06-06-2011 12:48 Ok everyone, here is the much anticipated update and progress report on my Client Build 5: PSC 2011. We've had somewhat of a rough going on things, fitment issues on the mobo tray, defective motherboard and some paint issues. Allow these setbacks have been unfortunate, we've made a lot of progress as well. This build is going to be epic! 🙂 Enjoy, Trubyd44 T
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With the passing of the recent holiday season, many of us are assessing our finances and vowing to be more frugal in the new year. Making money stretch is an important financial skill, and maintaining our expensive assets is a big component in any responsible budget. Your new computer is one such asset that needs to be properly serviced and kept in order to last for years. Neglected machines need to be replaced every year, or else they become unbearably slow and miserable to use. Thankfully, there are many easy steps that can be taken to ensure that this does not happen to your PC.
Real-time virus scanners are your first line of defense against the malicious infections that threaten to destroy your new computer. Viruses almost always come from online activity, and are usually installed on your computer from an infected download. The unfortunate reality is that you can never be sure which downloads are safe, and which could be dangerous – you might think you’re downloading a great new game, and before you know it your computer is under siege from a virus infection.
This is why a real-time scanner is necessary for responsible computing. If you rely on a manual scanner (i.e., one that you have to run every time you use it) you will only catch viruses that have already infected your PC and broken pieces of the operating system. Real-time scanners are always running and will prevent infections before they take over your machine.
When setting up your new computer, avoid positioning it near a window. Sometimes this can seem like the ideal set-up, since a desk facing a window provides a soothing view of your property, however windows pose a special danger to computers that could significantly reduce their lifespan. Technology resource Factoidz.com notes that windows attract the most moisture and dust of any area in a room.
The temperature difference between the inside of your home and outside world causes the moisture in the air to collect on and around the window. Having a computer right against it can draw dust, moisture, and mold into the hardware. Needless to say, introducing such unwanted material to your machine can slowly destroy it over time.
Even if you avoid placing your computer near a window, all machines slowly collect dust and dirt inside of their case. The cooling fans inside of the case are always spinning when the PC is on, drawing in air from around the room. This happens even faster when the computer sits on or very close to the floor, as carpets and rugs are natural collectors of dust and lint. Left unadressed, this material can gather in huge quantities, contributing to hardware breakdown and computer crashes.
Don’t let grime invade your PC and ruin it from the inside out. Instead, pick up a small shop vacuum with hose attachments for cleaning small, fragile areas. The ones sold by DataVac are a good choice, as they are made for cleaning technology. Every six months, undo the screws on your desktop case and vacuum out the dust that has accumulated on the hardware. This will help ensure the longevity of your hardware and keep your machine operating like new for a long time.
The longer a computer is used, the more “fragmented” it’s hard drive becomes. Put simply, this means that related files get scattered around and the system has to take longer to find them as you use programs. This contributes to lagging, freezing, and general system slowness. To solve this problem, your computer comes with a defrag (known in Windows as “Disk Defragmenter”) utility that moves like files together and dramatically speeds up the entire user experience.
A complete system defrag generally takes a good bit of time, sometimes an hour or more depending on the size of your drive and the amount of the stuff you have saved on it. Schedule a time to defrag your machine once a month, and set it to run when you will not be using it (such as before you go to sleep or leave for work in the morning). Regular hard drive maintenance will keep your programs loading and running as smooth as the first day you brought it home.
The Windows registry is an often neglected part of your operating system that requires sound maintenance to run at optimal performance. This is the part of your system where every program stores its settings, and each setting is known as a key. The problem is that as you install and delete software over time, many registry keys get left behind from old programs you no longer use. These junk keys clog up the registry and cause the system to begin to slow.
To maintain optimal system performance, install a registry maintenance tool and run scheduled, monthly cleanings. PCTools makes an acclaimed registry tool called Registry Mechanic that will keep your system’s registry running at peak performance for the life of your machine.
While spyware is not quite as prevalent as it was in the early-mid 2000’s, it is still a threat that demands your proactive attention. Spyware behaves much like a virus, installing itself through hidden and non-consensual download tactics and spreading through the computer’s operating system once there. Spyware displays unwanted advertising, edits system settings without permission, installs other software, and can slow the machine to a halt at its worst. Some of the really malicious variants even harvest personal data (such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc) and send them back to their creator for purposes of identity theft.
