X-Stream Technologies

Top 10 unknown Google tricks

2013-01-10T03:30:00.000-08:00

Translate text, a full web page, or search by using the Google Language Tools.

Calculator

Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.

Track airline flight and packages

Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.

Google can also give a direct link to package tracking information if you enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number.

Phone number lookup

Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.

Definitions

Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.

Stocks

Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.

Find PDF results only

Add fileType: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" fileType:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.

Find weather and movies

Type "weather" or "movies" followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions or movie theaters in your area. For example, typing weather 84101 gives you the current weather conditions for Salt Lake City, UT and the next four days. Typing movies 84101 would give you a link for show times for movies in that area.

Local search

Visit Google Local enters the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.

Pages linked to you

See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.

Solution, Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage

2012-12-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

What? I was trying to access my bank’s web page but instead of the page I was presented with this message. Is the web site down? Nope, doesn’t seem to be. It pings with no problem. I’m firing up the Firefox, and voila – the web page appears before my eyes. Is something wrong with the IE? Did I unknowingly install a rogue browser extension, spyware or adware? The fact that it’s a bank’s site made me suspicious.

Or is it just IE8? I’m trying compatibility mode – nope, the same result. Trying IE8 from another machine. Works like a charm! This is starting to look very troubling. OK, it’s time for serious investigation.

Perhaps Autoruns can tell me what’s going on? It’s a Sysinternals tool. I’m looking through IE BHO’s, Winsock providers, other stuff that’s in there. Nothing stands out. Everything looks normal.

Perhaps it’s the anti-virus? Or Vmware network services? Shutting everything down. Still nothing.

OK, let’s take a look at what happens at the network level. Launching the Wireshark. Capturing some network packets and what am I seeing? IE8 sends a DNS query for the bank’s site. The query resolves OK. Then it establishes the connection: SYN, SYN+ACK, ACK – so far so good. Then it sends HTTP GET. And the very next packet it receives from the site is RST. No wonder it can’t display the web page! The site just drops the connection.

I’m relieved. At least it’s not a spyware.

But why the hell it drops the connection on IE8 whereas Firefox works just fine? It must be something with the User Agent string. I’m looking at the string and I can’t believe how long it is. There’s all sorts of crap in there:

User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0; Trident/4.0; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; InfoPath.2; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; Origami Experience 1.1; .NET CLR 3.5.21022; Zune 3.0; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3

In fact, it’s so long the IE doesn’t even send the whole string.

Time to fix it. I quickly find the user agent in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent]

Delete everything leaving just a single entry for CLR 2 and CLR 3. Restart the IE. And… Tada! The web page displays correctly.

So the user agent string was too long for the web server to handle. Maybe it thought I was trying to DoS it? Or better yet, it was running into a buffer overflow. I don’t know. But it certainly looks like a bad piece of software that site runs on.

For Beginners, Ever Used A Computer Mouse Before?

2012-12-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

This is a lesson for beginning computer mouse users.

Learn how to hold the computer mouse:

Hold the sides of the mouse with your thumb on one side and ring finger or pinkie, which ever feels more comfortable to you, on the other side. Your index finger goes on the left button and your middle finger on the right button. (Some computer mice only have one button, some have several, some have a wheel which you can use your middle finger to depress the wheel then turn it up or down to scroll pages very quickly or slow depending on how quickly you turn the wheel. Personally I love the wheel and would not have a mouse without it!) When you are told to 'click' use the button under your index finger, or the left button.

Learn how to move the computer mouse:

Slowly slide the mouse around on the mouse pad. See what happens to the arrow on the screen as you slide it around.

Do you need a mouse pad:

You should have a mouse pad under your mouse, (although the new optic mice do not require one). You will
have an array of choices when purchasing a mouse pad; find the one that is comfortable for you. Rest you hand on the mouse pad or desk and move it slowly there is no need to lift the mouse off the mouse pad unless you run out of room, then you just lift it up and reposition where needed. You don't need to move the mouse to the left or right, simply slide it left or right with the buttons still facing away from you.

What does clicking do:

Clicking sends a command to the computer. To click, gently press and release the left computer mouse button. Be careful not to move the mouse while you are clicking, if you accidentally do simply slide the mouse back to where you want to click and try again. Try to keep you hand relaxed on the mouse as you press and release without lifting your finger completely off the button.

Your Done - Great job! That is all you need to know to start using your computer and that mouse. Keep working on it and before you know it, it will feel like second nature to you and you will not even have to think about what you are doing.

Note: Most libraries have free computer classes for the beginner, if you feel you need hands on help this would be the perfect place to start!

The Alphabet of Computer Memory

2012-11-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

Computer memory is called Random Access Memory (RAM). The information stored in RAM can be accessed randomly, rather than sequentially. This means that data can be found in any location at the same rate of speed. Other storage media, such as CD-Rom and hard drives, must wait while the drive spins to the correct location before the data can be accessed.

Computer memory is simply a storage area for the program code and the data that program uses. Computer programs use RAM to write and retrieve information, allowing for fast data retrieval and manipulation.

How Much RAM is Enough?

Simply stated, the answer is, as much as possible. Keep in mind, though, once you've reached a certain upper limit, which is determined by the computer program(s) used, investment in more memory will see a diminished return.

Adding more memory is one of the best ways to maximize computer performance. If you compare 2 identical computer systems, the one with the most memory will over-all be the faster. More RAM allows the computer to place more program instructions into memory, relying less on the slower hard drive.

Think of 512 Megabytes (MB) as the base standard for a modern computer. With that you can multi-task (run several applications concurrently). For instance, you can check email and download MP3s, without noticeable sluggishness.

Some applications, however, are more memory-hungry than others. Graphics programs, for example, are notoriously greedy. Memory needs are further exagerated by the operating system used. Microsoft Windows is far more demanding than, say, Linux. Currently, most PCs use Windows, though.

Should you notice your computer slowing down, consider adding more memory. Before committing to that option, however, try de-fragmenting your hard drive with a utility (program) designed for that sole purpose. A fragmented hard drive is a common cause of stalled computer performance.

