Computers

How to Live without Your iPod

For the price of your monthly car payment you can buy an iPod®. It will store your music and video. If you go on vacation, it will store the shots from your camera–unless you have one of those ancient critters that uses film.
The last feature strikes at this old man’s heart. You can store a mess of pics and view them on the iPod® while on vacation.
It’s a fact that I would buy an iPod® in a heartbeat except for the fact that when I go on vacation that after I’m down the road exactly thirty-seven miles I realize that I’ve forgotten my camera.
I never turn back to get it. That is contrary to the teachings of the Church of the Old Geezer. I go into a gas-station store or a Wal-Mart®-type store and buy one of those throwaway cameras that they keep next to the checkout stand for forgetful old men.
That’s why I can’t have an iPod®.
Well, there are other reasons. I could never figure out how to use it, remember to charge the battery, and keep it in my pocket except when I throw my shirt into the washing machine.
Anyway, if I did have an iPod® I would just lose it. I would be spending all of my time looking for the darned thing instead of fulfilling my destiny to write trivial articles like this one.
This brings us to the purpose of this article: What should one do if his or her iPod® is lost, stolen, or out for repair. Here is a list of things to do while scheming to get your folks to fork up the dough to buy you another iPod®:
Write that term paper for your English Class that was due last week.
Call your friend and see if you can borrow his iPod® for a week or so until you get yours replaced. If he says, “No Way!” remind him of the photos you took of him making out with the sister of a mean, ugly, short-tempered guy.
Go to the library. That is the big brick building that has books. Have the nice lady tell you how to checkout a book. Take the book home and read it. Make sure you have the librarian help you find something you will like. Don’t take home a copy of The French Revolution: the early years this early in your reading. Try The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales for starters.
Fire up your old Boom Box. Turn it to the highest volume. Your parents will breakdown and buy you a new iPod®.
Well, that aught to do it!
The End

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)

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iPod Nano, Good Things Do Come In Small Packages

Have you seen the new ultra slim iPod Nano; this little cool gadget is a must have and it is not much bigger than a couple of business cards set end to end. When we all saw the first ads on the Intenet for the Innovative and High Tech iPod Nano on the various high tech gadget website, it was hard to believe, some thought is was not real at all, how could it be, where was the battery, where was the hard drive; how could this little contraption have that many songs? It seems now that most editors and personal tech writers are giving the iPod Nano the first prize for the 2005 greatest and most innovative gadgets.
The iPod Nano comes with two different options; the 2 GB version which holds about 500 songs and the 4 GB, which can hold about 1,000 songs. Of course it is not cheap, but some say it is less expensive than they thought it would be starting at $199.00 and the prices go up from there. How thin is The iPod Nano? Well it is about a thin as a number 2 pencil and as powerful as floor size juke box and then some.
It is three and a half inches by an inch and a half and weighs less than 2 ounces. The LCD screen is cool too, as it is very bright and about one and a half inches. Twelve solid hours of play for its battery life and it does have the new cool click wheel, which users love too, making it extremely easy to use. The iPod Nano has all the same ports and docking connectors like all the other iPods. And you know what? You need this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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The Sony NW-HD5 20GB Walkman – A Great Start but a Horrible Finish

This Sony network Walkman has a storage capability of no less then 20GB and its battery power is sufficient for more then 40 hours of continuous music. It’s small, certainly compared to its storage capacity. The walkman has a slim aluminum case that fits nicely into your hands. It really looks like a cool state of the art piece of technology
The operation of the Sony NW-HD5 is very intuitive. Still this walkman comes with a lot op options. The hard-disk of the walkman is equipped with the so-called “G-Sensor” technology that protects it to sudden shocks and movements. The clear 1.5 inch dot matrix LCD screen is nicely illuminated at will. So you see there are plenty of plusses with this device.
But on the minus side there are some, in our opinion unforgivable, omissions. The equalizer and performance improving capabilities will only work if you play Sony’s own ATRAC3 files. You can only add music to the player by using the program SonicStage that converts WMA files automatically to the Sony ATRAC3 standard. Using the Windows Explorer to manage your files is almost impossible. And to top it all off, if you want to be able to use the NW-HD5 with multiple computers you will have to register with Sony’s own music service. Otherwise that is off limits. Finally, the NW-HD5 has no remote control.
Let’s face it the Sony NW-HD5 is a nice piece of technology, but by adding so many limitations and conditions on its usage this device loses all of its attraction. Our advice is: “Let Sony know that we don’t like the limitations they impose on us by buying another player”.
It just doesn’t make sense that Sony is trying to force consumers into using their standards and placing a multitude of limitations on them if they don’t want to comply.

