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Notebooks & Accessories

Tip: Access Your PC From Anywhere

Fantasy: When you travel on business, you always take your most important computer files with you, on your notebook, PDA, or smart phone.

Reality: You often realize you've forgotten at least one of your important files, just when you need it most.

But you're in luck, if you're near a PC with an Internet connection and your computer back home uses Windows XP Professional (and is turned on and connected to the Internet). A feature in XP Professional called Remote Desktop lets you remotely access files from your computer without the need for any additional software. To set this up, follow the instructions in "Access Your Desktop From Wherever You May Be."

News: Bigger Notebook Hard Drives

Fujitsu recently began mass producing a 100GB hard disk for notebook computers, the largest capacity thus far for portables. Among the companies offering the 100GB drive in their notebooks are Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Fujitsu's drive spins at 4200 revolutions per minute, which is not exactly blazing fast, but sufficient for most users. It comes with a parallel ATA interface.

Meanwhile, Seagate plans to introduce a 5400-rpm 100GB drive in the third quarter and a 7200-rpm 100GB drive in the fourth quarter, according to the company. For more information, read "Fujitsu Ramps Up 100GB Notebook Drives."

Review: Intel Chips Deliver Fast Notebook Performance

Intel's zippy new Pentium M processors are here, available in Centrino notebooks from Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. Based on PC World tests, the new chips set performance records for notebooks and deliver top-notch battery life. The Dell Inspiron 8600C ($2899) and Compaq Nc6000 ($2499) notebooks, with the fastest processors, earned the best scores we've ever seen for Windows XP Pro notebooks. The other two notebooks, the Gateway 450XL ($2440) and the IBM ThinkPad T42 ($1994), were close behind.