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Child Development Theories

2012-04-27T02:42:00.003-07:00

Child Development Theories

Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely ignored throughout much of history. Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and little attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities, language usage, and physical growth that occurs during childhood and adolescence.

Interest in the field of child development finally began to emerge early in the 20th-century, but it tended to focus on abnormal behavior. Eventually, researchers became increasingly interested in other topics including typical child development as well as the influences on development.

An understanding of child development is essential, allowing us to fully appreciate the cognitive, emotional, physical, social and educational growth that children go through from birth and into early
adulthood. Some of the major theories of child development are known as grand theories; they attempt to describe every aspect of development, often using a stage approach. Others are known as mini-theories; they instead focus only on a fairly limited aspect of development, such as cognitive or social growth.

The following are just a few of the many child development theories that have been proposed by theorists and researchers. More recent theories outline the developmental stages of children and identify the typical ages at which these growth milestones occur.

Psychoanalytic Child Development Theories

Sigmund Freud

The theories proposed by Sigmund Freud stressed the importance of childhood events and experiences, but almost exclusively focused on mental disorders rather that normal functioning.

According to Freud, child development is described as a series of 'psychosexual stages.' In "Three Essays on Sexuality" (1915), Freud outlined these stages as oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Each stage involves the satisfaction of a libidinal desire and can later play a role in adult personality. If a child does not successfully complete a stage, Freud suggested that he or she would develop a fixation that would later influence adult personality and behavior. Learn more in this article on Freud’s stages of psychosexual development.

Erik Erikson

Theorist Erik Erikson also proposed a stage theory of development, but his theory encompassed human growth throughout the entire human lifespan. Erikson believed that each stage of development was focused on overcoming a conflict. For example, the primary conflict during the adolescent period involves establishing a sense of personal identity. Success or failure in dealing with the conflicts at each stage can impact overall functioning. During the adolescent stage, for example, failure to develop an identity results in role confusion. Learn more about this theory in this article on Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development.

Cognitive Child Development Theories

Theorist Jean Piaget suggested that children think differently than adults and proposed a stage theory of cognitive development. He was the first to note that children play an active role in gaining knowledge of the world. According to his theory, children can be thought of as "little scientists" who actively construct their knowledge and understanding of the world. Learn more in this article on Piaget’s stages of cognitive development.

Behavioral Child Development Theories

Behavioral theories of child development focus on how environmental interaction influences behavior and are based upon the theories of theorists such as John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov and B. F. Skinner. These theories deal only with observable behaviors. Development is considered a reaction to rewards, punishments, stimuli and reinforcement. This theory differs considerably from other child development theories because it gives no consideration to internal thoughts or feelings. Instead, it focuses purely on how experience shapes who we are. Learn more about these behavioral theories in these articles on classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Social Child Development Theories

John Bowlby

There is a great deal of research on the social development of children. John Bowbly proposed one of the earliest theories of social development. Bowlby believed that early relationships with caregivers play a major role in child development and continue to influence social relationships throughout life. Learn more in this overview of attachment theory.

Albert Bandura

Psychologist Albert Bandura proposed what is known as social learning theory. According to this theory of child development, children learn new behaviors from observing other people. Unlike behavioral theories, Bandura believed that external reinforcement was not the only way that people learned new things. Instead, intrinsic reinforcements such as a sense of pride, satisfaction and accomplishment could also lead to learning. By observing the actions of others, including parents and peers, children develop new skills and acquire new information.

Lev Vygotsky

Another psychologist named Lev Vygotsky proposed a seminal learning theory that has gone on to become very influential, especially in the field of education. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children learn actively and through hands-on experiences. His sociocultural theory also suggested that parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at large were responsible for the development of higher order functions.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, some of psychology's best known thinkers have developed theories to help explore and explain different aspects of child development. Today, contemporary psychologists often draw on a variety of theories and perspectives in order to understand how kids grow, behave and think.

DEPRESSION PART III

2012-04-27T02:37:00.001-07:00

DEPRESSION PART III

What are the causes of depression?

Some types of depression run in families, indicating that a biological vulnerability to depression can be inherited. This seems to be the case, especially with bipolar disorder. Families in which members of each generation develop bipolar disorder have been studied. The investigators found that those with the illness have a somewhat different genetic makeup than those who do not become ill. However, the reverse is not true. That is, not everybody with the genetic makeup that causes vulnerability to bipolar disorder will develop the illness. Apparently, additional factors, possibly a stressful environment, are involved in its onset and protective factors are involved in its prevention.

Major depression also seems to occur in generation after generation in some families, although not as strongly as in bipolar I or II. Indeed, major depression can also occur in people who have no family history of depression.

An external event often seems to initiate an episode of depression. Thus, a serious loss, chronic illness, difficult relationship, financial problem, or any unwelcome change in life patterns can trigger a depressive episode. Very often, a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors is involved in the onset of a depressive disorder. Stressors that contribute to the development of depression sometimes affect some groups more than others. For example, minority groups who more often feel impacted by discrimination are disproportionately represented. Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have higher rates of depression compared to their advantaged counterparts. Immigrants to the United States may be more vulnerable to developing depression, particularly when isolated by language.

Regardless of ethnicity, men appear to be particularly sensitive to the depressive effects of unemployment, divorce, low socioeconomic status, and having few good ways to cope with stress. Women who have been the victim of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, either as a child or perpetrated by a romantic partner are vulnerable to developing a depressive disorder as well. Men who engage in sex with other men seem to be particularly vulnerable to depression when they have no domestic partner, do not identify themselves as homosexual, or have been the victim of multiple episodes of antigay violence. However, it seems that men and women have similar risk factors for depression for the most part.

Nothing in the universe is as complex and fascinating as the human brain. The 100-plus chemicals that circulate in the brain are known as neurochemicals or neurotransmitters. Much of our research and knowledge, however, has focused on four of these neurochemical systems: norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine. In the new millennium, after new discoveries are made, it is possible that these four neurochemicals will be viewed as the "black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood" of the 20th century.

Different neuropsychiatric illnesses seem to be associated with an overabundance or a lack of some of these neurochemicals in certain parts of the brain. For example, a lack of dopamine at the base of the brain causes Parkinson's disease. Alzheimer's dementia seems to be related to lower acetylcholine levels in the brain. The addictive disorders are under the influence of the neurochemical dopamine. That is to say, drugs and alcohol work by releasing dopamine in the brain. The dopamine causes euphoria, which is a pleasant sensation. Repeated use of drugs or alcohol, however, desensitizes the dopamine system, which means that the system gets used to the drugs and alcohol. Therefore, a person needs more drugs or alcohol to achieve the same high feeling. Thus, the addicted person takes more substance but feels less and less high and increasingly depressed.

Certain medications used for a variety of medical conditions are more likely than others to cause depression as a side effect. Specifically, some medications that are used to treat high blood pressure, cancer, seizures, extreme pain, and to achieve contraception can result in depression. Even some psychiatric medications like some sleep aids and medications to treat alcoholism and anxiety can contribute to the development of depression.

Many mental-health conditions or developmental disabilities are associated with depression as well. Individuals with anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance abuse, and developmental disabilities may be more vulnerable to developing depression.

The different types of schizophrenia are associated with an imbalance of dopamine (too much) and serotonin (poorly regulated) in certain areas of the brain. Finally, the depressive disorders appear to be associated with altered brain serotonin and norepinephrine systems. Both of these neurochemicals may be lower in depressed people. Please note that depression is "associated with" instead of "caused by" abnormalities of these neurochemicals because we really don't know whether low levels of neurochemicals in the brain cause depression or whether depression causes low levels of neurochemicals in the brain.