Many virus scanners come with anti-spyware software as well, but it is always a safe bet to keep a separate anti-spyware tool installed as well for extra protection. Lavasoft AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy are two of the most highly acclaimed anti-spyware suites, and can both be downloaded for free. Much like anti-virus software, you will need to keep your program’s definitions up to date to remain defended against the latest infections to hit the web.
Leaving your computer running for days on end can wear down your hardware components and contribute to system crashes and loss of performance. However, constant shutting down and starting up of the computer forces it to heat up and cool down several times per day, which is also dangerous for the PC. The best way to handle your computer when you aren’t using it is to set a stand-by timer. This is an easy system setting that puts your computer into sleep mode when you don’t use it for a certain amount of time (usually around 15-30 minutes).
Sleep mode powers down most of your moving components (such as the hard drive) and screen, keeping only the bare minimum of settings on so that your desktop can be recalled quickly when you return to the keyboard. Not only does this preserve system integrity, it also saves electricity, making it a frugal setting to enable. Of course, a good system restart is good for the machine every couple of days, so make sure to reboot it several times each week.
About the Author: Brian Tanner is a freelance writer for HP. Since 1939, HP has been making technology products to help people and companies address their problems and challenges, and realize their possibilities, aspirations and dreams. On their website you can find a printer to printer ink.
Are you interested in guest blogging with Romow blogs? Submit an unpublished original article to us, and we will be happy to review it for publication.
On September 3rd, Apple released its 10th iteration of the incredibly popular iTunes application in the last nine years. While some interesting additional functionality was added (behold the “Ping†feature, which integrates social media and music), savvy iTunes users noticed some things were missing, including the Ringtone Creator.
The ringtone creator was first introduced in iTunes version 7.4, released in September of 2007. The feature allowed users to take mp3s located in their iTunes libraries and, for a nominal fee of $0.99, transform a snippet of the mp3 into a ringtone usable with their iPhone.
The ringtone feature, though appreciated at least in the cosmetic sense by Apple enthusiasts, overall seemed like a head scratcher to the average Apple user. After all, why would you buy a song for $0.99 and then pay another $0.99 to have the privilege of it alerting you to an incoming call? $2 for a ringtone is a bit steep; while Apple defended their pricing as a result of the stingy licensing of the music industry, they eventually got the hint (3 years later) that no one in their right mind would pay that much for a customized ringtone.
In fact, today no one in their right mind would pay a dime for a customized ringtone. There are so many free online applications that will let you customize a ringtone from an mp3 on your computer in under three minutes that charging for a ringtone is clearly a stunt catering only to the lazy or severely technologically challenged.
Mobile17, a dotcom start-up by a college kid, has gone from campy dorm-room experiment to an honest to goodness business. After creating a free account, the user has the ability to upload any mp3 onto the Mobile17 server and select the exact start and end point of their desired ringtone. You can select clips up to a minute in length, and after you fill in specific information about your phone and carrier (for proper processing purposes), the clip will be processed and emailed or texted to your phone. You simple download onto your phone and select the ringtone from your library. Voila – your free, customized ringtone has been created and delivered in no time!
While Mobile17 was among the first to offer such a service, there are now dozens of site online that perform similar processes. When choosing a site to make your free ringtone, just remember to be smart of who you share your information with and what information you share. Unless you buy some kind of a ringtone package from a reputable site (look for that Better Business Bureau seal and official credit card logos!), do not share your address, credit card, or social security number with anyone. Lots of sites try to lure in naïve internet users with free services like “make your own ringtones†as a way to gain access to their personal information. When in doubt about a site’s credibility, do a Google search on site name along with the term “review†to see what comes up – the nice thing about the internet is that if someone has a bad experience or gets scammed, they are not shy talking about it!
It’s a free ringtone world, and while the idea of the iTunes ringtone creator will be missed, chances are the actual service won’t be missed at all – in fact, from the internet chatter around the issue, few people noticed (or cared). But thanks for trying iTunes/Apple; the mark of a great company isn’t the number of failed ideas it has, but the number of good ones.