Types of RAM

Right now DDR SDRAM is the most popular memory module. DDR stands for Double Data Rate, which means that the memory can be accessed twice per clock-cycle. SDRAM, the acronym for Synchronous Data Random Access Memory, has been the standard for memory modules for nearly a decade.

To add memory to your computer, you must install modules with the correct contact layout. Before purchasing new memory, you must know which type your motherboard will accept. The most common form factors are 168 pin, 184 pin and 200 pin.

You'll also need to know whether there are slots available on your motherboard. If all the slots are already in use, you'll have to replace 1 or all of the current modules with higher capacity ones. If there is at least 1 free slot, you can simply buy a new memory module and insert it in the empty slot.

A word of caution: whereas some motherboards can accept either SDRAM or DDR SDRAM, the 2 types cannot be mixed. You must decide on 1 or the other. Check the motherboard manual first to determine which kind of memory your computer requires.

And finally, when you are ready to install your brand new memory module, make sure of 2 things: the power is off (for your safety) and you are electrically grounded (for your computer's safety).

Hardware Cleaning Tips - 1

2012-11-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Case cleaning

Case cleaning keeps the appearance of the computer looking new. During cleaning, if ventilation locations are found, these can be cleaned helping the case keep a steady airflow to the computer, keeping components cool and in good working condition.

The plastic case that houses the PC components can be cleaned with a lint-free cloth that has been slightly dampened with water. For stubborn stains, add a little household detergent to the cloth. It is recommended that you never use a solvent cleaner on plastics.

Make sure all vents and air holes are hair and lint free by rubbing a cloth over the holes and vents. It is also helpful to take a vacuum around each of the hole, vents, and crevices on the computer. It is safe to use a standard vacuum when cleaning the outside vents of a computer; however, if you need to clean the inside of the computer, use a portable battery powered vacuum to prevent static electricity.

If you are looking for steps on cleaning the inside of the computer, see the motherboard cleaning section.

CD-ROM, DVD, and other disc drive cleaning

A dirty CD-ROM drive or other disc drives can cause read errors when reading discs. These read errors could cause software installation issues or issues while running the program.

To clean the CD-ROM drive we recommend purchasing a CD-ROM cleaner from your local retailer such as a local Radio Shack. Using a CD-ROM cleaner should sufficiently clean the CD-ROM laser from dust, dirt, and hair.

In addition to cleaning the drive with a special disc designed to clean drives users can also use a cloth dampened with water to clean the tray that ejects from the drive. Make sure however that after the tray has been cleaned that it completely dry before putting the tray back into the drive.

See the CD cleaning recommendation for further steps on cleaning each of your CDs.

CD and DVD disc cleaning

Dirty CDs can cause read errors or cause CDs to not work at all.

Cleaning CDs and DVDs should be done with a cleaning kit but can also be done with a normal clean cotton cloth or shirt. When doing this with a clean cotton cloth or shirt, wipe against the tracks, starting from the middle of the CD or DVD and wiping towards the outer side as shown in the below picture. Never wipe with the tracks; doing so may put more scratches on the disc.

It is recommended when cleaning a CD that water is used. However, if the substance on a CD cannot be removed using water, pure alcohol can also be used.

Hard drive cleaning

While hard drives cannot be cleaned physically, they can be cleaned with various utilities on the computer to help it run fast and more efficiently. Utilizing these utilities will prevent the hard drive from slowing down.

Refer to our basic troubleshooting section for your operating system for steps that can be done to help improve the performance of your computer.

General Cleaning Tips -1

2012-10-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

How to maintain your PC

Below is a listing of general tips that should be taken when cleaning any of the components or peripherals of a computer as well as tips to help keep a computer clean.

Never spray or squirt any liquid onto any computer component. If a spray is needed, spray the liquid onto a cloth and then use that cloth to rub down the component.

You can use a vacuum to suck up dirt, dust, or hair around the computer on the outside case. However, do not use a vacuum for the inside of your computer as it generates a lot of static electricity that can damage the internal components of your computer. If you need to use a vacuum to clean the inside of your computer, use a portable battery powered vacuum designed to do this job or try using compressed air.
When cleaning a component or the computer, turn it off before cleaning.
Be cautious when using any cleaning solvents; some individuals may have allergic reactions to chemicals in cleaning solvents and some solvents can even damage the case. Try to always use water or a highly diluted solvent.
When cleaning, be careful not to accidentally adjust any knobs or controls. In addition, when cleaning the back of the computer, if anything is plugged in, make sure not to disconnect any of the plugs.
When cleaning fans, especially the smaller fans within a portable computer or laptop it's suggested that you either hold the fan or place something in-between the fan blades to prevent it from spinning. Spraying compressed air into a fan or cleaning a fan with a vacuum may cause damage or back voltage to be generated.
Never eat or drink around the computer.
Limit smoking around the computer.

Cleaning tools

Although many companies have created products to help improve the process of cleaning your computer and peripherals, users can also use household items to clean their computers and peripherals. Below is a listing of items you may need or want to use while cleaning your computer or computer peripherals. Keep in mind that some components in your computer may only be able to be cleaned using a product designed for cleaning that component; if this is the case, it will be mentioned in the cleaning tips.

Cloth - A cloth is the best tool used when rubbing down a component; although paper towels can be used with most hardware, we recommend using a cloth whenever possible. Caution: We only suggest you use a cloth when cleaning components such as the outside of the case, a drive, mouse, etc. You should not use a cloth to clean any circuitry such as the RAM or motherboard since they can generate ESD that can damage electronics.
Water or rubbing alcohol - When moistening a cloth, it is best to use water or rubbing alcohol. Other solvents may be bad for the plastics used with your computer.
Portable Vacuum - Sucking the dust, dirt, hair, cigarette particles, and other particles out of a computer can be one of the best methods of cleaning a computer. Over time, these items can restrict the airflow in a computer and cause circuitry to corrode. Do not use a standard vacuum as it can generate a lot of static electricity that can damage your computer.
Cotton swabs - Cotton swaps moistened with rubbing alcohol or water are excellent tools for wiping hard to reach areas in your keyboard, mouse, and other locations.
Foam swabs - Whenever possible, it is better to use lint-free swabs such as foam swabs.

