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Think of these as computer supplies rather than computer parts. Like the light bulbs in your house, they must be replaced periodically.

Computer cabinets are fitted with doors and side panels which may or may not be removable.

Cabinets enclose a rack, which is a frame that provides a means for mounting electronic equipment and parts. Cabinets come in a variety of styles, colors, and many contain baffles, fans, and other features. The rack refers specifically to the inside frame that provides a means for mounting electronic equipment, while a cabinet is fitted with doors and side panels. The cabinet must allow air to come in and, after it has done its work cooling the parts that would otherwise overheat, to go out. The cabinet should permit the mounting of a filter to keep dirt, dust, smoke, human and pet hair, etc., out of the computer works. The average computer has two fans, one in the power supply and one attached to the computer chip that constitutes the main processor. Without a filter, the fans will deposit a lot of dirt throughout the cabinet, and onto and possibly even into the drives. This may eventually produce read/write errors, and place those errors onto your backup media as well; lost data is the result. It is also possible that eventually your fans will get so clogged up that they will fail and permit the computer to overheat, slowing performance, producing lockups, and eventually shutting you down completely.

Your cabinet should be tough, and it should have a sturdy locking device so that you can control access to your computer. These two characteristics are especially important whenever critical data needs to be protected. Make sure that the cabinet contains all of the rack capabilities you will require, and that it is rated for the correct wattage of power. Some of them come with the power supply already installed.

Introduction

The USB flash drive is the technological, logical and honorably worthy successor to the floppy disk drive. It is removable so that you can transfer the data it stores from one computer to another, simply by removing it from one and plugging it into another. Flash drives use a standard type-A USB connection, and are “plug and play,” in the sense that as soon as you plug one into a computer, the computer recognizes that it has just acquired another drive, which it usually designates as “drive E.” On the other hand, it is always possible to format the flash drive, and even to partition it like a hard disk on a PC or a Mac. Also, they don’t mind at all being formatted in Linux or Unix.

Normally, the flash drive’s data becomes immediately accessible, just as though you had inserted a floppy disk into a floppy disk drive. Although the flash drive acts just like any other disk drive, to call it a drive is a misnomer, because it has no moving parts, and so nothing is being “driven.” Although it relies on solid-state circuitry, nonetheless, the name “drive” has stuck. Flash drives are to be distinguished from the Flash Cards used in digital cameras or MP3 players. Other names for flash drives are: Thumb Drives, Jump Drives, Pocket Drives, and Pen Drives.

These “drives” are almost all compatible with both Universal Serial Bus specifications 1.1 and USB 2.0, which replaced 1.1 in 2001, so they should run on any PC or Mac that actually has one or more USB receptacles or slots into which they may be plugged, which is most of the computers out there today. To determine whether your PC’s USB slots are 1.1 or 2.0, open device manager and expand the Universal Serial Bus section. There should be an “Enhanced” USB host controller present if USB 2.0 is in place.

On the older machines, most flash drives just default to the USB 1.1 specs., and so run a bit more slowly. As a practical matter, fast USB host can in actual practice achieve transfer rates of up to 30-40 Mbs. per second, while the older specification permits a (theoretical) maximum of only 12 Mbs. per second, but in practice tends to function at just about 1 Mb per second. To upgrade to the faster speed, if you have a free slot you can just pop in a USB 2.0 PCI card, which will do the trick.

Uses

Uses are as varied as your imagination. These Swiss army knives are often favored by system operators and network administrators, who load them up with configuration information and software that they use for system maintenance, troubleshooting, and data recovery. People in the PC repair field use them to transfer recovery and antivirus software to infected PCs, while allowing a part of the host machine’s data to be archived in case of emergency. If you plan to use one for this purpose, be sure that it can be set with write protection. Not all drives are write protectable, but if you are going after a virus, this is a very important feature.

Many people use flash drives to carry applications that run on a host computer without requiring installation. Flash drive vendors support U3 by offering API to flash drive-specific functions. A free, open source, software platform called Portableapps allows U3-like functionality on non-U3 drives. The Mozilla’s Firefox, and the Opera browser, each have a configuration for flash drives. There is also a Creative MuVo, a small solid-state digital audio player that comes in a flash drive form.