What we do know is certain medications that alter the levels of norepinephrine or serotonin can alleviate the symptoms of depression. Some medicines that affect both of these neurochemical systems appear to perform even better or faster. Other medications that treat depression primarily affect the other neurochemical systems. The most powerful treatment for depression, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), is certainly not specific to any particular neurotransmitter system. Rather, ECT, by causing a seizure, produces a generalized brain activity that probably releases massive amounts of all of the neurochemicals.
Women are twice as likely to become depressed as men. However, scientists do not know the reason for this difference. Psychological factors also contribute to a person's vulnerability to depression. Thus, persistent deprivation in infancy, physical or sexual abuse, clusters of certain personality traits, and inadequate ways of coping (maladaptive coping mechanisms) all can increase the frequency and severity of depressive disorders, with or without inherited vulnerability.
The effect of maternal-fetal stress on depression is currently an exciting area of research. It seems that maternal stress during pregnancy can increase the chance that the child will be prone to depression as an adult, particularly if there is a genetic vulnerability. It is thought that the mother's circulating stress hormones can influence the development of the fetus' brain during pregnancy. This altered fetal brain development occurs in ways that predispose the child to the risk of depression as an adult. Further research is still necessary to clarify how this happens. Again, this situation shows the complex interaction between genetic vulnerability and environmental stress, in this case, the stress of the mother on the fetus.

DEPRESSION PART II

2012-04-27T02:35:00.000-07:00

DEPRESSION PART II

Depression symptoms and signs in teenagers

In addition to becoming more irritable, teens might lose interest in activities they formerly enjoyed, experience a change in their weight, and start abusing substances. They may also take more risks, show less concern for their safety, and they are more likely to complete suicide than their younger counterparts when depressed. Generally a condition in adolescents, acne increases the risk of depression in teens.

Depression symptoms and signs in children

Since babies, toddlers, and preschool children are usually unable to express their feelings in words, they tend to show sadness in their behaviors. For example, they may become withdrawn, resume old, younger behaviors (regress), or fail to thrive. School-age children might regress in their schooling, develop physical complaints, anxiety, or irritability. Interestingly, some children may try more to please others when depressed as a way of compensating for their low self-esteem. Therefore, their good grades and apparently good relationships with others may make depression harder to recognize.

Children and adolescents with depression may also experience the classic symptoms as adults as described above, but they may exhibit other symptoms instead of or in addition to those symptoms, including the following:

Poor school performance

Persistent boredom

Frequent complaints of physical problems such as headaches and stomachaches

Some of the classic "adult" symptoms of depression may also be more or less obvious during childhood compared to the actual emotions of sadness, such as a change in eating or sleeping patterns. (Has the child or teen lost or gained weight in recent weeks or months? Does he or she seem more tired than usual?)

SAMSUNG GALAXY Tab2 7.0

2012-04-27T02:04:00.001-07:00

SAMSUNG GALAXY Tab2 7.0

Finally—Ice Cream Sandwich has arrived. The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 will be the first tablet from the manufacturer to ship with Google's latest Android 4.0 mobile operating system right out of the box. Despite the progressive moniker, hardware-wise, the Galaxy Tab 2 is actually a minor step back from Samsung's last 7-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus ($399, 3.5 stars), making concessions in processor speed. Instead of more powerful components and design improvements, Samsung focused on a well-tuned software experience and an affordable price—just $249.99 (list) for 8GB. The result is a very solid tablet that really shows off the latest Android OS, and is competitive on price with the Amazon Kindle Fire ($199, 4 stars) and the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet ($249, 4 stars), and half the price of the class-leading new Apple iPad ($499, 4.5 stars). If you want Ice Cream Sandwich on a small tablet right now, the Galaxy Tab 2 is your best bet.

Physical Design, Features, and Connectivity
Samsung makes some of the best-looking Android tablets you can buy, and the Galaxy Tab 2 is no exception, with its sturdy yet slim build. It's nearly identical to the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus , measuring 7.6 by 4.8 by 0.41 inches (HWD) and 12.13 ounces. The Galaxy Tab 2.0 is thinner and lighter than the Kindle Fire, which measures 7.5 by 4.7 by .45 inches (HWD) and 14.6 ounces, and the Galaxy Tab 2.0's nicely tapered edges only add to the effect.

The Galaxy Tab 2 is still a well-built, all-plastic gray slab. Power and Volume buttons, as well as an IR-port, line the right side of tablet, while a microSD card slot (which accepts cards up to 32GB) can be found behind a plastic flap on the left side. A 3.5mm headphone jack sits on top, with Samsung's proprietary docking port on the bottom for charging and syncing with the included cable. The Galaxy Tab 2 retains the 1,024-by-600-pixel TFT LCD of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. That's fairly standard fare for 7-inch tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire, but not quite as good as the 1280-by-800-pixel display found on the T-Mobile Springboard 4G ($429, 3.5 stars).

Samsung downgraded the cameras on the Galaxy Tab 2, with a VGA front-facing and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with no LED flash. The original Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus features a 2-megapixel front-facing and 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with an LED flash. The Galaxy Tab 2 is an 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi only tablet, with Bluetooth 3.0 and DLNA connectivity. The IR emitter lets you use the tablet as a remote control for a variety of media devices.

Performance and Software
The Galaxy Tab 2 is powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor, which is a step back from the dual-core 1.2GHz processor of the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Given the less-powerful CPU, it was no surprise that the Galaxy Tab 2 benchmarked significantly slower than the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. But with Ice Cream Sandwich onboard, the Galaxy Tab 2 felt just as snappy and responsive. The Galaxy Tab 2 packs a 4,000mAh battery and turned in a respectable 5 hours, 48 minutes of continuous video playback. That's less than the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, which turned in 6 hours, 33 minutes, but more than the Kindle Fire's 4 hours, 55 minutes.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich works great on the Galaxy Tab 2, with very smooth animations, responsive app performance, and rock-solid stability, at least during the review period. For a more in-depth look at all of the new features, check out our full Ice Cream Sandwich review.

As with nearly all Samsung devices, Android is heavily skinned with Samsung's signature TouchWiz UI. It comes with the typical array of custom widgets, as well as the useful Quick Action bar, which offers up easy access to the alarm, calculator, e-mail, music player, calendar, task manager, and world clock mini apps. These run seamlessly on top of regular open apps, making for simple multitasking. Samsung also included its various hubs (Media, Reader, Game, and Video), but there are better third-party alternatives like the Amazon Kindle app or Netflix—both of which are also pre-installed. Despite Samsung's heavy OS customizations, everything was extremely snappy and responsive in my tests, proving that you don't need the latest quad-core chip to run the latest version of Android.

Alas, some of the same problems facing older Android 3.2 "Honeycomb" tablets still remain here. There are still few tablet-specific Android apps, and they're not easy to find in Google Play (formerly Android Market). Hopefully, developers will start to write apps for Ice Cream Sandwich, which handles phone and tablet screen differences far better than any previous Android iteration. For now, Apple remains the app king with more than 200,000 third-party iPad-specific programs.

