Techno-doc

Hybrid Cars-Basics

2009-09-16T03:51:00.000-07:00

Have you been thinking of hybrid cars and perhaps questioning what a hybrid is anyways? Well, in this report i will assist you interpret them a bit better.

A hybrid is very similar to the petrol power-driven car most folks drive today, the big difference is the hybrid also employs electric battery as component of their power provision, most hybrid cars on the roads nowadays are gasoline-electric hybrids while, there are a few that are diesel-electric locomotive, only for the interest of this report I'll concentrate on the petrol electric power-driven car.

A gas powered automobile holds a fuel tank, which supplies gasolene to the locomotive engine, which turns over the transmission system, which twists the wheels around. The hybrid is a masterpiece in its own, it tries to significantly step-up gasoline mileage and make less discharges than the gas powered automobile, to be of value for you or me, a hybrid must be able to be refueled rapidly and pitch approximately 300 miles or better betwixt refuelling. The fuel tank on a hybrid is really advanced. Innovative electronics permit it to play a motor as well as a generator. It canful draw energy from the batteries to speed up the car, but acting as a generator, could retard the automobile down and bring back energy in reply to the batteries. It takes a thousand British pound* of batteries to equalize a gal of gasolene in energy. This compounding can and is cutting off gasolene uptake well. I'm sure things will simply get finer in the time to come for crossbred cars; they were a long time in arriving and won't be for everyone. The price for the hybrids isn't as very much like one may think altho a few do become quite pricy depending upon the supernumeraries and selections added up, as is as any new car

Here is a listing of what is accessible in gas power-driven hybrids on the marketplace now and a few that will be coming shortly,
Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda Fit expected in 2008, Honda Insight, Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Malibu,Lexus GS 450h, Nissan Altman, Toyota Camry, Toyota Plus,
SUVs & Minivans- Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Durango, Ford Escape SUV, GMC Yukon, Lexus RX400h SUV, Toyota Highlander SUV, Mercury Mariner SUV, and others will be coming in the near future.

Right now there are plenty on the market to look at to attend if possibly a hybrid car is for you. Initially, the designs appear a little dissimilar, they do call for a bit time to become accustomed, but later on awhile though they do appear to burst right in and a few will get you seeing a second time at the smarting pattern. Have a look and possibly a test drive, I believe you'll be agreeably amazed at the ride and construct of the novel hybrids. They're unlike and will call for some getting accustomed, but they're a great deal necessary and will eliminate a few of the other gas gulping cars that are on tour today. I hope after reading this article you will have a better understanding of what a hybrid car is all about, they seem to be here to stay. the hybrids is not as much as one might think although some do get quite expensive depending on the extras and options added, the same as any new automobile

Here is a list of what is available in gas powered hybrids on the market today and some that will be coming soon,
Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda Fit expected in 2008, Honda Insight, Hyundai Accent, expected in 2009, Chevrolet Malibu expected 2007 Lexus GS 450h, Nissan Altman, expected in 2007, Toyota Camry, Toyota Plus,
SUVs & Minivans- Chevrolet Tahoe
, Dodge Durango, launched in 2007, Ford Escape SUV, GMC Yukon, launched 2007, Lexus RX400h SUV, Toyota Highlander SUV, Mercury Mariner SUV, and their are many more.

Right now there are enough on the market to look at to see if maybe a hybrid automobile is for you. At first, the designs seem a bit different, they do take a little time to get used to, but after awhile though they do seem to fit right in and some will get you looking a second time at the smart design. Take a look and maybe a test drive, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the ride and concept of the new hybrids. They are different and will take some getting used to, but they are much needed and will do away with some of the other gas guzzling automobiles that are on the road today. I hope after reading this article you will have a better understanding of what a hybrid car is all about, they seem to be here to stay.

ymail versus gmail

2009-09-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

Like many people, I have both a G-mail account and a Yahoo! Mail account. That's because there are things that I like about each of them enough to not want to get rid of either of them. Despite the fact that they are both email systems, they are strikingly different. If you're going to limit yourself to just one free e-mail account, you'll have to carefully consider your preferences to go with the right one.

