Cheapskate Technologies

Tips on how to save Electricity – Computers

2008-03-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Computers have become a vital part of our lives nowadays. Computers used to be almost solely used to process data and for specialized business purposes such as Desktop Publishing, Database for Businesses, and Programming. Now we use computers for Blogging, MultiMedia Entertainment, and Gaming. The computer has evolved into a multipurpose workhorse which can be used both as a source of information and entertainment. As the computer now offers more capabilities, this also means that it is used more often and it now consumes more electricity. So, we must learn some CHEAPSKATE ways to save electricity while using our computers.

Desktops

Laptops

General (applicable to both Laptop and Desktop PC’s)

Tips on how to save Electricity - Computers : Desktops

2008-03-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

1. Get an LCD Display
Typically, almost half of the Power Consumption of computers are consumed by the Monitor. If you are using a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) type monitor, your display may be actually using more Electrical Energy than the PC. Even the newest Energy Efficient CRT monitors still consume 90 – 100 Watts of Electrical Energy when it is turned on. Compare that to an LCD display, which uses only around 25 – 40 Watts.

2. Use a Power Efficient PSU
Most desktop computers today run with a 300 – 350 Watts Power Supply Unit or PSU. The newer ones offer 500 Watts, and even 1000 Watts! Does this mean that the computer is consuming electrical Energy equal to the Wattage of the PSU? The answer, wonderfully, is no.

The PSU Wattage Rating which you see in the PSU is what can be called as “Maximum Effective Wattage”. This means that the wattage indicated on the PSU rating is the maximum power the PSU can supply to the computer system. If your computer has a 350 Watts CPU, it doesn’t mean the computer consumes 350 Watts. It just means that the PSU can deliver a maximum of 350 Watts into your system. The actual Energy Consumption that the computer uses depends on the devices that actually consume electrical energy such as the processor and motherboard. This is the reason why some branded PC’s such as HP and Dell still use 250 Watts Energy Efficient PSU’s to run their latest PC’s, while some computer systems use 500 Watt PSU’s to run the latest microprocessors.

Some PSU’s do operate at a lower Power Efficiency. Meaning that it consumes a slightly larger amount of electrical energy than what the PC components really need. The most Energy Efficient PSU’s can often be seen in Barebone Systems such as the Shuttle XPC’s. The high price of these Barebones isn’t only because they look good, but they use Energy Efficient PSU’s as well. Brand Name PSU’s such as ANTEC and HEC costs more, but they do tend to be more power efficient and is also more stable.

2. Use Built-in components of the Motherboard
As I mentioned in the PSU explanation, the energy consumption of your PC largely depends on your system’s configuration. Basically, every component on your PC (motherboard, processor, video card, hard drive, etc) draws out power from the PSU (Power Supply Unit). So, the more components you have, the more electrical energy is consumed by your PC.

Most modern Motherboards today have built-in Video, Sound, and LAN. The Sound and LAN components of the motherboard are almost always sufficient enough for most users. For the Video Display though, most still prefer plugging in a separate Video card for the display. This is specially true for those who are into Gaming. But if you are not into PC Gaming, you might want to consider using the built-in Graphics Processor of the motherboard instead of using a separate video card. Typical Video Cards consume about 20 – 40 Watts. High End Video cards used for Gaming and Graphic Intensive Applications can consume as much as 80 Watts! A motherboard’s built-in graphic processor works by using a specified amount of the system’s memory, so you do need to have a large amount of Memory in your PC to use the built-in Video. But since most modern PC’s can accommodate larger amounts of RAM, memory cards are getting cheaper, and Built-in Graphics Processors are getting better, using the Built-in Video in you Motherboard not only saves you money on the account that you don’t have to buy a separate video card, and you shave off a couple of watts on the electrical consumption of your PC.

3. Use Enclosures or External Storage
Each Hard Drive you connect to the Motherboard uses around 25 – 30 Watts. Each Optical Drive you connect consumes Watts. A good way to save on electrical consumption in your PC is to use just 1 Hard drive and 1 Optical Drive. If you need an Additional Hard Drive or Optical Drive, you might want to use a Hard Disk/Optical Drive Enclosure that connects to your USB or FireWire port. Move you backups or rarely used files on the Enclosure, and just keep 1 Hard drive in the system. The reason for this is simple – your backup drive is consuming 25 Watts, even if you don’t use it. By removing the backup drive to the Enclosure you save 25 Watts. You can connect the Enclosure whenever you want to access your backup files.

If you are using multiple Hard Drives to store Media Files and you want the convenience of being able to play those files whenever you want to, consider upgrading to a larger capacity hard drive. This idea is also good for those who use Multi-Boot systems. Just Partition the Hard Drive to as be able to install multiple operating systems.

For Optical Drives, I recommend connecting just the DVD-RW to the system and placing your DVD-ROM/CD-RW/CD-ROM Drives in an enclosure.

4. Get a bigger stick
Most Memory or RAM modules consume 10 – 12 Watts. The newest DDR2 Type RAM modules are more Energy Efficient, consuming only 7.5 Watts, but some do need to work in pairs. So it is more Energy Efficient to buy bigger capacity memory sticks and use less memory slot in your motherboard. A 1GB DDR1 Memory would save you 30 Watts compared to using 4 256MB sticks.

5. Casing Fans and Lights
Some of today’s PC casings have colorful lights that automatically turn on when the PC is booted up. These lights may make your PC look fancy and they do tend to use only 3 watts of energy, but sometimes, they are just a waste of Electrical Energy. Like, if you use your PC during the day, or where there is bright light in the room that those CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light) lights are hardly noticeable, it is better to turn those lights off. It may just be 3 watts, but if you use your PC for long periods of time, those 3 watts pile up on your electricity meter. Some PC casings have switches for their CCFL lights, which is convenient so that you can turn the lights on when it is dark. Those that doesn’t have switches though, is connected directly to the Power supply, or in the Motherboard. It is better to unplug it and save 3 Watts.

