Jumat, 19 Desember 2008

The Xbox 360 Information Online

By: suegold

At one of the gaming industries events in Amsterdam, the industry felt that Microsoft would use the event to announce the Xbox 360 games lineup for its release in North America and Europe. The problem with that is it didn't happen. In its place is more confusion on what Xbox 360 games that will be available.

Peter Moore the corporate vice president of Xbox marketing and publishing bragged that there were 200 Xbox 360 games in development at the time. At the same time Chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach just promised they would have the best games and launch lineup of any console yet. But neither would list all the games that will go on sale in November of that year at the launch of the Xbox 360 in the United States.

Now to add to the confusion is a Microsoft press release titled "Xbox 360 launch line-up announced". It has only three first party games listed under a heading a heading of “Titles that will form part of an impressive Christmas holiday portfolio. Project Gotham Racing 3, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameio Elements of Power. Then they have a second category of games called "Other great games" announced or shown at X05 that included FIFA 06, Saint’s Row, Too Human, Crackdown, just to name a few.

The finally the release listed a third category, "Franchise titles that will make their debut on Xbox 360" this included Superman Returns: The Videogame, Call of Duty 2, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 4 and more. Now the fact that about half of these have 2006 release dates and some were just announced it would be impossible for the game to be contained in the Xbox 360 launch lineup as the title indicates.

A effort to clear up the confusion David Reid, director of platform marketing for the Xbox 360 was asked exactly what games would be available at the launch. He stated there would be 15-20 Xbox 360 titles available on launch day and another half–dozen by the end of the year. So more double speak? He would only confirm eight being available on November 22. They are Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup.

As for the other seven to twelve Xbox 360 games that were to be available, Reid stated they would be announced in the next few weeks. According to him "They are currently in the final stages of certification" this is referring to the quality assurance process all third party games must go through from each console maker. With that said it would be likely if any of the submitted games that were not mentioned did not pass this process it will not be available at the time of Xbox 360 release on November 22 in North America.

The decision to rush games is a two headed sword. On one hand, release dates are made for a reason: to take advantage of a holiday sales season. On the other hand, thanks to word of mouth and game sites the gamer of today can tell if a game was rushed and a games reputation can be destroyed faster than it was built. In the Xbox 360's case there has been an extreme amount of pre release publicity and hype, which will make or break the success of the console and games themselves.

Three of the games that were verified to be available on release date are Microsoft titles and they would have an advantage. But none of the twelve titles are make or break titles for the Xbox 360 so the console should be spared, and hopefully PS3 will have the same launch questions.

As with any Microsoft release the Xbox 360 is shrouded in rumor, speculation, and expectation. Microsoft fuels this by being very closed mouth with any specific information. It looks like right now we can just sit and wait.

LCD Monitors: A Friend to Your Eyes

It is the trait of every human being to search for the best resources, which are available to him/her. Human beings have always welcomed the products of technology with amazement and excitement. Technology has enhanced the quality of life and made it more comfortable as well as productive. Technology has also applied itself to improve the quality of monitors. Those who are rather space-conscious would appreciate the LCD monitors which are popular all over the world.

The LCD monitors are not only flat-designed, but they are ideal for viewing purposes. The monitor is ultra-thin and holds a sleek structure. The LCD monitor will take a wee bit of space in home or office and make your desk look spacious. Light in weight, the display offers a rich visual experience. The LCD monitor will offer the same kind of comfort as a LCD television. These monitors come in various shapes and sizes and are affordable to every pocket. When compared to CRT displays, these monitors are brighter and have the capacity to display vibrant images.

The images produced by these monitors reflect hi-end clarity and sharpness which is brought about due to the collection of the pixels .
One of the primary reasons why these monitors are hugely successful is that the LCD screens reduce energy consumption thereby cutting down your energy bills. One would find these advanced monitors in an office environment as one can afford to work for long hours without having to strain his eyes which will cut down the operating costs as well.

The LCD technology provides a good colour combination and image clarity which would be perfect for displaying wallpapers and screensavers and is equal to the clarity and response time of a TFT monitor.

