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Line conditioner

A line or power conditioner is a device you need to protect your computer from variations in the power supply, such as spikes and brownouts. You connect it to the wall outlet, and then plug the computer into it. Unfortunately, in Canada it remains even to this day more a necessity than a luxury, especially for people living outside our few major cities. If you live in downtown Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary or Vancouver, forget it. Otherwise, take note: it works like a surge protector, but it also maintains a continuous voltage (called conditioning) fed to the computer during temporary voltage reductions, such as a brownout.

This is a very much underappreciated product. If everybody using a computer in Canada were using one, we would have, literally, vast mountains of fewer dead computer carcasses to recycle as flower-pot stands or toxic landfill. These units pay for themselves, big time. You owe this kind life insurance to your trusty and beloved computer, so get one!

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.

Since the advent of the PC, we have been thinking about what it consists of as components. The docking station takes that concept a new step forward, by providing separable components. A docking station is a hardware frame and set of electrical connection interfaces that enable a notebook computer to effectively serve as a desktop computer. You remove the computer from the station when you want to maximize portability, and set it back into the station when you want to maximize capability. Thus the docking station gives you the best of both possible worlds. Given that these devices are a relatively new product, their terminology has not yet achieved a standard form. Some manufacturers refer to such devices as dock stations, expansion bases, ultrabases, MiniDocks, etc. Whatever the terminology, the purpose is to expand the functionality of an ultralight computing device. Typically, it allows the notebook or tablet PC to communicate with a local printer, with larger storage or backup drives, and possibly other devices not usually taken along with a notebook computer. Docking stations may also include a network interface card (NIC) that attaches the notebook to a local area network (LAN). One may distinguish docking stations from port replicators, in that the latter devices simply add more ports, but otherwise do not increase the computer’s capabilities. A port replicator is a scaled down version of a docking station. That is, docking stations provide additional slots for adding expansion boards and storage devices. Docking stations let you use your laptop or tablet very much like a desktop PC. How this works is that you hook up several peripheral devices, such as a large, high definition monitor, a full-size keyboard, a mouse, one or more disk drives, printers, etc., to the station. Then you simply plug the portable PC into the dock. This lets you make only one single connection to gain the capabilities of all those peripherals instead of having to plug them all into the PC individually. The cost to buy a docking station is usually not much more than $150, and can be considerably less. Because of the enhanced flexibility, mobility and versatility they provide, they tend to be great bargains. This is a technology whose time has come. If you never need a computer “to-go,” then this obviously is not for you. But if you want to combine desktop capabilities with easy computer portability, you will need one version or another of this device. People typically buy a portable computer and a docking station together. Make sure they are compatible with each other. Look for the capabilities you need. Those who have this device often cannot imagine how they previously made do without it. If you need it, get one now.

Introduction to multifunction printers.

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.

What multifunction 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. 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:
.
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, which helps to smooth out transitions. 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.

Monitors are the computers’ windows.

They show us everything we can see of what is going on inside the computer as we work or play. One’s budget should be the primary guide in choosing a monitor, but what type should one buy? The primary choices are between those based upon cathode ray tubes or CRTs, and those using liquid crystal displays or LCDs. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. If you want the best possible realism in the pictures displayed, buy a CRT. If you are primarily concerned with reading text, buy an LCD.

To learn more, scroll down. CRTs

CRT technology has proven to be a very reliable and high quality standard. Television screens have been using this technology for a very long time with great success. The process works by moving an electron beam across the back of the screen, lighting up phosphor points on the inside of the large glass tube, resulting in a sharp, clear image.

Although an older technology, CRTs remain unsurpassed for the realism of the pictures displayed, especially in terms of the contrast ratios, the depth and true rendering of colors, which are now available in the millions. If you work primarily with graphics and/or photographs and/or videos, or if you otherwise deal with color production, including any print media, then you will likely find a CRT to be your best bet. Likewise, CRTs remain the monitor of choice for those involved with medical imaging, and virtually anyone involved in the world of art.

Although the LCDs are improving in this regard, you still cannot get the degree of realism that a new CRT offers from even a high end LCD. Note the term NEW just used, because CRT displays do slowly degrade over time as the phosphors inside the tube gradually break down, and those parts are not cheap to replace.

Another advantage CRTs still have is their easy scalability to different resolutions. Resolution refers to the total number of pixels (short for “picture elements”) that the monitor can display horizontally x vertically. You can adjust the electron beam in the tube to lower resolutions while enlarging the picture and keeping its clarity intact. Conversely, as resolution goes up there is a natural tradeoff – that the image size must scale down to permit more information to be displayed on the same-sized screen, so there are some practical limits to the resolutions that one can view easily on various sized monitors.

