High-end computers: Low power consumers?

When it comes to electronics, the faster it gets, the more output it provides, the greater it consumes electricity. And it will reflect on your electricity bills big time. But now that computers are on a steady move towards faster performance, does it also mean it craves for electricity all the more?

AMD and Intel now offers dual-core processors. Imagine having two processors working in parallel together. Since the limit for speed has been exhausted, these companies decided to tie-up processors in a way that goes with the saying "two heads are better than one". And the performance is true to its word. But just so having two processors can make your work faster, then will it goes to say that they also consume twice the power than that of a single core?

No. These companies have designed their processors to throttle their speeds when working idle, or when applications doesn't require it. In turn, their consumtion of energy is decreased, all the while keeping your CPU box cool (the faster an IC performs, the hotter it gets).

So if you are stll using that Pentium 4 or Athlon processors, chances are you are rocketing your electricity bills by the minute. With the recent price drops in processor (P3,300 for an Intel Dual Core 1.6Ghz) and computer components, its not that hard to decide really. Believe me, i have saved P200 on my monthly bills, even though I leave my computer open at most times. That's a P2,400 saving per year!

For an in-depth analysis, visit Tomshardware.

Securing your Wireless Network

With the advent of broadband Internet connections, and the continuous drop of market prices of desktop computers and laptops, more and more homes are creating their own small network. And with wireless networking, communications between two or more computers has neven been so easy to configure. But is it secure? Here is a tip from the Internet:

Network security is an important aspect in this information world. The significance of security is much more in growing concern of hacking of data from the computer. As most individuals and business sectors are connected with Internet using wireless devices, you simply don’t know when and where all your personal information being theft. With the increasing number of cases regarding security breaches there is need for improvement in awareness regarding security measures. Wireless users simply need to know certain rules in order to control system penetration and bandwidth theft.

Always change the password of your router as these are come with preset service identifiers. The protocols of such service identifiers are known to hackers. That’s why you have to change the password something which is difficult to guess. Simple and general terms such as my router will be easy to guess. You may also rotate your password frequently as precaution.

If possible enable encryption. Follow the encryption procedure which is provided by your routing device. Two most preferable encryption measures are WEP and WPA2; out of which the later is used most and most up to date option. The function of such technology is to encrypt traffic and scrambling it so that any unauthorized third party could not use it by throwing a spanner in order to procure sensitive details.

Remote access points should be monitored closely. Security protocols must be established in companies which run web interfaces or remote system access points. It would be wise to change password frequently.

You should avoid the use of unsecured wireless hotspots in public locations. In these places traps are set up frequently by malicious third parties. These are designed to route that creates screen traffic in order to secure sensitive details.

If you are going to sold or dispose any hardware scrub it. This will eliminate all the chances of any third party to discover any sensitive data or passwords for using identity theft, to gain access to corporate systems or any type of financial crime.

Use wireless security software no matter whether you are a corporation or an individual. This software uses automatic security key rotation for every three hours of encryption purposes. It also provides security to the router apart from providing event logging. It also monitors to scrutinize for terminals that try to gain access. For institutions advanced software systems such as Wi-Fi manager are more useful. You have to take your own time before implementing any such security measures.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_241666_10.html

How to add a favicon to Blogger

After uploading a favicon for my PHP site, I've tried placing a favicon here on Blogger. The procedure is very easy. After creating an icon or animated GIF image, upload it into a photo webhost or server, like Photobucket.

Log in to your Blogger account, click the Layout link of your blog.

On the Template tab, click Edit HTML.

Now you have to add this code into your Blogger HTML template, just below the <head> tag:

<link href='http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i134/xxxxxx/xxx.jpg' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/ico'/>

The text with a blue color should be replaced by the Direct Link code of your image uploaded on Photobucket. You may upload your image into any photo webhosts, as long as the URL format above is followed.

Save your HTML, and you're done!

How to add a favicon to your PHP site

After hours of trial and error, i finally managed to put a favicon for a PHP site of mine (Blogwerx). It’s an animated one, created using a trial version of Easy GIF Animator. A simple favicon would be a 16×16pixel icon image (.ico), but as long as your icon is a sqaure the size really doesn’t matter (Blogwerx icon is a 160×160 image). GIF images should also be a square. Haven’t tried uploading a rectangular image though, so I don’t know the consequence of uploading such a picture.

By default, and just to make sure everything will work our correctly, your icon should be named favicon.ico, and if you want to upload an animated image, it should be named animated_favicon1.gif. I think you can name them anyway you like, as long as the filename is indicated in the code. But then again, let’s just be on the safe side.

Loading a favicon is pretty easy once you know where to look and edit the code at. The code will be inserted at the header.php file. If you use a template for your Wordpress site, the header.php file is located inside the themes folder, which is inside the wp-content folder, which is inside the public_html folder.*

/public_html/wp-content/themes

*This directory works for the Blogwerx site. Depending on your installation, this directory may be different from yours.

Choose the folder of the theme or template that you are using. (Blogwerx uses the Fresh (Compact) design). Inside your theme directory is a folder named images. Transfer your created icon or GIF image inside the images folder (using your favorite FTP program).

If you have uploaded an icon image (.ico), the change will take effect immediately, as the code is already included in the header.php by default. By default, your favicon code inside the head and head tags looks like this:

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" >
<link rel="icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon">>

The first line is for an Icon favicon (.ico), while the second line is for an animated icon (.gif).

If your header.php doesn’t have these codes, or is different from the ones listed above, or you uploaded an animated favicon, manually type or edit it inside the head and head tags. Make sure the filename of the images you uploaded, and the folder where you placed them, are specified in the tags. For an animated icon, change the second code above to the code below:

<link rel="icon" href="/images/animated_favicon1.gif" type="image/x-icon" />

The New iPod Touch

Hmm... Looks like an iPhone. The new flagship iPod has the same size screen as the iPhone, but it's thinner at eight-millimeters. The interface is very much like the iPhone (told you, kamukha e(looks like it)). Some of the nice features are 3.5-inch widescreen display and WiFi. As for battery life, the touch is said to last 22-hours when playing back audio and 5-hours when watching video, web surfing will be a different story. The iPod touch is available in 8GB and 16GB flavors and will be priced at $299 and $399, respectively.