One can find variable sizes in the Latest LCD monitor which range from 15 to 28 inches. The 17 inch screen is well suited for household purposes. For better viewing results the user can easily adjust the colour and brightness as well as rotate it to his desired angle for an uninterrupted working experience. Movie lovers can use this monitor for complete entertainment as it enables the users to watch movies as if they were watching it on the big screen. One can find LCD monitors which are manufactured by leading companies such as Compaq, Lenovo or Toshiba.

However the prospective buyer before taking a decision should undergo a thorough market research, check various stores which offer these monitors and read reviews. One can also save time and energy by searching for the best LCD monitors which are on offer by the online shops.

By: Retailsdirect.com

Lease Computers: Which Is The Trick?

By: Venice Raymond

Buying a computer sounds like a good idea, but what about computer equipment leasing? Here are some pros and cons of both ideas.

When people talk about cars, leasing comes into play, but how does this work with computers?

Many people want to own things, so they decide to buy. Either way, leasing would not be around, if it weren�t for some advantages.

There are many that believe leasing to be an attractive option, and they have this belief based on some strong arguments.

When you lease something, you do not need to give up on so much money at the starting point, as you do with a purchase.

For small businesses, this is a great thing, as they do not need to run to venture capitalists to ask for money, when they want to get enough computer equipment for their offices. Instead, they open some lines of credit for inventory and customer receivables.

Leasing works for about three years, and during that time, technology will move forward. What does this mean? It means that leasing will help you keep updated with the technology, instead of falling behind.

Usually, small firms have little IT staff, and that means that they need to hire someone else to deal with their computer equipment. This updating servicing can end up costing a lot of cash, and warranty problems are prone to appear. For that, leasing is a ball of fresh air.

What is interesting about leasing is that, when you lease computer equipment, the company that gives you the computers will have to keep the technologies up to date. This is about the essence of the leasing business, and companies doing this job are focused on providing their customers exactly that.

It is a well known thing that computers today lose a lot of their value in a very short time, which makes a purchase to be to expensive right the next day.

Also, there are things about the environment involved when you want to throw a computer to the garbage. Disposal has to be performed while abiding to a set of rules, if you do not want to have any problems with the Environmental Protection Agency. Leasing ensures the business choosing this method to acquire computers that they take care including of the disposal of older models, along with recuperating information from the machines.

When purchasing with money down computers, in a very short time, you will consider them to be outdated, even though you paid a huge amount of cash for them. Small profits can be made, but only but the one that knows how to deal with a reseller, or if you put it up for sale on sites like eBay. This is time consuming, so, needless to say, leasing seems to be the sensible option when acquiring computer equipment for a small business.

Remanufactured Inkjet Toner Cartridges & Inkjet Ink Cartridges - Why Use Them?

he environment to a large extent. It might be a surprising fact for most us, but it is true that remanufactured inkjet toner cartridges and inkjet ink cartridges are sometimes superior in product quality as well. One of the very important advantages, which cannot be ignored at this stage of economic recession, is the support which the remanufacturing of inkjet toner cartridges and inkjet ink cartridges provides to the declining economy of the country.

Some Important Facts
Contrary to the popular belief, these remanufactured inkjet toner and ink cartridges are compatible with most of the printers, copiers and fax machines which use all-in-one cartridges. However, Imaging systems using separate drums and toner bottles are an exception to this rule. The remanufacturing of inkjet toner cartridges and inkjet ink cartridges involves disassembling, repair or replacement of the worn out or damaged parts. It also involves the cleaning, refilling and reassembling of the inkjet ink cartridges and inkjet toner cartridges. This process can be repeated any number of times for the inkjet ink cartridges and inkjet toner cartridges.

Environmental & Health Issues
The remanufacturing of inkjet toner cartridges and inkjet ink cartridges is an infallible solution to many of the environmental and health issues as it considerably decreases the amount of plastic, metals and rubber used in incinerators. Also, the remanufacturing of these products saves significant amount of energy.