Here are some of the differences between Gmail and Yahoo! Mail:

Attachments. Gmail lets you add attachments in the same screen as the one you're writing your email in. Yahoo moves you to a different screen and makes you add attachments one at a time. To add more than five attachments requires adding addition boxes in which to input information. Some people may find this annoying.
Chat feature. Although Yahoo! has an IM program, it's not the same Gmail's chat function which is built right into your email. Some people like this option because it makes it easy to send quick messages instead of longer emails when you're conversing with someone else who is already online. However, some people don't want to be seen online when they're answering email and so don't like this Gmail function. Of course, you can opt out of it.
Contact storage. Gmail and Yahoo! differ slightly in the way that they organize your contacts. Gmail automatically keeps addresses that you've emailed on your contact list unless you delete them. Yahoo is the opposite; you have to manually opt to add them to your address book. The basics are the same but the appearance is a little different so it's a matter of preference. It should be noted that Google is now letting you expand your personal profile so that the contacts you have may provide more information automatically through Google.
Conversation organization. Gmail keeps your conversation going for you - every time that you reply to someone's email, it automatically gets added to the same conversation thread so you can easily look things up within the conversation again. However, this can be annoying because to change your "subject" line, you have to re-compose a new email which is not true of Yahoo! Mail.
Folder organization. The main thing about Yahoo! Mail that I prefer is the way that it lets you set up folders and organize your information. Google lets you label your folders but they're all kept in basically the same places. (They're in your inbox or they can be archived.) In contrast, you can create many different folders on Yahoo! which makes more organizational sense for my work.
Professional credibility. Most people who use their email accounts for professional reasons don't use a free account at all. However, those that do almost always go with Gmail. It is considered to be the more professional of accounts and lends greater credibility to freelancers and home business owners who receive email from clients and investors. Gmail recently added a function that lets you set up an email account with your own domain name so that you can get some serious professionalism from it. Although Yahoo! Mail accounts are common, they aren't considered quite as professional by the average person working online today.
Spam folders. In my experience, Yahoo! Mail gets more spam. Additionally, I've had more problems with my Yahoo! inbox mail and spam mail getting tossed into the wrong folder than I've had with Gmail. But that could be just one user's experience and not indicative of the whole situation.

For the most part, I prefer Gmail to Yahoo! Mail. However, there are benefits to both of them. And either can be good as a free account. Just don't go with Hotmail.

Building a gaming PC

2009-09-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's 2009. And there is no better time than now to get a gaming machine. Even for those without deep pockets, there are gaming machines that you can build yourself. The advantage to building it yourself, of course, rather than simply buying a Dell or Alienware gaming machine, is the lower price and faster shipping.

The lower price is because you don't need to pay for it to be put together; you're doing that yourself. And the shipping is far faster because, once again, they don't need to build it for you. This is a comprehensive guide, starting from an explanation of all the parts inside a computer, where and how to buy them, and the process of actually building the computer. Keep in mind that for any part you buy, besides the things to check that I list below, make sure that the brand is reputable, and that the part is compatible with anything it's connected to. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about people buying incompatible parts and having to deal with returning them and buying new parts. All the parts that I have selected as recommendations are already checked for these things, but if you wish to buy a different part you'll need to check this yourself. At the end of this guide, you will have built yourself a great gaming machine in your budget range.

For computer pricing purposes, we'll be using newegg.com, a premier site for buying individual computer parts. Their prices are generally decent (although people on Ebay.com will often give better prices).

We'll show you 2 gaming computers built with the best parts at various price ranges: Basic Gaming and High-End Gaming. Let's take a look at just what's inside a computer:
The Processor

The computer processor is an important part of building any computer. It is, in essence, the computer's brain. There are four big factors to take into account whenever you select a processor for your computer. The first is the type. There are two types of processor today, AMD and Intel. Both have positives and negatives which should impact your decision. Generally, AMD are cheaper than Intel processors of similar standards and achieve similar results for gaming purposes. However, there are also areas in which the Intel surpasses the AMD, such as video rendering and and music encoding. The Intel processor will also generally consume less power than an AMD processor of similar speed. It's all about trade-offs, and neither can claim total superiority.

