ABCs Of DVD Drive Abbreviations

The number of different formats available in DVD drives can be confusing to anyone in the market for one. The list is much longer, but to address a few of the common formats, we have DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM ,DVD+R DL and DVD?RW. Wow! This list of common formats is long enough, no wonder it's confusing!

What's with all the Formats?!

The reason for various recordable DVD formats is that no one group owns the technology and different groups have chosen to support one technology over another. There is no industrial standard for manufacturers to reference, so for the time being consumers will have a few choices.

The first thing to address is DVD itself, which stands for Digital Versatile Disc. Some may argue that the V stands for Video, but with the capability to store video, audio, and data files, Versatile is definitely the keyword.

Start with the Basics

A DVD-ROM drive is the only one we will address that does not record. ROM stands for Read Only Memory, and refers to the typical drive that can merely read DVDs, as well as CDs (all DVD drives can read CDs). The Lite-On LTD-163-DO-R has attributes representative of your typical DVD-ROM drive, and features a maximum DVD read speed of 16x and a maximum CD read speed of 48x.

Before getting into the different recordable formats, let's address the basics of what the R and RW stand for, regardless of whether there is a + or ? in the middle. R stands for Recordable, which indicates that the disk may be recorded to only once. RW stands for ReWritable, which indicates that the disc may be recorded to more than once, and are generally rated for 1000 rewrites under good conditions.

The DVD-R/-RW format was developed by Pioneer, and was the first format compatible with stand alone DVD players. The group that promotes the technology calls itself the DVD Forum, which is "an international association of hardware manufacturers, software firms, content providers, and other users" with notable members such as Hitachi, Samsung, and Toshiba. The DVD-R/-RW format is based on CD-RW technology and uses a similar approach to burning discs.

The DVD+R/+RW format is a newer format, also based on CD-RW technology, and compatible with a large percentage of stand alone DVD players. The +R/+RW technology is not supported by the DVD Forum, and its main backing comes from a group called the DVD+RW Alliance. The Alliance "is a voluntary group of industry-leading personal computing manufacturers, optical storage and electronics manufacturers" with members such as Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sony, and Phillips Electronics.

The DVD-RAM format is based on PD-RW (Phase-Differential) drives, and actually uses a cartridge to hold the media (just like its PD-RW predecessor). Some DVD-RAM cartridges are double sided, making them ideal for companies to use as system backup, hence DVD-RAM is usually found only in commercial applications, and most end-users won't ever need to use or see this type of drive. The DVD-RAM standard is also supported by the DVD Forum just like the DVD-R/RW format. However, because of its use of a cartridge (limiting it's compatibility), and the scarcity and price of the media used, DVD-RAM is a distant third when compared to the DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/?RW technology.

The +R/+RW and ?R/-RW formats are similar, and the main difference DVD+R technology has is the ability to record to multiple layers (with its new DVD+R DL format), where DVD-R can only record to one layer (not all +R drives are capable of dual layer burning, but no -R drives are). The Plextor PX-504U is an example of an external DVD+R/+RW drive capable of recording single layer discs in the +R/+RW format, but also able to read discs recorded by a DVD-R drive.

What is DVD?RW?

DVD?RW is not actually a separate format, but the designation given to drives capable of both ?R/?RW and +R/+RW operation. This type of drive is typically called a "Dual Drive" (not to be confused with a "Double Layer" drive) since it can write to both the +R/+RW and ?R/?RW formats. The Samsung TS-H552 is a DVD?RW drive capable of reading and writing every format discussed so far, and then some. It takes advantage of DVD+R DL (Double Layer) technology available with the +R format, allowing the appropriate media to store virtually double the 4.37 GB capacity of a typical single layer disc.

The other main thing to consider with DVD burners is selecting the correct media. Media for DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW media may all look the same, but they are slightly different in order to match the specific recording formats. The price of media for either format is generally the same, with RW media costing a good deal more than R media of either format. Double Layer media is even more expensive, and is the only way for an owner of DVD+R DL drive to take advantage of the tremendous capacity increase. As the amount of Double Layer drives increase in the market, the price of the DVD+R DL media is expected to fall with increased production of the media. DVD Burners (as these drive are often referred to) can be picky about the media supported, so be sure to choose your media wisely.

DVD in a Nutshell

DVD-ROM : Reads DVD discs

DVD+R : Writes to DVD+R media (will also typically write to CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD+RW : Writes to DVD+RW media (will also typically write to DVD+R, CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD+R DL : Writes to DVD+R DL (Double Layer) media (will also typically write to DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R and CD-RW media; many Double Layer drives are ALSO dual drives ? that is, able to write to BOTH +R/RW and ?R/RW media)

DVD-RAM : Writes to DVD-RAM cartridges (not in wide use on consumer market ? mainly a business format; can also read PD-RW discs. Will not usually be able to write to any other format including CD-R or CD-RW)

DVD-R : Writes to DVD-R media (will also typically write to CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD-RW : Writes to DVD-RW media (will also typically write to DVD-R, CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD?RW : Writes to DVD-RW and DVD+RW media (will also typically write to DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-R and CD-RW media; typically called "Dual Drives" since it can burn to two different DVD formats)

Final Words

This article took a look at the more common formats of DVD drives in order to shed some light on all the choices available. The differences between them all may be subtle, but the compatibility issues can be quite frustrating. The simple answer to anyone considering a drive is to forget about + and ? by themselves, and shoot for universal compatibility with a good DVD?RW with DVD+R DL support.

<a target="_new" href="http://www.geeks.com/pix/techtips.htm">http://www.geeks.com/pix/techtips.htm</a>

The Hard Disk

From throwing our unnecessary files, to defragmenting, from partitions to formats-learn how to keep your hard disk in top shape

The hard disk is the place where all your programs and data are stored. If the hard disk Stops working you could end up losing all your data. What we'll do here is take you on. A quick tour of the different things you need to know about it, so you can keep it working smoothly.

What is the hard disk?

The hard disk is a magnetic mass storage device installed in special bays within the system unit. The hard disk could do compared to a large cupboard having several shelves

With different items being neatly arranged and stored on each self. The hard disk stored all the data you need to store on your PC-the operating system (for example, Windows),

Software program (for example an office suit), business or household applications and data, games, e-mail message, address books and so on.

A hard disk off the assembly line is just a mass of magnetic media. The magnetic surface of the hard disk has to be structured into specific areas where data can be stored properly, a process known as formatting. When you buy a new computer, the system comes with a formatted hard disk.

A hard disk needs to be divided into partitions before it can be used. The hard disk on a newly purchased computer comes configured with a single large partitions, the primary partition (C: in My Computer) and an extended partition, which may be further subdivided into logical partitions (D: E: and so on in My Computer) if required. Partitioning makes the storage of data more efficient and reduces the access time to retrieve data.

The storage capacity of hard disk has increased by leaps and bounds since IBM XT's first 10 MB hard disk. Nowadays, 10GB is the entry level and 17 GB is common. The hard disk communicates with a PC's motherboard through an expansion card or a disk interface card.

How does it wok?

The disk is formatted to divide its magnetic surface into concentric circular paths called tracks (these are like the grooves on a phonograph record) and wedge-shaped slices called sectors. Data is stored in the form of a file or groups of disk sector called clusters. A disk drive locates data by moving its magnetic read-write head to specific track within a specific sector.

When a new file is created in a freshly formatted hard disk, it is assigned cluster numbers in a sequential order. If the file is expanded, then the first available clusters are assigned. When file is deleted, their cluster numbers are simply marked as available. Over course of time, when files grow in size to require additional cluster or are deleted, the perfectly ordered sequence of clusters gets disturbed, a process known as fragmentation.

Partitioning the hard disk

Partitioning divides a large hard disk into smaller virtual-not physical-hard disk or partitions, leading to an efficient utilization of space and boosting your PC's performance. Partitioning could be very useful in following circumstances:

1-One PC, several users-If several persons have to work on the same PC, partitions could be assigned for each of them so that each person has his or her own &quot;working space.&quot; This could be useful in home setting too, where you could have separate partitions for your spouse, children's games, business applications and data and so on.

2-Work on multiple operating systems-You may want to work on more than one operating system on your PC, for example Win98, Linux and Windows95. (Maybe you have applications that work perfectly in Win95 but suddenly crashed in Win98). You can keep these various operating systems safely on the same hard disk by installing them in separate partitions.

Partitioning Tools There're several partitioning tools available for your hard drive. Two of the most popular ones are:

1-PartitionMagic Version 4.o for Windows95 and 98-Partition Magic, from Power Quest is a useful and powerful partitioning program. It effortlessly creates, moves, converts and resizes partitions on your hard disk without the necessity of reformatting the disk of erasing valuable data.

2-FDISK- is a freely available partitioning utility that runs in the DOS environment. Its greatest UPS is that it is available for free. It is cumbersome to use and also requires formatting of the hard disk (perhaps its biggest drawback).

Formatting a hard disk

As with most mechanical devices, prolonged use of the hard disk results in inevitable wear and tear and malfunction. Repeated adding and deleting of files takes its toll on the hard disk and you may get disk error, including the notorious &quot;fatal error&quot; of Windows. This is an indication that you may need to re-format your hard disk to have it working properly again.

However, before deciding to re-format the disk it may be worthwhile to try out other alternative-

1-Run Disk Defragmenter

2-Use a cleanup shareware programs such asregclean.exe, available for download.

However, if after trying out these alternatives, you continue to get fatal error message, then you probably need to format your hard disk.

