Tech

In today’s world of communication technology, there’s a lot out there to consider before investing in a cell phone plan. With a multitude of carriers offering scores of options, it isn’t always easy to isolate the one package out of the many that would best suit your needs. Sometimes, the mainstream choices aren’t available to folks who are inhibited by particular circumstances, such as poor credit or other types of financial constraints. In cases such as those, prepaid cell phones can be the proverbial lifesaver. You don’t have to be financially restricted to consider a prepaid wireless plan, however. Many people choose to purchase this type of service in order to avoid contracts which would lock them into services for a designated amount of time and money.

As with anything else in this world, there are positives and negatives that are attached to the option of a "pay as you go" cell phone. Depending upon your needs, priorities and preferences, you may just find that the option of prepaid time is the best cell phone plan for you.

Most people download and save so much information on their computer that before long the computer starts slowing down and the user has no idea what the problem is. However, even if you are not a computer whiz there are several things you can easily do to speed up your computer quickly and easily.

Tip #1 Defrag

One of the first things you should do if you want to speed up your computer is to defrag. This is something you can easily do and a wizard on your computer will help you defrag. You might want to do it overnight, however, because it can take a long time.

Tip #2 Spyware Remover

Download a good spyware remover. Most computers have a lot of spyware running in the background, stealing information and slowing down your computer. Remove it frequently if possible.

Tip #3 Empty Temp Internet Files

Most Internet browsers save your last visited web pages for up to 30 days. If you don’t want all of those pages saved then change the days to one or two, or none, whatever meets your needs.

Tip #4 Turn off Active Desktop

If you have not seen the newest addition to the Macintosh line, it is worth taking a look. It is a very small computer that is only 6.5 x 6.5 x 2 inches. The Mac Mini is about the size of one of those internal CD-ROM drives you install into a PC. By far one of the smallest computers you can buy. And its relatively in expensive, the base model costs only $499. Additionally, you need not buy a new monitor, mouse or keyboard. It is 100% compatible with PC monitors and PC USB keyboards and mice.

But what exactly can you do with this mini computer? Quite a bit! The base model comes with more than enough features for most computer uses. It is a full fledge Macintosh, nothing small about this machine except its physical size.

In this article I will talk about three main uses for the Mac mini. First, I will discuss what Macs are known for; their audio and video capabilities. Secondly, I will discuss general Internet uses such as browsing, email and chat. Finally I will discuss word processing. These three are some of the most common tasks for most computer users.

Have you ever thought about building your own computer system? Maybe you’ve heard friends talking about doing this sort of thing, but you were never sure what was involved. This article attempts to answer two questions. First, why would you want to build your own computer system? Secondly, how hard is it to do this?

Why Build a Computer System

First we will look at why you would want to build a computer system. There are three main reasons often cited for building a computer system. The first is that it will save you a great deal of money. The second is that you will get exactly the computer system that you want. And finally, the third reason is that you can easily repair the system if anything goes wrong.

Building a computer to save money is most likely not a realistic goal. These days you can get some really inexpensive computer systems. With complete systems selling for under $500, it would be hard to build a computer system yourself that is going to beat that price by much.

If you’re one of the millions of cell phone users who count on their wireless phone for emergency 911 calling,

You might want to think again……..

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that your wireless 911 call will be routed to an emergency call center. Much less, that the emergency dispatcher will have the ability to pinpoint your call’s location.

Why?

Part of the problem is lack of service. Often, in more rural areas, your cell phone has fewer towers available to receive reception. And, many of those towers are designed for analog calls - not digital.

But, since the FCC does not require it, fewer carriers offer analog service — or the ability to connect to it.

Not surprising, since much of the carriers’ revenue is dependant on features available only on digital networks.

Another problem?

There is no uniform Ehanced 911 system (E911) for wireless carriers. The fault lies mainly with the FCC, who has once again neglected to force all carriers to conform their systems to a single technology.

Because of this, there are now two very incompatable E911 systems in the works.

Flash your ATI video card BIOS.

You will need the following:

1. 1.44MB FDD (floppy)

2. FLASHROM utility copy

3. Compatible BIOS file for your video card. (search the manufactures website for bios details)

4. Required Drivers. (check manufactures website)

Alright now

First make an ATI BIOS flash boot disk.

-Bios flash operations for video must be performed in DOS.

-You will need a DOS boot disk, you can obtain one if you do not already ahve one at bootdisk.com, download there dr DOS image file after that run the .exe file that comes with it. Which will create a clean DOS boot disk. (if any problems folow instruction son the website)

-If you need other ways of obtaining a boot disk just post in a related thread.

Now that you have a DOS boot disk, copy the BIOS file you downloaded and the FLASHROM.exe file onto the disk.

Second
Make a backup of your ATI video card BIOS

Make a backup of your current video card BIOS before flashing the bios, incase of problems. (better safe than sorry)

-boot your computer with the boot flash-disk you had created in the first step.

An astounding and unexpected number of people are dropping their (POTS) plain old telephone system, for the latest trends in phone service, VoIP. According to Frost & Sullivan there were 100,000 VoIP users at the end of 2003. Just halfway through 2004 the number jumped to more than 500,000.

The draw to such a change is most often cost related. Traditional phone companies charge use fees and by the minute charges, coupled with long distance fees. VoIP companies are charging a flat fee somewhere between $15.00 to $30.00 US per month, for unlimited calls to anywhere in the US and Canada.

VoIP works by digitizing voice signals from your phone and sending them over the Internet via your home or business computer. While people are scrambling to make the switch and begin to count the money they are saving, they may not realize that there is a good possibility that they are cutting the link between their alarm system and the monitoring station. Another link that is lost in most cases is traditional 911 services, as VoIP does not capture data for emergency response.

Plasma and LCD TVs are the latest trend in home entertainment. Both offer unrivalled picture quality and resolution, while doing away with the bulkiness of the older rear-projection technologies. But with all of the hype surrounding these two types of televisions, what is the difference between them? Although they look- and are virtually priced- the same, they are not.

There differences are found in the way in which they display their pictures. Plasma TV technology is made up of hundreds of thousands of little pixels, each capable of displaying red, green, and blue colors. A plasma monitor often consists of two panels, which are filled with an inert gas, such as xenon or neon. When the pixels are excited by pulses of electricity, the gas becomes liquid, thus generating light. This light in turn then illuminates the pixels, causing them to display the appropriate color to form a picture.

LCD panels function in a very similar manner. A panel of thin-film-transmitters, or TFT, sends electricity to cells filled with liquid crystal. When the cells are struck by the electricity, the liquid crystals allow light to filter through. Unlike the pixels found in plasma TVs, LCD monitors create color by blocking out the appropriate wavelengths from white light.

Someone recently asked me “I teach senior citizens in a community based free computer lab. They often ask what to look for when buying a computer, what software they need for email, basic Internet usage, word processing, etc. Many are on a limited budget. What would you suggest they need as a minimum?”

Recommendations For a New Computer

The good news is that computer prices have dropped a lot over the past few years, and the computing power you get for your money is going up! I don’t recommend used computers for anyone, because the rate of change of computer technology will render most systems nearly obsolete within three years. If you’re a computer novice, wondering what kind of computer, monitor, hard drive, memory, and operating system to get… here’s some advice to get you rolling.

Windows or Mac?