How Laptops Have Changed the World

Another mini revolution that has overtaken the world is the advent of laptops. A major computer maker, Toshiba, in conjunction with Sony Computers, got together and decided to shrink the personal computer (PC) in order to make it smaller and portable. This meant that personal computing was no longer limited to just sitting behind a desk. One could now pack their computer into a small carrier bag and go off with it. The term "laptops" started from here because these mini computers could be used, apart from one's desk, by simply putting it on one's lap. The laptop was then used to refer to smaller portable computers as opposed to "desktops" which were the regular computers that sit on desks in many offices and homes.

Laptops are made by simply compacting the usual components of the personal computers and major computer manufacturers such as Dell, Toshiba, Sony, HP-Compaq and other such as Acer and Lenovo have a major market share when it comes to computers. Dell brought in the concept of customizing computers for its customers. This was a welcome relief because it equipped buys with the power to choose exactly what they wanted to be included in their new computer in terms of memory size, hard-drive size, processor speed and more. All this could be done right from the Dell company website. Other companies followed suit and the era of customization was here.

In the past people could only customize as far as the components. This is still important because the computer is all about performance and performance is all about components. But today customization has actually extended even to the way the computer actually looks. Here we are talking about cosmetic appearance. While most computers come in black and grey, the top computer manufactures have began to crank out laptops that come in different colors. One of the colors is pink and this is one of the most popular laptop colors now in the open market.

But today, laptops are not the sole domain of lone businessmen, researchers working on projects or lecturers and teachers. This is partly because they have become more hip and also because of what computers are used for. Computers used to be created for work-related tasks and that is why they were popular with businessmen and researchers and others. But today laptops, also called "notebooks" have become multimedia centers coming with more RAM, more processor capability and more storage.

Steps on How to Convert TiVo Videos to IPod Playable Format

Now that you got your new iPod with that relatively large crystal screen, you wonder what other things you can do with it.

As you've mastered the art of converting your DVDs to playable formats for your iPod; and have almost exhausted the massive DVD collection you have in your home (or local video rental shop) to take along wherever you wish. You now set your sights on TiVo...

Why not catch up with that last few episodes of your favorite TV show that you missed (just because you had to work late for 3 weeks in a row); or relive the excitement when you saw your friend on TV - with his 15 minutes of fame - as he was randomly interviewed on the streets. Whatever you have on your TiVo, why not relish it over and over, only in diminutive proportions!

The question is, "If it's possible to get your DVDs on an iPod, should it be the same with your TiVo files?"

The answer to that is, YES! And here are the steps to help you out:

1. Transfer your TV shows from TiVo to a PC - You will need to download and use the TiVo Desktop software to transfer shows on your TiVo to any PC. Make sure that your TiVo is connected to your Home Network to get the list of shows available.

2. Convert TiVo files to MPEG - You will find several decent applications online that can convert your TiVo files to MPEG files.

3. Convert MPEG files to an iPod playable format - There are again, a lot of applications off the Internet that you can use to do this. These iPod video converters support converting different video files to iPod video (MP4, MOV, M4A, etc.)

4. When done converting, drag the iPod video file to iTunes and sync to your iPod and your ready to go!

Need For Speed - Undercover Review

Any game from the NFS franchise is always awaited with bated breath and Undercover was no exception. A good amount of hype followed the game and game analysts went to town discussing about its competition with the other two racing titles it had to compete with - Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Burnout Paradise. So how does Need for Speed Undercover fare? Read on for our comments.

There are several things that are truly amazing about Need for Speed Undercover. You really get a great big kick out of riding your mechanized four wheeled horses around town. The feeling cannot be described in words, but you get the feel of being the king (or queen) or all you survey! Added to that, the music is so slick that it really makes you feel you are flying, not driving. There is great music when you are stepping on the gas or when you are starting out with your drive and when you slow down, the music slows down too, making you feel relaxed about the exhilarating drive you just had. If there is something that will take Need for Speed Undercover to cult status as most of the franchise's earlier titles have been, then it is this blend of speed with music.