Entertainment and Peel Remote
Much like the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, the Galaxy Tab 2 is being marketed as an entertainment tablet, with Samsung's AllShare DLNA app and Peel Smart Remote app. The point is to make your tablet a universal media hub for all of your HDTVs and home theater. We found the Peel Remote unresponsive and buggy last time around, but the Galaxy Tab 2 handles its universal remote duties far better than the Tab 7.0 Plus.

Peel lets you browse all programs by genre and time, representing each show as a graphical card in the interface. It's a simple way to pick what to watch. But the Peel Remote still lacks a full guide within the app, making it difficult to browse channels and programs the way you would with a traditional remote. Selecting a card changes the channel on your set-top box, and while you can add favorites and set reminders, the Peel Remote falls short of full DVR control. You can enable recording once on a channel, but setting up recordings in advance must be done through your DVR and remote.

I tested Peel on the Galaxy Tab 2 on a few different TVs including models from LG, Sharp, and Sony, along with a Dish Networks Hopper DVR, and an AppleTV. The remote app was responsive in controlling those devices, with little lag between button push and action. I wouldn't recommend the Peel Remote as a full-time replacement for your universal remote, but it is a capable and useful feature if you misplace your remote and have your tablet on hand. It also eliminates the need for a middle-man device like the Logitech Harmony Link ($99.99, 3.5 stars).

Media playback was solid in my tests. The Galaxy Tab 2 was able to handle MPEG4, H.264, XviD, and DivX videos at up to 1080p resolution, and MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and WMA music files without a hitch. The AllShare feature was hit or miss; I was able to stream some media content to a DLNA-ready TV, but playback was choppy and video looked compressed. That's DLNA, though, not the tablet itself.

As far as tablet cameras go, the rear-facing 3-megapixel camera isn't bad. Test images looked relatively clear, with low noise, but they lacked fine texture. The Galaxy Tab 2 captures video at 720p resolution and 30 frames per second, but videos were extremely grainy, and the field of view is also far narrower in video mode than camera mode.

Conclusions
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) is less of a step forward in the Galaxy line and more of a step in a new direction. The solid build quality and slick design remains, but instead of packing in top-of-the-line components and charging top-of-the-line prices, Samsung is smartly focusing on a solid software experience and an accessible price. The company isn't trying to take on the Apple iPad, but is setting its sights on the burgeoning, budget-friendly tablet market defined by the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet . At $50 more than the Kindle Fire, the Tab 2.0 offers a more feature-rich, flexible tablet experience, with expandable storage, cameras, and Google's latest mobile operating system with access to the Google Play app market. The Kindle Fire retains a slight edge for most tablet users, in that it makes the tablet experience as simple and straightforward as possible—allowing easy access Amazon's vast content selection. However, for users looking for the best Android ICS experience in a small screen tablet right now, look no further than the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0).

Depression

2012-04-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

Depression

Depressive disorders have been with mankind since the beginning of recorded history. In the Bible, King David, as well as Job, suffered from this affliction. Hippocrates referred to depression as melancholia, which literally means black bile. Black bile, along with blood, phlegm, and yellow bile were the four humors (fluids) that described the basic medical physiology theory of that time. Depression, also referred to as clinical depression, has been portrayed in literature and the arts for hundreds of years, but what do we mean today when we refer to a depressive disorder? In the 19th century, depression was seen as an inherited weakness of temperament. In the first half of the 20th century, Freud linked the development of depression to guilt and conflict. John Cheever, the author and a modern sufferer of depressive disorder, wrote of conflict and experiences with his parents as influencing his development of depression.

In the 1950s and '60s, depression was divided into two types, endogenous and neurotic. Endogenous means that the depression comes from within the body, perhaps of genetic origin, or comes out of nowhere. Neurotic or reactive depression has a clear environmental precipitating factor, such as the death of a spouse, or other significant loss, such as the loss of a job. In the 1970s and '80s, the focus of attention shifted from the cause of depression to its effects on the afflicted people. That is to say, whatever the cause in a particular case, what are the symptoms and impaired functions that experts can agree make up a depressive disorder? Although there is some argument even today (as in all branches of medicines), most experts agree on the following:

A depressive disorder is a syndrome (group of symptoms) that reflects a sad and/or irritable mood exceeding normal sadness or grief. More specifically, the sadness of depression is characterized by a greater intensity and duration and by more severe symptoms and functional disabilities than is normal.

Depressive signs and symptoms are characterized not only by negative thoughts, moods, and behaviors but also by specific changes in bodily functions (for example, crying spells, body aches, low energy or libido, as well as problems with eating, weight, or sleeping). The functional changes of clinical depression are often called neurovegetative signs. This means that the nervous system changes in the brain cause many physical symptoms that result in diminished participation and a decreased or increased activity level.

Certain people with depressive disorder, especially bipolar depression (manic depression), seem to have an inherited vulnerability to this condition.

Depressive disorders are a huge public-health problem, due to its affecting millions of people. About 10% of adults, up to 8% of teens and 2% of preteen children experience some kind of depressive disorder.

The statistics on the costs due to depression in the United States include huge amounts of direct costs, which are for treatment, and indirect costs, such as lost productivity and absenteeism from work or school.

Adolescents who suffer from depression are at risk for developing and maintaining obesity.

In a major medical study, depression caused significant problems in the functioning of those affected more often than did arthritis, hypertension, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, and in some ways as often as coronary artery disease.

Depression can increase the risks for developing coronary artery disease, HIV, asthma, and many other medical illnesses. Other complications of depression include its tendency to increase the morbidity (illness/negative health effects) and mortality (death) from these and many other medical conditions.

Depression can coexist with virtually every other mental health illness, aggravating the status of those who suffer the combination of both depression and the other mental illness.

Depression in the elderly tends to be chronic, has a low rate of recovery, and is often undertreated. This is of particular concern given that elderly men, particularly elderly white men have the highest suicide rate.

Depression is usually first identified in a primary-care setting, not in a mental-health practitioner's office. Moreover, it often assumes various disguises, which causes depression to be frequently underdiagnosed.

In spite of clear research evidence and clinical guidelines regarding therapy, depression is often undertreated. Hopefully, this situation can change for the better.

For full recovery from a mood disorder, regardless of whether there is a precipitating factor or it seems to come out of the blue, treatment with medication and/or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (see discussion below) and psychotherapy are necessary.

HP Z1 Workstation

2012-04-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

HP Z1 Workstation

The HP Z1 is in a new category: the all-in-one professional workstation. It's powerful, easy to service, and has a beautiful 27-inch screen. It has ISV certifications, if your business needs to consider that for pitching projects. Even if certification isn't a consideration, the speed, accurate screen, and professional grade components will pique the scientist in you. If you know you need a workstation and are space constrained, the Z1 should be on your short list.

Design and Features
The Z1 essentially looks like a large all-in-one desktop PC, which is to say it also looks just like a large-screen professional monitor. It's centered on a huge 27-inch LED-backlit IPS display with a 2,560 by 1,440 resolution. For comparison, the only other all in one desktop to match this resolution and size is the Apple iMac 27-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,999 list, 4 stars), which is aimed at some of the same audience (the graphics arts folk). The system is hooked up to a dual-hinged articulated arm, so it is easily adjusted for height and tilt. It can be tilted from horizontal (parallel to your work surface)

to vertical, so it can accommodate workers who are used to drafting tables. With the size of the screen and the horizontal position, you can collaborate on a conference table or other group environment. The nice thing about this display compared to say the Samsung Series 7 (DP700A38-01) ($999.99 list, 4 stars), is that the Z1 has more than enough friction in its hinges to stay put at any angle. Even though you may think of all-in-one desktops as being one of the most rigid platforms, the Z1 is one of the most flexible systems out there in terms of usability. The system can be mounted on a VESA arm along with another 27-inch HP professional display for a very wide field of view. Perfect for looking at and working on a lot of data simultaneously.