Ross is an audio enthusiast and regularly reviews new audio and video
equipment at http://www.selected-audio-reviews.com/.

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The Xbox 360, A Parental Guide to this Game Console

Xbox 360 is the next generation of the Microsoft Xbox. The Xbox 360 can easily be compared to a computer designed for gamming. Most of the games available work on most of the newer Microsoft platforms, (windows).
XBOX 360

There are two versions of the Xbox 360, the “Xbox 360″ and the “Xbox 360 Core System”.
The most important difference between the two is the detachable 20 Gb hard drive. This makes the use of previous Xbox games possible.
As well as to play original Xbox game, the Xbox 360 enable you to play online.
The new Xbox 360 offers very attractive incentives for game developers to release new titles.

Technical background

The Xbox 360 can easily be compared to a media computer. The graphic card is a powerful ATI 500 MHz chip with 10MB of memory built on the chip.
The CPU itself, (actually 3 processors), is a 3.2GHz liquid cooled IBM using 512MB of memory, (shared between the graphics and the CPU).
The more expensive Xbox 360 has a removable 20GB hard drive and both system use a 12x DVD-ROM unit. Up to four controllers can be connected to the machine, all wirelessly, and there are three standard USB 2.0 port too.
As a rule of thumb, what ever you can plug in your Windows XP machine USB port can be plugged into the Xbox 360. That includes MP3 players, (like the iPod), digital cameras and so on.
This makes the Xbox 360 a very powerful tool to add.

How many games are really available?

The Xbox 360 was launched late 2005, (Xbox was discontinued in august that year), and there are well over 200 games available from the previous version.
As mentioned above only the version with the detachable hard-drive allows you to use the previous games created for Xbox.
Otherwise the current Xbox 360 only has about 15 games solely developed for the Xbox 360. But with the Microsoft muscle behind it, game developers are likely to rapidly develop new games for it.

Get a more detailed info on the Xbox 360.

Ever wanted to learn more about your computer? http://www.myoddpc.com gives you information from the history of computer to what computer memory to get. Computer software as well as everything you need to know about computer hardware. All in simple terms for the non-technical amongst us.

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Radio Frequency Identification Basics

Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is the use of radio waves to identify objects. This means, unlike a barcode, one can track an item without actually having to come in contact with it. The way it works is that an identifying serial number is stored in a microchip which is then attached to an antenna. (Together these are called the transponder or tag.) The chip is now able to transmit any identifying information to the receiver. The reader will convert the information to a digital format to be read by computers.
Radio Frequency Identification isn’t new. It’s been around since the 80’s and is already being used in toll booths, automotive ignitions, and security access badges. Businesses that use this system will be able to track products throughout the whole manufacturing process, from the beginning of the conveyor belt to the packaging and beyond. These items can also be tracked while being shipped, received, and even sitting on the store shelves.
Benefits of RFID include:
- The ability to eliminate time consuming bar-coding or other tracking processes. Instead, all data can be collected along the production line. This also helps to lower production costs.
- Prevention of the distribution of counterfeit products.
- Elimination or reduction of theft and loss.
- Reduction of supply chain cost.
- Elimination of data entry and other tedious manual business process transactions.
- Increase in order fulfillment time
- Less time spent in check out lines, as consumers will only have to push their shopping carts in front of the readers.
On the downside is the high cost of the RFID hardware. Tags alone can cost twenty five cents each or more which means many retailers won’t get much of a return, if any, on their investment. Is this the wave of the future? Many think so. The real test will be in 2005 when Wal-Mart begins to implement an RFID system. It’s hoped that with Wal-Mart as well as the Department on Defense using RFID, the prices of the tags will drop to five cents each will making it a more affordable solution for many.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.
Read more at http://www.rfid-guide.info.

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How Does a Computer Know ?