HDMI and Component video - Which is superior in quality?

Here's a nice article regarding video formats. HDMI is the new and current technology for video connections especially for the emerging High Definition video format. DVI is common to PC and LCD monitors even before HDMI. Component Video has been with us ever since the DVD days (and professional VCDs and VCRs). What's the difference? Let's find out.

Introduction

Amid a global spectrum of high definition format battles, none is so misunderstood as the debate between HDMI and component video. Some videophiles expect HDMI to completely outpace the "vintage" analog format, while true experts in the field know there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to each format. This article will give you a better idea of the technologies that make up these video formats, and prove that the differences are not as lopsided as you may think.

Assumptions That Mask The Facts

If you talk to any half-witted video enthusiast or ask an associate at your local big box retailer - bearing in mind that the two groups are pretty much the same - they'll unmistakably tell you that HDMI is better than component, case closed, end of story. This is just based on tired assumptions of the entire audio/visual industry. HDMI is based on a digital technology while component is analog, HDMI is a more recent development and HDMI costs more. Conventional wisdom says that newer formats are better, digital is always the best and a higher price tag equals higher quality.

Living under the guise of these kinds of stereotypes will eventually tear your brain to shreds. They're just not true. Component video cables can deliver really high quality pictures, just like HDMI. They also tend to be a bit more robust, especially if you need a really long cable.

Another issue is that digital is rarely all that it's cracked up to be. On one side, digital technologies have vastly improved mechanisms to weed out imperfections caused by their analog counterparts. Unfortunately, on the flip side, it's also an excuse to employ cuts to make the new technology as cheap as possible. Specifically, when the HDMI standard was developed, a very robust system of checks and balances was tossed out, in favor of a cheap alternative that can lead to degradation of the cable signal over time. The analog component cable has no such built-in flaw, and in most cases should be able to last a lifetime without problems.

Taking An In-depth Look At The Formats

While both cable formats present a picture as essentially a mosaic of red, green and blue color components, the way they do this is based on two completely different processes. For component, three individual inputs are needed; the signal is usually referred to as YPbPr. The "Y" component focuses on the brightness of the image as the "green" channel, the "Pb" component is the blue channel, and the "Pr" component presents the red part of the picture. All three signals are then put together to create the final picture.

HDMI, on the other hand, uses a standard called Transmission Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS). What this basically does is incorporate three different channels for each color set, allowing one cable to sync all the channels together in a straight-to-digital format. Component cables typically take a digital signal, convert it to analog for internal conversion processes, and then convert it back to digital for output to the TV.

The resting assumption is that, because of the digital-to-analog-to-digital mechanism involved with component cables, there's always a bigger loss of picture quality. That sentiment is ridden with naivety, though, because HDMI suffers similar issues. Even though it's a digital format, it's hardly a universal conversion from every single output source. HDMI cables also need to convert signals to their own format. The only difference is that it's just messing around with conversions between different digital signals instead of digital and analog.

In other words, the stuff that's going on inside these crazy cables is whacked, no matter what kind of cable you're using. While it's an easy cop out to just assume a more antiquated analog format will have more trouble reproducing a purely HD image, that statement lacks thorough consideration.

HDMI has also been panned because it's much easier for the signal to degrade over time. Long-range HDMI cables are also known to lose quality because of a less-than-perfect set of standards for the format. Analog cables, on the other hand, can last decades and stretch for dozens of feet without any sort of automatic degradation.

Because of its universality with one single input for audio and sound, HDMI has become the much preferred standard for HDTV hook-ups. That doesn't mean it necessarily has a huge leaps-and-bounds advantage over component, though. Component video provides a more reliable picture, carries a more robust set of standards and generally works better for long-range professional-type set-ups.

It should be noted that the other major high definition video standard, DVI, runs with the exact same technology as HDMI, except it does not carry audio. Your HDTV may have DVI inputs instead of HDMI, and everything written here about HDMI video is the same for your video signal.

Conclusion

The real point is that there's not really a winner: the argument to be made is that both formats function just fine. HDMI is nice because it incorporates both audio and video, and that's a very nice extra feature. However, if your cable company's HD converter box only supports component output, that's not a reason to jump to another service provider. Analog technologies date back decades upon decades and are built on a long-standing tradition. And while digital formats are supposed to deliver more fulfilling standards, they're often under-utilized in favor of making cheaper products.

Author: Mark Raby

Taken from Tom's Hardware Guide.

Clone iPhone - Close to the real thing?

Tired of waiting for the iPhone to be released here in the Philippines? Or you already have one thanks to your relatives at the US, but can't use it as a phone because it's sim-locked? Well, wait no more. Here's a phone that looks and functions like an iPhone (almost), works on most networks on different countries, and is cheaper than the real thing.

Growing Beyond Fakes

The end of Chinese cloning will come when Chinese products become good enough to stand on their own, just as Japan's did in the 1970s and Korea's did in the 1980s. The difference is that China is moving much faster toward this goal than Korea or Japan ever did. Less than a year ago, the Chery QQ was junk. On July 3, Chery and Chrysler announced an agreement to build Chery vehicles that will wear the Dodge badge. Chrysler will sell the cars in Eastern Europe and Latin America beginning next year, and in 2009 will bring them to Western Europe and North America. The deal grew from Chery's plan to improve quality by outsourcing engineering and design to Western companies. There's little doubt that Chery will learn from its new partners.

An important factor in this transformation is China's improving consumer economy. Just as the Chery deal made the news, the Beijing government instituted a nationwide minimum wage. Although the move was made as a response to rising food prices, it increases production costs for
Chinese manufacturers, forcing them to move away from rock-bottom products. In cities, Chinese paychecks have already risen fast enough to create a thriving consumer class. As those consumers demand better products, China's manufacturers will begin to develop items that meet export standards.