The Z1 comes with an Intel Xeon E3-1280 processor, 16GB of fast DDR3 ECC memory, an Nvidia Quadro 4000M graphics card, Blu-ray writer, and two 300GB SSDs. The two SSDs are set up as individual drives, but you could set them up as a RAID array quickly using the pre-installed Intel utilities. As is, one drive acts as the C: drive, while the other is the data drive. If you're not interested in using the drives as a RAID array, configuring a 300GB SSD and a 1-2TB drive as a data drive would be a prudent course of action. The system doesn't have too much extra internal expansion space, but the components already there are easily swapped out for newer components. The four DIMM slots are filled, but you can replace the included RAM for up to 32GB. The two (filled) drive bays can hold 2.5-inch or both can be swapped out for a single 3.5-inch drive. The Quadro 4000M can be swapped out for another MXM card in the future. The system comes with an internal USB port for the wireless keyboard and mouse, saving one of the exterior ports for another peripheral. The external ports include four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire 400 port, audio, media card reader, Ethernet, and a two-way DisplayPort. The DisplayPort can be used with another external monitor for a dual monitor setup. The same DisplayPort can also be used as an input, so that the Z1's monitor can continue to be useful even seven years down the road after the internal components become obsolete. The system comes with 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless, so it can be used on most Wi-Fi networks. Some businesses use 5GHz channels to segment their wireless networks and to prevent interference with other 2.4GHz devices.

The workstation comes without too much extra pre-loaded software. Aside from a handful of HP utilities, webcam utilities, and optical drive utilities, the system comes with a Starter copy of Microsoft Office 2010. This is excellent, since you don't want any extra software like trialware getting in the way while you're trying to do your work. Speaking of work, since the Z1 is equipped with a Xeon processor and Quadro graphics, it's got plenty of the same ISV certifications as its Z-series tower brothers.

Performance

HP Z1 Workstation The Z1 is pretty quick, thanks to its Xeon E3-1280 processor and Nvidia graphics. It completes all of our tests faster than other single-CPU workstation systems, like the Lenovo ThinkStation E30 ($1,019 direct, 3.5 stars) and the former Editor's Choice workstation HP Z210 Small Form Factor Workstation ($2,173 direct, 4 stars). It's even got the moxie to outperform the dual-socket (dual CPU) Lenovo ThinkStation D20 ($9,344 direct, 4 stars), even though the D20's dual CPUs are much faster on the more esoteric tests like Cinebench. While the Apple iMac wins the 3D gaming tests, the Z1 is still faster overall. There are tasks that realize the benefit of a second processor, particularly rendering large data streams and scientific tasks, but for visual arts the Z1 is top notch. See our benchmark table for the specifics, but suffice to say that most moderate to heavy tasks will be dispatched quickly on the HP Z1 workstation.

The HP Z1 Workstation is, so far, a category of one. There aren't any other professional all-in-one workstations out there, with the closest being the Apple iMac 27-inch for the graphics arts crowd. The Z1's primary competition otherwise is a compact single-processor workstation with a large external display. The Dell Precision T1600 ($2,185 direct, 4.5 stars) holds on to its Editor's Choice for single-processor workstations by virtue of its expandability, features, and pricing. That said, once we have an all-in-one workstation category, the Z1 will certainly will be the benchmark to which all others are compared to. In summation, if you know you will need workstation-class power and certification in an all-in-one form factor the HP Z1 is the way to go.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB2 10.1

2012-04-26T02:08:00.000-07:00

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB2 10.1

Samsung improves its flagship Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) tablet by upgrading it to Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" and dropping the going price to $399.99 (list). While the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) is saddled with an awkward name, and its benchmarks aren't exactly going to burn up the charts, it looks like an elegant option if you want a quality Android-powered tablet.

First, what do we call this thing? I'll vote for the "Tab 2-10." Superficially, it looks a lot like most other 10-inch tablets out there—a rectangle with rounded corners and a slightly textured metallic back. At 10.1 by 6.9 by .38 inches (HWD) and 20 ounces, it could fit seamlessly into an array of other similar tablets. The processor is
a pretty stock model, too: The same 1-GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 we saw in the earlier Galaxy Tab 10.1 (3.5 stars).

But turn it on, and hurrah! It's Ice Cream Sandwich! Samsung has TouchWizzed ICS, so it looks and works a lot like Samsung's other tablets. But you want this version anyway because ICS is where the future is: This is the OS Google is targeting for the next generation of tablet apps. Samsung has laden the Tab 2-10 down with bloatware, but it's largely useful. You get Netflix, a roomy 50GB of Dropbox space, various music and game stores, Kindle, an office app, and Samsung's new Samsung Apps, which helps you sniff out tablet-friendly apps in the otherwise tablet-unfriendly Google Play store.

The flagship app, though, is Peel Remote, which we've reviewed previously on the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus ($399.99, 3.5 stars). Peel works with the Tab 2-10's built-in IR blaster to act as a smart remote control for your home theater system. When we tried it on the new Tab 2 (7.0), which is made of the same stuff as the Tab 2-10, we found it to be more usable and responsive than it had been on the earlier tablet.

Otherwise, a MicroSD card slot helps keep storage flexible and prices down. This Tab only comes with 16GB of built-in storage, but you can go up to 48GB using memory cards. There's a 3-megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front, and the tablet has an HDMI output port for TVs. It connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n—no 3G here, and no carrier contracts.

At $399.99, the Tab 2-10 goes up directly against Apple's same-priced iPad 2 ($399, 4.5 stars). Just to look at the specs, Samsung has a superior tablet. Apple's iPad has a lower-resolution screen at 1024-by-768, an inferior camera, and doesn't have expandable memory or an IR blaster. But these factors are dwarfed by the huge number of iPad apps available: over 200,000, compared with about 1,500 in Tablified Market (4 stars), the best directory of Android tablet apps.

Seven-inch tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) ($249.99, 4 stars) can get away with running phone apps decently, but apps designed for phones look awful on a 10-inch screen. Many Android fans have told me that the built-in apps are enough—that with a good browser (and Android has several) and Peel Remote, you'll have a useful tablet here. That may be the case, but go in with your eyes open.

This tablet will be available for pre-order on May 4, with real sales starting on May 13, at Best Buy, Amazon, and other large electronics retailers.

Sleep Makes Your Memories Stronger

2011-11-23T23:08:00.001-08:00

Sleep Makes Your Memories Stronger, and Helps With Creativity

"Sleep is making memories stronger," says Jessica D. Payne of the University of Notre Dame, who co-wrote the review with Elizabeth A. Kensinger of Boston College. "It also seems to be doing something which I think is so much more interesting, and that is reorganizing and restructuring memories."

Payne and Kensinger study what happens to memories during sleep, and they have found that a person tends to hang on to the most emotional part of a memory. For example, if someone is shown a scene with an

emotional object, such as a wrecked car, in the foreground, they're more likely to remember the emotional object than, say, the palm trees in the background -- particularly if they're tested after a night of sleep. They have also measured brain activity during sleep and found that regions of the brain involved with emotion and memory consolidation are active.