It is a well known fact that almost three quarts of oil is used in the manufacturing of a single brand new inkjet toner cartridge. One should always consider the environmental benefits one can impress upon by the use of remanufactured inkjet ink and toner cartridges which can be easily remanufactured up to four times. There is no doubt that every time an inkjet toner cartridge or an inkjet ink cartridge is remanufactured, the resources are utilised to the maximum extent compounding the benefits of remanufacturing on the environment.

Most of the users confirm that the remanufactured inkjet ink and toner cartridges perform equally well, if not better than the brand new ones. This improved performance of the remanufactured cartridges is mainly contributed to the fact that most of the reputed remanufacturing companies exercise great quality control measures.

Gone are the days when the companies used to follow the drill and fill methods to refill cartridges without proper quality control. In today's competitive scenario, every reputed company wants to prove its mettle through quality products and hence follow superior production measures.
Remanufactured inkjet ink and toner cartridges are considered to be an intelligent choice many big companies as they reduce the cost by 50 percent. Also they contain 20 percent more ink or toner than the new ones.

To Conclude
In today's world when millions of used inkjet ink cartridges and toner cartridges are thrown in trash bins, remanufactured ink and toner cartridges prove to be a good choice as help in cost cutting without compromising with quality or performance

Senin, 15 Desember 2008

Spyware Removal

You may have purchased a state-of-the-art computer, yet it is running so slowly that you have to pick up something to read while you wait for it to connect to the internet. You might need spyware removal for your PC, which is probably being tampered with by an outside source. Other problems, such as frequent error messages and security threats are caused by spyware, and spyware removal is essential to prevent the following:

? data mining
? aggressive advertising
? Trojan horses
? Browser hijackers
? Tracking components
? mouse monitors

and similar intrusions. As more unscrupulous web savvy hackers are creating new ways to get access to your valuable personal information, Spyware removal is fast becoming an essential program for every PC.

When you search the web, you not only find information, but you also leave a lot of data behind. Your computer can leave "footprints" of information as you surf, and can bring spyware back with it, like tracking sand into a home. Spyware removal can detect these parasitic devices placed on your PC that monitors your browsing habits so you can later get spammed by aggressive advertisers. Spyware also retrives sensitive information, such as your credit card number. Increasing security problems, theft and fraud are causing companies to do more research and to update their spyware removal capabilities.

When choosing a spyware removal program, it is highly suggested to opt for a brand that is well known and has been on the market for some time. Some supposed spyware removal programs have proven to be false, and like the spyware they are supposed to be removing, they scan your disks in order to find sensitive information that can be used or sold. It is for this reason that some suggest using spyware removal that does not scan your disks. Other experts might object that a spyware removal program that does not scan your disk can not be guaranteed to remove all of your spyware, whereas others tout certain programs that are able to give maximum protection without scanning your computer disks.

In addition to scanning your disks, many spyware removal programs also search your removable drives and your memory for traces of malware and spyware. Spyware removal works using Code Sequence Identification (CSI) technology and has an extensive spyware removal support system. Once your PC has been scanned, your spyware removal program logs the results of the scan showing which places contain spyware or other problems. It also removes any behavior tracking devices and prevents others from stealing your bandwith. Most spyware removal programs can also prevent keyloggers which take password and credit card information.

In addition to installing spyware removal on your regular PC, you can also find spyware removal programs suited for the corporate environment. These programs work with multiple computers in a network, and work much like spyware removal for a PC, but on a larger scale. For most businesses, it is worthwhile to invest in the best spyware removal you can obtain, since, for commercial reasons, you are likely to be dealing with sensitive information for all of your customers. Don't let spyware point the finger at your company when your customer's credit card number is stolen.

