Monthly Archives: August 2022
How to Choose The Right Computer
How to Choose The Right Computer
How To Choose:
There are only a few main parts of the computer that truly make the difference between the others. As long as when you are looking for the right computer to buy, you pay attention to these parts and see what they are, and how fast they are, you will end up with the computer system you really want and need, instead of another computer that you will be looking at upgrading in the near future.
The Processor:
All computers only understand 1’s and 0’s which is the binary language. The processor does the calculations with these 1’s and 0’s to give you your windows, icons, folders, text, pictures, etc.. The faster your processor’s speed is, the faster it can do these calculations, the less wait time or “lag” you will have. Now that doesn’t mean that you have to get the latest and greatest of processors out. It just means that you have to make a decision based on understanding what that number next to the GHz means.
If you are a student or you are going to be using this computer for such purposes as: research, surfing the web, playing card games, word processing, book keeping, or anything of the like, it is recommended that you get a processor that is accommodating for these activities. You definitely do not need anything super fast, but you do not want to get too low end either, otherwise you will be left in the technological dust when the new processors come out and everyone you know upgrades. Typically a 2.6Ghz processor is as low end as you want to go, but with the new (M)obile technology that laptops have out this number changes. If you see “Mobile” or a “M” anywhere in the processor area when you are looking at a laptop, the low end in this case is around 1.7GHz.
If you are a gamer or a power user on the computer, or plan on being one, you will want to go with something a bit more powerful. Recommendation is definitely something over 3.0Ghz or 2.0Ghz(Mobile Technology) as a low end. If you are a gamer or power user you will want to be in a high end computer to best utilize the speed capabilities of your programs and games. This too does not necessarily mean you need the latest and greatest processor out there, but you do want something that will give you the power you need without killing your wallet, but also not leaving you having to upgrade as soon as the newest games or high-end programs come out. A good rule of thumb is to look around and compare a few different computer systems, and look for the best speed you can find, just before the price jumps up some crazy amount just for another 0.2 or 0.4Ghz.
Memory:
What is memory anyways? RAM or Random Access Memory is a type of computer storage where the content can be accessed in any order. It is primarily used in computer systems to hold information that you or your computer are actively using or actively changing. When you run a program or a game, all the information about that program or game are loaded into memory, but only certain parts of it are needed at a time. The computer sorts through the memory and pulls out this information as needed. The more memory you have to work with, the better off you are. Most companies now a days recommend a minimum of 256mb. This is only if you are on an extremely tight budget. The minimum of today is 512mb of memory, but it is recommended to get 1GB. Not being able to run a program or a game due to not enough memory, is one of the greatest heart breakers. Memory is fairly cheap in today’s computer market, so it is not worth going the cheap route in this area just to come up short later.
Hard Drive:
No matter what you have heard, you can never have enough hard drive space. A few years ago people would laugh when someone bought a 1GB hard drive, saying that they would never be able to fill that in a lifetime. Then people started getting 10, 20, even 40GB hard drives, thinking the same thing, they will never be able to fill up that much space. Well let’s face it, when it comes to our loved ones pictures, and our favorite songs, or videos, we as humans are packrats when it comes to storing things on the computer. We have the ability to burn things off on CD or even DVD now, but we want our “favorites” to be easily accessible. The computer itself uses some of this hard drive space to be able to function, with what is known as a swap file. Your computer will claim a section of your hard drive to use as “virtual memory” so it can access all your commonly used information faster than just your memory(RAM) alone. When choosing the size of your hard drive, remember this, because you will need enough storage space for all your programs, all your music, movies, games, pictures, plus the amount that your computer uses automatically. Make sure that you pay attention to the “rpm” of the drive or rotations per minute. This is how fast the information is read from the hard drive or written to the hard drive. This speed is generally either 5400, 7200, or 10000. The faster the rpm speed the better, but choose this speed based on how you are going to use your computer. If you are using the computer for games, video editing, or 3D modeling, you definitely want your hard drive to be as fast as possible.
Video Graphics:
The graphics capabilities of your computer is a very important factor to take into consideration, especially if you are to be doing gaming, 3D modeling, or video editing. All graphic cards have memory of their own, which enable them to process video graphics and render them to the screen as fast as possible, without slowing your computer system down by using some of its precious memory. Most computers today from major manufacturers have built in graphics cards. These can be upgraded if your needs call for it, but unless you are doing something that requires a major amount of video graphic capabilities, 64-128MB of graphic memory should be an ample amount. For the extreme gamers and 3D artists out there, it is recommended that you get nothing less than 256MB of video memory for optimal performance.