The procedure of formatting is simple enough but has to be done carefully. When you format the hard disk, all the data on the disk is lost-Windows operating system, software programs, business applications data, games, e-mails messages. In short everything.

How to do the formatting

Windows 95

1- Double-click on My Computer icon. Then click the icon for the drive you want to format. (e. g. C:)

2- On the File menu, click Format and follow the instructions.

Remember that you can not format a disk if there are files open on that disk. If the disk has been compressed, use Drivespace or other compression to format the disk.

Windows 98

1- Click Start, click Shutdown, click Restart, and then click on OK.

2- Press and hold the CTRL key until the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu appears.

3- Select Command prompt only and press Enter.

4- At the C:prompt, type format C: and press ENTER.

5- Follow the instruction on the screen.

After formatting you're left with a blank hard disk with more space then before. The next step is to restore the programs you need on your disk.

1- First reinstall Windows and then application programs you use.

2- Restore your backups into appropriate files. If you use a Zip drive or a CD-writer, these need to be installed first.

3- Reinstall all drivers for the printer, modem or other peripherals.

Do the defrag

A file on your disk may not be stored all in one place or cluster. For example, if you create a Word document and make changes to it at a later date, the change may get saved in a different cluster from the original file. The more often you make changes to a file, the more disorganized the cluster becomes, and the disk becomes fragmented. This makes the magnetic head that reads and writes data to and from the disk, works harder to retrieve the entire file. Fragmentation of hard drive reduces the storage efficiency and then access time for retrieving information.

The process of defragging helps to rearrange the files and unused space on your hard disk so that programs run faster.

Before Defragging, it may be a good idea to check how much of your hard drive is fragmented. You can do this by running ScanDisk. Empty the temp folders and Recycle Bin before defragging.

Windows 95 and Windows 98-: Open the Start Menu, choose Programs, choose Accessories, and choose System Tools and click on Disk Defragmenter.

You defragging schedule will depend on how much you use the PC. A good rule of the thumb is to defrag every two weeks.

Make sure all your files are closed and then you have turned of the screensaver also.

Spring Cleaning

No more hard disk space left? Getting disk error or illegal operations? It may be time to clean up your hard disk. A few spring cleaning pointers to help you out.

1- Toss out unwanted applications-: check out all the software applications you have loaded on the PC. Delete the old applications if you have installed newer versions. Go to the Control Panel's Add/Remove program option and uninstall those applications you don't need.

2- Run ScanDisk-: the ScanDisk option in Windows is very useful application which fixes problem like lost clusters, invalid directory entries and physical disk errors. Run ScanDisk once a month.

Go to start, choose Programs, choose Accessories, and choose System Tools and click on ScanDisk. Click the drive that contains the folders and files you want to check.

3- Defrag often, once in two weeks.

4- Empty Recycle Bin-: Right-click on Recycle Bin icon on the Desktop and choose Empty Recycle Bin from the dropdown menu.

5- Clean out your folders-: do you really need all those download you had undertaken for a past research project or those games you seldom plays? Delete those folders that are not required.

6- Delete .tmp files and create more space on hard disk.

Close all programs. Go to Windows Explorer. Press the key to open find dialog box. Enter *.tmp in the box. Make sure that C: Drive is listed in the Look-in box. Include subfolders by checking them. When .tmp files appear, delete them.

7- Delete temporary Net files to create more space.

Go to the temp Internet Files folder in Windows Explorer. Delete all present files.

8- There are several Windows components on your hard disk that you could do without. You could remove these individual components from the Add/Remove Windows setup option and create more space on your disk

Some windows components that are not necessary are accessories such as Desktop Wallpapers (a saving of 700kB) and games (a saving of 600kB

Before you format?..

1- Enter the hard drive's technical specifications (number of cylinders, tracks, sectors etc.) into the PC's BIOS setup table so that it is available for the machine's Startup program.

2- Backup all your important data onto another hard disk, recordable CDs, Zip Drive, magnetic tapes or floppies. If you have a sort of backup space or are in hurry, copy only important folders. Backup your e-mail and address books too. After taking the backups, check them out to make sure that they are okay.

3- Backup any folders that you share with others over a network.

4- Keep handy the installation disks or CDs of the application software you use, such as Windows or an office suite. These will have to be re-installed after formatting.

5- Keep handy the driver disks for your printer, sound card, CD ROM driver, modem or other devices. These will have to be re-installed after formatting.

FAT Facts

When a hard disk is formatted, a File Allocation Table (FAT) is created on the disk. FAT keeps a record of the locations of all the files on the disk FAT 16 is the file allocation system used in DOS and Windows 95. FAT 32 file system is used in Windows 98 or Win 95 OSR 2. FAT 32 is considered to be more efficient as it saves more space on the disk.

The performance of hard disk largely affects the overall performance of a PC. Hard disk performance factors include storage capacity, data access time (the time it takes for the read write heads to find a required position on the magnetic surface), data transfer time (measure how many million bit per second can be transferred from disk to RAM) and reliability.

TIP

Keep your hard disk in tip-top condition and optimize its performance.

1- Create separate folders for each business application, data or for each family member. This will keep your disk clean and organized.

2- Avoid the compression

Though file compression increases the amount of storage space, it also considerably slowdown system performance.

3- Keep 10% free. Always keep at least 10% of your hard disk free-filling it beyond 90% of its capacity will lead to system slowdown and potential loss of information.

4- Run the Maintenance Wizard utility of Windows 95 and 98. This utility make your programs run faster, checks your hard disk for problems and free hard disk space. You can schedule it to0 run on a regular basis at a specific time, for example once a week or other interval of your choice.

Start maintenance Wizard by clicking on Start, choose Programs, choose Accessories, choose system tools and click on Maintenance Wizard.

5- Use software package that help to optimize your hard disk's performance, e.g. Symantec's Norton Utilities.

About The Author

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A Technical Introduction to Audio Cables

What is so important about cables anyway?

One of the most common questions asked by consumers faced with purchasing cables for their audio or home theater system is, &quot;What is so important about cables anyway?&quot; They can cost as much or more than some of the hardware in the system and to many it is difficult to understand why wire isn't just wire.

To begin to understand how audio cables work, we have to start with the two fundamentally different types of audio cables you are likely to have in your system. The first type of cable is called an interconnect, which is used to connect various components together (such as a CD player to a receiver). The second type of cable is called the loudspeaker cable (this is the wire going from the receiver or amplifier to the speakers). It is important to realize that both types of cables are carrying the same information, just with different amounts of energy.

Interconnects carry a signal with very little energy. These cables only need just enough energy to convey the information from the source, for example a CD player, to the amplifier. The low energy requirement means that the signal in interconnects has very little current (usually in the range of thousandths of an amp).

Loudspeaker cables on the other hand, carry a large amount of energy. All of the energy required to move the speaker cones and make sound must come through the loudspeaker cables. Because of the high-energy requirement in these cables the current is relatively high (currents can reach 10 amps or more).

The very basic reason why audio cables are important is because they change the signal going through them. There are two different, fundamental ways that an audio cable can change the signal. The cable itself can change the signal, or the cable can allow outside sources of energy to change the signal.

In order to understand how these two situations can occur, some basic background electrical knowledge is needed.

Signals in all types of wires are conveyed by the combination of voltage and current. Every signal has some amount of voltage and some amount of current. The larger the difference in voltage between two places, say the beginning and the end of a cable, the larger the amount of current, and vice-versa. The direct analogy to voltage and current is the flow of water through a hose. The amount of water flowing through the hose is analogous to current. The water pressure in the hose is analogous to voltage. The higher the amount of water pressure, the more water will flow through the hose. The higher the amount of voltage, the more current will flow through the wire.

Every cable has a set of electrical properties that can be measured using standard electrical testing equipment. The three most basic properties are resistance, capacitance and inductance. While a detailed description of these three different electrical properties is outside the scope of this article, a basic description of the relevant effects of these three properties can be given.

- Resistance opposes current. The higher the resistance the greater the amount of energy that is removed from the current and turned into heat.

- Capacitance opposes changes in voltage. If a voltage is increasing, capacitance will cause the voltage to increase more slowly. If a voltage is decreasing, capacitance will cause the voltage to decrease more slowly.

- Inductance opposes changes in current. If current is increasing, inductance will cause the current to increase more slowly. If current is decreasing, inductance will cause the current to decrease more slowly.

The final piece of background knowledge that is needed for this article is what the audio signal looks like. If one were to take the speaker cover off a speaker to look at the speaker cone while music is playing, you would see that it is moving back and forth. In order to move the speaker cone back and forth, the electrical signal must push and then pull the cone in rapid and repeating fashion. This is accomplished by having an Alternating Current, or AC.

Alternating Current simply means that the voltage oscillates between positive and negative. Because the voltage drives the current, this means that the current also goes positive and negative. In other words, the current is going back and forth in the wire, just like the speaker cone. The subtle variations in how fast the voltage and current go back and forth creates the different sounds that we hear when listening to music.

How a cable itself affects the audio signal

Now, going back to the ways that the cable itself can change the signal going through it, let's consider both types of cables separately.

As stated previously, interconnect cables carry a very small amount of current. Relative to the current the voltage is large. Because of that fact, capacitance is important, but inductance is relatively unimportant. As the voltage oscillates between being positive and negative, the capacitance slows the voltage changes down, and causes delays. This can cause audible distortion in the sound. Because interconnects have very little current, resistance is not much of a factor. Even an interconnect with extremely high resistance will only remove an infinitesimally small amount of energy.