Many spyware removal programs can be obtained as free downloads for a limited period of time. These programs will do an initial scan at no cost and will continue to protect your PC if you purchase the spyware removal program. You can purchase sypware removal that can build an instant defense if there is some material that it cannot yet recognize. It is also a good idea to get spyware removal that does not eliminate anything without asking your permission first. For extra security, some spyware removal programs do not access any of your private information on your hard drive and do not connect to the net. If you trust your spyware company, you need not be afraid of a scan, but ensure that the company is a legitimate one before purchasing their spyware.
By Matt Garrett

AFP leaves secret documents on hotel computer

Lindsay Murdoch

Confidential Australian diplomatic cables and police documents were left in open files on a computer and read by guests at a hotel in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

At least 20 police photographs of the charred bodies of plane crash victims, including those of two Victorians, were also left in open files on a computer and could be seen by guests for three weeks. The security breach included information about an Australian Federal Police agent meeting a CIA operative in Kathmandu last month.

In a personal email that was left on a computer at Kathmandu's Radisson Hotel, an Australian agent expressed surprise at meeting the CIA operative who "looks like a bit of a footy jock but covered with some huge ... tattoos (stacks of them) and dressed like a total backpacker".

The security breach included a seven-page document detailing priorities and strategies for the AFP's office in Bangladesh, including information about sharing intelligence with foreign agencies.

One document marked "protected" detailed a meeting an AFP agent had with a secret foreign military organisation where sensitive security intelligence was discussed, including recent terrorist attacks in India.

The document revealed information about two fundamentalist Islamic groups that were still operating in south Asia despite public reports that they were not.

It revealed plans to "carefully monitor" a political party in south Asia whose leaders included "Soviet-Afghan war veterans".

The document stressed that information the organisation provided to the Australian agent was against "protocol".

"On that basis and to protect the sources and the relationship (between the AFP and the organisation) it would be encouraged that this information is treated on a sensitive need-to-know basis," an AFP agent wrote.

A copy of another document marked "consular-in-confidence" was a cable sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra from Australia's ambassador in Kathmandu, Graeme Lade, on October 9, the day after a plane crashed while landing at a remote airfield near Mount Everest.

Mr Lade wrote in the cable about the efforts to recover and identify the bodies of 18 victims, including Melbourne pair Andrew Frick McLeod, 31, and his girlfriend Charlene Kate Zamudio, 24.

Mr Lade also reported to Canberra on the arrival in Kathmandu of The Age's Delhi correspondent, Matt Wade, and the questions he was asking about the crash.

Any breach involving confidential Australian diplomatic cables is regarded seriously by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which has a sophisticated distribution system to prevent and track leaks.

Copies of the cable were restricted in Australia to four senior department officers, senior AFP officers, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and his advisers. The Age was given copies of the material by a guest of the Radisson's business centre who was outraged that such sensitive material was left for anybody to see on computers available for public use.

The guest, a non-government worker, deleted documents that were on a USB memory stick left in one computer. Three weeks later the same guest found gruesome photographs of the crash victims on another computer in the business centre that were marked as police exhibits.

"I deleted them as well," said the guest, who asked not to be identified. "It would have been deeply disturbing for any of the victims' relatives to have seen the photographs or read some of the documents."

What is Business Software?

By: caz

Business Software has become an essential part of every business that competes in a competitive business environment. There are few businesses now that have no business software so its very clear that business software is a much for every business.

There are many different types of business software but they all do one thing and that’s to help maintain and control the business. This is done by having more than one piece of business software but every different software package is linked up to another business software package through the business.

Some businesses buy there business software from an outside company but some also create their own software packages. There needs to be software developer within the company who has a wide range of knowledge. The developer is told exactly what the business requires in the package and how the software should supposed to be used.

The pointers to consider in deciding what business software you require are:

• What are you specific needs for the software? Do you require an entire system that supports all the functions of your business or just one specific area?

• What features and abilities do you require in the software package? Will there be any services provided as well what level of expertise with the package offer you?

• Maintenance how is this going to be carried out, will there be help desk facility for all your employees and who will install this help desk?

These are all important points to consider, you will need to take the time and decide what your specifically need from the software package.

The different types of business software are as follows:

• Spreadsheet Programs – enables you to track orders, profits as well as your incomings and outgoings, an example of this is Microsoft Excel.

• Accounting Software – if you’re not very good at numbers and figures an accounting software package will help a lot. They can track your spending and profit, enables you to create invoices for your customers and suppliers instantly and then send them as well as accessing bank statements easily to check your accounts.