Casing fans are often added to the casing to provide better airflow and cool the interior of the PC. Each of these fans consumes 2 Watts. If you’re room has good ventilation, or airconditioned, it’s better to just unplug those fans.

Tips on how to save on Electricity - Computers : Laptops

2008-03-17T06:39:00.000-07:00

Laptops are almost energy efficient already. This is because they are built to run on a battery pack. But of course, CHEAPSKATES like me can squeeze out more energy savings from it.

1. Plug out the Cards
Most laptop owners use PCMCIA devices in their laptops. If you don’t actually use the device that often, you might consider plugging out the PCMCIA cards to reduce power consumption.

2. Disable unused Peripherals in the BIOS
Most older laptops, and some newer ones, have a built-in 56K-modem. If you use your laptop on the road, or if you’re connected to a broadband connection, you obviously don’t need this device. Your laptop’s Internal Floppy drive can also draw as much as 5 watts, even if you don’t use it.

3. Don’t opt for Wi-fi Ready
I am surprised to learn that a laptop’s built-in Wif-fi modem is a huge power hog. Disabled, it can consume 15 Watts, enabled, 16 Watts, and when it is in use, as much as 18 Watts. So it’s better to buy a laptop that doesn’t have a buil-in wi-fi and just buy an external one.

4. Switch off the built-in Speakers
Some laptops have a built-in speaker that has an on/off switch. You can save more power if you turn the speakers off and just use the external speaker connection to connect a headset or a USB powered mini-speaker set. The USB speaker set will consume 5 Watts, but you can easily plug it out if you’re not using the speakers.

5. Use your Laptop’s Built-in Battery Saving Features
Even if it is plugged in. Since Laptops are designed to be used “on the go”, manufacturers often include Power Saving features (aside from the standard Power saving features found on almost all PC’s) such as Processor Power Control, and LCD power adjustment. The processor power control (Like Intel’s Speedstep Technology) is a great feature to use. It “powers down” your processor so that it will use less energy. This is essentially useful if you’re doing tasks that don’t need too much processor power such as writing documents, viewing pictures, or watching a movie.

6. Consider Undervolting
Undervolting is like the reverse of overclocking. You lower the amount of voltage that is supplied to the Laptop’s Processor. For more information about Undervolting CLICK HERE.

For me however, it’s better to use the Power saving Features of your Laptop such as Intel’s Speedstep than undervolting. This is because undervolting, like overclocking, will void your warranty.

Tips on how to save Electricity – Computers : General

2008-03-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

1. The Display is the best place to start.
Whether you are using an LCD Display, CRT, or the LCD on your Laptop, turning the display off will give you the most savings on your electric bill. Screensavers are just that, screensavers, they don’t provide any Powersaving feature. If you don’t want to constantly turn your display on or off, you can also use your monitor’s “Low Power Stand-by” feature, it will cut the monitor’s energy consumption by as much as 80%.

A great trick I learned is to reduce the Brightness on the display to about 50% and use my video card’s utility software to increase brightness. Reducing your monitor’s brightness also saves electrical consumption. Video Card vendors such as ATI and NVIDIA have utilities that can control the brightness of the display, without increasing the energy consumption of the video card. It doesn’t affect playing video’s though, but of course, you can use a movie player that has color/brightness/gamma control, such as VLC Media Player.

2. Use a Good Powerstrip Instead of an AVR.
Most Powerstrips have built-in line filters and surge suppressors (Such as Panther and Surer Brands in the Philippines), that it is safe to use even Generic PSU’s without AVR’s. AVR’s consume additional energy, and the energy it consumes gets higher as it heats up and used for a long period of time.

3. Shut it
Off. If you’re not going to use your PC for a long time, Shut it down and turn it off. If you hate waiting for long boot times, then use the Suspend/Hibernate Feature. You can also use the Power Schemes found on most operating systems like Windows and Linux.

4. Consider a 2nd PC
If you’re a Gamer or you really need a High-End Performance PC, then consider buying a 2nd, low end, low energy consumption PC for more “normal” tasks such as surfing the net or Office work, preferably a laptop. You can turn off your high-end PC after playing, then switch to the low power PC for tasks that don’t usually need high computing power

5. Buy a Laptop
If you don’t have the need for A High-End Performance or Gaming PC, then you should just use a Laptop. Even a 2nd hand one. This is specially true if you’re just using the PC for surfing the net and Office tasks. Most Pentium-3 based laptops are great, specially the 800Mhz and 1 Ghz speeds, because they offer more computing power per watts consumed.

A great way to save on Laptop purchase is to buy a 2nd hand one which have some defects that doesn’t necessarily affect performance and computing power. Cracks and dents on the casing significantly reduces a laptop’s price. If you don’t really care for aesthetics, you will definitely get a bargain on your purchase. You don’t even need a working battery pack, as long as you have the power adapter to plug in to the AC outlet, but of course you’ve got to forget mobile computing. A great bargain, but a rare find would be finding a high-end laptop, even with gaming power, that has a defective/non-working LCD display, battery, and keyboard but all connections, such as PCMCIA Slots, VGA out, USB, and PS/2 are still functioning properly. You can connect an LCD display, external keyboard, and the AC adapter to use it. Not only will you save money on buying it, but you’ll definitely going to save a lot on your electric bill.