The second factor you'll need to take into consideration is the number of "cores" in the processor. Each core can only do one process at a time. If you run two programs at the same time with a single core, it will quickly go back and forth between processing those programs to create the illusion that it's processing both at the same time. Today, we have dual-core processors. For obvoius reasons, having two processors give instructions in the computer is more beneficial than just one processor (single-core). For truly high-end machines, there are also quad-core processors. Unfortunately, right now most computer games aren't designed to take advantage of multi-core processors. In the near future, however, games will be specifically engineered to fully utilize dual-core and quad-core processors, and in preparation for that it's vital to make sure that your computer comes equipped with one of them.

The third factor you'll need to consider is speed. The concept itself is simple really: generally, all other things being equal, the higher number the faster it goes (go figure...). Keep in mind that this is different than it being dual-core. Dual-core allows two different programs to actually run simultaneously, while the processing speed defines how fast it can actually process the program. Both are important factors for gaming.

The fourth and final factor you'll need to consider is whether to use a 32-bit or a 64-bit processor. Put simply, 64-bit is newer, although some older games aren't compatible with it. So long as you're planning on using relatively newer games, 64-bit processors won't be a problem. And they're definately recommended, since in a few years 32-bit will fade our more and more.

How to Install the CPU
The Motherboard

If the processor is the brain of the computer, the motherboard is the body. It provides a single piece for all the various parts of the computer to connect to. To the right is a simple diagram with a basic motherboard shown. The motherboard choice should be based on your processor choice. Not all motherboards are compatible with all processors, and an AMD-compatible motherboard is never compatible with an Intel processor and vice versa.

For the motherboard, the requirements are a bit simpler than the processor. You need to make sure that the processor is compatible, that the motherboard is from a reputable company, that it's gotten good reviews from other buyers (generally 4/5 stars), and finally that it has PCI Express slots.
The RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. It's temporary memory that the computer uses while running programs, especially games. It's also volatile memory, so when the computer is turned off, all information in the RAM is erased. Having more RAM will all you to store more information at one time, without having to constantly update what's there. Put simply, More Ram = Better Game Performance.

There are many different kinds of RAM. To go over all the different kinds could be an article unto itself, and quite a large one at that. Suffice it to say, the primary concern is that the RAM is compatible with the motherboard, since each motherboard also has it's own RAM requirements.
The Hard Drive

The Hard Drive is the primary means of permanent storage on a computer. Anything that you save, from music to documents to games, are all saved onto your hard drive. Having a big hard drive is important for gaming, since today's games are quite large in size and will only get bigger. Besides size, you also need to make sure that your hard drive has a high RPM (Rotations Per Minute) so that large amounts of information can be accessed quickly. A reputable brand is certainly also a good idea.
The Video Card

THIS is the bread-and-butter of any true gaming machine. While the processor might handle such tasks as the A.I. and gaming physics, the video card handles the most important part in today's games: the graphics. You could have a top-notch processor, RAM, and hard drive, but a crappy video card will put it all to waste. Some motherboards have something called Integrated Graphics, which is basically a video card integrated into the motherboard. WARNING: This is utterly terrible for gaming purposes and should never be used.

On any video card, the two factors to consider are video memory, and external ports. Video cards have their own memory like RAM, but gaming requires intense graphics rendering which the video memory is especially efficient with, and you need a powerful video card to handle this. The other thing to consider is external ports. For older monitors, the VGA connection is used, and for newer ones the DVI connection is used. Some video cards only have one, some have both. Either way, you need to make sure that your monitor has the right one.
Computer Games Today: Call of Duty 4
The Monitor

The monitors we will be using are LCD monitors. These are the new, thin, flat monitors. The older monitors are CRT, and use technology similar to older television sets. For a monitor there are few additional requirements beyond the basics listed up top. The two primary concerns are resolution and response rates. You'll want a high maximum resolution, and a low response rate. Both are listed at any detailed site for any piece of computer equipment.
The Sound Card + Speakers

Sound is important in gaming. Why spend thousands of $$$ if it won't just look good, but sound good as well? Most motherboards have onboard sound, akin to integrated graphics, but once again this is usually pretty mediocre. If you're going to buy surround sound (described below), make sure your sound card is compatible.