Another interesting thing about this title is the presence of live action sequences interspersed throughout the game. This usually shows people talking streetspeak which truly adds to the mood of the game and allows you to go all revved up in your vehicle.

Need for Speed has done a good job of bringing its car customizable feature back into business (it wasn't present in ProStreet last year). This again gives you the joy of tweaking your car the way you want to drive it and really feel like the owner of it.

About the game itself, it is a bit different from the previous Need for Speed titles, in that sense it has an open world concept. Racing is not all what you will be doing - you will be escaping the cops, chasing people, delivering 'special' packages and even stealing cars. As you go by, you will get promotions in the Undercover world, which will upgrade both your caliber as a driver as well as your car. You are able to upgrade all your cars several times over and when you have enough dough, you are able to buy a meaner, leaner machine. This concept of evolution has existed in Need for Speed right since its earliest days and it is heartening to see that they haven't done away with it in this one.

There are some flaws though. The car detailing could have been more accurate. A very avid car enthusiast might find something amiss here. The game has a bad frame rate too which makes it not a choice for slower computer systems. Some people who have played the game have also commented about the feel of lifelessness they get in the city as they are driving along; the city seems unreal at times.

But the awesome playability of the game and its amazing music more than make up for it. After all, Need for Speed Undercover delivers what the franchise always does - extreme high-adrenaline nerve-pumping car racing. There's no taking away from that.

Call of Duty - World at War Review

Probably no other game in the entire Call of Duty franchise has come up as much as a surprise as World at War has. There has been a reason. The game is developed by Treyarch, who also developed the abysmal Call of Duty 3, after which most fans of the franchise were totally put off the series. But then the original developers Infinity Ward stepped in and bailed the series out of imminent extinction with its splendid Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. However, when it was announced that Treyarch was developing World at War, the fifth installment in the series, there was a great deal of skepticism once again. However, to Treyarch's credit, World at War wins hands down in all respects! The game has already been highly acclaimed both by the players and the critics and it really deserves the praise.

First and foremost, it is the concept that is riveting. The game is based in the World War II premise. Activision has visited this premise before in Call of Duty, so this is a revisit. However, this time, the visit is awesomely shocking! If you play the game well, you will see that nothing else - game, book or film - has ever brought out the dastardliness of the War as well as Call of Duty: World at War has. You really get angry at the villainy of the Nazis when you see them perpetrating evil on innocent persons. And then, mowing them down with the glorious arsenal you have in hand becomes such as divine pleasure. The game has a knack of making you see red and then give you the gun. You know what you will do then!

Graphics are better than anything else seen in recent times. The engine used is of Modern Warfare, which was every bit as high-performing as it is now. You are taken to forests in Europe and in the South Pacific during the game. There is also a seemingly silly but a fantastically playable level with zombies (Nazi zombies!) which has been surprisingly well received by players. This is one of the tougher levels in the game but has taken the game several notches ahead.

No review of Call of Duty: World at War can be complete without a mention of its truly outstanding multiplayer feature which takes you to play the game again and again. You can pit yourself with anyone in the universe and have hours of grinding fun with them. There is also a co-player mode in which two persons can play on a simultaneous screen. Instead of being a bumpy ride, it is great fun.

There are almost no shortcomings in Call of Duty: World at War; it qualifies as a perfect game. But if you are one to pick at things, you will probably say that the AI of the enemies is not as good. However, it is their unexpected behavior that makes the game the great fun that it is.

This one will not have you reach the history textbooks to brush up on your World War II knowledge, but it will definitely give you great insight on the War. At the end of the day, you get the message that humans can be really evil when it comes to that, but then heroism and courage comes from humans too.