Take, for example, the iPhone. The key to its simple interface is a screen that responds to several touches at once. It makes rapid text entry possible and allows keyboard-and-mouse-type navigation through Web pages and the phone's built-in applications. The screen is built by a German company called Balda, but the technology itself, licensed to Apple's supplier, is neither American nor European. It was originally developed to aid in the rapid input of Asia's huge, character-based alphabets. It comes from China.

The Next iClones

Copies of the iPhone are now dividing into two categories: the inspired-bys and the wholesale duplicates. The first category includes work-alikes manufactured by well-known cellphone makers, like HTC—one of the largest manufacturers of smartphones—and Sun Microsystems. HTC announced that it will be bringing its "Touch" model to the U.S. this fall. In May, Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz followed in the footsteps of Steve Jobs (and Meizu's Jack Wong) by displaying his own one-off version of a touchscreen prototype at a software-developers convention. Sun's chairman, Scott McNealy, had no qualms about making the iPhone comparison: "We have our own shirtsleeve version of Steve Jobs announcing a phone," he told the audience.

The number of duplicates is also growing. Although Meizu may have gone silent because of fears of an Apple lawsuit—after my visit in Hong Kong, they stopped responding to my e-mails and phone calls—other companies are moving ahead. A few days before Apple's launch, an online video surfaced depicting a sleek new product called the P168 [watch the video below]. The phone came in a black box, marked with both the iPhone and the Apple logos. The video showed the phone being unpacked and operated (the start-up screen also featured the Apple branding). There were features that the iPhone didn't have, such as the ability to operate on two different networks at once; six speakers; and, addressing a major prerelease complaint about the iPhone, a removable battery. I asked my translator if she could find one on the street. They weren't available in Beijing—yet—but a few weeks later, a friend discovered one in Guangzhou. The manufacturer of the P168 wouldn't comment for this story, but the hardware was real, and it worked.

Neither the miniOne, the P168 nor even HTC's model are likely to carry the mystique or quality of the iPhone. But that's not really the point. Those phones will be available to millions more consumers than Apple's product, at a lower price. The rest of the world will accept the clones as if they were the original. That will make them no different than a flood of Chinese products—cars, pharmaceuticals, food, appliances—that are emerging from the shadows and climbing the learning curve to the point that they will no longer be clones at all. They'll be the real thing.

Article by Dan Koeppel
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/e7e48a137b144110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd/5.html

Videos of the Clone iPhone -

Curious gadget fans dissects iPhones

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It took Apple Inc. more than six months to build the iPhone but curious gadget fanatics needed only minutes to tear one apart.

Within hours of the first iPhones going on sale on Friday, enthusiasts scrambled to be the first to discover what makes the devices tick, posting photos and videos of disassembled phones on the Internet.

The information is more than just academic. Apple keeps a tight grip on information about parts suppliers so "tear downs" of its products are closely watched by investors keen to figure out how to place their bets.

In the past, word that a particular part was being used in Apple's popular iPod music players has sent that company's shares higher.

"With every new release of an Apple product, the hype and interest ratchets up a notch," said Andrew Rassweiler, an analyst with market research firm iSuppli.

Rassweiler and his team at iSuppli were working through the weekend to catalog the phone's guts for a report estimating the cost of every component, crucial for figuring how much it cost Apple to make each iPhone.

"We have had more people thrown at it this week than any other previous product," Rassweiler said.

Apple is offering the phone in two versions costing $500 and $600 depending on memory capacity, but the high price and limited availability wasn't enough to stop some people from giving into curiosity.

Some dissected the phones with the clinical skill of a surgeon while others resorted to brute force, enraging those swept up in the hype and winning praise from those gleefully resisting it.

By Sunday afternoon, a video on YouTube showing two guys banging away at an iPhone with a hammer and nail had garnered 56,000 views and was the 13th most-watched clip on the site, prompting some extremely angry comments. Watching the clip, it is difficult to see what was learned from the destruction.

The creator, whose user page identified him only as Rob in Miami, Florida, posted a second clip defending his unorthodox methods.

"We didn't smash it just to smash it. We smashed it to see what was inside. We were under a time limit," Rob said. "We resorted to extreme measures."

Ifixit.com, an Apple parts and repair guide site, conducted one of the most sophisticated dismantlings, posting dozens of high-quality photos alongside technical commentary.

"They've done some things that are above and beyond. They did some very innovative things," site cofounder Kyle Wiens said of the iPhone's manufacture.

Their efforts yielded a few nuggets of information. The iPhone boasts a main processor and memory chips from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., an audio-processing chip from Britain's Wolfson Microelectronics Plc and a Wi-fi wireless chip from Marvell Technology Group Ltd.

Opening the iPhone was the easy part. For many, the real prize is hacking the phone to get it to do things Apple never intended, such as run on networks other than that of AT&T Inc., the exclusive U.S. service provider.

Some programmers also want to find a way to run their own programs directly on the phone's operating system rather than being limited to programs run through the Web browser.

By Scott Hills, Reuters

News from Yahoo!

5 steps to keep your computer running smooth and fast

Most people who use computers today use them for work, games, research or socialization. With more and more people trying to begin home businesses, the computer has become the essential tool for their business startup and operation. People want to optimize their computers so that they will be as efficient as possible; however, there are many factors associated with the performance output of a personal computer.

In order for a computer to reach and maintain maximum performance, many factors must be considered. On the hardware side of the equation, one must consider their processor speed and

system memory. With regards to the software side of your computer, you must be aware of your computer's privacy protection, system security, and anti-virus software. Additionally, you should do your best to take care of your Windows operating system - such as Windows XP or Windows Vista - including its registry and the files cleanup process.

To keep a PC running smoothly and error-free, there are some basic steps that anyone can follow. Fortunately, none of these steps are really at all difficult. Anyone can do these tasks, with a little bit of basic education. Keep this article around for future reference, just in case you need it again.

Shut-Down Processes

First off, it is important to understand that programs need to be given the proper signals to shut down. It is strongly recommended that you never simply unplug your machine to turn it off. Please go through the normal shut down procedures, no matter how long those processes might take.

