Working with computers can be very useful for us for many reasons if we are able to benefit from these features and functions properly. Computers can enable us to obtain good results as long as we know how to work with them, how to improve them and our knowledge and skills and as long as we are willing to always learn something new related to them as there are always changes and improvements being made to them and they might all prove to be useful to us somehow sooner or later. There are various aspects which we might discover not to be familiar with when we might be required to do something with the help of our computers or we might not be able to. A similar case is that in which it might be necessary for us to do something which our computer does not enable us to do by employing it and in this case we should be able to improve its functions so that we might be productive in such activities as well.



Computers are complex electronic devices for those who have not worked with them too much or who have not been interested in reading more about them, their components and their functions. Everyone can become a better computer user as long as he or she might be willing to spend some time for learning essential aspects related tot them as well as more complex ones that will help them always improve more and more both their knowledge and skills in working with computers. One of the basic notions related to computers is related to speakers and to all sorts of instructions on hooking them to computers.



When discussing about instructions on hooking up speakers to computer the first one to be mentioned is that of arranging the speakers which are going to be hooked to our computers. What might also be important to be made familiar to those who do not already know this is the fact that most probably their speakers will have on them letters such as “R” and “L” which stand for left and right as more appropriate ways in which they should be connected.

The second instruction on hooking up speakers to computer would be that of finding the sound card included within the computer. The sound card actually refers to those color audio jacks which we can discover on the back of our computer. These audio jacks are important as they represent the ones where speakers will be hooked up on. It is also possible for some users to discover that they also have some sorts of additional type of such audio jacks on their computer which are usually placed at the front but it is important for them to know that these ones are not the appropriate ones to be used for speakers.



The third instruction on hooking up speakers to computer which users might appreciate as well is that related to the necessity of having the speaker cable connected to the sound card having been previously discovered by them. In the end, the last instructions refer to ideas such as those of checking the speakers having been connected for sound and also of making all sorts of appropriate adjustments to the audio setting having been previously made so that they might achieve the sound quality that they consider appropriate.

The trend in technology these days is to have smaller and smaller devices but with the same characteristics as the bigger ones. In the computers area the engineers managed to accomplish this by creating really advanced laptops. Some of them are really small, thin and lightweight, but with good technical details and features so that they can do all of the tasks that a desktop computer does.



There are few negative aspects about a laptop and one of them is the sound. Because it is so small it has integrated speakers, that of course are also very small and they don’t sound that good. Of course you can connect a 2.1 system or even a surround sound system to the laptop, but you can use it only when you are at home. Let’s not forget that the biggest advantage of a notebook is its portability, and if you can’t take the audio system with you, that means you are still left with the bad sound of the integrated speakers when traveling.

But engineers came up with a solution for this problem too: the USB speakers. They are small and light (so highly portable) and they also sound quite good (not as good as a surround sound system, but anyway much better than the integrated speakers of the laptop). So this way you can enjoy a great sound on your laptop, even when traveling. As you might know the laptop has an included battery which allows it to work for several hours without needing an AC adapter. But the USB speakers don’t have any batteries, and they don’t need an AC adapter either.

So you might wonder where do they get their power from? Well the answer is simple: from the laptop. They are connecting with it through a single USB cable, which is both for the audio signal and for the power. This also means that the sound will stay digital all the way, so there won’t be any conversion into analog. So the overall sound quality will be better.

If you want to buy a laptop computer with USB speakers there are many options available for you. You can choose a notebook from one of these producers, because they are the best in the world: Hewlett Packard, Acer, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, Apple,  Lenovo, MSI and Fujitsu and in the case of the USB speakers you can choose a model from Altec Lansing, Logitech, Sony, Bose or other good audio producers.

Now let’s discuss more about a model of portable speakers, and for today we’ll choose the Altec Lansing XT2 USB speakers. They have quite a simple but also elegant design meaning that they can be used by a student that is traveling with his laptop and listening to music, or by a business man who is also traveling with his laptop, and he might use these speakers for a Power Point presentation at a business meeting.

These speakers even have a built in microphone so they can be used for Voice over IP (VoIP) communications. When buying them they will also come with a carrying case. They will deliver quite a good sound, with a good quality through all of the sound ranges. And they are even compatible with the BB2001 subwoofer, in case you want some more bass for your music. They have conveniently placed controls to turn them on or off, to change the volume or to mute them. They also have an aux input jack so that you can connect them to other music sources as well (CD, DVD or MP3 players).

The dimensions for one speaker are: 2.2 inch W x 1.4 inch D x 7.4 inch H. The frequency response indicated by the producer is 20 – 20000 Hz, but we are not sure if 20 is the correct number. If they would had such a good low frequency response that would mean that these speakers would have a great bass, just like the one offered by a good subwoofer. The signal to noise ratio is 65 dB and the audio amplifier is integrated. They are USB powered and they have built in microphone.

But anyway, here are the complete technical details offered by the producer: *   Product Type - Portable speakers * Width 2.2 in * Depth 1.4 in * Height 7.4 in * Speaker Type - Active * -3 dB Frequency Response -  20 - 20000 Hz * Signal-To-Noise Ratio - 65 dB * Audio Amplifier - Integrated

* Connectivity Technology - Wired * Interface Type -  USB * Built-in Devices -  Microphone * Additional Features - USB powered; Speaker System Details: * Speakers Included 2 x Right/ left channel speaker - 8 Ohm - Wired * Driver Details Right/left channel speaker : 2 x Full-range driver - 28 mm; Connections * Connector Type 1 x Audio line-in ( Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) , 1 x USB; Miscellaneous: * Cables Included Audio cable , USB cable * Included Accessories Carrying case; Power * Power Device Power adapter - External