The signal in loudspeaker cables is essentially the opposite of the signal in interconnects. Both cables have the same information, but in loudspeaker cables, the voltage is small and the current is large, relatively speaking. Because of the high current, both resistance and inductance are important in loudspeaker cables. The higher the resistance, the greater the amount of energy that will be absorbed by the cables. The resistance will not cause any distortion, but it will decrease the volume of the sound. The inductance on the other hand, can cause distortion. As the current oscillates between being positive and negative, the inductance slows the current changes down, and causes delays.

How a cable lets outside sources of energy affect the signal

As stated previously, the second fundamental way of altering a signal passing through an audio cable is to introduce outside sources of energy. This outside energy is typically termed &quot;noise&quot;. By definition, if any energy is absorbed by the signal, the signal has been distorted.

There are many potential sources of noise around audio cables. Some of the more common sources of noise, such as radio frequency waves, are familiar to most people. When wiring up a radio, frequently a consumer must attach an antenna. Antennae are intentionally designed to channel radio frequency energy into a stereo. Just like an antenna, it is entirely possible for an audio cable to pick up radio frequency energy. If you are not intending to listen to the radio, this is not a welcome effect.

Electronic components, electrical cords, sound waves, and even the sun, are all capable of creating noise. Electrical cords create electromagnetic fields around them that can transfer energy to a cable. Sound waves create mechanical vibrations that can be transformed into electrical energy that is added to an audio signal. Because there are so many different types of noise, there are many methods used to prevent a cable from picking up noise. Shielding, twisting of conductors, and mechanical damping are all common noise protection methods in cables.

While noise affects both interconnects and loudspeaker cables, generally the effects are far more significant in interconnects. This is because the signals in the interconnects have far less energy. Since most forms of noise are inherently low energy to begin with, this means that it is far easier for them to modify the low energy interconnect signals than the high-energy loudspeaker cable signals.

Macro vs. Micro

The parameters discussed so far have been primarily &quot;macro&quot; effects. These are for the most part the top-level parameters that effect cables. These parameters as well as others not discussed here also exist at a &quot;micro&quot; level. Taking capacitance as an example, a given cable will have an overall capacitance that can be measured. This overall capacitance is a &quot;macro&quot; level parameter. The same cable can also be analyzed as 1000 separate but connected pieces. Each piece will have a local capacitance. These local parameters are &quot;micro&quot; effects and can have their own impact on the signal separate from the &quot;macro&quot; effects.

The impact that the &quot;micro&quot; level parameters have on an audio signal is usually less than the impact of the &quot;macro&quot; level parameters. However, they do still make a difference in the signal transfer. The various ways that audio companies choose to either mitigate or ignore these &quot;micro&quot; level details is, in part, responsible for the vast array of different cable designs. From cryogenic treatments and precious metal wires, to fine silk insulation and fluid filled cable jackets; extreme cable designs abound.

Will I hear the difference?

The fact of the matter is that cables do alter the sound going through them, and that it is audible. You do not need to be an expert, or an audiophile, to hear the difference. To demonstrate this point, simply listen to your stereo. If you close your eyes, does it sound like the music is being played live right in front of you? This is what audiophiles strive for, and unless you have a very high-fidelity system, your answer to this question will most likely be no. You may have a hard time describing what exactly does not sound right about your system, but you know that it doesn't sound like a live performance.

Of course, the reason why the music does not sound live cannot be blamed solely on the cables. The degradation of the sound occurs in every component of your system. However, the point here is that even a casual listener can detect the subtle distortions that can prevent music playback from sounding live. Improving the quality of your audio cables will improve the sound quality of your system.

It is fairly safe to say that no matter what cable you use, the modifications to the sound will be small. Audio cables will never cause a listener to hear a piano when a flute is being played. However, it is the small detail that makes all the difference between good and bad quality sound. That is why very strong opinions are formed about various cables.

As audio systems continue to improve in accuracy, listening to a &quot;live&quot; performance in your living room gets closer to reality. Cables are an enabling factor for advancements in audio reproduction and can play a remarkably important role in your system.

Adam Blake CEO / Co-Founder Pear Cable, Inc.
<a target="_new" href="http://www.pearcable.com">http://www.pearcable.com</a>
For a more detailed explanation of cable design theory that Pear Cable thinks is relevant, see the &quot;cable design&quot; white paper available on <a target="_new" href="http://pearcable.com">pearcable.com</a>

Refurbished Laptops are the Real Deal!

Laptop computers have found usefulness as portable media devices.

Even refurbished laptops can be used as DVD players, stereos, and recording devices. The mobility and portability of laptops make them very useful in these categories as does the increasing capabilities of the electronics.

Many people are beginning to use their notebooks as portable DVD players.

They can take these mobile devices on airplanes to pass the time as they travel. They can also use these portable notebooks in hotel rooms to provide them with entertainment. Some parents are investing in notebooks to use as entertainment for the children in the backseat with DVDs as the family makes long trips. The ability to refurbish used laptops with these portable DVD drives makes them an inexpensive way to entertain adults and children during their travels.

A notebook computer can also be used as a video phone for notebook conferencing capabilities. Traveling workers can take their portable laptop equipment to other offices as well as their homes and still connect with co-workers and clients. Mobility has become a trend with today's workforce, and notebook computers provide this mobility.

The sound capabilities of notebooks are also making them popular for use as portable music players. With MP3 music becoming more and more popular, even refurbished computers can hold and playback a large number of songs. Various notebook software programs allows for various types of audio. Audio books are also being played on notebooks for the entertainment and even education of the notebook user.

Want to read more about Electronics? Visit electronicsme.net or electronicsme.com for the latest articles on televisions, digital still cameras, and notebook computers.

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Intel Celeron vs Pentium

The Celeron and Pentium Processors are two of Intel's best selling CPUs. They are found in a majority of home computer systems. When comparing the two processors it should be first understood that there are different types of Pentium processors - the original Pentium all the way to the Pentium 4 (the latest Pentium processor). The Celeron processors are more or less the same, although you will find them in a wide variety of speeds.

The Intel Celeron processor was always designed to be a low-cost alternative to the Pentium processor line. It is much like a car company that offers various priced cars from the luxury sedan to the economy compact. The Celeron is simply a downgraded Pentium, that almost anyone can afford (it is essentially the compact). To begin, Celeron chips have a smaller L2 cache 9128kb compared with 512kb in the Pentium 4 Northwood, which translates into slower processing speeds. In fact, current Celerons have a clock speed limit of about 2.0GHz, where as the Pentium for is capable of speed in excess of 3.0GHz. In addition, the Pentium runs at a lower core voltage because it is more energy effecient (1.75V vs. 1.5V).

In summary, the Pentium 4 is more powerful than the most advanced Celeron processor on the market. However, Intel has planned it to be this way. Many applications will work just great with a Celeron processor, despite a little less power than the Pentium 4. It is a way to save a little cash when buying a new pc - but don't forget the saying "you get what you pay for." Celeron processors are of good Intel quality, but they will never be as good as the Pentium.

This Celeron vs. Pentium review was brought to you by SciNet Science and Technology Search Engine. SciNet is not affiliated with or specifically endorses the Celeron or Pentium processors or the manufacturer, Intel Corp. Please consult the Celeron and Pentium product information and configuration before you purchase either processor. It is also a good idea to seek other up-to-date product reviews and information as necessary.

Bradley James is a senior editor at <a target="_new" href="http://www.scinet.cc">SciNet.cc</a>, a website containing many helpful consumer electronics review articles. For more information on Celeron and Pentium processor technology, please visit our <a target="_new" href="http://www.scinet.cc/articles/celeron-vs-pentium/celeron-pentium.html">Celeron vs Pentium</a> webpage.

What Everybody Should Know About An Inkjet Printer: The One-Year Cost Of Printing

You can purchase an inkjet printer for as little as $39. With a rebate, it may even be less. Not many people would argue about the good deal they got when they purchased their printer. However, the purchase price of an inkjet printer really doesn't tell you much about your cost of printing. After all, you do need paper and inkjet cartridges to keep your printer printing.

If you go to a local car lot and look at the sticker price of a car, you'd see some of the following items: the base price of the car, the cost for each additional feature or package, the number of miles per gallon for both city and road, and the cost of gasoline for one year under normal driving conditions.

What if you got this same type of information for your printer? Would you still buy the same inkjet printer? How would you feel if you knew you would pay more for gas and oil, in the first year you owned your car, than you paid for the car?

Well the fact is, unless you do very little printing, you will pay more for your paper and inkjet cartridges in the first year than you will pay for your inkjet printer. This is especially true for the low cost inkjet printers. In some cases, the cost of one inkjet cartridge is more than the entire purchase price of an inkjet printer.

If you look at an inkjet printer advertisement, you'd learn about some of the following items: the number of pages printed per minute in text and color, the time to print a certain size photo in black and white or color, the number of inkjet cartridges or tanks the printer holds, the near perfect quality of the photo reproduction, the outstanding resolution you'll get from (so many) inkjet nozzles and a packaging list of items that come in the box when you purchase it.

However, in most inkjet printer advertisements, you will not see the cost of the premium paper needed to achieve that outstanding photo reproduction. The replacement cost for a black or color inkjet cartridge is nowhere to be found. About the only thing you will see with a dollar sign is the low purchase price of the printer and possibly the rebate. (They also don't tell you all the steps you have to follow to get your rebate and how it may prevent you from returning the printer to the store if something unexpected happened? but that's another story.)