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About the Author: Vernon Marker is both a music and Apple product fanatic. He is always ahead of the curve when it comes to new releases and prides herself on having the coolest cell ringtones before anyone else! In his free time he loves to travel and attend as many concerts as possible.
Are you interested in guest blogging with Romow.com? Submit your guest blog post and we will be happy to review it.
On September 3rd, Apple released its 10th iteration of the incredibly popular iTunes application in the last nine years. While some interesting additional functionality was added (behold the “Ping” feature, which integrates social media and music), savvy iTunes users noticed some things were missing, including the Ringtone Creator.
The ringtone creator was first introduced in iTunes version 7.4, released in September of 2007. The feature allowed users to take mp3s located in their iTunes libraries and, for a nominal fee of $0.99, transform a snippet of the mp3 into a ringtone usable with their iPhone.
The ringtone feature, though appreciated at least in the cosmetic sense by Apple enthusiasts, overall seemed like a head scratcher to the average Apple user. After all, why would you buy a song for $0.99 and then pay another $0.99 to have the privilege of it alerting you to an incoming call? $2 for a ringtone is a bit steep; while Apple defended their pricing as a result of the stingy licensing of the music industry, they eventually got the hint (3 years later) that no one in their right mind would pay that much for a customized ringtone.
In fact, today no one in their right mind would pay a dime for a customized ringtone. There are so many free online applications that will let you customize a ringtone from an mp3 on your computer in under three minutes that charging for a ringtone is clearly a stunt catering only to the lazy or severely technologically challenged.
Mobile17, a dotcom start-up by a college kid, has gone from campy dorm-room experiment to an honest to goodness business. After creating a free account, the user has the ability to upload any mp3 onto the Mobile17 server and select the exact start and end point of their desired ringtone. You can select clips up to a minute in length, and after you fill in specific information about your phone and carrier (for proper processing purposes), the clip will be processed and emailed or texted to your phone. You simple download onto your phone and select the ringtone from your library. Voila – your free, customized ringtone has been created and delivered in no time!
While Mobile17 was among the first to offer such a service, there are now dozens of site online that perform similar processes. When choosing a site to make your free ringtone, just remember to be smart of who you share your information with and what information you share. Unless you buy some kind of a ringtone package from a reputable site (look for that Better Business Bureau seal and official credit card logos!), do not share your address, credit card, or social security number with anyone. Lots of sites try to lure in naïve internet users with free services like “make your own ringtones” as a way to gain access to their personal information. When in doubt about a site’s credibility, do a Google search on site name along with the term “review” to see what comes up – the nice thing about the internet is that if someone has a bad experience or gets scammed, they are not shy talking about it!
It’s a free ringtone world, and while the idea of the iTunes ringtone creator will be missed, chances are the actual service won’t be missed at all – in fact, from the internet chatter around the issue, few people noticed (or cared). But thanks for trying iTunes/Apple; the mark of a great company isn’t the number of failed ideas it has, but the number of good ones.
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About the Author: Vernon Marker is both a music and Apple product fanatic. He is always ahead of the curve when it comes to new releases and prides herself on having the coolest cell ringtones before anyone else! In his free time he loves to travel and attend as many concerts as possible.
Are you interested in guest blogging with Romow.com? Submit your guest blog post and we will be happy to review it.
Wireless routers, eh? Tricky things. They promise so much, and yet seem to be one of the most complicated and annoying parts of using a computer, when really connecting to the internet should be so simple.
Lets say you’ve just been down to PC World or BestBuy and bought yourself a new laptop - it’s wireless, great! Now you can get rid of all those ugly wires draped around your home and connect wirelessly to the internet - welcome to the future! But you need a wireless router.
Please don’t just wander into your local store and take the “expert” advice of the 17-year old sales assistant. A little research in advance will pay you dividends, and at the very least will save you from being one of the bewildered souls in the store staring at a wall of boxes wondering what on earth a Gigabit cable router with MIMO access is. Read on for the three key things you need to know.
Firstly - check if you can get a free router. Many Internet Service Providers (ISP) will now provide a free wireless router for their customers, so it’s worth a quick phone call to your ISP to see if you can get one. It may not be the greatest router ever, but it’s free, and free beats any price.
