Normally the sound of your prepackaged speakers or your laptop speakers are awful.  The are tinny, lacking depth, and most commonly don’t allow much volume.

If you’re really wanting to get the highest quality sound possible from your MP3’s, and online videos, you will need to invest in a set of high quality speakers.

The speakers I bought are the Logitech Z-5500 Digital Speakers with 5.1 Surround sound, these speakers are even THX certified, and with over 500 watts of power they can really get your music cranking.

These are higher end speakers, but worth every penny.  But if you’re wanting to save some money and still have great sound, then I’d recommend the Creative Gigaworks T20.  The T20’s have much lower power, and only include two speakers, by they do sound fabulous.

It’s not always the speakers that are holding down your sound quality, often it is the sound card itself.  On a desktop PC, you can quickly fix this by putting in a new sound card, like the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio, it is specially designed to make music and movies rock.

If you’re on a notebook, you still can add a higher quality sound card, by getting a Creative SB1100 USB sound card, to add higher quality sound to your notebook.

By adding great speakers, and upgrading your sound card, you can take a terrible sounding PC, and make it a wild, great sounding entertainment and gaming center.

I get asked all the time, “What video card should I buy?”, and I always have to answer, “What are you using your PC for?”.

Depending on whether your needs are for business, watching movies, or for extreme gaming can change the answer greatly.

For most of us common users, we are most interested in having great speed while watching our movies, and videos, with a card that can do a little gaming.

If you are a hardcore gamer, then you know you need to match your games to your video card.  Often many games only support certain video chipsets.

So, if you have a favorite game, make sure you buy your video card based upon their recommended chipset.

For us home users who love to watch our TV, Videos, and Movies on our PC, we will want a card to do Hi-Def, and possibly Blu-Ray decoding.

My current favorite is ATI’s HD4670 chipset.  These cards are fantastic for watching all kinds of movie formats, whether streaming, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray.  You can find cards with the HD4670 from manufacturers like Diamond, Sapphire, and Asus.

If you are one of the hardcore gamers, I’m sure you’re well aware of the constant battle between Nvidia and ATI for being the speed champion.

I’ve always been happy with Nvidia for gaming.  If you want to be on the cutting edge, be prepared to shell out $500 for a great gaming card from either Nvidia or ATI.  For most games, you can get buy with slightly older chipsets, and keep your price down around $100.

Computers have been in use for more than forty years now but there has been no respite from computer errors. In fact, with the advent of the Internet, computers have become more susceptible to problems caused by malicious software and online criminals.

The problem is further compounded by the increasingly large number of software applications that we install on our computers.

The only way to minimize the agony and losses caused by computer problems is by taking the responsibility of combating this menace on your own.

This task involves adopting a two step strategy – learning to protect your computer from computer errors and learning to repair common errors yourselves.

Despite the common notion, it is not difficult to do this. This article will show you how you can prevent and solve one such frequently occurring category of errors – DLL errors.

The majority of DLL errors are caused by missing DLL files. Listed below are common examples of missing DLL error messages:

• File mfc80u.dll not found
• Could not locate file msvcr80.dll
• Unable to start this application – an important component npptools.dll is missing. Reinstalling the application may fix the error

A DLL may go missing on your system due to following reasons:

• Deletion of the DLL by mistake.
• Removal of the DLL during uninstallation of any program/application.
• Overwriting of required DLL file by an incompatible or outdated file.
• Malware infection.

Steps to Fix Missing DLL errors

Step 1

If the missing DLL error appears due to accidental removal of DLL file, then first check the contents of the Recycle Bin. If you find the file there, restore it to fix the DLL error.

In case you deleted the DLL by mistake and have also emptied the contents of the Recycle Bin, you may take help of a free file recovery program to get back the missing DLL. If you are sure that you have not deleted the DLL file, move to the next step.

Step 2

DLLs may go missing during uninstallation of a program or application. If you receive a missing DLL error message soon after you have uninstalled an application, reinstall the removed program to correct the error. When you install a program, all the files that are required by the program are installed on your PC.

Step 3

If the above two reasons are not the cause behind the missing DLL error then you need to get a copy of the missing DLL from an external source. You can either download the missing DLL from a legitimate DLL download website or procure it from a computer with same configuration as your system. It is important to save the DLL file to its original location to prevent any future complications.