Now, if you look at some of the most popular inkjet printers, here's what you will find about their inkjet cartridges. On the average, a black inkjet cartridge costs between $22 and $30 to replace. A color printer cartridge normally runs between $35 and $60, depending on size.

To get your inkjet printer to print out those outstanding photos that will last for years, you will need to purchase some premium quality paper. Depending on the size, weight and quantity of the premium paper, you can expect to pay from 60 cents to a dollar per page.

As a consumer, you need to know that the major printer manufacturers are selling their inkjet printers at or below cost. They have adopted the marketing practice used in other industries, like the cell phone or razor blade. That is, they sell their initial product at cost or below and expect to make their real profits on the high mark up of their consumable supplies or services.

Now, don't get me wrong. The quality of the inkjet printer photo reproductions is approaching that of traditional photo processing. The speed of the inkjet printer is constantly rising. The crisp and clear text from the inkjet printer is nearly equal to the quality of laser print. All these are wonderful and welcomed features.

The main point I want to make is this: The real cost of printing is not the purchase price of the inkjet printer. You, the consumer, should be informed of the on-going or real cost of printing. Then, you can decide how much you really want to pay for your printing needs.

If major printer manufacturers were to charge a reasonable price (with profit) for their inkjet printer and reduce the cost of their inkjet cartridges and premium paper, you would realize a substantial savings.

A well-informed consumer is a wiser consumer. If you had a way to estimate the one year cost of printing, depending upon your needs, you'd be able to make a much better informed decision on what inkjet printer would best meet your needs.

Until the major manufacturers change their marketing practices, you can do something about the high cost of printing. There are many reputable online merchants that provide compatible inkjet cartridges and inkjet refill kits that can save you up to 85% on the cost of printing. Five minutes of your time reviewing some of these companies could save you hundreds and even thousands of dollars. That would definitely help you reduce your one-year cost of printing. I thought you needed to know.

About The Author

Larry Andrew is an educational consultant, author and publisher of <a href="http://www.ez-printer-ink.com" target="_new">www.ez-printer-ink.com</a>. Purchasing printer ink, toner and inkjet cartridges on line should be fast, convenient and cost-effective.

What is EEPROM ?

EEPROM stands for Electrical Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory and also referred to as E?PROM. As the name suggest, an EEPROM can be both erased and programmed with electrical pulses. Since it can be both electrically written into and electrically erased, the EEPROM can be rapidly programmed and erased in circuit for reprogramming without removing them from the circuit board.

EEPROM is also called a non-volatile memory because when power is turned off the stored data in the EEPROM will not be erased or intact. New EEPROM have no data in it and usually have to program with a programmer before it can be use. Information stored in this type of memory can be retained for many years without a steady power supply.

What is the function of EEPROM? EEPROMs are used to store user programmable information such as: -

? VCR programming information
? CD programming information
? Digital satellite receiver control data
? User information on various consumer products

EEPROM in monitor performs two functions:

? When a monitor is switch on it will copies all data or information from the EEPROM to the microprocessor. For example, the EEPROM will let the microprocessor know the frequencies at which the monitor is going to operate.

? The EEPROM is used to store the current settings of the monitor. The settings of the monitor will not be erased even when the monitor is turned off. Anytime a change is made in the monitor settings, the microprocessor updates the setting in the EEPROM. When the monitor is turn on again, the stored settings are used to set up the monitor for operation.

What are the symptoms if the MONITOR or TV's EEPROM data is corrupted or damaged?

? No high voltage (no display).

? Horizontal or vertical frequencies run.

? Cannot save (store) current setting.

? Certain control functions like sound, brightness and contrast control does not functioning.

? On Screen Display (OSD) does not function or the OSD have a corrupted display.

? High voltage shut down (EEPROM set the horizontal frequency way too low or twice the line frequency perhaps leading to failure of the horizontal output transistor (HOT)).

What is an EEPROM programmer or copier?

EEPROM seldom fail, they just lose or have their memory (data) corrupted may be due to high voltage and static discharge from a monitor. Once reprogrammed they are as good as new. As mentioned earlier, new EEPROMs are blank and need information or data to be loaded in order for it to functions. The job of copying the data into an EEPROM is done by a programmer or a copier. Programmers comes in all shapes and sizes. You can copy these devices for repair replacement only. You cannot copy them for resale without a letter of approved from the vendor who produced them. There is quite a number of companies selling EEPROM programmer:

Typical EEPROM part no:
24C02, 24C04, 24C08 etc
24C325, 24C645AT17C65, AT17C128 etc
93C06, 93C46, 93C56, 93C66 etc
25010, 25020, 25040 etc

Jestine Yong is a electronic repairer and writer. For more information about electronic repair please visit his website at <a target="_new" href="http://www.noahtec.com">http://www.noahtec.com</a>

Basics of RAID

A couple of the recent Tech Tips from www.geeks.com have made mention of RAID, but the level of detail required in those tips didn't shed much light on what RAID actually is. The number of e-mail responses and comments in the Readers Digress section was convincing enough that an introduction to the basics of RAID would be an appropriate Tech Tip, so here it is.

Introduction

The word RAID sounds like it might describe something Marines conduct in Fallujah, or a can of what all roaches fear, but it is simply an acronym that stands for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks. Depending on who you talk to, the letter &quot;I&quot; can stand for either independent or inexpensive, but in my opinion independent is more appropriate, and far less subjective.

RAID generally allows data to be written to multiple hard disk drives so that a failure of any one drive in the array does not result in the loss of any data, as well as increasing the system's fault tolerance. I say RAID generally does this, as there are several RAID configurations that provide different approaches to redundancy, but some RAID configurations are not redundant at all. Fault tolerance refers to a system's ability to continue operating when presented with a hardware (or software) failure, as should be experienced when a hard drive fails in one of the redundant configurations of RAID.

The Hardware

The basic hardware required to run RAID includes a set of matched hard drives and a RAID controller.

RAID can be run on any type of hard drive, including SCSI, SATA, and ATA. The number of hard drives required is dependent on the particular RAID configuration chosen, as described later. I mention the need for matched hard drives, and although this is not absolutely necessary, it is recommended. Most arrays will only be able to use the capacity of the smallest drive, so if a 250GB Hitachi drive is added to a RAID configuration with an 80GB Hitachi drive, that extra 170GB would probably go to waste (the only time that this doesn't apply is in a RAID configuration called JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disks); which really &quot;isn't a RAID configuration&quot; but just a convenient thing that a RAID controller can do ? see &quot;Basic RAID Configurations&quot; below for more information). In addition to matching capacities, it is highly recommended that drives match in terms of speed and transfer rate as the performance of the array would be restricted by the weakest drive used. One more area that should be considered while matching is the type of hard drive. RAID controllers are generally for either SCSI, SATA, or ATA exclusively, although some systems allow RAID arrays to be operated across controllers of different formats.

The RAID controller is where the data cables from the hard drives are connected, and conducts all of the processing of the data, like the typical drive connections found on a motherboard. RAID controllers are available as add on cards, such as this Silicon Image PCI ATA RAID controller, or integrated into motherboards, such as the SATA RAID controller found on the Asus K8V SE Deluxe (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=K8VSE-DELUXE). Motherboards that include RAID controllers can be operated without the use of RAID, but the integration is a nice feature to have if RAID is a consideration. Even for systems without onboard RAID, the relatively low cost of add on cards makes this part of the upgrade relatively pain free.

Another piece of hardware that is not required, but may prove useful in a RAID array is a hot swappable drive bay. It allows a failed hard drive to be removed from a live system by simply unlocking the bay and sliding the drive cage out of the case. A new drive can then be slid in, locked into place, and the system won't skip a beat. This is typically seen on SCSI RAID arrays, but some IDE RAIDS cards will also allow this (such as this product manufactured by Promise Technology: http://www.promise.com/product/product_detail_eng.asp?productId=92&familyId=7).

The Software

RAID can be run on any modern operating system provided that the appropriate drivers are available from the RAID controller's manufacturer. A computer with the operating system and all of the software already installed on one drive can be easily be cloned to another single drive by using software like Norton Ghost. But it is not as easy when going to RAID, as a user who wants to have their existing system with a single bootable hard drive upgraded to RAID must start from the beginning. This implies that the operating system and all software needs to be re-installed from scratch, and all key data must be backed up to be restored on the new RAID array.

If a RAID array is desired in a system for use as storage, but not as the location for the operating system, things get much easier. The existing hard drive can remain intact, and the necessary configuration can be made to add the RAID array without starting from scratch.

Basic RAID Configurations

There are about a dozen different types of RAID that I know of, and I will describe five of the more typical configurations, and usually offered on RAID controller cards.

RAID 0 is one of the configurations that does not provide redundancy, making it arguably not a true RAID array. Using at least two disks, RAID 0 writes data to the two drives in an alternating fashion, referred to as striping. If you had 8 chunks of data, for example, chunk 1, 3, 5, and 7 would be written to the first drive, and chunk 2, 4, 6, and 8 would be written to the second drive, but all in sequential order. This process of splitting the data across drives allows for a theoretical performance boost of up to double the speed of a single hard drive, but real world results will generally not be nearly that good. Since all data is not written to each disk, the failure of any one drive in the array generally results in a complete loss of data. RAID 0 is good for people who need to access large files quickly, or just demand high performance across the board (i.e. gaming systems). The capacity of a RAID 0 array is equal to the sum of the individual drives. So, if two 160GB Seagate drives were in a RAID 0 array, the total capacity would be 320GB.

