The Ten Best Laptop bags

by DAVID PHELAN

1 Tumi LXT Achievement [pound]580

Tumi's luxury range is made from durable and lightweight nylon with calf-leather trim. This is fitted with a metal barcoded panel that helps reunite the bag with you if it gets lost.

www.tumi.com; 020-7493 4138

2 Knomo Bungo [pound]154.99

This leather messenger bag fits a 15-inch laptop and has a quilted removable pocket for your computer. It's made of soft leather on the front and strong nylon or canvas on the back.

www.knomobags.com; 08000 437 924

3 Pakuma Akara K1 [pound]49.99

This is good for bigger notebook computers, and will hold a 17- inch laptop in its Cocoon memory-foam protection system. It has an MP3 player pouch with a headphone-out port.

www.pakuma.com; 08708 113 614

4 Acme Made Designer Slim [pound]83.99

The Designer Slim bags from Acme Made are available in more than a dozen patterns. Cute and light, the bags come in three sizes so every laptop is catered for.

www.laptopstuff.co.uk; 08703 892 122

5 Delsey Loading PC Compatible [pound]89

Delsey's computer case has two compartments, expandable from 17 inches to 21 inches in depth. It's light and hard-wearing, and there's padding to protect your laptop as well as straps.

www.delsey.com; 020-8731 3530

6 Knomo Kiki [pound]139.99

Available in red or black, this hide-leather bag is small and light, suitable for 12-inch laptops. It has padded handles and a removable padded, non-slip shoulder strap.

www.knomobags.com; 020-7462 0750

7 Timbuk2 Outtawhack [pound]99.99

Lots of colours to choose from in this tough, cool bag. You can carry it like a briefcase or messenger bag and the laptop compartment (lined with corduroy) has sturdy padding.

www.laptopstuff.co.uk; 08703 892 122

8 Knomo Orkney [pound]184.99

The traditional look of the leather Orkney hides a defiantly modern inner laptop pocket with quilted sides and removable cable pouch. It has pockets for iPod and mobile phone.

www.laptopstuff.co.uk; 08703 892 122

9 Tumi Gen 4 Essential Computer Brief [pound]275

Tumi's bags are solid and light. This one is small enough to fit into an overhead compartment but has plenty of pockets, plus holders for pens, an umbrella, tickets and power cables.

www.tumi.com; 020-7493 4138

10 Mandarina Duck Vaio Shopper [pound]160

Designed to match Sony's collection of adorable coloured laptops, this has a padded neoprene computer pouch perfectly sized to fit the Vaio. A matching purse is part of the deal.

www.selfridges.com; 08708 377 377

The Ten Best is edited by Rebecca Armstrong

5 Easy Steps to Recover Data From a Hard Drive

By Zach Schapel
From
http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Easy-Steps-to-Recover-Data-From-a-Hard-Drive&id=1329279

So the worst possible scenario has occurred and you cannot access the valuable information on your hard drive or other media storage device. Whether it is due to an electrical shortage, mechanical malfunction, or accidental deletion, the files are gone and days, months, or even years of work are gone. Sometimes, the cost to replace or duplicate these files may cost thousands of hours in time and labor. In the case of photos and pictures, often the files are irreplaceable whether they are family photos, or a special vacation trip. With the advent of the digital age, businesses can also experience data losses that will end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars if not recovered properly.

There are several steps to take in order to make sure that the drive or storage medium has the highest chance of data recovery:

• Turn off computer or media device, and make sure power is not flowing into the hard drive. Further damage can result if power is applied to the drive, and it is best to reduce any further risk of data loss.
• Do not run the drive or use any diagnostics tools on the hard drive. Data recovery has the best possible chance of success when the drive is completely untouched. Running software on the drive can be helpful, but only in specific situations. Data recovery software on an un-diagnosed hard drive is excessively risky when you do not know the nature of the problem.
• Avoid abusing the hard-drive especially if there are unnatural mechanical noises emanating from the drive. For many the first instinct to fix a drive is to give it a good tap and help it back into operation. While this might seem like a harmless quick fix the ramifications can often be disastrous. The internal components of a hard drive have very close tolerances and while the exterior may appear durable the inside is actually very delicate. A small jolt can cause severe alignment problems resulting in damage to almost every disk.
• Do not open or dismantle your hard drive. Opening your hard drive will only increase the chance of further damage and will also void the original manufacturer's warranty. Manufacturers recommend opening and dismantling hard drives with specialized equipment and in a 'clean room' environment by trained technicians only.
• Ship the drive to a qualified data recovery service inside an anti-static bag. Make sure to cushion the shipping box with at least 3 inches of padding on each side of the drive. This will avoid any unnecessary jolts and damage during shipping. Using an expedited form of shipping will also increase the chances of recovery success, because priority packages typically receive slightly better handling.

If the above steps are followed closely you are well on your way to having the best possible chance at data recovery. Expert recovery technicians are very pleased to see a drive that has been cared for using the instructions illustrated above. Typically the only data that is unrecoverable is data from drives that have been damaged in attempted recoveries by unqualified individuals or software. Use the utmost care with your drive and the data will have the highest possible chance of recovery.