Computers On Sale

Pen Drive - How it makes life easier

2009-07-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

A Pen Drive is a flash memory data storage device with universal serial bus interface. Pen drive is a removable and rewritable device much smaller than CD and floppy. Pen drives are classified as NAND style data storage devices. Equipped with a large amount of memory capacity, the pen drive is considered to be an improvement on both the older floppy drive disks and the more modern compact disks that are often used to copy data and reload the files on a different hard drive. Pen drives are primarily used for data transfer, secure data storage in application and software files. They are particularly popular among system and network administrators and also enjoy notable success in PC repair field as a means to transfer data recovery and anti-virus software.

Small enough to carry on a key ring, Pen Drives are great for transferring photos, music, documents and any other data from one computer to another. Different manufacturers over the years have named their Pen Drives with many different names causing constant confusion. As a result of this the Pen Drive can also be known as Pocket Drive, Thumb Drive, Jump Drive, USB Flash Drive, USB Flash Memory Drive, USB Key Drive, USB Memory Key and USB Memory Stick among many others.

Although none of these names are either correct or incorrect, one of the names cause a huge amount of confusion for people, this is when someone referring to a Pen Drive, uses the term "Memory Stick". This is because "Memory Stick" is a Sony trademark and refers to a type of memory card used in Sony's electronic devices, it is therefore a completely different product, which will not plug directly into your computer's USB port!

Origin
Pen drives are a combination of old affordable technology and new research in microprocessor technology. Pen Drives were invented by IBM in 1988 as a replacement to Floppy Disks but were never patented by them, M-Systems who were later contracted in by IBM to manufacture Pen Drives actually own the patent. So think of a Pen Drive as a modern day floppy disk. The main difference being that a floppy disk contains moving parts which can make the data stored on it vulnerable, a Pen Drive is solid state meaning there are no moving parts inside, making it resilient to dust and everyday magnetic fields and so a safer storage option. Also Pen Drives can hold much, much more data than the floppy disk.

How they work
Once connected to a computer's USB port the Pen Drive appears in Windows as a "Removable Drive" alongside your C Drive, CD ROM Drive etc. You can simply drag and drop photos, music, documents and any other type of data on to the "Removable Drive" just as would with any other folder on your computer (no complex recording like CD or DVD is required). The Pen Drive can then be removed (see Safe Removal of Pen Drive below) from the computer and plugged into another computer's USB port giving you access to the information you copied to the Pen Drive.

Pen Drives are used as an Audio Player since they come with additional features of MP3 playback. Companies have started manufacturing digital audio players using pen drives for sound output.

Capacity
Pen drives are small in size and have greater capacity to store information. Hence the thieves can carry the device stealthily in pockets and take information. Pen drives have thus made a mark for themselves in our lives and are now irreplaceable. Be it data management, storage, transfer or security. Hence the thieves can carry the device stealthily in pockets and take information.

Pen Drive has a capacity to hold a large amount of data ranging from 11 to 350 floppy disks depending on the memory stick you choose. You will feel very easier, faster and safe method to transfer your data. Pen drives can even survive chewing attacks from puppies and submergence in the washing machine. It is amazing how a small device can be of such great use.

The compact size, robust nature and low cost of the Pen Drive has made it a big hit and an indispensable tool for many. It is ideal for transporting personal, or work data from one location to another, i.e. from home to school or office, or for carrying around data that someone may want to access in a variety of places. An insurance company in the US loads customer bio data and policy details on a tiny Pen Drive and advises policy holders to wear it with a neck strap in case of emergencies, another company is doing the same with policy holders who go skiing. Another company videos their conference and records it onto the Pen Drive so that the delegates can refer to it in future. Pen Drives can also be used to back up your important documents.

DVR cards - Representing Technological advancement

2009-07-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

DVR Cards, also known as digital video capture cards, are PCI devices added to a computer to enable the capture of video information. There are a wide variety of capture cards on the market today, however, most are designed for one of two specific applications; digital video surveillance, and home entertainment.

A DVR card looks quite similar to the common computer video card in many PCs. However, when it comes to functioning, there are a lot of differences between them. DVR cards come with software that can be used to display and record information from multiple cameras at the same time. These are installed in computers to allow them to function as digital video recording (DVR) systems.

DVR cards are mostly used in surveillance systems to process the information received from a source such as a camera and pass it on to a storage device like a hard disk. In such a set up, there is more than one video out port. At these ports, the output from the security cameras is plugged in to the card. Once installed inside a computer, the card becomes active and is instantly recognized by the machine thanks to the accompanying software. Once properly installed, this card allows the user to digitally record signals on to his hard drive and then view it instantaneously.

DVR cards have varying frames per second (fps), such as 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480. The fps determines the possible recording time of the device. DVR cards are installed in your computer, while DVR interfaces are units that plug in via USB. DVR cards are more expensive than DVR interfaces, but they hold more video. For a hard disk having 80 GB disk space, at 30 fps one can record for 320 hours. Similarly, at 120 fps, for an 80 GB hard disk drive, one can record for up to 80 hours. If you have a 960 GB hard disk, you can record for a whopping 3840 hours at the rate of 80 fps, which translates into 160 days or nearly 5 months.

Only a limited number of cameras are supported by the old DVR cards (launched nearly two years ago). If more cameras were needed, more cards had to be installed. This led to an increase in the workload of the computer that was unable to meet the memory demand and resulted in a system crash. Modern cards come with enhanced inbuilt processing power that reduces the burden on the computer.

With unmatched features, DVR cards have come to symbolize a much needed technology intervention in the field of surveillance and monitoring. DVR cards are the pinnacle of alarm security technology. Digital video recording, or DVR has replaced the cumbersome surveillance videotapes of the past, and allowed business owners newfound freedom when it comes to securing their offices.

Device Drivers - Why they are useful to your computer

2009-07-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

Device drivers are simple software code that allows a higher level program on your computer such as an operating system to control a device. Device drivers literally drive everything you're interested in--disks, monitors, keyboards, modems--everything outside the computer chip and memory because many device drivers come with the operating system. For other devices, you may need to load a new driver when you connect the device to your computer. Note that in the older DOS systems, drivers are files with a.SYS extension. now in Windows environments, drivers often have a DRV extension.

Device drivers can be abstracted into logical and physical layers. Logical layers process data for a class of devices such as ethernet ports or disk drives. Device drivers for Windows '95, Windows '98, Windows 2000, XP, OS/2, and NT operating systems are provided with the installation or setup software of each operating system. And writing device drivers is one of the few areas of programming for the Linux operating system that calls for unique, Linux-specific knowledge.

How device drivers work
A device driver is nothing more than a glorified translator which fits between the device and programs that use the device. Device drivers come in several different types, depending on what abstraction they provide. Serial port drivers, for example, often implement the character device type. Device drivers are commonly run in the most privileged level of a multi-level operating system. Each device be it a modem or printer has its own set of commands that only its driver knows. That bieng said, however most programs access devices by using generic commands. The device driver, therefore, accepts generic commands from a program and then translates them into specialized commands for the device. Various types of device drivers include video drivers, audio drivers, printer drivers and USB drivers.

Finding device drivers
Finding a driver can be very difficult as most manufactures manufacture a device and after 2 or 3 years change and make a different version. Finding a driver for your device becomes a task as the manufactures remove the drivers from their website and refuse to support them. They hope that you will upgrade to their new line of products, but there is no need if you know where to find your drivers.

Also, hardware manufacturers often create updated device drivers to eliminate bugs or increase efficiency, so periodically installing new device drivers is helpful to keep a computer running as fast as possible. Under Windows Vista, it is possible to install drivers automatically, or they can be downloaded and installed manually. Hardware drivers for peripherals and certain root level services like VPN software make sense, given the general system architecture of most contemporary operating systems.

Microsoft signs device drivers that they test and certify that the driver meet certain quality levels. Using Microsoft certified drivers greatly reduces your chances of having driver related problems. Microsoft's Hyper-V has its own language that includes terms such as synthetic and emulated drivers; root, parent, and child partitions; and a smattering of others necessary for understanding and working with Microsoft's upcoming virtualization platform. Microsoft issues frequent updates as well as service packs for it's Windows Operating Systems.

Dual-Core Processor - AMD X2 vs Intel Pentium D

2009-07-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Dual-core processors contain two processing cores, residing on one chip, that perform calculations on two streams of data, thereby increasing efficiency and speed while running multiple programs and the new generation of multi-threaded software. For the end-user this means a significant increase in response and performance when running multiple applications simultaneously. Dual-core technology is like having two processors, and two working together is better and faster than one working alone.

There's a war going on and the latest battle continues to offer the promise of good prices to consumers looking for the best stuff for their computer. Since the inception of dual-core processors a little while back the race has been on to see who can get the better chip with this dual-core processor technology. During the final days of the single-core battles, there was a stalemate between AMD and Intel. Intel's clocked higher but were unable to match the speeds that the AMD managed at lower clock speeds.

The oldest difference between them has been their suitability for specific tasks. AMD have had the gaming sector in the bag, especially in terms of the value for money possible with their lower clocked chips, which could be overclocked to the same speeds as their top models. Intel has the crown for general performance. When it comes to office related tasks, Intel processors are able to outperform AMD chips in these areas.

As the ability to clock the chips any higher became more and more difficult technically, the next step was to just add another core, theoretically allowing twice as much number crunching in a dual-core processor. This is not exactly how it works however.

Modern operating systems and programs have not been designed with multiple-core or dual-core processors in mind. They were designed to make use of one core on one processor. The major expense that went with multiple processor computers was the circuitry needed to split tasks up amongst the processors and sharing cache.

Dual-core processors simply act like two places for tasks to go. Instead of single tasks getting split up and performed in two different places, as is the case with traditional single core processors, single threads get split up amongst the cores. This essentially means that each program gets assigned to a core.

Because of this there is absolutely no increase in speed for gaming from dual-core processor chips. Only once the games themselves have been programmed to take advantage of dual-core processors will there be a difference. This is due to the intensive nature of games and the number crunching needed for intense graphics, which for now cannot be split over multiple cores in dual-core processors.

AMD were the first to introduce their dual-core processor solution to a desktop computer. This gave them a slight lead over Intel. Despite this, AMD gave people a bit of a surprise with their new offering.

Always having been renowned for giving far more than expected for the price, these new dual-core processors were very expensive. Part of what managed to give AMD a hold in a market previously dominated by Intel was their good pricing. This shock did not go down well with consumers.