"In our fast-paced society, one of the first things to go is our sleep," Payne says. "I think that's based on a profound misunderstanding that the sleeping brain isn't doing anything." The brain is busy. It's not just consolidating memories, it's organizing them and picking out the most salient information. She thinks this is what makes it possible for people to come up with creative, new ideas.

Payne has taken the research to heart. "I give myself an eight-hour sleep opportunity every night. I never used to do that -- until I started seeing my data," she says. People who say they'll sleep when they're dead are sacrificing their ability to have good thoughts now, she says. "We can get away with less sleep, but it has a profound effect on our cognitive abilities."

Source : sciencedaily

Dreaming Takes the Sting out of Painful Memories

2011-11-23T23:02:00.001-08:00

Dreaming Takes the Sting out of Painful Memories

UC Berkeley researchers have found that during the dream phase of sleep, also known as REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the edge off difficult memories.

The findings offer a compelling explanation for why people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as war veterans, have a hard time recovering from distressing experiences and suffer reoccurring nightmares. They also offer clues into why we dream.

"The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional experiences," said Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study to be published on Nov. 23, in the journal Current Biology.

For people with PTSD, Walker said, this overnight therapy may not be working effectively, so when a "flashback is triggered by, say, a car backfiring, they relive the whole visceral experience once again because the emotion has not been properly stripped away from the memory during sleep."

The results offer some of the first insights into the emotional function of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which typically takes up 20 percent of a healthy human's sleeping hours. Previous brain studies indicate that sleep patterns are disrupted in people with mood disorders such as PTSD and depression.

While humans spend one-third of their lives sleeping, there is no scientific consensus on the function of sleep. However, Walker and his research team have unlocked many of these mysteries linking sleep to learning, memory and mood regulation. The latest study shows the importance of the REM dream state.

"During REM sleep, memories are being reactivated, put in perspective and connected and integrated, but in a state where stress neurochemicals are beneficially suppressed," said Els van der Helm, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley and lead author of the study.

Thirty-five healthy young adults participated in the study. They were divided into two groups, each of whose members viewed 150 emotional images, twice and 12 hours apart, while an MRI scanner measured their brain activity.

Half of the participants viewed the images in the morning and again in the evening, staying awake between the two viewings. The remaining half viewed the images in the evening and again the next morning after a full night of sleep.

Those who slept in between image viewings reported a significant decrease in their emotional reaction to the images. In addition, MRI scans showed a dramatic reduction in reactivity in the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions, allowing the brain's "rational" prefrontal cortex to regain control of the participants' emotional reactions.

In addition, the researchers recorded the electrical brain activity of the participants while they slept, using electroencephalograms. They found that during REM dream sleep, certain electrical activity patterns decreased, showing that reduced levels of stress neurochemicals in the brain soothed emotional reactions to the previous day's experiences.

"We know that during REM sleep there is a sharp decrease in levels of norepinephrine, a brain chemical associated with stress," Walker said. "By reprocessing previous emotional experiences in this neuro-chemically safe environment of low norepinephrine during REM sleep, we wake up the next day, and those experiences have been softened in their emotional strength. We feel better about them, we feel we can cope."

Walker said he was tipped off to the possible beneficial effects of REM sleep on PTSD patients when a physician at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in the Seattle area told him of a blood pressure drug that was inadvertently preventing reoccurring nightmares in PTSD patients.

It turns out that the generic blood pressure drug had a side effect of suppressing norepinephrine in the brain, thereby creating a more stress-free brain during REM, reducing nightmares and promoting a better quality of sleep. This suggested a link between PTSD and REM sleep, Walker said.

"This study can help explain the mysteries of why these medications help some PTSD patients and their symptoms as well as their sleep," Walker said. "It may also unlock new treatment avenues regarding sleep and mental illness."

Other co-authors of the study are UC Berkeley sleep researchers Justin Yao, Shubir Dutt, Vikram Rao and Jared Saletin.

Source : sciencedaily

Gigabyte X79 Mobos

2011-11-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

Gigabyte Shows "3D Power" Control On X79 Mobos

Gigabyte demonstrates extensive power control software with 3-Way PWM

Gigabyte this week gave us an exclusive look at a new motherboard feature that it will be introducing with its Intel X79-based products.

The motherboard maker has developed hardware and software that will allow power-users to exert greater control. Specifically, Gigabyte has a new Digital PWM (pulse width modulation) controller that can limit and
control current in a circuit.

"Since we are using a brand new Digital PWM controller for the CPU and memory," Gigabyte explained, "we have developed a fully interactive 3D utility that facilitates adjustment of the 3 dimensions that control the power delivery to the CPU and memory: Voltage, Phase and Frequency."

Check out the video below for a quick demo of the software:

GIGABYTE 3D POWER with 3-Way Digital PWM

Of course, Gigabyte is marketing this new feature as part of its latest motherboards. Specifically, the lineup includes the G1.Assassin 2, X79-UD7, X79-UD5 and X79-UD3.

Source : Link

Microsoft Finally Contributed Code to Samba Open Source Interop Project

2011-11-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, the complaint against Microsoft brewing before the European Court of First Instance was that it was not contributing enough knowledge about Windows' source code to let others develop services for it. That didn't make sense to the European Commission, which openly asked, what good is an operating system if it doesn't operate anything except itself?

Microsoft Finally Contributed Code to Samba Open Source Interop Project

Yesterday, the organization responsible for the Free Software-licensed system of file and print services called Samba - the group that had helped keep Microsoft in court for over six years - acknowledged that a distribution that showed up in Samba's respositories on October 11 contained interoperability code for Windows from Microsoft itself.

"A few years back, a patch submission from coders at Microsoft would have been amazing to the point of unthinkable, but the battles are mostly over and times have changed," wrote Samba's Chris Sertel yesterday. "We still disagree on some things such as the role of software patents in preventing the creation of innovative software; but Microsoft is now at the forefront of efforts to build a stronger community and
improve interoperability in the SMB world."

The change from both sides

"Disagree" is a noticeable toning down from the language Samba employed in its original objections to Microsoft's business conduct. Sensing a conspiracy to neutralize competition, five years ago next week, Samba published a condemnation of Microsoft's patent covenant deal with Novell. Alleging the deal was an attempt to divide Free Software proponents from the sources of commercial software that may eventually become free, the Samba team wrote, "The GPL [General Public License] makes it clear that all distributors of GPL'd software must stand together in the fight against software patents. Only by standing together do we stand a chance of defending against the peril represented by software patents. With this agreement Novell is attempting to destroy that unified defense, exchanging the long term interests of the entire Free Software community for a short term advantage for Novell over their competitors." Novell had distributed its version of the Linux kernel under the GPL established by the Free Software Foundation.

The current version of the GPL makes no such imposition on licensees to stand up against software patents in general, but rather stipulates that the contributor to the licensed software may not impose any patents rights it may have against any user of the software.

The long, long fine

After Microsoft was found guilty of abuse of dominant power in September 2007, it was ordered to freely disclose interoperability code, and to regularly communicate how it was complying with that order with the aid of an appointed monitoring trustee. By March 2009, the EC determined that Microsoft was sharing enough code to render the need for the trustee unnecessary.

But a fine of nearly €900 million hung over Microsoft in the interim, and last May, the company's objection to the fine was heard. A final ruling on that fine is forthcoming.

Responding to that objection, Samba creator Andrew Tridgell was quoted as saying that while Microsoft had publicly published certain elements of its interoperability code, it had withheld certain mundane parts of the code that the company claimed should be licensed to others only for a fee.