The sound card might process what sounds should be played from the rest of the computer, but it's the speakers that actually give you sound. The big choices here are whether to get a subwoofer, whether to get surround sound, and whether to go wireless. It's all price, really, for speakers.
The Case

The case stores everything inside it (just about). The biggest concerns about the case are size and aesthetics. Gaming PC's will usually need bigger cases since they'll have some power-hungry and larger parts in them. As for aesthetics, that's all up to the buyer. Generic cases can be bought for as little as $10, but some stylish cases cost over $200.

User-Built Gaming Machine
The Power Supply

Many novice buyers will sometimes be cheap with their power supply since other parts can be a bit pricey. This item is NOT, however, something you can cut corners with!! For gaming especially, you need a large power supply, end of story. Sometimes, cases will come with a basic power supply. Unfortunately, these will not usually provide enough power for your gaming needs. You will need to buy a power supply separately. The primary concern is the number of Watts it produces.
The Operating System

The choice for all the computers is Windows XP. Windows XP is far and away the better choice for gaming right now over Windows Vista. There are still too many games, even new ones, that just aren't Vista-compatible. Also, Vista has yet to recieve enough security updates to be considered truly secure. It will still be a few years before many businesses transfer to the new Operating System.

Peripherals and More

These are a few additional items that are needed with your gaming computer.

-Mouse

-Keyboard

-CD/DVD-RW

* NewEgg
This is the website where all pricing information is based off of. If you cannot find a better price on Ebay (definately take a look), I would highly recommend buying from them.

Selecting The Parts

Hopefully by now, you've become well-versed in what to look for in your computer parts. Below, I have recommended parts for two different computers that I've built at different budgets. In this next section, I'll first list the recommended part for the Basic machine, then the High-End machine.

The Basic Gaming Machine: $1500

Don't be misled: this is a gaming computer. It will be able to play the games you want to right now. This is also the gaming rig for the guy on a budget. If you want to go cheaper than the computer described here, it is possible but don't expect to play the latest and greatest games well, even with low graphics settings. It's good to remember, though, that with this machine you wont be able to max out graphical settings like resolution, anti-ailising, or anisotropic filtering.

The Power Gaming Machine: $3500

This computer will play anything. You'll be able to max out your settings on any game out today, and this will be able to handle games for the next 5 years to come easy. Some parts are not the #1 performer on the market today, but they are all excellent for gaming. Buying those slightly better performers will often bring up the price by thousands of dollars, so unless you're willing to spend $6000+, this computer will do everything you need.

Processor

Basic Gaming: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 ($139.99)

This is a solid processor for gaming. It's very affordable, and will play most games well, if not at top resolution, and is a dual-core. It consistently gets superb reviews from buyers and should be a welcome economic addition to anyone's budget gaming rig.

Power Gaming: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz ($539.99)

Motherboard

Basic Gaming: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe ($129.99)

Far and away a fantastic motherboard. It has expansion ports of all shapes and sizes, and gets great customer feedback from whoever buys it. Combined with the processor above, you're sure to get a machine that can hold it's own while gaming.

Power Gaming: ASUS Striker Extreme ($289.99)

RAM

Basic Gaming: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB DDR2-800 240-pin(2x 1GB) WIN2X2048-6400C5DHX ($53.00)

This RAM is great on a budget. 2 GB will work well enough for games. Plus, the motherboard has expansion for another 2 GB later if you wish to expand your RAM in the future.

