner can be liable for a lack of security on a wireless network? Yes, if they are negligent in setting up security.” (Richard Shim, CNET News.com).

According to research by the World Wide War Drive over 228,537 wireless access points were detected. Over 62% were totally open and unprotected! In San Antonio Texas, the percentage of unprotected networks is slightly higher.

Some wireless access points can extend their coverage over 300 feet from the unit. Sure, the farther away, the slower the connection, but even one mbps is faster than a dialup connection. Add that to being untraceable and you have a pervert’s heaven!

Having a wireless network connection is a great thing; the freedom it gives you is priceless. With a few precautions, you can secure your wireless connection and surf the World Wide Web from the comfort of your easy chair, bed or backyard.

Conducting a casual site survey around your home will tell you a lot about your vulnerability. Do you live right up on the road? How far from your home, are your neighbors? How far does your signal carry from the wireless unit?

After answering these questions, you can proceed to securing the wireless network itself.

Unfortunately, consumer routers are shipped wide open. That is they have no preconfigured security. You, the homeowner, will have to configure the security setting yourself.

Your wireless router and network interface card (NIC) are the parts that actually talk to each other. Each of them has a MAC address. This is a unique number assigned to every NIC made, worldwide.

Using this MAC address, you set the router security to talk only to certain other MAC addresses. Therefore, if you have two laptops in your network, you add both MAC addresses to your router security setup and any other MAC addresses are blocked.

This security setup works well for keeping the average wireless user out of your system, but a competent hacker can bypass it. A technique called spoofing allows the hacker’s computer to pretend to be one of your laptops and trick the system into letting him in.

To prevent this you would need to add additional layers of security. Keep in mind though, every additional layer of security adds to the burden of your network. It slows things down. Litigation seems to be a national past time these days. Protect yourself and your family by taking some of the precautions listed above. If you feel you need the extra protection offered by WEP or another encryption scheme contact your locate computer technician and have him configure it for you.

This is an especially important decision for those who run their own business and use wireless products. How angry would your customer’s be if someone stole their information off your network and used it to open accounts in their name?

Identity Theft is only one possible outcome, if your network contains patient data you could be in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Then you would be dealing with the federal government!

Before I go into details, a quick recap of processors is essential. Be aware that it is the processor (cpu) that governs the price of the laptop (along with the screen size). The two major companies manufacturing CPUs are Intel and AMD (there’s Apple too but lets stick to mainstream laptops). Intel makes the famous line of Pentium processors (’’Intel inside’’ ting tong ting tong!). For laptops you have three main cpus available - Mobile Pentium 4 (basically a desktop P4 processor), Pentium M (low voltage cpus which enhance battery life and are specially built for laptops) and the Mobile Celeron processor (poor man’s P4 cpu). Wait a minute, you say, you didnt mention the Centrino processor. That’s because Centrino is not a processor - it’s a technology. Centrino is a combination of 3 things - Pentium M cpu + 855 chipset + Wireless Pro (802.11b). The other company is AMD - they make really good cpus that rival Intel’s cpus. Traditionally AMD cpus have had heat generation problems but lately there aren’t many complaints. I would advice you to stick to Intel processors which have good re-sale value.

The next Q is....what will you use the laptop for? Are you going to use it for simple stuff - spreadsheets/word processing / internet browsing? Then go in for a Celeron CPU. If you are going to do more serious computing, intend travelling frequently and want to run the laptop on its battery, go in for a Pentium M laptop. If you need wireless access go in for a Centrino laptop or a Pentium M laptop (u can add wireless technology using a pcmcia card). If you aren’t going to move the laptop around much or you want a laptop for games, get a Mobile P4 laptop. But be aware that a Mobile P4 laptop is a desktop replacement - it will be heavy and will run hot.

Now that you have the CPU decided, think about the size of the screen. 15’’ is today’s ’’sweet spot’’. But you do get smaller or bigger screens. Choose the size that fits your budget. 14’’ or less is a bit too small these days unless of course you want a ultra portable (read expensive) laptop. For gamers, the bigger the screen the more fun they will have. Bigger screens are also good for spreadsheet warriors and DTP professionals.