Tips to Speed Up Startup With a SSD or Hybrid Drive

2012-10-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

The cheapest way to get the 50% startup speed boost is by buying a small SD card and using it to host just your startup files. Unfortunately, this method may also require reinstalling Windows which is too much work for an article that promised you wouldn’t need to change any settings.

The most expensive way to speed up your startup by 50% is to buy a full Solid State Drive (SSD). Then all you need to do is plug it into your computer and copy over all of your files, including your hidden boot sector. Your computer can do this overnight while you sleep using the free program, Clonezilla. After the files copy, you simply remove your old hard drive and use just the SSD.

In between those two prices are the hybrid hard drives, which cost less than the full SSDs but require the same simple setup procedure.

Hybrid hard drives do have a few warts. The main problem is that they combine two different hard drives into a single virtual hard drive, which means that when one part fails, the whole drive fails. Since magnetic hard drives and SSDs have different weaknesses, the combination hybrid hard drive is twice as likely to fail.

However, most hybrid drives should work for several years before they fail, which may be infrequently enough for you.

Whatever solid state-based drive you choose to speed up startup, note that it shouldn’t be defragmented which is the topic of our next section. Defragmenting a solid state drive slightly reduces its lifetime.

Windows 8 useful tips - 2

2012-09-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Special Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

Knowing at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts will make your Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these top Windows 8 shortcut keys.

Press the Windows key to open the Start screen or switch to the Desktop (if open).
Press the Windows key + D will open the Windows Desktop.
Press the Windows key + . To pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the screen.
Press the Windows key + X to open the power user menu, which gives you access to many of the features most power users would want (e.g. Device Manager and Command Prompt).

Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found in Charms.
Press and hold the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
Press the Windows key + Print screen to create a screen shot, which is automatically saved into your My Pictures folder.

Windows 8 useful tips - 1

2012-09-02T04:18:00.000-07:00

Tips to customize your tiles

Most users likely to modify Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located, and what is listed. Here i am providing tips customize your tiles.

Move any tile by clicking and dragging the tile. While moving a tile, if you need a larger view of the Start screen move the tile towards the top or bottom of the screen to zoom out.
Use your mouse wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
Any Desktop shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the icon and choosing Pin to Start.
In the bottom right-hand corner of the start screen is a magnifying glass with tiles, click this icon to get a zoomed out view of your Start screen. In this view, if you right-click on a group of tiles you'll be given the option to name group, which can be useful if you have a group of related tiles (e.g. games). In this view, you can also click and drag a group to organize your tile groups.
Create a new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile to a speed bump.
Resize any User tile or live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
If there is a tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
Show admin applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
In Internet Explorer 10, you can also pin any of your favorite web pages to your Start Screen.

How to Increase Your System Virtual Memory or RAM

2012-08-10T02:11:00.003-07:00

All of the programs you expect to run at once but very important your system should has particular amount of RAM run to all. If your RAM capacity is small (less than 2GB), your system will run slow as you open several applications/programs at once. Here is a very simple trick you can use to increase your RAM and make your system run faster more than before.

1.Click right on My Computer.
2.On the left side of panel select “Advanced system settings”.

3.The System Properties window will pop. Go to Advanced tab and then click on under Performance settings.

4. On the Performance Options window, go to advanced tab then click on Change.

5.Where you wish to manage drive, click on the button next to Customize size. Set Initial capacity or Size (MB) to at least 2000MB(2GB) up to 5000MB(5GB), whatever is suitable for you. Set Maximum Size up to 5000(5GB), this means 5GB of Local Disk C will be used as Virtual Memory. Better keep it as High as You can afford.

6. Click on the Set button, and thenclick Ok. You should need to restart your PC in order for this change to take effect.

5 Easy Quick Tips On How To Speed Up Your Computer

2012-08-04T10:13:00.001-07:00

1. Maintaining a clean personal computer means a faster computer. Therefore we should always organize our computer files in a way that makes them easy to find and also easy to backup.

2. When we boot into our computer it is not only the Windows operating system that is starting, as most people have many other programs starting at the same time (Example:Skype,UTorrent ).To speed up this process we need to disable startup programs.

3.   The best way to speed up our computer is not to overwork it in the first place. For example most
   people have four or five programs open at the same time and they really aren’t using all of them. Close
   down programs that we are not using.

4. Keep up with our computer maintenance as it is will speed up our computer just by doing this.

5. Another better way to speed up our computer is to disable automatic updates on certain programs. Did you know that programs are checking the Internet each and every time you start your personal computer to see if they need to be updated or not? I am not talking about disabling Windows automatic updates as it is really all the other small programs that are doing the damage. If you have a notification icon in the notification area you can regularly right click on it to get to the settings and disable the updates that way.

10 Cool Tips For Maintaining Your Laptop

2012-08-01T09:36:00.004-07:00

Nowadays, many people are using laptops for their school work, business or leisure time. However, laptops need proper maintenance if not it can lose their efficiency. The following are some tips which will help improve your laptop usage.

1. Careful from dust

To make sure your laptop remains effective for a long time, you need to protect it from dust. An accumulation of dust in your laptop could block or stop the ventilation areas and result in overheating. It is thus very important to keep your laptop from being exposed to dust.

2. Put a firewall and antivirus software

If you don’t install any antivirus software, your laptop will infect by a virus. Make sure you use correct antivirus software to protect your laptop and keep it efficient for longer. Also you should install a firewall to control access to your laptop. A firewall will alert you anytime an external unit tries to access your laptop. You will then have the option of either allowing access or blocking. Also, you need to be cautious about using external hard drives and pen drives with your laptop.

