Trusted reviews: personal computers, internet and web, webmastering
September 18th, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Peterson Willson
CRT – Cathode Ray Tube, big glass bulb used in the large bulky monitors similar to TVs.
LCD – Liquid Crystal Display.
TFT – Thin Film Transistor, a type of LCD technology where every pixel is connected to a transistor.
Pixel – Abbreviation of picture element. They are individual dots (elements) which constitute the image created on the LCD monitor.
Viewable Area – The diagonal measurement of a CRT screen from where the glass becomes visible from behind the bezel.
September 14th, 2005 — PC Hardware
While a major blackout can certainly cause data loss and destroy computer systems, it’s when the “lights come back on”, that one really needs to worry.
Fluctuations that occur as power is restored can easily damage computers, hard drives and the data they hold. The specialists at DriveSavers Data Recovery (http://www.drivesavers.com) in Novato, CA suggest the following tips to bring computer systems back up after the blackout:
1. Once power is restored to your home or office — don’t switch on your computer immediately. Power will likely fluctuate for some time which could damage your computer’s hard drive and its data. It may be minutes, hours or days before power is completely stabilized.
2. If the power is still off in your area, turn off your computer, monitor, printer and any other peripherals that may have been running when power was lost. As an added precaution unplug the computer to guard against power spikes or surges that typically occur as power is brought back online.
August 21st, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Tim Henry
Its just a matter of time before you experience a hard drive problem. Are you prepared to loose your data? If your hard drive crashed right now do you have an action plan to follow?
Most people only think of backing up their data after they experience a problem. Don’t set yourself up for a data loss disaster.
Your data integrity action plan should consist of the following:
August 7th, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Jason Barrett
Q : What is over clocking?
Overclocking is when you make your system processor run faster that its normal speed. This has many advantages and dis-advantages.
Advantages : This is obvious, your system will run faster
Dis-Advantages : Your hardware is likely to have a less life span. Your components will run at higher temperatures and there is an increased chance your system will overheat and crash. You need to be very careful or you could blow up your processor and / or motherboard.
Q: What components do I need?
July 3rd, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Krishna Pai
Day by day computers are getting advanced. Capacity and performance are increasing with every passing year. This is true for the primary storage also. Latest Hard disks are getting bigger in capacity and with higher rotational speed can access the data faster. This is good news for computer users.
The digital revolution has brought with it the need to store vast amounts of data. The new Hard disks are ready to take the challenge. The good news is, these Hard disks with higher capacity are affordable. Thanks to a very competitive market and demanding consumers.
Hard disk technology is suitable for the bandwidth demands of today’s applications. The 7200 rpm hard disk drives with a minimum storage space of 40 GB and above are now more common than ever before.
May 12th, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Giles Essame
With the increase of families wanting to share their broadband connection, more and more non-technical consumers are failing in common traps that could easily be avoided.
Simple and Easy Fortunately in America, the majority of ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) offer an Ethernet Cable or DSL modem with their service allowing for the consumer to just buy a piece of hardware called a Cable/DSL router (better known as a Broadband router), plug this in the modem and hey presto. After some initial configuration your computers will be happily sharing the broadband connection.
April 28th, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Nick Stubbs
I feel, after visiting so many websites and reading so much advice, and also by frequently visiting photography forums, that I have to speak on this subject.
For the majority of the buying public, there are 2 categories that we fall into when getting started or upgrading in digital photography, the “Absolute Beginner” or the “Amateur” (or serious amateur sometimes labelled as semi pro).
Now for the beginner, or someone getting started in photography itself (not just digital), the choice of cameras nowadays is quite overwhelming! Everywhere you look there are cameras, not just in camera shops like the good old days. You even get given a cheap digital camera as a gift for buying something else in some places. There are reasonably powerful digital cameras in the more expensive mobile phones now and they come in all shapes and sizes.
So where do you possibly start and how do you make that choice for buying a camera for yourself or someone else. Really it is quite simple and there are 3 criteria you should look at:
April 6th, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Alexandria Haber
Technology, how we love it until something goes wrong and we end up yelling at our computer screens. If you’ve ever lost data, you know how much time, money, and headaches it can cost you to retrieve it, especially if you are a company. Data recovery doesn’t have to be worrisome.
The acronym RAID, first used in 1988, stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks. RAID is an assembly of disk drives, also known as ‘disk array’, which operates as one storage unit. In general, the drives could be any storage system with random data access such as magnetic hard drives, optical storage, magnetic tapes, etc. RAID has several functions which include providing a way of accessing multiple disks grouped together to appear as a single device, spreading data access out over these disks which reduces the risk of losing data if one drive should fail, and improving access time.
April 6th, 2005 — PC Hardware
Author: Nathan Smith
If you use your computer for Voice over IP (VoIP) applications, chances are that at some time you’ve experienced frustration with the cords associated with traditional PC headsets. Imagine being able to roam throughout your home whilst talking to people around the world using a PC headset unencumbered by the constraints of wires. Whether you use a headset for PC to Phone conversations, instant messaging, gaming or video-conferencing, a Bluetooth solution may be just the ticket for your wireless cravings.
Bluetooth
For those of you not familiar with the term, Bluetooth refers to a wireless protocol (or set of rules) designed for short range electronic applications (usually less than 30 feet in distance). Although the technology has been around for several years, Bluetooth support for PC users has been limited due to hardware manufacturers focusing on the more traditional 802.11 wireless network protocols (wifi). In reality, Bluetooth and wifi achieve different purposes and each has its pros and cons.
Cellular Telephone Bluetooth Headsets
October 26th, 2004 — PC Hardware
Remember when the Amazing X-Ray Specs were advertised in the back of comic books? Science marches on …
A developer in Tokyo has created an add-on for Vodafone handsets that’s meant to be used as a night filter to let people take pictures with their phones in the dark. …
As well as taking snaps in the dark, the Yamada Denshi infrared filter apparently sees through people’s clothes.
The problem arises because the filter uses the distribution of heat to create its pictures. When attached to a high-end camera, the filter can see though certain kinds of clothing and is reportedly particularly effective on dark bikinis.