How do you properly protect appliances from power surges?

The projector tv & PC at my parent's house got fried last weekend. According to them, the electricity flickered for a second then that's it. :cry:

For the PC, I installed before a surge strip & an AVR - the room has a dedicated breaker. For the TV, it is equipped with a transformer & a dedicated fuse box.

Aside from these, what additional protection can I add the next time around?

For laptops, do I also ground it (for those with a three prong outlet)?