3. Eliminate unused programs

Sometimes, you might have some programs in your laptop that you don’t really need. It is advisable to uninstall them so as to produce more space in your hard drive. This will allow you to install other important applications and programs. Eliminating unused programs will also increase your laptop’s performance and make it easier to locate important files.

4. Keep it cool

As well dust, it is also very important to protect your laptop from excessive heat. A laptop used in a cool, dry area will work more efficiently and faster than when it was unexposed to heat. To protect your laptop from overheating, avoid using it on your lap or bed since this will block the vents beneath which help in cooling. Solution for this problem is to use a lap tray as a base for your laptop. Otherwise, you can invest in any of the laptop coolers which are sold in most computer shops.

5. Defragment hard drives

When you have many programs in your laptop, it will take time to moved your essential files. It is therefore very important to defragment your drives frequently. Defragmenting will arrange your files in a way which makes them much easier to access.

6. Minimize programs to run during startup

Every time you start your laptop, it will load all the system files, as well as the programs which have been selected to run during startup. The more programs you run, the longer it takes to startup. You should therefore minimize the number of programs that will run during the booting/starting process.

7. Empty the recycle bin

When files are removed from your laptop, they finish up in the recycle bin. This means that they are not truly deleted from the laptop; they have just been transferred to a different place. Therefore, they still take up space in your hard drive. It is therefore important to empty your recycle bin as regularly as possible.

8. Clean your registry

Sometimes, registry files might get corrupted as a result in a drastic and sudden change in your laptop’s performance. Make sure you run your registry cleaners frequently to find out if there are any corrupted files or errors.

9. Power surge protection

Power surge protection is as very important for laptops. Replacing a laptop power supply is very expensive compared to investing in a power surge protection device. Confirm you get one so as to protect the laptop itself, In addition to your laptop power supply.

10. Eliminate unused programs

Printers

2012-07-26T10:07:00.003-07:00

A printer is a computer whose sole purpose is to convert electronic pulses into image on paper. Although printers come as separate devices, they are an integral part of a computer system. There are several types of printers available in the market. Following is description how these printers work.

Dot matrix printers

Also known as impact printers, dot matrix printers use a print head containing (Generally 9 to 24) that are forced to strike an inked ribbon against the paper to form a character. The character is actually formed by a series of dots. The print quality is increased when the numbers of pins are higher in print head.

Non-impact printers

Unlike impact printers, nothing is forced against the paper in non-impact printers. For the most part, non- impact printers use a technology called jet to form the image the paper. The print head in this case actually sprays a narrow stream of ink on the paper. Generally non-impact printers create a more fully-formed character than impact printers.

Laser printers

The term laser printer has become generic name to describe printers that utilized an electro –photographic process to produce image on paper. That fact is there are many ‘’laser printers’’ on the market which do not use laser beams to write image data. Instead, they utilize a bar of microscopic Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) or arrays of Liquid Crystal Shutters (LCS) to accomplish the same task. The mechanism of a laser printer involves many components and requires the Interaction of mechanical, electrical and optical technologies to work. A typical mechanism of a laser printer is as follows,

1. Cleaning

Before the page can be printed, the photo-sensitive drum must be cleaned. The cleaning process is consummated by a rubber cleaning blade that gently scraps any remaining toner from the drum. The drum is then exposed to a lamp (Erase lamp) that will completely remove the last image.

2. Conditioning

After the cleaning /erase process, the drum is no longer light sensitive and it needs charging. This is done by applying a uniform of negative charges (about 6000V) to the drum’s surface. This is done by a very thin solid wire called the primary corona located very near the drum’s surface.

3. Writing

During the writing process a latent image is formed on the drum surface. The uniform negative charge from the previous step becomes discharged at precise point where the image is produced. The actual writing is done with the laser. Where the laser strikes the drum will now become less-negative charged.

4. Developing

After the writing process the image is no more than an invisible array of electro-static charges on the drum’s surface. The toner is used to develop it. When the toner is ready to be applied, it is exposed to a cylinder (Developer cylinder) that contains a permanent magnet. It is here that the toner receives a strong negative charge. The area of low charge on the drum now attract the from the cylinder. This wills fill-in the electro-magnetic image. The other areas repel the equally negative charged toner. The drum now holds an image that is ready to be transferred to the paper.

5. Transfer

At this point, the developed image is transferred to the paper. The paper is exposed to the transfer-corona which fixes a powerful positive charge to the paper that follows it to pry the negatively charged toner particles from the drum.

6. Fusing

After the transfer process, the toner image is only lying on the surface of the paper, held by small charge. It must be permanently bonded to the paper it can be touched. The fuser assembly, along with the pressure roller, melts and processes the paper’s surface.

Leading printer brand’s

Access Icons On Your Windows Desktop Without Minimizing Anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2012-07-19T01:55:00.000-07:00

When we already working on a bunch of things on our computer, Sometimes we have to access an icon on our Windows desktop. It can be fairly difficult because we have to minimize open windows to clear the desktop and find the icon we are looking for. If you can relate to this, then you’ll certainly find this tip very helpful and convenient.

To create a Desktop shortcut on your Windows task bar, follow these simple steps:

1. Right click on your Windows Taskbar.

2. Press right click on Properties.

3. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window press on the Toolbars tab.

4. Then check the box next to Desktop.
5. After finishing the steps above, you should be able to see a Desktop shortcut beside the Notification area on the lower right corner of your screen.

Mouse

2012-07-18T01:20:00.001-07:00

As the primary pointing device in many PC’s mouse come in many shapes and size from many manufacturers. The mouse was invented in 1964 by Douglas Englebart, who at the time working at the Stanford Research institute (SRI), a think tank sponsored by Stanford University. Although first appeared in Xerox and Apple computers, now mouse is used as a primary pointing device in GUI (Graphical User Interface) by most of operating system manufacturers, including Microsoft.

There are number of types of mouse available in the market. Which are,

Ball-type mouse

Internally all ball-driven mouse is very simple. The ball usually rests against two rollers, one for translating the X-axis movement and the other for Y-axis movement. The rollers are normally connected to small disks with shutters that alternately block and permit the passage of light. Small optical sensors detect the movement of the wheels by watching an internal infrared light blink on and off. The blinks are coverted to movements along the axis.