Router Types
Assuming you don’t qualify for a free router, you’ll need to buy one. The first thing to know is that routers breakdown into 2 main categories. Different manufacturers call them different things, and there is some blurring of the lines. However, essentially the two categories depend upon how you get your Internet access. If you get it from a cable provider who also sends you TV down a fibre-optic cable (Virgin in the UK) then you need what’s known as cable or broadband router. This type of router does not have a modem built in.
The other type of router is for phone-line connections and this is known by many names, including ADSL, DSL, modem router, and BT router. So if you get your Internet via a phone-line then you need one of these routers.
Wireless Standards
Secondly, there are a number of different wireless standards. Unless you need the very cheapest router available, do not buy a wireless G or 54Mbps router. These are old technologies and will slow down what should otherwise be a faster Internet connection. In my opinion, it is a real crime that major stores are still selling these types of router.
What you should be looking for is Wireless N, also known as 802.11n. This is the new standard and is not only much quicker than the old wireless B and G standards, but it is also a stronger signal meaning it reaches further and provides a more stable connection. Unfortunately there are a few variations with Wireless N around when the router was released, Just know that if it says “Draft 2” or “Full N” on the box, then these are better than “draft n” or “Draft 1”. All wireless N routers are backwards compatible so even if you have an older laptop or computer connecting, you should still go for this standard.
MiMO stands for Multi-In-Multi-Out. It doesn’t really mean anything other than the router has multiple antennae, which most routers have had for some time. Do not let this distract you.
The manufacturer of the router won’t normally make a lot of difference, but you’re probably better off sticking with one of the bigger names like Belkin, Cisco, D-Link, Linksys and Netgear.
Where to Buy
Lastly, where to shop. A lot of unusual places sell wireless routers. John Lewis and Argos are just two names you might not have considered. The best deals are often to be found on-line and you’ll find that even the big names, e.g. PC World, offer a substantial discount at their online store over the physical stores. So do shop around.
Summary
Wireless routers are a tricky beast, but once you know the type of router you want and the wireless standard, you are in much better shape. There are a number of other factors you might want to take into consideration, and if you are looking to spend more than the minimum on a router or have had problems with routers in the past, then I would highly recommend using one of the wireless router wizards (like the one on my site) to find the perfect router for you.
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This guest post is written by Mark Richardson, one of the founders of a website dedicated to helping you find the best router. Mark can be contacted on mark at bestrouter dot co dot uk.
Are you interested in guest blogging with Romow directory? Submit your guest blog post, and we will be happy to review it for publication.
The whole PC versus Mac debate is really starting to get old. Sure, it was fun for while, and whether you’re a Mac person or a PC person, there was at least some twisted pleasure in poking your finger in the other guy’s eye; but frankly, it’s just been done to death, and it’s time to move on.
But who can forget the popular, “I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac” commercials? As entertaining as the series was, it was also an effective marketing tool for Apple, who managed to stereotype PC users as clueless and “uncool.” But now, Microsoft is fighting back with a vengeance. The company’s new ad series attempts to attack Apple where they are most vulnerable — on price.
The newest Microsoft anti-Mac commercials equate buying a (traditionally more expensive) Mac computer with being pretentious, ostentatious and wasteful. During these tough economic times, it could be a message that resonates loudly with many consumers. After all, the pricing difference between a new PC laptop and a comparable Mac laptop can be significant. And in these lean economic times, who can afford to blow an extra $300 to $800 when buying a new computer?
Obviously, Microsoft is hoping that this message gets through to consumers, and that an association is made between the higher-priced Mac computers and some of the ostentatious, over-the-top spending habits that got us into all this economic trouble to begin with. For once, Microsoft’s counter-attack could actually work; especially as it comes at a time when Wall Street traders are taking undeserved bonuses, all financed by the American taxpayer, of course.
The mood of the country is not exactly sympathetic to big spenders and high rollers these days, and obviously, Microsoft is looking to equate buying the “cooler” but more expensive Mac computer, with being frivolous, irresponsible, or downright unethical. But will it work?
One of the new commercials in particular, features an artsy looking woman (the type you might often see using a Mac) attempting to buy a new laptop computer for under $1000. Obviously, she strikes out where the Mac laptops are concerned, and ends up buying a PC instead. The tagline for the commercial has her saying, “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person.”