To add insult to injury, Intel's dual-core processor offerings came in at remarkably good value. Both of their initial dual-core processors cost less than AMD's lowest priced model. That's right, AMD's cheapest dual-core processor cost more than Intel's most expensive. This definitely put the ball in Intel's court and was downright disappointing for AMD fans.

AMD did manage to introduce a cheaper model to compete better with the Intel offerings. Despite this, Intel was still the forerunner in this area.

With the relatively new technology involved it is hard to draw a clear conclusion on who is faster. With operating systems only recently oriented towards fully utilizing dual-core processor technology, it is still new territory. Both offer increased performance, but as to who will rule the roost, we'll have to see.

For the meantime it would probably be advisable to just watch. Being a cautious buyer I prefer to buy into a sure thing, once things have settled down, prices will balance out and all the related technology will be in place. Then we will be able to get a true opinion on where to put your hard earned cash.

Digital media software demands simultaneous processing of data streams, the perfect use for the incredible multi-tasking power of the AMD64 dual-core technology. Digital media enthusiasts can usher in the next generation of digital media software for amazing high-definition video and photo editing, content creation, and audio mixing. With the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor, your PC will perform up to 80% faster than a single-core AMD Athlon 64 4000+ processor on the latest power-hungry digital media software applications. Digital media enthusiasts can usher in the incoming generation of digital media code for amazing high-definition video and picture editing, content creation, and audio mixing.

AMD announced its AMD64 technology is now available in a new line of professional desktop PCs from Lenovo, marking the first time that this pairing will be available worldwide. This announcement builds on the considerable success AMD and Lenovo have shared over the past two years in China, where approximately 50 percent of Lenovo's desktop systems are powered by AMD processors. AMD's 32-bit and 64-bit results beat out both Intel processors operating in either mode. AMD gets a great boost using 64-bit native code while Intel takes a hit here. AMD and its partners strongly recommend that users continue to use third party anti-virus software as part of their security strategy.

Athlon 64 Processors - How they add value to your computer

2009-07-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

AMD64 technology allows end users to take advantage of new innovations such as real-time encryption, more life-like games, accurate speech interfaces, cinema-quality graphic effects, and easy-to-use video and audio editing. AMD today has re-released the Athlon 64 FX-53 processor in 939-pin format, as well as launched three new processors. Both of them have also been upgraded to a 128-bit, dual channel memory controller, just like their FX cousin. AMD has about a $500 price difference. The CPU can easily be the most expensive part of the machine, so you need to select the processor carefully.

AMD's Athlon surfaced in 1999, immediately scoring fans amongst the gaming community and driving Intel's once-astronomical prices down. But despite continued success on the desktop, AMD trudged on without an enterprise-worthy contender. AMD of course intends to offer the better chip with its dual-core Toledo. As of yet the only sure thing is that almost all socket 939 systems can be made Toledo-compatible with the help of a fresh BIOS update, while Intel's dual-core chip Pentium D is guaranteed to require new boards due to alterations of certain details - even though socket 775 hasn't changed.

For a long time Intel has been leading the market in processor sales and popularity but AMD is finally putting a stop to that. With the release of their Athlon 64 processor, with 64 bit computing capabilities, they have been slowly but surely regaining the market back from Intel. AMD Virtualization helps make it easier for PC enthusiasts to upgrade and maintain their PCs through emulation. AMD's numbering is not a measurement of clock speed. This system requires a separately purchased 64-bit operating system and 64-bit software products to take advantage of the 64-bit processing capabilities of the AMD 64 processor.

The Athlon 64 processors have been around for a while now and they have proven themselves the market leaders in processing power. As we know AMD processor run at a lot slower speeds than Intel processors making them cooler to run. This has eliminated the need for expensive cooling equipment and opened the doorway for overclocking. Although AMD hit the target by releasing their 64 bit processor long before Intel did, they are not standing still. They have been constantly upgrading their line up to increase speed and efficiency. This is apparent with their fx series processors and their dual core processors.

AMD's Athlon 64 FX is the best of these at the moment, and currently a better bet than Intel's expensive Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. Realistically, these high-end processors are for the hardcore gaming PC user only, as you really pay through the nose to get them. AMD64 evolves the industry-standard 32-bit x86 architecture to support the demanding 64-bit environment and enables next-generation functionality and productivity today. AMD designed the AMD64 platform to allow end users to enjoy reliable, best-in-class performance on the 32-bit software they own today while preparing for a seamless transition to high-performance 64-bit applications.

The dual-core line of processor are the ultimate in multi-tasking. They provide the power of two processor running in unison while still being able to fit in a single processor motherboard. Although these processors are essentially two processors in one, they are rather pricy and may not be everyones cup of tea.

Intel is trying to fight back by forming an alliance with Apple. All macs are now available with Intel processors. Whether this will be profitable for Intel only time will tell. With competition growing stronger from AMD this can only mean increased benefits for the consumer. As the war between Intel and AMD intensifies, the consumer will benefit from lowered prices, and increased quality in their processors.

Photo Printers - How To Enjoy Them

2009-07-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

Photo printers are for printing photos. Photo printers are a great buy. Nearly everyone has a digital camera, and while it's easy to share digital photos online, there are still lots of good reasons to print out your photos. Photo printers are a valuable investment for any company that wants to print high-resolution images for marketing materials, presentations and inter-office publications with ease.

Photo printers often print with smaller “dots” - the droplets of ink that help give inkjet s their name - than plain text printers. And many come with more colors of ink. Photo printers are printing machines that are capable of generating a printed copy of your images. Investing in a wide format photo printer can make it easy to mange the costs of these extensive printing projects when you regularly need to create large-scale documents.

Photo printers are not known for their speed, because the nature of the quality of printing that it is designed to accomplish necessitates a little patience. The slowest print speed is reportedly about a minute and a half. Photo printers use one of two print methods: inkjet or dye-sublimation (called dye-sub for short). Dye-sub photos are touch dry as soon as they're produced, but tend to make more noise when printing.

These are some tips to derive great value from your photo printer:

1. Save your Originals
Don not save the images you plan to print as JPEGs or in any other compressed file format. Each time you compress an image, you lose some data. Before working with an image, make sure it is unaltered and in the TIFF format.

2. Enhance the Image
Experiment with your image-editing program's functions such as cropping, contrast, brightness, and other controls until you're entirely satisfied with the image's composition. Remember to always save the altered file with a new name.

3. Plan Your Print Drafts
If you plan to make test prints that you will discard later, reduce the image size and load the printer with plain inexpensive paper. Your printer software may allow you to print multiple images on one sheet.

Use matte-finish photo cards instead of glossy photo paper when printing 4 X 6-inch images. These cards have a nice look and feel, and they cost almost half as much as full-size photo paper. Place the images that you print on 8 X 10-inch glossy photo paper behind glass for added protection from ultraviolet light, and hang them away from direct sunlight.

4. Save on your ink
Special photo inks can provide your printer with a more refined colour palette. Unfortunately, these come with specific models, and if such ink didn't come with your model, you may have to buy it separately and install it in place of the standard ink cartridges.

In some cases, photos printed using general-purpose cartridges look almost as good as ones printed using photo ink. Another effective trick is to print your black-and-white photos in colour mode (with standard colour cartridges). This makes the printer use all of its inks to create the tones in your picture, and the resultant prints can be as subtle and precise as pictures printed with photo inks.

5. Get your Cartridges in Line
Use your printer's controls to realign your cartridges--especially if you see vertical or horizontal bands, unwanted lines, gaps, or bleeding colours in your prints. Right-click the printer's entry in Control Panel's "Printers and Faxes" or "Printers" applet, click Properties, and search for a cartridge maintenance option. If aligning your cartridges does not solve the problem, clean the cartridges with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Use water merely as a solvent, and clean just the cartridge itself, never the print head or the nozzle plate. Always align new cartridges.

6. Practice Good Housekeeping
By keeping your printer's mechanisms clean, you will ensure that the device runs at its best. An occasional blast from a can of compressed air (easily available at electronics stores) will keep dust and bits of paper from clogging the paper path and other moving parts.

Make sure that the small ink nozzles on your print heads are clear of dried ink. Leaving any inkjet idle for even a week or two leads the ink in the tiny tubes that feed the nozzles to dry. Many inkjet printers have a cleaning program in their settings that can handle partially clogged nozzles. Unfortunately these programs use a lot of ink, so use them judiciously. If the tubes are badly blocked, then you will need the services of a professional or an inkjet cleaning kit.

7. Raise the Resolution
Any digital camera that is less than three years old can capture at least 1 megapixel of data with each shot. This is sufficient to print a good-quality 4 X 6-inch photo; a 2-megapixel image holds enough information to output a higher-quality print of the same dimensions. To generate an 8 X 10-inch print worth framing, you'll need a resolution of at least 3 megapixels. You're in a good position if you have a new camera as most new models offer from 4 to 8.1 megapixels.

Adjust your camera to its highest resolution when taking shots that you might want to print. Some newer cameras, depending on the manufacturer's menu setup, make it very simple to change resolution.

Printer Cartridges - How To Derive Great Value

2009-07-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Printer cartridges are rated as to how many pages they can print. If you can estimate the number of pages you print per month you'll have an idea of yearly costs. Printer cartridges now have self-contained reservoirs. Refilling some printer cartridges now is not as messy as adding toner was.

When a person first thinks of a printer cartridge, he or she may quickly dismiss it as being just something you buy when your printer has run out of ink. Knowing exactly how a printer cartridge works and the different aspects of buying one, however, can end up saving a person a lot of money in the long run. Investing in printer cartridges is usually not a cheap thing to do, many sell for fifty dollars or more each, and it is a good idea to know all of your alternatives before making any hasty decisions.

The printer cartridge works by storing ink inside of it to be used by the printer. When the printer sends a cartridge and appropriate signal, the ink is dropped and shaped into the form of the image or letters needed to be translated onto the sheet of paper. It is important to note, that two separate cartridges are needed for those who need color on their printed pieces. One cartridge will have only black ink and will only function during black and white printings, while the other contains red, yellow, and blue ink and can create different color combinations.

The color cartridge is, in general, much more expensive then the simple black cartridge, so it is important not to waste it. It is a good idea, therefore, to not waste color ink unless it is absolutely needed. For example, printers can sometime be set to print everything, including black and white projects, through the color cartridge. Setting the printer to not do this will save you a lot of money in the future.