Linux Secrets

The first thing that you will notice about Linux Red Hat (using the Gnome Interface) is that it looks a lot like Windows 95/98/NT. But that's where the similarity ends. Linux requires a whole new set of commands as well as a new way of thinking about things.

For instance, in Windows 95/98 you can adjust monitor or screen properties by just a few key strokes. With Linux, however, in order to adjust the monitor settings, you have to run a program called Xconfigurator. And there is no information anywhere as to how to do this. It is one of these secret things that Linux users don't worry about because "everyone knows how to do it". Those of us changing from Windows to Linux have a need to know these things.

Let me tell you the secret: You have to be logged in as "Root" then you exit to the terminal. Now this looks like a DOS shell, so Windows users don't get too confused. Then at the # prompt type in Xconfigurator. Then you are taken to a configuration program that requires you know a lot about your monitor and your video card. Most of that information is found in the users manual for the hardware, or from the manufacturer. You will need to know the name, model number and manufacturer of the video card and the monitor and you will need to know the refresh rate and vertical and horizontal frequency of the monitor. Be sure that you have this information before you start. After that, you just fill out the form and follow the instructions, it's that simple from there on.

Another well kept secret is that you need to exit to the terminal in order to run any program that does not have an icon on the desktop. That's anything that doesn't specifically come with Red Hat. Some programs will set themselves up with an icon if they are installed in the right desktop interface. Linux has several different desktop interfaces, which is really cool. Gnome is a very Windows like one. The only draw back to Gnome is that some programs like StarOffice won't put an icon on the Gnome interface. So the user gets to do it.

The first thing you need to do is find the executable file for StarOffice, this would be a file called "soffice". The best way to find it is to use the File Manager to locate it. Then make a note of the path and go to Panel and then New Launcher.

Type in the name of the program, e.g. Star Office in the Name field. Then in Comment field put in the text that will appear when the mouse hovers on the icon. Next in Command field type the full path to the program, e.g. /home/jerry/Office51/bin/soffice. Last, choose an icon by clicking on the "No Icon Button", or leave it with no icon. Click on OK and the icon appears on your panel (which resembles the taskbar in Windows).

Linux is not as hard as it would appear at first. Although, they try to tell you that it's really easy, that's not entirely true either. If you know Unix, it's easy. If you know Windows, it's a little hard at first, but then it makes sense. If you are new to computers then Linux is a good program to learn first, because it is so configurable and versatile. There is no end to the possibilities with Linux.

Photoshop For Photographers

A picture is worth a thousand words and that is why beautifully edited photos make loud statements and speak for themselves. As a photographer, you need to know how to use Photoshop to process all your digital photos, touch them up for professional look and feel. Photoshop software is used all over the world to edit, amend and touch up dull looking photos into elegant vivid coloured photos that are used for magazines and newspapers.

You don't have to be a Professional Photographer These days you do not have to be a professional photographer to produce quality photos. You do not have to learn how to do exposure compensation, white light balance, aperture adjustments, field of depth knowledge or to tweak your SLR camera. Just a normal digital camera to take photos and software to download to the computer is sufficient for you to produce professional looking photographs by using this software. It can correct the colour saturation, make good exposure compensation and remove blemishes to old yellowed photos and add in new backgrounds.

By using levels adjustment in Photoshop, you can instantly add more colours to your otherwise plain washed out photos. One can also brighten up the colours and images in a dull and dark lighting. If your flash light is not powerful enough to reach the distant environment, fret not because you can turn to Photoshop to brighten up the dark photos.

Correct Hand Shake Errors You can also correct hand shake errors in your digital photos by sharpening the images with the various tools like Smart Sharpen. Alternatively, you can also blur your photos for that misty feel by using Smart Blur. One can also change the numbers of the car plate, remove an unwanted object in the photos or add new objects to them. Such is the power of Photoshop for photographers.