"There is nothing innovative here," Free Software Foundation Europe quotes Tridgell as saying. "All the innovative bits are either already published by Microsoft's own researchers, or are contained in the Microsoft program source code - and we have no interest in seeing that. The innovation certainly isn't in the protocol specifications."

The fact that the withheld portion of the code was indeed mundane was actually the subject of a 2007 EC objection, which proposed that no company should be allowed to charge money for something that isn't unique and worthy of protection.

Thursday evening, a Microsoft spokesperson provided RWW with this statement: "The patch to the Samba code enables Linux clients to better interoperate with Microsoft Windows in mixed source environments. Contributed under GPL 2+, the patch is an individual contribution made by Stephen Zarkos in line with Samba policies in place at the time."

In introducing his contribution to Samba on October 10, Zarkos wrote the following for the contributors' mailing list:

Earlier this year we had an intern working with us to implement a proof of concept for extended protection (channel and service binding) for Firefox and Samba. To enable this scenario on the client side, we were able to use libraries available on Windows and contribute code to the Mozilla team to make this all work. On the Linux side, however, Firefox utilizes Samba for NTLM authentication and so he also built some patches for Samba to enable this scenario.These patches have been approved for release as 'GPLv2 or later' and copyright has been assigned to me (just like our build farm patches earlier). My only concern is that these patches may be bit stale and may need some work. Hopefully they are still useful to you and are not so huge that you can see what he was trying to do.

Samba's Chris Hertel, at least, saw the contribution as significant, and noted the seismic shift in the landscape in five years' time: "Most people didn't even notice the source of the contribution. That's how far things have come in the past four-ish years," he wrote, "but some of us saw this as a milestone, and wanted to make a point of expressing our appreciation for the patch and the changes we have seen."

Source Link

Google Voice Returns to App Store

2011-10-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hope your past week of Google Voice-less communication has been alright, iOS users, because we – by way of Google Voice's official Twitter account – have the news you've been waiting to hear. Google Voice is now back in Apple's App Store, as engineers have apparently fixed the issue that had previously caused Google to pull the app last week.
It's unclear as to what, exactly, was making Google Voice previously play so poorly with Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 5. And the issue itself didn't appear to be widespread – or, rather, only a subset of iOS 5 users were reporting that Google Voice was crashing upon sign in, as opposed to the entire iOS 5 user base.
Nevertheless, the problem was prevalent enough that Google itself volunteered to pull the app off of Apple's App Store: That meant no Google Voice access for new iOS 5 users looking to tap into VoIP calling and, worse, no outgoing calls or text messaging threads for any Google Voice users who still had the app on their iPhones or iPads pre-pull.
The latest version of Google Voice that's been uploaded to the App Store, 1.3.1.1891, addresses a single problem officially: "Fix for sign in crash introduced in v1.3.0.1771." However, according to a message posted to the official Google Voice twitter page, the latest version of the app also, "improves calling through [Google Voice] when there is no data: no data required for all numbers previously called."
Google Voice first debuted on the iOS platform in November of 2010, following a year-long squabble with Apple in which the company famously resisted allowing apps on the iPhone that cloned its primary features in some capacity.

Source by http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395158,00.asp#fbid=OW8CrckJdmn

PAY PAL

2011-10-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

How to create a Pay Pal Account without a credit card

Pay pal is a media "Online Bank". Why do I say so? because with pay pal we can save our money, and pay and send money as well as conventional money. The difference is the account is a virtual account, which can only be accessed by using the Internet network. Pay pal and bank functions such as escrow account or intermediaries.

Pay pal without a credit card - Want to know how to register without a credit card and pay pal free without paying the slightest read the tutorial here. Hopefully the discussion of this blog can answer all our troubles. The steps are as follows:

1. Click here to find out the procedures PAY PAL list details in sign up pay pal.
2. In the selection Country select country Region from where you are. So it definitely will be

adjusted automatically languages to the selected country.
3. When finished select the Start button on the choice of Personal, Premier or Business.

The third difference is the type of Pay pal account:

Personal Pay pal accounts can only make a purchase.
Pay pal Premier to individuals who will make the purchase and sale.
Pay pal Business for the company that will sell and buy online.

I suggest choose a Pay pal Premier. Because the future can be used to sell and buy online.

4. Then on the next window with the full data content, such as email and password. Email

this later which will be our PayPal email address. Then the name, date of birth, full

address and in accordance with credit or debit card we have. Enter the phone number

we are later used to contact if a problem occurs on your account. And the last click the

"I agree for my account."

5. You will be prompted to enter Credit or Debit Card information. If you do not have, you

can click on the Login to My Account.

It's finished your Pay Pal account and are interchangeable in use. Because it does not use a credit card then the status of your Pay Pal account are "Not On verification" but still usable, or you can use a Virtual Credit Card to get a status of "verified". The difference with an already verified transaction limits on boundaries.

Good Luck :)

Magical Thinking

2011-10-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Magical Thinking
How to avoid an insidious thought error

One of my patients suffers from chronic constipation due to irritable bowel syndrome. During the literally twenty years since she was first diagnosed, her symptom pattern has remained remarkably consistent: she has perhaps 1-2 bowel movements per week, occasionally accompanied by some mild cramping. Even she admits the symptoms are more a bother than a worry. And yet, every time I prescribe a new medicine for one of her other ailments, within a day or two she calls me up complaining that it's causing her to become constipated. When I ask if she means that while on the new medicine she has fewer bowel movements or more abdominal pain, her answer is always no.

And yet she adamantly refuses to continue with the new medication, insisting it's the cause of a symptom complex she's had for two decades. And no matter how cogently I argue that the new medicine can't be to blame (and I'm always careful to pick medicines not known to cause or exacerbate constipation), she refuses to continue with it.

Though certainly she could be right about one or even two pills exacerbating her constipation, the likelihood that all sixteen pills I've given her have caused the same exact symptom in the context of the symptom already existing is just too far-fetched. A much more likely explanation is that she's indulging in magical thinking.

Magical thinking is defined as believing that one event happens as a result of another without a plausible link of causation. For example: "I got up on the left side of the bed today; therefore it will rain." The problem with this definition, however, is that exactly what constitutes "a plausible link of causation" can be difficult to pin down. If we were to take this phrase to its logical extreme, we'd have to consider a belief in anything that hasn't been scientifically proven to represent magical thinking. On the other hand, rejecting the use of any and all criteria with which to judge cause and effect leaves us vulnerable to believing that anything can cause anything—or even worse, that an effect can occur without a cause at all.

Perhaps, then, a more nuanced definition of magical thinking would be believing in things more strongly than either evidence or experience justifies. Though I can't prove the sun will rise in the East tomorrow, because it has every day since I've been alive, such a belief couldn't then be said to represent magical thinking. But because every person who's ever jumped off a building or a bridge has gone down and not up, believing that flapping my arms hard enough would enable me to float into the sky certainly would.

Problems with this definition remain, however. For one thing, simply in order to live we have to believe things without proof. If we refused to believe what our doctors, plumbers, electricians, barbers, or nannies told us without first being shown incontrovertible evidence, our lives would come to a grinding halt. For another thing, some questions we burn to answer aren't necessarily provable or disprovable. An estimated 90% of the American people believe in God, yet no evidence for God's existence has ever been demonstrated scientifically—and further, some would argue, doesn't need to be. Which would mean that technically 90% of the American population is guilty of magical thinking (a statement, I imagine, that puts me at risk for becoming unpopular with 90% of you).

