Category Archives: Gaming Laptops
What Does Tech Have To Do With Women’s Rights?
What Does Tech Have To Do With Women’s Rights?
“Tech” isn’t a four-letter word, but when it comes to “women’s issues” it might as well be. Technology has become a male-dominated big business; profits have become the priority over ethics and/or social implications. Women are missing from the technology design room to the boardroom and this diminishes the value and unique talents women bring to the table. We can no longer accept this as a normal expectation. Marketing tactics by technology manufacturers have only just begun to include women in their advertising.
Today, it is commonly acceptable to send a resume through email, to fill out a graduate school or job application online or to find “Mr. or Mrs. Right” through Match.com. However, when it comes to women’s issues technology is traditionally not included as a venue to advocate or mobilize around.
Violence against women has appeared as cyber stalking and/or bullying. The video game “Grand Theft Auto” which gives points for beating a certain class of women to get the user’s money back has been a recent “hot” topic. There are many government agencies working to get the “Grand Theft Auto” game off shelves or properly labeled as adult content but there are not that many encouraging educational reform for girls in science, math, technology or gaming. If there were more girls involved in designing games this product may not have gone to the shelf with violence against women packaged in the scoring system of the game. Women are one of the highest purchasers of video games for their sons but they never check to see if there are games for their daughters. Most are completely unaware that game consoles like the Xbox where designed with no intentions on having options for women or girls.
The gaming industry is not the enemy; games can be excellent tools for learning if used properly. There are increasingly more software games being designed for schools and educational purposes. Socialimpactgames.com focuses on games for public policy, health, wellness, business and social issues. Whether there is a game that promotes anti Bush agendas or ethnic cleansing, women must be involved.
Government officials have introduced a bill to address electronic stalking in Washington DC, although it has included stalking by computers, email, telephones and cell phones it does not include video and audio recordings or the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) that have been used by stalkers to track their victims. There have been recent attempts with the Video Voyeurism Act, but there are important women’s issues missing from these valuable attempts at addressing the issue.
Public health and safety has major societal implications. There are E-Government initiatives under the 2002 Act that will impact many women’s’ lives, however the congressional subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census is no longer in existence. “Egov” is the new lingo for initiatives that include the Department of Justice’s plans for information sharing technology that include development and deployment. This is also where jurors are now analyzing and reviewing investigative data through laptops and other technologies. Funding for video devices are used to catch criminals such as speeding and red light violators, or security cameras in stop lights but funding is not available for initiatives that use interactive videoconferencing technology to build and maintain family bonds between incarcerated mothers and their children or to provide other needed family services.
There are several Bills/Acts in congress that are on the books about health care and information technology. Many are designed to improve efficiency and the quality of health care delivery by streamlining medical records, preventing medication errors, giving online access to information about outbreaks of infectious diseases or simply to help single mothers get their children immunized for school like DC’s government did by implementing the internet based immunization registry. Telemedicine has been used to help women by providing prenatal care in rural areas. A recent bill to address digital divide issues in rural areas will affect the continuation of the telemedicine program for those mothers.
The societal impacts of technology are both positive and negative and are traditionally noticeable in areas of non-traditional work, job readiness, and education. Rarely are areas of health, environment, public safety or cyber security considered major concerns for women as it relates to science and technology. Already, the lack of technological skills is one reason why so many low-income women aren’t able to find jobs above entry-level salaries. If this is not addressed, the lack of technological skills will leave a larger underemployed working class since studies have shown that in 2008 there will be over 1.3 million new technology workers and by 2010, 65% of the economy will be based on technology.
Prior to the fourth grade, studies show that girls are as interested in technology more than boys. After that, girls are discouraged by the adults in their lives and are constantly challenged by the boys in their class, which leaves them questioning whether they should even bother with math, science or technology. Adolescent girls are intensely pressured to be “cute” instead of “smart,” which leads to the current conflict for young women interested in math, science or technology. Tech “geeks” are rarely considered cute or attractive. It is also at this time that young girls choose not to go into sports, yet we have the WNBA, women’s football, tennis and golf.