If you lose power, it really is an unavoidable event. Microsoft has done a good job at helping Windows know when it was shut down improperly, so the next time you start up your computer, your operating system might repair itself. Typically, when you restart your computer after an improper shut down, it might take a few minutes longer to boot up than usual. Let Windows do its long boot up after it has unexpectedly shut down. The longer boot up process is Windows attempt to repair any corruptions caused by the unexpected shut down of your computer's operating system.

If you need to shut down your system more quickly than usual, we strongly recommend that you utilize the Control-Alt-Delete key combination, and then select Shut Down from your Windows Task Manager window. By utilizing this shut down method, Windows will make appropriate notes to itself that it will need to do some cleanup on its next boot up sequence.

If Windows is not allowed to clean up after itself, you run the risk of corrupting the operating system or different programs you have loaded on your computer. Corruption of programs may force you to reinstall those programs. Corruption of your data files is the worst-case scenario ? you could lose hours or years of work in a single moment, as a result of your impatience. Don't be impatient; let your computer do what it needs to do to repair and protect your system files.

Unnecessary Applications Running In The Background

The "background" is not the image on your desktop. "Running in the Background" is a reference to programs that are running on your system in invisible mode. In some cases, they are completely invisible, and in other cases, the only indication that they are operating is their icon in your System Tray, next to your clock. Certain programs think that they need to be operating in your System Tray at all times. QuickTime, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger are three of these types of programs. Microsoft Office even thinks it should be loaded and running in your background. If you use these applications frequently and need access to them almost instantaneously on a frequent basis, then yes, you probably should let them run in the background. But, most of us only use those applications on an infrequent basis.

The theory of having those applications running in the background is that it prevents you needing to wait thirty seconds while the software loads, when you need access to those applications. But, there is a significant amount of trade-off for thirty seconds of reduced wait time. That trade-off is a less-responsive computer. In worst-case scenarios, the thirty seconds saved at program start-up could trim minutes of productivity from your full workday.

While your system is operating, you can right-click on any icon next to your clock and most programs will allow you the option to select Close Application. By closing unnecessary applications, you can literally speed up the Windows operating system.

With most versions of Windows, you can also go to Start - Run and then type in "msconfig" and click OK. Once the Windows System Configuration Utility opens, click the tab that reads Startup. You can review the list and deselect items that you will not want to open when your computer boots up. It is important to note here that you should only close applications that you recognize and know that you can live without. Don't turn off an item in the Startup window, unless and until you know what that file really does. A quick search for that file name on the Internet will generally turn up lots of pages explaining what those files do in your Windows operating system environment.

Mean Kids On The Internet

Mean kids, who are also computer nerds, frequently grow up to be computer programmers who create Viruses and Spyware applications.

The mean teenagers of the programming world get their kicks from turning our lives upside-down, with viruses that create a multitude of problems on whatever machines they can get their software installed. Virus writers with a criminal history frequently grow up to be people who write Trojans and Spyware applications that seek to steal our private information

A Trojan is a malicious program that pretends to be a screensaver or some other non-threatening and fun kind of thing. When you execute it on your computer, it installs malicious software and then it does its dastardly deeds.

Trojans and Spyware typically try to harvest private information from your computer for the financial benefit of its creator. Most of these kinds of computer programs only want to shove their advertising in your face (Adware) or track your Internet usage habits, so they can sell that information to other businesses; but the really ugly versions try to steal your credit card data and other financial data from your computer.

For some people, Trojans and Spyware computer programs are responsible for as much as a 60% deterioration of a computer's performance capability.

Forgotten Programs On Your Computer

Do you remember some of those 30-day free trial software applications that you tried once or twice, but never used again? Some of these applications may be running in the background of your computer. All of these programs are also still taking up space on your hard drive.

Never go into your Windows Explorer and simply delete folders that contain the software programs you will never use again.

Instead, every two or three months, you should utilize your Add / Remove Programs procedure, which can be accessed by going to Start ? Settings ? Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs, and remove old computer programs that you no longer use. This can frequently free up a lot of extra space on your hard drive. It can also free up some extra memory in your computer, if the program had been running in the background of your operating system at startup.

Final Closing Thoughts

If you still encounter problems after following the above suggestions, you may wish to try out "Advanced Windows Care v2 Personal". It has been designed to help you perform all of these essential protection and maintenance processes for your computer, enabling you to get on with more important tasks like making more money. This software can remove Adware and Spyware programs from your computer system, protect your privacy, prevent security threats, fix registry errors, and much more.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_179748_10.html

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of gadget fans, or their paid stand-ins, lined up on Friday to be the first buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a music and video playing phone expected to reshape the mobile industry.Apple stores became magnets for technology enthusiasts who waited for the phones to go on sale at 6 p.m. local time in each U.S. time zone.

More than 600 people were lined up at two Apple stores in New York, and the crowd cheered at one of them as the doors opened. Smaller groups of several dozen customers waited outside AT&T stores. AT&T Inc. is the phone's exclusive wireless carrier for the next two years.

About 200 people stood outside a San Francisco outlet for a device that has whipped technology lovers into a frenzy usually associated with the launch of a new video game console.

"The phones out there are just garbage. I've gone through several phones, even the expensive ones. This is different," said Albert Livingstone, 62, in Chicago. "It's the newest toy. I'm 62 -- I don't have much time left to buy toys."

The iPhone melds a phone, Web browser and media player. Technology gurus praised it as a "breakthrough" device, but questioned whether users would have a hard time with its smooth touch-screen, instead of a keyboard, and pokey Internet link.

The svelte gadget is a gamble by Apple co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs to build upon the company's best-selling iPod music player and expand the market for its software and media services.

Apple aims to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008, which would amount to a 1 percent share of the global market. It has not given a goal for the device's launch, but some analysts said it could sell up to 400,000 units in the first few days.

"They want to extend the dominance they have in terms of their ability to create really elegant hardware and software integration," said Mark McGuire, analyst with research firm Gartner. "This is the next big business unit for them."

Shares in Apple rose 1.2 percent to $122.04 and have gained more than 30 percent since Jobs unveiled the phone in January. AT&T shares rose 1.9 percent to $41.50.