Power Gaming: CORSAIR 4GB DDR2-800 240-pin(2 x 2GB) (2x $119.00)

2GB is acceptable for gaming, but 8GB is incredible. With 8GB and a Quad core processor, you could run 2 games simultaneously with no delay. Also, with CORSAIR memory you know you're getting a good product with a good warranty.

Hard Drive

Basic Gaming: Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA ($84.99)

This is a fine hard drive. At 7200 RPM, it's a suitable speed for gaming, and with 320 GB of space it should last for a while without getting full. If we assume that the average new game these days is 5 GB (a high estimate), you could fit 64 different full games onto it.

Power Gaming : Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB SATA ($329.99)

This is a massive hard drive. With a 7200 RPM SATA connection and a 32 MB Cache, this monster will be able to hold anything you want it to. Few people can fill an entire terabyte in the entire life of the hard drive.

Video Card

Basic Gaming: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB ($469.99)

This is from the GeForce 8800GTX series, the top line of graphics cards available today. With 786 MB of video memory, and a reputable company like ASUS, this thing will work for any games. Even though this is a budget gaming computer, this video card is anything BUT budget. Gaming primarily requires a powerful video card, and this is exactly what this computer gets.

Power Gaming: (2x) EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB ($469.99 each)

These video cards have a special technology to them called SLI which allow you to "bridge" two of them together (connector included with video card) into one monitor. In effect, it will give you 1.5 GB of video processing technology. If a single top series video card is good, two of them together will blow away anything imaginable. Stress test it as much as you like and it won't slow down for anything.

Monitor

Basic Gaming: HP L1906 Silver-Black 19" 5ms LCD Monitor ($229.99)

This is a great gaming monitor. It has a relatively quick response time, which means that data sent to it from the various parts of the computer will have a quicker response time. 19" is also great for gaming.

Power Gaming: SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms DVI ($409.99 after rebate)

This 24" monster is about as large as monitors come without getting exhorbitantly expensive. You'll be able to look at anything with a fantastic defautl resolution of 1920 x 1200. Also, since it's widescreen you'll be able to watch DVD's in their native settings.

Sound Card

Basic Gaming: Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy ($27.99)

This sound card will give you grerat sound for all your gaming needs. Also, it's surround sound compatible, so at a later date you can buy surround sound.

Power Gaming: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 ($80.99)

Speakers

Basic Gaming: Logitech S-220 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System ($22.99)

These speakers will work well. Also, they have a subwoofer, which will be able to provide you with some deeper sound capabilities. Logitech is a superb company for sound equipment, and great for gaming purposes.

Power Gaming: Logitech THX Z-5300e 280 Watts RMS 5.1 ($134.99)

With surround sound and THX certified, these little babies will provide all the sound you need.

Case

Basic Gaming: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black ($44.99)

This case is a Mid Tower. It has 2 fans included with it, which is very important in a gaming computer, which will be creating a lot of heat. Along with the power supply fan and the processor fan, the computer should have more than enough airflow to keep it cool.

Power Gaming: Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($114.99)

This case is a sleek silver, and includes 3 additional internal fans. Looks aestheically pleasing and not squarish and bulky like some of the more generic cases today. With all that cooling, it will make sure that there are no overheating problems.

CD/DVD Drive

Basic Gaming: SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R Burner ($27.99)

A great CD/DVD Burner at a great price. Can't be beat. With DVD-Burner capabilities, you can copy your games to create backup copies.

Power Gaming: ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T + ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T($38.99 + $20.99 respectively)

With two DVD drives (one being a DVD-Burner), you'll be able to burn directly from disk to disk without saving it onto your hard drive first. This allows for faster burning

Power Supply

Basic Gaming: Broadway Com Corp Okia-black-650 ATX 650W Power Supply ($54.99)

This is a hefty 650W power supply. Nothing less should be used in a gaming computer, especially if you plan on possibly upgrading some parts in the computer in the future.