Another thing that is important to remember about printer cartridges is that many of the big-name companies who also create printers, such as HP, Canon, and Lexmark, will create cartridges that will work only with their printers. These cartridges are often very expensive and overpriced. This is because the big companies know that most of their consumers have little to no options on alternatives to buy, and that eventually most people will pay the extra money for the printer cartridge they need. It is also due to the fact that many companies like HP will make their printers cheaper to attract more customers and regain the loss through printer cartridge sales.

Fortunately for owners of printers, there are other options becoming available. Brands such as Xerox offer cheaper alternatives for printer ink that can work in multiple printers. Because these brands do not create printers themselves, they have no reason to charge more for ink and therefore can offer everyone a better alternative. The best way to find a good option for your printer is to check with a local store to see what different printer cartridges are compatible with your printer.

Printer cartridges for laser and ink-jet printers are supported at the cheapest prices available. Printer cartridges can be quite expensive, and with today's rising costs of gasoline and other various products, we could all do with a little savings here and there. With regards our printing needs, we could do our savings by buying discount printer cartridges. There is no question that a printer cartridge is important to maintaining a good printer and producing quality printed work. Knowing all of the options available to you, however, and practicing good ink maintenance goes a long way in saving money for the future.

Computer Printers - Important Tips To Enjoy Them

2009-07-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Printers are becoming more advanced and can print clearer images, are combined with fax capabilities and can print large quantities at a time. Printers that cannot offer a wide degree of access are usually thrown away in favor of those that do. The ink used in printers has also changed through the years and can use toner, ink, other liquids, or even no ink at all. Printers are designed for low-volume, short-turnaround print jobs; requiring virtually no setup time to achieve a hard copy of a given document.

Printers are categorized according to whether or not the image produced is formed by physical contact of the print mechanism with the paper. Impact printers have contact; nonimpact printers do not. Printers are cheap, but ink cartridges cost an arm and a leg. The higher the print quality, the longer it takes to print a document, and the more ink you use in the process.

Printers have certainly come a long way since the inception of the character and and dot matrix printers. These ancient products (ancient in technical terms being as few as 10-15 years) were what are known as impact printers, simply because they needed to make a physical connection with the paper in order to achieve the ink-on-paper result.

Dot matrix printers came equipped with a group of pins that touched a ribbon which then connected with paper to produce the finished product. Character printers, which worked on the same principle as electric typewriters, used a bar or ball whose surface was embossed with all the characters you now see on any keyboard. These characters made contact with the ribbon, which in turn made contact with the paper.

Today we use non-impact printers - those that do not make physical contact with the paper to create the papered reproduction. The most prevalent for home or small office use is the inkjet printer - an economical choice for all but the most serious graphic arts requirements.

There are five basic parts to an inkjet printer: the print head assembly, the paper feed assembly, circuitry control, power supply, and printer ports.

1. The print head assembly is the heart of the printer workings. It's what brings the ink to paper by means of a row of nozzles.

2. The print head may be part of the inner workings of a printer cartridge, or they may be separate parts. Cartridges are responsible for delivering color and shading. Most inkjet printers made nowadays offer color printing. Some may require as many as three distinct cartridges, but generally at least two - one black, one color. The motor is part of the print head assembly as well. It's the part that enables the ink and cartridges to move across the paper and produce the hard copy. It also keeps the cartridge stable when not in use.

3. The paper feed assembly includes the paper tray, which holds the paper ready for a printing request, and the rollers, which deliver the paper to the ink when a printing job is requested.

4. The power supply is simple - it's what gets the electricity to your printer so that it can do its job. Printer circuitry controls take the message from your keyboard and mouse and deliver it to the printer so that the requested hard copy can be produced.

5. Printer ports, also referred to as interface ports, much like a telephone jack, enable the peripheral (the printer) to talk to the computer. While in older models parallel ports were the norm, the newest printer models connect via USB ports, which require a special USB cord.

Laser Printers vs Inkjet Printers
Laser Printers are commonly used printers that are known for its rapid printing abilities. The other marked feature of a laser printer is the high quality text and graphics printing. When considering the most practical printer in use for today's business office, the laser jet printer seems the most prudent choice. In general, when compared to its rival the ink jet printer, the advantage of the laser jet is not only because of its quality and efficiency, but in the long run, it's the best value printer on the market. Laser printers simply produce a higher quality of color graphic or image, which make it ideal when the print job involves the printing of sales brochures or a mass mail-out to customers. When deciding on whether to purchase an inkjet or a laser printer, volume usage will be a key factor.

Multifunction Printers - How To Enjoy Them

2009-07-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Printers are becoming more advanced and can print clearer images, are combined with fax capabilities and can print large quantities at a time. The ink used in printers has also changed through the years and can use toner, ink, other liquids, or even no ink at all. Printers are designed for low-volume, short-turnaround print jobs; requiring virtually no setup time to achieve a hard copy of a given document.

However, printers are generally slow devices (30 pages per minute is considered fast; and many inexpensive consumer printers are far slower than that), and the cost per page is actually relatively high. Printers' and publishers' devices flourished from the 15th century through the end of the 17th century, although they certainly did not fall into disuse; modern presses and fine presses still display devices. They could be simple symbols, allegorical vignettes, rebuses, or symbolic references to the printer's name or self-perception.

For instance, inkjet printers from Epson, Canon, Lexmark, HP, Ricoh and others have created a new generation of impressive Inkjet Printers with capabilities that make them ideal for either personal or professional use. Enhancements like network connectivity options, elevated dpi, integrated memory and memory card slots among others have made inkjets printers extremely relevant in the discussion of today's innovative printers.

Inkjet printers tend to be low cost and scale slightly upward based on print quality, extra features, and the ability to print on larger formats than the standard legal or letter paper sizes. While the one-time cost of purchasing an inkjet printer is lower than other printer types, there is the factor of inkjet consumables that must be considered. Inkjet printers are considered a type of non impact printer, as opposed to dot matrix, since the ink is transfered to the paper by way of nozzles. These nozzles spray the ink directly onto the paper.

Do More In Less Space
When outfitting a home office, home workers should consider technology that is versatile and easy to set up and maintain without compromising valuable desktop space. While computers are an essential component of the typical home-office arrangement, home workers also need to consider other essentials such as printers, faxes or scanners. You may find that moving to a multifunction printer, also known as an MFP or an All-in-One, offers the convenience of having everything in a single device and a small "footprint" that is home-office friendly.

MFPs allow you to do more in-house; the ability to print, fax, copy and scan saves time by reducing the number of trips to the print shop, which results in time you can spend building your business. For instance, HP estimates that businesses are able to save 20 to 40 percent over the combined cost of four single-function products.

Look "Beyond The Box"
While the device you choose is important, it's equally important to look beyond the box and assess supplies, services and support to get the most out of your home-office experience. All technical products, including printers, should come with access to support the way you want it: via phone or online. Replacing supplies can be time intensive, especially if you are caught without ink or toner and you're on deadline. Look for a printer that offers automatic alerts when the toner or ink is low and reminds you to replenish before you run out.

To keep your printer humming along, investigate options for warranties. If the printer can't be fixed, does your manufacturer offer a one-time replacement? For example, HP offers a service option that provides for a one-time complete replacement of any covered printer, as well as telephone support.

Outfitting your home office with essential technology needed to run your business is an important decision that need not be a painstaking process. With the right equipment, your only worry will be your business.

If you're in the process of setting up a home office, you're not alone. There's a growing trend in the U.S. to achieve a better work/life balance; in fact, the home worker and telecommuting population is expected to grow to 40 million U.S. workers by 2010, according to JALA International and the International Telework Association and Council. Many of these home-based businesses or telecommuters will not have access to regular IT support and need some tips on how to make the best decisions.

How To Repair Laser Printer

2009-07-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Laser printers are page printers, printing a complete page at a time. The printed image, which can take the form of text or pictures, is made up of tiny dots, or ink particles. Laser printers can print on transparencies, adhesive labels, and lightweight cards. A laser printer with duplex printing can print on one side of the paper, turn the paper over, and print on the other side. Laser printers use a xerographic printing process similar to digital photocopiers and MFPs.

Having a printer repaired by a service company can be a pretty expensive proposition so we've compiled a checklist below that may assist you in fixing it yourself.

1. Paper Jams
To clear the jam pull the paper out gently in the same direction it was headed and then check for any obvious obstructions. If the jams persist the usual cause is worn pickup rollers. Over a period of time the rollers wear down and become slick and don't pull the paper in fast enough. If the paper is stopping in the fuser section it might be a bad gear or some debris causing the jam.

2. Image Problems
Most image problems are caused by a bad toner cartridge. If you have any streaking, light/dark areas or repetitive spots on your print, replace the cartridge and see if it clears up. This is common when using poorly remanufactured cartridges. Some recyclers don't replace the image drum and they should because the original drums are only designed to last for the expected toner life. If problems persist after replacing the cartridge the next area to look at would be the fuser. The heat rollers can become torn or warped after a period of time causing an image defect.

3. Maintenance Kits
On most of the newer printers, HP has determined the average life span of the consumable parts and has a maintenance message programmed in to appear after a certain amount of pages have been produced. The message will be something like "PERFORM USER MAINTENANCE" depending on what model you have. This is just a rough estimate. Some of the parts may go before this message appears and some will last long after. You can get a maintenance kit which usually contains the fuser, feed rollers and certain other high mortality parts depending on the model. The newer ones are designed to be user replaceable and don't require a skilled service technician to install. It's a good idea to have one since these kits will usually take care of most of the problems you will ever have.

4. Paper, Envelopes and Labels
The quality of what you feed into your printer can also be a factor. Certain types of paper can cause feed problems. Envelopes and labels put more strain on the machine than plain paper. Be especially careful with labels as these can sometimes slide off inside the fuser or toner cartridge. Humidity and heat can also be a factor. A humid environment can cause your paper to absorb moisture causing feed problems. If you turn off your heat or air conditioning over a weekend, allow the room temperature to return to normal before you begin working.

Laser printer technology is different from inkjet technology; it requires a paper able to withstand the high heat that literally melts the ink onto the paper.

Printer Problems - How To Troubleshoot

2009-07-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

Printer problems can be diverse. Finding the problem with a printer is the toughest part of the troubleshooting process because printers will not often give you a good explanation, despite having installed software on your machine and often having fancy LED screens on them.

Printers normally indicate if they are running low on ink or toner by a blinking or non green lit indicator lamp. You can always check this manually by opening up your printer and taking out the cartridge color that you have problems with. Printers are one of those devices we use everyday and never think about until there is a problem with it.