The subtext is clear: the “cool” people are pretentious and wasteful, buying more expensive computers than necessary at a time when many Americans are struggling just to get by. It’s a cheap shot, to be sure. And no doubt, Apple will fight back with a new series of it’s own attack ads. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the PC versus Mac debate, it is a proverbial war without end.
Adobe, the California-based software giant, is attempting to bring their Flash Web animation software to television. On Monday, Adobe announced that the latest version of Flash will be viewable on Digital TVs connected to the Internet, newer Blu-ray players, and several other home devices.
The company has partnered with a handful of the most powerful names in media, both online and off, to roll out the new “Flash TV” format. Everyone from the New York Times to Atlantic Records and Intel will be involved in rolling out the new format.
Until this latest version was released, Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash software had primarily been used on computers to render animation and video. For example, Google’s YouTube uses a variation of the standard Flash video player, as does Google video, and many other online media sites.
In fact, Flash has come to be the de facto standard in rendering Web video, animation or any hybrid of the two. Surveys show that more than 80% of all video streamed online uses some variation of the Adobe Flash software. But if Adobe has their way, Flash may soon become the de facto standard in the interactive TV arena, as well.
Though it’s unclear at the moment exactly how Flash will be integrated into Internet enabled digital television, the Company believes there is a huge market the software’s animation and video rendering algorithms. Adobe has already ported over a version of Flash for use in mobile smartphones with mostly positive results.
One clear advantage of using the Flash format with HDTV is that consumers could effortlessly switch between watching “standard” television, and web-enabled video (such as YouTube or Hulu) in the blink of an eye. Using Flash on televisions would also enable the creation of widgets especially engineered to bring Web applications to television and other portable communications devices.
But so far the exact plan for how to use Flash in an interactive TV setting is unclear. Adobe is playing their cards pretty close to the chest, and none of their partner companies have said much about potential usage, except that they expect Flash to open up a whole new world of interactivity to television viewers.
If it is handled correctly, Adobe could use Flash to finally bridge the gap between television and the Web, and give users the ability to seamlessly switch between the two. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, and to see if Flash can become as ubiquitous on television as it already is on online.
As Microsoft Windows 7 nears final release, there is a growing consensus among reviewers and industry pundits that the new operating system will correct many of mistakes the company made with Windows Vista. The beta version has already received solid reviews, and even staunch Microsoft critics are conceding that 7 is a big step in the right direction. But ironically, the recent release of Windows 7 “Starter Edition” could actually threaten the viability of the full operating system when it is finally released.
The Starter Edition, because of its smaller footprint, is ideal for small laptops and netbooks, and may find a huge market among students and frequent travelers. In fact, netbooks are expected to grow in popularity significantly over the next several years. Their small size and easy Web access make them ideal for cash-strapped students on the go, especially during tough economic times.
And because Windows 7 Starter Edition is designed to run easily on netbooks, Microsoft could end up undercutting the viability of their own product by its release. According to ZDNet.com, Microsoft has yet to demonstrate that the full Windows 7 operating system will run seamlessly on the smaller netbooks, so the Starter Edition could be the only choice for many students and even business travelers using netbooks.
Officially, Microsoft is saying that Starter Edition users will be able to upgrade (for a fee of course) to the full Windows 7 OS; however, how well the full program will run on smaller netbooks is still a matter of some speculation. The end result may be that netbook users can either choose Windows 7 Starter Edition and maintain performance, or upgrade to the full operating system and sacrifice speed and performance. Not much of a choice really, is it?
This quandary has caused some in the industry to speculate that Microsoft may have, once again, “outflanked themselves” by creating their own toughest competitor. Of course, the Starter Edition lacks many of the features of the full Windows 7 operating system; but it covers the basics, and with the increasing popularity of web-based software programs, it seems less important than ever these days that an operating system offers lots of bells and whistles. Once you are online, you can access any number of web-based programs anyway, so what is the point in having a bloated operating system?
If current trends hold, netbooks will continue to gain ground against traditional laptop and desktop computers over the next few years. This could result in Microsoft selling fewer copies of its full Windows 7 operating system, and a lot more of the (cheaper) Starter Edition.