• Auto responder Program – this program saves time, if you want to send out a special offer to your customers instead of taking the time to write the same email over and over again. You add all your customers addresses into the program and the offer will be sent to them all in one email.

• Desktop Publishing Program – this is used to create newsletters, business cards, brochures and other marketing materials.

• Web Design Program – there are many different software packages for web site design, these include Dreamweaver and FrontPage. They let you build the website using HTML without learning the language.
Having the right business software for your business can help make your business more profitable and successful. Many businesses start off with just a computer and access to the Internet, but once your business takes off you will need to be able to track your customers orders, hold account information including profits and expenses as well as marketing your product or service.

Provided by ArticleGOLD

Jumat, 12 Desember 2008

You Should Use Perfect Computer Hardware For Your Pc

When you purchase computer hardware you want to buy best branded and cheap computer hardware that mean the hardware must have the quality, price, memory, warranty and many more. Homeshop18 offers best computer hardware in lowest price. Please have a look below some details of computer hardware.

(1). Maxis 4GB USB Pen Drive with Leather Finish


Features:
• Exclusive design, different from other models available in the market
• Superior Technology, Excellent Looks, & stylish design
• Rugged & heavy duty, capable for long period of use, wear & tear
• USB 2.0 Technology, Transferring rate up to 480Mbit per second
• Plug & Play Feature, Durable solid-state storage
• Supports Windows ME, 2000, XP and Windows 98/98 SE
• Supports power saving mode to reduce power consumption
• It also supports software application for Disk Security and Disk Partition
• Backed by True Quality support from Maxis

(2). Intex 300K Web Camera with Night Vision and Microphone Model No: IT-105WC

Features:
• Resolution: Real 300K Pixel Interpolate to 2.0 Mega Pixels, the Frame Rate up to 30fps
• Excellent quality with a fashionable style, True Plug and Play USB Interface
• High Quality CMOS Censor
• Clear and Sharp Still-picture & Motion Video Capturing
• Ideally designed to work well with Laptops and Desktop Computers
• Built-in Microphone (Support- external microphone so you can chat online)
• Adjustable Lens for accurate Image Shooting, Includes variety of Image Control
• Auto White Balance & Exposure, Photo Frame Function

Technical Specification:
• Image Control: Brightness, Contrast, Hue, Saturation, Gamma, Edge Ratio
• Image Flip: Horizontal, Vertical, Monitor Type: CRT, LCD
• AC Power Frequency: 50Hz, 60Hz, Environment: Indoor, Outdoor
• Focus Distance: 4cms ~ Infinity, Lens View Angle: 54 Degree
• I/O Interface: USB 1.1, Image Format: RGB24, I420
• Power Consumption: 160mW Typical

(3). Keyboard Mouse - Logitech Internet Pro Desktop Black

Features:
• Space-saving design with comfortable key layout.
• One-touch web access search e-mail & multimedia functions.
• Corded scroll optical mouse, PS, 2 ports.
• Scroll wheel functions as a third mouse button.

Author suggests you to buy keyboards and mouse from homeshop18 in India.

By: Brendon Long

Business Applications for Attendance Tracker Software Examined

By Xavier Luken

Needless to say the realities of todays lagging economy has left todays business managers scrambling to implement new ways to remain competitive. The problem that these same businesses face is in discovering methods to cut working hours without having a negative impact on productivity.

Managing Employees Without Managers

Wasted or unproductive time has always been the bane of any business that relies on hourly workers but the quandary has always been in effectively managing workers time without having to employ extra management personnel.

New Attendance Tracker Software

On a more positive note: New attendance tracker software is now helping todays busy employee manager to more accuratly account for individual workers productivity. This especially holds true if the employee is working on a computer.

Tracking Time and Productivity

For instance, new time and attendance tracking software can now allow for an employee to clock in directly on their computer. Combined with new tracking software that records in real time that same employees computer keystrokes an employer can account completely for an employees productivity or lack of it.