RAID 1 is one of the most basic arrays that provides redundancy. Using at least two hard drives, all data is written to both drives in a method referred to as mirroring. Each drive's contents are identical to each other, so if one drive fails, the system could continue operating on the remaining good drive, making it an ideal choice for those who value their data. There is no performance increase as in RAID 0, and in fact there may be a slight decrease compared to a single drive system as the data is processed and written to both drives. The capacity of a RAID 1 array is equal to half the capacity of the sum of individual drives. Using those same two 160GB Seagate drives from above in RAID 1 would result in a total capacity of 160GB.

RAID 0+1, as the name may imply, is a combination of RAID 0 and RAID 1. You have the best of both worlds, the performance boost of RAID 0 and the redundancy of RAID 1. A minimum of four drives is required to implement RAID 0+1, where all data is written in both a mirrored and striped fashion to the four drives. Using the 8 chunks of data from the example above, the write pattern would be something like this? Chunks 1, 3, 5, and 7 would be written to drives one and three, and chunks 2, 4, 6, and 8 would be written to drives two and four, again in a sequential manner. If one drive should fail, the system and data are still intact. The capacity of a RAID 0+1 array is equal to half the total capacity of the individual drives. So, using four of the 160 GB Seagate drives results in a total capacity of 320GB when configured in RAID 0+1.

RAID 5 may be the most powerful RAID configuration for the typical user, with three (or five) disks required. Data is striped across all drives in the array, and in addition, parity information is striped as well. This parity information is basically a check on the data being written, so even though all data is not being written to all the drives in the array, the parity information can be used to reconstruct a lost drive in case of failure. Perhaps a bit difficult to describe, so let's go back to the example of the 8 chunks of data now being written to 3 drives in a RAID 5 array. Chunks one and two would be written to drive one and two respectively, with a corresponding parity chunk being written to drive three. Chunks three and four would then be written to drives one and three respectively, with the corresponding parity chunk being written to drive two. Chunks five and six would be written to drives two and three, with the corresponding parity chunk being written to drive one. Chunks seven and eight take us back to the beginning with the data being written to drives one and two, and the parity chunk being written to drive three. It might not sound like it, but due to the parity information being written to the drive not containing that specific bits of information, there is full redundancy. The capacity of a RAID 5 array is equal to the sum of the capacities of all the drives used, minus one drive. So, using three of the 160GB Seagate drives, the total capacity is 320GB when configured in RAID 5.

JBOD is another non-redundant configuration, which does not really offer a true RAID array. JBOD stands for Just a Bunch Of Disks (or Drives), and that is basically all that it is. RAID controllers that support JBOD allow users to ignore the RAID functions available and simply attach drives as they would to a standard drive controller. No redundancy, no performance boost, just additional connections for adding more drives to a system. A smart thing that JBOD does is that it can treat the odd sized drives as if they are a single volume (thus a 10GB drive and a 30GB would be seen as a single 40GB drive), so it is good to use if you have a bunch of odd sized drives sitting around ? but otherwise it is better to go with a RAID 0, 1 or 0+1 configuration to get the performance boost, redundancy or both.

Final Words

Implementing RAID may sound daunting to those unfamiliar with the concept, but with some of the more basic configurations it is not much more involved than setting up a computer to use a standard drive controller. But, the benefits of RAID over a single drive system far outweigh the extra consideration required during installation. Losing data once due to hard drive failure may be all that is required to convince anyone that RAID is right for them, but why wait until that happens.

The Newest Thing in Lighting - LED Lighting and What It Can Do

The other day my son said to me, what else could anyone possibly invent? Sometimes it would seem that way, but I think that couldn't be further from the truth. Back in the late sixties and early seventies someone realized that light emitting diodes could be used for indicator lights. They only were available in the color red, but that didn't stop anyone, in fact we all became quite familiar with that red color in things like calculators and hand held games. That is pretty much where LED's stayed until a few years ago.

Suddenly LED's were available in different colors. A new super bright LED was developed. Controllers made color changing possible as well as mixing colors to create almost any color in the spectrum. A whole new market is emerging now. Many municipalities have started to change over the traffic lights to LED bulbs. I am sure you have seen them; they appear as many small dots of light for the Red and the Green. Car manufacturers are using them inside indicator lights.

The most exciting aspect of LED lighting for me is the entrance of LED's into residential lighting. They can be used for accent lighting in many applications such as under cabinet lighting and inside cabinets. Cove lighting is another application where they can be used. There are LED bulbs that can replace some existing bulbs like an MR 16 low voltage bulb.

As of right now in their development accent lighting is where they are best suited, the time for them to replace conventional light bulbs is not far off. As an example of where LED's can really shine is a pool light that can change into seven different colors just by turning the regular switch on and off to change modes. There are other types of color changing bulbs that can be used for decorative purposes. If you want to do some really creative lighting projects, you need to look into LED's.

If your wondering what is so great about LED's, let me explain. They have great advantages over conventional light bulbs. Here is a list of just a few things:

? Huge energy savings, possibly as high as 80% - 90%
? Very long life some claims as high as 100,000 hours
? Durable and resistant to heat, cold, shock and vibration
? Endless color possibilities
? Instant on with no flickering
? Small size allows lights in tight spaces
? Almost no heat and no UV rays

The one place they still are weak in is general lighting use. When they have that ability though the energy savings will be on a huge scale. The traffic lights I mentioned earlier use a 10 watt LED bulb to replace a 150 watt bulb used in the past. To give you an idea how much this saves at 12.5 cents a KWH, the savings for a single bulb in one year is about $75. Pretty amazing, especially when you consider some 150,000 traffic lights across the country have been retrofitted with these new LED light bulbs. That is an energy savings of over 11 million dollars. (c)Paul Forte 2005

If you would like to know more or see some of the great LED products available, follow the link below or visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.forteelectric.com/LEDlighting.html">http://www.forteelectric.com/LEDlighting.html</a>

Paul Forte has been in the lighting and electrical field for over 25 years. He has helped countless homeowners across the country with their lighting needs, through his website. Learn more about <a target="_new" href="http://www.forteelectric.com/LEDlighting.html">LED lighting</a> or visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.forteelectric.com">Forte Electric</a>

RFID for Beginners

RFID technology is used frequently today and has been around since the 1920s, but not many people know about, or understand it. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and is used to store and retrieve information. This information is stored and retrieved using RFID tags or transponders. RFID tags are small and can be incorporated into many products. The tags have antennas that allow them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.

Two Types of RFID Tags

There are two types of RFID tags; active tags, and passive tags. Passive tags do not have their own power supply, but rather receive their power from a tiny electrical current present in the antenna that is induced by an incoming radio frequency scan. Because of the small power present in the system, passive RFID tags are used only in short distances (such as an ID card).

Active RFID tags have a power source and therefore are much stronger and can be used over larger distances and are therefore more highly effective. Active RFID tags also have the potential to store more information than their passive counterparts. Some active RFID tags have a battery life of up to ten years.

The System of RFID

RFID works off of a system that relies on tags, tag readers, tag programming stations, sorting equipment, circulation readers, and tag inventory wands. RFID is generally used in security, because security gates are programmed to read the RFID tags and then either open or close accordingly. The system helps the information be easily transmitted via an RFID device. Systems have evolved over the years along with RFID chips. The hope is that RFID will one day be available to everyone (meaning consumers) because it will be more efficient and cost effective to implement RFID processes.

Where is RFID Used?

RFID can be found almost everywhere. RFID can be found in bookstores and CD stores. The little alarm that sounds if a CD has not been scanned is made possible by an RFID chip. RFID chips are found on animal tags, on books in libraries, in car alarms and car lock systems. RFID can also be used to detect motion. This could be very useful in the coming years in terms of prisons. In 2004 the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) approved a $415,000 contract to test RFID technology in prisons. The idea is that the prisoners will ware wristbands that will watch their movement. If there is any movement, which is out of the ordinary, security will be alerted. This technology will be employed in many states in the coming years.

Conclusion

RFID technology seems to have endless possibilities. Some critics of RFID technology say that it violates the privacy of citizens. This is based on the fact that RFID can be used to track whereabouts of people and obtain personal information. Putting all of this power into a little chip makes it undetectable. However, RFID can also possibly be used in driver's licenses for faster police scanners, and as a way to monitor hospital patients. With every potentially harmful application of RFID, there are several wonderful applications. It will be interesting to see all of the wonderful applications of RFID in the future.

Amie Kandowski is very interested in RFID Technology and loves writing about <a target="_new" href="http://www.rfidgazette.org">RFID</a>.

USB Hubs and Ports Explained

The USB standard has become the universal means of connection peripheral devices and equipment to the computer. Computers have either two or four USB port connectors. Each of these can support a large number of connections but to be able to attach more than two or four devices requires a multi-connection hub. There are many different types of hubs and this article seeks to explain some of the important considerations in selecting the best choice of hub for your system.

The USB bus system in computers was introduced in 1996 and has gone through a number of developments and enhancements. It started out as USB 1 which was very slow and had many bugs. Version 1.1 brought a higher bandwidth of 12 MBits/second. The latest version of 2.0 gives a bandwidth of 480MBits/second and is fully backward compatible with USB 1 and 1.1. Link to a table showing differences between USB speeds (http://www.usb-products.com/usb-speed.aspx)

Port Connections and Power
All USB standards support up to 127 connections (or devices) per computer port. It is unlikely that this would be achievable as the port can only supply 0.5 Amps maximum. Some devices consume a full 0.5 Amps, so are powered from a power adaptor from the mains supply.