To boot ailing operating systems is another use. Much like the way used in LiveCD, one can launch any operating system from a bootable flash drive, known as LiveUSB. In Windows Vista, the “ReadyBoost” feature allows use of some flash drives to augment system memory, which makes it one of life’s cheapest possible system upgrades.

An increasingly popular use of flash drives is for people to carry their entire medical history, lists of ailments, medications, allergies, etc., on their key chains for hospital use should a medical emergency arise.

Of course, the most common use is to transport and store personal files such as documents, pictures, music and video.

Buying considerations concern:

Capacity – the 32 and 64 Megabytes are being phased out. Go for a larger drive instead.

Speed – This is usually quoted either in Megabytes or Megabits per second to read and to write. There are 8 Megabits in one Megabyte.

Physical size – they range from the size of 3 “C” batteries down to that of a pack of gum, or even smaller. This is important because of the fact that USB slots are usually very close to each other, so a physically large flash drive could block another USB slot. You can, of course overcome this problem with an adapter.

Design – Most units have protective covers for the USB plug. Some fit on key rings or have small cables to fit with lanyards or to hang from hooks, etc.

Built-in Features – some have a LED that lights up to indicate when data is being transferred.

Compatibility – Almost all will work with Windows 2000, Mac OS 9.0, and Linux 2.4.10 or higher without any special drivers. Most work with Windows 98SE and Mac OS 8.6 with a download from the manufacturer.

Warrantee – Many units have a 1 to 5 year warrantee. Some even come with a lifetime warrantee.

How to Choose

Since this technology is the successor of the floppy disk, and since it comes in a variety of speeds, capacities, etc., you should buy have on hand several of these drives for various purposes. If you are just moving data between computers, the speed is relatively unimportant. If, however, you are using the drive to make a presentation loaded with graphics to an important audience, then be sure you have an extra drive with the same information, and go for the maximum speed and capacity you can afford. One size does not fit all. If you are distributing data to a lot of older machines, then make absolutely sure that your drive is in fact backward compatible (most are, but please be sure).

Like any other kind of drive, these flash drives need to be backed up in some way. However, because these drives are extremely rugged, and due to their lack of moving parts are extremely reliable, you might choose to view the warrantee as a lesser consideration than the other main characteristics. They are virtually impervious to the dust and scratches that afflicted previous forms of portable storage, such as CDs and floppy disks, and top of the line flash drives can store more data than a DVD. The flash drives’ robust nature and low price make them both extremely reliable, and certainly a wholly worthy successor to the now obsolescent though still dearly lamented floppy disk drive. [Moment of Respectful Silence; imagine the smell of lilys and the sound of subdued organ music]

Once, nickel-cadmium (NiCad) was the only suitable battery for portable equipment from wireless communications to mobile computing.

Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries emerged in the early 1990s. Today, lithium-ion is the leading battery chemistry. lithium is the lightest of all metals, has the greatest electrochemical potential. It provides the largest energy density for weight, typically twice that of NiCad, and its self-discharge is less than half the NiCad rate. Li-Ion cells cause virtually no environmental harm when disposed.

Many Li-Ion manufacturers remain silent about aging, but some capacity deterioration occurs after a year, whether the battery is used or not. Maximum current life expectancy is in actual practice about 700 full recharges, or five years, whichever comes first. You can recharge a NiMH battery up to 1,000 times. However Li-Ion batteries are rapidly improving, so their life expectancy may be approaching that of NiMH. Store your battery (whatever its chemistry) in a cool place (ideally at about 15^oc) when not using it, and keep it about 40 persent charged when it remains idle to maximize its life. It is important to protect any battery from extremes of heat or cold.

Accessories

With thermal wax transfer label printers, There are three kinds of such machines.

A. Direct thermal printers burn dots onto coated paper as it passes over a heated printhead, and do not use ribbons. They are therefore the cheapest to operate. They print only in black, need specially coated paper, and the images tend to fade fairly quickly – as we all know from examining our collected receipts whose information has wholly vanished by tax reporting time. Specially coated, they can last up to two years, but that’s an additional expense.