New Payroll Processing Software

Also, new payroll software can simultaniously account for and process that same employees time or tasks and automatically produce a paycheck on payday. So in short from Monday to Friday employee management and attendance tracking software can do the work of several business managers automatically.

Can't Be Bypassed or Tampered With

Once installed, all software programs of this genre function automatically, can't be bypassed or tampered with and in no way require any input from an employee other than to log in. The result is greater savings and efficiency on in several areas of todays competitive business environment.

Great Free Software Tools To Use For Photo Printing

By Jhon C Arkin

If you want to improve the quality of your photo printing or find fun ways to turn your photos into printed works of art, the following free software tools can be a great way to start.

Kodak Easyshare Software

This free printer software provides a lot of features that can help you make better use of your photos once you’ve added them to your computer. Here are a few examples:

• Tagging and rating of your photos to make searching for the ones you want easier using the software’s built-in photo search feature
• Correcting red eye – one of the most common photo problems – can be done with the touch of a button
• Cropping and rotating photos can be done easily
• You can choose photos and blend them with music into a video that can be shared with friends and family
• Use the software to send photos to be printed or to your own photo printer

Picasa

This free photo software comes to you from Google which has a reputation of releasing some outstanding products. Here are some reasons to give this one a test drive:

• Scans your computer to locate your photos even if they are scattered in a bunch of different folders and drives
• Lets you change the photo file names easily even for a group of pictures at one time
• Creates albums that you can use to organize and share your photos more easily and conveniently
• Gives you the option to add password protection to some of your photo albums in case you want to save their contents for select audiences

IrfanView

If you want to work with a free photo software that has a long reputation, this is one is definitely worth considering. It has been around since 2003 and is still going strong thanks to a simple-to-use interface and features like the following:

• Lets you copy, crop and edit photos easily
• Gives you the option of creating slideshows using your photos – the finished product can be saved as an executable file and/or burned to a CD-Rom
• Allows you to add effects, such as blur, to your images
• Makes it easy to work with batches of images at one time

ADG Panorama Tools

You’ve taken some great pictures and now you want to use them in a unique and creative way that can be shared with others on the Internet? This free software gives you the option to do that.

• Combines multiple photos into a single 360 degree panorama shot seamlessly
• The panorama can be viewed as a moving image on a web site that is created for you through the software
• Create hotspots and add hyperlinks throughout the image so visitors can learn more about the individual shots or find other useful information relevant to the photos

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Rabu, 10 Desember 2008

Best 5 Budget Laptop PCs

By Mark Kyrnin, About.com

Budget laptops are a tough market for manufacturers. They have to produce quality systems for as little as possible and that often involves trade offs in hardware or software features. Below are the best value based laptop PC computers available for under US$750 based upon my research and experience.

1. Lenovo IdeaPad Y530

What makes the IdeaPad Y530 the top choice? The fact that it is using some of the latest technology for laptops and placing them in a low cost option. It uses the Intel GM45 chipset that supports faster DDR3 memory, comes with a draft 802.11n wireless network controller and the new GMA X4500 graphics processor. Combine this with a sizable 250GB hard drive and this laptop has just about everything that a person might need in a low cost laptop. The only real downside is that Lenovo used an older 32-bit Pentium Dual-Core processor rather than a newer Core 2 Duo, thus limiting its overall processing power.

2. Acer Aspire AS5920-6959

Those looking for higher performance and lots of storage space for applications and data would be best served by the Aspire AS5920-6595. At the heart of the system is an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 dual core processor. This is one of the higher grade processors that you will find in the budget market and provides the system with a good overall level of performance. The 320GB hard drive is the largest that one will find in the sub $750 laptop market. This is anywhere from 50 to 100 percent larger than what other companies have in their budget laptops. The downside is that it is one of the larger 15.4-inch laptops on the market.

3. Gateway M-6843

This was one of the first budget laptops to feature the Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor for the budget laptop segment. It has been out for several months now sold through Best Buy and it appears to now be an outlet item that is being phased out. This means that the system can be found for some very discounted prices. In addition to the faster processor, Gateway also outfitted the red laptop with 3GB of memory that allows the system to run better with the Vista operating system. Some may be disappointed that there is no FireWire port on the unit. The speakers also tend to have static on them when the unit is playing audio while not plugged into an AC outlet.