Optical Mouse

The LED inside an optical mouse illuminates the surface or sometimes a ball by blinking many times per second. The light is reflected from the surface back to the sensor, which converts the information into digital from and sends it to the computer.

Mouse Interface

There are two main interfaces used for mouse connections, with a third option you also occasionally might encounter.

Serial Interface

PS/2 Interface

Keyboard

2012-07-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

One of the best basic PC components, which is the primary input device. Key board was available in PC’s since the introduction of original IBM PC. There are several standards available for key board in the industry.

101-key Enhanced keyboard
104-key windows keyboard
83-key PC and XT keyboard (obsolete)
84-key AT keyboard

Keyboard technology

There are several technologies used to manufacturer keyboard. These technologies normally refer to the method how the keys are designed in the keyboard. Several technologies are as follows.

Mechanical keyboard

As the key is pressed, the switch pushes down one the contact to create the connection.

Foam element keyboard

When the switch is pressed, a foil conductor on the bottom of the foam element closes a circuit on the printed circuit below. A return spring pushes the key back up when the pressure is released.

Membrane keyboard

Instead of the spring you get in a mechanical keyboard, these switches use a rubber dome that has a carbon button contact on the underside. As you press a key, a key plunger presses the rubber dome, causing the carbon button to make contact between the circuit board traces below.

Capacitive keyboard

When the key is pressed, the plunger moves the top plate in relation to the fixed bottom plate. As the top plate moves, the capacitance between the two plate changes. The comparator circuitry in the keyboard detects this change.

Keyboard interfaces

There are several keyboard interfaces invented so far. Following figures show the physical layout and pinouts of keyboard connectors and ports in various standards.

How to display multiple clocks in your desktop????

2012-06-30T08:16:00.002-07:00

Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 provides users to display multiple clocks on their desktop. This option is mostly useful to users who work with people who are at a different location that means people those who are in different countries with a different time zone.

To add this additional clocks in your desktop, follow these easy steps:

1. Press Right Mouse button on the clock located at the lower right corner of your desktop.

2. Next press Right Mouse button on Change date and time settings…

3. Then click on Additional Clocks tab

4. After tick the box next to Show this clock

5. Select the time zone you want to be displayed using scroll button

6. Enter the display name you want to show above the clock.

7. Finally Click on Apply,and then click Ok.

After you finish this operation, click on the clock located at the lower right corner of your desktop. Then finally you will see the additional clock.

Monitors

2012-06-24T08:42:00.001-07:00

The monitor, or the Video Display Unit (VDU), is the television like screen the computer uses to display information to the user. There are several technologies used to manufacture monitors. Several are as follows;

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

CRT monitors host a vacuum tube that houses a flat phosphor covered screen at one end and an electron gun assembly at the other end. The video image on your monitor is created by projecting a narrow beam of electrons onto the phosphor covered screen. The area where the beams hit the phosphor will glow for a brief period of time and then fade out. Because the beam created by the electron beams fade off very quickly, it must retrace its path constantly to keep image on the screen. The electron beams in your monitor must repaint the screen at least 60 times per second or your eye will perceive flicker. This retracing is referred as the monitors referred as monitors “refresh rate”.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

LCD displays are created with a collection of liquid pixels called crystal cells. A liquid crystal cell is filled with a liquid that changes the amount of light passes through depending on the eclectic charge provided to the cell. A filter fixed to the cell will glow according to the light passes through. In colour LCD panel/ each pixel is created with three cells; one for reach red, green and blue.

LED (Light Emitting Diode)

An LED monitor is basically the new version of the LCD monitor that you connect to your computer. LCD monitors used to be lit mainly with CCFL backlights which include mercury. LED backlighting is usually thought to be better for the environment since it contains no mercury and uses less power than a CCFL system.

There are some advantages to an LED monitor. First one is that the screen gets brighter faster. Before reaches full brightness a CCFL light has to heat up for a few seconds. Another advantage of an LED monitor is that the lighting supply is more even. Since it is lit with many small LEDs rather than one big light source it will usually have less dark or light spots.

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

2012-06-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

A UPS combines all the functions of surge protector and power conditioner also provide backup power to your system in power failure. An UPS includes a battery and an inverter which will be used to bring backup power. There are two main types of UPS available,

Off-line UPS

The primary circuit is the house AC current circuit with an in line surge suppressor and filter.

A comparatively small amount of the current flows to the secondary circuit to keep the battery charged in case it is ever needed. When the AC current falls, the UPS switches from the primary to the secondary circuit and the battery provides the power, which is converted from DC to AC before it leaves the UPS.

On-line UPS

Uses the battery powered circuit as the primary circuit, instead of the AC circuit, as shown in the figure below. The AC circuit is the only used if the battery powered circuit registers any error conditions caused by failure of some component in the circuit. When the AC current fails, automatically the primary circuit continues to be the battery powered circuit. The only disadvantage is the loss of battery charge.

A line interactive UPS is another variety of the standby UPS. Line interactive UPSs provide like Shorten the switching time by always keeping the inverter working, so that there is no charging-up time for the inverter. An inverter is converts DC to AC. During usual process, the inverter filters the electricity and charges the battery by converting AC to DC (exactly, it is operating as a rectifier at this time and not as an inverter). During power failure, the inverter switches roles and starting to convert the battery’s DC to AC. The delay for the inverter to control roles is shorter than the delay for a standby UPS. Others good line conditioning since there is an automatic voltage regulator called the buck- boost feature. During spikes in electrical power, the regular decreases or bucks the voltage and boosts it during brownouts. Provides a boost aspect that means a line interactive UPS does not need to draw on battery power to take action to a brownout, as does a true standby UPS.