Power Gaming: SILVERSTONE OP1000 ATX 12V 2.2 1000W ($219.99 after rebate)

Nothing less should be used in such a powerful gaming machine. 1000W will give you enough power for this computer, and many future upgrades. It's also been specially approved to work well with SLI that consumes quite a bit of power. The biggest downside of such a power supply, really, is that it's big. With a solid 5-star rating at NewEgg, and it being my own power supply that has lasted for quite a while, you can be rest assured that it will handle all your gaming needs.

Keyboard & Mouse:

Basic Gaming: Logitech 967740-0403 Black Keyboard + Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse ($9.25 + $39.99 respectively)

The mouse is important in gaming. Generic mouses just won't cut it when you'll need sensitivity adjusted and more. There are some mouses that are simply fantastic for gaming, and this mouse is one of them. Winning multiple awards, and my personal mouse of choice, it will certainly serve any gamer well.

Power Gaming: Ideazon Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard- ZXP-2000 + Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse ($74.99+$39.99 respectively)

The same mouse is used, because simply put it's just a fantastic mouse at an amazing price. The keyboard, however, is a specialized gaming keyboard. It will help to enhance your gaming experience. With special function buttons that you can just about program to do whatever you like, and a specialized area which is especially good with dungeon crawling games, this keyboard certainly won' disappoint.

Operating System

Both: Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64Bit SP2C - OEM ($139.99)

Windows XP is far and away the choice for gaming right now. At a later time you will be able to upgrade to Windows Vista if you want to. With it being 64-bit, you might have some problems with older games but at least it won't become incompatible for newer games (64-bit will be phasing out 32-bit).

The other reason not to pick Windows Vista is security. Windows XP didnt really become secure until they released Service Pack 2, and that was years after it was released. Windows Vista isn't at that stage ye. Nothing will be made for at least 8-10 years that won't be XP Compatible anyway so no harm done.

Price vs. Alienware:

Basic Gaming: Aurora 7500 (Customized to compare) $2,373.00

The Aurora 7500 is one of Alienware's starter level gaming computers. It has all the customization items required to match up against our personally-built Gaming Computer, but costs $873 more.

Power Gaming: Alienware Area-51 7500 (Customized to compare) $4,776.00

The Area-51 7500 is actually not their top gaming computer. It's their mid-range gaming machine. It compares similarly to our Power Gaming machine, although it costs about $1150 more than our personally-built computer does. Alienware computers have a good reputation of quality. If you are ok with spending $6000+, you will likely be able find find a better machine than the one built here. Nevertheless, they and other computer resellers prey on the fact that they don't believe most users are able or willing to build their own machines.
Our Total Prices

Basic Gaming: $1476.13 (less with mail-in rebates)

We stayed within the $1500 budget. Most likely, shipping and mail-in rebates will cancel eachother out, so the computer will cost about $1500 in the end. Compared even to relatively well-priced Dell gaming machines, this is far cheaper and specially designed for gaming.

Power Gaming: $3613.85

Well, unlike our Basic Gaming machine, it wasn't exactly within budget, coming out about $100 over what we were looking for. Some people would ask "why not downgrade a few parts and save $100?" Well, for me at least, I hate cutting corners at anything I do. This is a fantastic gaming computer, and cutting anything from it would just hurt it's performance. Even going $113.85 over budget, comparing it to it's Alienware counterpart, we can see a great price disparity. If you want to try to find lower prices, EBay may have your solution. I have yet to find a game out today that will not play amazingly well on this machine.
Conclusion

Whichever compuer you choose, you'll be well on your way to a superb gaming experience. If you want to change out the recommended parts I selected with one of your own, remember to look at all the important features I wrote about, especially compatibility. Also, make sure you check the ebay listings throughout the page. They'll oftentimes have even better prices than NewEgg, and will allow you to make your computer even cheaper. Hope you have a good time :) Feel free to post comments I love to hear feedback.

Alienware M17x-Gaming beast

2009-09-11T02:20:00.001-07:00

The Alienware, now part of Dell, is a company specialized in developing top-line computers for games and last week they launched what they are calling "the laptop of 17" most powerful in the world. " And they are not kidding: this notebook has three processors graphics, a feature not found even in the majority of desktop computers.