Step 4

If the error appears soon after you install a program, it is quite likely that the required DLL file is overwritten by an incorrect version. In this case, try to look for an update for a program. If you find one, then installing this update may resolve the error. Otherwise, uninstall this new program and perform system restore to rollback system settings and files to the time when the PC for free from errors.

Step 5

Use updated antivirus and antispyware tools to perform a thorough full system scan and get rid of any malicious data resident on your system.

Tips to Prevent DLL Errors From Occurring

Follow the do’s and don’ts mentioned below to keep your system free from DLL errors:

• Do not delete a shared DLL during uninstallation of any program/application.
• Do not overwrite a current version of DLL with an older version while installing a new program/application.
• Keep your operating system, software and drivers up-do-date with the latest security releases.
• Install a reliable antivirus and antispyware tool on your system.
• Maintain an error-free and compact Windows registry.

DLL errors if ignored can develop into serious problems. Take steps to fix as well as prevent future occurrences so that you can enjoy error-free computing for a long time.

The first program I always run is Microsoft’s Malicioius Removal Tool.  You may have noticed updates to it downloading when you do your windows updates, but did you have any idea how to run it?

For Windows XP, click on Start, then Run, and type in MRT and click OK.  You can select to either do a Quick Scan or a Full Scan.  If you suspect your are infected, do a full scan, it will take longer, but is much more thorough.

The only difference on Windows Vista, you’ll need to hold down your Windows key, and push R on your keyboard to get your Run menu.

Another tool I like to run is ComboFix.  It is a very agressive tool in removing spyware and malware.  I’d recommend trying Microsoft’s Malicisious Removal Tool first.

But often when Microsoft’s tool fails, ComboFix will succeed.  ComboFix can be found quickly by searching on Google.

The most important thing to do after you’ve cleaned your PC, make sure you have a current generation AntiVirus/Malware program, and you keep it up to date.

Schedule it to scan your PC at least once a week, to make sure you’ are staying clean, and ready for use.  I personally like Trend Micro’s Internet Security Suite.

It is full featured, and has been very effective.  Trend also has a wide variety of free tools for you to use to clean your PC.  It is critical that you keep your Windows up to date, for the best protection.

By using these simple tools you can clean your PC, and keep it clean for the future.

Has your PC started showing it’s age, and is feeling slow?  Here’s a few things you can do to get some additional speed.

First let’s make sure how much memory you have.  If you’re not sure, click on Start, then right click on My Computer, and choose properties.

On this information page you will see how much RAM you have in your PC.  If you have less than 1GB of memory, the best thing you can do is upgrade your RAM.  For Windows XP the sweet spot for memory starts at 1GB.

For Windows Vista, you’ll want to have 2GB or more.  Adding memory to your PC is very easy, and will give you a great boost in speed.

You also want to check your hard drive fragmentation, to make sure your operating system, programs, and data files can be accessed as quickly as possible.

On a windows system, you can find your disk drefragmenter in your All Programs, under Accessories, and System Tools.  You should run your disk drefragmenter every month or two.

If your PC is really feeling sluggish, it is very possible you have a malware infection.  You can try running the Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool or Windows Defender as your first try to clean up you PC.

Malware, extra toolbars, and other little programs you may have added, can take a big bite out of your performance.  Go through your Add/Remove programs in the Control Panel, and uninstall any programs you no longer use.

If you follow these few simple things, you will gain back some of the speed of your PC.

Don’t know how about you guys who will read this post, but personally I was always irritated by the fact that I couldn’t download videos from YouTube and other video sites.

I just couldn’t understand why these brainy guys sitting in their software developing offices didn’t even think that some people would like to have their favorite videos on their machines, but not on the Internet!

All right, it’s okay when I’m connected to the net and can download the video and watch it (thought waiting is not comfy as well).

But when you can’t access the Internet for some reasons but still want to watch the video? As for me I often have such problems with my provider (I know I’d better change it) and do appreciate video saved on my PC. That’s why saving video from such sources as YouTube would be just great thing to have.

Recently, I was surfing the net and was again stunned by what Google answered to ‘save youtube video’ search phrase.