Many analysts say Apple stock could climb as much as 30 percent again in the coming year if the phone catches on, but some cautioned that the shares are already richly valued because of the high expectations.

"Apple shares have already benefited from a powerful hype cycle," Cowen & Co. analyst Arnie Berman wrote in a report.

by Scott Hillis and Franklin Paul, Reuters.

What is Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)?

So what is VoIP? Internet telephony is a rapidly-growing phenomenon that shows no sign of slowing down. Keep reading and you will find out all you need to know about VoIP. Look at how this innovative technology has led to a revolution in the way that many businesses and home users are choosing to make telephone calls.

A VoIP phone allows real-time communication through the Internet. It can digitise the sound of a human voice so that it can be routed through the net. The development of this technology began way back in the early 1980’s when developers were looking for ways to communicate with each other via their machines. The technology was then adapted by the some technologically savvy sections of the business community who used data networks to route voice traffic.

However it is the growth of low-cost broadband Internet access that has really fuelled the spread of Internet telephony and brought it into the mainstream. Anyone with a high-speed Internet connection can now use VoIP technology to make what seem to be very cheap calls .

In addition to these cost savings that a VoIP connection offers, there are other factors that make this technology so attractive to users. The versatility and flexibility of VoIP are examples of this. The software is location independent. So it is possible to relocate your home or business without having to change your phone number. With a USB VoIP phone you are able to make and receive calls on a laptop whilst away from your desk or use a wireless VoIP handset for calls in a public hotspot.

Ease of use is another reason that people have been attracted to VoIP. Users can often be put off from using new technology if they find that it looks difficult to use. This issue has been addressed by the developers and the era when Internet telephony was the domain of the geek is long past. Nowadays all anyone who wants to make a call has to do is pick up and dial. It really is as simple as that.

There are now a wide range of VoIP services available that would suit both business and home users. New services are being made available by service providers as the market continues to grow. As things stand VoIP stands alongside the traditional telephone network for reach and in many ways outshines it for versatility. Internet telephony looks set to continue to be one of the fastest-growing applications on the Net.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_176946_45.html

According to TheRawFeed, NTT DoCoMo has developed the world’s first solar-powered cell phone, complete with a GameBoy Advance-inspired design. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

HiTech Wealth telecommunications has just begun selling the S116 and the specs are pretty impressive. However, the $510 pricetag will have you wondering why you don't just get an iPhone. A 1.3 mpx camera, and an MP3 player are fairly standard additions to cell phones these days, but the solar panels do make this guy stand out.

The panels trickle-charge the battery in any amount of light, including indoors (or even by candlelight), and the battery life is 2.5 times longer than it would be without the panels. An hour of direct sunlight will give users 40 extra minutes of talk time.

While this first model is pretty exciting, HiTech Wealth will be releasing six more solar phones within the year and has promised 30 solar models before 2009.

Taken from TechEBlog, Yahoo, Inhabitat and XinHua News.

Dell - A History

While still a student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1984, Michael Dell founded the company as PC's Limited with just $1000. Operating from Michael Dell's off-campus dorm room at Dobie Center [2], the startup aimed to sell IBM-compatible computers built from stock components. Michael Dell started trading in the belief that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, PC's Limited could better understand customers' needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. Michael Dell dropped out of school in order to focus full-time on his fledgling business.

In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own design (the "Turbo PC"), which contained an Intel 8088-compatible processor running at a speed of 8 MHz. PC's Limited advertised the systems in national computer magazines for sale directly to consumers, and custom-assembled each ordered unit according to a selection of options. This offered buyers prices lower than those of retail brands, but with greater convenience than assembling the components themselves. Although not the first company to use this model, PC's Limited became one of the first to succeed with it. The company grossed more than $73 million in its first year.

In 1989, PC's Limited set up its first on-site-service programs in order to compensate for the lack of local retailers prepared to act as service centers. Also in 1987, the company set up its first operations in the United Kingdom; eleven more international operations followed within the next four years. In June 1988, Dell's market capitalization grew by $30 million to $80 million from its initial public offering of 3.5 million shares at $8.50 a share. The company changed its name to "Dell Computer Corporation" in 1988.

In 1990, Dell Computer Corporation tried selling its products indirectly through warehouse-clubs and computer-superstores, but met with little success, and the company re-focused on its more successful direct-to-consumer sales model. In 1992, Fortune magazine included Dell Computer Corporation in its list of the world's 500 largest companies.

In 1996, Dell began selling computers via its web site.

In 1999, Dell overtook Compaq to become the largest seller of personal computers in the United States of America with $25 billion in revenue reported in January 2000. To recognize the company's expansion beyond computers, the stockholders approved changing the company name to "Dell Inc." at the annual company meeting in 2003.

In March 2002, Dell attempted to expand by tapping into the multimedia and home-entertainment markets with the introduction of televisions, handhelds, and digital audio players. Dell has also produced Dell-brand printers for home and small-office use. Michael Dell stepped aside as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on July 16, 2004, but retained his position as Chairman of the Board. Kevin B. Rollins, who had held a number of executive posts at Dell, became the new CEO.

On December 22, 2004, the company announced that it would build a new assembly-plant near Winston-Salem, North Carolina; the city and county provided Dell with $37.2 million in incentive packages; the state provided approximately $250 million in incentives and tax breaks.

In January 2005, the share of sales coming from international markets increased, as revealed in the company's press releases for the first two quarters of its fiscal 2005 year.

In February 2005, Dell appeared in first place in a ranking of the "Most Admired Companies" published by Fortune magazine.

In November 2005, BusinessWeek magazine published an article titled "It's Bad to Worse at Dell" about shortfalls in projected earnings and sales, with a worse-than-predicted third-quarter financial performance — a bad omen for a company that had routinely underestimated its earnings. Dell acknowledged that faulty capacitors on the motherboards of the Optiplex GX270 and GX280 had already cost the company $300 million. The CEO, Kevin Rollins, attributed the bad performance partially to Dell's focus on low-end PCs.