Troubleshooting Printer Problems
In this section, you'll find some of the more common problems that cause 45 percent of the help center phone calls. If nothing has occurred since the last time you used your printer, chances are the problem is quite straightforward. As obvious as it sounds, check to ensure that the printer is turned on. It is quite possible that somebody might have turned it off while you were away from your desk or computer. Make sure the printed is connected properly and there is power to the printer. All printers have some kind of LED that lets you know if it is powered up.

If the printer is turned on but has some flashing lights, then check with your owner's manual to see what the lights mean. Most of these indicators will be related either to paper, ink, or toner.

Make sure there is enough paper in the printer. Refill the paper tray if it's empty. Make sure you ‘fan' the paper stack before putting it in the printer. When the paper stack is cut and packed at the factory, it sometimes causes the pages to stick together. Fanning the paper simply involves flipping through the paper stack with your thumb. This ruffling separates the paper, thereby reducing paper jams.

If the paper is stacked well, then check for a mis-feed or paper jam. Remove the paper stack and check the feed area for jammed paper. You may have to open several panels to make a thorough examination. Even a small piece of paper stuck inside the printer can cause problems. You might have to use tweezers to remove small pieces. Be careful of any contact of the tweezers with printer parts to avoid any damage.

If everything listed above is in place, then check the wire that connects the printer to the computer. You may be using a parallel or a USB connection. Make sure the cable is connected properly. Turn the equipment off and remove and re-insert the connection on both the printer and the computer to ensure a solid connection. If you are at work and your printer is connected to what appears to be a telephone wire, then you should call your resident network expert.

If the printer is functioning but only seems to print illegible garbage, then that is a good indication of a printer driver problem. Try re-booting the computer and turning the printer off and on before making any changes to the driver. If after re-booting you still have the problem, it's probably time to replace the printer driver. You can download the driver from the website URLs listed earlier in this articles. Follow the instructions given by the manufacturer to install your driver.
Scanner can also sometimes interfere with printers. Try re-installing the software for both but install the printer driver first, and the scanner driver afterwards.

If nothing listed above results in a solution, then perhaps it might be time to call the printer manufacturer. Make sure that you are near the printer when you call and have all your warranty information available at hand.

Printers are usually connected by either USB cable or a specially designed printer cable that is color-coded. If your printer is connected to a network in your office or home, make sure that the LAN cable (the one that looks like a telephone wire) is properly connected.

Printers jam for any number of reasons, including dirt in the paper path, the wrong type of paper being used, or worn printer rollers. Keeping printer components clean can prevent paper jam problems, but roller replacement may also be necessary, and this can be a difficult job depending on the model of HP printer.

Printers with embedded web servers and hard disks can provide access to the printer driver installer through the printer's embedded web server. However, when the installer program is run from the printer, the installer program still searches for all printers of the selected type, since it does not know which printer it was run from. Print a file to make certain that everything works. If you encounter any problems, use this site's advice on troubleshooting printing under Windows . Printer drivers are easy to find and install and are your secret weapon against diminishing print quality over the life of your printer.

Printer Drivers - How To Install Them

2009-07-10T16:56:00.002-07:00

Printer drivers are programs developed to translate the language of an application to a language the printer can understand. You must have a driver installed to print. Printer drivers are easy to find and install and are your secret weapon against diminishing print quality over the life of your printer. For instance, PPrinter Driver Type 103 PCL printers ensure a provision of innovative and practical solutions for network printing. Printer drivers are typically implemented in code and are available from various vendors such as, for example, Hewlett-Packard.

Printer drivers differ depending on what operating system and printer you're using. You need to be sure you download and install the correct printer driver to get your machine up and running. If you have recently bought yourself a new printer, follow the directions in the manual for setting up cables. Put the installation CD into the CD drive and follow the set up instructions.

If you are using Windows 95/98, select Start Menu, then select Printers. Now select Add Printer, select Local Printer. Choose your printer (If your printer is not listed, choose the one closest to yours and select OK).

For the Mac, select go to server, (or chooser) and then select printer. Then choose your printer. (If your printer is not listed, then select the closest one.) Then select install.
If you are using Windows XP, then the PC will prompt you for the drivers and install the relevant one from the CD itself (if the appropriate driver is not in the database already).

If you have any problems printing, first check your cable connections. If you get repeated error messages, then reboot your computer and redo the steps above.
If you would like to upgrade the driver of your currently installed printed, then follow the steps given in the next sub-topic.

Installing Printer Drivers
A printer driver is a piece of software that allows the computer to communicate with the printer. Without this software, the printer would be hopelessly lost since it does not speak the same language! Printer manufacturers often update the drivers and these they can be easily downloaded form the company's website for free. It is a good idea to keep a check on your printer driver version and upgrade if it is too far out of date.
Here is how you can check your print driver version number:
Windows XP

1. Click the Windows Start button, choose Control Panel, and then choose ‘Printers and Faxes.'
2. Right-click your default printer and choose Properties. (Your default printer will have a checkmark within a black circle above the printer icon.)
3. Click the General tab, click the ‘Print Test Page' button, and then click OK to print the test page.
Windows 95/98

1. Click the Windows Start button, choose Settings, and then Printers.
2. Right-click your default printer and choose Properties. (Your default printer will have a checkmark within a black circle above the printer icon.)
3. Click the General tab, click the ‘Print Test Page' button, and then click OK to print the test page.

Look on the test page for Driver Version.
All major printer manufactures have web sites that allow you to freely download their printer drivers. To do so, you will need your printer's manufacturer and model number. When you go to the web site, look for words such as ‘Downloads', ‘Drivers', ‘Software', or ‘Support' and shortlist your model.
Given below are the website URLs for the popular brands:

1. Hewlett Packard — http://welcome.hp.com/country/uk/en/support.html?pageDisplay=drivers

2. Canon — http://software.canon-europe.com/

3. Epson — http://emeasupport.epson-europe.com/downloads.aspx?LNG=en-EU

4. Lexmark — http://support.lexmark.com/cgi-perl/selections.cgi?ccs=227:5:0:0:0:0&target=http://downloads.lexmark.com/cgi-perl/downloads.cgi&&req=:::::

5. Xerox — http://www.support.xerox.com/go/prodselect.asp?Xlang=en_GB&metrics=HDR

6. Brother — http://www.brother.com/E-ftp/info/index_eu.html

Talking networking, printers designed for use in a network environment offer greater functionality than the simple desktop printer. In addition to offering more printing and post-print options (collation, binding, etc.), network printers frequently come withbuilt-in processors, hard drives for data storage, a web server for communicating on a network and sophisticated management software. Printer drivers may contain viruses or scripts that can be harmful to your computer. It is important to be certain that the computer sharing this printer is trustworthy.

Inkjet Printers - How To Remove The Clog

2009-07-10T16:56:00.001-07:00

Inkjet printers have various advantages over other printing technologies. Their functional operations are much cheaper and quieter, and they start up quicker than the majority of other printer technologies. Inkjet printers don't require any warm up time, so the printer is always ready to print. Many ink cartridges can be refilled by the consumer, which is considerably cheaper than buying new ink cartridges. Inkjet printers have become the standard for home-computer use. If you're looking for information about printers.

Clogs can be incredibly frustrating. Normally when you find out you have a clogged printhead, it's because you're right in the middle of printing something important. It's one of those problems that you never ask for. It just seems to throw itself in your lap without warning, and then taunts you in your efforts to fix it.

The printhead is the mechanism of your printer (or inkjet cartridge), where the ink actually comes out. For the most part, printhead clogs can be normally be flushed out with a couple of "head cleaning" cycles. A head cleaning cycle is a built-in function of your printer. It's a specialized routine meant to address this type of problem.

This "cleaning cycle" works by sending a strong 'print signal' to your printer, while at the same time drawing a small vacuum from underneath. The combination of these two steps works in an attempt to suck out clogged ink from the printhead. From my experience, you'll probably need to run between 3 and 5 cycles to fully clear a clog.

The location of the head cleaning cycle proceedure varies for each printer brand, so refer to your printer owner's manual for specific instructions to find yours. Check the index first. If you don't have your owner's manual anymore, you can check our your printer manufacturers website. Most likely, they will have your printer manual online.

There are times however, when a few standard head cleaning routines don't seem to solve the problem. A stubborn printhead clog like this can be persistant enough to make you want to rip out your hair. For times like these, you'll need to pull out the big guns.

For stubborn inkjet printhead clogs, there are various cleaners out there specifically for this purpose. These cleaners are formulated to disolve dried or "gummy" ink which may have accumulated from infrequent printer use, or even just a general build-up over time.

The only downside with using a cleaning product like this however, is that you usually don't have it in your immediate possession when the clog hits. Unless you have some already on hand, you'll have to wait for it to be shipped to you. In the meantime, your printing project will have to remain on pause until it arrives.

The good news is that you MAY be able to solve the problem using some basic household products. In fact, Windex glass cleaner can actually work well for dissolving dried ink. What's the secret ingredient?

Ammonia.
Tough printhead clogs can usually be brought into submission by soaking the printhead in a solution of 50/50% ammonia and distilled water.

A important word of warning - Ammonia is potent and powerful stuff. When working with ammonia, always make sure you've got adequate ventilation, and avoid mixing it with other chemicals. Very important. So, if your printhead is located on the inkjet cartridge itself, you'll want to soak the printhead in the 50/50 solution for an hour or two.

If the printhead unit is located inside your inkjet printer itself, then you'll first need to remove the inkjet cartridges. After those are removed, put some of the solution into the top of the printhead (directly into the nozzle holes) and let it sit a few hours. Go ahead and put a little more into the printhead resting seat. (This is the rubber rectangle part that seals off the printhead unit while the carriage is in it's resting position.)

If this initial soaking doesn't work, then repeat another time using 100% ammonia for up to one hour. Afterward, make sure to rinse completely with distilled water. If the clog doesn't immediately clear, go ahead and let the printer sit overnight and try it again the next day. Sometimes the clog will breakdown slowly and release later as the ammonia takes it's toll.

Finally, for those of you wondering about the effectiveness of using alcohol to unclog cartridges and printhead -- here's a quick note.

Alcohol won't work as well as ammonia, but may work better than a few cleaning cycles. The downside is that alcohol may actually dry out the plastics and metals in the printhead. This could actually increase the chances of clogging later on down the road. So try to avoid alcohol if possible.