7. PS/2 over USB
Using PS/2 mice and keyboards are better than using USB types. Each PS/2 connection uses only 2Watts, while USB devices draw out 5 Watts. If you’re using a USB connection for both your mouse and keyboard, that’s a difference of 6 watts if you’re using PS/2.

8. Unplug Any Unused USB/FireWire Devices
Unplug any USB and FireWire Devices that draws power from the USB/FireWire port from your PC when you are not using them. These devices include Bluetooth/IrDa USB devices, Webcams, Flash Drives, and Memory Card Readers. Each USB and FireWire device on your PC that is powered through the USB and FireWire ports consume 5 Watts and 8 Watts respectively. However, devices that are connected tthough the USB and FireWire ports that uses those ports solely for Data Transmission is safe to leave plugged in. These devices include Enclosures, Printers, and Scanners

9. Use your Operating System’s Power Schemes
Most popular operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, have Energy saving power schemes that enables your PC to automatically power down your System, Hard Drive, and Monitor whenever these components are not in use.

10. Save Power on Idle PC’s
CHECK OUT THIS SITE. This website discusses how you can save more energy when you’re PC is Idle.

Tips on how to save Electricity - Airconditioning

2008-03-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

Another energy hog often used in our homes is the Airconditioner. Even though we don't usually use the Airconditioner 24/7 unlike the refrigerator, it is consumes more electricity per hour of usage than the refrigerator. A 1HP Airconditioner running for only 8 hours a day would easily equal or even surpass the energy consumption of a 10-cubic feet refrigerator running for 24 hours. So if we can make our usage of the Airconditioner more efficiently thru a CHEAPSKATE's way, it will definitely save us more money.

When it comes to Airconditioning, saving more largely depends on the user and the environment. Typically, hot and humid climates will definitely make your Airconditioner consume more energy. The temperature the user find comfortable is also a big factor. Here's a short CHEAPSKATE's aircondtioner usage tips and guide to help you save money.

* Install the Airconditioner in the coolest place in the house, or at least away from direct sunlight. A place where the Airconditioner can be shaded and have sufficient ventilation would be ideal.

* Clean air filters regularly, this will greatly improve the Airconditioner's performance and will also provide better quality air.

* Check your window caulking and insulation. The room should have minimum cold air loss as much as possible. Try to install rubber side installation in your doors and windows to avoid cold air from escaping.

* Use as much curtains and blinds in your windows to block out the sun but without blocking too much of the natural light which would make the room too dark.

* If your Airconditioner has a thermostat, try to set it to a temperature just 1 degree higher than what you might usually prefer. Eventually, you're body would adjust to that slight temperature change. You can start by setting the thermostat at 24 deg Celsius, the standard room temperature. You can lower it 1 degree at a time, and when you find the temperature you are most comfortable at, set it back 1 degree higher. This 1 degree rise in temperature would be barely noticeable when your body gets used to it, but the amount of money you will save will be noticeable over time.

Tips on how to save Electricity - Freezers and Refrigerators

2008-03-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

Freezers and Refrigerators are one of the most common appliances in most modern homes. Sadly, because it uses an electric motor to operate, it is also one of the biggest energy consumer in our homes. And due to the fact that it is often plugged in and running 24/7 for most of the time, it is probably the single most costly appliance in terms of energy consumption in a typical household. So if we want to save on our electrical bill, the Refrigerator and Freezer is one of the best place to start.

One of the best ways to consider is buying a new Refrigerator. Most of today's manufactured Refrigerators are made with electrical Energy Efficiency in mind. When looking for a new refrigerator to buy, consider this simple refrigerator buying guide:

REFRIGERATOR BUYING GUIDE

1. Usage
Personally, I think this should be the biggest factor one should consider when buying a refrigerator. When I visit some people's houses, I often see that their refrigerators just often have a few contents, like butter, some leftover food, and a few eggs in the egg tray. Most just have bottles of water or half-full bottled juices/sodas. The freezer compartment most of the time is just filled with ice-trays or plastic-bags of ice. Most of these refrigerators are at least 10 cubic feet in size. This is definitely not a CHEAPSKATE way of using a refrigerator.

A great way to save in refrigerator usage to ask yourself if you actually need it. If your refrigerator is often empty or most of the time, the contents are just ice and cold water, you might as well just buy a cold water dispenser and buy some ice at the convenience store every now and then. If there is a convenience store or better yet, a supermarket, which is just a short walking distance from your home, it is better to just buy the things you need from the supermarket than store it in the freezer. This is a great idea specially if you do not do much cooking in the house or you often eat out or often call take-out/delivery foods. If you have a friendly neighbor who has a refrigerator, and all you have to store is a few pieces of meat, you can just ask your neighbor if there is some room left in their fridge to store your items. The setback of these ideas of course is convenience. Not all stores are open 24 hours a day, and I don't think you would consider knocking on your neighbor's door to get your items at the wee hours of the day.

2. Size
If you don't want to go to the store every now and then and would like to have the convenience of storing and getting your food stuffs anytime you want, then you really have to buy a refrigerator. The biggest factor in buying one is the size. Typically, larger refrigerators consume more electricity than smaller ones.

A personal refrigerator will be sufficient for 1 to 3 people or a family of 4. Personal Refrigerators typically range from 4 cubic feet to 6 cubic feet. Typical households usually have 6 cubic feet models. I think that if you don't store a lot of stuff in the refrigerator, it's best to go with the 4 cubic feet model. A two-door 4 cubic-feet refrigerator might be more difficult to find but would be ideal, since it offers more storage at the freezer section, which is what maybe the most usable part of the refrigerator. A single door model of the same size would be good too, as long as the freezer space is large enough. A 4 cubic feet refrigerator would be great for a family of 4, who usually cooks home made dinner. However, if you can find a 6-Cubic feet model with the same freezer capacity and operating cost as 4 cubic feet model, then choose the larger one.