There was a time when being a “Mac person” meant being somewhat shielded from the usual onslaught of malicious software viruses and trojans lurking online. In fact, viruses targeting Mac computers were so rare that users probably became a bit too overconfident and boastful about the robustness of the platform.
But in 2009, the days of the carefree Mac user never giving a second thought to online security are long gone. Viruses, spyware, Trojans and other malware aimed at the Mac OSX operating system are becoming more common these days. For example, the dreaded Botnet trojan has now been ported over to attack Mac operating systems and steal sensitive information from users.
And while no one would deny that Windows PCs still have the greatest number of threats from online malware, according to recent research from Symantic, Mac viruses and trojans are becoming more prevalent, especially among users of peer-to-peer sharing sites. The company recently discovered two different versions of the Botnet trojan hiding inside pirated software for Mac OSX. Specifically, Adobe Photoshop for Mac, and Apple’s very own productivity software, iWork 09.
The cracked software provides an easy way for hackers to infiltrate a user’s computer — even a Mac. By downloading and installing the cracked software, the user winds up unknowingly installing the Botnet trojan as well, and placing the contents of their hard drive at risk, not to mention their sensitive information, such as passwords and even online banking login information.
So how can Mac users avoid contracting a software virus or trojan? While there are never any guarantees online, web security experts say that avoiding pirated or cracked software is the easiest way to minimize your chances of inadvertently installing malicious software on your Mac.
According to another online security company, Intego, as of January 2009, over 20,000 Mac users were known to have their computers infected with the Botnet trojan or other viruses. This, of course, is just a fraction of the number of PCs infected with malware; but it represents a sharp rise in the number of Macs affected over the past two years.
So the good news is, yes, Macs are still “safer” on average than PCs. The bad news? Malicious software for Macs is growing in number every year, and once infected with a virus or trojan, removing the malware from a Mac can be considerably more difficult than with a PC. And, unfortunately, as Apple continues to gain market share on Windows, it stands to reason that more and more hackers will begin targeting Mac computers.
Whether you are a PC person or a Mac person, reliable customer service is critical when buying a new computer. Perhaps that’s why so many knowledgeable consumers seek out customer experience surveys and reviews by other users before purchasing. To help facilitate this research, Forrester Research has conducted an extensive “customer experience survey” of all the major American companies, from Apple and Dell, to American airlines and Citibank. The results of the survey are surprising in some ways, but one result in particular wasn’t a great shock: Apple continues to trounce PCs when it comes to so-called “customer experience.”
Significantly, Apple received an 80% positive score on questions of customer experience and satisfaction. PC computer manufacturers, on the other hand, did not fair nearly as well. Dell scored and a dismal 58% rating in the survey, while rival Gateway scored only 63%.
Overall, PC manufacturer’s received a D to F grade in customer satisfaction and overall experience, according to the Forrester survey. But experts believe that many of the complaints lodged against PC manufacturers are actually the fault of their software — Microsoft Windows. Research shows that many consumers do not distinguish between the computer’s operating system and the company who designed the hardware, which potentially accounts for the dismal ratings for PC manufacturers when one considers the number of complaints about Microsoft Vista, to name one example.
While Apple certainly scored much higher than any major PC manufacturer, they shouldn’t pat themselves on the back just yet. According to the customer experience survey, many companies received far better satisfaction scores than Apple, including Barnes & Noble (which ranked highest in the survey), Amazon.com, JCPenney, Target, and eBay.
In fact, even though Apple scored relatively well compared to other computer manufacturers, it’s still only managed to tie for 23rd Place in the survey alongside Macy’s, Staples and Walgreens in perceived customer satisfaction.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest PC manufacturers in the world, Dell, could only manage to rank 93rd in the survey, tied with Cox communications and United Airlines.
Overall, the survey shows that computer manufacturers have a long way to go when it comes to customer experience and satisfaction. A lot of huge companies, including many Web-based businesses like eBay and Amazon.com, are doing a far better job in customer support. And computer manufacturers are lagging well behind many other industries when it comes to customer satisfaction, including many banks and hotel chains.
So whether you’re a PC or a Mac, one thing is clear: you’re probably not terribly happy with the customer service you’re getting.