Have you ever wondered just how the computer knows what to do when it first boots up? Have you ever wondered what exactly it does when it starts up? Well, for the curious minded, I will give you brief synopsis of how your computer works.
But first a little background information. Do you know how long the computer has been around? Of all the pre-20th century thinkers and tinkerers who added something to the development of computing, the one who came the closest to actually inventing a computer, in the modern sense, was an Englishman named Charles Babbage. Born into a wealthy Devonshire family in 1791, Babbage earned fame for both the keenness of his mind and the crankiness of his personality. For 13 years this eccentric genius occupied the same Cambridge chair of Mathematics once held by Sir Isaac Newton. Yet in all that time he never lived at the University or delivered a single lecture there.
In 1822, Babbage wrote a scholarly paper describing a machine that could compute and print lengthy scientific tables. That same year he built a preliminary model of his “DIFFERENCE ENGINE” made with toothed wheels on shafts turned by a crank. He then enlisted the Royal Society, a prestigious association of scientists, in a bid for government grants to construct a full-scale working version. In 1833, Babbage was ready to put aside his plans for the DIFFERENCE ENGINE. Considering its troubled history, that was hardly surprising. Yet, he went on to develop ideas for an even more ambitious machine. The ANALYTICAL ENGINE, unlike its predecessor, was designed not just to solve one type of mathematical problem, but to carry out a wide range of calculating tasks according to the instructions supplied by its operator. It was to be “A Machine of the most general nature”- nothing less infact, than the first general-purpose programmable computer.
The Analytical Engine was to have a “MILL” and a “STORE,” both composed of cogs and wheels. The store would hold up to 100 forty-diget numbers at a time. Numbers would be kept in the store until their turn came to be operated on in the MILL. Results would then be moved back into the store to await further use or to be printed out. Instructions would be fed into the Analytical Engine by means of PUNCHED CARDS.
“We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves, ” wrote the countess of Lovelace, one of the few people who comprehended both the machine’s methods and its vast potential for application.
If your interested, you can go to the library and read more on Charles Babbage, he was quite fascinating .
Now lets take a look at what really happens after you turn on your computer. The steps involved in starting your computer (Booting it up) are very complicated, but I have listed here a simplistic overview for you.
First, we turn the power on. At this point, the computer is pretty dumb and doesn’t know what to do, so there is a component in the computer (on the mother board) called a ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY) Chip. The basic purpose of this chip is to look at the computer and see what drives, memory and other equipment are attached to it. It also does a check of everything called a P.O.S.T. which is an acronym for POWER ON SELF TEST. When this is completed, the computer chip or ROM looks for your operating system, which is usually DOS (Disk Operating System) and Windows, a Microsoft product that comes on all computers now and works with your DOS.
Once the ROM has all the information it needs, it passes control over to your operating system. The operating system now looks at some files on your Hard Drive Disk called the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. These files tell the operating system how to proceed and what to do.
The rest is history. Your computer displays all the nice files on your desktop (Screen) and you simply make a choice with your mouse and execute a program.

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The New iPod Nano – More Than Just Music-To-Go