On March 23, 2006, Dell purchased the computer hardware manufacturer Alienware. The plan anticipated Alienware continuing to operate independently under its existing management. Alienware expected to benefit from Dell's efficient manufacturing system.

On January 31, 2007, Kevin Rollins, CEO of the company since 2004, resigned abruptly as both CEO and as a director, and Michael Dell returned to the CEO role. Investors and many shareholders had called for Rollins' resignation because of poor company performance. At the same time, the company announced that, for the fourth time in five quarters, earnings would fail to reach consensus analyst-estimates.

In February 2007, Dell became the subject of formal investigations by the US SEC and the US Attorney General for the Southern District of New York. The company has not formally filed financial reports for either the third or fourth fiscal quarter of 2006, and several class action lawsuits ^[5] in the wake of its recent financial performance. The company's lack of formal financial disclosure would normally subject the company to de-listing from the NASDAQ, but the exchange has granted Dell a waiver, allowing the stock to trade normally.

On March 1, 2007, the company issued a preliminary quarterly earnings report which showed gross sales of $14.4 billion, down 5% year-over-year, and net income of $687 million (30 cents per share), down 33%. Net earnings would have declined even more if not for the effects of eliminated employee bonuses, which accounted for six cents per share. NASDAQ has extended the company's deadline for filing financials to May 4.

Information taken from Wikipedia.

Do you have Spyware?

There are spyware symptoms that tell you when your computer is infected. From a slow PC or network, to new toolbars, to erratic search results and a brand new default homepage that you didn't ask for, beware of these symptoms hinting at your pc being infected.

When we talk about spyware symptoms, we talk about both how you get spyware and what the symptoms of having spyware in your system are. Knowing this can help you in choosing an effective antispyware and adware removal tool.

Spyware is a major threat to security and privacy since it monitors your computer activity without you being aware of it and relays that information to someone who wants to use this information for commercial purposes.

How Spyware Comes Into Your Computer

Usually spyware shows up as irritating pop ups or spam that you obviously don't want. The Trojans behave like viruses. You unwittingly allow spyware into your computer when you browse the web or through Peer to peer file-sharing programs where spyware gets bundled within the programs you download. More surprisingly, though you could be installing legitimate software, and the spyware and adware would be incorporated in it, especially with free downloads like screen savers. You agree to an end user agreement that runs to several pages and when you consent to the download, you have already given permission to let all the spyware in!

The Effects Of Spyware

How do you suspect you have spyware in your system? Here's how:

Slow, Slower, Slowest: Your PC or network is slow, and it takes longer to shut down or boot. It takes longer to connect to the Internet and the connection speeds are significantly slower. Just a couple of adware programs can affect your pc drastically. Bandwidth is wasted since spyware is using it to send its own info.

What's that new toolbar: Some spyware hijacker programs just present you with toolbars you never asked for, that quietly spy on you.

A new desktop shortcut? Another irritating freebie from your spyware.

A brand new default homepage that's up to no good: You certainly didn't ask for it. And worse still, your spyware wont let you change it. Or visit websites of your choice.

You didn't look for it: When you browse and search, your spyware comes up with search results quite different from what you ought to have got, and then they direct you to websites of their own choice.

Error pages: When a particular URL you looked for can't be found, error hijackers just show strange new error pages. Sometimes they show pages loaded with full page ads you just cant seem to close. Adware can really mess up your computer and make it barely functional.

Removing Spyware

Spyware removal is not easy and quite risky. Spyware uninstallers do not completely uninstall and sometimes reinstall themselves. They rewrite your registry. So just install an antispyware solution that finds and removes all spyware and adware cleanly. Protect your pc.

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Windows XP Tips

By - B. Bashir

This guide provides the basic tips on computer networking, hardware, security, troubleshooting and configurations in the Windows XP Professional. These tips can also be applied to Windows 2000/2003 and Windows Vista.

How to Determine the IP address of the Computer

You can determine the IP address of the computer by the following method.

Start Run > Type CMD > Type Ipconfig at the command prompt.

In this way you will get the IP address your computer.

How to Determine the Computer name ?

Start Run > Type CMD > Type Hostname at the command prompt.

You will get the computer name by this command.

How to convert FAT32 to NTFS?

If you want to convert your system’s drive to NTFS use the following command

Covert [drivename]: /FS:NTFS

This command will convert the file system of any specified drive to NTFS. NTFS provides more advanced features as compared to FAT32 such as security, disk quota, encryption and other features.

How to Enable/Disable Firewall in Widows XP?

Firewall is useful for blocking unauthorized access to your computer network as well as blocking the certain applications, URLs and IP addresses on the internet. Windows XP Professional has built-in firewall in it and if you want to enable it, do the following steps.

Start > Control Panel > Double click Windows Firewall icon

Turn on or off Windows firewall according to your choice.

How to Add/Remove Programs from the Start menu?

Click Start > Right click on the empty space > Properties > Click start menu > customize

Here you can increase or decrease the number of programs that appear on the start menu.

Click advance for more options on the start menu.

Removing the programs from Start up?

If can limit the number of programs that loads when Windows starts up.

Click Start > Run > type Msconfig > go to start up and uncheck the programs that you don’t want to load when Windows starts up. You can increase the Windows loading time by decreasing the number of programs at the time of startup.

How to install Net Meeting in Windows XP?

Netmeeting is installed by default in the Windows XP and you can load it by the following method.

Start > Run > type Conf

Netmeeting Window will appear and now you can get connected with your friends family and colleagues.

B. Bashir manages this website http://www.networktutorials.info and regularly writes articles on various topics such as Computer Networking, Network Troubleshooting Tips Wireless Networking, Computer Hardware, Certifications, How Tos, Network Security Guide and computer tips.

http://www.networktutorials.info

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Ink Cartridges - Is it OK to use refills?