Inkjet printers are used in almost all offices, business, cafe and many other establishments. The printed image coming from an inkjet printer has tiny dots that usually have a diameter of 50-60 microns. Inkjet printers are best if printing high-quality photos are much more important that high-quality text and graphics and if speed is not an issue for you. Their major selling point is their superior color accuracy and print resolution for vivid photos, so this does add time to printing each page. Inkjet printers can be considered competitive garment printers with only the cost of the initial printer cost to take into account.

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) in Cisco CCNA Exam

2009-06-28T18:48:00.001-07:00

Trivial file transfer protocol? What is file transport protocol? Trivial File Transfer Protocol is an Internet Standardized protocol defined in RFC 1350 which is used for transferring files in low security networks. Trivial File Transfer performs the file transfer process without requesting a user login and thus is less secure than FTP .

One of the first things you do when you start studying for the CCNA exam is memorizing a list of port numbers and the protocols that run on those ports. If you're an experienced networker, you know most of the protocols that are mentioned - DNS, DHCP, FTP, SMTP, and so on. But there's one protocol that you might not have experience with, but is actually vital for CCNA exam success and success in working with Cisco routers and switches, and that's TFTP - Trivial File Transfer Protocol.

TFTP is basically FTP's non-secure relative. There are no passwords, no authentication scheme, no nothing! As someone once told me, "If I'm transferring my files, there's nothing 'trivial' about it."

TFTP is an Internet file transfer protocol similar to FTP (File Transfer Protocol), but it is scaled back in functionality so that it requires fewer resources to run. TFTP also differs from FTP in that it only supports file transfers and does not have the user interface features that FTP has.

TFTP is used in the Cisco world to perform IOS upgrades and to save configs to a TFTP Server. Cisco routers can themselves serve as TFTP servers, or you can use a workstation to fill that role. If you needed to copy an IOS image to a router, for example, you could do so easily by connecting your PC to the router's console port (via a rollover cable, right?). Your PC would need to run TFTP server software. There are quite a few free TFTP server software programs that work quite well - just enter “free tftp server” into Google or your favorite search engine and you'll see what I mean.

Using TFTP in this fashion is a great way to have backup copies of IOS images or router configs right on your laptop. And take it from me, when the day comes that you need those backups, you'll be glad you did!

Remember that when using the copy command, you first indicate where you're copying from, then where you're copying to:

R1#copy flash tftp

Source filename []? Example

Address or name of remote host []?

When performing such a copy, you'll need to name the file you're copying, as well as the IP address of the device you're copying to.

Using TFTP to perform IOS upgrades takes a little getting used to, especially the syntax of the copy command. But knowing that syntax and how to use TFTP will indeed get you one step closer to the CCNA.

TFTP is designed for simplicity of implementation, not high throughput. TFTP is designed to be small and easy to implement, therefore, lacks most of the features of a regular FTP. TFTP only reads and writes files (or mail) from/to a remote server. It is still used to transfer small files between hosts on a network, such as when a remote X Window System terminal or any other thin client boots from a network host or server. TFTP has been expanded to include a multicast option as described in RFC 2090, published February 1997. Multicast TFTP classifies client devices as active clients or passive clients. TFTP Server is commonly used to move executable images and configurations to and from routers, switches, hubs, XTerminals, and other network resources.

Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) in Cisco CCNA Exam

2009-06-28T18:47:00.002-07:00

CDP or Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Cisco proprietary network management tool that can be useful for documenting and troubleshooting your Cisco network. Cisco Discovery Protocol runs on Cisco devices (routers, switches, phones, etc.) and is also licensed to run on some network devices from other vendors. Using Cisco Discovery Protocol, network devices periodically advertise their own information to a multicast address on the network, making it available to any device or application that wishes to listen and collect it. Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP ) is primarily used to obtain protocol addresses of neighboring devices and discover the platform of those devices. CDP can also be used to show information about the interfaces your router uses.

CDP allows ESX to capture and broadcast Cisco related information to and from the switches. Information such as management IP addresses and switch ports. CDP allows network management applications to discover Cisco devices that are neighbors of already known devices, in particular, neighbors running lower-layer, transparent protocols. CDPv2 added a reporting mechanism that will identify duplex mismatches in the console of the switch. Half duplex and duplex mismatches can greatly reduce voice quality during interactive conversations.

The Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) sure looks simple enough, but there are quite a few details to know for success on the CCNA exam. In your CCNP studies, you'll be introduced to additional uses for CDP, but for now it's enough to know that CDP is designed to give you information regarding directly connected Cisco routers and switches.

CDP runs by default between all directly connected Cisco devices. CDP is also a Cisco-proprietary protocol - if the directly connected device is not a Cisco device, you won't see the information you wanted.

The basic CDP command to display information about the directly connected neighbor is "show cdp neighbor".

R2#show cdp neighbor

Capability Codes: R - Router, T - Trans Bridge, B - Source Route Bridge

S - Switch, H - Host, I - IGMP, r - Repeater

Device ID Local Intrfce Holdtme Capability Platform Port ID

R1 BRI0 167 R 2521 Dialer1

This command is particularly helpful when troubleshooting Cisco switches. There's no need to trace wiring in a rack of Cisco devices to see what routers are connected to a Cisco switch when show cdp neighbor can be used. In the above output, you can see the remote device's hostname, what interface on the remote device is connected to the local device, the capability of the remote device, the remote device's hardware platform, and the local interface that is connected to the remote device.

CDP can be disabled at both the global and interface level. To disable CDP at the interface level, run no cdp enable on the interface, and cdp enable to turn it back on.

cdp timer defines how often CDP packets are transmitted, and cdp holdtime defines how long a device will hold a received packet.

To turn CDP off for the entire router, run no cdp run. To view the current global status of CDP, run show cdp.

R2#show cdp

Global CDP information:

Sending CDP packets every 60 seconds

Sending a holdtime value of 180 seconds

CDP is running by default.

R2#conf t

R2(config)#cdp timer 45

R2(config)#cdp holdtime 100

The CDP timers are changed.

R2#show cdp

Global CDP information:

Sending CDP packets every 45 seconds

Sending a holdtime value of 100 seconds

The CDP values have been successfully changed. “show cdp interface” will give the timer information for each interface on the router.

R2#conf t

R2(config)#interface bri0

R2(config-if)#no cdp enable

CDP is disabled on the BRI interface. This does NOT have to be done to keep the line from dialing.

R2#conf t

R2(config)#no cdp run

CDP is disabled globally.

R2#show cdp

% CDP is not enabled

CDP has been successfully disabled.

Show cdp neighbor gives you a great deal of information, but what if you need the neighbor's IP address? Just run show cdp neighbor detail. You will get even more information about that directly connected neighbor, including its IP address.

SW2#show cdp neighbor detail

-------------------------

Device ID: R4

Entry address(es):

IP address: 172.12.23.4

Platform: cisco 2520, Capabilities: Router

Interface: FastEthernet0/4, Port ID (outgoing port): Ethernet0

Holdtime : 158 sec

The details of CDP are important to you on the job and in the CCNA exam room. When you find yourself negotiating a badly documented network, you can use CDP to "walk" through the network and create a network map for your client as well. Sometimes the simplest protocols are the most helpful. The limitation of CDP is reporting features on neighboring devices; but its greatest feature is that it is media- and protocol-independent and operates at the data link layer.

VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) in CCNP / BCMSN Exam

2009-06-28T18:47:00.001-07:00

VTP is a messaging protocol that CISCO designed to synchronize the VLAN database (vlan.dat) between switches in a common administratively controlled group (VTP domain). This information is only propagated as Layer 2 multicast advertisements across trunk ports. VTP is a Cisco-proprietary protocol that is available on most of the Cisco Catalyst series products using both Cisco IOS and Cisco CatOS system software.

Passing the BCMSN exam and getting one step closer to the CCNP certification means learning and noticing details that you were not presented with in your CCNA studies. One protocol you've got to learn more details about is VTP, which seemed simple enough in your CCNA studies! Part of learning the details is mastering the fundamentals, so in this tutorial we'll review the basics of VTP.

VTP pruning does not prune traffic from VLANs that are pruning-ineligible. VLAN 1 and VLANs 1002 to 1005 are always pruning-ineligible; traffic from these VLANs cannot be pruned. For instance, VTPv1 does more consistency checking on messages, which can add overhead. As long as the MD5 digest on a message is correct, VTPv2 will forward it. VTP Transparent mode actually means that the switch isn t participating in the VTP domain as Servers and Clients do.

VLANs can span switch ports, switches within a switch block, or closets and buildings. VLANs group users and devices into common workgroups across geographical areas. For instance, VLAN mapping allows to limit VLANs across a trunk, and allows you to control what is dropped. This can improve bandwidth and processor utilization.

In show VTP status readouts, the "VTP Operating Mode" is set to "Server" by default. The more familiar term for VTP Operating Mode is simply VTP Mode, and Server is the default. It's through the usage of VTP modes that we can place limits on which switches can delete and create VLANs.

In Server mode, a VTP switch can be used to create, modify, and delete VLANs. This means that a VTP deployment has to have at least one switch in Server mode, or VLAN creation will not be possible. Again, this is the default setting for Cisco switches.

Switches running in Client mode cannot be used to create, modify, or delete VLANs. Clients do listen for VTP advertisements and act accordingly when VTP advertisements notify the Client of VLAN changes.

VTP Transparent mode actually means that the switch isn't participating in the VTP domain as Servers and Clients do. Transparent VTP switches don't synchronize their VTP databases with other VTP speakers. They don't even advertise their own VLAN information! Therefore, any VLANs created on a Transparent VTP switch will not be advertised to other VTP speakers in the domain, making them locally significant only. (I know you remember that phrase from your CCNA studies!)

Devices running VTP Transparent mode do have a little something to do with the other switches in the VTP domain, though. When a switch running in Transparent mode receives a VTP advertisement, that switch will forward that advertisement to other switches in that VTP domain.

Configuring switches as VTP Clients is a great way to “tie down” VLAN creation capabilities to switches that are under your physical control. However, this occasionally leads to a situation where only the VTP clients will have ports that belong to a given VLAN, but the VLAN still has to be created on the VTP server. Bear in mind that VLANs can be created and deleted in transparent mode, but those changes aren't advertised to other switches in the VTP domain.

