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Solar Energy Gadgets


About Solar Energy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.

Solar power technologies provide electrical generation by means of heat engines or photovoltaics. Once converted its uses are only limited by human ingenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels, solar thermal collectors, with electrical or mechanical equipment, to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.


Solar Energy Gadgets for a Green Life
taken from green-planet-solar-energy.com

There is a huge range of small scale solar energy devices on the market today, with more appearing all the time. The majority of these devices are aimed at charging mobile electronic devices or allowing their operation when the battery is depleted.

With such a wide range of products available it can be difficult to identify quality items. As for all other manufactured goods, good quality products often look exactly the same as poor quality ones. Buying long lasting, well built items is the best choice for ourselves and the planet as we minimize both long term expense and waste.

Small Solar Chargers

The sleek, futuristic looking Solio solar charger comes with a swathe of connectors for charging different devices and also has a built in battery for excess power storage. Its battery capacity and ability to plug directly into the mains electricity makes it compare favourably withproducts such as the Freeloader solar charger.

By comparison, the Soldius solar charger charges at a much faster rate but does not have a backup battery. This both limits its usefulness to the daytime hours and reduces its weight.

Then there is the incredibly cheap Brando Solar USB Charger line of products. These are less than half the cost of other comparable units. Is this a price breakthrough or a case of buyer beware?

If you are looking to recharge regular batteries, you may benefit from having a solar AA battery charger. Be careful to buy a quality unit that does not come with its own batteries.

Solar Generators

The PowerCube 6000 is a fair attempt at producing a stand alone solar powered generator that can match the performance of its petrol driven competitors. However the price and bulkiness of this unit will limit its appeal to those with excess money to spend.

By comparison the Solar Stik looks lightweight, far more practical and even comes at a better price. The warranty on the parts and workmanship is equal to or better than the Powercube, making it an ideal portable energy solution.

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10 Best Tips on Computer Maintenance

taken from ezinearticles.com by Pinky Mcbanon (updated)

Can you imagine a day in your life without your computer? Computers have become an integral part of our lives by enhancing our productivity at work and at home. It is essential for the computer to give us reliable service. This does not happen automatically. As computer owners, we need to ensure the serviceability of our computers.

The precautions mentioned below can keep your computer healthy and functioning in a stable and reliable manner.

1. Regular Maintenance - Computers need a dust-free, temperature-controlled atmosphere to function correctly. This can be ensured by periodically opening up the case and removing accumulated dust with a vacuum cleaner. Dust tends to clog vents responsible for air circulation and obstruct moving parts in devices like fans that are normally used to aid heat dissipation.

2. Never Turn-off When You can Shutdown - If you abruptly turn off a computer that is hanging, your hard disk could be damaged and your software corrupted. Use the shutdown tab of the Task Manager to do so.

3. Get a Good UPS - The UPS provides standby power for a short while in case of mains failure and can help protect your work from loss. It also saves the hard disk and software installed from damage by allowing you to shutdown the computer if AC power is no longer available.

4. Run Disk Check Tool like Scandisk (in Windows 98) or Chkdsk (in Windows XP) regularly and run Disk Defragmenter if needed - This step performed on a regular basis can help you access the hard disk more efficiently and speed up you computer.

5. Anti-virus, Adware and Spyware Removal Tools - You need to have these software packages installed to scan your computer regularly to remove and prevent security threats. Updating protection software is also an integral part.

6. Uninstall Programs, Never Delete - It is better to uninstall software rather than delete manually, for proper functioning of your computer.

7. Registry Scan - Periodic registry scans are required to ensure that the registry is update. Using a registry cleaner is better than cleaning manually. I recommended to use TuneUp Utility.

8. Software and OS Update - Always make sure you update all installed software and the Operating System regularly. Keep the CD-ROMs for the software packages installed on your computer safely.

9. Firewall - If you browse the Internet, the protection afforded by a good firewall against online threats is invaluable. But, if your internet connection have a problem with activation of firewall, as well you turn off firewall.

10. Detaching Peripherals - It is not advised to detach and attach peripherals like a serial/parallel device when the computer is running as the threat of a short circuit destroying parts of the peripheral or the Motherboard is very real. This does not apply to hot-swappable devices like USB devices.

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Free Download Anti Spam - Spam Filter

Preface

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

E-mail spam

E-mail spam, also known as junk e-mail, is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail. A common synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE). Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. "UCE" refers specifically to unsolicited commercial e-mail.