These three are two graphics processors GeForce GTX 280M working in SLI mode and one is a GeForce 9400M. Thus if you are not games you can turn off the two GeForce GTX 280M and only work with the GeForce 9400M graphics chip, which is more economical. This technology is known as HybridPower. You can, however, buy two GeForce GTX 260M or even a single GeForce GTX 260M case ache to have SLI in a notebook is great.

This notebook is equipped with a processor Intel and you can choose from a Core 2 Duo P8600 (two processor cores with 2.4GHz clock and 3MB of cache) to a Core 2 Extreme QX9300 (four processor cores with clock 2.53 GHz and 12 MB of cache).

You can buy it with 4 GB, 6 GB or 8 GB of DDR3 memory with clock of 1067 MHz or 1333 MHz

With respect to storage, you can choose hard drives of 7200 rpm (usuallynotebooks come with 5,400 rpm models, which are slower but consume less power) or SSD drives, and can even buy your notebook with a system for RAID0 increase performance.

It comes with screen 17 "and you can choose between a model with a resolution of 1440 x 900 or 1920 x 1200.

And of course it has all features top line, and backlit keyboard, Bluetooth, eSATA port, Firewire port, HDMI video output and DisplayPort, 5.1 surround audio, network, Gigabit Ethernet, wireless IEEE 802.11n, optional TV card and more.

The disadvantage is obviously the weight and price. The most basic model weighs 5.3 kg and costs $ 1800, USA.

We simulated the configuration of most top-line model (two GeForce GTX 280M, Core 2 Extreme processor QX9300, 8GB of DDR3-1333 memory, two 256GB drives SSDs in RAID0, monitor 17 "with resolution of 1920x1200, unit of Blu -Ray, TV card, Windows Vista Ultimate) and the price is of course jaw-dropping U.S. $ 5,600 in U.S.. Ah!

2009-09-11T02:07:00.000-07:00

Ah, remember the good old days when cookies where just a treat that you got after school with a cold glass of milk? Those of us that use computers on a regular basis haven't thought about cookies in just that way in a long time. But all that most of us really know about computer cookies is that they're there. Many people don't know what they are or how to get ride of them. Here are the browser cookie basics that you've been looking for.

First, you might want to know what a browser cookie is and why you would want to delete it. The fact is that the cookie probably isn't bad or good but that it could potentially pose a risk to you in some circumstances. Basically, a browser cookie is just a chunk of text that is sent between your browser and a server every time that the browser and server connect. What it does is keep track of who you are. So let's say that you input information into an account at a popular website like Amazon. A cookie will track your information (such as your name) via this cookie and send the cookie to the server each time that you access it. That's why you can sign into a site like that and see it personalized to your name, ("Hi, so-and-so"). The cookie itself is harmless to your computer but the fact that it stores your private information makes you more susceptible to computer hacking and potential identity theft.

That would be the reason that you want to delete your cookies. But what's the process for doing it? Luckily, deleting browser cookies is easy. Just follow these simple steps and you're all set:

* Open your Internet connection.
* Go to "Tools".
* Select "Internet Options".
* Under the "general" tab, you should see "delete cookies". This may be combined with other functions. For example, you may see "browsing history" and an option to delete cookies along with temporary files and other aggregated browsing history. There are minor variations, but the point is the same - choose to delete. You may delete all of these things or just delete the cookies. Many people opt to delete the cookies and temporary files but not delete their passwords. This may or may not be an option depending on the operating system that you are running.
* Restart your computer. This isn't a requirement; your cookies are already deleted. But many people restart the computer after taking steps like this.

Note that you also have the option of deleting only certain cookies instead of all of your cookies. If you want to go through them manually and delete only certain ones, you will follow the same first three steps above. However, instead of "delete cookies", you will choose "Settings". This will bring up a new window in which you will choose the "View files" option. You'll select "View Details" and get your list of cookies. Highlight and delete any cookies that you want to delete.