Let’s talk music! Let’s talk podcasts!
1,000 songs, non-skip, digital quality, portability – the pencil thin iPod Nano is just the ticket. Jogging, walking or toughing it out on a treadmill life just got a whole lot easier with the addition of the rugged, little iPod that holds either 500 (2GB) or 1000 (4GB) songs. That’s 14 hours of sounds that will go with you everywhere.
So what have I done with mine?
I work two hours from home via the public bus and regional rail lines. I get up at 5:00AM, catch a 6:35AM train, after a jostling pushing bus-ride, coffee on the regional rails, then another jostling, jolting bus ride to get to work by 8AM. I couldn’t do it without music – and I couldn’t make it without my rugged little iPod. It holds my sounds, a few photos of my feline, furry buddies sound asleep at home, a couple audiobooks and my podcasts of various things that interest me.
Portability in the extreme
What makes this tiny 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inch stand out? It’s thin, weighs only 3.5 ounces, yet it backs quite a punch. Using the Click Wheel, you have access to your music, photos, podcasts, extras like a calendar and contacts, a World Clock and many extras On-the-go Options where you can create custom playlists personalized to exactly the songs you want to listen to at that moment.
Photos of the cool cats
I only have a few photos of family, friends and my many felines, but the Nano can actually hold up to 25,000 photos. Now that’s a lot of picnics, baby showwers and weddings to pass around the office! You can also set it up show a slideshow of your favorite shots.
Easy Sync with iTunes
Through iTunes, the premiere iPod syncing software that works on Mac or PC, you import a CD easily, buy songs or podcasts from the iTunes store sync or upload it to your iPod. iTunes starts syncing automatically after hooking up your iPod. Instant music to go, as well as news and commentary on any subject you like. I like the Audiobooks section for those long rides which has over 11,000 titles. Prices start at just $2.95 per title, Songs are only 99 cents. Syncing is blindingly easy and you can start building your own library of audiobooks — a number of them available exclusively at the iTunes Music Store including the all six Harry Potter audiobooks.
Let’s Accessorize!
With all new things comes the upgrades and gizmos to customize the new toy to perfectly fit your tastes and preferences. iPod Nano is no different offering a wide-variety of earphone choices, many colored skins to make you Nano uniquely yours. I prefer the powder-blue skin myself, and the In-Ear Headphones for maximum sound quality and bass resonance.
You car is a stereo on the roll!
Many of the newer cars come iPod capable with the hookups necessary, but since I have an older model vehicle I’ve done the conventional iTrip and plug-in car Monster option. Either way, it allows you to take you music with you on the road with “seamless integration between you car and your iPod.” In other words, fabulous sounds while you drive.
Imagine this scenario.
You stumble out of your bed in the dark, take care of personal business. Now you’re dressed and ready to go. It’s still dark. Out you go, heading towards the local bus stop, still near-comatose. You take out your earbuds, turn on the Nano and wham, music fills your world or the latest Battlestar Galactica podcast about the last gripping episode fills your consciousness. You begin to wake up, ready to face the day on your terms with kick-ass background music or scintillating commentary to make your trip to consciousness just a little bit easier.
You don’t like my scenario? Dream up your own. Just make sure you have music in it, because everything moves, slides, walks, and treads better to a beat – whatever your beat – whether it’s classical, new age or rock and roll. It’s gone digital, all wrapped up in a cute, little box that takes your songs to the next level and beyond. When you think music, think iPod Nano.

About the Author
Judith Brandy is a writer, science fiction fan and breast cancer survivor who runs The Science Fiction Buzz which covers what’s going on in the science fiction genre, conveying the information in a fun and inspiring fashion. Science fiction is about hope, encouragement and the future. It is pure escapism, a window into imagination and fantasy. In a time when our world is super-serious, where diseases abound and terror is delivered with the evening news, The Science Fiction Buzz is a haven. We encourage you to leave your cares behind, and for a few moments, dwell in the astounding.

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What Kind of Processor Should You Get on Your Next Desktop PC?

If you plan to do basic office work on you new Desktop PC or the usual Internet stuff; surfing and email, any processor will work for you. That is good news because you can buy your new computer for around $299. Considering not too many years back that same computer would have cost you $2500!
But, if you need a Desktop PC to work with graphics, Video, Music, or large databases than you will have to dish out a bit more. But it is well worth it, because if you don’t you will spend more time waiting, waiting, waiting, than working.
On your new computer you really need more power then the basic PC provides. AMD Athlon XP or Intel Pentium4 (or which ever pentium we are up to when you read this article) are your best bets for this kind of work. Either will support the most demanding work. Bargain price computer equipment with either kind of chip with fast speeds can be found.
Intel has a newer motherboard chip for its Pentium4 and Celeron. With the higher speed front side bus, data moves more quickly from the processor to the system memory. You can find these boards on Intel’s 850 and 845 models. Just check the front side bus speed to make sure you are getting the right one before you buy your computer.
Now keep in mind the computer world is constantly updated. Just be sure to find a new computer with the most memory for your dollar. And if you fall into the category of ‘just do the basics’ than go with the $299 (or around there) deal.

A1-Computers : Bonnie Archer
For more information on buying a new computer visit our website. Be sure to check out our computer directory near the bottom of the page for our recomended online resoruces to get the best deals on your next computer.