E-mail spam has steadily, even exponentially grown since the early 1990s to several billion messages a day. Spam has frustrated, confused, and annoyed e-mail users. Laws against spam have been sporadically implemented, with some being opt-out and others requiring opt-in e-mail. The total volume of spam has leveled off slightly in recent years, and is no longer growing exponentially. The amount received by most e-mail users has decreased, mostly because of better filtering. About 80% of all spam is sent by fewer than 200 spammers. Botnets, networks of virus-infected computers, are used to send about 80% of spam. Since the cost of the spam is borne mostly by the recipient, it is effectively postage due advertising.

E-mail addresses are collected from chatrooms, websites, newsgroups, and viruses which harvest users' address books, and are sold to other spammers. Much of spam is sent to invalid e-mail addresses.

Phishing

Spam is also a medium for fraudsters to scam users to enter personal information on fake Web sites using e-mail forged to look like it is from a bank or other organization such as PayPal. This is known as phishing. Spear-phishing is targeted phishing, using known information about the recipient, such as making it look like it comes from their employer.


Spamihilator, Free Spam Filter for Windows

What is Spamihilator?

Spamihilator works between your E-Mail client and the Internet and examines every incoming E-Mail. Useless spam mails (Junk) will be filtered out. This process runs completely in the background.

The Learning Filter (Bayesian Filter) uses the rules of Thomas Bayes (English mathematician, 18th century) and calculates a certain Spam-Probability for every E-Mail. You can train this filter! So it will know your messages even better than you. Hence the recognition rate will continuously increase.

Spamihilator screenshotIn addition Spamihilator uses a Word-Filter, that searches messages for known keywords. User-defined words and regular expression can be added.

Of course, Spamihilator supports Plugins. These useful additional filters protect your system against annoying spam mails.

The program works with almost every E-Mail client, such as Outlook 2000/XP/2003/Express, Eudora, Mozilla Thunderbird, IncrediMail, Pegasus Mail, Phoenix Mail, Opera, etc.

Download latest version of Spamihilator

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How to Choose the Best Photo Printers

Preface

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A photo printer is a printer (usually an inkjet printer) that is specifically designed to print high quality digital photos on photo paper. These printers usually have a very high number of nozzles and are capable of printing droplets as small as 1 picoliter.


Photo Printers Buying Guide
taken from lytebyte.com by Mr. Byte

As much as the confusion reigns in buying any product in this competitive world, it exists before buying a photo printer for home as there are thousands to choose from. The best way is to consider it category by category and go on in an elimination round. Think what is the purpose of the photo printer that you are willing to buy and this may determine the money you may want to put on it which usually ranges from $50 to $500 or more.

This is a sleek printer from Samsung


So here are the features that I would recommend to look for before you make up the decision :

Resolution
The first one that I would look into is the resolution in dpi (Dots per inch) also known as Max H-Resolution Color. But look carefully here as you infer the quality of the print from these numbers because this dpi varies for different technology like ink-jet or thermal or laser. DPI usually varies from 300 to 4800 or above and thermal printers have low numbers than ink-jet. But whatever it is, it’s better to get one a decent one from the category of your choice if not the highest. The highest and the latest would always mean the costliest, so it’s better to settle for the second best and you can also keep it for a reasonable time before you buy the next home photo printer. So buy a standard one like 1200 by 4800 dpi for ink-jet which is same as 300 by 300 dpi for thermal dye printers.

Brand
Buying a branded one usually tends to be a costlier one but you can it without thinking too much. It’s like paying insurance for your product. If you are willing to do a well research on other brands that you are considering to buy, it may be a better choice. The better ones are usually from HP, Canon, Epson, Xerox, Lexmark etc.

Size
The regular size of photos is 4 by 6 inches or little bigger than that is 8 by 10 inches. Most photos that you would print often would be within these sizes. But if you are a large photo enthusiast, you may consider tabloid sizes like 11 by 17 inches or even bigger tabloid 13 by 19 inches. These sizes would be great for wall hangings. But it’s better to settle for 8 by 10 inches and you can always print these extra large ones from a store.

Printer Type and Technology
Here the printer type we have considered is home photo printer but you can also buy printers which are also suited for regular day to day printing so that you need not have two printers near your computer! Considering the technology, the poplar ones for photo printing are ink-jet or thermal dye printers than laser. Most of the thermal printers are better than ink-jet for long lasting looks of the pictures and making it water proof.

Speed
Speed is the main factor when it comes to cost. Most of the printers may give the same quality but some offer high speed printing while maintaining the quality. As a home user, you may settle for low speed and save lot of money.

Operating Cost
You may end up buying a printer of your choice now and maybe reluctant to use it later because the running cost of using photo papers and ink may be very high. You may think that you can use third-party inks and paper but each printer is designed to work at its best with a particular ink, paper and software which run behind it. The physics behind the operation of the technology differs from product to product. You may see a slight difference in quality if you use third party products but if that’s reasonable quality, it may be the better choice.