Oodles of sites like ‘enter the link and download’ and only one site that satisfied me. All these sites were all the same: you watch the video, then add a new window, enter their address and enter the video’s link.

Too much to do, yep? But one of the Google search results really was the highlight of the day. That was http://savetubevideo.com/, with a free program called Save Tube Video.

I decided to download this free program and install it. After the installation has been completed (it took about 2-3 minutes), I relaunched the browser and saw two new buttons: ‘Save Video’ and ‘Show Status’.

After that I went to YouTube and clicked on the first video I saw. When the browser began playing the video I just clicked on the ‘Save Video’ button and the program asked me to specify the path to video download folder and video format (two most popular formats are available: avi and flv, I used flv).

After that the video in browser has been played as usual, and its ‘hard copy’ was being saved to the chosen folder.

When I clicked on the ‘Show Status’ button I saw the video download status. After the installation had been completed, there appeared three options: ‘Play’, ‘Delete’ and ‘Open’.

Clicking on the ‘Play’ button started video playback. ‘Delete’ button allows you to delete file, and the ‘Open’ one – to open a folder with the video file.

It’s also worth saying that the software works well with Internet Explorer, it didn’t even slow it down and the site says that Save Tube Video will work with Mozilla Firefox as well.

As for other options: if your connection with the Internet has been lost and the download broken up, you may resume your download at any time (which is especially important to me).

Oh, and the program allows you to download two or more videos at the same time which is very convenient. I would recommend this program to everyone who likes videos and wants to watch them offline and just to any web surfer as it doesn’t take much place and may come in handy one day?.

In computing, ISCSI is a shortening for Internet Small Computer System Interface.

Basically it’s an Internet Protocol based storage networking standard which deals with linking data storage facility.

StarWind Software, a leading software development company, manufactures and provides storage virtualization due to its iSCSI SAN software.

The primary task of this software is to convert any Windows server into a dependable and high quality SAN. The company was founded in 2003. It has been popular in over 100 countries and is used by a large number of customers.

The software solutions are of exceptional quality and they satisfy a number of IT demands successfully. Having a worldwide partners and resellers chain helps the company to work with many leading companies.

The company has already got a brilliant customers profile: Dell, Microsoft, NASA, Toyota, Avis and many more. The fact that the company has its own real-time customer support is among company’s biggest pluses.

Some distinctive features of the software are described below. The software uses TCP/IP allowing two hosts to negotiate SCSI commands using the same IP network. Due to the latter, a Storage Area Network (SAN) is created.

ISCSI requires no additional cabling. System administrators may use the software to allow server computers to access disk volumes. Mainly it has two objectives i.e. storage consolidation and disaster recovery.

Talking about its other products, we couldn’t fail to mention StarWind (iSCSI Target Software), StarPort (iSCSI software initiator) and some free products like StarWind Free, StarPort Free and StarWind V2V Converter.

The latter allows converting VMware files to Microsoft Hyper-V format and vice versa. StarPort allows establishing connections to ISCSI target & AoE device.

There is some downloadable software that can be found at www.starwindsoftware.com.

The IT project solutions that can be implemented with these software solutions include Server Virtualization, Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery etc.

As software, developed for global usage, the products successfully support Exchange Server, Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware, SQL database, Oracle database.

When it comes to the industries the StarWind software can be used in, it becomes clear that the software will function perfectly well in any industry, including health, education, government, financial services etc.

Many of us have online friends around the world, or maybe old classmates or family that have gone overseas to work.

Many times we avoid calling them because of the expense of international calling. If you use your PC, and free software, you can talk to them for no per minute fees, and usually clearer than the traditional phone call.

Most of today’s popular instant messaging programs included a voice option, which usually work quite well, but my preferred program is Skype.

Skype uses the best voice system available today, giving you extremely clear voice without chewing up all your bandwidth.

The quality of your calls will depend greatly on the equipment you choose. My preferred choice for Skype is a USB Headset.

USB Headsets are usually clearer and quieter than traditional headsets. Logitech makes a wide variety of headsets, my favorite is the Clearchat Pro USB, it is extremely clear, with great volume controls, and very inexpensive.

You can also buy telephones specifically for Skype, that allow you to still feel like you are using a phone. I prefer the headset, since to me, it sounds better.