If you do a lot of cooking, you might also consider buying a small freezer. A small chest freezer which has a two-star rating (meaning it's storage temperature can achieve -12 degree Celsius) would be great. A two-star rating means that it can store frozen foods and food items such as meat up to 1 month. If the freezer has ice making capacity, it would be better, but expect it to be a bit more expensive.

For a larger family or for those who need extra storage in the refrigerator, a 16-cubic feet, three-door, top freezer refrigerator would be perfect. Why the huge jump in size? Well, according to the energy star website, the most efficient refrigerators are the 16 - 20 cubic feet models. So if you're going to need a refrigerator larger than 6 cubic feet, get the largest one you can afford, since most refrigerators larger than 6 cubic meters but smaller than 16 cubic meters tend to to have almost the same operating costs. The idea is to get more storage space for your money. Avoid buying single door refrigerators as much as you can, since large doors allow more cold air from the inside of the refrigerator to escape out, decreasing the efficiency of the refrigerator.

3. Features
As with any other item you would buy, the more expensive refrigerators offer more feature. So if you want to have extra features such as water dispenser or ice dispenser, then expect to pay more. Ice and water dispenser models also tend to be less energy efficient. Some newer refrigerators also have moisture control, which is great, since it makes the refrigerator to run more efficiently by lessening moisture condensation on the exterior of the refrigerator. Do not confuse this with "Anti-sweat" feature, which uses a heater, thus consumes more energy.

Manual defrost models use as much as 50% less energy than automatic defrost, but they do tend to need constant monitoring and must be defrosted periodically to really save energy. If you don't defrost you refrigerator when the frost build-up in the freezer is around 1/4 of an inch thick, the motor of the refrigerator would consume more energy, and your manual defrost refrigerator might cost more money to operate than an automatic defrost model. If you don't mind manually defrosting your refrigerator and constantly checking the frost buildup in the freezer, then Manual defrost models would save you a lot of money on purchasing and cost of operation.

Stainless steel exterior refrigerators are more expensive, but they are the most durable, and eye-catching. However, stainless steel exterior refrigerators demand extra maintenance to keep it looking great. Also, look for controls that are appropriately placed, meaning that they are easy to reach and does not block the storage area. Most refrigerators also have humidity controls, which make vegetables and fruits in the produce bin crisper and fresher longer, but they do tend to cost more. A good feature to have and is worth paying for is to have separate controls for the freezer and the refrigerator.

4. Storage
Another thing to consider in buying a refrigerator is storage. Basically, larger refrigerator models provide more storage, and allow you to store big items such as a whole box of pizza and a full gallon of orange juice. But newer models have been beautifully designed to be able to provide you the storage capacity of larger refrigerator models You should look for models that provide ample and flexible storage. Freezers that provide multi-level adjustable storage is a great choice. Also look for refrigerator models whose shelves are sturdy. Adjustable storage units and shelves provide flexibility to accommodate a variety of products to be stored in the refrigerator. Glass dividers are easy to clean, and most of them have anti-spill features.

Some refrigerator models also have extra storage features that cater to specific products such as a wine rack, canned beverage holder, and snack trays. However, most refrigerator models that have these features are often more expensive, and if you don't commonly use these features, it will just become a waste of good storage space - and money.

REFRIGERATOR USAGE GUIDE

Another great way of saving money on using Freezers and Refrigerators is knowing how to use them efficiently. Here is a short list refrigerator usage tips and guides so you can make the most of you refrigerator:

* Place the Refrigerator on the coolest part inside of the house. The cooler the environment, the cooler it is also inside the refrigerator, so the refrigerator’s motor runs less.
* It is a good idea to leave a space between the wall and the refrigerator or freezer. This allows air to circulate around the refrigerator’s condenser coils, which decreases moisture condensation. You should also keep the condenser coils clean.
* If you're going to place leftover food in the refrigerator, allow them to cool down to room temperature before putting them in the refrigerator to avoid heat spread inside. Cover the foods you will put inside too, since evaporation from the food can also decrease the efficiency of the refrigerator.
* Fill the Freezer as much as possible, so as to get the most out of the coldness of the freezer and stabilize the temperature. However, refrigerator should not be filled to capacity, so as to allow the cold air to circulate and distribute properly among the contents of the refrigerator.
* The door seals should be airtight, so not to let the cold air escaping out.
* Refrain from or at least minimize placing items in the top of the refrigerator to allow good air circulation for the compressor.
* Regulate the temperature of your refrigerator. If you have separate temperature controls for your freezer and your refrigerator, keep the freezer temperature as close to 0 degrees Celsius as much as possible and keep the refrigerator temperature at 10 degrees Celsius. If you're temperature control can only be controlled via numbers or levels or you only have 1 temperature control for both the freezer and the refrigerator, a neat trick to know the temperature is to use an appliance thermometer. You can place the thermometer in a glass and put it in the refrigerator, and for the freezer, place the thermometer on top of some frozen food items. You can then adjust the temperature control accordingly. After 24 hours, you can take out the thermometer and read the temperature. Keep on adjusting the temperature control until you achieve the target temperature. Remember though that to keep frozen food items in the freezer fresh for a week you need at least -6 degrees Celsius and -12 degrees Celsius for 1 month.
* Avoid frequent closing and opening of the refrigerator doors to avoid cold air escaping out, and the light inside the refrigerator turning on.

