I’m frequently asked how each piece of technology fits into the technology portfolio and what purpose each serves.  Many times people are mistaken about the necessity of each piece of equipment they own and how it should be used.  My idea for this article came from visiting a consumer electronics store while purchasing a camera for my daughter.

The saleswoman was quick to point out that cameras on phones may say “X” number of megapixels but that isn’t the only measure of quality.  Because photography is a hobby, I had already known the differences but was surprised she pointed it out.  I ended up purchasing a decent camera and getting a great idea for this week’s article.

At the backbone of everyone’s technology portfolio should be a computer or laptop.  Windows and Mac based computers are used for many tasks that tablets and phones simply can’t handle.  At the very least, computers have storage capacities significantly higher than phones or tablets.  Computers can synchronize with these devices to back them up and read and write data.

Commonly, people will use their smartphone for every task from surfing the web to taking pictures and listening to music.  Backing up a smartphone locally requires a PC or Mac to synchronize.  If the portable device is lost or broken then all data will also be misplaced.  Smartphones and tablets are great, but without backups the risk of data loss is significantly higher.

Dedicated cameras are important to have and use; moreover, the quality of picture from a dedicated camera will always be higher than that of a phone based camera.  Picture quality is based on a couple factors including lens size and megapixels.  The size of lens dictates how much light is allowed to hit the CCD and the quality of light that hits.

As the saleswoman explained to me, camera based phones are fantastic for grabbing a quick snapshot but are terrible for permanent memories.  In other words, dedicated cameras should be used for times when better quality is mandated:  graduations, birthday parties, and holidays are but a few examples.

I guarantee I’m going to receive a few text messages with the suggestion that laptops and desktops are not interchangeable.  The two form factors are simply not the same.  Laptops, being portable devices are made smaller and lighter than their desktop counterparts.  Components inside laptops are smaller, more fragile and prone to early failure.

Proportionally, the number of laptops my store receives for service is significantly higher than desktop computers.  Part of the reason is the delicate nature of portable devices.  The other reason is I still service a fair number of machines for my competition.  Very few repair facilities actually service laptops in-house due to their small size.

A technology portfolio should not be without some sort of dedicated backup system.  Redundancy comes in many forms and should be implemented no matter how many systems are in use.  Backing up phones, cameras, laptops and other portable devices to a computer is good practice.  Backing up to an external storage device; such as an external hard drive is great practice.

Picking the right mix of technology for a home or office should be something you spend a fair amount of time.  Although many technologies currently overlap, some are simply designed better for one function than another.  Remembering that portable devices such as phones, tablets and cameras can be lost or stolen should be good enough reason to integrate with a computer or laptop.  The best systems are simple to use and keep data redundancy as a primary function.

(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner.  You can call him directly at (978) 919-8059) or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.