If you add a webcam, you can have a great video call with your friends, Skype also has the clearest video of any of the instant messengers.

Skype also offers a paid service called Skype-Out, which lets you call phones overseas, if your friends do not have Skype. To some countries the calls are very cheap, to others they are still fairly high.

I have made many overseas calls, and none of my phone calls have been as clear as Skype. Download it and give it a try.

Looking for a digital camera? The Kodak EasyShare C713 digital camera might be the perfect one for you. With a massive 7 Mega Pixel resolution, the Kodak EasyShare C7 13 certainly packs a punch.

With advanced digital image stabilization, you can take just about any photo with this camera. It might not the the best camera for a professional photographer, but it is great for anyone who wants a tiny camera to snap photos of their friends, families, or just anything in general.

The power of the Kodak EasyShare is its simplicity when it comes to sharing photos (hence the name). It is compatible with multiple types of cards, so if you already have an SD card or a similar card it might be compatible with this camera. It includes software for your PC (running Windows or Mac OS X), making things even easier on you.

Even though you might not have any experience with photography, this camera makes it hard to mess up an image. It is perfect for a gift for yourself or a gift for someone else, big or small. This camera is so easy to use that even your less-than-technical friend or family member can use it with ease!

Just for fun, it also comes in a few very stylish colors. The Kodak EasyShare C713 is available in pink, silver, black, or blue. The camera is small and compact, easily fitting in a purse or bag. It isn’t the sturdiest camera, but if you are careful with it and use a camera case for extra safety, it will stay intact.

Also, you can take high quality videos or record audio with the camera (and it includes the same sharing features for both of these media formats as it does images). You really can’t go wrong with the Kodak EasyShare C713 camera.

If you are a professional photographer, or you aspire to be one, you might want to consider a stronger camera. If you are just looking to take a few pictures and share them without much hassle, go with the Kodak EasyShare C713.

If you are looking to purchase one, I suggest that you also purchase a compatible memory card (if you do not have one already).

The storage space on the camera is limited (since the camera is so small), so you should add a memory card to expand this.

If you are able to move photos off of your camera and onto your computer often enough, or you don’t take that many photos, you should be fine with just the standard storage space.

Did you know that the typical photo printed in a print lab only lasts around 50 years? According the Epson, photos printed with the Epson Picture Mate Photolab & Printer last much longer – 4 times longer to be exact.

I think what they mean is that photos won’t begin to fade for 200 years (4 times longer) than photos created in a print lab. I don’t know that much about printing, but I don’t believe that photos created in a print lab will fall apart the second they hit 50 years old.

I do believe that photos printed with the Epson Picture Mate Photolab & Printer last longer. It uses advanced MicroPiezo technology developed by Epson to help your photos last longer and look their best. This technology also improves the quality of the photos printed.

With the Epson Picture Mate you can print from digital camera, USB flash drive, memory card, or by bluetooth for mobile phones and other devices.

Other than the whole last 200 years thing, another cool feature of the Picture Mate is it’s large easy to see LCD screen measuring a generous 3.6 inches.

Being able to see exactly what you’re printing before you hit print is a great benefit to avoid wasting photo paper. You can also easily  navigate around using that same screen, so it should be suitable for anyone ranging from a beginner to an expert.

The printer can run as a standalone machine or with your computer. It includes software for Windows (many versions, including Windows XP and Windows Vista) and Mac OS X. Linux users could also probably find a way to run the software (maybe with WINE) or find an alternative.

It was difficult to find things about this photo printer that I didn’t like. However, it only prints 4×6 photos. If this is all that you are looking for, this printer is pretty much perfect, but if you’d like to print something larger than you may need to go for a full size all in one style printer.

The Photo Mate prints at a high quality (5760×1440 dpi). Epson guarantees that you get at least 150 photos from every cartridge, making it a little more budget friendly than one might expect.

If you don’t, they will pro-rate the price of the cartridge and refund you a fraction of the price. I don’t know anyone who has taken them up on this deal, but it seems that this will protect you from purchasing a bad cartridge and losing money.

You probably won’t end up asking for a refund if you print 148 photos, but if it’s down around 100 it would be worth your time.