Saving on Electricity Using Energy Efficient Products

2008-03-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

With the ever growing popularity of various electronics products today comes the burden of higher electrical bills. Our Television sets are bigger, which consumes more energy, and we also use either a receiver or a TiVo in addition to the TV. And as Computers also have become an integral part of our daily lives, that's another appliance that will consume energy and add up to our electric bill. As the climate changes, we find our homes colder or warmer than what used to be some years ago, so we end up making our airconditioners colder or heaters warmer, which again, adds up to our electrical bill. And let's face it, with the ever rising price of electricity, we need to save on our electrical consumption.

When it comes to saving electricity, one name instantly pops into mind. Energy Star. Yes, the same Energy Star that you often see in the top left (or right) of your monitor whenever you boot up your PC. The Energy star site features various products that have "earned" the Energy Star logo for their efficiency in using electricity. You can also find guides and tips on how to choose a specific product to suit your needs. For example, aside from showing you a list of Energy Efficient models of Airconditioners, the Energy star site also shows how much cooling capacity (measured in BTU's) is needed for a certain area. That way, you will be able to save money by buying the Airconditioner Model that will suffice in cooling your target area.

Another good method of choosing Energy Efficient Products is the EER rating. EER means Energy Efficiency Ratio. The higher the EER, the more energy efficient the product is. EER ratings can be mostly found in products that have a electrical motors in them, such as Airconditioners, Freezers and Refrigerators, and Washing Machines. When it comes to lighting CFL's (compact Fluorescent Bulbs) should be your only choice. You can save as much as 80% on your energy consumption when you use CFL's than incandescent bulbs. Beware of cheap CFL's though, since most of them don't last long.

Energy Efficient Products not only saves you money, but it also contributes greatly in reducing pollution. Simply put, higher energy consumption denotes that more fuel is needed to be burned to produce more energy. It doesn't matter if your energy source comes from renewable sources like solar, wind, or hydrothermal Electrical Plants, consuming less electricity would help the environment.

So if you're looking to buy a new electric appliance, consider browsing the Energy Star website first so you can check the list of Energy Efficient products and also read some guides and tips on your purchase.

Getting the most of your Bandwidth in Windows XP

2008-03-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

As a cheapskate, I make sure that I get most of what little resources I have. One example is the bandwidth of my broadband internet connection. Since I primarily use my connection to browse the internet and for some downloads, I only subscribed at my Internet Service Provider (ISP) the cheapest broadband connection they offer.

I own three computers at my house, 1 old laptop, 1 XPC (160 Watts model, so less energy consumption), and a gaming rig I just bought for my wife (who is addicted to PC games such as The Sims 2). The laptop is almost always open, acting as a torrentbox and most of the downloads (again, to get the most of what i pay for the internet connection) since it is only rated to consume 60Watts.

As I was browsing the internet, I came upon a site that discusses how to increase the download speed of your connection in Windows XP. It says that by just editing some simple settings in the so called "Group Policy Editor" you can increase your download speed by 20%. Here's how it works - By default Windows XP reserves 20% of your bandwidth for its own usage such as updates. Think about it, Windows XP updates don't occur everyday, yet on each day you use your computer, you internet connection is running at only 80% of its real speed. That's a lot by Cheapskate standards. For example, my connection is rated at 128Kbps, and that's just the rated speed, the real speed of such connection is only at 110 - 114 Kbps, but for demonstration purposes, let's just say I get that 128Kbps. To get my maximum download speed, I need to divide that number by 8, which means ideally I can download at the speed of 16Kbps. At 16Kbps speed, a 1MB download will take roughly 1 minute. But since Windows XP is "reserving" the 20% of my connection, this means i can only download at the speed of around 12.8Kbps, meaning the 1MB download will take an additional 20 seconds. Now imagine that scenario if you're going to download a 100MB file. Then, if you are subscription speed ia at, say, 512Kbps, you're wasting the same amount of bandwidth I am paying for at 128Kbps.

So, just how do you lift off this 20% bandwidth reservation by Windows XP? Just follow these simple steps:

1. Click on the Start Button, then click Run
2. Type in gpedit.msc (this is the Group Policy Editor program) and click OK
3. Click Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Network, QOS Packet Scheduler, Limit Reservable Bandwidth.
4. By default, the value set is "Not Configured", but this is not the case. Windows XP already limited you bandwidth by 20%. If you want proof, you can click on the Details Tab and you should see the following messages:

"Determines the percentage of connection bandwidth that the system can reserve. This value limits the combined bandwidth reservations of all programs running on the system.

By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default.

If you enable this setting, you can use the "Bandwidth limit" box to adjust the amount of bandwidth the system can reserve.

If you disable this setting or do not configure it, the system uses the default value of 20 percent of the connection.

Important: If a bandwidth limit is set for a particular network adapter in the registry, this setting is ignored when configuring that network adapter."

5. So, we need to reclaim that 20% back. Go back to the Setting Page by clicking the Setting Tab. Click on Enabled, but make sure you set the value of Bandwidth Limit to 0. Click OK. Remember, you should set it to Enabled. "Not Configured" and "Disabled" actually is the same, as explained in the details above.

There, you should see a considerable speedup when you download, specifically, 20% more speed. This trick also works on WIndows 2000. Enjoy the increase of your download speed by using this simple CHEAPSKATE TECHNIQUE.

A Cheapskate’s List on how to save money on using your car

2008-02-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

With the ever rising prices of petrol, driving a car can burn a very large hole in your pockets. Here’s some simple CHEAPSKATE ways to start saving some money on your automotive expenditures.

1. Use Public Transportation
By far the most effective way to save money on using a car is by actually not using it. You won’t just save on fuel, you can also save on parking rates.