Other Features :

Number of Ink Colors - Higher number of ink colors may give professional quality of pictures but may not be necessary for home user.
Connectivity – You can always connect the printer with USB to your computer. Higher connectivity features like wireless, connecting to multiple computers at the same time are of necessity but of choice.
Scanner – Again it’s only by choice. It’s a matter of need and want.
Other features like compatibility, built in additional features like CD or DVD -writer, Digital and multimedia card reader, touch screen, preview screen, laminator etc add up the price tag so it’s better to decide what you want exactly.

To make your choice better, you can always read some printer reviews before you go to the store or order it online.

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Best Free Download Anti Spyware


Preface

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

About Spyware

Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent.

While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits, sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, and redirecting Web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet or functionality of other programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software.

In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer. The US Federal Trade Commission has placed on the Internet a page of advice to consumers about how to lower the risk of spyware infection, including a list of "dos" and "don'ts."

Unlike viruses and worms, spyware does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses; however, spyware—by design—exploits infected computers for commercial gain. Typical tactics furthering this goal include delivery of unsolicited pop-up advertisements; theft of personal information (including financial information such as credit card numbers); monitoring of Web-browsing activity for marketing purposes; or routing of HTTP requests to advertising sites.

Anti-Spyware Programs

Many programmers and some commercial firms have released products dedicated to remove or block spyware. Steve Gibson's OptOut pioneered a growing category.

Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware in two ways:

1. They can provide real time protection against the installation of spyware software on your computer. This type of spyware protection works the same way as that of anti-virus protection in that the anti-spyware software scans all incoming network data for spyware software and blocks any threats it comes across.

2. Anti-spyware software programs can be used solely for detection and removal of spyware software that has already been installed onto your computer. This type of spyware protection is normally much easier to use and more popular. With this spyware protection software you can schedule weekly, daily, or monthly scans of your computer to detect and remove any spyware software that has been installed on your computer. This type of anti-spyware software scans the contents of the windows registry, operating system files, and installed programs on your computer and will provide a list of any threats found, allowing you to choose what you want to delete and what you want to keep.

Such programs inspect the contents of the Windows registry, the operating system files, and installed programs, and remove files and entries which match a list of known spyware components. Real-time protection from spyware works identically to real-time anti-virus protection: the software scans disk files at download time, and blocks the activity of components known to represent spyware. In some cases, it may also intercept attempts to install start-up items or to modify browser settings. Because many spyware and adware are installed as a result of browser exploits or user error, using security software (some of which are antispyware, though many are not) to sandbox browsers can also be effective to help restrict any damage done.

Earlier versions of anti-spyware programs focused chiefly on detection and removal. Javacool Software's SpywareBlaster, one of the first to offer real-time protection, blocked the installation of ActiveX-based and other spyware programs.

Like most anti-virus software, many anti-spyware/adware tools require a frequently-updated database of threats. As new spyware programs are released, anti-spyware developers discover and evaluate them, making "signatures" or "definitions" which allow the software to detect and remove the spyware. As a result, anti-spyware software is of limited usefulness without a regular source of updates. Some vendors provide a subscription-based update service, while others provide updates free. Updates may be installed automatically on a schedule or before doing a scan, or may be done manually.

Not all programs rely on updated definitions. Some programs rely partly (for instance many antispyware programs such as Windows Defender, Spybot's TeaTimer and Spysweeper) or fully (programs falling under the class of HIPS such as BillP's WinPatrol) on historical observation. They watch certain configuration parameters (such as certain portions of the Windows registry or browser configuration) and report any change to the user, without judgment or recommendation. While they do not rely on updated definitions, which may allow them to spot newer spyware, they can offer no guidance. The user is left to determine "what did I just do, and is this configuration change appropriate?"

A popular generic spyware removal tool used by those with a certain degree of expertise is HijackThis, which scans certain areas of the Windows OS where spyware often resides and presents a list with items to delete manually. As most of the items are legitimate windows files/registry entries it is advised for those who are less knowledgeable on this subject to post a HijackThis log on the numerous antispyware sites and let the experts decide what to delete.

If a spyware program is not blocked and manages to get itself installed, it may resist attempts to terminate or uninstall it. Some programs work in pairs: when an anti-spyware scanner (or the user) terminates one running process, the other one respawns the killed program. Likewise, some spyware will detect attempts to remove registry keys and immediately add them again. Usually, booting the infected computer in safe mode allows an anti-spyware program a better chance of removing persistent spyware. Killing the process tree may also work.