Printer ink cartridges have more than one role, than to just supply the fuel to your printer for printing. It also acts as its preserver and caretaker. It is a fact that a printer is run by the kind of cartridges it has. It is directly related to the end-result of the process. Since the kind of ink cartridges used is so influential on the health of the computer, it is essential that they be chosen carefully. By this, one may understand 'original'. Anybody can vouch for the original items being more reliable but may also skirt the issue when it comes to pricing. Yes, it can be pricey. However, what most laymen forget, is that the duplicate, unoriginal and refilled cartridges can potentially turn out to be costlier in the end. This is so because of the harm they can cause to the printer, apart from the printing troubles they can give to you. After all, the unoriginal cartridges can surely be no match for the ink cartridges from reputed companies like HP (Hewlett Packard), Epson and Canon, which are devised after years of lab research.

The premium quality ink cartridges allow the printer to 'bleed' easy and only as much as to stay in perfect shape and to work on smoothly.

Feeding a printer with cartridges that are a make-shift option may cost your printer dearly. Is it not better then to save yourself the hidden costs incurred due to frequent malfunctions with unoriginal items, not to speak of the headaches such things cause. Furthermore, the printer ink cartridges of reputed brands are now available in customized packages, which give the customers greater choice, while suiting their budget. As per reports and research, the cost-per-page printing costs involved in original ink cartridges is much less than what could be imposed upon you by unreliable products.

So when it comes to printer ink cartridges , do choose carefully.

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The Nokia N95 - HSDPA

In this era of hi-tech devices, few handsets are available which strikes balance between form and functionalities. Nokia N95 is one such device that has scored high both on looks and ergonomics. The handset is so competent that when it comes to a wholesome mobile experience, it offers nothing but the best. With Nokia N95, the manufacturer yet again asserts it endeavour to offer handsets that have all- communication needs, business, and loads of entertainment.

Nokia N95 has dual slider mechanism. On one side it reveals alphanumeric keypads, and the other it reveals media player controls. The keys have a good tactile feedback and it is very user-friendly. On the front fascia, a high resolution screen dominates. The screen is gorgeous and one can also change the theme of the home screen, backlight time, and size of the font in the display. The contours of the handset is comfortable and so is the colour scheme.

Being a 3G smartphone, the Nokia N95 effectively accommodates all the personal and professional requirements. It has USB, Bluetooth, Infrared, Wi-Fi, UPnP, GSM, WCDMA, HSDPA , WLAN and many other useful features. One of the most appreciated feature in Nokia N95 is the GPS. This feature is highly effective for the professionals who are always roaming in different parts of the world. In this GPS feature, the users get the benefit of turn by turn voice instructions to find the correct route and location.

In terms of entertainment, the Nokia N95 is enabled with many contemporary features. It has 5 MP of camera, with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. The camera clicks good photo and has seven shooting modes and five quality setting. Further, there are options for adjusting the brightness, contrast, white balance, color tone, ISO light sensitivity etc of the image. These feature surely make the Nokia N95 versatile and also more impressive.

Nokia N95 measures 99 x 53 x 21 mm and weighs 120 g only.

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Cool Site - Gadget Reviews

Here's a site where you can feed your mind on some cool reviews on new and upcoming technology. Gadget Reviews!

Visit their site at www.gadgets-reviews.com

What to know about a DVD - Recorder

A DVD burner is an optical storage device that writes to 5.25" optical media called DVD-ROMs, which can store up to 4.7 gigabytes on one disk.

There are also stand-alone DVD burners that can connect to Digital Video Recorders, like the TiVo (not available here in the Philippines, but there are lots of new DVD players that can burn DVD like Pioneer), but for the purposes of this article, we're going to assume that your DVD-Burner is hooked up to your computer.

Most modern DVD burners connect to their computer's motherboard through an E-IDE interface, or rarely, Serial ATA (or SATA) cable, allowing 160 Megabits per second (MBps) of data transfer rate; earlier connection protocols, such as SCSI and ATAPI, aren't fast enough to handle full read/write operations at DVD data rates.

While DVD-Burners used to be high end computer hardware peripherals, like all computer hardware, they've been relegated to commodity pricing. Internal DVD-Rs cost around P5,000 - P7,000.

DVD burners come in a variety of formats - the big choice is whether or not you want one that can only burn to DVDs, or one that can perform read-write operations, allowing you to cumulatively add video (or other files) to the media over time. Read-write burners are called DVD-RW or DVD+RW, while those that are write only, are called DVD+R. You can blame the confusing alphabet soup of acronyms on the consortium that specified the read and write formats - as has become more and more common, the standards body split over whose proprietary hardware would get the sanction and license, and two mildly incompatible standards were proposed. Most DVD-RW burners can now handle both formats, but it does make a difference in buying the blank disks, as the +RW ones are higher quality, last longer, and cost more. This process is repeating itself with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

The most common use for DVD burners is backing up important (or not so important) data files. Like all backup media, it only works if you're religious about doing it. It does make it possible to duplicate your children's favorite DVDs, hand them copies and keep the originals safe, so that when the inevitable oops happens, they haven't lost their favorite movie.

All in all, DVD burners have metamorphosed into standard items of hardware for most computers, and justifiably so. The next computer you buy should have one; whether or not it's worth it to buy one for your existing machine is more a question of how quickly you'll be replacing your current computer. After factoring in your time and the cost of the hardware, it may be worth it to buy a new machine!

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Keep your computer healthy

Everybody just has to have a computer these days. Life without a computer is unimaginable. I am sure that there are those who feel that life without a computer is impossible. There was a time when food, clothing and shelter were the only necessities that man had. Fast forward to today, and we have yet another necessity to add to that list -- Say hello to the friendly neighborhood computer.

Of course, now that you have a computer, you have to work on it. Certainly, there must be people who keep their PCs covered throughout the year, removing the covers once a month only to check if it is still working. But you don't need me to tell you that such people are exceptions, not the rule. So for all those of us that have to be on our computers everyday, how do we make sure that our computers are working perfectly? This is where computer tips & tricks come in.

One important aspect that requires you to use computer tips & tricks is in ensuring that your computer does not become unnecessarily slow. We all want our computers to work at the speed of light. You can ensure that your computer remains quick by carrying out Scandisk and Defrag -- two methods that are used to make your computer faster.