On the other hand, maybe not. As much as we yearn to know truths about the world around us (and inside us), we can only ever see objective reality through the lens of subjective experience. We may all agree objective evidence abounds for the existence of gravity, but that's only because we all have the same subjective experience of having our feet pulled back to Earth every time we take a step.

Which opens up the possibility that we could conclude something is true for which there is only subjective evidence or experience (meaning, not objectively demonstrable to anyone else) and not be guilty of magical thinking. If eating highly processed carbohydrates ("white death" my wife calls it) reproducibly makes me feel sleepy or irritable, concluding the former caused the latter would be entirely rational, yet impossible for me to prove to anyone else.

I think we can say, however, there exists a world of difference between a thought process that leads you to conclude it will rain today because you awoke on the left side of your bed and a thought process that leads you to conclude life is eternal because you've had a vivid memory of a past life (which, by the way, I'm not arguing would necessarily convince me; I don't actually know what would convince me). You could certainly question the validity of such a memory—or even the sanity of such a person—but, unlike with the first example, not the thought process that created the belief.

We can't escape the intrinsic subjectivity with which we experience and interpret objective events. The best we can do is rigorously question the criteria we use to decide something is true. I suppose, then, what I'm ultimately arguing for is a constant, well-balanced degree of healthy skepticism about everything.

WHY WE SHOULD AVOID MAGICAL THINKING

Clear and sophisticated thinkers remain consistently wary of the influences that put them at risk for magical thinking, always cognizant that why they believe what they do is influenced by so many things besides their reasoning minds:

1. What their parents taught them from an early age.
2. What they want to believe is true.
3. What their experience suggests should be true.

Improving the criteria we use to judge the truth of things is difficult. But because what we believe ultimately determines how happy we're capable of being, we must constantly try. After all, the risks of indulging in magical thinking are quite serious:

1. Not making the necessary effort to achieve our goals. If we believe, for example, in the Power of Attraction as popularized by the book, The Secret, then we're at risk for believing all we have to do is put out a clear enough visualization of what we want and wait for it to come to us. Unfortunately, we may find ourselves waiting a long time. How often do you find yourself hoping for something to happen when you should be doing something to make it happen?
2. Making bad choices. Five of the 16 medications my patient has now refused to take are blood pressure medications. As a result, her blood pressure has remained uncontrolled for several years, placing her at significantly higher risk for strokes and heart attacks.

HOW CAN WE STOP THINKING MAGICALLY?

Magical thinking remains a subtle obstacle to making good decisions. But the more we observe ourselves, the more we can reduce our tendency to indulge in it:

1. Consciously identify your desires and biases. Write them down. Try to identify their cause. Work to free yourself from them to the best of your ability.
2. Demand proof when proof seems demonstrable. Try to remain intellectually "agnostic" toward what hasn't been proven or isn't provable, even if you find yourself emotionally inclined to believe it. Try to regard your belief as just that—an inclination—so that you're not tempted to act with more confidence in your belief than is justified.
3. Beware the tendency to let others think for you. This is as insidious as it is widespread. A journalist presents a position about a topic of the day and has his or her opinion accepted as fact. One friend makes a statement about another and everyone accepts it as true without bothering to investigate themselves. Though I don't agree with many of the principles espoused by Ayn Rand in her book, The Fountainhead, the point she makes about how so many of us subjugate our judgment to others is worth taking to heart (a great read, by the way, which I highly recommend).

We all tend to cling not only to the things we believe but the reasoning that leads us to believe them. Despite all my efforts, I've not yet been able to break through my patient's magical thinking about the cause of her constipation. So I continue to do what I've done: chant to manifest the wisdom to somehow find a way to succeed, having proven to myself many times over that chanting has the power to yield wisdom I didn't know I had—a power, however, that can only ever be proven by someone to themselves.

by Alex Lickerman, M.D.

ASUS SDRW-08D1S-U

2011-10-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

Asus has proudly introduced its slim external DVD drive. Dubbed as the SDRW-08D1S-U, the vertical external DVD burner features Turbo Engine that makes it able to read and write data at the highest speed. The SDRW-08D1S-U draws power from your laptop or PC USB port. Measuring 156.4mm x 140.8mm x 21mm, the DVD burner also features Disc Encryption technology with 128-bit encryption and is available in black or white.

Psychology

2011-08-24T23:22:00.000-07:00

Psychology

Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases.For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society.In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist, and can be classified as a social scientist, behavioral scientist, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological

and neurobiological processes that underlie certain functions and behaviors. Psychologists explore such concepts as perception, cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also consider the unconscious mind.^a Psychologists employ empirical methods to infer causal and correlational relationships between psychosocial variables. In addition, or in opposition, to employing empirical and deductive methods, some—especially clinical and counseling psychologists—at times rely upon symbolic interpretation and other inductive techniques. Psychology incorporates research from the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, such as philosophy.

While psychological knowledge is often applied to the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, it is also applied to understanding and solving problems in many different spheres of human activity. Although the majority of psychologists are involved in some kind of therapeutic role (clinical, counseling, and school positions), many do scientific research on a wide range of topics related to mental processes and behavior (typically in university psychology departments) or teach such knowledge in academic settings; and some are employed in industrial and organizational settings, and in other areassuch as human development and aging, sports, health, the media, law, and forensics.

source by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology

GENIUS LUXEMATE 3000 WireLess

2011-07-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

5 MILYAR!!!

2011-07-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Program 5 MILYARRRR ...

Dapatkan Puluhan ribu rupiah bahkan jutaan rupiah hanya dalam sehari.
Info lengkap silakan baca disini:

5 MILYARRR!!!!!!!!!!

DEEP COOL Z3

2011-05-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Features

    Excellent thermal conductivity.
    Electrically non-conductive.
    Wide range of application temperature.

Application For
High quality thermal paste to provide excellent heat transfer from CPU/GPU to cooler.

Technical Spec

Casing Powercolor TLD-006/Eruption

2011-05-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

Casing Powercolor TLD-006

ERUPTION

Part Number TLD-006
DIM.(HXWxD)mm 642 * 239 * 576 mm
5.25" Bay (External) 8
3.5" Bay (External) 1
3.5" Bay (Internal) 9
MB Form Factor ATX/ MICRO ATX

ENGTX560 Ti DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5

2011-05-15T02:56:00.000-07:00

ENGTX560 Ti DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5

ASUS GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP overclocked graphics card for superb 3D Vision™ gaming

Top-selected and overclocked to 900MHz, 80MHz higher than reference for faster and smoother performance
Speed up heat dissipation with doubled airflow via exclusive DirectCU dual fan design
Pump up graphics performance with Super Alloy Power delivering a 15% performance boost, 2.5 longer lifespan and 35C cooler operation
Crank up 50% faster clock speeds with exclusive Voltage Tweak

ASUS Exclusive Innovation

Top-selected and overclocked

Factory overclocked to Performs at an incredible 900MHz, 80MHz faster than stock performance, resulting in higher frame rates in games

Super Alloy Power

Super Alloy Power technology uses special alloy formula in critical power delivery components for a 15% performance boost, 35°C cooler operation and 2.5 times longer lifespan.

Voltage Tweak

Full throttle overclocking with exclusive ASUS Voltage Tweak via Smart Doctor – boosting 50%* more speed, performance and satisfaction!