A new breed of spyware (Look2Me spyware by NicTechNetworks is a good example) hides inside system-critical processes and start up even in safe mode, see rootkit. With no process to terminate they are harder to detect and remove. Sometimes they do not even leave any on-disk signatures. Rootkit technology is also seeing increasing use, as is the use of NTFS alternate data streams. Newer spyware programs also have specific countermeasures against well known anti-malware products and may prevent them from running or being installed, or even uninstall them. An example of one that uses all three methods is Gromozon, a new breed of malware. It uses alternate data streams to hide. A rootkit hides it even from alternate data streams scanners and actively stops popular rootkit scanners from running.


Download the Best Free Anti Spyware
taken from download.com by Peter Butler

Microsoft Windows Defender

Free of charge for all registered Windows users, this beta program from Microsoft detects and removes malware from your machine. Additional tools include a privacy eraser and scan scheduler. Download here

CCleaner

Not only will this fabulous freeware wipe away your Internet surfing tracks, it also removes unused files on your machine to optimize performance. A Registry-cleaning tool with automatic backup functionality is the icing on the cake. Download here

SpywareBlaster

Detecting and removing spyware is important, but it's even better to keep it off your machine completely. Javacool Software's nifty utility prevents ActiveX-based malware from installing itself on your PC. Download here

SpyCatcher Express

Antispyware definition files change from week to week, but this free offering from Tenebril catches malware that other scans don't. The detection engine is quite aggressive, however, so users should be careful not to delete any files they know are safe. Download here

HijackThis

When your standard adware protection isn't solving your problem, try this target scanner. It analyzes key areas of your local drive and Registry to suggest all possible threats. Download here



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Best HDTVs Buying Guide, Plasma TV vs. LCD TV


TVs Buying Guide

Taken from dreamwarecomputers.com by Steve Blackweel

A trip to your local home entertainment store to buy a new Television is a task that can easily become so confusing for so many people that they leave the store without making a purchase. We're past the days of just buying the size of CRT TV that best fits our needs or our budget. With so many different types of TV technologies on the market these days, one really has to know what they want in a TV before even approaching the shopping stage. The main issues that have to be tackled are the size of the TV you want and how much you're willing to spend.

A quick background on the technologies

LCD – LCD is short for 'liquid crystal display' which is a type of display that uses an array of crystals in front of a backlight source. When voltage is applied to these crystals they twist to allow varying amounts of light to pass through colour filters, this is a process that happens at every pixel to essentially display the entire image on the screen or TV.

Plasma – A plasma TV is made up of millions of cells containing the inert gases required to illuminate the display when they are charged. Each pixel of a plasma television is divided into three “sub-pixels”, one for red, one for green and one for blue. When the gas in these sub-pixels has a charge applied to it, it turns into a luminous plasma. Through this happening in every single pixel of your TV, the right colours will be lit up to create an image.

DLP – DLP is certainly the more technologically complex of the three major television styles. A DLP chip containing over a million small mirrors (one for each pixel) is a chip that is small enough to be held in the palm of your hand. By tilting a mirror towards a light source or away from it, the corresponding pixel's 'on' or 'off' state can be controlled. Since each mirror can be turned on and off thousands of times per second, the chip has the capabilities to keep up to creating action-intense scenes without a problem. The replaceable lamp bulb that lights up these mirrors is first filtered through a colour wheel before reflecting off the DLP chip mirrors. This colour wheel is what creates the red, green and blue colours required to create a full-colour image.

Interlace vs Progressive Scan – To put things simple and straightforward on this subject; interlacing allows the image quality to be improved while not consuming any more bandwidth. This is done by the television drawing the odd lines of the image and then the even lines. This is also the common method used by television broadcast stations (both standard definition and a lot of high-definition broadcasts as well). Progressive scan (example 1080p) content is able to achieve much higher quality and frame rates but also consumes more bandwidth which is why most TV stations are not broadcasting this style of content yet. Progressive scan draws the image progressively, one line after another in order.

LCD
With LCD being such a widely available display technology, you won't have a hard time finding many different styles and brand names. Although not being available in larger sizes used to limit the LCD technology, this is no longer true. The range is from about 7 inches to 65+ inches in size. The smaller and more common sizes are also very budget friendly because they are mass produced on such a large scale for everything from TVs to computer displays. When you get into the larger LCD sizes, usually 50+ inches, then the price starts to get a little more costly than some of their plasma and DLP counterparts. Since the main source of an LCD's image is produced by the flat panel and the accompanying backlight, these are not very deep TV's and are popular for wall-mounting and also outperform all other TV styles when displaying static images. The good news is that with LCD panels being such widely produced in such a large variety of sizes now, prices are continually dropping on this technology. Being very budget-friendly is what makes LCD such a popular choice amongst typical home users who aren't looking to spend a lot of cash to build a big home theater system. Due to the design of an LCD panel there is no need to worry about any sort of “burn-in” time where you need to be careful with the display settings. We'll touch more on this subject in a bit. We are also past the days of slow LCD panels where ghosting would be an issue and that is another area you simply do not need to worry about when shopping for an LCD TV.

