Expanding upon our last entry where we discussed the benefits of a few fantastic (and freely available) software programs, today we’re going to highlight two essential accessories for those who love laptops.

While laptops have always been great for school and travel, many of us are adopting the use of laptops in the workplace and at home. Luckily, thanks to advancements in technology, it has become easier to grab a high-performance laptop for a reasonable price. Laptops are wonderful little devils, and in many cases, make our daily lives more integrated. Add universal wifi to your laptop and you can work, play games, surf the web, read, blog, shop, and communicate via email, chat, and webcam from almost anywhere. Unfortunately, while laptop owners love the portability and convenience offered by their machines, most are not careful enough with these frail little robots; the truth is your laptop requires daily attention if you want it to last. If you’re someone who likes to get the most out of your investments and/or finds it a hassle to switch computers often, consider the following tips to keep your laptop running smoothly, for as long as possible.

Invest in an External Hard Drive…Seriously.

External hard drives are a simple but often overlooked component of any computing set-up. A means to backup your data and/or store files you don’t necessarily need but don’t exactly want to trash, an external hard drive is a storage device that stands alone and is not connected to a computer. The drives vary widely in size and storage capacity - some are as small as a fingernail and others the size of a cable modem and can hold anywhere from 1 megabit to 4 gigabits of data.

Now to the important part: the benefits. First and foremost, using an external hard drive lets you clear your laptop of less commonly used files, and subsequently, improve performance and speed. Secondly, using an external hard drive makes it ridiculously easy to move files from your laptop to another computer (all you do is connect the drive to the computer you are transferring to and you’re in business). Finally, external drives are the easiest way to physically backup your data - and we all know a backup comes in serious handy in the event of a crash or some bizarre event that renders your files corrupt.

Corks

Corks? Yeah, corks. Tonight when you down a couple bottles of wine, save the two corks (even the not so classy plastic corks!). A common cause of laptop death is heat exhaustion (seriously!!). Since laptops generally have only one fan in their backside, and that fan is obstructed during normal use (your laptop’s backside is always resting on a table or other surface), there is rarely enough air available for the fan to cool things off on the inside.

What can you do? Place two corks under the back edges of your laptop, and let your fan (and laptop) breathe easy.

Come back next week and we’ll clue you in on a couple more things you can do to maximize your laptop’s life span.

Oh, and Happy Labor Day weekend!

Today we’re going to preview some of the most beneficial office supplies out there - ones that get you organized, working more efficiently, keeping everything clean, and looking sharp. These office supplies are not necessarily plastic office supplies, nor are they essentially material in nature. The “supplies” I want to preview today are computer programs you can acquire online, for free, that will renovate your computing experience and leave your (virtual) desktop less cluttered, cleaner, running faster, and more soothing overall.

Pidgin

Pidgin is a messaging application that aggregates all your messaging providers into one simple and ram friendly program. It is clean and easy to use. It basically allows windows and UNIX users to simulate the sharp and clean Mac program Adium. Pidgin is around 10mb in size, and uses less than 25mb of memory at any given time. This is perfect for users of AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN (Live) Messenger, and IRC, who are tired of having a million instant message windows up all over the place.

Songbird

Everyone uses iTunes these days - it’s beautiful, very user friendly, easily accessible, and cross compatible. But, if you are like me, you’re tired of it taking so darn long to load and using so much memory to perform simple tasks. The good news? Songbird is here to save the day. Songbird has essentially all the same features as iTunes, except for the hunger to eat all your memory, and make everything on your computer run more slowly. Songbird also syncs up to iPods and any other mp3 player.

Firefox

If you’re not using Firefox as your Internet browser, you’re not surfing the internet correctly. Internet Explorer is terribly unstable, messy looking, and slow to load even simple pages. By contrast, the open source Firefox browser is stable, has a clean interface, and is generally fast. It also integrates with many add-ons, is always being updated, and has built-in features like security, anti-phishing, and spellcheck that make everyone’s lives easier.

Some of the best office supplies may not be plastic office supplies, but brochure holders and freeware both make our lives easier, more efficient, and less hectic.

Ahhh. Make sure to join us again on Friday!

Like it or not, a very large percentage of us spend a large amount of time in a rather mundane and inherently stressful place every day. For some, it’s a 15×15 foot corner office; for most, it’s quite the opposite. Though, no matter what the dynamics of your work space, clutter will always be one of the major factors keeping you from enjoying your office experience.

Eliminating clutter through the use of innovative computer software, efficient placement of electronics, and various plastic office supplies can be beneficial to a less stressful, more successful day at work. Sounds like a good idea right? Well, you’d be surprised to find the hardest part of this transformation is simply getting the motivation to start. Here’s all the motivation you need: Go to your desk then take a look at that IKEA magazine sitting in the recycling bin.

Feeling motivated yet? If so, let’s get started. If not, try coming to the realization that a total renovation of your desk could cost less than a pizza, and less time than it takes to deliver it. You can now successfully check off the first task, the rest is a cake walk.

So there’s your desk; a large collection of completely unrelated paper items (receipts, magazines, newspapers, forms and expense reports), fifteen copies of your one favorite pen scattered about, colored files everywhere, your cell phone, mp3 player, headset, desktop or laptop, and your prized monitor laden with Post It notes.

The best place to start is the monitor, the one place you’re looking most often (and subsequently, the one place frequently reminding you how disorganized you are) – get rid of those Post It notes!

There’s a fantastic web tool available for free by the name of Remember The Milk that allows you to input your tasks, select due dates, set up notifications, and create groups for your department.

Another innovative and free application comes from the guys at Google. Google Desktop makes searching for files on your computer just as simple as searching on the internet. Also, you can easily eliminate magazine and newspaper clutter and become more sustainable by getting more of your news and information from internet sources. The next step might be organizing your office supplies. One of the best ideas is to find plastic office supplies that are aesthetically pleasing and part of a collection. It’s a great idea to have all of your supplies share the same color, but having two or three different colors could be very refreshing and could supplement organizational patterns.

Another recommendation would be to recycle or bring home any extraneous supplies – things you don’t use daily. Try to find office supplies that clearly define what the compartment is for. You don’t want to get caught throwing random items into oddly-shaped compartments, thus adding to your clutter. Lastly, take a look at your numerous electronics, and imagine having access to the same functionality without ever having to look at them. First and foremost, if you have the budget to go wireless, do it. Virtually everything you use at your desk can be wireless – charged by rechargeable batteries to save money and the environment. There is a fantastic guide to methodologically organizing your various electronics behind or under your desk, which involves a couple of zip ties and some patience. The final product will be phenomenal and inviting.

There you have it, a few simple, quick, and cheap ways to keep your office space from being a mundane area you dread visiting daily. With the use of free web tools, sleek and colorful compartmentalized plastic office supplies, and some zip ties, you’re on your way to having a better day at work.