Bandwidth Sharing
Generally, the bandwidth of the port (http://www.usb-products.com/usb-port.aspx) is shared between all the devices that are attached through a hub. This means that if you want to add two USB 2 devices with a USB 1.1 device, the bandwidth is shared between all three devices. However, there is an extra complication. Most hubs (http://www.usb-products.com/usb-hub.aspx) have a single chip controlling the bus. This means that the hub will work at the lowest bandwidth determined by the connected devices resulting in the USB 2 devices working at much lower transfer speeds. Nearly all USB hubs on the market today (passive and powered) operate like this.

Multiple Chip Hubs
The transaction translator (TT) is the name for the controlling chip that assigns bandwidth to each connected device. In hubs that have one TT all devices share the same bandwidth and operate at the speed of the slowest. In hubs with a TT per socket, each receives a share of the bandwidth, but this is not restricted to the slowest device. Examples of this type of hub is the Belkin Tetra hub (http://www.usb-products.com/Products/Hi-Speed-USB-2-0-4-Port-TetraHub.aspx) This has 4 ports each with its own TT.

What this means in reality is that a multiple TT hub will provide much higher bandwidth per port when several devices are connected from one hub.

Maximum Performance and choice of Where to connect a device If you are after maximum performance for each of your USB 2 devices, each device should be plugged into its own USB port in the computer. Additional plug in cards can provide a vast number of USB ports for most needs. However, this situation might be going too far except for the most demanding of situations. Although several USB devices might be connected at the same time it is unlikely that they will all be in use together.

A useful compromise is to plug small bandwidth devices together into a single hub. These would include: mice; keyboard; Speakers; little used devices.

For devices that require a high bandwidth and are used often, direct connection in to a USB port is the best option. Devices would include: Flash memory drives; external disks; Web cams; Other frequently used devices.

If you don't have sufficient ports then either more ports should be added with a plug-in card or a good quality hub with multiple transaction translators should be used. The devices placed on the hub are those that are used less often. Those devices placed directly on the port are used most often.

Link to a selection flow chart that helps in selecting a hub (http://www.usb-products.com/USB-Hub-Selection.aspx)

Access Considerations
What type of configuration and mix of port and hubs will depend on the number of devices that you wish to attach. Desktop computer cases usually have ports in the front of the case for easy access. These can be used for devices that are often plugged / unplugged and require the highest bandwidth. These are flash memory drives and portable external drives and MP3 players.

USB hubs tend to clutter up the area with cable connections and power lead. These naturally go out of sight if possible or behind the monitor. For mobile computers, a small compact hub can be obtained. These may have there own wind-in or tidy away cables.

Powered and Passive Hubs
Hubs may be restricted in their use without a power connection as passive hubs rely on the power of the USB bus. Powered hubs have a mains power adaptor to provide additional power for devices. These devices range in the power they require. It is possible to run a number of different devices all from a single passive hub running of a USB port as long as they have low power requirements. With only 0.5 Amps current it only takes one of the devices requiring the full power requirement for the hub to be overwhelmed. Nothing serious is going to happen though except that the single will degrade and many or all the devices will loose connection with the computer. To avoid this situation a powered hub should be used.

Nigel Stephens heads an online business at <a target="_new" href="http://www.usb-products.com">http://www.usb-products.com</a> supplying computer hardware products. Nigel's emphasis is in providing useful information so that consumers can make more informed choices.

Review: Implementing the Google Search Appliance in an Intranet environment

Our corporate intranet is a non-framed environment with both Lotus Domino and IIS (.Net and classic ASP) applications and content. We have between 300,000-500,000 pages of web content and documents across more than 1200 &quot;sites&quot; on approximately 30 unique domains. We used to have Inktomi's UltraSeek Server 3.0 as our intranet search engine which was beginning to look like its age (purchased in 1998). The Inktomi product did not handle attachments well (DOC, PPT, PDF, etc.), would not crawl our secured sites, and was no longer supported by the vendor. We did a cursory review of the search vendors and were immediately attracted to Google's 30 day trial offer for their Google Search Appliance (GSA). After signing a standard agreement, they shipped us a brand new shiny yellow unit which we could test for 30 days before returning or purchasing.

Product info

The GSA is a &quot;black box&quot; 1U standard rack-mountable server. By &quot;black box&quot; I mean, Google gives you a web interface to administer the device but do not want you to access the Operating System (a heavily Google-customized version of Linux). In fact, the license agreement stipulates that you will not tamper with the hardware or OS of the appliance in any way. The device has no need for a keyboard, mouse or video ? all you need for normal operation is a network cable and standard power input.

The GSA comes in different flavors to fit different needs varying by size of the hardware and correspondingly size of the license. (Licensing is based on the number of URLs crawled by the appliance.) There are 3 different hardware configurations; the GB-1001, GB-5005, and GB-800. These are broken down as follows;

<ul> <li>GB-1001 ? 150K documents for $28K, 300K documents for $50K</li> <li>GB-5005 ? 1.5M documents for $230K</li> <li>GB-8008 ? 4M documents for $450K</li> </ul>

Why Google?

As advertised, the GSA met all of our needs being able to index the large variety of filetypes we have in our environment, access secured content, having a documented API, etc. The Google brand power was another big selling factor. When we told our users that they were going to get a Google-based search engine they knew their days of troubled searching were over. Lastly, the 30-day trial run experience we had with the GSA sealed the deal. The appliance is the easiest enterprise solution I've ever had to install, configure and maintain. We were literally up and running within an hour of opening the shipping box.

Installation

The appliance has two network ports on the back panel; one for normal operation and the other used exclusively for network configuration. To configure the network settings we connected a laptop to the appliance via a special (some pin-outs are non-standard) orange Ethernet cable which is included. The installation process was about as easy as one can imagine for a &quot;black box.&quot;

First we plugged in the normal operation network cable and then the power. The power plug on the appliance IS the power switch; plug it in to turn on and unplug it to turn it off. After plugging it in, we waited about 5 minutes for the appliance to play a tune which is the signal to continue. Next, we hooked up our laptop (already set to DHCP mode) to the appliance and powered it up. After logging in to our laptop and making sure we had the correct IP assigned by the appliance's built-in DHCP server we are ready to configure the network settings. Total elapsed time (excluding rack mounting): 10 minutes.

Configuration

Network configuration, like normal administration, is done entirely through a browser and is a simple 5 step process. The first screens ask you for basic network information; IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS. Subsequent screens collect SMTP server, &quot;From&quot; address for GSA notification messages, time zone, NTP (time) servers and the admin account name/password. The last step is to test a few URLs which you will be crawling to make sure you've done the setup correctly. After a final settings review screen configuration is complete and you can then unplug your laptop and get to the good part; start crawling. Total elapsed time: 10 minutes.

Crawling the site(s)

Using the URL provided, all administration of the GSA is done remotely. After logging in with the ID/password we provided in the previous step, we were presented with the Administration console. We created a new collection to hold our index, put in the &quot;Start crawling from&quot; URL, copied that same URL into the &quot;Follow and Crawl only URLs with the Following patterns&quot; box and we were done. We saved our settings and then clicked the &quot;Start crawling&quot; button. We then went over to the &quot;Crawl status&quot; screen and watched the &quot;Crawled URLs&quot; counter increase. Google advertises that it can crawl about 4,000 URLs in about 15 minutes or so. We found the crawl time would increase significantly if there are documents (Word, PDF, Excel, etc.) linked to from those URLS.

After the crawl is done the collection is automatically indexed and then checked against the Serving Prerequisites (any criteria you wish to use to determine whether to move an indexed collection to production) and the collection will either be moved to Production (and consequently searchable) or be moved to Staging. The Staging area lets you validate new crawls before letting users search against them.

Crawling configuration

After your first crawl you may find the need to go back and tweak the crawling parameters. Google gives you a good amount of control over how sites are crawled, the frequency, how many threads are used, etc. For sites with security, the GSA supports Basic Authentication and an additional security module is available which supports Forms Authentication. The most challenging configuration aspects for us were determining the right combination of URL patterns to exclude from the search. If you are a Domino shop and looking to use the GSA you may need to spend some time getting the crawler configuration just right to support the sometimes convoluted Domino query string parameters.

After we got the crawl parameters tuned and the first complete crawl done we did some testing to see if the crawler grabbed all the content. Browsing our site and testing with some strings buried deep inside the taxonomy we always found the GSA had crawled them accurately. We also did some testing with strings inside PDF documents, PowerPoint presentations and the like. When we did come across something that hadn't been crawled a careful analysis led us to discover that we needed to do some more tweaking of the crawl settings.

Other notable features

Google also gives you a KeyMatch tool that allows you to specify which indexed documents should appear at the top of the results page for a given query. These manifest themselves almost identically to the Sponsored Links at the top of the results page of the Google we all use. A Synonym tool allows you to specify alternate words or phrases for search queries. For example, if someone searches for WCM, you can suggest &quot;Web Content Management&quot; at the top of the results page.

An output format feature lets you control (via an XSLT) the presentation of the search results. You can use this for changing the fonts, colors, logo, header, etc. of the results page. We were able to easily remove the &quot;Cached&quot; feature on the results page with some XSLT modifications.

The Reporting tool lets you run reports on search queries over various time ranges. It will show you the number of searches per day, per hour, the top 100 keywords and top 100 queries for the time period specified.

Downsides

The GSA is not for organizations looking to index their shared network drives as the appliance has no facility for crawling file systems. This is really too bad as many companies struggle with the huge quantities of unstructured content on stored on their networks. Of course, there are a plethora of other products out there for exactly this issue.