2. Use your car as a sort of Public Transportation
If you know people who work near your office place, why not ask them if they are interested in car pooling with you. You can ask them for a small fee, close to the price of what they pay if they are taking public transportation. It’s a win-win situation. They don’t have to go through the hassles and inconveniences of taking public transportation, and you’ll be able to slash your fuel expenditures.

3. Fill up when the price is low
Take advantage of every Price drop or Price rollback. Even if the difference is just mere cents. Also, try to refuel during the coolest time of the day.

4. Earn while you refuel
Some credit cards offer rebates when you fill up on certain Fuel vendors. You can ask your credit card company if they have such promotions. There are other membership groups that offer this kind of promotions. Here in the Philippines for example, SM (a department store chain) Advantage card members can earn 1 point in their cards if they spend 250 Pesos worth of Petron Products.

5. Check your car regularly
A routine checkup on your vehicle will not only extend your car’s life span, but would also make it operate on top condition. Checking correct tire pressure alone would save you 2.5% on your fuel consumption. Replacing a congested Air Filter would increase you mileage by 10%.

6. Go easy on the Pedals
The recommended speed for optimum fuel efficiency is about 55 Mph. Unless you are on an expressway or anywhere you really have to speed up, you should keep your speed on 55 Mph. Stepping on the breaks should be also kept to a minimum, since you would be wasting the acceleration produced by burning more fuel.

7. Use your Airconditioner in moderation
Unless it’s extremely warm, keep your airconditioner to the minimum setting. If the weather is comfortable enough, you can just open your windows and turn the airconditioner off. Never open your windows though when you are traveling at high speeds, since open windows causes more drag, resulting in higher fuel consumptions.

8. Forget the Pimping
Some of best ways to save on fuel is to remove any unnecessary accessories in your car. Spoilers may look cool, but they also makes your car conserve more fuel. Those large speakers inside your car also make your car heavier, which makes you consume more fuel.

9. Plan your route
Check local maps to find the shortest distance to your destination. Also avoid Traffic clogged streets as much as you can. Try to learn the times where traffic on certain streets are at the heaviest.

10. Consider another investment
If your car is around 5 years old, you might want to consider to sell it to buy a newer car. Newer car models are now more fuel efficient. Some luxury car models now even offers diesel run engines. If you don’t want to sell your car, think about making you car more fuel efficient by modifying your engine to burn cheaper fuels. There are companies out there that are offering conversions so that your engine can use alternative fuels such as Bio-diesel, LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gasoline), and Ethanol.

The Google Pack for Windows XP and Windows Vista Users

2008-01-29T21:58:00.000-08:00

The Google Pack for Windows XP and Windows Vista Users

Ok, a real cheapskate would use a Free Operating system like Linux on their PC’s. However, nobody can deny that the Windows platform won’t be going away anytime soon. Linux might have evolved a lot, from the depths of the Geek-only difficulty level to the more mainstream “Little Knowledge Required” stage, but still, Windows dominate the market. There’s a very high chance that if you’re going to buy a 2nd hand computer, it will have a Windows operating system on it, and if that computer is around 2 to 4 years old, it would probably be Windows XP. However, for your PC to be more productive, you need a plethora of applications. The most basic of which would be an Office Suite, like Microsoft Office, so you can use your PC for word processing and other office stuff. Then you will need an Antivirus to safeguard your PC from software viruses. The list goes on. The most popular versions of these applications however are expensive. Microsoft Office for example, retails for about $150 - $200. McAffee’s Home edition Antivirus costs around $40. If you sum up most of the basic software applications you’ll going to need, it will probably cost you the same amount of money to buy a 2nd hand computer. Definitely not a CHEAPSKATE’s scenario.

If you already have a PC with a Windows XP (or Windows Vista) operating system installed, you might be interested in getting Google’s Google Pack. This is a collection of the most common software applications all squeezed into one package. The best thing about it is that it’s free. All of the softwares included in the Google Pack is totally free – no ifs, no buts, and definitely no hidden catch. Here’s a rundown of what’s inside the Google Pack:

Google Earth
Google Earth is a software tool that provides you of a map right inside your desktop. Google Earth provides street maps, satellite images and even 3D-rendtions of buildings. For more information on Google Earth, click here.

Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
Provides a Google searchbox right on your Internet Explorer, so you don’t need to go to Google’s website everytime you want to search for something in the internet. It also provides buttons to some of the popular sites like Gmail and CNN. For more information about the Google Toolbar, click here.

Norton Security Scan
Norton Security Scan is a free version of the popular Norton Internet Security software. It will scan and remove viruses and Trojans from your PC. It will even scan your PC for potentially harmful spywares and adwares (although it will not remove it). Though it pales in comparison to the commercial version, it is still good enough for most computer users. For more information on Norton Security Scan, click here.

Spyware Doctor
A good companion to Norton’s security scan, Spyware Doctor will scan and remove spywares and adwares on you computer. Like the Norton security scan, this is a slimmed down version of a commercial software. Nonetheless, it offers most of the useful features of the commercial version - for free. For more information on Spyware Doctor (starter edition), click here.

Google Desktop
Google Desktop extends the functionality of the myriads of Google services right into your desktop. The most useful of which is having the power of a Google Search into your own computer. It can do a full text search on your computer for specific files, like emails and documents. Another neat thing about it is the gadgets feature. The “gadgets” are like mini programs that can show you various information you want right at your desktop. For more information on Google Desktop, click here.

Picasa
Picasa is a tool that can be used to view, organize, and search the Images on your computer. You can even move, rename, and rate your images. It can even provide basic Image editing tools such as red-eye removal, and color correction. The most powerful feature would be the ability to password protect a collection of images. For more information on Picasa, click here.