VLAN hopping was considered a "dead" attack that was almost a waste until IP Telephony converged together with an IP Network. Now, there are several VOIP tools out there that take advantage of this because now this attack has re-emerged into a crippling one. VLAN hopping can disable any security measures users may have in place on the device which maps routes between the VLAN's. VLAN hopping can disable any security measures users may have in place on the device which maps routes between the VLAN's. This is why hackers use VLAN hopping to capture sensitive information such as bank account details and passwords from targeted network subscribers.

VLANs are a very efficient way to design a network . In fact they are quite seriously promoted in network design. VLANs are also often used to provide additional security on networks because computers on one VLAN cannot talk to users on another VLAN without explicit access through the use of inter-VLAN routing or a multilayer switch. However, as you shall soon see, VLANs by themselves are not enough to secure your environment.

Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) in Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam

2009-06-28T18:46:00.002-07:00

Cisco's Dynamic Trunking Protocol can facilitate the automatic creation of trunks between two switches. When two connected ports are configured in dynamic mode, and at least one of the ports is configured as desirable, the two switches will negotiate the formation of a trunk across the link. Cisco switches do not provide any priority scheduling in the input side. However, they do provide priority scheduling in the output/egress port.

When you're studying to pass the BCMSN exam on the way to earning your CCNP certification, you're going to add to your CCNA knowledgebase every step of the way. Nowhere is that more than configuring a trunk between two switches.

You know that IEEE 802.1Q ("dot1q") and ISL are your two choices of trunking protocols, and you know the main differences between the two. What you might not have known is that there's a third trunking protocol that's running between your Cisco switches, and while it's a transparent process to many, you had better know about it for your BCMSN and other CCNP exams.

The Cisco-proprietary Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) actively attempts to negotiate a trunk link with the remote switch. This sounds great, but there is a cost in overhead - DTP frames are transmitted every 30 seconds. If you decide to configure a port as a non-negotiable trunk port, there's no need for the port to send DTP frames.

DTP can be turned off at the interface level with the switchport nonegotiate command, but as you see below, you cannot turn DTP off until the port is no longer in dynamic desirable trunking mode. (Dynamic desirable is the default mode for most Cisco switch ports.) When you're working with Cisco switches in a home lab or rack rental environment, run IOS Help regularly to see what options are available for the commands you're practicing with.

SW2(config)#int fast 0/8

SW2(config-if)#switchport nonegotiate

Command rejected: Conflict between 'nonegotiate' and 'dynamic' status.

SW2(config-if)#switchport mode ?

access Set trunking mode to ACCESS unconditionally

dynamic Set trunking mode to dynamically negotiate access or trunk mode

trunk Set trunking mode to TRUNK unconditionally

SW2(config-if)#switchport mode trunk

SW2(config-if)#switchport nonegotiate

DTP is enabled by default in Cisco devices, ready to negotiate in every switch port. However, it is necessary to know how to negotiate DTP in order to establish a trunk. DTP can be turned off at the interface level with the switchport nonegotiate command but you cannot turn DTP off until the port is no longer in dynamic desirable trunking mode. That is, DTP is disabled with the command switchport nonegotiate. Cisco switch ports have quite a few options, and the best way to find them is with one simple symbol - the question mark.

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Timers in Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam

2009-06-28T18:46:00.001-07:00

Spanning tree protocol is like a traffic cop. Data arrives at a switch and asks spanning tree for directions. Spanning tree protocol is an IEEE 802.1 standard link management protocol that for media access control bridges. STP uses the spanning tree algorithm to provide path redundancy while preventing undesirable loops in a network that are created by multiple active paths between stations. Spanning Tree Protocol dictates which path to take through a looped network in order to avoid these problems. STP enabled bridges communicate with each other to discover redundant paths in the network.

In your BCMSN / CCNP exam study, it's easy to overlook some of the details of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). After all, you learned all of that in your CCNA studies, right? Not necessarily. While some of the BCMSN material will be a review for you, there are some details regarding familiar topics that you need to learn. That includes the timers for STP - Hello Time, MaxAge, and Forward Delay.

You may remember these timers from your CCNA studies as well, and you should also remember that these timers should not be changed lightly. What you might not have known is that if you decide to change any and all of these timers, that change must be configured on the root bridge! The root bridge will inform the nonroot switches of the change via BPDUs.

Hello Time is the interval between BPDUs, two seconds by default.

Forward Delay is the length of both the listening and learning STP stages, with a default value of 15 seconds.

Maximum Age, referred to by the switch as MaxAge, is the amount of time a switch will retain a BPDU's contents before discarding it. The default is 20 seconds.

The value of these timers can be changed with the spanning-tree vlan command shown below. Verify the changes with the show spanning-tree command.

SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 ?

forward-time Set the forward delay for the spanning tree

hello-time Set the hello interval for the spanning tree

max-age Set the max age interval for the spanning tree

priority Set the bridge priority for the spanning tree

root Configure switch as root

SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 hello-time 5

SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 max-age 30

SW1(config)#spanning-tree vlan 1 forward-time 20

SW1(config)#^Z

SW1#show spanning-tree vlan 1

VLAN0001

Spanning tree enabled protocol ieee

Root ID Priority 32769

Address 000f.90e1.c240

This bridge is the root

Hello Time 5 sec Max Age 30 sec Forward Delay 20 sec

Bridge ID Priority 32769 (priority 32768 sys-id-ext 1)

Address 000f.90e1.c240

Hello Time 5 sec Max Age 30 sec Forward Delay 20 sec

Aging Time 300

Interface Role Sts Cost Prio.Nbr Type

---------------- ---- --- --------- -------- --------------------------------

Fa0/11 Desg FWD 19 128.11 P2p

Fa0/12 Desg FWD 19 128.12 P2p

You should always take great care in changing these timers. Those defaults are set for a reason - helping to prevent switching loops.

Loops occur when there are alternate routes between hosts. To establish path redundancy, STP creates a tree that spans all of the switches in an extended network, forcing redundant paths into a standby, or blocked, state.

Loops in a layer 2 network can create packet storms, crippling a network and destroying network performance. Loops occur in networks for a variety of reasons. The most common reason you find loops in networks is the result of trying to simply provide multiple levels of redundancy. Loops can form in any environment where you have redundant switch connections bridging. A number of indicators in the routers can tell you that you're having this problem.

CCNA/MCSE/CCNP Certification - Managing Failure And Planning For Success

2009-06-28T18:45:00.002-07:00

Planning for success on the CCNA, CCNP, and other Cisco exams is much like taking a trip in your car. You've got to plan ahead, accept the occasional detour, and just keep on going until you get there. But what do you do before you get started?

Managing Failure
Whether you're on the road to the CCNA, CCNP, MCSE, or you're on any other computer certification track, the odds are that sooner or later, you're going to fail an exam. It's happened to almost all of us, yours truly included. What you have to keep in mind in these times is that success is not a straight line. You've probably seen charts showing the growth of an industry or a business -- you know, the ones that go from left to right, and look kind of jagged. The line goes up for a while, then down a bit, then up some more, then down a little.

While every business has its setbacks, the net result is that the line goes up and progress is made. That's how you want your certification pursuit and your career to go as well - upward. If you put your books away in a fit of anger, get them out. If you took some time off, it's time to get back to work. Again, there's nothing wrong with being unhappy about failing an exam. It's how you handle that failure that counts. No inventor, executive, or entrepreneur has ever been right 100% of the time.

Learn something from your failure. Was your study time quality study time? Did you get some hands-on practice with the technology you're studying? Asking yourself these questions can be tough, but it can be highly valuable in making sure you don't fail the next time. And there must be a next time - because the one thing you cannot do is quit. Besides, take it from someone who's been there - your temporary failure makes your eventual success that much sweeter.

Creating A Road Map To Success
If you were driving from one side of the country to another, you certainly wouldn't just get in your car and start driving, would you? No. You would plan the trip out ahead of time. What would happen if you just got in the car and started driving in the hope that you would someday arrive at your final destination? You would never get there, and you'd spend a lot of time wandering aimlessly.

Don't spend your study time and slow your progress by studying for a Cisco exam without planning the trip. Schedule your study time as you would an appointment with a client, and keep that appointment. Make sure that your study time is quality study - turn your TV, iPod, and cell off. If you hit a bump in the road and don't get your certification the first time you take the exam, regroup and create another plan. Study until you get to the point that on exam day, you know that you are already a CCNA or CCNP and you're just there at the testing center to make it official.

The journey to success is not a straight line. When you look at a chart that shows a company's financial progress, the line never goes straight up. there are some ups and downs, but the overall result is success. The path to your eventual career and certification exam success may not be a direct one, but the important part is to get started - and to get any journey started, you've got to create a road map for a successful arrival at your destination.

MCSE - Counting The Cost Of Success

2009-06-28T18:45:00.001-07:00

When you're choosing which computer certification to pursue next, you should also be formulating a plan for your career. Your time is precious, and you should never choose to pursue a certification because it's “hot”. There are some hard questions you should ask yourself before deciding to pursue the CCNA, CCNP, CCVP, CCSP, CCIE, MSCE, or any of the many other vendor certifications that are out there. To earn the Microsoft certified systems engineer certification and to prove expertise in designing and implementation of the infrastructure for business solutions based on the Microsoft Windows 2003 platform and Microsoft Windows Server system, MCSE exam is the best medium.

MCSE exam is held to improve the expertise in designing and implementing Windows Server 2003 and other issues related to it. In order to take an MCSE exam one needs to go through a fourteen-day MCSE training boot camp that helps in successfully becoming an MCSE. They use custom developed curriculum that is designed to provide both exam preparation and practical technology skills, ensuring that the examinee shall be ready for the performance based testing Microsoft has introduced in their certification programs. Experience instructors have been arranged who posses many years of experience of working wit Microsoft operating system and technologies both in the field and in the classroom.

Computer labs are designed using genuine PC technology, which provides each student having the ability to access various Microsoft operating systems simultaneously on their desktop. Due to this facility provided for MCSE exam, students can access any time to practice for the exam throughout in order to maintain their progress and determine the areas that require further study of those Microsoft operating systems.

Different kinds of resources are provided to both students and instructors under this boot camp while preparing for MCSE exam. These resources are based on web and also distribute them after and before the classroom session so that both of them can share information. The online forum assists them to analyze different methods of programming. These centers are available for obtaining the certification goals. Pre-class preparation is essential to ensure complete success in an MCSE exam.

In the beginning materials and instructions are handed out which define as to how to prepare for the exam. In addition to this, as earlier mentioned one gets to access online resources, which provide detailed course information, and additional preparation resources. These resources related to the discussion forums and private questions posed to the instructors also help in preparing for the MCSE exam as they help in clearing doubts and difficulties.