Visually, LCD buyers often enjoy the ability to choose between models with the typical non-reflective front panel and those with thin glass overlays on the front. This is quite different front plasma TVs where the gases used to create the plasma are sandwiched between two [reflective] glass panels. Depending on the style of room a plasma TV is being put into, this highly reflective front may not always work to the buyers liking.

Although there are some cons to the LCD TV category, I personally don't find these big enough to sway me away from buying one. First off is the problem of viewing angle, which is continually being improved upon as LCD technology advances. The viewing angle of an LCD display is somewhat less than their plasma and DLP counterparts. Plasma's have a viewing angle of up to 180 degrees where as LCDs tend to fall short of that at around 175 degrees (give or take a few degrees on each comparison). Since LCD displays were originally designed for a single-user experience, such as a computer monitor, they have a “sweet spot” viewing angle where all the colours and intensities are better balanced. Plasmas do not suffer from this “sweet spot” and can be viewed equally from any angle. Another bound-to-happen issue on most LCD TVs is backlight leakage. Since the backlight on these displays is what makes the LCD panel bright enough for the picture to be visible, it must always be turned on. When an LCD panel shows black it is simply blacking out the pixels that must be black but there is still a backlight turned on behind these pixels. This often causes the blacks to not be a rich and deep black, but to be slightly lighter. Depending on the quality of the TV and your viewing angle, the blacks in your picture may sometimes be very noticeably lighter, often with a slight white hue to them from this bleeding of the backlight. Keep in mind that's often only common on cheaper TVs, and if you try out a few before buying and invest your money wisely you won't run into a problem this severe.

Plasma
Another option you'll have in your search for a new Television is a plasma TV. Plasma televisions don't come in sizes nearly as small as their LCD counterparts, but they are just as thin as a lot of LCD TVs so they can be easily mounted on a wall as well. When it comes to buying a larger sized TV, plasma is often one of the two cheaper routes to go; with DLP being another option we'll discuss soon. Although plasma doesn't always share the same resolutions as similar sized and priced LCD panels do, most plasma TVs are capable of 1080p.

Since illumination is created by a chemical reaction at each pixel and does not rely on a backlight that is always turned on like the LCD technology, a plasma TV will have much better blacks than an LCD can achieve. This will be especially noticeable with off-axis viewing, a case where LCD's will commonly lose black intensity. When it comes to contrast ratio, black levels, and depth perception it is said that plasma has a great advantage over LCD's in normal to low room lighting conditions. When you're in a really bright room or have nearby windows then make sure you watch out for reflections off the glass front!

As plasma TV's commonly only come in 42”+ sizes, you can't expect to go out and buy a “cheap” or “small” plasma. Once you do buy that new plasma, keep in mind that a lot of people don't realize that there is a “burn-in” time. For the first 100 operational hours of the TV you should run it at a reduced contrast level because it is possible to get a permanent image “burned” into the screen. During this time you will want to make sure that all the content you watch is in full widescreen mode. Any black bars at the sides of the screen from watching 4:3 ratio video will further contribute to this burn-in. After that initial 100 hours the TV will be much less sensitive to burn-in, although not completely clear of it. For minor burn-in, there are applications out there that can be executed from a computer to try and fix it.

DLP
The last of the three major options you'll have to choose between is a DLP TV. The projection method used on these TV's will make them quite a bit deeper than a plasma or LCD set of the same screen size. That cuts out the option to wall-mount these guys; they must be set on a stand in order to elevate them to optimal viewing level. Having an excellent size to price ratio, these are another very popular style of TV for those wanting to go big. A DLP television will often cost less than it's identical sized plasma counterpart. As with plasma, you will only find DLP TV's on the larger size (commonly 42”+). Also similar to plasma is the absence of a backlight behind the panel of a DLP television. This will also give it far better blacks than an LCD screen would have. Being in such an affordable price range means that you will have lots of options to choose from when buying a DLP TV, so count that as another plus. Being a continually evolving format, DLP manufacturers are starting to improve upon some issues this technology faced when it was newer. The “rainbow effect” is something you may experience on a DLP TV with a bulb backlight. Since only one colour on the internal colour wheel is shown at a time, if you pan your eyes across the image or look away and then look back quickly, some people say they can actually see the colour separation. Newer DLP designs are improving upon this by using LED backlighting with RGB LED's to essentially replace the traditional bulb and colour wheel all together. This not only cuts down on that expensive bulb cost, but also rules out the fact that the colour wheel may be subject to future failure because it is a mechanical device (and as we know, few mechanical devices will last forever). Unlike older DLP's that would achieve 1080p through a method called 'Wobulation', newer chip designs are also enhancing upon this by allowing the TV to natively produce 1080p content without some mirrors doing “double duty”.