Large capacity external hard drives are nothing new. In fact, the price of external drives continues to come down, making it easier and less expensive to back up documents, media and even software programs. But Seagate is pursuing a new line of external drives designed to make upgrading your computer a snap. The company’s new Replica hard drives will back up not only your work and media, but every single file in a Windows-based PC, including the operating system.
The idea is simple but useful: create an exact mirror image of everything on the users PC, including operating system, preferences; and right down to the last incidental or nonessential file. But, and this is critical, Seagate is quick to point out that the Replica drives are not intended for backing up individual documents or other user files. In fact, the drives do not include a drag-and-drop feature to move specific files from the external drive to your computer — it’s a bit of an all or nothing deal!
The usefulness of the Replica series is obvious. By having a complete mirror image of your entire computer, you can avert disaster if your operating system should crash. The operating system and the entire contents of your PC can be effectively restored by the Replica in as little as 40 minutes (depending of course on how many stored files you have on your computer).
After restoring your PC, the Replica will automatically back up your system incrementally as your configuration or user preferences change. The smallest drive in the series is the 250 GB Replica. It is designed to back up only a single PC. There is also a 500 GB version that comes with a docking station and according to Seagate, will back up “multiple” PCs.
The 250 GB single PC version is priced at about 130 US dollars, while the 500 GB “multiple” PC version is priced (quite reasonably) at only $200, making the “Replica” and inexpensive and easy to use backup solution for PC users. It could also make the process of upgrading to a new laptop or home PC much easier by removing all the guesswork from the process, and ensuring that your new computer contains all of the files and user preferences of your old system.
Unfortunately, Seagate has not seen fit to develop a Mac version of the Replica — its PC only for now. But then again, Mac computers already have access to the Apple Time Machine software for backing up the contents of their drive, so perhaps there is less of a need for a complete mirror image drive within the Mac community.
But for PC Windows users, the Replica series could be just what the doctor ordered, providing security against lost files and configurations, while making it a breeze to upgrade your computer.
It is being reported that Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7, will feature an “XP mode” that Mimics the look and feel of Windows XP. The feature will allow applications designed specifically for XP to run inside a virtual “box” in Windows 7. Appearance wise, it will simply look like the program is running on Windows XP, but behind-the-scenes there’s actually a lot going on.
There are plenty of applications that are not expected to run satisfactorily on Windows 7, so including a virtual XP feature is a pretty smart move on Microsoft’s part. That way, users will still have the capability of running their old XP only applications, inside the more flashy and feature-rich Windows 7. Best of all, it’s a free feature, so you certainly can’t beat the price.
The fact is Windows 7 takes advantage of what is coming to be known as “desktop virtualization.” This allows the operating system to mimic other operating systems (not just Windows XP) and run programs designed for other operating systems. So far, critics have been moderately impressed with the feature, though several have pointed out that it also has shortcomings.
For example in order to run the desktop virtualization feature, you need a PC that supports hardware virtualization. Even in PCs that already support hardware virtualization, often this is an extra feature located in the BIOS of the computer which must be switched on manually (virtually no home workstations or laptops are shipped with this feature active).
Besides a potential change in your computer BIOS, Microsoft also specifies a minimum of 2 GB of RAM to use the feature, along with at least 15 gigs of free hard drive for each “virtual box” you open. So on top of having to tinker around with the BIOS, you also need a fairly robust computer to take advantage of the desktop virtualization.
Some have compared Windows 7’s virtual desktop to Intel Mac’s ability to run Windows, but the experts say that when it comes to running other operating systems, Apple has a huge advantage over Windows 7. Namely, that the Mac “world” is a smaller and better connected group than the massive army of Windows users. This means that developers for Mac software also tend to be a small and tightly knit group, which is certainly advantageous when it comes to making sure an operating system will run any software designed for it.
Windows, on the other hand, is a bit of a free-for-all where development is concerned, and there is much less communication about what “the other guy” is doing when it comes to developing for Windows PCs. For this reason, the Windows 7 virtual desktop feature could potentially run into all sorts of “hiccups” trying to run different software designed for XP. If history is any judge, it will likely take several years to work out all the kinks.
Still, the inclusion of the virtual desktop feature shows that Windows is moving in the right direction, toward greater inclusion, and away from the exclusionary tactics the company has been accused of using in the past.