Once you've deleted the cookies that are on your computer, you might want to change the settings on your computer to make it more difficult for cookies to get stores in the future. To do this, go to Tools again and select Internet Options again. This time, go to the Privacy tab. You'll be given options for selecting a range of different security levels for cookies. You might not want the highest option because this will block a lot of websites and can be annoying on a daily basis. But a medium-high level of security will block most cookies and keep your computer activity efficient.

Bluetooth basics

2009-09-11T01:56:00.000-07:00

What is Bluetooth?

I had no idea what Bluetooth was until my friends started talking about their Bluetooth-capable devices and how they had no idea how to use it. I decided to look it up, and here is what I found:

Bluetooth is a way to connect and transfer information between things like cell phones, laptops and PCs, printers, digital cameras, and video game consoles using radio frequencies securely.

According to the official Bluetooth site, "Bluetooth wireless technology is a short-range communications technology intended to replace the cables connecting portable and/or fixed devices while maintaining high levels of security. The key features of Bluetooth technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. The Bluetooth specification defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other."

It's nice because it's cheap, automatic, and doesn't require annoying wires!

Jabra FreeSpeak BT250 Bluetooth headset

How to use Bluetooth - by Nokia

To set up Bluetooth on your phone

1. Go to Menu, select Connect or Connections or Connectivity:

Note! If the above steps do not work, please consult the user manual.

2. Bluetooth - Select On to enable Bluetooth.

3. My telephone's visibility - Select Shown to all if you want your device to be found by other Bluetooth devices. If you select Hidden, your device cannot be found by other devices.

4. My Bluetooth name - Define a name for your device. After you have activated your Bluetooth service and changed My phone's visibility to Shown to all, your phone and this name can be seen by other Bluetooth device users.

Sending data via Bluetooth

If your phone supports the Bluetooth 1.1 specification or earlier, you can only have one Bluetooth connection running on your phone at any one time.

1. Select or open the file you wish to send. For example, to send a photo to another device, open the Gallery application.

2. Select the file you wish to send, then select Options > Send > via Bluetooth.

3. The phone starts to search for devices within range.

Devices using Bluetooth technology that are within range will appear on the display. You should see a device icon, the device's name, the device type, or a short name. (A paired device is one where a Bluetooth connection already exists between your phone and the other device.)

• To interrupt the search, press Stop. The device list freezes and you can start to form a connection to one of the devices already found.

If you have searched for devices earlier, a list of the devices that were found previously is shown first. To start a new search, select More devices. If you switch off the phone, the list of devices is cleared and the device search needs to be started again before sending data.

4. Scroll to the device you want to connect with and press Select. The item you are sending is copied to Outbox and the note Connecting is shown.

5. Pairing (if this is not required by the other device, proceed to step 6.)

• If the other device requires pairing before data can be transmitted, a tone sounds and you are asked to enter a passcode. • Create your own passcode (1-16 characters long, numeric) and agree with the owner of the other device to use the same code. This passcode is used only once and you do not have to memorise it. • After pairing, the device is saved to the Paired devices view.

6. When the connection has been successfully established, the note Sending data is shown. Data received via Bluetooth can be found in the Inbox folder in Messaging. Tip: Pairing is a means of authentication. The users of the devices using Bluetooth technology should agree together what the passcode is, and use the same passcode for both devices in order to pair them. Devices that do not have a user interface have a preset passcode.

Checking the status of the Bluetooth connection

• When the Bluetooth icon is shown in standby mode, Bluetooth is active.

• When the Bluetooth icon is blinking, your phone is trying to connect to the other device. • When the Bluetooth icon is shown continuously, the Bluetooth connection is active.

Receiving data via Bluetooth

When you receive data via Bluetooth, a message alert tone is played and you are asked if you want to accept the message. If you accept, the item is placed in the Inbox folder in Messaging.

Disconnecting Bluetooth

A Bluetooth connection is disconnected automatically after sending or receiving data.