FireFox (with Google Toolbar)
FireFox is a great alternative to the Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser. You might think that since Windows XP already has a free web browser, why fiddle around and install another? Well, besides from it’s also free, it is more secure and faster than Window’s Internet Explorer. It also comes with a Google toolbar by default. The best feature in my opinion is the tabbed browsing experience. You can view multiple web pages in a single Firefox window, freeing up space in the taskbar. The only thing I don’t like is that the ‘Save Passwords” option is on by default (which you can easily turn off), which is not good if you share your computer with other people. For more information on FireFox, click here.

*There's also a link to download FireFox at the Right-hand corner of this Page.

Google Photos Screensaver
Google Photos Screensaver is like the Windows XP photo screensaver on steroids. Aside from being able to create a screensaver from the photos and images from your computer, it can also display those images through photo-sharing websites with some simple clicks of the mouse. It also has “Photo Feeds” which you can use to share to specific audiences, like family and friends. For more information on Google Photos Screensaver, click here.

Adobe Reader
Adobe Reader is a must have for all computer users, since most of valuable information in the web (like registration forms) are distributed using PDF files. Even most of the Documents and User Manuals of various Hardware products (Motherboards, Printers, Webcams, etc) are distributed using the Adobe PDF document. For more information about Adobe Reader, click here.

Google Talk
If you’re familiar with Yahoo’s Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft’s MSN Messenger, then you would have no difficulty with Google Talk. It’s an Instant Messaging application that you can use to chat with those who have a Gmail account. For more information of Google Talk, click here.

Skype
Skype offers free voice calls to another Skype user around the world. It can also deliver Video Calls. Albeit most of its features are already in Google Talk, it also offers phone calls to landline and mobile phones, not for free, but for a much cheaper price than any Phone carrier rates. For more information about Skype, click here.

Real Player
If you happen to have a .RM, .RMVB, or .RAM file, you may be wondering what those files are. Those are Real Player media files, and you’ll need Real Player to play/open those files. If you find yourself dealing with Real Player media files often, then you need to have Real Player installed in your PC. For more information about Real Player, click here.

*Personally, I don’t use Real Player, since I don’t come across Real media files that often. But if you do need to play Real media files, I suggest using Real Alternative, which will play Real media files, sans the Real Player.

Star Office
The last yet the most productive component in the Google Pack is the Star Office suite. This is a good alternative for the Microsoft Office Suite . Star Office has a commercial version that retails for $70, around $75% cheaper than Microsoft Office. It is compatible with Microsoft office, meaning you can open, edit, and save Microsoft Office files. I don’t know yet what’s the difference between the retail version of Star Office and the Free version included in the Google Pack. For more information on Star Office, click here.

*I was having a terrible time installing Star Office through Google Pack, so I went ahead and got for the best Microsoft Office alternative – Open Office. Star Office is actually the commercial version of the Free Open Office suite, so whatever essential tools included in Star Office, I am pretty sure it is also in Open Office. I’ve been an Open Office fan for almost 2 years now, and I highly recommend it. I am currently writing this blog on Open Office’s word processor – Writer. For more information on Open Office, click here. I highly suggest you download a copy.

Google Pack is a good collection of most of the very essential software applications that an average everyday computer user needs. There are other alternatives out there that are also free, and maybe even better than the Google Pack components, but Google Pack saves you a lot of time and effort since the software are already in one installation package. Google Pack also lets you choose what components you want, you don’t have to install all of the components. Another good thing about it is that whenever you need help or information on any of the Google Pack components, you only need to go to one website. It’s really a CHEAPSKATE PRODUCT worth taking a look at.

For more information on Google Pack, click here.
You can download Google Pack here.

Configuring the Lexmark E210 to use the Samsung ML-1210 Toner

2008-01-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

CHEAPSKATE TECHNIQUES NOTE
In this section, I will show you some of the simple methods or techniques that i have learned that will save you money while using various technological equipments.

Configuring the Lexmark E210 to use the Samsung ML-1210 Toner

My mother from the U.S. asked me if I’m interested in a laser printer. I was ecstatic! I thought she was gonna buy me a new one. Turns out that a neighbor of hers was throwing out some old stuff on their garage, and she spotted an old laser printer. She thought that since I’m good at computers, I could still use it. So I said, yeah sure, why not? If I can’t get it to work, I can still sell it to some people who buy old/broken parts online. Or I can even use it in Samsung and Epson’s Trade up promo, where you trade in your old laser printer, working or not, so you can avail of a 20% discount when purchasing a new one (this was back in July 2007, they don’t have that promo as of this writing).

So when the package came, I was excited to see the printer. I was really hoping that it was an old HP 1020, since a local store here in the Philippines is selling HP1020 compatible toners at just $20. An old Brother laser printer would also be a welcome site. To my disappointment, it was a Lexmark laser printer – a Lexmark E210 to be exact. I don’t really like Lexmark printers since they seem to have a habit of selling low-price printers that use expensive ink cartridges. The very first printer I bought back in college was a Lexmark Z series. I was all smiles at first since I was able to buy a printer for a low price of around $60 (this was back in 1999). Come cartridge replacement time, my smile went upside down when I saw the price of the ink cartridges - $30 for the color cartridge, and $20 for the black ink cartridge. It was almost buying a new printer. Then to add to my frustration, it will be difficult to find a toner for the Lexmark E210 since most of the toners sold here in the Philippines are for the HP, Canon, Brother, and Samsung brands.

Before I go hunting online for a toner of the Lexmark E210 my mother gave me, I needed to make sure that it still works. Since it came from the U.S. where they use 110-volts in their electrical lines, the first thing I did was to check its voltage rating. It was rated to work at 110 volts only. So I hooked it up to the 110-volt port of my AVR, and connected it to my PC. I powered it on, and sure enough, Windows detected it. To be sure that it still works however, I needed to print a test page, but I can’t, since I don’t have the drivers for it. So I searched for the Lexmark E210 drivers on the net.