B. Thermal wax transfer machines use a transfer ribbon that contains a wax-based ink, which may be black or another color, and make permanent impressions by using heat to melt wax-based ink onto a surface. One can print either on paper or on a synthetic material. People often use them to make bar codes, labels, price tags, and to do other specialty print jobs. The ink becomes sandwiched between a base material and a coating. Film bases such as acrylic and polyester can produce durable images with strong resistance to chemicals or abrasive environments. Inexpensive paper labels are fine for shipping and receiving labels, and for high initial tack and adhesion labels on corrugated materials. The more durable synthetic labels resist abrasion, moisture, heat, tearing and chemicals. Acrylic and polyester labels can be used outdoors, and can be coated to last for a decade, even under water. A note on maintenance: one should remember to clean the printhead before each ribbon change with isopropyl alcohol applied with a cotton swab.

C. Dual method machines can use either thermal transfer form. This third kind of printer is a sort of multifunction machine. While certainly the most versatile, they also tend to be expensive. Don’t buy more versatility than you actually expect to need.

What kind of printer do you actually need? Ask yourself five questions:

1. Do you ever need to print in color?

2. Will what you print be scanned or have a shelf-life of more than a

year?

3. Will you be printing high density bar codes?

4. Will your print jobs be subjected to heat or sunlight, or both?

5. Do you need to print to various substances (e.g., paper, film, foil?)

If the answer is yes to any of these, consider going with the thermal transfer rather than direct thermal technology.

The next question concerns how much printing you intend to do. If you expect to be making only a couple of hundred items a day, go with a light-duty tabletop model. If you are going to be printing 500 labels, etc., per day, go with an industrial strength machine. In either case, expect a high degree of reliability, durability and trouble-free operation. These machines are tough.

Other considerations:

1. What are your maximum and minimum width and length requirements?

Again, don’t buy more capability than you expect ever to need.

2. Extra long labels, etc.; such lengths may require upgrading the printer’s

memory.

3. Do you need to print graphics or high density bar-codes? Then resolution

becomes an issue.

4. How about the printer’s connectivity? Is USB, parallel, serial, wireless, or

Ethernet the best fit, or do you require a standalone machine that requires no

computer connection at all?

In contrast with many other electronics/computer areas, there is scarcely any B.S. or hype surrounding the machine offerings here. Buying is a very straightforward proposition, but you still need to ask the right questions to be sure you are getting specifically just exactly what you need for the job(s) at hand and those you expect to be doing in the future.

How to buy a DVD drive.

Computer projectors cast a greatly enlarged version of the computer screen onto a movie screen, or even a clear white wall.

The bad news about computer projectors is that they are costly; the good news is that prices are falling. Some are designed to be used in conjunction with home theatre systems. Others are education or business-oriented. Typically, you would use one of the latter to help you illustrate a talk, or to convey information in conjunction with a lecture or speech or talk before a medium or large audience. A multimedia projector can project images from various sources, such as a DVD player or laptop computer. Multimedia projectors can produce such good video quality that many people are replacing their TVs with a projector and screen for an enhanced home theater experience. Multimedia projectors come in three types: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Digital Light Processing (DLP).

CRT projectors emit images like a TV, consisting of red, green and blue light. They cost nearly twice the price of LCD and DLP projectors. CRT projections should be used in dark rooms; otherwise light will overwhelm the image. They’re big, bulky and hard to move. They can be costly to maintain; if one of the color tubes fails, you will need to replace all three. However, their images are crisp at any resolution and have a full range of colors, including the blackest blacks, and they provide the most authentic cinematic movie experience.

LCD projectors project light images through small, transparent panels. They’re smaller and more portable than CRT projectors. To use such a projector for home theater, be sure to shop for one designated specifically for home theater use. Less expensive office models tend to have lower resolutions.

LCD projectors are much cheaper than CRT projectors. LCD projectors put light through tiny pixels onto a big screen, and the image can sometimes look pixilated or blocky, as though you are viewing it through a screen door. If a pixel burns out it will display as a black or white dot on the screen and the only way to fix this is to replace the whole chip. An LCD Projector’s image resolution is limited by how many pixels its chip has. If it has only a 1024×768 resolution chip and you are watching high definition TV, the image will be less sharp and detailed than that from a CRT projector. They produce a fan noise, and you must replace the light source after each 1,000-2,000 hours of use. They’re compact, lightweight and highly portable, and their power consumption is low. They produce good colors, high contrast, and high image quality in partially lit rooms.