Chipset

2012-06-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

In the computer, the chipset makes the connection between processor and everything else. If you think of the processor as the brain, the chipset is the spine and central nervous system. The processor communicates with the memory, adaptor cards, or any other device on your PC without going through the chipset. This chipset consist two components;

1.North Bridge

North bridge makes the bond between the high-speed processor bus and the slower AGP and PCI busses. North Bridge is the only motherboard component that normally runs at full motherboard (Front Side Bus) speed. Nowadays latest chipsets use a single chip north bridge. Older chipset’s need three individual chips to make up the absolute north bridge.

2.South Bridge

South bridge makes the bond between the PCI bus and the even slower ISA bus. South bridge is the lower speed component of the chipset. It always has been a single individual chip. The south bridge connects to the PCI bus and contains the bond to the ISA bus. It also typically contains dual IDE hard disk controller, USB interfaces, Interrupt and DMA controllers.

Super I/O chip

It’s a separate chip that connects to the south bridge and not really considered as a part of the chipset. It contains all the standard peripherals that are built in to the motherboard. Serial ports, parallel port, Floppy controller, Keyboard and Mouse interfaces are typically integrated to Super I/O chip. Latest motherboards incorporate the south bridge and super I/O chip into a single chip.

Chipset Manufacturers

There are several chipset manufacturers available in the PC market. Following is a list of chipset manufacturer.

Intel

(420TX, 430LX, 810, 810E, 850, 845, 865P, 875P, 945GCNL, 945GC, G31, G35, G41, P35, P55)

Nvidia
(nforce 420, nForce 415, nForce2 IGP, nForce SPP)

AMD

(AMD-750, AMD-760, 8151)

VIA

(Apollo PRO II, ALADDIN-P4, M1681)

SiS

( SiS620, SiS630, SiS650, SiS645, SiS655)

ALi

(Aladdin Pro II, Aladdin – P4, M1681)

ATI

(Radeon IGP 330, RS250, RS300, RS300VE)

RAM Types

2012-06-05T01:43:00.003-07:00

It is a possible to identify several types of RAM when categorizing by their technology. These are:

Static RAM (SRAM)

This RAM will maintain its data as long as power is supplied to the memory chips. It does not want to be re-written periodically. SRAM is very faster than DRAM and very expensive than DRAM. SRAM is frequently used as cache memory proper to its speed. Each clock pulse generates out puts then and there no Refresh is needed because transistors are used for the Technology and has a faster switching.

Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

DRAM is not like a SRAM, must be frequently re-written (refreshing) as data maintaining is its main function. This type of Ram made and placing the memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data several hundred times/second. DRAM is used for most system memory (RAM) because it is less expensive.

Once a clock pulse is generated and the other pulse will be generated or accepted. After a Refresh because micro capacitor technology is used and these capacitors needs a charge and a discharge to accept the other pulse.

There are many types of DRAM

Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM)

FPM DRAM is one and only slightly faster than regular DRAM. It uses a slightly efficient method of calling data from the memory. FPM DRAM is not used anymore due to its slow speed, but it is almost universally supported.

Speed 60 ns up to 80 ns (now a day’s not in use)

Bus width (Bit rate)

8 bit – 30 pin SIMM

16 bit/32 bit – 72 pin SIMM

64 bit – 168 pin DIMM

Extended Data out DRAM (EDO DRAM)

EDO DRAM is types of random access memory chip that improves the time of read time. It allows beginning while another is being completed. While this might sound ingenious; the performance increase over FPM DRAM is only slight. EDO DRAM must be properly supported by the chipset, but it is the most common type of memory for most users. Power users with high bus speeds typically opt for something faster, though.

Speed 50 ns up to 70 ns

16 bit/ 32 bit – 72 pin SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module)

64 bit – 168 pin DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module)

Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)

SDRAM has developed new standard for PC memory. Its speed is synchronous, meaning it is directly rely on the clock speed of the whole system. It works at the same as the system bus, up to 133 MHz Although SDRAM is faster, the speed is un-noticed by many users due to the fact that the system cache masked it. Also, most users are working on a relatively slow 66 MHz bus speed, which doesn’t use the SDRAM to its full capacity.

Speed 66 MHz up to 100 MHz – 133 MHz

64 bit- 168 pin DIMM

Each individual clock pulse generates an individual single output.

One clock pulse generates one instruction output then and there.

RAMBUS DRAM (RDRAM)

This is a technology still being developed by Intel that may prove to surpass SDRAM. Its goal is to get rid of the latency, the time taken to access memory. I do this by actually narrowing the bus path and treating the memory bus as a separate communication channel.

Speed 400 MHz up to 1200 MHz

16 bit – 184 pin RIMM – Rambus Inline Memory Module

DDR SDRAM – Double Data Rate SDRAM

64 bit- 184 pin DIMM

Speed 200 MHz upto 400 MHz

Each individual clock pulse generates a dual output

DDR2 SDRAM

Represented in new P4 supported motherboards.

64 bit – 240 pin DIMM

Speed 533 MHz to 1066 MHz

DDR3 SDRAM

64 bit – 240 pin DIMM

Speed 1066 MHz to 1333 MHz

What is SSD?

2012-06-03T09:30:00.001-07:00

Introduction

In the last few years, people are talking about SSD (Solid State Drives), lots of users have wrong conclusions on offers of SSD, and how SSD different from a traditional hard drive. Let’s have a look at some primary basic facts about SSD.

What is SSD?

SSD designed to replace an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). They don’t have any moving parts; instead of the data is stored and retrieved from solid state flash memory (NAND).Basically this SSD used in two different methods,

Single level cell (SLC).

Multi-level cell (MLC).

Single level cell is very expensive compare to multi-level cell, so be likely to do something to only find its way into SSD’s that are designed especially for the business market, where workload is high and constant. Multi-level cell has found a place recently in the PC user market, and it is significantly used as an operating system drive, which includes all the user’s applications installed on the SSD.

SSD have all level of capacities at the moment, 512GB is considered a large for an SSD, but because of technical development, SSD as large capacity as 4TB could be made right now and SSDcan access data 10 to 100 times faster than an HDD, same time no noisy and very small percentages of heat problem, the only problem is cost.

Why should choose SSD over HDD?

