There are a number of factors that can cause a DVD to be burnt incorrectly. Here are some things to try:

• Try to reduce the burning speed of your DVD. Reducing the speed can make the writing more reliable. In order to do this, right-click on the drive in Explorer and choose Properties and the Recording tab. Click the dropdown box under “Select  recording speed..’ and select 1X. Burning will be slower and more reliable.
• The other thing to try is to close all other programs and leave your disk burning software as the only thing running. Other programs can use CPU and I/O cycles and can affect the writing of the disk.
• Don’t mess with your computer. If you have a laptop computer then physical shocks can affect the writing of your disk. Keep it stable and see if it helps.

There are a number of things that an cause problems, but usually a bit of common sense can help resolve the issue.

I guess from your question that you already have your new laptop, otherwise it’s worth considering a ruggedised one (although they don’t look very pretty, so it really depends what line of work you’re in). Anyway, as you have a new laptop already, what I would suggest is a proper case for your computer. I came across an interesting one that you leave your computer in ever as you use it.

It’s the Themapak HeatShift 15.4″ Laptop Cooling Bag and it’s a laptop bag that’s designed to hold your laptop. The great thing about it is that it protects your laptop from bumps and scrapes, but when you want to use it you can just open the lid and use it inside the bag. It has a special layer at the bottom that takes heat away from the laptop and is on sale from Buy.com for just under $25.00. It’s a pretty good idea I thought, especially the fact that you don’t need to mess around with taking the laptop in and out of the case.

By the way, they also have a model that takes a 17″ laptop, if that’s the size of laptop you have.

Hibernation is not always enabled in Windows Vista, but it’s easy to turn on. Left-click on the Start Menu, and in the search box, type ‘Power Option”. Click on the Power Options icon that appears so bring up a dialog box that lets you change options around power handling. Click on the Change Plan Settings link and then select Change Advanced Power Settings in the next window.

This will bring up another Power Options window, with a list of additional settings. Click the plus icon next to “Power Buttons and Lid”. This will display a further four settings: Lid close action, Power button action, Sleep button action and Start Menu power option.

Each of these lets you choose power setting both for when your laptop is plugged into the mains and when it’s running on battery. The one we want is the option for the Start Menu power button, so select Hibernate for both ‘On Battery’ and ‘Plugged In’. Now your laptop can sleep as soundly as a baby on a cradlesoft mattress.

Laptops are great aren’t they? You can carry them around wherever you go and you can get to use them anywhere you like. Combined with a Wifi or 3G connection, you have the flexibility of working or playing any place you wish. However, working with a smaller or more cramped keyboard is one of the prices you have to pay, as well as trying to get used to a touch pad instead of a normal mouse. Some laptop even have a little pointer in the middle of the keyboard, but it doesn’t really compare to something you can move around.

Your comment about cables got me thinking about wireless alternatives and I have a great gadget for you. Check out this video:

It’s the Newton MoGo Mouse BT which lives right in the PCMCIA slot of your laptop. When you need it, just pop it out and off you go. It uses Bluetooth to talk to your laptop and thus doesn’t need a cable. It also charges when you store it in the PCMCIA slot so no need to worry about chargers or replacement batteries either. It’s currently on sale for around $20, which is really peanuts when you consider how cool it is.

Check it out

Laptops are great; there are so many things you can do with them; but they’re only as good as long as they have power. There are loads of things you can do to extend the length of time you can use the laptop. You can get yourself a spare battery and keep it charged up, you can get yourself a solar charger, or my favourite, you can get a power inverter.

A power inverter is a piece of equipment that converts power from a DC power source to an AC source similar to what you’d get at an outlet at home. Your car’s cigarette lighter gives as 12V DC output which can be used successfully for this purpose. One such inverter is the Black & Decker 100W Power Inverter shown below:

Not only does this let you use your laptop in the car, but it can also be used on a place if it has an adequate power outlet. It’s currently on sale at Buy.com for around $15, which really isn’t much for the ability to use your laptop in your car. One word of warning about using your car battery though, it doesn’t last forever. If your car engine is running, it will charge the battery, but if you’re stationary, you run the danger of draining the battery. Just keep that in mind, otherwise you might end up stranded!