Without better awareness and advocacy, women will also be susceptible to losing the gains that science and technology bring and vulnerable to the dangers of technological ignorance. We’ll continue to be unprepared to advocate for or against the decisions made in business and government laws or regulations. Women and girls must be equally educated, encouraged, and provided opportunities in science and technology. If they aren’t, the women of tomorrow won’t be able to adequately function in our technologically changing society.
We need to challenge all women, especially women lead organizations, women philanthropists and area women funding foundations. Let’s widen the gender lens to include non traditional women’s issues, our futures depend on it.
For more information contact Ms. Mitchell
Email director@digital-sistas.org ~ Website: www.digital-sistas.org
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Acer Aspire 3004WLCi – A Quick Review
Acer Aspire 3004WLCi – A Quick Review
I recently found myself in need of a new laptop. With a tight budget and moderate needs, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to find a product that would do what I wanted and still be in my price range.
As a Network Technician and a Web Designer, I needed a machine that would have enough storage to store all my software, projects for my clients, and still be able to handle an occasional temporary operating system backup from a client’s machine. The qualifying candidate also had to have a decent amount of RAM and a reasonably fast processor to keep up with the demands of multitasking and using Studio MX ’04 on a daily basis.
At first, I checked the auction sites, the refurbished outlets, and the wholesale warehouses. I found a few good deals for under 0, but nothing that would handle the processing load that Studio MX 2004 would place on it. The average machine had 256MB of PC133 RAM, a 20GB HDD, and a 1.0GHz Pentium processor. Not too shabby for a student machine, but for daily service in the fields I work in, not nearly enough space or power to keep up with my demands.
I quickly realized that a new laptop would be needed in order to meet my needs. Realizing that most decent laptops are priced at over ,000, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot when I started shopping around. However, to my surprise, a local retail chain had a special running on the Acer Aspire 3004WLCi for 0 after a 0 rebate. This was the top end of my budget, but the specs were far more than what I thought I would find in this price range.
Quick Specs:
AMD Mobile Sempron 3100+ (1.8GHz) w/ 256K L2 cache
512MB DDR333 SODIM RAM (expandable to 2GB)
60GB 4200rpm Hard Disk Drive
15.4 Wide Screen WXGA Monitor
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive
3 USB 2.0 Ports (1 front / 2 side)
Front Audio / Microphone jacks
Integrated Microphone / Speakers
Integrated Audio Controller
Integrated Video Controller (up to 128MB shared)
Integrated 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem
Integrated 802.3 10/100 Ethernet NIC
Integrated 802.11b/g WiFi
Maximum screen resolution: 1280 x 800
External monitor maximum resolution: 2048 x 1536
One type II PCMCIA Slot
AC Power Adapter / 4-cell lithium-ion battery
1.5″Hx14.3″Wx11″D / 6.2lb. w/ Battery
Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2
OK, before I go into the Pros and Cons of this system, let me first say this… As a Network technician, I’m a bit of a stranger to Acer products. I’ve seen them before, but I’ve never used them. In an industry dominated by Dells and HPs, Acer seemed more of an “off-brand” to me. With that in mind, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot for my money. Fortunately, I was not disappointed, but neither was I entirely wrong.
Also, it is worthy to note that before I used this machine, XP Home was trashed in favor of XP Professional SP2 and I went through the system and performed several minor software performance tweaks on the operating system; all of which can be performed using the native Windows XP Pro utilities.
Pros:
The Acer Aspire 3004 WLCi is a reasonably powerful system for 0. Even at the original 0, this system is hard to beat in the performance department. The Sempron 3100+ processor is surprisingly fast and capable. It handled running Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6.0, Opera 8.5, Resize Browser, CPick, Java JRE, NOD32 Anti-Virus, Hotmail Popper, and several system services and minor utilities running in the background simultaneously and didn’t complain or produce any unacceptable sustained CPU usage spikes. This is partly due to the generous and fast 512MB of DDR333 RAM, but even so, the processor surprised this long-time AMD user.