The boot camp for MCSE exam is set up to ensure the success rate for the examinees as well to prepare them before beginning of the classes. One testing voucher per MCSE exam is included with the course material. It ensures that the examinee is not misled. The limitation for the MCSE exam is provided during the class. Cost of retaking is borne by the examinee in case if he is unable to appear on the scheduled date. Also, if one feels that he would not be ready to take one or more exam during the boot camp then vouchers are handed out to enable the examinee to take the exam at a later date. This course can be retaken at free of cost but the testing fee and the courseware fee is not included. The validity for retaking the exams stands for six months.

The candidates should have at least one year of experience in using Windows NT, Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 server in a networking environment to be eligible to attend the boot camp for the MCSE exam. Along with this there are several other pre-requisites for taking the exam. The candidate should have the knowledge of general networking concepts, IP addressing and sub-netting Active Directory Networking services. This gives the opportunity to brush up on technology skills and fill in any gaps in the knowledge base.

MCSE Computer Certification - Doing The Cost/Benefit Analysis

2009-06-28T18:44:00.002-07:00

In the world of technology people prefer being a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or MCSE. It is opted as a better option than Ph.D. itself. MCSE enhances the position in an organization along with quick rise in the salary.

The Purpose of Computer Certification
If your primary goal in earning a certification is the money you feel companies will throw at you after you get it, make sure to do your research first. Basing your certification pursuits on a salary survey can lead to some serious frustration on your part. Don't get it wrong. We all like money. But those surveys can be very misleading. There's really no such thing as an “average” salary in IT. Job responsibilities and requirements vary greatly from company to company, to the point where a “network admin” may make $35K at one job and $60K at another. You can see where such variations in pay can lead to some misleading statistics. (And if you're thinking of attending a tech school whose main pitch is “look at all the money this cert can get you”, ask a lot of questions about how they arrived at this amount.)

If you have a plan for your career, you'll know how this certification can fit into your plans. If you don't know what you're going to do with it when you get it, or worse, don't have a plan for your future, you may be wasting your time. Ask yourself the hard questions now - you won't regret it.

MCSE Certification
Microsoft certified systems engineer (MCSE) is the designing and implementation of the infrastructure based for business solutions. They schedule their instructors led classroom MCSE training at your complete control. They invite the best Microsoft and CISCO certified trainers in the industry to help us for the development of the ultimate training and certification program. MCSE training program includes everything one needs to fully prepare for and pass the MCSE exams. Earning your certification costs time and money. You've got to set time aside to study, you'll need books, perhaps a class, etc. If you're spending that money and time, it should be to make yourself more valuable in the workplace.

MCSE enables to learn various skills a person would require to have. To name a few an MCSE certification teaches how to install Windows XP professional, implement and administer its resources. It also helps to monitor and troubleshoot hardware devices and driver to optimize system's performance. It gives an extended help to configure and troubleshoot desktop environment, implement, manage and troubleshoot network protocols and services as well as configure, manage and troubleshoot security.

MCSE certification also includes how to manage and maintain physical and logical devices, user's computers and groups, a server environment and access to resources as well as managing and implementing disaster recovery. It also gives an overview to implement and maintain IP addressing, name resolution, network security, routing and remote access and network infrastructure. MCSE professionals are also able to implement, manage and troubleshoot security policies. Thus MCSE certification provides and an added advantage to the professionals.

MCSE professionals also come to know about patch management, infrastructure, and security for network communications, authentications and authorization. They are also able to plan, implement and maintain server roles along with server security network infrastructure, routing and remote access and server availability.

Lab simulations are the best components in MCSE training, which help in studying a lot. During any MCSE training program practice is provided with production level hardware and software along with step-by step detailed descriptions and instructions. Valuable hands-on experience can be easily experienced with real world scenarios such as installing windows 2003 server operating system as well as experience in adding WNS, WHCP, Domains, etc. can be easily received. Intelligent lab simulations during MCSE training programs allow the examinees to reinforce the concepts that have been learnt during the event and they can also perform various tasks.

The references are given so that the users can easily accrue the MCSE training PowerPoint slides, the printable study guide to help them to focus on areas of need and chart the programs. The practice exams of MCSE training program ensure your eligibility status and help in identifying areas that need more practice. Since various companies offer MCSE training, their task helps the IT candidates selected for the highest quality products and services.

Computer certifications really help in building IT career. By asking the right questions, and taking a hard look at your motives and plans before pursuing a given certification, they can do the same for you.

MCSE - Developing Yourself

2009-06-28T18:44:00.001-07:00

MCSE is a certification which increases one's confidence and knowledge and of course dedication to the information technology field. MCSE certification makes a tremendous difference in how a person is viewed in an organization. MCSE certification provides many benefits like access to technical and product information that can be received directly from Microsoft along with invitation to conferences, technical training sessions and participation in special events for the individuals who earn MCSE certification from Microsoft. These individuals also have free access to Microsoft certified professional magazine, which is a career and professional development magazine.

There are some coach and career advisors are also available in the MCSE training camp for providing a toll free advisor hotline. During the MCSE training, and certification program, you will be provided some materials and resources that access to a MCSE training coordinators who will advise the examinee how to best utilize the MCSE training material to complete the certification goals successfully and also teach how to apply new skills towards the career advancement.

Career academies virtual boot camp is a cost effective method that meets the critical demand of the computer users. Experienced users have been arranged here to lead courses in a comfortable and convenient environment. Environment of these camps makes one feel like a classroom delivered through flexible and familiar technology. The MCSE training provided for MCSE assessment and real world insight from the experts with vast experience in the subject matter. It is engaged in a dynamic learning method where multiple Microsoft operating systems were derived simultaneously and multiple senses help reinforce learning concepts. The videos help in clarifying the neutral steps and uplifting of the skills in right direction. They have proven methodology that provides as unequalled training experience with exceptional skills.

Career academies learning system include several unique features. Video lectures given by instructors during the MCSE training show one on one experience with the experts. The full motion video allows the examinee to see the steps, listen to the explanations and perform the Microsoft's operating system practically. MCSE training is one of the most flexible and comfortable training programs. The users are able to work according to their own convenience in any MCSE training program. They can opt to take the training at home or choose any convenient location for onsite training.

The MCSE training provided during the training sessions is quite rich, interactive and engaging. They incorporate all the live videos, screenshots, power point presentations, white board and lab simulations. All these give the examinee an engaging learning experience.

To be an MCSE professional one should have at least one year of experience in implementing and administering a network operating system in an environment with 200 to 25000 users and five to two hundred physical locations. The environment should also provide for typical network services and applications such as messaging, database, and dial-in server, desktop management. It should have facility for web hosting and firewall or proxy server along with a connection of corporate networks to the Internet and individual offices. It should also have remote location users to the corporate office network.

In a nutshell it is for those who install, configure or troubleshoot network systems in medium to large organizations. Mainly system engineers, technical support engineers, system and network analysts prefer to have MCSE certification. This certification is one of the most coveted degrees amongst the IT professionals.

MCSE And MCP - The Challenges Ahead

2009-06-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

MCSE stands for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. While the term sounds like a degree that you would get in Microsoft, it is not really an engineering degree, per say. In fact, that is one of the biggest complaints about this learning process. Nevertheless, MCSE is a training course of sorts that is designed to teach individuals who want to learn how to handle various aspects of Microsoft skills. The goal is to have a group of people who are knowledgeable in the areas that Microsoft is specific.

It is not always who you know, but what you know. That is why obtaining Microsoft certification can be a valuable asset to your career. Of course, it does depend on what career path you want to take as to whether you want to get either MCSE training or MCP training or anything else for that matter. So what do those abbreviations MCSE and MCP stand for anyway?

Microsoft developed this type of training to allow individuals to get a specific training course, or several in various types of skills that pertain to Microsoft. The thing about this training is that it is specific to Microsoft. While you may learn to install a program in another course which would teach a broad range of information about all ways in which to do so, in the MSCE, you will learn strictly how it is done through Microsoft.

MCP stands for Microsoft Certified Professional. What exactly does having a Microsoft certification mean anyway? We know that it looks good on a resume and opens new doors in your career. Did you know that being certifiable - in Microsoft anyway - sometimes will also boost your pay? Experience counts for a lot, but having a Microsoft certification or two does not hurt either!

So what does it take to be and MCP or MCSE? Lots of studying! The MCP courses and MCP exams are geared toward a more rounded technical professional. Candidates for MCP must pass one current certification test from Microsoft. Passing one of the exams demonstrates that the candidate has a consistent level of technical expertise.

With the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer path, there are MCSE boot camps that help prepare candidates for the MCSE exams. These MCSE boot camps are intense classes often packed into a full two week period instead of the traditional weekly MCSE training classes in preparation for the MCSE exams. This path is more involved. MCSE certification is standard in the IT field and prepares you for anything from the design of a system's infrastructure to analyzing the company's needs before implementing a design.

Unlike those individuals who take the MCP training to prepare for MCP exams, students of MCSE have a course of study that is more intense. Instead of one test to prepare for, they have seven tests that they are required to pass to get their Microsoft certification. Yikes! Seven! They have five main exams to take as well as two electives. The five required MCSE exams are broken down into four operating system exams and one design exam. The two electives typically deal with other issues in design and implementation not covered in the five core tests.

After learning a few basics, it is easy to see that the MCP or Microsoft Certified Professional is really just a stepping stone to bigger and greater things in the world of Microsoft certification. The individuals who go for the MCP have a leg up on those peers who have no technical experience. They will have a better grasp on technical issues and usually stay a step ahead of trends. The MCSE is more specialized and appeals to the techno geek with a penchant for design and implementation. They like knowing how stuff works. So market yourself and become certifiable.

In most cases, the training can be done in several ways. Students can take classes through certified teachers in school or they can study on their own. Some individuals feel that they have enough experience in the various uses of Microsoft to be able to take the test without taking a training class. The test is given at specific areas at specific times. In order to be considered, you must pay a fee of about $125 for each of the tests and certifications that you plan to take. The tests range in knowledge levels and in most cases, it is wise to take the training courses for MSCE prior to taking the test as it can be quite challenging.

Laptop Computers On Sale

2009-06-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Laptop computers on sale are what you find almost everywhere. In fact, cheap laptop computers are now a reality. The longer they are around, the cheaper they get. Cheap used notebooks, cheap used notebook computers or whichever way you describe them, are on sale. Many people decide to buy a laptop computer because it offers flexibility and portability. Laptops are most suited for those who do light computer work such as surfing the internet, word processing, accounting, and to help manage bills and home organization.