SSD is 100 times faster than HDD.

They are much more robust than a traditional HDD.

Compare to HHD, SSD was small size.

They produce very little heat.

Value for the money.

But what about the disadvantages?

Cost of the SSD pretty high compare to HHD, as SATA 3 SSD have nearly all the bugs ironed out.

Performance and Quality of SSD

As we already highlighted above, the SATA 3 SSD performance a way further forward of anything that can be achieved by HDD currently and it’s trying to make faster than SSD, HDD may get faster than it is at the moment, but in future SSD may be more developed successively.

There are thousands of reliable information and examples about SSD and that how long they will last. Many people mistakes commonly when they considering an SSD in their look at the write cycles that a NAND flash cell can withstand. In case of multi- level cell based on drives, this is around more than 10,000 write cycles and around more than 100,000 write cycles for single level cell. This looks like quite a low level. When leveling makes confirm that no cell is overused and spreads the workload in practice evenly across all the NAND cells in an SSD. In practice, however the 10,000 write cycles look low for multi-level cell based NAND, you can expect about minimum 10 years of use out of your SSD, and sometimes as maximum more than 25 years. What’s more to tell? Your SSD should use up all these write cycles? Then the drive won’t fail and you will never lose your data. Also the drive will simply become read only, and make allow you to safely transfer the DATA over to a new SSD in an easy and proper way.

Availability of SSD

Availability of SSD drives is now very good indeed. Consumer of SSD now can buy easily in local and international PC stores or can buy through online from international market. Currently the best SSD brand in the market was CORSAIR.

SSD drives are worth?

Absolutely worth for each and every users of SSD, you simply get gain performance in your system at this value. People never won’t believe how much faster their system becomes by fitting one until they do, after fix SSD we sure people never want to go back HDD.

Types of Computers

2012-05-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

Main Frames Computers

These types of computers Large, Powerful and Expensive computers used in large organizations. Now main frame computers play a central role of daily operations. Main frames ply main role of E-Business environment. These types of computers are mainly use for bulk data processing, consumer statistics and process control. Mainly used in Tele Communication, Airline Reservation Systems, Banking and etc. Capable of handling hundreds or even thousands of uses simultaiously. Each user access the mainframe via a terminal. Most main frames are designed to handle only a specific set of tasks. The major advantage of main frame computer is large data capacity; long time satiable, at a time can run more than one operating system, multiple servers, and high speed calculation. At the same time these types of computers have disadvantages like high capital cost, high initial installation cost, significantly compare to PC high maintenance cost, low security and its occupied large space are those disadvantages.

Desktop/PC

This type of computers generally used in at homes. PC defined the meaning of personal computers. Small, relativity inexpensive computers designed for an individual user. Invented by IBM (International Business Machines). The design of the PC has separate units as screen, CPU, keyboard and mouse. This computers easy to maintain but portability is difficult. The advantages of PC are the mother board has a separate slot for modification when the technologies change, cost of the PC more economical compare to laptops and main frames computers. The disadvantages of PC are size of the components are compare to laptop big, difficult to move one place to another place and etc.

Apple Mac

This type of computers most popular computer model developed by “Apple” company in 1984. Mac stands for Macintosh. Mac looks cool and makes person using Mac unique more than users of PC. These computers relatively small but expensive. RAM speed of these computers is higher than a normal PC. Mainly suitable for designing graphics and animations.

Networked Computers

Network computers are important needs of modern business world today. This type of computers allows network to connect two or more computers around the world together. The advantage of Networked computer is sharing of resources and the network was allowing several users resources as a joint venture. Eg- Data on a one computer can be accessed by other computers in the network. Computer network have five types network, which are as below,

Local area network. (LAN)

Wide area network. (WAN)

Metropolitan area network. (MAN)

Wireless network.

Internetwork.

And there have common network hardware devices, which are as below,

Routers.

Hubs.

Switchers.

Network gateways.

Network firewalls.

Adapters.

Bridges.

Network interface card.

Laptop/Notebook

This is Small, Portable computers which can run on Batteries as well as main power. These are more expensive. The laptops and notebooks are variation of portable PC’s. The fact of different between laptop and notebook is the size. A notebook is compare to laptop lightweight personal computers. But the size of laptop compare to notebook large and thickness. The laptop and notebook have a similar advantage that is easy to move to place to place and it has re-chargeable battery. The battery has four hours plus battery life, WI-FI capabilities. Notebook has small graphics system and cant play latest type of games because it doesn’t enough to support but laptops Nvidia Geforce or ATI graphics card, it support any new version games n graphics design works. When consider screen size laptops have 14’’ -17’’ or more that but notebook has 12’’ – 14’’ only.

Net books

This is a smaller laptop. RAM speed is lower than the laptop. Net book used for multitasking and good for internet, data processing. The net book defines by horse power and operating system. Its worked with SSD. Net book have 9’’-10’’ screen size and 2-3 pound Weight and small size of key board. But note book include lots of disadvantages such as no optical drive, can’t use CD or DVD’s because it doesn’t have DVD drive. The DVD drive thrown away from net book because of reduces the size and cost. The net book have WI-FI, Bluetooth And also manufactures forget to include telephone modem. Today’s world latestly access with 3G network but net book have major problem it’s don’t support 3G network yet, but in future the manufactures can solve this problem soon.

Tablet PC

Tablet PC is another kind of wireless and portable computers. This has the same punctuality as the note book, but more lightly than the note book and touch screen interface. And it has special features such as Bluetooth, WI-FI, phone, mp3, video and camera etc. Special of Tablet PC there have a special pen called “Stylus/Digital Pen” is used to Tap or Write on the screen. Some comes with a foldout keyboard so it can be easily translated into a laptop.

Palmtop /PDA

Palmtop stands for personal digital assistant. It’s a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Simply telling brings the world inside palm. Most uses a pen to write on the screen. Palmtop have some special features such as taking notes, telephone numbers & Addresses, Keep record of agendas and data & easy to internet access.