Connectivity
Lastly, you will want to look into the connectivity options of the television you choose. Most new TVs are now using HDMI to handle the majority of their interfacing with other components. HDMI is an entirely digital audio and video signal carried by one simple cable. Being a digital signal, it is able to carry high definition images up to 1080p for the best viewing experience in your new home theater. However, do you want PC connectivity too? Some users want the ability to tightly integrate their computer into their home theater system. If this is the case, look into the style of connection the TV uses for computer interfacing and make sure your computer has that connection as well (commonly analog VGA or digital DVI). For legacy components, you will want to make sure the TV supports the basic RCA video and audio inputs because a lot of components like digital cameras are still using these connection styles. S-video? Component input? Flash card input? Your requirements for all these will depend on what you plan on connecting to your home theater both now and in the near future.

To Conclude
Home television buying can be an incredibly daunting task. To keep things simple in this basic buying guide here, I tried my best to outline all the major things you will need to know in each area. However, at the same time I was only able to scratch the surface of each without writing a complete novel for you. Using your newfound knowledge, hopefully you will be able to find a television that will best suite you and your intentions for it. I highly encourage that once you've found a style you think will work best for you that you research it even further and try out a few store demo models of that kind of TV before making the investment yourself.

You can find more HDTV review for Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Philips HDTV at www.testfreaks.com/televisions


Plasma TV vs. LCD TV
Plasma TV and LCD TV have different advantages

This review taken from consumersearch.com

Plasma televisions and LCD TVs are both capable of delivering a relatively big picture within a thin case, but there are some differences between them.

Plasma TVs are now available in a much wider range of sizes than in the past, but LCD televisions are available in still more, including sizes below 32 inches. While they might be thin, be aware that plasma TVs are still quite heavy, often requiring professional installation (for wall mounts) and good venting to keep them from overheating. LCD TVs weigh less, but they're still cumbersome to mount on a wall.

Plasma TVs are known for their better ability to display dark colors as compared to LCD TVs. This makes them a good choice for movie watching where dark scenes are common, and it's the reason why most reviewers say plasma is a better choice for a home theater. LCD TVs appear brighter, but they don't usually display details in shadowy areas as well.

If your room is brightly lit, an LCD TV may be a better choice. That's because plasma TVs can sometimes look washed out in a bright room, and they often have problems with reflections and glare. Some plasma screens have anti-reflection coatings, helping them better cope with ambient light, but their effectiveness varies.

Plasma TV screens have wider viewing angles than LCD flat-panel televisions. That means you can sit at more of an angle and still get the best picture. With LCD TVs, on the other hand, sitting too far to one side will result in a loss of brightness. In addition, LCD televisions can sometimes have problems with moving images. That's because it takes longer for LCD pixels to switch color than for plasma pixels to change. However, according to reviews, that is becoming less of a problem in the latest LCD TVs.

Burn-in was a problem with early model plasma TVs. However, new technology reduces the risk of burn-in, and analysts at PC Magazine say that it's no longer a concern with most plasma TVs. LCD TVs have no burn-in risk.

Temporary image retention is a similar problem, but less severe; in that case, a static scene leaves behind an annoying ghost that takes several minutes -- or more -- to completely disappear. Some plasma TVs include anti-image-retention features such as an "eraser" function that removes image retention quicker or a "pixel shifter" or "pixel orbiter," which imperceptibly moves an image around the screen by a pixel or two. Image retention can be a problem with all plasmas, but budget choices seem to be more susceptible. Reports add that temporary image retention seems to decrease as a plasma display ages.

Plasma TV panels contain a gas that loses brightness over time. Because of that, some buyers have been concerned about the life expectancy of a plasma TV. However, the latest sets have panels that are rated to last up to 60,000 hours before they lose half their brightness, which translates to over 20 years if you watch TV eight hours a day. Clearly, most buyers will have long since replaced their TVs before the plasma panel wears out.

All plasma TVs today are HD (high definition), with screen resolutions of 720p or 1080p. Note that for manufacturing reasons, most 42-inch and smaller 720p plasma displays don't quite display the full horizontal resolution of 1280 horizontal pixels. By industry convention, however, these are still called HD because they do display the full 720 vertical pixels in an HD image. Additionally, experts say that at typical viewing distances, most won't notice the slightly reduced horizontal resolution of these displays. (For more on HD resolutions, see our report on HDTV.)