The next item on your list is RAM (temporary memory). Most laptops come with Windows XP which needs at least 256 mb ram to run happily. I urge you to upgrade to 512 ram for best results. The more RAM you have, the better your laptop will behave. It is said that increasing your RAM is the best and cheapest way of improving performance of any computer (i.e. without changing the motherboard/cpu).

Another thing to look at is the graphics memory. You can either choose dedicated video memory or shared architecture. Dedicated memory means that your video card has its own memory and does not have to ’’beg’’ for memory from the system memory (RAM). A rule of the thumb - dedicated memory = fast performance. Gamers and DTP guys must insist on dedicated memory. Good graphic chips are ATI Mobility Radeon or Nvidia GeForce. The more video memory you have, the better it is. Try to get a laptop with at least 32 mb video memory. Most laptops use shared architecture these days which is a cost cutting measure (an example of shared architecture is Intel’s extreme graphics). If you are not going to play serious 3D games or run heavy duty graphic programmes, shared architecture will be just fine. But make sure that you have enough system RAM (read 512) because the video memory is going to steal part of your RAM.

The hard drive capacity will be in the region of 30 gb and above. Get the maximum bang for your buck - don’t fall into the ’’I’ll never need that much capacity’’ rut. You will need all the hard drive space you are given so get the biggest capacity you can afford. For normal laptop users 40 gb is sufficient. You can easily increase hard drive space by buying an external USB 2.0 hard drive.

Battery life is very important for road warriors. Expect 3-5 hours battery life from most laptops. Mobile P4 laptop batteries will last much less. Always go in for a lithium ion battery as against a nickel hydride one.

Most laptops offer optical drives - the best value for money today is DVD-ROM + CD-RW drive. This means that you can read DVDs and read/write CDs. If you have lots of money to spend, get a laptop with a rewritable DVD drive.

Sound quality on laptops is just about acceptable for movies/songs/games – you cant go wrong with Harmon Kardon / Altec Lansing speakers.

One important factor to consider is weight. You don’t want a dislocated shoulder do you? So ....the lighter the laptop, the better it is for your health! The catch is that the lighter the laptop, the more expensive it is going to be. Don’t forget the AC adapter - some laptops have huge adapters which weigh a ton!

Don’t ignore a floppy drive - most laptops don’t have floppy drives any more. But don’t worry - USB external floppy drives are cheap. Ask the salesman to give you one for free; he will oblige you if he wants to make the sale. While you are at it, ask him for a free laptop bag as well.

Get a laptop with lots of USB ports which will come in handy and will improve the versatility of your laptop. Make sure that the USB ports are USB 2 (technology which is much faster than the old USB 1.0). An external USB mouse is a must as the inbuilt pointing devices are really painful to use.

All laptops come with built in modems and usually have LAN connectivity. Some laptops offer card slots where you can read/write to memory cards (as used in cameras).

Most laptop companies offer minimum software - Windows XP and basic stuff. They won’t even give you Office software. You will have to add more software yourself. To keep prices down, some companies offer Linux operating systems - unless you are seriously strapped for cash, I would advice you to stick to windows. As soon as you get your new laptop, make copies of the recovery CDs and store the original CDs safely. Carry the copies with you when travelling extensively.

Now, armed with the above knowledge dive into the market and choose the best laptop you can afford. Compaq and Toshiba make excellent laptops so check them out first. Compaq is generally cheaper than Toshiba. I used a Compaq laptop initially but later on moved to Toshiba as I found their laptops better. This is a personal choice so don’t read too much into it. Compaq and Toshiba are well established in most countries so repairs are not a problem. Find out where the nearest repair centre is and keep that information handy.

A laptop is usually a long term buy - forget about upgrading laptops. So choose carefully. Check the warranty - National and International. Remember that some companies will not honour your International warranty and will tell you to take the laptop back to the country where you bought it! Make sure you clarify this point before you buy the laptop.

Take good care of your laptop. Invest in a surge protector. Don’t move the laptop when it is switched on. And remember the golden rule - NEVER drink tea/coffee while working on a laptop!