DLP projectors emit light through a transparent chip onto a tiny mirror array, which gives good quality, high definition images. However, they suffer from having a fixed resolution like LCD projectors. They need a replacement light source about every 1,000 hours to keep images sharp, but they work for both office and home theater use and do not suffer “screen door effects” like LCD projectors. DLP projectors are just slightly more expensive than LCD projectors. They use little energy to produce high quality images with vivid colors and high contrast, even in partially lit rooms. They’re more durable than LCD projectors.

Before buying, you need to answer six important questions:

Which aspect ratio do you want? Aspect ratio is the width-to-height relationship. Movies made before 1953 used a ratio of 4:3, while the current HDTV standard is 16:9, and today there is considerable interest in the dedicated super-widescreen ratio of 2.35:1. If you like to watch the Oldies, choose 4:3, if you want to be with it today, choose 16:9. If you are captivated by HDTV or future oriented, choose 2.35:1. There are some compromise in/between ratios, but why compromise?

What resolution is best for you? A projector’s resolution is the number of pixels it has available to create an image, the higher the better, but the more costly the projector will be. If you can afford it, make sure that the native resolution of the projector matches the native resolution of your computer. The currently most popular home theatre resolution is 1280 x 720, and for most people it is probably the best value-for-money choice today.

How bright should it be? For home theatre applications, 2,000 lumens may be quite enough, but for business applications, if you want to make presentations without turning the lights down, get a projector with at least 2,000 lumens and preferably a good bit more. Don’t be fooled by some manufacturers who overstate the lumen ratings of their machines; read objective lab testing reviews.

How much contrast do you need? The contrast ratio relates to the relationship between brightness and darkness. Many LCD projectors have a contrast ratio of 400:1, which means that the lumen output of a projected white image is 400 times greater than that of a projected black image. This is enough, but just barely. If your eyesight is less than normal, get more if you can afford it.

What are your installation constraints? If you get a CRT model, plan to stick it somewhere and leave it there, and plan simply to rent another type model for specific meetings/talks, etc. Meeting venues often have their own units, which you can simply requisition, but check in advance to make sure. The LCD and DLP models are portable, and can be hauled out for educational or business use, and then brought back home.

What will it cost? There is a fairly wide range here, from under $300 to more than $2,300, so these items are sufficiently costly that you should first read some assessments by neutral and objective reviewers.

• There are many online sources of this information, such as Consumer Reports (www.ConsumerReports.org). You can access free Consumer Reports online courtesy of your local library (www.accessmylibrary.com). Also you can consult the Consumers’ Web Watch (www.consumerwebwatch.org), the Consumers’ Union (www.consumersunion.org), and the Consumer Electronics Net (http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/). You can find slightly more technical but still objective reviews at http://www.CNET.com, http://www.PCWorld.com, http://www.ZDNet.com, and http://www.???.com (Tom’s Hardware Guide).

Here are some suggested requirements for a home theater projector, if you can afford them:

Projector Type: LCD Native Resolution: XGA 1024 x 768 Maximum Resolution: UXGA 1600 X 1200 Brightness: 2000 lumens HDTV Projector: HD Ready Aspect Ratio(s): 4:3, 16:9 Projection Distance: 3 - 35 ft Contrast Ratio: 400:1 Horizontal Frequency: 15 - 91 KHz Price: Starting around $800

Business Presentations DLP projectors work well and are portable for multimedia (text, graphics and video) presentations. Buy (or rent) a unit with built-in audio and a remote control. Make sure it is lightweight (3-8 lbs.) since you will also have a carrying case and cables. Most multimedia projectors are Plug-and-Play, but be sure the model you are considering will work with your PC’s operating system. Some projectors are not Mac-compatible or may require extra software to work with a Mac.