Conclusion

So, who is the best HDTV product right now? It is many criteria for balance of overall size, screen size, resolutions, picture quality, sound quality, 3D-ready feature, and cost. After you read article above, you can choose your own HDTV product that give you the home entertainment experience.

...Continue reading...

Best Free Download Mobile Games

Last time I have been collecting the "Best Free Download Mobile Software", and this time I will to inform about "Best Mobile Games for Free" that I have been selected from some websites. The genre of games are including action, adventure, simulation, racing, and puzzle, with 2d or 3d graphics.

These are Most Popular Free Games for Your Mobile Phone, PDA, or Handheld Device

1. Frozen Bubble

As you probably already know Frozen Bubble is a popular free puzzle game (especially in Linux platform). User controls a small canon, shooting bubbles and tries to hit other bubbles so to create groups of 3 or more bubbles of the same color. Requirements: Symbian S60 3rd Edition. Download here



2. The Tumbleweed

The unique realism of physics and graphics of the game will have you rolling and jumping in the desert for hours. Have a safe trip. Enjoy astounding 3D action and keep the high score. Tumbleweed is a 3D game for S60 3th edition. Download here





3. Freeflight is a 3D flight simulator

Freeflight is a 3D flight simulator for JAVA (j2me) compatible mobile phones. It will give you a chance to fly with four different aircrafts over many landscapes. The 3d graphics are taking alot of the phone resources, thats why you need some powerfull Symbian phone to have it running smoothly. Download here




4. S-Tris 2

S-Tris 2 is based on the famous Tetris concept and is the follow-up of our popular S-Tris game. This game comes as a demonstration of our in-house developed game engine Edge and is completely free. The game is available for Windows Mobile, Symbian, the GP2X game console and Windows desktop. Download here




5. SpeedRacer

Free Flash lite racing game, drive & control your car on danger road. Requirements: Symbian OS with Flash lite. Download here You need to register for free before downloading this game.








Download Free Mobile Games from Gamejump.com

How to Download :
1. Browse to the www.gamejump.com
2. Choose the game you like (puzzle, action, arcade, or adventure).
3. Click Select phone, choose your phone type. Download key will see.
4. Browse to the m.gjmp.tw on your mobile phone or computer.
5. Enter download key to download the game, and click submit.
6. Enjoy the game

Don't know your phone model?
Try powering off your phone and removing your battery. Most phones have a sticker under the battery that will have the phone manufacturer and model listed.

...Continue reading...

How to Build Powerful PC for Gaming, Gaming PC vs. Next-Gen Consoles (Part 2)

...... continuation of Part 1

Standard Native Resolution of the Consoles and PC

When the game consoles follow standard HD 720p and Full HD 1080p, then PC follow a standard called XHD. It seems that representative of the Xtended HD or Xtreme HD.

There are 3 types of resolutions that are categorized as XHD, namely:
- 1680x1050
- 1900x1200
- 2560x1600

Third resolution is used on the 19" wide LCD monitor, 22" Wide, 24" Wide, and 30" Wide. HD 720p resolution used by the popular next-gen game consoles and 32" LCD monitor in fact the quality is still lower rather than SXGA (1280x1024) resolution are commonly used on the PC with 17" LCD monitor. HD 720p resolution actually is Wide version of the 1024x768 resolution that commonly used on the 15" LCD monitor.

Maximum resolution supported by PC game has reached 2560x1600 (WQXGA), while the game consoles maximum still 1920x1080 (Full HD 1080p). But very rarely console games that really supporting Full HD 1080p resolution. The majority of PS3 games and Xbox 360 just to use the 1280x720 resolution (720p HD), a resolution that much lower rather than common resolution among PC Gamer is 1280x1024.

Can or not a PC gamer reach to XHD resolution depends on the videocard and monitor that they have. The good videocard and the higher the type of monitor, then the higher resolution that can be use by them to play. Meanwhile for consoles gamer, they will remain trapped in the carried game resolution that the majority only 1280x720. Even if they use the LCD monitor Full HD 1080p, the picture will still be broken because the original game resolution only 1280x720. In this case, LCD TV 1080p only do "upscale" the game that still 720p resolution.

Some games in the Xbox 360 and PS 3 even has a lower resolution rather than 1280x720 (720p). Examples are Call of Duty 4, Oblivion, Tomb Raider Legend, and Alone in the Dark that has a 1024x600 resolution (600p), and the more severe is Jericho only 996x560 (560p) and Guitar Hero 3 only 1040x585 (585p). While that games on the PC are supports the resolution of 1920x1200 and even 2560x1600.