The 60GB hard drive provides an ample amount of storage for average users. It is on the lower end of my requirements, but sufficiently large enough to handle all my installed software, over 12GB of service software needed for service calls, all my client projects, and it still has enough space left over to easily accommodate a 20GB client system backup.
In addition, this system has a very good Broadcom WiFi controller. In my 3 story townhouse, which has excellent insulation, this system can be used anywhere in my home with a signal strength of “Very Good” to “Excellent”.
The system is ergonomically laid out. I have rather large hands, and most modern laptops are entirely too small for me to realistically use for any extended period of time. Usually, within 20 or 30 minutes, my wrists and hands begin to ache from trying to maintain a very unnatural position in order to type the documents I’m working on. Not so with the Aspire 3000 series. These laptops have a relatively large chassis with a keypad that is almost perfect for someone with large hands. I’ve actually found that I can type nearly as fast (roughly 35wpm) on this laptop as I can on my desktop system that has an ergonomic split keyboard (40wpm).
Cons:
If you’re looking for a Multimedia system, or if you plan to do any graphics intensive gaming, keep on looking; this system is not for you. Even with the widescreen WXGA display, this machine is not well suited for watching DVDs. The integrated video controller is only acceptable and the monitor requires a lot of “fiddling” with in order to find the “just right” position for viewing. Furthermore, the glare on the screen of this unit is terrible. I’ve found that in most brightly lit rooms I’m spending more time straining my eyes to see past my own reflection. Also, the viewing angle is unimpressive. If you try to view the screen from anything greater than 15 degrees in any direction, you’re either looking at a washed out or negative variation of the original. I’ve never been a big fan of LCD. I’ve always felt that a high quality CRT always looks better, but this screen is more reminiscent of a LCD of three years ago than a brand new product.
The integrated audio and video controllers are a definite sore spot as well. I’ve always preferred expansion controllers over integrated controllers, but in this price range, I knew I would be stuck with the so-so quality of an integrated controller. No surprise here. As usual, the quality and performance is sub-par with these controllers, but for my needs, they do the job. However, if you plan on listening to any audio playback on this machine, you had better pack a quality set of headphones. The tiny speakers on this machine are terrible sounding. Again, no big surprise.
Now, about battery life. I don’t know who was in charge of defining this aspect of this machine, but they need a checkup from the neck up. Battery performance on this machine is absolutely unacceptable. Unless you tune the system down significantly, it is very difficult to squeeze more than an hour of real usable time out of this system’s battery life. The manufacturer states that it will run for 1.5 hours on the battery. I’ve never been able to get more than an hour out of the unit. In this day and age, this is not acceptable. Fortunately, there are very few occasions when I need to use this system where I’m not close to a power outlet.
My only other major complaint is the lack of expandability of this system. You get two SODIM memory card slots (filled with 256MBx2 sticks from the factory), three USB 2.0 ports and a Type II PCMCIA slot on this machine, and that’s it. No internal expansion capabilities, no firewire, no serial or parallel connections, and you cannot swap out the combo drive easily. Given the price range of this system, I’m really not surprised, but I am a bit disappointed. Fortunately, there are an abundance of USB adapters available that allow me to do whatever is needed.
Summary:
If you just need a basic system for work or school related tasks the Acer Aspire 3004WLCi is a solid performer that can handle average use with ease. I would definitely recommend this unit to college students or traveling professionals who need an inexpensive, user-friendly laptop, but who do not plan on using their laptop on batteries very often, or who do not intend on playing many games or movies. For the price conscious consumers out there, this system is definitely worth the money. In my humble opinion, you get more than what you pay for, but not by much.