Access directly to databases (e.g. SQL, Oracle, etc.) is another area which is off-limits for the GSA as well as any kind of integration with content or document management systems.

Conclusion

The Google Search Appliance (GSA) is an excellent search product for HTTP-accessible content. It gives great control over administrative features such as crawler configuration and results serving and sufficient reporting capabilities as well. Those looking for a solution to integrate directly with a content/document management system, databases, or indexing network drives should look to another product. However, if you have a intranet or intranet site with plenty of HTML-based content the GSA may be just what you need.

Bryan Mjaanes is the creator/editor of <a href="http://www.Intranet101.com" target="_blank">Intranet101.com</a>, a community-based forum for Intranet professionals.

Motherboard Basics

A recent Tech Tip covered the basics of selecting a computer case and made mention of the various sizes that correspond to motherboards of different form factors. A few people wrote in expressing interest in understanding more about the basics of motherboards, and that's exactly what this Tech Tip intends to address.

A motherboard, also known as a main board, is the primary circuit board inside of a computer, and is where the central processing unit (CPU), memory, expansion slots, drives, and other peripheral devices are connected. The circuitry on a motherboard facilitates the communication between all of the devices in the computer, making them as critical to a system's performance as items such as the CPU or memory.

The core circuitry of a motherboard is referred to as its chipset, and generally the manufacturer of the motherboard is not the manufacturer of the chipset. Intel does produce motherboards with their own chipsets, but buying a motherboard brand such as Gigabyte, Biostar, and ASUS means getting a board with either a VIA, Nvidia, SIS, or Intel brand chipset.

1. Form Factor

The different basic shapes and sizes of motherboards are categorized as form factors. There are several standard form factors available, but some of the more common ones found in desktop computers include: (http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx2_2.pdf), ATX (http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/matxspe1.2.pdf), Micro ATX (mATX) (http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/FlexATXaddn1_0.pdf) FlexATX (http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/spearhead/mini-itx/) and Mini-ITX

The basic sizes of each are as follows:

* ATX: 12" x 9.6" (305mm x 244mm)

* Micro ATX: 9.6" x 9.6" (244mm x 244mm)

* FlexATX: 9.0" x 7.5" (229mm x 191mm)

* Mini ITX: 6.7" x 6.7" (170mm x 170mm)

ATX and mATX are by far the most popular motherboard sizes for desktop computers, and as seen in the list above, are also some of the largest. More real estate on a motherboard allows for greater expansion possibilities and extra features, which make the use of these boards more flexible. A Mini-ITX board may feature just one slot for memory and one slot for an expansion card, while a typical ATX board may feature 4 memory slots and six slots for expansion cards.

Each form factor has its own niche that it fits into, from workstations and gaming systems for larger boards to media centers and in-car computers for smaller boards. There is definitely overlap between the potential applications of each form factor, and other features and capabilities will also influence the targeted use.

2. CPU Socket

The major processor manufacturers, AMD and Intel, are constantly waging a battle to offer the fastest, most powerful processors available. Getting more speed and performance out of a relatively small chip generally requires a change to the physical dimensions as each new generation of processor is released. Therefore, motherboards need to evolve at the same pace in order to accept the new CPUs.

Back in the day, AMD and Intel processors shared a common CPU socket, but those days were short lived. AMD and Intel have since been traveling down their own, relatively parallel, paths of performance and speed increases, while using different designs. Selecting a motherboard for a modern AMD processor eliminates the use of any Intel processor, and vice versa.

AMD's current offering for desktop processors includes the Athlon 64, which is available in Socket 939 and Socket 754 formats. The number in the names represents the number of pins present on the backside of the CPU that connect to the motherboard's socket. The Socket 939 Athlon 64 therefore has a staggering array of nine hundred and thirty nine tiny pins to match up with the motherboard's socket. The Chaintech VNF4 Ultra is an example of a Socket 939 motherboard based on Nvidia's NForce4 Ultra chipset technology. In addition to these two sockets, many AMD processors, including Athlon XPs, Semprons, and Durons, share the Socket A format, also known as Socket 462 thanks to it having 462 pins for connecting to a motherboard.Socket adapters

Intel's latest offering for their Pentium 4 and Celeron processors, LGA 775, doesn't have pins at all and basically swaps the pins to the motherboard for the socket. Perhaps this design move puts the burden of bent pin warranty claims on someone else, but it is fairly unique. The Biostar P4M80-M7 is an example of an LGA 775 motherboard based on the VIA P4M800 chipset. Other Intel processors still on the market utilize the Socket 478 format for Pentium 4 and Celeron processors.

Although most motherboards support just one CPU socket, some applications benefit from having more than one processor to tackle the tasks at hand. Servers and high end workstations are two examples where a dual processor system, such as could be run on the Tyan Thunder i7500 motherboard, might make light work of more advanced applications.

3. Components

'Components' is a fairly vague term to describe this section, but the items to be covered are fairly diverse. Computer systems all use memory, storage devices, and power supplies, but among the many differences motherboards have is the type and quantity of connections for these components.

Most modern systems use DDR memory, but DDR-2 memory is becoming more common and will eventually become the standard. Although some boards provide slots for both types of memory, it is generally the case that either one or the other technology is supported. Besides operating differently, the physical difference of DDR having 184 pins and DDR-2 having 240 pins prevents them from being interchangeable. Going forward, users will have to decide whether they want to jump on the new technology bandwagon when selecting a motherboard, or to try to continue using their existing DDR for as long as possible. Regardless of technology, most motherboards come with 2 to 4 slots for memory, although as mentioned, Mini-ITX boards may just offer 1 slot.

Hard drive technology is changing too, as mentioned in the Tech Tip comparing SATA to ATA hard drives. Most motherboards over the past few years have offered two ATA connections, which could support up to 4 drives. With SATA becoming more popular, some boards now offer a mix of ATA and SATA connections, while others have abandoned ATA all together, and instead offer multiple SATA connections which only support one drive each. In addition to type and quantity, motherboards can also offer choices in hard drive capabilities by integrating RAID controllers onboard, as found on the ASUS K8V SE Deluxe.

As systems become more advanced, they many times impose special power requirements to keep them running smoothly. Most motherboards feature the typical 20 pin ATX power connector, while some server boards may have a 24 pin connection in its place. Motherboards for AMD Athlon 64 and Pentium 4 processors will have a second power connection located in close proximity to the CPU socket for providing the extra power that today's high end processors demand. This special 4 pin connection isn't found on every AMD Socket A motherboard, but it will most definitely be located on an AMD Socket 939 motherboard. Power supplies have been including this special connection for years, but for those upgrading an old system with a new motherboard, the power supply may be just one more item that has to be upgraded as well.

4. Extra Features

Many motherboards now include features onboard that were once only available as expansion cards to be purchased separately. A typical motherboard will now include stereo sound capabilities, a 10/100 LAN connection, and a few USB 2.0 ports on the back panel connection. Depending on the budget and needs of the end user, many motherboards may also include other convenient features such as integrated Firewire ports, VGA connections, and onboard RAID controllers.

Motherboards Extra Features

Although many of these items may be added later with expansion cards, if you know you want them upfront, a bit of installation hassle and expense can be eliminated by finding a board with just about everything you want included. That said, there aren't many choices of onboard components, so it's a case of take it or leave it. For example, you may want stereo sound included, but find most motherboards offer 5 channel, where you would prefer 8 channel. In that case, it may be a good thing that motherboards include expansion slots to add the sound card of your choice.

5. Expansion Slots

A motherboard typically provides at least one slot for the installation of a graphics card and a few slots for expanding the capabilities of the system in other areas.

Graphics cards are available in PCI, AGP, and now PCI Express formats, and matching a motherboard to the appropriate card is a key step. Most motherboards released over the past few years include an AGP slot, and the new wave of motherboards are now starting to feature PCI Express slots for graphics card installation.

PCI slots are found on most motherboards, but are much slower than AGP and PCI Express slots, so they are not the optimal choice for graphics. ATX motherboards may typically feature four to five PCI slots, and although they could be used for secondary display graphics cards, more common applications include sound cards, network cards, RAID controllers, TV tuners, modems, and USB/Firewire controllers. Considering that many of these items are now included onboard, having multiple PCI slots isn't quite as important as it used to be.

6. Style

With enthusiasts adding windows and special lighting effects to just about every feature of a computer, why should the motherboard be left out of the action? Long gone are the days of the stereotypical green PCB with white connectors, and now most boards feature a vibrantly colored PCB and a rainbow of colors on expansion slots, memory slots, drive connectors, and so on.

For example, if someone was undecided on a mATX board for their Socket 754 AMD Athlon 64, style might be the deciding factor. The Chaintech MK8M800 and the Biostar K8VGA-M-N are similar boards featuring the VIA K8M800 chipset and prices under $70. The golden PCB with black and white features of the Chaintech board may appeal to some, while the red, white, blue, and yellow of the Biostar may sway others.

In general, a particular model is only available in one color scheme, and many manufacturers use the same theme across their entire current line up. As an example, the Biostar board for AMD Athlon 64 processors above features the same basic style as this Biostar board for the new Pentium LGA 775 processors. In addition to coloring, some manufacturers will include LED lighting on chipset cooling fans, or accessorize motherboards with matching cables to complete the unique looks of the board.

Some people may scoff at colors being included in the list of key features on motherboards, but there will be some that shop for style first, and then performance.