You can also add text to your photos for posterity. On the other hand, you can also add a copy right text with your name to the digital image including the copyright sign to show ownership. This is useful when you need to post photos of products in eBay pages so that your potential clients know that the photos originate from you and not copied elsewhere.

If you are an avid aspiring photographer, it makes good sense to sign up for a course in Photoshop so that you know the basics of how to edit your digital photographs, re-size them for faster upload to the web sites. This is an investment in itself.

Secrets to a Healthy Computer and a Happier You

There comes a time in a person’s life where no matter how much you fight it time takes its toll and we begin to slow down in how we perform our daily activities. However, in order to extend our youthful glow and energy levels it is important to eat right, exercise, and keep a positive outlook on life.

Now you may ask what has any of that got to do with “Secrets To A Healthy Computer?”

Well, in a way we’re all just like a computer. If you neglect to take care of yourself you soon will cease to function properly and the many tasks that once were easy to do now take twice as long to accomplish and often require you to rest or “reboot” after a malfunction.

I can’t tell you what foods to eat or what exercises to perform because I am not a nutritionist. Although, with my experiences in the personal computer field I can share with you some tips of how to keep that rectangle box of circuitry that sits within sights range functioning at maximum performance as long as time will allow.

Some important steps to follow are….

Make certain that your computer is located in a well ventilated area and that all air vents are unobstructed to prevent overheating and premature failure to any internal components.

Clean out the dust build-up at least every 6 months from the inside of the computer case including case vents, power supply vents, and all visible circuitry with a few cans of compressed air that can be purchased from any major computer store or electronics outlet. This will help reduce the chances of overheating and circuitry damage.

Before cleaning just be certain to always unplug the computer from the wall outlet and never physically contact the circuitry inside the computer case to prevent damage.

Be prepared for an unsuspected failure by always making backups of any important data that you do not and can not afford to lose.

I personally keep updated backups of my website and even store the disks at a remote location away from my every day use computers just in case a disaster were to occur and my main computers were destroyed resulting in the need for those lost files.

Purchase and install a well known anti-virus program that can be regularly updated with the latest virus definitions and ran during boot-up to help protect your computer from being the victim of an unwanted infestation.

Every few months or so run your computer’s “Scandisk” program followed by the “Defragmenter” program to maximize the efficiency of your hard drive.

If you are not certain of how to use these utilities and being that the steps to execute these programs varies slightly from one operating system to the other it would be easiest to simply use the “Help” option that can be found by clicking on the START button found on your computers desktop.

The START menu will open up a drop-down-box that should display the “Help” option. By going here you can enter the keywords that deal with the answers to the subject you are searching for.

Run your computers “Disk Cleanup” utility every other week or so. If set the “Disk Cleanup” utility will automatically empty the recycling bin and recover some wasted disk space by removing the internet temporary files that seem to always accumulate.

Again, use the “Help” option if you are uncertain of how to perform this task.

Never smoke near a computer because the cooling fans will pull the smoke into the case where it can coat the inside parts of the computer with a residue which in turn can damage sensitive components.

Place the computer case in an area where it will not be accidentally kicked or bumped to prevent the loosening of cables and damage to internal parts.

Invest in a high quality surge protector to provide your computer and monitor against voltage spikes or “surges” that can dramatically shorten the life of your system. Just like most items in a store, “You get what you pay for”. So don’t skimp out on this important device!

Its also not a bad idea to invest in a surge protector that includes what is called a “Data Line Protector” which allows you to connect your telephone lines to and serves the same purpose for the telephone line to your modem just like the surge protector does for the electrical household current lines.

Finally, if you plan on being away from home for more that a few days at a time or if there is a thunderstorm brewing in your area it is a very wise decision to always unplug all electrical lines and modem telephone lines from your system. Even with a surge protector installed it is possible that such a large voltage spike such as one caused by a lightening strike could prove fatal to any computer system.

If you follow these simple steps the outcome is a healthy computer that will stay by your side and treat you well which also results in a happier you.