These are turbulent times in the financial markets. People are nervous. The markets are biting after the years of plenty. But I am left wondering – as I always am – just how orchestrated these times might be. There is a temptation to see a conspiracy theory at every turn, but I have no trust at all of politicians, nor the administrators who service them.

Most politicians are devoid of principal, and interested only in the exploitation of power. They lie to the electorate, they lie to each other, and they reap the contempt of the public. They should be public servants, but they behave like our lords and masters.

But back to the currency markets! One of the beauties of being able to trade the currency markets is that in both good times and bad there are always margins to be had. The difficulty for most lay traders is that they cannot quickly take advantage of these opportunities. This is where a forex software trading system becomes invaluable.

Open an account with a reputable broker and they will not only train you, but allow you to start your trading activity with as little as $50. Some might require more, but not much more - $100 perhaps. A number have dummy trading accounts loaded with a notional $10,000 or so, where you can learn the art of trading successfully without risking a penny. Once seasoned, you can take to the trading floor like a pro!

These systems are based on software to make the decisions for you and to keep you live in the market and active, even when your computer is switched off and you are asleep. If you would like a bit of fun, then you owe it to yourself to be able to make a reasoned choice about whether this activity is for you, and if you can do that without having to spend money, or be otherwise exposed financially, then I would find that very attractive. How about you?

Laptop batteries come in all shapes and sizes also differ in their chemical composition. The chemistry of a battery refers to the chemical make-up of the cells inside the outer casing. The most common chemistries used in laptop batteries are:

NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) This is the oldest technology and is the least commonly used nowadays. NiCad batteries are prone to the �Memory effect� and are heavier than the newer technologies. NiCad is not environmentally friendly chemistry as it contains heavy metals, which cannot be disposed of in landfill sites. Most manufacturers have stopped producing batteries of this type chemistry. As an end user it will be increasingly difficult to source these batteries. The best alternative is external battery packs.

NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) these batteries are less likely to be prone to the memory effect and have a much better power to weight ratio than NiCad. This is a commonly used chemistry. These batteries are also being phased out by most manufacturers. However, many have lithium-ion versions that are compatible. Always consult the manufacturer or a reputable laptop battery supplier.

Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) - This is becoming the dominant technology due to its excellent power to weight ratio. Such considerations are becoming more important as mobile devices become smaller and lighter and battery weight becomes significant. Another plus point for Li-Ion is that it doesn't suffer the memory effect at all. These batteries do have a tendency to lose charge quickly towards the end of their effective life span. If this starts to happen the battery must be replaced.

These three technologies are quite different in the way they charge and therefore should not be substituted unless the device has been designed to take different chemistries. The owner's manual will describe which batteries are suitable.

When your laptop suddenly won't boot up, or that full cup of coffee you just poured yourself gets spilt over your laptop keyboard - How do you go about getting it fixed? Where do you take it? Whoever you take it to, your trusting somebody you don't know to mess with what is probably a very sacred object to you -- Well, here's a few tips to help you on your way.

Where to get it fixed?

You could send it back to the manufacturers, each laptop company has a service department, but expect to pay £450-£500 to replace a cracked screen, or £700-£900 to replace a faulty motherboard. Your local computer shop may be able to help, but most laptop repairs require specialist knowledge which they may not have. There are a number of laptop repair companies to be found on the internet. Just searching for 'laptop repair' on the internet will bring you a long list of companies willing to do the work for you. In most cases whichever way you go, unless you very lucky to have one close by, this means sending/having collected, your laptop for repair.

Services and pricing

Laptop repair companies should clearly describe their repair service prices, ensuring that there are no hidden fees. Prices should be displayed, and preferably be a flat fee depending on the repair type. Most repair companies now days will look at your laptop for free and offer a diagnosis and estimate for repair, you may well have to pay postage costs, if you turn down the repair. But that seems fair.

LAPTOP repair warranties?

Any repair company has a duty by law to warranty their work. How long this warranty lasts is dependent on the laptop repair company, but should be no less than 6 months. Ensure that the warranty period is clearly written on any invoices, before you pay them. Ask them about their returns policy, for instance, who pays the collection/delivery costs if the unit fails again with the same fault within the warranty period?

How long should it take?

This largely depends on the availability of parts, for common makes like Dell, Sony, Samsung and compaq, parts are usually in plentiful supply. But if your unlucky enough to have let's say a 'Multivision' (They're now defunct), unless you stumble across an independent laptop repair firm that has a secondhand part, you can expect a long delay, if indeed the parts can be sourced. But for a 'bread and butter' repair, let's say, 'replacing the screen on a Dell inspiron' look to a maximum 7 days. Most repair places whoever they are should be able to achieve the repair in this amount of time.

WILL I Loose my data?

The burning question!

If the problem is disk related, there is a small chance you may loose some data, but in %99 of cases, data can be lifted from even the most damaged disk, it just depends how much money your prepared to throw at it. Of course that's a worst case scenario.

If your laptop has a hardware fault that is not disk related, EG. It will not power on when the 'on' button is depressed. The simple answer is 'NO'.

But if your worried, call around a few companies and describe the problem to them. They will then be able to advise you of the possibility.

Chris Banwell is a technician with http://www.laptop-repair-service.co.uk, he has been repairing laptops for around 15 years.

Cheap laptop computers are coming to a store near you. In fact, there are many there already. That's because, like any newfangled electronics device, laptop computers were once the cream of the computer crop, which made them super expensive.

Nowadays, however, laptops are a dime a dozen. Hand-held personal digital assistants and Bluetooth cell phone devices are the new rage. And so laptops are cheap.

This does not mean that they are cheaply made, though. Thanks to the wonders of the technological cycle, laptop computers are decreasing in price as their capabilities rise. Used  and refurbished laptops can be great value.