Final Words

There are many factors to address in selecting a motherboard, and this Tech Tip really just scratched the surface of the basic choices that may need to be considered. Much more technical decisions may need to be made by the advanced user, but covering the six basic areas discussed above is a good start for users of any level.

<a target="_new" href="http://www.geeks.com">Computer</a> <a target="_new" href="http://www.geeks.com/pix/techtips.htm">tech tips</a> and <a target="_new" href="http://www.geeks.com/pix/techtips.htm">computer advice</a>

HIPPA Goes Mobile and Wireless for Hospitals and First Responders

It appears we need to further streamline health care and HIPPA now in effect is quite a nightmare trying to comply with and implement without making a mistake and possibly being sued as the trial lawyers testing the law. The Malpractice insurance rates may go up again. On one hand you have the 'know your customer&quot; laws and on the other you have &quot;privacy rules.&quot;

Usually when new laws and regulations come along they are never welcomed, they cause costs to go up, cause chaos and some smart entrepreneur comes along and solves the problems, we have seen this in Aviation, Communication, Trucking, Auto Industry, Mining, Marine, Construction, Education and let's face it, we have seen it in all sectors. The new regulation is no matter how well intended always a problem. These rules when enforced by mandate rather than implementation by free market pressures and desires of patrons tend to cause the worst problems as, they inevitably are prostituted by greed, back door deals and controlled whiners of a system. The whiners think they are to attain justice, but usually end up causing a worse problem upon themselves and the whole of the users of the system.

Today we have a chance to computerize the HIPPA issue and recently I had discussed this at length with the IT Think Tank President in Omaha, NE. They had a plan, which would take the PDA Wireless Device and put all the information, which would be available in the ambulance and to first responders.

It appears that there are several entrepreneurs and larger Software and IT people who specialize Medical issues. One project with a major player in the legal field is PocketMD (.com). The World Think Tank had asked about a mobile HIPPA solution for first responders and they have built in accommodations for privacy, particularly with the triple DES encryption. So the data is secured. This mobile application can also work in the battle space arena for quick response to personal and the data set will be two-way so it can give data on the patient and run the data and send back an answer. So this could be used for casualties or those nearby who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Nebraska IT Think Tank is looking into the "huge data base" application for the PDA. This would be a relational database (similar to a rubics cube) in which the PDA could make queries for medical information. Access to this information would be "compartmentalized" based on the hospital, physician, or other source of inquiry. This information would be well secured and protected. The whole project would run on an "ASP Model" - application service provider - that charges based on the type of access, amount of data transferred, etc. - a type of subscription model. They are also looking into "medical smart cards" with the PDA - one of the companies in Omaha has made some great products in that area. Privacy, insurance companies and ethics are all worked out by defining the "business rules" for access to the database.

There are several other areas of potential affiliation; dictation, charge capture, and medical reference database content. The wireless system is working on 802.11 - which does not have a very long range. There are specialized PDAs that come with different radio freq and capabilities. They had mentioned to me &quot;I am like you - intrigued by the possible military apps - especially field services - procurement, targeting, etc.&quot; So far, the VA Hospitals have been the best opportunity for this test market so this will happen. They hope to have a private hospital pay for implementation soon. They are even working on one "user group" as a conduit for development - if the user group provides access to their members, we would provide a subscription plan for the software and equipment customized to their requirements - saving PocketMD marketing costs and saving the user group members a lot of money in the process.

President George W. Bush had made an interesting and unusual comment about this, unusual because no one realized he was so up on all this stuff. He said that streamlining these things, issues with HIPPA and Healthcare could be done through IT. Absolutely in our opinion, as long as everyone can agree on a standardized system like we discussed above, where everyone is on the same page. In our opinion PocketMD has developed the most robust software for use by physicians in a hospital. They have more features and better security than any on the market, yet there is a risk of becoming the "Betamax" in the "VCR" race. Companies such as MercuryMD and PatientKeeper simply have more marketing dollars. But either way I bet we find a way to take care of this HIPPA issue that everyone is on edge about sense the lawyers are lining up to sue and the HMOs and Private Hospitals are re-doing their entire method of doing business. The investors of PocketMD(PMD) are looking to take MD Tracker public, which for the medical industry looks like an interesting prospect.

PocketMD:

http://www.itsecurity.com/tecsnews/nov2003/nov108.htm

MercuryMD;

http://www.mercurymd.com/

PatientKeeper;

http://www.patientkeeper.com/

MD Tracker;

http://www.mdtracker.com/hard_soft_technology.html

There are many start-ups out there and now the investment bankers have stepped in and the free market system should fix it. VC is lining up to spend on these to fix the problem. There will be ROI expected from those who solve this problem and that will still slightly raise prices for health care and there will be some systems with issues, feature creep during programming and implementation costs and some failures. Some lawsuits, but in the end although the problems will be quite burdensome and much will be fought by the employees who do not like it as with any new system, innovation or change due to resistance of the status quo.

In the trucking industry they have mobile technologies we have been studying are mobile and work off data bases in the dispatch office. These similar systems with real time data, Video Cell Phones could save lives, monitor school buses, Rapid Transit Districts, Bus Stops, Airliners when used in connection with WiFi in the sky and passenger trains, trolley cars and trams.

The systems are so powerful and robust that it appears with such a system it could be placed on telephone poles and catch bad guys, which drove down a street in a Ryder rental truck with bomb material odors. They could be set up with sensors which could be triggered by infrared and could detect illegal migration, troop movement into areas, stick it on top of a Socorro cactus. Great for plant security, hook it to a sound non-lethal fire mechanism up the road 500 yards, and take out bad guys with remote button and/or force them to run back where they came from or risk burst ear drums and brain damage? These units could be put them on Sarge units from Sandia to patrol borders, infrastructures, military bases, important buildings and plants. Put them on UAVs, ATVs, UUVs and all kinds of stuff, even organic birds to track migration and give real time data.

But back to the IT solutions for HIPPA, yes in fact this is absolutely the way to fix this potentially disastrous problem caused by more regulations in the health care industry when they probably just need tort reform and less law suits and reality based systems with ethical people working in them. The problem is that the over all issues with ethics in America has permeated every part of civilization, so it should not be too surprising that up until now your medical records may have been available to more people than you might have wanted.

In the end HIPPA is here to stay and is a noble calling for privacy, even if there may have been other free market solutions to stop the data leak for privacy issues. This implementation is occurring and the entrepreneurs are solving the problem with their belief that anything worth doing is worth doing for a profit.

HIPPA is no doubt the greatest controversy other than the need for tort reform in Health Care Industry since the turn of the millennium. IT will assist in streamlining the internal systems, which are now dealing with the new HIPPA regulations, but it will take time to implement and ramp up. In the end patients will be happy to know their privacy is protected, even when it travels thru the wireless airwaves to mobile hand held devices.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; <a target="_new" href="http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs">www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs</a>

How To Purchase A Quality Laptop Computers Case

So you finally have that new laptop you have been drooling over for the past 3 months, only there is one problem ?- You don't have a case for it. You've probably already laid down over a grand for the notebook and you're telling yourself that you don't want to spend another $70 for a case. Trust me, this isn't the time to be cheap.

In this article I will go over the importance of getting a quality notebook bag, as well as what sort of features are found on quality laptop cases.

If you consider your laptop to be important or essential, then getting a good, solid case is a must. You may be wondering why? Here are just a few reasons:

- Expensive notebook should be protected properly
- Quality cases have way better outer and inner protection for your laptop
- More comfortable
- Better shoulder protection

If you still need some prodding in the direction of that super duty case maybe the next points will help. Let's go over what distinguishes the good from the bad in notebook bags.

Comfort ? Quality bags have much better shoulder support than cheapies. Your notebook is going to be at least 6 pounds, probably more. Do you really want to break your shoulder just carrying the thing around? You have a lot more choice with quality aftermarket cases as well when it comes to carrying style. In the end you are going to be a lot more comfortable with something that wears well on you.

Protection ? Make sure you don't drop that notebook case that came with your computer ?- You may find your laptop in pieces. Quality laptop cases have great inner and outer protection. Things like reinforced corners on the outside, and air pockets on the inside? It all adds up to piece of mind. If you want, you can even find cases with single or double combo locks.

Storage ? If you want to put extra files or folders into your notebook case you are going to need the space. Quite often, cheaper cases will have just enough room for a notebook and maybe a small folder if you are lucky. When buying an aftermarket case you have a lot more choice in size, and can find something that will hold everything you need it to.

Are you ready to spend a little more money and get that quality case now? Good, but before you do, let's go over a couple more things that are very important.

First, you need to think about what you will be carrying most of the time -- Chances are it isn't just your laptop. What you will be carrying will be a big part of what case you decide on. The more stuff you need to bring along in the bag, the bigger the bag needs to be.

Next, find out the dimensions of your notebook. You need to know this when buying a case. Not all laptops fit in every case, so you need to look for a case that will fit the size of your notebook. Whether you are buying a case locally or online, the main compartment size of the case should be easy enough to find.

Lastly, as you will soon find, there is more than one style of laptop case available. There are the standard cases, ones that look like actual luggage bags, and even backpack style cases. The last one has the added benefit that thieves won't think there is a notebook sitting inside.

Going over exactly what you need in a laptop case, and then purchasing a quality one won't just save your shoulders in time, but possibly your investment too.

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Cody Kahl is creator and writer of Toshiba Laptops Guide ? A site
dedicated to providing only the best <a target="_new" href="http://www.toshibalaptopsguide.com/toshiba-laptop-computers.html">toshiba laptop computers</a> information.
Cody believes in quality, and this free resource proves it.
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