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Apple Computers
Apple Computers
In 1976, three enterprising young men founded Apple Computers, Inc, with the intention of creating and distributing personal computers. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne began with a dream of making super computers smaller and available to the public. They built their computers in Jobs’ parent’s garage and debuted the Apple I personal computer kit the year they founded Apple. Eventually, 200 of these computers would be built.
Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, which ordered fifty units and paid 0 for each unit after much persuasion from Jobs. Jobs then ordered components from Cramer Electronics, a national electronic parts distributor. Using a variety of methods, including borrowing space from friends and family and selling various items including a Volkswagen Type 2 bus, Jobs managed to secure the parts needed while Wozniak and Ronald Wayne assembled the Apple I.
In 1977, the Apple II was introduced and quickly became much more popular than its competitors, the TRS-80 and the Commodore even though the price of the Apple was higher. One of the big advantages of the Apple was the development of the floppy disk drive and software.
The Apple II was chosen by programmers to be the desktop platform for the first “killer app” of the business world. This was a spreadsheet program called VisCalc. This created a market for the Apple. The corporate market attracted many more software and hardware developers to the machine plus it attracted home users in an effort to be compatible with their business machine.
Over the years, the Apple computer would release many more designs each one just a little better than the last. In 1989, Apple introduced the Macintosh Portable. However, this computer was actually quite bulky and cumbersome and was met with mixed reviews. At this point, Apple hired industrial designers to develop a better, more portable personal computer.
In 1991, the Apple Power Book was introduced. The Power Book would provide the layout and form for the laptop computers we know today. This solidified Apple’s reputation as a quality manufacturer of both desktop and portable machines. The success of this laptop led to increased revenues and growing popularity of Apple in the computer market.
While they have had their ups and downs over the years, Apple Computers, Inc. has remained a solid presence in the computer and laptop market. Their products have continued to evolve to meet the needs of both the corporate and individual user.
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Artificial Intelligence And Xbox 360
Artificial Intelligence And Xbox 360
Let’s leave the format war between Sony and Microsoft and explore a gaming phenomena that unquestionably improves current gaming trends — Artificial Intelligence, or AI to many. Touted to make new breakthroughs and trends in the world of gaming, AI is the enabling of intricate decision-making capabilities in a software. Speaking of AI, the Xbox 360 boasts of an AI-capable system designed and developed by many brilliant and innovative engineers. Though the Xbox also has this feature, it is more pronounced and better in the new console combined with the HD DVD technology.
Of course, such high-quality consoles deserve top-notch games and the developers stepped up to the challenge. Game developers for Xbox and its new improved counterpart also added AI programs to their games, giving the in-game personas the ability to think like a real person. With the vast power of the new consoles, the whole universe of gaming comes alive. A summary of the improvements AI bring to online gaming: non-player characters or NPCs act in realistic manner, not to mention that allies are more helpful and enemies become more fiendish than ever.
Such simplistic notions cannot fully express the benefit of AI in a game sequence. The simplicity of the summation only contrives to hide the complexity of the AI behind the Xbox 360. But the concept of AI is not a modern one. In fact, AI is a subject of discussion, debates, and practical simulations within the academic setting for years. Chris Satchell, Microsoft’s General Manager for Game Development, attests to this fact. From the development of Pac-Man, game designers and developers have been employing the use of AI, even if it is just in its simplest state. Take Pac-Man for example, wherein the main objective is to eat as many golden pellets as possible without being eaten by the “ghosts.” This simplicity is matched by the elementary pre-scripted AI patterns used. The ghosts almost always follow a straight line but they deviate from their path when they sense your presence. It is noticeable especially when your Pac-Man does not change position at all — the ghosts move according to the path, changing directions only when they get close to you.
Twenty years later since Pac-Man, family computers, and many computer hardware changes, game developers still use the same simplistic AI tricks. The hardwares evolve to accommodate the intensity of the modern graphics as well as the sound system for more biting audio. However, despite these changes, AI programs continue to be a sort of last-minute addition. In fact, the programs are deemed to be unimportant in gaming. As a result, the NPCs, largely remained as stupid bots who don’t move even if caught in a crossfire. This is what the AI programs for the Xbox 360 take care of.
Satchell affirms that the new processing model composed of three powerful symmetric cores more than makes up for the lack of “reality” of the old console models. He asserts that this new Microsoft innovation is really a paradigmatic shift because the standard for game consoles and computer hardware is the use of a single core. He added that this shift to a three-core system will add considerable burden to the lives of game developers but add to greater delight of all Xbox 360 gamers. This is because a fully AI-capable three-core system provides greater flexibility and more cycles which make gaming more exciting and interesting.