For example, one should be highly suspicious of a 15” monitor that claims to show, say, 1,600 x 1,200 pixels. Perhaps it can deliver technically, but the image would be too small to make for ready comprehension, and so would in practice be unusable. Here are some recommended resolutions for various sized monitors, measured diagonally from the upper right to the lower left (or vice versa). Multiply the horizontal pixels times the vertical pixels to get the total number of picture elements used to draw the screen, e.g., 800 x 600 = 480,000 pixels.

15” – 800 x 600 to 1,024 x 768 pixels

17” – 1,280 x 1024 pixels

19” – 1,280 x 1,024 pixels

21” – 1,600 x 1,200 pixels

23” – 1,768 x 992 to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels

25” – 1,920 x 1,440 pixels

27” – 2,048 x 1,536 pixels

Please bear in mind that your monitor must match the computer’s video card. It should be capable of displaying the resolutions and colors that the adapter can produce. Conversely, if your monitor is capable of displaying resolutions much higher than the card can generate, you will get only what the card can produce, not what the monitor could show with a better video card. Any mismatch between the monitor and the video card will add up to money wasted.

Relatively flat screen CRTs are now the standard. Flat CRTs are designed to reduce the glare and distortion created by conventional CRT monitors. The flat tube increases image clarity while reducing glare from light sources within the room. Nonetheless, you will still likely need to buy a glare reduction screen cover. Consider it an essential part of your CRT monitor.

Also, CRTs offer a much larger viewing angle as opposed to LCDs, which is especially important when more than one person is viewing the screen, as when you want to use the monitor in conjunction with a home entertainment centre. Another advantage is the CRT’s extremely fast refresh rate, typically 70-85 hertz or cycles per second. This refers to how quickly a pixel can turn on and off. If this rate is low, fast motion will appear blurred, or even leave “trails.”

Try to ensure that your CRT monitor supports refresh rates above 70 Hz; anything less approaches the AC power frequency of 60 Hz. Low refresh rates result in screen flicker and cause eye strain. If you use your monitor more than a few minutes a day, simply don’t go there.

The distance between pixels is called dot pitch, and is measured in millimeters. The distance between pixels has a lot to do with the quality of the image. CRTs come with a range of dot pitches. If the one you are considering is above .28 mm, we’d suggest, again, just don’t go there. You want and need a monitor with a dot pitch of .28 or preferably less.

Another “don’t go there” concerns the interlacing/non-inter-lacing issue. If the scanning beam hits each and every line of pixels in succession, on each pass, the monitor is non-interlaced. The interlaced monitor scans the odd numbered lines on one pass, and then it scans the even lines on the second pass. This results in an almost imperceivable flicker, which will eventually result in eye-strain, blurred vision, sore eyes, headaches and perhaps even nausea. Make sure the CRT you are considering is non-interlaced. Avoid interlaced monitors like the bubonic plague.

When buying a computer monitor for your home, consider where it will be placed. Should desk space be an issue you’ll want to choose an LCD display with a small footprint that will easily leave enough room on your desk for a keyboard and mouse pad. Like to watch DVD movies? You can save space in your home by watching them on your computer monitor instead of on a TV. If this interests you be sure to buy the largest-sized screen you can afford.

The CRT’s disadvantages must of course include its bulkiness and weight. This is not a highly mobile computer peripheral. Another disadvantage for those who use the monitor hour after hour is glare. While glare can be minimized through adjusting the set, it can only be wholly corrected with an anti-glare shield, which is an extra cost that should definitely be factored into a decision to buy a CRT. In terms of the long term costs of the monitor, a clear disadvantage is the much greater power consumption of CRTs as compared with the other technologies. To minimize this, set the screen saver to come on rather quickly, and consider skipping the fancy screen saver programs; a blank screen while you are away will do quite nicely. A final disadvantage, which in the midst of a Canadian winter can be quite welcome, is that they generate, store and disseminate a lot of heat.

LCDs

This is the newish technology, and like any other it’s sexy and cool. LCDs are some 80% less bulky than CRTs, and commensurately lighter, and therefore much more portable; in fact, virtually all laptops and notebooks have them. The latest high end LCDs have crisp image quality and are easy on the eyes. A primary advantage they have over CRTs will interest anyone who works primarily with text. That is, the pixels you find on LCDs have nicely defined edges – and this produces sharp and well-focused letters on the screen. If you are a writer, editor, proof-reader, etc., your best bet is a LCD.