There are many features available now on laptops that used to be available on top-line PC computers. When choosing a laptop that is right for the job, consider these top things in a laptop before purchasing.

Laptop computers are often a perfect choice for those wishing to work from anywhere whether it is in a plane, a car or in meetings. This type of computer can also be suitable if you are looking to replace an older desktop computer and require more processing power and memory.

1. Price is the first thing to consider when purchasing a new laptop. Basic laptops with minimal memory can be purchased for much less than a laptop with complex programs and very high speed and memory. Consider what you will use the computer for. Will it be a primary household computer or will it manage your business? Will it be the computer the kids will use when completing school assignments? If you are looking for a computer to help do basic computer functions such as word processing and Internet access, you may not need to spend the extra money for added memory.

2. Also, consider the physical size of the laptop. If you need to travel with your laptop on a regular basis, look into the more compact versions, also called ultra portable. These ultra portable laptops often weigh in at less than 3-1/2 pounds. A heavier laptop might be too cumbersome when traveling with other luggage. Some of the larger laptop versions can weigh up to ten pounds or more.

3. Also, if you travel frequently with your laptop, look into laptops equipped for wireless fidelity or Wi-Fi. Most laptops now come with Wi-Fi capabilities. This is usually crucial for people who travel often and need access to the Internet. One type of Wi-Fi is Intels Centrino. This is a good choice for those needing a longer Internet access time. These computers can stay on between four and six hours on one charge.

4. The next thing to look for in a laptop is the processing speed. More expensive computers will have faster speed. There is a wide range of different processor names. A Pentium 4 processor is common on older versions of the laptop. While it is powerful, the battery will only last about two hours before requiring recharge.
The Pentium 4-M is a little less powerful, but they hold a charge longer and are lighter in weight than some of their counterparts. An Intel Pentium M will run slower than a Pentium 4, but cost less and often does just as well. Both the Celeron and the Celeron M are made by Intel and are cost effective. These however, will be much slower than the Pentium chips. For top of the line speed, check into the Athlon 64 made by AMD. These are very fast and much more expensive than other chips.

5. Another thing to look for when choosing a laptop is the port. The Universal Serial Bus or USB for short are used for the mouse, digital cameras, and the printer. The FireWire is used for digital video and external high-speed hard drive. It is recommended that a laptop should have both of these built in. The USB 2.0 is faster than the older 1.1. It is not recommended to get a parallel port for laptops, as this can cost more and add unnecessary bulk to the computer. Another added connector that you will want to add to a laptop is an Ethernet and a video output connector used for projectors and high speed connection.

6. When looking at RAM, (random access memory), get at least 256 megabytes. If you spend a lot of time on the laptop, choose 512 megabytes of RAM. If you plan to store a large amount of video, music or photos, you should opt for a larger amount of RAM. For gaming purposes, try a video card with at least 32 MB of RAM. The general rule with memory is that the more RAM the computer has, the better off you are.

7. CD and DVD drives are also an important part of choosing a laptop. Most of the readers are built in. These are used for installing software, playing music, and to read multimedia projects. Laptops with DVD players can play movies and create CDs. If this is something you need for your computer, it is better to buy it already installed.

Best Printers - How To Distinguish Printer Types

2009-06-20T00:12:00.001-07:00

The best printers are what we all desire. However, much lies in knowing the different types of printers so as to be able to choose the best one. The best printer for one person may not be the best for another person. All lies in putting certain factors into consideration.

Here is the information that you need to know and consider on the different types of computer printers:

Inkjet Printers
The Inkjet Printer is the most commonly used type of printer among home and small business users. With excellent all round printing capabilities, from black & white text print and good colour prints through to very hi-resolution, high quality photographs using Inkjet Photo Printers. Inkjet printers are available from cheap entry level to high-end business use machines and can print from photo size prints to massive A2 and bigger sizes, there are models for occasional use and others for high volume print jobs too. One of the many great things about Inkjet printers is that you can use a wide variety of media to print on, including standard paper, photo paper, card, t-shirt transfers, canvas, projector film etc, achieving different looks and textures for your prints and print for different purposes. Most Inkjet printers are USB connections and not suitable for networks, although models are also available for networks and with parallel connections.

Inkjet printers form images by spraying tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper. The size and precision of the dots of ink and the type and quality of the ink itself govern how good the print quality is. A quality inkjet printer can produce very near photo-quality images using specialist photo coated paper. In general there are two types of inkjet printers, those with the printhead built into the printer like Epson, Brother etc and those where the printhead is actually on the ink cartridge like HP and Lexmark. There are many arguments for and against both technologies, but in our experience we have found both to be very good, the major difference seems to be that the cost of running a printer using the "printhead" type ink cartridge is usually higher.

Inkjet ink is specially formulated for specific printer models and their purpose, much technology is involved in the development of these inks to improve print quality, longevity, drying speeds and printing speeds etc. Most inkjet ink is produced using dye based ink which can flow easily through the tiny nozzles of the printhead, this type of ink is good for photos and colour shades but not so good for longevity or solid vibrant colour, think of it like a water colour painting. In recent years pigment ink technology has advanced considerably to enable use in inkjet printing. Previously ink pigments were too large and would block up the nozzles. This type of ink is good for solid colours and longevity, think of it like an oil painting.

Manufacturers like Epson, HP and Jet Tec are now increasingly using a fusion of dye based and pigmented inks to create superb quality photo printing with vibrant colours and longevity too. Inkjet printers use between two and eight ink cartridges to do their job. Generally speaking the entry-level machines use two cartridges, good all round machines use four and specialist photo printers use six or more. The two cartridge system works fine though can be a bit wasteful on the colour ink, so go for a four-cartridge system where possible especially if you do colour printing. The six or more cartridge systems produce outstanding photos, but can be costly and a pain to keep changing cartridges (printer does not work if any one cartridge is empty).

Inkjet printers are the best solution for most people and are usually the most cost effective way to print - unless you are printing large volumes.

Portable Inkjet Printers
These printers are small, lightweight and ideal for people on the move. Although the printing of high quality photographs is usually beyond this type of printer, basic colour printing is of good quality and the quality of text print is mostly outstanding considering the size of these tiny portable A4 printers. These printers are not suitable for high volume printing.

Multi-Function Inkjet Printers
Multi-Function Inkjet Printers have been built to meet the needs of home offices and small businesses. These excellent value machines provide multiple solutions in one compact and easy to use machine i.e. printing, scanning, copying and some also have built in fax machines too. Not only are these machines great for saving space on your desk, but they are also very good for printing too using the same technology as standard inkjet printers. The only thing you should be aware of is that you can only use one function at a time and if anything goes wrong with an "All-in-one" machine, you may lose the all the functions at once!

Laser Printers
Laser printers work in a similar way to photocopiers, except they use a laser instead of a bright light to scan with. They work by creating an electrostatic image of the page onto a charged photoreceptor, which in turn attracts toner in the shape of an electrostatic charge. Toner is the material used to make the image (as ink is in an inkjet printer) and is a very fine powder, so laser printers use toner cartridges instead of ink cartridges.

Laser Printers have traditionally been the best printing solution for heavy office users as they produce a very high quality black text finish and offer relatively low running costs. However, laser printers have advanced a great deal recently and their prices have steadily dropped, as a result there are now compact laser printers, multi-function and colour laser printers all at very affordable prices. Laser printers make sense if you need to do a lot of high quality black or colour prints, not photos. The great thing about a colour laser printer is that they can print a very good quality colour image on standard copier paper, so you do not need to use expensive photo paper for large jobs. Do check the prices of the consumables before you buy the printer as these can be very expensive for colour laser printers.

Laser printers are the best solution for people who are printing in large volumes, that is, in 100's of pages at a time or 1000's of pages per month. Colour lasers also take quite a while to warm up, so are not ideal for printing single pages.

Solid Ink Printers
Solid ink printers use solid wax ink sticks in a "phase-change" process, they work by liquefying wax ink sticks into reservoirs and then squirting the ink onto a transfer drum from where it is cold-fused onto the paper in a single pass. Solid ink printers are marketed almost exclusively by Tektronix / Xerox and are aimed at larger businesses and high volume colour printing.

Solid ink printers used to be cheaper to purchase than similarly specified colour lasers and fairly economical to run owing to a low component usage, today it is not necessarily any cheaper than a colour laser printer. Output quality is good but generally not as good as the best colour lasers for text and graphics or the best inkjets for photographs. Print speeds are not as fast as most colour lasers.
Dye-Sublimation Printers

Dye-Sublimation printers use heat and solid colour dyes to produce lab-quality photographic images. Dye-Sub printers contain a roll of transparent film made up of page-sized panels of colour, with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black dye embedded in the film. Print head heating elements vaporize the inks, which adhere to a specially coated paper, as the ink cools it re-solidifies on the paper. Colour intensity is controlled by precise variations in temperature.

Dye-sublimation printers lay down color in continuous tones one color at a time instead of dots of ink like an inkjet, because the colour is absorbed into the paper rather than sitting on the surface, the output is more photo-realistic, more durable and less vulnerable to fading than other ink technologies.

The downside of Dye-Sub printers is that they are generally more expensive to buy and run, usually limited to photo sized prints only and can only print onto one type of specialised paper as well as being quite slow to print.

Dye-Sublimation printers are best for those who want to link up their digital camera to a purpose built printer and print out the finest quality photos at home without fuss.

Dot Matrix Printers
Dot matrix printers are relatively old fashioned technology today with poor quality print, slow and very noisy output. This type of printer is no longer used unless you wish to create invoices using the continuous paper with holes on both sides. The good thing is that they are very cheap to run!

Cost of Ownership
When looking at the cost of ink, also look at the number of pages a single ink cartridge can print. If the page count is high, the cost of the ink may be reasonable. If the page count is low compared to other similar ink cartridges, you may want to select another printer that offers a better performing ink cartridge.

An often overlooked issue, is the very serious consideration of cost of ownership, which is all about of how much it will cost to keep your printer running (see below). So making that decision on which printer to go for can be a seriously arduous task, especially if you are keen to buy a printer that is not only affordable to buy but also cheap to run. When buying a printer, firstly carefully consider its use, is it mostly general printing or for photographs, is it for occasional use or high volumes, will it be a stand alone device or connected to a network? Then using the guideline information above you will be able to decide on which type of printer is most suitable for you at the time.