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Six Things To Do On Long Plane Trips
Six Things To Do On Long Plane Trips
No matter how long the flight, a long plane ride can feel like an eternity. Even though flying is the fastest way to travel, you can feel like you’re wasting time, bored, and restless if you don’t have activities planned for your trip. Here are some things you can do on your next long plane trip.
Read a Book or Magazine
Although you may not normally have time to sit down with a good book and read, a long plane ride is the perfect time to catch up on reading that book you’ve been meaning to get to or your favorite magazine. That’s why books and magazines are the top selling items in the airport stores.
Sleep
Need to catch up on some much needed sleep? A long flight can be a great way to get those extra Zzzs and kill time on way to your final destination. Some tips for a more restful sleep include bringing a travel pillow, wear comfortable shoes you can slip off easily, and use snoring prevention, like Breathe Right Strips, if you have been known to snore. Nobody wants to sit next to a snoring passenger, so plan to be comfortable yourself and let others enjoy their flight as well with snoring prevention.
Work or Study
A long plane trip is a great time to get some work done or study for school. It’s quiet so you can focus on your work. Laptop computers make it even easier these days to write a paper for school, study for a big test, or complete the work you need before your vacation or business trip. Take along a pen and a pad of paper too in case you want to joy down some notes.
Play Games
Everyone likes to play games! If you are traveling with someone you can play cards, a magnetic board game, or on a laptop computer. If you’re flying solo you can still play with handheld portable games or computer games. Make sure you bring an extra laptop computer battery since gaming tends to drain your battery quickly, and you may not have anywhere to plug in while flying.
Puzzles and Brain Teasers
Kids and adults can both have fun with crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, and Sodoku, the hottest new game of logic. You can buy a book of all of these puzzles mixed together to entertain and challenge you.
Music or Audio Books
With the popularity of portable Mp3 players like iPods, taking music with you anywhere you want is easier than ever. You can also get a new book on tape, CD, or digital download. So for those of you who don’t like to read, now you can have the book read to you for the same cost as the book itself. What a deal!
If you are planning on taking a plane ride over 2 hours long, try bringing a few items to do on the flight. Take a magazine, sleeping pillow, music, and a laptop computer to be sure you’ll always have something to do on your trip.
Families are Beautiful
Families are Beautiful
It’s nice when the whole family spends time together. You share a special bond between one another that cannot be recreated with anyone else. Father, mother, sister, brother, you all belong to each other in a special way. Each member of the family needs to rely on each other for love, companionship, advice, support and sometimes just to listen. Times aren’t always going to be smooth sailing. A family that is strong in love can make it through the worst of times.
In order for a family to work well together, each member needs to give of themselves to one another, without thinking about getting anything in return. This is giving from your heart. If each member were to do this, everyone’s needs would be met and there would be no selfishness in your family, only true love for one another.
Sometimes in a family, there can be a fight where it is so bad, that one seperates themself from a member of the family or the entire family for a long period of time. It’s a shame when something like this happens. It can hurt a family really bad. There’s bitterness and pain that winds up leaving a void in one’s heart because they seem to have lost that bond they once had. No matter what happened or how terrible it may have been to cause such a seperation, families need to be reunited. Forgiveness can mend more than one heart. Pride is not worth losing family over.
There’s nothing like having dinner together as a family. There’s just something that makes the end of the day more pleasant. Take for instance if you had a bad day or you have a problem that you would like to discuss. Here at the table, you have loved ones that are willing to listen and help you get over your bad day. Nothing like quality time with your family. You have to eat, right? Eat together and spend that time keeping the bond tight and the love flowing.
Family time together, whether it would be watching a movie or going to a movie, or a day in the park, or maybe a camping trip(here’s a hint:you could even camp out in your backyard) it’s what you do with the time you have together. There’s many things a family could do together. Sometimes there’s always that one member who doesn’t want to go. If you are that one member, forget about yourself and think of your family. Remember that you are not always going to be living together. The time is going to come when either you are going to be moving out or if your the parent your kids are going to be leaving. Don’t miss out on the time you could be sharing with one another. Quality time together is important.