LCDs have almost closed some of the gap with the CRTs in color rendering, especially at the high cost end, and of course the size and weight differences are huge. LCD screens tend to cause less eye fatigue and strain than CRTs without anti-glare screens. The LCDs are immensely more energy efficient, being an almost costless part to operate. The energy savings may not be much for an individual user, but if you are looking at a corporate office where 50 displays are in use, the energy savings might be more of an issue.

LCDs vary considerably in their response times, the speed with which they can turn pixels on, then off, then on again. Older and budget LCDs are so slow that they badly blur movies and fast action games. Although the gap is lessening, for many LCD monitors, especially at the low end, there is reduced color clarity as compared with CRTs. This is because the technology involves different ways to deal with the problem of low response times that are essentially “work arounds” rather than true solutions. For general use, get a monitor up to 24” with a response time of 16 milliseconds or less. For gamers, people using multimedia and color professionals, a response time of 12 milliseconds is the minimum. For hard-core gamers and video professionals, Look for a response time of 8 milliseconds or less.

There are two distinct types of LCD technology available today: active matrix and passive matrix. The preferred format is the active matrix, which uses a TFT (thin film transmitter) to produce a more secure picture with a relatively wide angle of view. TFT provides the best resolution of all of the flat panel technologies, but it’s also the most expensive. There is enough difference in these formats that we can decisively say with respect to the passive matrix, just don’t go there. Manufacturers are slowly phasing out passive matrix technology, due to its slow response time and overall lackluster performance.

LCDs offer two aspect ratios: standard format (4:3) or widescreen format (16:9 or 16:10). This online computer store recommends widescreen, because it allows you to view multiple windows side-by-side, and thereby see more of what you are writing or working on, or else to work with more than one application. Also, the widescreen format is taking over with high definition TVs, DVD movies, etc., so one might as well move with the times. Your monitor will likely last for a long time, and the widescreen format has already virtually arrived.

As is especially obvious with notebooks, because LCDs use polarized pixels, the effective viewing angle (technically, the viewing direction) can be quite narrow. This means that one must be pretty much directly in front of the screen to see anything clearly. This also means that one will often need to have a very highly adjustable stand to support the monitor, which should be factored in as an additional cost.

LCD monitors are not all created equal. PVA (patterned vertical alignment) and S-PVA (super patterned vertical alignment) are alternative versions of MVA technology, and some have a very high contrast ratios such as 3000:1. PVA panels all use at least true 8-bit color electronics and do not use any color simulation methods. Some S-PVA panels use even 10-bit color internally, which enables gamma and other corrections without banding. PVA and S-PVA can offer good black depth, wide viewing angles and S-PVA can offer additionally fast response times thanks to modern RTC technologies. At the moment, PVA and S-PVA monitors are the only LCDs that offer a wide viewing angle. Unfortunately, they usually cost about 30 per cent more than the others, so in this case you do get what you pay for.

Sometimes MVA and PVA type displays are categorized as VA type displays.

LCD monitors have a disadvantage compared with CRTs in that they can only function effectively at their “native” resolution. The screen can truly display only the number of pixels in its matrix, no more, no less. It can “display” a lower resolution, either by using a fraction of the available pixels, or by blending multiple pixels together to simulate a single smaller pixel. Either way, you get blurry or fuzzy images, especially with text, so plan to leave your LCD set at its native resolution. A potential problem is that if your graphics card does not support the display’s native resolution, you may get poor quality images or perhaps no images at all, so check this out before you part with your monitor dollars.

Because each LCD pixel is separately driven, one can have individual defective pixels that are either stuck on or else are dead. The computer industry has never fully agreed [ISO 13406-2 notwithstanding] on the maximum acceptable number of defective pixels. In practice, a SVGA LCD panel with 4 defective pixels is usually considered defective, and customers should request an exchange for a new one, especially if the defective pixels are close together or near the center of the screen. Some manufacturers now have a “zero defective pixel guarantee,” and will replace such screens for free.

LCD panels also may have or develop defects known as Mura, which look like small-scale cracks with very small changes in luminance or color. Consumers should reject such a screen.

As Wikipedia tells us: “Although LCDs typically have more vibrant images and better “real world” contrast ratios (the ability to maintain contrast and variation of color in bright environments) than CRTs, they do have lower contrast ratios than CRTs in terms of how deep their blacks are. A contrast ratio is the difference between a completely on (white) and off (black) pixel. Also, LCDs can have ‘blacklight bleed” where light (usually seen around corners of the screen leaks out and turns black into gray.” Another problem that Wikipedia notes is that “Some LCD monitors can cause migraines and eyestrain problems due to flicker from florescent backlights fed at 50 or 60 Hz. “

Typically, brightness is not a concern with CRT monitors, but because LCD monitors are backlit they have different brightness levels. The brightness rating for an LCD is commonly referred to as ‘nits’ and it commonly ranges from 70 to 250 nits. The higher the nits, the brighter the display.