The function of Scandisk is to find and correct errors on the hard disk of a computer. Defrag performs the task of making sure that data files that have been stored across the disk are now reorganized in a continuous order. Defrag helps free space in which new data can now be stored. Both Scandisk and Defrag should be carried out regularly to make sure that your computer's hard disk is both error-free and not overloaded.

These two operations are among the most important of the many gazillion computer tips & tricks that computer experts recommend you to make use of. If you have embarked on a journey to find some of the best computer tips & tricks, you are not going to return empty-handed. With a large percent of the population of the world having become dependent on computers technical snags become inevitable. And the consequence of these snags is that one finds cures and way of preventing them.

So don't lose heart if your computer is threatening to crash. Consult a computer expert or a reliable online website and find some great computer tips & tricks to take care of your PC problems.


Ajeet Khurana is a web enthusiast and an author. He recommends: Computer Tips & Tricks, Internet Technologies and Technology Bites.

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Slim and sleek Nokia 6300

Nokia devices are well known for their innovative and performance rich features. Additionally, these devices are very intuitive and are available at affordable price range. That's one of the reasons why Nokia devices are leading in the global mobile phone market. Continuing with the same trend, the new launch of the Nokia 6300 is again an effort from Nokia to offer a slim yet powerful device as an affordable commodity.

The candy-bar designed handset looks great in its steel casing. A tall, slim and powerful device, featuring a wide bright screen – it provides an excellent interface for browsing and watching videos and images. Browse phone features through an ergonomically designed keypad, capture images and play your favourite songs on the move – the device is all set to change your mobile lifestyle.

The slim and lightweight mobile phone weighs only 91g and has a thickness of less than 13.1mm. Though boasting a slim profile, the device does not compromise on phone features. The Nokia 6300 comes with a 2.0 mega-pixel camera, MP3 player with FM radio and lots more – just click and capture quality pictures or play music on the go.

Nokia's successful journey in the mobile communications world is complemented by its performance and the consummate products that the company delivers. The Nokia 6300 is one of the best examples of Nokia's products. In addition to digital and multimedia applications, the device also offers messaging options such as SMS, MMS, EMS and Nokia Xpress Audio messaging – keep in touch with friends and family.

In the wireless mobile world, Nokia offers Bluetooth equipped handset, the Nokia 6300. Connect and share data through Bluetooth enabled devices. Supported with WAP, GPRS and EDGE technologies – enjoy browsing high speed mobile internet or transfer files swiftly in no time. The Nokia 6300 has everything that can change your mobile lifestyle.

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Taking care of your printer

Of all the peripherals and devices on the typical desk, the one usually taken for granted is the printer. Most of us don't pay much attention to the printer unless something isn't printing the way we want it or it won't print at all!

The bad news is that because of the heavy usage placed on printers, they tend to "mess up" pretty frequently if you don't take care of them. The good thing is that maintaining printers in top condition is for the most part, fairly painless. Most common malfunctions are easily prevented.

Obviously, the easiest way to avoid printing problems is to keep your printer in good shape. The good news is that doing so is pretty quick and easy. Just a couple of minutes devoted to a few maintenance steps will keep your printer almost entirely free of most common problems.

1) Use Your Printer: The number one problem (as reported to us) is poor print output... missing colors, lines in the print, etc. Using your printer on a regular basis, at least 2-3 times per week, will keep the ink flowing through the nozzles. Each ink nozzle opening is about half the size of a human hair and there are hundreds of them on the average print head! If you don't print often, you can keep your printer nozzles open and reduce the incidence of clogging. Here's how:
Simply place a "sticky note" on your computer monitor to remind you to print something in both black and color at least TWO TIMES a week. For example, use a colorful web page to print. This will use MUCH LESS ink than having to run multiple print head cleaning cycles through the printer utility. What a waste that is!

2) Power Down Properly: Don't forget to turn your printer off when not in use (end of day). This will help prevent clogging of the nozzles in the print head. ALWAYS use the printer's on/off switch, not a 'power strip'. Using the on/off switch will fully activate the print head capping mechanism and help prevent drying/clogging of the print nozzles.

3) Remove Paper Dust and Other Debris: As you might imagine, all that paper feeding through various rollers and guides tends to leave dust behind. Depending on how many pages you usually print per week and the weight of the paper (heavier bonds leave more dust), cleaning out the interior of your printer with a can of compressed air every one to two weeks improves the ability of your printer to feed pages. Also, visually inspect for the larger stuff like paper clips, etc.

Note: NEVER use an electrical powered vacuum as it can cause a short in your printer and quite possibly "fry" the electronics in it (battery powered is O.K.)

If you live in a dusty area and/or have pets inside, simply put a cover over the printer (plastic or cloth) to reduce the amount of dust or hair into the printer. Make sure your printer is off before doing so.

4) Handle Ink Cartridges Properly When Replacing: This one might not seem that important but ink cartridges are quite delicate, specifically, the electrical contacts and chips. They may become damaged or impeded by fingerprint oil. This can cause the printer to signal the dreaded "cartridge not recognized" error and/or cause poor print quality. Wiping the contacts using a q-tip slightly moistened with alcohol will clean them up nicely.

5) Make Use of Diagnostic Tools: All printers have built-in self test programs and other software diagnostic utilities. Take the time to learn how to access and use them. The information they provide can help correct a problem well before it even occurs. Here's How:
For WinXP go to Start>Control Panel. Doulble-click on Printers and Faxes. Place your cursor on your default printer (the one with the "check mark" on it) and double-click to bring up the printer status dialog and choose the "Help" button for diagnostic and troubleshooting access.

6) Often-times non-print issues or printer error messages can be EASILY corrected by simply turning the printer off (using it's on/off switch) and then, UNPLUGGING it from the power outlet for at least ten minutes. Re-plug the printer, turn it on and try printing.
You’ll be amazed at how many times this solves the problem!

About the author

This article is written by Phil McKinney owner of Max Patch Ink Supplies. Max Patch Ink is a highly trusted supplier of compatible and remanufactured printer ink cartridges. Check out the many other free printer tips.

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