As I was searching for the drivers, my luck turned out. There was this site where I found an interesting information about the Lexmark E210. Seems like with a little tinkering, you can configure the E210 to use the Samsung ML-1210 toner. You just have to open the printer, and take out a small metal tab. So I saved the web page, and followed the instructions. Then after installing the drivers, I printed out a test page on the E210. The printout was blurry, which is understandable since the toner must have ran out of ink. But at least I have confirmed that the printer is still working. The next day, I went to out and bought a Samsung ML-1210 compatible toner which only costs $30. I installed it in the E210, configured some settings on the utility, and printed out a test page. It was perfect! The text was smooth and crisp, and since the toner yield is rated at about 4000 pages, that $30 will print out a lot of documents. As a matter of fact, I’m still using the toner I bought six months ago.

So if you happen to use a Lexmark E210 check out this CHEAPSKATE TECHNIQUE on how to configure your printer to use any Samsung ML-1210 toners here.

THe HP900 Printer

2008-01-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

CHEAPSKATE PRODUCT NOTE:
I am a bit hesitant about using the term “review” here since I don’t really do all the fancy performance tests that most hardware review sites like Cnet.com or zdnet.com does. All I can tell you are the experiences I have with a product and in what ways you can save money by buying or using it.

The HP900 Printer

This is the first cheapskate product I will discuss here. I bought one last November 2007 and I am very happy with it. It fits all my printing needs perfectly.

The Details:
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Product Name: HP900
Type: Ink Jet Printer
Cost: PhP 4,999 (around $110)

At around $110 dollars, you can buy cheaper inkjets such as Canon’s Pixma iP1xxx line or Epson’s C79. HP even has the HP2360, which retails for half the price of the HP900. So why buy the HP900? Simple - because of the price of the Ink Cartridges.

The HP900’s color cartridge is priced around $10, while the black cartridge is around $8. The total page output according to the HP site is about 1000 pages. That’s about $0.018 per page, truly a CHEAPSKATE printout! Don't worry, Print quality doesn't look like CHEAPSKATE though. The print quality rivals that of my Canon iP4200 (both at default settings). I have been able to print 400+ pages 4x6 photos using only 2 color ink cartridges (1 of which is still ¼ full) and half of the black ink cartridge. If I would print my 400 photos at a printing establishment, it would cost me around $60. Using the HP900, the same number of photos would only cost around $40 (using a generic 4x6 photo paper which is similar to those used by printing establishments).

The printer does have some setbacks however. First of which is that I’m having a hard time printing borderless photos. The included software doesn’t have much features. The print utility is also kind of annoying when the ink levels become low. It pops out a cartridge warning before printing every page. Knowing how much of a CHEAPSKATE I am, I just proceeded with the prints, and wait for the print quality to become dismal before actually replacing the empty cartridge. I was still able to squeeze out 46 4x6 photos before the color cartridge actually ran out of ink.

If you want a no frills home or office printer, the HP900 is great candidate. It has a great printout yield and the low printing costs saves you more money in the long run. It is great for those who prints out pages frequently. You actually save more when you print more. Currently, I think the HP900 is only sold in Asia. If you happen to find one in your local computer store, I highly recommend you buy this certified CHEAPSKATE PRODUCT.

For more information for the HP900, go here.

What's Like Being a Cheapskate?

2008-01-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

What’s Like being a cheapskate?

Most of you reading this blog might be surfing the net on an old laptop that you have been using for 5 years. Well, good for you! I am writing this blog on an old Toshiba Satellite 31CDT that has been my faithful companion for 3 years now. And yes, it was already 2nd hand when I bought it. I don’t own any portable MP3 player like the Apple iPod or Creative Zen, but I do have a Nokia 3300 cellphone which I doubled as an MP3 player as soon as I slapped a cheap generic brand 1gb MMC on it. However, I can most certainly afford to buy a brand new 80Gb iPod Video whenever I want to, but what the hell would I do with it? My Laptop’s Hard drive is only 20Gb, so I don’t really have that much of a collection to upload to it. I only buy things that I need. That’s the best thing you can do to save money. Even if I wanted to buy something, I would first consider the choices that I have. Taking the Apple iPod again as an example, the market is saturated with a myriad of alternatives. There’s the Microsoft Zune, the Sony PSP that can also play music files as well as play games, and let’s not forget the cheap Taiwanese variants. The question now becomes how much am I willing to spend and what are the features that I need? You may spend more depending in what features you are looking for. You may opt to buy a cheaper product, but if that product doesn’t have much of a quality and gets broken easily, you may find yourself spending more in the long run. This is specially true on buying sensitive equipments like most electronic gadgets.

For me, being a cheapskate doesn’t mean you have to prefer on buying cheap products every time. Yes I want to save money, but I also want to make the fullest out of every cent that I take out of my pocket. If it means pulling out more bills from my wallet, it’s ok, as long as I can have a durable and reliable product that fits my needs…. my very basic needs. :)

Cheapskate Technologies

2008-01-22T03:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Cheapskate Technologies!

I created this blog so I can share some ideas on how to save money on various technological trinkets such as gadgets, computers, and other electronic devices. This doesn't mean though that I will only feature and write about cheap products. Being a cheapskate doesn't automatically mean that I don't shell out the big bucks when I'm buying something. I just want to be sure that they are worth the money. Besides, to a cheapskate like me, quality is everything - since i want to ensure that my purchased item would last.

Visit every now and then!