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Protect Your PC with These Top Free Software Programs

This is a dangerous world for a computer user- threats multiply by the hour designed to swipe your data, cripple your network, steal your identity and in general- wreck havoc. Fortunately you can arm yourself to battle these menaces with several top software programs. And the best part is that these applications are free. So strap on your seatbelt and let’s get started!
The first weapon in your arsenal should be anti-virus protection. Many of the popular and expensive programs tend to slow down PC performance and require an annual paid subscription. My impression is that they work no better than their “freeware” cousins. A good recommendation/alternative is AVG Free Edition from Grisoft. This program may not feature every single bell and whistle offered by some of the more commercially available apps, but it does provide rock-solid protection with all the tools needed to keep your system free of viruses, worms and Trojans.
Next in line: the firewall. A firewall is essential in preventing others from breaking into your machine. These hackers will steal your data, destroy your system or attempt to convert your computer into a “spam zombie” (remotely using your computer to send spam email) so using an effective firewall is a must. Owners of Windows XP (Home or Professional Edition) may be familiar with its built in firewall, however many options abound. While there are numerous offerings in this category, the Zone Alarm Free Firewall is a sure bet.
Now that we have anti-virus and firewall protection, let’s address a topic I hear more and more frequently: what to do with all of those pesky passwords? Luckily there is a stellar new program, CyberScrub KeyChain designed specifically to address this perplexing problem. Distributed free, KeyChain stores not only your user names and passwords, but all of your addresses and credit card details. All passwords and sensitive data are stored under a single master pass phrase, eliminating the need to recall scores of unique access combinations. You simply highlight and click a password protected website from a small browser toolbar and KeyChain fills in and submits your log in details. As powerful web-based form filler, the long and tedious process of typing in your credit card and address info is a click away, making shopping a snap. All data is protected with strong encryption for your safety.
Of course no discussion of computer protection would be complete without discussing the scrounge of spyware. Every bit as insidious as a computer virus, spyware seems to multiply exponentially with new forms of malware limited only by the creative schemes of the evil geniuses that produce them. Spyware can easily take control of your machine, opening and closing your CD bay, serving objectionable browser ads, hijacking your homepage, logging your keystrokes to steal your passwords and more. So if you don’t have protection against this menace, take action now. Lavasoft offers a very good program, Ad-Aware SE Personal.
While this list is by no means exhaustive, it will provide the essentials to protect your PC and data. So don’t delay- your computer needs you!

Bill Adler is a free-lance writer based in Georgia, specializing in computer security.

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Cool iPod Features You May Not Know About

Here are some iPod features that you may not know about:
–> Parental Supports
The iTunes Music Store also now offers parental controls, so that parents can disable access to Podcasts, shared music, or the iTunes Music Store as a whole. Parents can also restrict music with explicit language.
–> Cool iTunes Tips!
Dp you want to organize your iTunes in a better way? Putting an entire album into a playlist is not exactly the most effective way of organizing your songs, writes Christopher Breen. Here are the convenient ways that you can organize your tunes:
 Song Name
 Time
 Artist
 Album
 Genre
 My Rating
 Play Count
 Last Played
Christopher Breen also mentions the web site of Doug Adams (www.malcolmadams.com/itunes) which offers scripts (many are free and worth downloading) for corralling duplicate files in your iTunes Music Library, converting files from one audio format to another and locating album art on the Web that you can then paste into iTunes.
–> iTunes on your Cellular Phone
Want iTunes on your cell phone so you can carry around your mobile music library with you? Apple, Motorola and Cingular Wireless are introducing the Motorola Rokr E1, the first cell phone equipped with Apple’s iTunes software.
–> iTunes Shortcuts
Who doesn’t love having a little helpful information to make things easier and more effective? Well, that’s what this section is all about!
We’ll take a look at all of the shortcuts that you can use on iTunes, which will make your downloading experience faster, easier, and more powerful.
In fact, you’ll probably learn a few things simply by looking at these shortcuts; features and ideas that you didn’t even know existed! These shortcuts are all gathered from Apple’s great website (www.apple.com).
For your convenient reference, these shortcuts are provided to you in table format. This will make it extremely easy for you to jump to this section of the book when you’re online, or if you can’t remember a particular short cut.
Each table will fall into one of the following categories:
 Playback
 Library and Playlist
 Music Store
 iPod
 Audible
 iTunes
 File Menu
 Edit Menu
 Controls Menu
 Visualizer Menu
 Advanced Menu
 Windows Menu
 Help Menu

Mia LaCron is the founder of IpodFunctions.com -
http://www.ipodfunctions.com/ – devoted to helping individuals get the most
out of their Ipod.

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