4. Dell Inspiron 1525

Dell's Inspiron 1525 is one of the older models on the market that has gone through a wide range of changes over the years. This can make shopping for it a bit more difficult. Diligent consumers can end up with some amazing performance for an extremely low price though. In fact, it is possible to find one configured with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750, 3GB of DDR2 memory, 250GB hard drive and 2.0 megapixel webcam for under $700. That is one of the better configurations available in this market segment. So why isn't it higher on the list? Because consumers will have to do a lot of work ahead of time for coupons, specials and comparison between retailers and Dell to get the best overall deal and not a tired configuration.

5. CyberPower PC Xplorer X5-2900

One thing that most budget laptops lack is dedicated graphics. This prevents them from really being used with high definition video streams or PC gaming. The CyberPower PC Xplorer X5-2900 is unique because it is one of the only systems that can be configured for under $750 and still come with an integrated graphics processor. Sure, the ATI Radeon 3470 is not a high grade 3D processor, but it is capable of PC gaming and HD video that most of the models with integrated solutions won't be able to. The system also packs in an HDMI and eSATA connector for use with the latest peripherals. The drawback is that this system is generally more expensive than others on this list and lacks any software package that might require extra expense.

Jumat, 05 Desember 2008

Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop’s Battery Life

by yuen999

Laptops tend to lose their charm quickly when you’re constantly looking for the nearest power outlet to charge up. How do you keep your battery going for as long as possible? Here are 15 easy ways to do so.

1. Defrag regularly - The faster your hard drive does its work - less demand you are going to put on the hard drive and your battery. Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging it regularly. (but not while it’s on battery of course!) Mac OSX is better built to handle fragmentation so it may not be very applicable for Apple systems.

2. Dim your screen - Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice.

3. Cut down on programs running in the background. Itunes, Desktop Search, etc. All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life. Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery.

4. Cut down external devices - USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery.

5. Add more RAM - This will allow you to process more with the memory your laptop has, rather than relying on virtual memory. Virtual memory results in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Note that adding more RAM will consume more energy, so this is most applicable if you do need to run memory intensive programs which actually require heavy usage of virtual memory.

6. Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD - As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used. Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones.

7. Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient.

8. Take care of your battery - Exercise the Battery. Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-On battery completely discharge. (Discharing is only for older batteries with memory effects)

9. Hibernate not standby - Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does. Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down.

10. Keep operating temperature down - Your laptop operates more efficiently when it’s cooler. Clean out your air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner, or refer to some extra tips by LapTopMag.com.

11. Set up and optimize your power options - Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect).

12. Don’t multitask - Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery. Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3’s, set your mind to one thing only. If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed!

13. Go easy on the PC demands - The more you demand from your PC. Passive activities like email and word processing consume much less power than gaming or playing a DVD. If you’ve got a single battery charge - pick your priorities wisely.

14. Get yourself a more efficient laptop - Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries. Picking up a newer more efficient laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix.

15. Prevent the Memory Effect - If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ - Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which do not suffer from the memory effect.

Bonus Tip #1: Turn off the autosave function. MS-Word’s and Excel’s autosave functions are great but because they keep saving regular intervals, they work your hard driver harder than it may have to. If you plan to do this, you may want to turn it back on as the battery runs low. While it saves battery life in the beginning, you will want to make sure your work is saved when your battery dies.

Bonus Tip #2: Lower the graphics use. You can do this by changing the screen resolution and shutting off fancy graphic drivers. Graphics cards (video cards) use as much or more power today as hard disks - Thanks Andrew

Update 7/7/07: Bonus Tip #1 to give caution about turning off autosave, tip #8 to change information about discharging batteries - thanks to all who pointed it out. Added Bonus tip #2, Tip #1 to add in clause in regards to Mac OSX, Tip #1 about the spinning of hard drives - thanks to all who pointed it out