The Bottom Line

Unfortunately the industry is very poor about properly listing the specifications for monitors to help buyers understand and compare them. At a given resolution, there is virtually no cost difference between CRTs and LCDs. The many announcements of the death of the CRT are slightly exaggerated. However, if you choose to buy a CRT online, bear in mind that they are bulky and heavy, which makes them expensive to ship. The massive and ongoing move toward buying from online computer stores is driving a lot of people toward LCDs, mainly for this reason.

Manufacturers add bells and whistles to help sell their products. Some features, like media card readers and USB hubs are nice to have but not always necessary. Others, such as multiple video inputs, are much more necessary. Most monitors have at least two video inputs, usually a VGA-style (analog) connection and a DVI (digital) connection; these will meet the needs for most users. Some monitors also support the newer HDMI connection. If you plan to watch high definition content, make sure that the DVI and/or HDMI connections are “HDCP-compliant.” It is also of fundamental importance that the monitor stand should be sufficiently adjustable to meet your ergonomic needs. Make sure that any software needed to setup or control the monitor will be included in the monitor’s cost.

Generally avoid bundled computer deals that include a monitor, because the majority of such deals bundle in whatever is left over in stock, last year’s model, or a no-name loss-leader brand with poor specifications.

Warranties range from 90 days to one year. Read the fine print.

Do not be dazzled by extras, such as USB cards and built-in speakers. When shopping for a monitor, always bear in mind that the most important thing you are seeking is image quality, pure and simple. Even if you actually buy from an online store to save money (and usually you will save a lot), go to a local store to check out with your own eyes which models deliver the best image quality. You can always add extras, but you cannot increase the monitor’s basic performance.

In this category it is especially important to ensure that you will be able easily to replace the essential parts to keep your equipment up and running, and this is especially so for projectors — and most especially for their lamps. Lamps are essentially just light bulbs, and they must periodically be replaced. Think of lamps, not as computer parts but as computer supplies, because they certainly do get used up over time.

Select your computer platform.

Before you start shopping for a computer, you should determine whether you want an Apple Macintosh or a Personal Computer. To help yourself to make this judgment, consider the platform that the majority of your friends and co-workers use. If PCs are the standard platform at work, you should probably purchase a PC for yourself. PCs are the choice of most businesses, except for those focused on artistic endeavors, such as advertising agencies, photographers, artists, designers, illustrators, and those involved with theatre. Many elementary schools have been standardized on the Mac computers, so if you are a teacher or have children who use Macs at school, that should be your platform of choice.

Choosing a new video 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 video 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 video 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 video 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 videocard 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

Manufacturers of mobil phones use lots of tricks to force users to stick with them, and this includes creating a wide variety of connector styles and voltages, most of which are incompatible with other manufacturers’ phones. Sometimes, even though the connector may fit, the actual charging parameters may not, which can produce an inadequate charge or even permanent damage to the device. As we’ve been saying in the business world ever since ancient Roman times, Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware!). Carefully check the specs. for both the phone and the charger that interests you, and you should be just fine.

Here at Onhop.com, we never forget who provides the money that lets us butter our parsnips – it is you, the satisfied customer who keeps on coming back because we treated you right. We’re on your side for that very good reason.

Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for people’s everyday use.

They help keep you entertained, connected with others, and productive. One cardinal characteristic of such products is the trend of ever-falling prices, due to manufacturing automation, semiconductor design improvements, and the economies that derive from mass selling.

A powerful newish trend is for online adults to use their home computers to listen to audio content. More and more people are looking to their home computers instead of their TVs, DVD players or CD players for home audio entertainment, and are deserting their TVs, magazines and newspapers in favor of using computers and the Internet for getting information.

Outfit your home, office or car with consumer electronics. Build a home theatre, and watch TV as it was meant to be watched — on a big screen, with surround sound and high quality speakers. If you spend a lot of time in your car, equip it with a good quality car audio system and powerful speakers. Consumer electronics help to make your office and home more comfortable and more exciting.

How can you know which products are best? There are many online sources of this information, such as Consumer Reports (www.ConsumerReports.org). You can also 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 readable and objective reviews at http://www.CNET.com, www.PCWorld.com, www.ZDNet.com, and http://www.tomshardware.com (Tom’s Hardware Guide).

A happy shopper is an informed shopper. Be one yourself.