The key to achieving that is to make sure that the AI programs of the new Xbox run smoothly on all three cores. Therefore, the developers need to take extensive sections from their codes and test it on all three cores. As a result of all these great efforts, the CPU’s main processor does not take all the burden of handling multiple tasks; instead, the added cores take over the job. The results are more efficient gaming, sharper graphics, quality audio, and thinking characters which give Xbox 360 games advantage over others.
Top Gifts For His Birthday In 2012
Top Gifts For His Birthday In 2012
We all know how difficult it is to choose the best gift for the man in your life. What will make your hunt for that perfect gift is that men love tools and gadgets. This year most of the gifts given to men revolved on those two basic articles. Electronic gadgets topped the list of the gifts items that were given as gift to husbands, fathers, brothers or boyfriends.
In a survey among men, they listed cellphones as the top choice for gifts. In fact men would prefer to have their cellphones than to be marooned on an island with their significant female other. Incredible story you say? Hey it is better to tell the truth than to lie right. Now if you want to give you man; let’s not limit our choices with neckties and handkerchiefs and the usual underwear. It is time for women to look cool and give their men the coolest gifts they can find, like:
Gaming headphones. If your man is the type that loves online gaming; well buying him a gaming laptop can be too expensive. If you want to see that smile on his face, give him the next best thing; a gaming headphones. Try to give him the Razer Kraken which is touted as the most comfortable headphones….ever! It has been tested to have the perfect weight for gamers to give them utmost comfort while they slew their online fiends for hours. The weight of these headphones is perfect to provide comfort for extended gaming sessions without sacrificing audio quality.
Floating globes. Don’t just give them that boring, garden-variety, the ones that you see on libraries, kind of a globe… not even a snow globe either, since they are suited during Christmas. Give your man the floating globes! Yes, your man will spend hours and hours thinking how it floats. Knowing how the male mind works they will try to find out and tinker on how it works and try to replicate it in the garage.
Smartphones. You thought that this will never come up didn’t you? Well, smartphones are like diamonds to women; they’re man’s best friend that is silicon-based. You have a lot of choices for smartphones this year and the list of new phones is robust this year. You have the most popular one which is the Samsung Galaxy S3 which can double as a point and shoot camera or the new iPhone 5 which is taller and faster than the previous model. You can get it unlocked or with a contract for capped data plans or text and call plans with your provider.
Sports watches. Men simply adore sports watches. They are like jewelry to them. The more functions that a sport watch has the better it would sit with the males. They use the watches for sports and recreation. Most sport watches that men love are those that can survive under water especially if they want to join a triathlon. One of the best watches to give is the Casio G-Shock Rescue which is shock-resistant and can stay underwater up to 200 meters.
Car radios or stereos. Men love cars. If you have the budget give him a Lamborghini or a Mustang, if not well, give him a super-duper car radio instead. One of the things to pimp your man’s ride is with a great sound system and you can start with a good old car radio. You can start to look at this AVH-P4400BH 2-DIN DVD Multimedia Receiver from Pioneer. It is a great receiver that allows your man to have satellite radio, but you need to get him a subscription first though.
How To Earn Part-time Income At Home
How To Earn Part-time Income At Home
Many people are aware of the common ways to earn a part-time income at home. Babysitting or in home daycare centers are often the number one choice for stay at home mom’s who want to earn a second income for their families. Stuffing envelopes or making jewelry are some other commonly known ways of making a part time income at home. But, in the new age of computer technology and internet commerce, there are many other ways that you can make a part time income at home.
Anyone with basic computer skills can make money part time at home. There are many companies out there that rely on independent contractors to sell their products. Those with time on their hands can use internet marketing and call lists to make a part time income at home through sales and commissions. Some of the companies out there are scams, however, so watch out.
Those who are not interested in sales but have basic typing skills can make a part time income at home by performing data entry tasks online. There are many opportunities available with companies, both positions and as an independent contractor. You can also find work in data entry through bid for work web sites.
Those with more advanced computer ability can perform work as a virtual assistant. This can be a great way to earn part time income at home without getting bored from doing the same thing over and over again. As a virtual assistant you never know what type of projects you could get. You may be doing spreadsheets or you might be typing from scanned pages. Whatever you will be doing, you can be sure to earn a great part time income while staying at home.
If you have writing ability you can also look into getting a part time income working as a copy writer. Copy writers write much of the content that you see on web sites, in advertising, and even in many online magazines. You can make a very good part time income while working at home, exercising your creativity, and enjoying a variety in work.
There are many other ways that you can earn a part time income from home such as transcription, medical transcription, affiliate marketing, and through running a blog with Google AdSense. Whatever type of work you decide to do to earn a part time income from home, make sure that you check out the company thoroughly. For every legitimate income opportunity there is a scam. Make sure that you get involved in a legitimate income opportunity.