Of course, there are the latest, greatest laptops out there - monsters made for gaming, for instance, or for high-powered multimedia applications - and these still cost a pretty penny.

But the average user can find themselves cheap laptop computers that provide all that they need in power, connectivity, and then some. Every major manufacturer out there, such as Dell, HD, and IBM, has their lower end and intermediate models that come with more than enough speed and usability.

The key to finding the right model for you is to figure out exactly what you need it for. Will you be using it mainly for surfing the Web or word processing? Do you need it to work from home or mainly to save your MP3s and digital pictures?

Then consider the different facets of computer, starting with its hard drive, memory, and processor. Your hard drive is essentially the brain of your computer, where all of your applications, files, and folders are saved.

Your memory, or RAM, involves the "thought processes" of a computer, and gets used whenever you have a program open, such as Word or your Firewall. Your processor essentially does as its name suggests, processing the inner workings of how each program runs.

Some other aspects to consider for your computers are also the ports involved, which can connect your computer to your camera or music player. Many cheap laptop computers today also come with wireless and broadband connectivity.

Mike Long is the successful web publisher of Laptop-SuperGuide.com providing valuable tips, advice, and info about a multitude of relevant topics including cheap laptop computers.

The specific types of games that you tend to play will help decide which hardware configurations will best meet your needs. All games are not created equal, and depending on the genre developers will devote more of their energy to different aspects of the title. Strategy and simulation games, for example, tend to be less graphically-intensive than other types of games and thus can be run on a less powerful gaming system. As a point of reference, the specifications for Civilization IV, a lush and detailed strategy game, are as follows:

-1.8GHz Intel or AMD processor
-512MB RAM
-128MB video card

Compared to many of the newer gaming computers on the market today, the demands for running Civilization IV are not all that high. As with many strategy and simulation games, a greater weight is placed on AI and game calculations rather than graphics, and raw hardware power becomes less important to run the title effectively.

Conversely, first-person shooters (FPS) and action titles tend to rely more heavily on graphics and physics to create the proper ambiance and environment. As such, the system requirements for these types of games are usually significantly higher than other genres. Titles like Half-Life 2 and Quake 4 bombard the player with graphically intensive scenes, and the physics of the game are precisely calculated to create the most realistic scenarios possible. In contrast to the specifications listed above, the recommended system configuration for F.E.A.R., one of the more advanced FPS titles in terms of graphics prowess, are as follows:

-3.0 Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
-1GB RAM
-256MB video card

Although F.E.A.R. and Civilization IV released at roughly the same time last year, the recommended system requirements for the former are nearly double those of the latter. This is often the case with FPS titles; because developers largely intend these games to be �showcase� pieces of a particular technology or graphics engine, a more powerful gaming computer is usually required to run them in their full graphical glory. The graphic rendering takes enough resources, but when you figure in the requirements for precise real-time physics calculations, these get bumped up even further. As you can see, the types of computer games that you play invariably affect the hardware that you should purchase.

Must you have the Best Graphics?

Genre alone is not the sole deciding factor in determining which gaming PC to purchase, however. Many titles, including such showcase pieces as Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, provide the player with the option of scaling back the graphical effects in order to run the game smoothly on a less-powerful system. While FPS and other games often require a behemoth of a system in order to run with all graphical effects turned on, they will generally run adequately on older rigs. If you can live without such taxing effects as particle shading and frame rates in the hundreds, chances are that you can spend less on a gaming computer and still be able to play the latest games.

What�s more, in many cases game developers and players will discover ways to make a game run more smoothly and stably shortly after it releases. It is generally expected that, in the rush to hit the marketplace, many games are not truly finished; that is to say, the code behind them could stand to be optimized slightly more. Therefore, developers and publishers will usually releases patches or updates in order to fix certain technical problems. In the case of F.E.A.R., many players reported shortly after its release that the frame rate would often drop down to unplayable levels mid-game, chugging along even on powerful gaming systems. Once the game was patched, however, this shortcoming was largely rectified. Similarly, avid players or members of a gaming community will often find ways to improve a game�s performance on their own through hacks or tweaks. When this happens, their findings are usually released online in short order, and a game that might have taxed your gaming computer beyond its capabilities may suddenly become playable. Again, it�s not always necessary to have the absolute best hardware in order to play the latest games.

How Much do you Plan on Spending?

Naturally, all of this technology comes at a price. As the adage goes, you have to pay in order to play. Everybody aspires to one day own an ultimate gaming computer; the specifications are mind-boggling, and there is no shortage of companies offering monster gaming rigs. However, the cost of owning one of these machines is often prohibitive. Keep in mind that the newest and most powerful video cards tend to hit the market at the $500 price point. Additionally, the most powerful processors can be priced at $1000 or more. When you design a system around these top-level components�a system that can take the latest game releases, chew them up, and spit them out�you can expect the cost of it to soar. It�s not unheard of to see dedicated gaming PCs priced at $4000 or more for the tower only. However it is possible to buy cheap laptops.

Obviously, the first two questions influence the third quite a bit. If you don�t play many graphically-intensive games, or if you are willing to live with slightly degraded in-game graphics, it is simply not necessary to spend that kind of money on a gaming system. There are plenty of computer companies that have in their lineups midrange setups that are perfectly capable of playing the majority of games on the market today�and at a significantly reduced price. Don�t despair if you can�t afford the latest and most powerful computer technology; while economic means may be the most influential of all deciding factors, it won�t necessarily prohibit you from playing the games that you want.

Laptop Batteries

Although this post refers mainly to the use of PCs for gaming, it is also possible to run games on many of the new laptop models - and it is wise to shop around for a gaming laptop of adequate specification before diving in to the market.