Many households have both parents working. The kids come home from school to a empty house. These days even if everyone is home, you can still be seperated. There are so many electronic gadgets to keep everyone busy by themselves. Let’s see what we have. Cell phones, gaming computers, laptops, ipods, mp3 players, video games, 200 plus channels on T.V., etc., etc. All the things on the web that will keep you busy like blogging, chat rooms, my space, and so on. There are so many things one can do to entertain themselves without the family. Most of these things can be addictive. People can become strangers in their own family.
It only takes one family member to get the ball rolling. So if your family is not as tight as it should be, you could be the one to change it. There’s nothing worse than sitting down one day and looking back at the time one missed with their family. You can’t go back and change things. Regret is very painful and it will last you the rest of your life. May God Bless You.
Electronic Notebooks: Why Businessness Need Them
Electronic Notebooks: Why Businessness Need Them
Take Note
Notebook computers, commonly referred to as notebooks, are personal computers that are very light. To understand the notebooks concept you need to understand what personal computers are.
A personal computer is relatively small and inexpensive, compared with the computers of large businesses and organizations that act as servers or run computer operations on a grand scale. Personal computers are made for the use of individuals or small business entrepreneurs. Many personal computers are used in home offices nowadays. Many rely on notebooks as their only or their additional choice.
Personal computers can be purchased for a few hundred dollars or several thousand. Notebooks are somewhat higher in cost. All personal computers are based on the technology of microprocessing that enables the computer and notebook manufacturer to install a complete CPU on one computer chip. A business can use a personal computer, and sometimes a notebook, for accounting tasks, word processing, desktop publishing projects, database management, and spreadsheets. Notebooks or personal use PCs are often used for gaming, music and even movies.
Before notebooks the first personal computers showed up towards the end of the 1970’s. The Apple II, launched in 1977, was one of the first personal computers. It became one of the most popular as well. The introduction of new operating systems and new computer PC models seemed a nearly daily routing during the end of the 1970s and into the early 1980’s. The IBM PC was introduced in 1981, taking over first place status among personal computers. At this point, with the exception of Apple, many personal computer brands and manufacturers fell by the wayside thanks to IBM’s onslaught.
The result, still prior to notebooks, was the production of IBM clones by other manufacturers. These clones, with nearly the same internal components as the real IBMs, were much less expensive. They used the same microprocessors and could run identical software. While IBM, thanks to price and innovations that weren’t accepted such as the OS/2 operating system, is no longer the preferred PC brand, its notebooks are widely acclaimed.
Now personal computers are divided into two types – PCs and Apples. Personal computers, whether desktops, notebooks or laptops are designed as single user machines and run on microprocessors. They can be linked into a network, however, to use several of them together. The power of personal computers varies considerably from one to another.
Notebooks typically weigh considerably less than PCs – fewer than six pounds. They are typically so small that they can easily fit into their own carrying case or briefcase. Notebooks use a flat panel technology to have a display screen instead of the monitor that runs as a separate piece of hardware on a PC. Notebook display screens have considerable variation in display screen quality. The resolution can be either VGA (video graphics array) or SVGA (super VGA.) Designed by IBM, VGA systems provide a text mode resolution of 720×400 pixels, and a graphics mode of either 16 colors (640×480) or 256 colors (320×200.) The latter is the most common. SVGA is a standard for graphics, with greater resolution than the original VGA. SVGA supports resolution of 800×600, equal to 480,000 pixels.
The computer power of notebooks is actually just about equivalent to that of personal computers. Notebooks have the same capacity for memory, the same CPUs, and the same disk drives as PCs. The small package this power comes in is what makes them more costly than the PCs
One of the most popular aspects of notebooks – what makes them preferred to PCs for many road warriors, is their portability. Notebooks have battery packs installed so they can run without electricity for 2-4 hours before having to be recharged.