Microsoft has announced that it may stop selling its flagship Windows Vista operating system just as soon as the eagerly awaited Windows 7 becomes available. Company representatives admitted they were “still not sure” if manufacturers will still be able to sell Vista once the new operating system officially hits the shelves.
The complaints against Vista have been many and often repeated, so we won’t go into that here except to say that the most common consumer complaints were that Vista was slower than expected, and more awkward to use because of a heightened security system which required permissions for a wide variety of everyday tasks such as moving or deleting files or folders.
The beta version of Windows 7, on the other hand, has received mostly favorable reviews within the industry, and from consumers who have been allowed to beta test the new operating system. Microsoft says that 7 is now in the final stages of development, and a full release of the operating system is imminent.
But when Microsoft Windows 7 finally hits the streets, is it going to be the end of Vista as we know it? Despite the ambiguity coming from Redmond, it appears that Microsoft is keen to put the Vista debacle far behind them. The company is placing all their hopes (and a considerable fortune) on Windows 7 being an unqualified success. Early reviewers suggest that it will be, though some have also remained cautious until the final version of Windows 7 can be properly tested.
In fact, it seems that Microsoft is ready to “ditch’ Vista as soon as possible. A spokesman for the company has already said it is unlikely that Vista will continue to be sold by certain computer retailers for months or even years after the release of Windows 7. This is exactly what was done when Vista replaced Windows XP. Computer manufacturers such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard continued to sell the (arguably better) Windows XP operating system for over a year after Vista’s debut. All indications are that things will be different this time, and that Microsoft plans to ditch Vista “sooner rather than later.”
It’s still too early to tell if Windows 7 will be plagued by any of the problems that caused some users to turn against Vista, but it seems clear, at least from those who have tested the beta version, that Windows 7 is a whole other kettle of fish, and compared to the release of Vista, Microsoft should find it a breeze to promote and market.
For countless generations students have complained about carrying around piles of enormous textbooks. The weighty tomes have become so much of a problem that more and more college kids are booking appointments with chiropractors because of an increase in student back problems (even as young as 19 or 20 years old) caused by carrying around loads of traditional textbooks.
But if Amazon.com has its way, the company’s new Kindle DX e-reader will replace those stacks of antiquated textbooks with a sleek, light weight digital “pad” capable of downloading and displaying thousands of electronic books at a time.
The new Kindle DX is larger than the original Kindle– and more expensive — but is otherwise practically identical to its forerunner. The larger screen is designed for periodicals (what used to be called “newspapers” back in the olden days), and textbooks. Amazon claims that the Kindle DX will be ideal for students, and will make college life a whole lot simpler, not to mention easier on the back.
But will college students embrace the Kindle? That is the $100 million question as far as Amazon is concerned.
Recently, e-books and e-textbooks have begun to be taken seriously on college campuses throughout the United States and Europe. While the idea of the e-book has been around for years now, it is only recently that they have become popular with students. And since students are carrying around their laptop computers anyway, why not keep all of their textbooks in digital format on their hard drive, and simply print out material on an “as needed” basis?
E-textbooks are already far less expensive than traditional tomes; usually available online for instant download at about 50% the cost of a paper textbook. And when you consider that the Kindle DX retails at nearly $500, cash strapped students could easily decide to forgo the extra piece of hardware and simply use their laptop as an e-book reader.
So while the idea of the Kindle DX is certainly a noble one, in practical use, it seems unlikely that students will be keen to fork over the extra money just to carry around another piece of digital hardware. Between laptops, smartphones and other school accessories, most students already have more than enough digital gear to keep up with; so the Kindle would have to offer some serious advantages in order to stand a chance on the college campus.
And therein lies the main problem with the Kindle DX: it’s a one trick pony. Laptop computers are capable of an endless variety of functions. You can read an e-book, store your music and video collection, surf the Web, download movies, play video games, or use word processing software.
Likewise, the humble cell phone has become a jack of all trades, featuring robust media players, cameras, GPS navigation and a plethora of other handy features. So where does that leave the Kindle? Basically, it’s just for reading books. It does one thing, and it does it pretty well; but will that be enough to convince college students it’s a must-have? Or to convince their parents to hand over $500 to purchase one?