Here are suggested requirements for a multimedia business projector, again if you can afford them:

Projector Type: DLP Native Resolution: XGA 1024 x 768 Maximum Resolution: UXGA 1600 X 1200 Brightness: 2000 lumens or preferably better HDTV Projector: HD Ready Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Projection Distance: 4 - 24 ft Contrast Ratio: 2000:1 Horizontal Frequency: 15 - 80 KHz Price: Starting around $1,500

p.s., A computer projector glossary can help you understand the lingo concerning these machines.A good one resides at: http://www.avpartner.com/Glossary.aspx

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Choosing a new graphic card is not rocket science

As computers become faster and faster, many of us fail to see that technology has been moving steadily away from the CPU and more into the video card industry. Someone looking for a gaming monster should reevaluate the budget and spend less on the CPU and look more at the RAM (Random Access Memory) and the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). In a gaming machine, most of the processing is done by the graphic card… and not so much the CPU as one would think. But think about it…. those photo realistic graphics portrayed by most of the new games require a LOT of processing power – 90% of which is handled by the graphics card.

Choosing a new graphic card is not rocket science, but you still have to know what to look for. More video memory does not necessarily mean higher performance. One can purchase an ATI 1300 with 512 megs of ram on it or a previous generation ATI X800 with 256megs. Most people would think that the newer generation graphic card with the more memory would be faster right? Let’s put it this way. Would a 2007 Ford Focus be faster than a 1999 Porche 911 even though it is newer and bigger? No, because the Porsche has a much more powerful engine. Just like the X800 has a much more powerful “Engine” than the X1300.

It is always wise to check minimum requirements on games, before proceeding to buy, to ensure that your graphic card will perform to the required specifications for an enjoyable gaming experience. Always look at the Recommended specifications as opposed the the Minimum Specifications. Minimum specifications are just that. Minimum required to make the game work. It won’t necessarily be pretty to look at, but it will work. Whereas with the recommended specifications, now it may start to look pretty and smooth.

Points to consider for gaming

andquot;a computer is only as good as the person in front of itandquot;

Setzer

What printer should I buy, and how can I minimize printing costs?

The short answer to which kind of printer to buy is that if you mainly print photos, you should go with a color inkjet, but if you mainly print web pages, documents, spec sheets, newsletters, brochures, and graphical charts, go with a color laser, but do not forget to have a monochrome (black and white) printer on hand for non-color jobs. This advice mainly has to do with the printer’s resolution. A good laser will operate at about 600 x 600 or 1,200 x 1,200 d.p.i. (dots per inch), while a good, and fairly inexpensive inkjet can exceed 1,440 d.p.i. or possibly much, much more – up to an interpolated resolution of 24,000 x 24,000 [but see p.s. note below].

Their superior resolution give the inkjets an edge in terms of photographic detail, crispness, and clarity. You can buy an inkjet printer for a very cheap price but beware of this as many of the manufacturers offer some very cheap inkjet printers but then charge a fortune for the ink cartridges so check the prices of the cartridges online before you buy an inkjet printer.

Lasers are best for printing words, figures, etc., as well as a combination of text and images, with sharply delineated clarity. Let’s be as clear: if things mainly blend into each other in what you want to print, it’s best to use an inkjet, but if instead your primary print jobs consist of things that are sharply defined in distinction with each other, it’s best to use a laser.

If you do relatively little photo printing, probably it would make sense to use an online photo developing store for the little that you do print. Online photo lab costs have come down, and you can upload photos online and then pick them up at a local store or have them mailed to your home or office. Many people believe that photo lab processing produces the best quality images, and give you photographs that will not fade with time as much as those printed through either inkjet or laser processes. However, if you do have or buy a printer, chances are you will find yourself printing a lot more photos than would otherwise have been the case. This can certainly help you to become a much better photographer.

Recently, multifunction printers have made very considerable headway in the digital photo printing market, and, largely for this reason alone, multifunction color inkjets began during 2007 to outsell stand-along color inkjets, so if you print lots of pictures, check also our category of multifunction printers.

The relative costs are very hard to figure. They vary with equipment costs, paper type, what you are printing, etc. Overall, the inkjets may be just a small bit cheaper to operate, especially if you buy cartridges in bulk or do refills yourself. Laser drums last for about 40-50,000 pages, but after that a replacement drum will be quite expensive. In a way, we are comparing apples to oranges. For example, color toner cartridges usually last between 2500 and 5000 pages instead of a few hundred pages for an inkjet cartridge. A laser printer’s power consumption and heat generated are greater than occurs with an inkjet. The size and weight of the printer must be accommodated in your home or office. Still, the costs of color laser printers themselves have come down a lot in price lately, and their cost-per-print can be slightly lower, even for those using factory refills. All of this makes figuring out the overall cost factor a complicated and moving target. What you want to try to figure, of course, is the combined ongoing costs of operation and ownership, say on a yearly basis.