ASUS Gamer OSD

Real-time overclocking, benchmarking and video capturing in any PC game!

DirectCU II

Based on ASUS DirectCU architecture, which uses copper heat pipes in direct contact with the GPU to speed up heat dissipation for over 20% cooler performance, DirectCU II takes cooling further with twin 80mm fans for doubled airflow.

ASUS Smart Doctor

Your intelligent hardware protection and powerful overclocking tool

Splendid™ Video Intelligence Technology

Optimizes colors in various entertainment scenarios with five special modes — standard, game, scenery, night view and theater.

Graphics GPU Features

NVIDIA® SLI™

Supports multi-GPU technology for extreme performance ode

NVIDIA® 3D Vision™

Immersive yourself in 3D gaming world

GeForce CUDA™

Unlocks the power of GPU’s processor cores to accelerate the most demanding system tasks

NVIDIA PhysX™

Dynamic visual effects like blazing explosions, reactive debris, realistic water, and lifelike characters

DirectX® 11 Done Right

Brings new levels of visual realism to gaming on the PC and get top-notch performance

Microsoft® Windows® 7 Compatible

Enable PC users to enjoy an advanced computing experience and to do more with their PC

GTX 550Ti inno3D

2011-05-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

GTX 550Ti inno3D

· NIVIDIA® CUDA™ technology
CUDA technology unlocks the power of the GPU’s processor cores to accelerate the most demanding systems tasks – such as video transcoding – delivering incredible performance improvements over traditional CPU’s

· NIVIDIA® PhysX® technology
GeForce GPU support for NVIDIA PhysX technology, enabling a totally new class of physical gaming interaction for a more dynamic and realistic experience with GeForce.

· NIVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Ready
GeForce GPU support for NVIDIA 3D Vision, bringing a fully immersive stereoscopic 3D experience to the PC. A combination of high-tech wireless glasses and advanced software, 3D Vision transforms hundreds of PC games into full stereoscopic 3D. In addition you can watch 3D movies and 3D digital photographs in eye popping, crystal-clear quality.

· NIVIDIA® 3D Vision™ Surround Ready
Expand your games across three displays in full stereoscopic 3Dfor the ultimate “inside the game” experience with the power of NVIDIA 3D Vision and SLI technologies. NVIDIA® surround™ also supports triple screen gaming with non-stereo displays.

· NVIDIA SLI ® Technology
Industry leading NVIDIA SLI technology offers amazing performance scaling for the world's premier gaming solution.

550Ti

Spectrum fan Card

2011-04-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

SPECTRUM FAN CARD

System Fan Card with Dual 70mm Adjustable UV LED Fans

With the speed at which computer components now run, there is a tremendous amount of heat generated inside a PC. While case fans help cool the system, they generally only provide horizontal airflow. With that in mind, Vantec introduces the Spectrum Fan Card. Utilizing any available PCI slot, the Spectrum Fan Card serves a dual purpose of directly cooling any PCI/AGP cards surrounding it as well as providing better air circulation with two adjustable fans. Made from UV sensitive material and featuring built-in UV LED lights, the Vantec Spectrum Fan Card lights up your case while cooling it down.

Features:
Increase Air Circulation, Lower Case Temperature
Built-In Ultra Bright UV LED Lights
Adjustable Fan Speeds
Perfect for Windowed Cases
Dual 70mm Fans
Specifications:
Model            :   SP-FC70-BL
Dimension       :   195 x 92 x 20 mm
Voltage              :   7~12V
Fan Speed    :    2400~4000 RPM
Power            :    9 W
Bearing System :    Ball Bearing
Airflow                :    17.73~29.54 CFM
Noise                 :    25~36.64 dBA
Fan Dimension :   70 x 70 x 15 mm
Weight               :   300 gm

Power Color 6970

2011-04-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Power Color 6970 with liquid cooling

PowerColor is the only graphics manufacturer to provide liquid cooling on the HD6970 graphics card

Taipei, Taiwan –December 30, 2010–TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, announces the world’s first liquid cooling solution for the HD6970 series. The PowerColor Liquid Cooling Solution (LCS) HD6970 2GB GDDR5 is once again working with renowned cooling manufacturer EKwaterblocks to bring the ultimate cooling solution to the HD6970. The offering aims to provide extraordinary thermal performance to enhance overclocking ability while allowing optimum system stability.

The PowerColor LCS HD6970 has a full water block mounted on the card, fully covering the key components which can be dissipate the heat from the copper base design. This allows the reduction of GPU temperatures under 50°C even under full load. PowerColor packages a high-flow 3/8" and 1/2" fittings (barbs) to maximize water flow with captured o-rings to prevent leakage. Gamers can customize their own liquid cooling system using these two fittings.

“The coolest temperatures and the fastest performance is what we guarantee to add into the LCS HD6970 features,” said Ted Chen, CEO of TUL Corporation. "With all the key features come with this latest solution, we believe all these benefits can make it the best solution ever for hardcore gamers and benchmark ethusiasts.”

Compatible with all the latest features, the PowerColor LCS HD6970 has a factory overclocked setting at 925 MHz core and 1425 MHz memory, easily pushing the overclocking ability to maximize its performance. The card also comes equipped with Volterra’s digital power solution, maximizes its transforming efficiency and delivers the best output quality through its high frequency feature, enabling the most efficient way to boost up gaming experience.

Specifikasi HD6970

About EK Water Blocks
Started in year 1999, when the founder Edvard König bought his first computer. The goal for EK is to excel in a niche market of performance upgrades for computers. With continuous research and development, we have established a portfolio of products for water cooling. Quality and breathtaking design on the technological edge is our philosophy. For further information, visit: http://www.ekwaterblocks.com/index.php

About TUL Corporation
TUL is a leading supplier of AMD graphics cards under the PowerColor brand. We offer award-winning products based on our technology leading components, quality design and superb engineering. TUL employs more than 150 talents worldwide, with offices in China, Europe, Russia and USA to support over 300 channel partners and distributors in 50 plus countries. For further information, visit: http://www.tul.com.tw/global/
For more product information, visit: www.powercolor.com.

HDD Eksternal Adata

2011-04-06T23:48:00.000-07:00

With a thickness of less than 20mm, the ADATA Classic Series CH94 Portable HDD is designed to feel just like a fashionable compact pocket diary. The Classic Series CH94 comes in four stylish colors (black, white, pink and aqua blue) and can be personalized with the complimentary alphabet stickers, decorated with rhinestones or painted, allowing you the freedom to create a HDD that expresses your unique personality. Coming in a full range of capacities from 250GB and 320GB to 500GB and 640GB, the Classic Series CH94 is the ideal storage device for safely storing and transporting all your files – including photos, music and videos – making it a digital pocket diary that exudes both convenience and style.

A Combination of Ergonomics and Elegance

Resembling the shape of a pocket notebook, the ergonomic streamlined casing of the Classic Series CH94 features an elegant curve that makes a fashionable impression. The built-in wrap-around USB cable provides both convenience and secure portability for any road warrior, saving you the trouble of cable storage or loss.

Unlimited Options for Expressing Yourself

Want to stand out as one who is both tech-savvy and stylish? The smooth surface of the Classic Series CH94 allows for a complete makeover of your personal HDD. Let your imagination fly and personalize your CH94, painting it with acrylics or decorating the drive with rhinestones, stickers and anything else that speaks to who you are.

Specifikasi Ch94