Smart Phones

Smart phone is a combination of a PDA and a mobile phone. Smart phones have some special features such as Web, email accesses, Bluetooth, WI-FI. Special software like digital cameras, Music players & some has miniature keyboards. Earlier smart phone made for only purpose of talk to others from one place to another place. That time it has special features is wireless, but when technology develop it also developed with special features such as above mention. Smart phone have variable type, Eg. Apple phone, Windows mobile, Symbian etc.

Work Stations

Work Stations special type expensive computers. Specialized single user computers that typically have more power and features than a desktop computer. These types of computers have fire resolution monitors and accelerated graphic handing capabilities. Work stations popular among Scientists & Engineers.

Super Computers

Most powerful and largest computer is super computers. These can process huge amount of data and fastest transferring PC. Super computers can perform more than one trillion calculations per second. Example 200000 times faster than core i7 computers. The parts of the super computers are not looks like normal computers. Some super computers have 100 or 1000 of processes. These computers use to handle large and complex problems which require extreme calculation power. Super computers specially used in large organization such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Weather forecast Department etc.

Hard Drive Interfaces

2012-05-28T10:42:00.001-07:00

The hard disk cannot communicate directly with the CPU or itself. For the hard disk to communicate with the computer, it depends on two more components.

The Controller, which links the drive to the computer

Host Bus adapter, which converts the signals used by the hard drive to those used and understood by the computer.

ST-506

The ST-506 was the original IBM PC interface. There have two cables, the both cables were used to connect the hard disk to separate controller.

A 20-pin data cable and 34-pin data control cable. The data was transferred on the cable via a serial format one bit at a time. This interface supports the MFM, RLL and ARLL encoding mode of procedure.

ESDI

The ESDI interface was actually a hybrid ST-506 but was more capable in translating and transferring the data. The ESDI interface used the RLL encoding scheme. The ESDI interface also supported much larger drive capacities than that of the old ST-506 interface. Most of these drives were efficient in storing one or more gigabit of data. The interface used the same type of 20-pin data cable and the 34-pin control cable as the ST-506.

ESDI developed on ST-506/ST-412 in many ways. ESDI moved some drive controller functions to the hard disk from the controller card, eliminating some of the reliability errors associated with its predecessor. It had a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 24 Mbits/second (fairly fast for those days), though in practice the limit was about half of that. There were other added features and small performance enhancements as well. Its primary design still had almost all of the intelligence on the controller and not on the hard disk.

IDE

The IDE (also referred to as the AT attachment) was the first interface to actually felt very strongly and difficult to change the controller within the housing of the hard drive itself. Because of the integration of the hard drive and controller in one unit, the cost of the drives also came down. This, along with its improved performance, has made the IDE drive very popular selection for most personal computers sold today. Unlike the ST-506 interface and the ESDI interface. The IDE interface only requires a single 40-pin control and data cable which connects the hard drive to the actual system board.

EIDE

An EIDE host adapter is usually a combination of an EIDE host adapter channel, which can help two drives, and an older IDE host adapter channel, which can support two additional drives. The IDE interface supports two drives physically attached to the same cable, but one drive must be configured as the master and the other as a slave. This is done by setting the device that is directly controlled by second hard drive. The main drive then performs the single and change for both drives. A failure to the main drive gives help to the device directly controlled by another one useless or inaccessible as well.

Components of PC

2012-05-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

A modern PC is both simple and complicated. It is simple in the sense that over the years, many of the components used to conduct a system have become integrated with other components into fewer actual parts. It is complicated in the sense that is part in a modern system performs many more functions than it did the same type of parts on older systems. The typical components and peripherals found in basic PC system as follows.

Motherboard

The motherboard is the core of the system. It really is the PC. Everything is connected to it. It controls everything in the system. The centerpiece of any small computer system, it bears the microprocessor and its support circuitry. It’s also called as the main board or the circuit board. One such board contains all the necessary electronics to integrate all the working components of a PC.

A typical view of a mother board will be as follows

PGA Motherboard

LGA Motherboard

Processor

The processor often thought as the “brain” of the computer. It also called the CPU (Central Processing Unit). Processor handles all the data processing in a PC.

Intel is generally credited with introducing the first microprocessor in 1971. The first micro processor is called the 4004. Today Intel still has control over the CPU market, with handful of Intel – compatible microprocessors from handful of Intel-compatible microprocessors from handful of competitors.(AMD or VIA/Cyrix)

Manufactures

Intel

AMD

VIA/CYRIX

MOTOROLA(Motorola processors were mainly used in Apples/macintosh)

RAM/Memory (Random Access Memory)

This is the Primary memory of a PC, which holds all the programs and data processor is using at a given time(temporary).Another key point to remember about RAM is that data stored inn it can be accessed much more quickly than data retrieved from the hard disk. Theoretically, data retrieved from Ram is accessed 100 to 300 times faster than the same information from a hard disk, optical drive, or a floppy.

Ram wase physically installed those days by adding chips to the motherboard, like DIPPS and SIPPS. But today the most common configurations are memory modules, such as SIMMs, DIMMs and RIMMs. You can get a clear idea about these modules by referring to the pictures given below.

Case

The case is the frame that houses the motherboard, power supply disk drives and other hardware components inside system unit.

Power Supply

Provide electrical power to all the components within the casing and certain cases to other hardware components like monitor. The basic function of the power supply is to convert the type of electrical power available at your wall socket to the type the computer circuitry can use. A conventional power supply is designed to convert AC power to DC power which used in your PC.

There are two types of Power Supply

Hard Drive

Hard drive is the primary storage media for files in a PC. High capacity, non – removable media. There are several types of Hard Drives.

CD/DVD Rom

CD (Compact Disk) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) are relatively high capacity, removable media, optical drives.

VGA (Video Graphic Array)/Video Card

Controls the information you see on the monitor. Certain PCs video card may be integrated the mother board. There are several types of memory used in VGA cards.

Sound Card

Enables the PC to generate complex sounds (Eg: Audio CD, MP3). Certain PCs modern may be integrated to the motherboard