How can you lower your overall printing costs? Odd as it might sound at first hearing, the chances are excellent that the least expensive route to take is to have more than one printer. One size simply does not fit all. If you do a lot of both kinds of printing mentioned above, then you definitely do need both kinds of printers. If you already have a printer – again oddly enough – you can often save a lot of money just by buying a newer model. How, you might well ask, does this work? The answer is that printer manufacturers continually improve the products’ print quality and continually lower the per-page cost. Why? They simply must do this to keep their printers competitive with sending your photos or documents out to be printed. For the best color reproduction, select one of the new 6 color versions.

Now, please ask yourself a few questions:
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1. How much total printing do I do?

2. How much of that total needs to be printed in color?

Please do not forget that black and white (monochrome) laser printers still constitute the cheapest current printing solution; the per-page cost is roughly one tenth of that of an inkjet color printer, and the black and white lasers’ printing speeds are excellent. If you mostly print termpapers or recipes or business letters, lasers do all such jobs better and much more cheaply than inkjets do. Laser printouts are water-fast, which is not true with inkjet pictures. You must keep the latter dry, or the ink will run.

3. What kind of color printing do I do most?

Are these primarily photos or just general purpose printing? If you print a lot of documents, inkjet is not the most economical way to go because you will find yourself constantly buying and replacing ink cartridges, and paying a premium for special paper.

4. Of my photographs, are some truly important, and some just OK?

Consider sending the most important photos out to a professional online processing store, and printing the rest yourself. To see reviews and prices for online photo printing, visit http://www.printrates.com/.

5. Am I printing a lot of letters and other black and white documents with a color inkjet printer?

If so, stop doing that A.S.A.P! Instead, get yourself another printer for this purpose, because right now you are spendng too much for printing, and to boot are prematurely wearing out your inkjet. You should divide up your printing so that you use the most economical printer for each specific type of job. It is almost certain that, if you do so, you will in the long run save a small fortune.

Another important point in terms of cost savings is that especially if you regularly print more of one color than another, such as a color logo on every page, then to save money you should seriously consider buying a color printer with individual ink tanks for each color. Although they may initially cost just a bit more, the economy they offer is that you only need to replace the inks you have actually used up. This alone can save you a bundle.

No one printer is ideal for all types of printing. Some are very specialized, such as thermal label printers and solid ink printers or large format printers. In many cases, the most cost effective way to handle all your printing needs is to have multiple printers installed on your computer or network. Probably the most cost effective thing you can do is to purchase a new black and white laser printer, and plan to use it for all non-color printing. Don’t wear out your more expensive and costly-to-use-color printer on monochrome jobs.

P.S. A SHORT NON-TECHNICAL NOTE ON RESOLUTION

Some manufacturers identify their printers by resolutions available through interpolation. This has created a great deal of consumer confusion. Some claim that interpolation is basically just a fraud, because if the image were really captured at, say, 19,200 x 19,200 resolution the resulting file would end up being many gigabytes in size. This represents a misunderstanding of exactly what interpolation involves, but it does help point out that by far the most important element of resolution is optical resolution. Interpolation is just an effort to add a slight embellishment to the optical resolution. Base your buying decision on optical resolution, not interpolated resolution.

In certain very limited respects, resolution actually can be improved by means of software. This process, called interpolated or maximized or optimized resolution, only adds extra dots to the image, often designed to improve color transitions. To do so, software uses algorithms [mathematical formulae] to evaluate the dots surrounding each new dot. The objective is to add solidity and, more importantly, to help determine what each particular dot’s mix of colors should be. Please understand that interpolated resolution adds absolutely no new information whatever to the image, but just adds dots and thereby makes the file larger. Interpolated resolution can, nonetheless, slightly improve the printed result. Rather than being a fraud, it is an improvement, though a minor one.