Grand Theft Auto 4 on Xbox 360 and PS 3 are also only 1152x640 resolution (640p) is much lower rather than in PC version that supports 2560x1600 resolution. In addition, only a few game in Xbox 360 and PS 3 use the Anti-Aliasing (AA) to refine the image. A lot games in the consoles are not supporting AA, which means the image is certainly very jagged. While in the PC you can even increasing AA to 8X.


How to Choose Video Card for Gaming PC

Please note that the purchase videocard for $100 and below will only make you regret that poor performance and can not be compared games sensation in Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Therefore, rather than waste money $100 to buy low-end videocard better to save your money and collected to buy a middle-class or high-end videocard.

Facts prove that the best seller of videocard in the world at this time is Radeon HD4850 that notabene is middle class ($200), not low-end videocard. Previous the best seller of videocard is Geforce 8800GT, which is also middle-class videocard. (Geforce 8800GT now changed the name to the 9800GT).

Therefore, if you want to experience the performance of the Gaming PC, which should to use Radeon HD4850 512MB videocard. This videocard include middle category with $200 price, which means still much cheaper and more powerful than Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. It have the ability to play all the games are well in maximal detail setting, and will still be able to play games that will appear in 1-2 years.

Another alternative to the performance equivalent of Radeon HD4850 is Geforce 9800GTX+ 512MB. The advantage is support PhysX and CUDA. But a weakness of this videocard is extravagant power and very long size. Unlike the Radeon HD4850 that can use 400Watt PSU and the size definitely enough to all casing, Geforce 9800GTX+ often require users to upgrade to 500 Watt PSU and replace with a larger casing. Because of "hidden cost" is large enough, the giant videocard is less in demand rather than Radeon HD4850, especially Geforce 9800GTX+ is still more expensive around $30.

Geforce 9800GTX (up) vs. Radeon HD4850 (down)

If you do not have enough budget to get the Radeon HD4850, use Geforce 9800GT or Radeon HD4830, which will cost around $150. If your budget is actually minimal, Geforce 9600GT 512MB could be selected, the price is only $120, price is equivalent to the old Playstation 2 slim console. Should not to use videocard under Geforce 9600GT class, if you do not want to regret and frustration after the purchase. Unless you are still playing in low resolution (1024x768) then videocard Radeon HD4670 for $100 could be selected. For $100 price class, the performance of Radeon HD4670 is a lot better rather than Geforce 9500GT.

For $100 segment, Radeon HD4670 is interesting because of the potential CrossFire that enables user in the future to add 1 more videocard to get the equivalent performance Radeon HD4850. Potential of CrossFire on low-end ATI videocard more interesting rather than potential of SLI on the low-end NVIDIA videocard, because the number of motherboards that support CrossFire more cheaper rather than the motherboard supports SLI.

Please also note that the videocard can be to overclock, so that when a game that appears later is too heavy, you can still improve performance of videocard with the way increasing the GPU clock and VGA memory.

Currently, the overall, Radeon HD4850 is a best seller videocard in the world. While for high-end segment, Radeon HD4870 is the best seller. Performance of Radeon HD4870 ($300) proven able to overcome the Geforce GTX260 which costs far more expensive ($400).

In the price segment $150, Geforce 8800GT/9800GT more interesting rather than Radeon HD4830. However, some Geforce 9800GT types the prices is too close to Radeon HD4850, so that better to get Radeon HD4850 who are performing clearly far more quickly rather than Geforce 9800GT.


Choosing a Videocard Depend on the Size of Monitor

Keep in mind how expensive videocard that you buy also depends on how high the size and resolution of your monitor. The higher-resolution monitor and size, the more expensive videocard that you must buy. Because of more expensive videocard (more powerful) will have extra power to handle the high resolution.

Even if you can turn-down monitor resolution, but keep in mind that the LCD monitor will have the view that more bad when not using its native resolution. Therefore, not too obsessed with the 19" LCD that able to offer higher resolution (1680x1050) if your videocard is still $200 class to down. Because the 1680x1050 resolution ideally raised by $300 class videocard like Radeon HD4870.

Unlike the LCD Monitor, 32" LCD TV in the public market does not need to require expensive videocard, because the resolution of LCD TV even much lower rather than the LCD monitor with a smaller size. Considering the game consoles are generally played using a LCD TV like this, so the powerful gaming PC ideally use a videocard range of $150-$200 that have been strong enough to lift the 32" LCD TV resolution.

The majority of gamers in Indonesia using the 17" LCD monitor that have 1280x1024 resolution. Therefore the videocard segments $150-$200 will be ideal for the majority of gamers. 32" LCD TV 720p is also the type of LCD TV's that most popular used in Indonesia. Therefore videocard segments $150-$200 will be ideal to be paired with a LCD TV that only have 1366x768 resolution (the number of pixel even still low compared to 17" monitor with 1280x1024 resolution ).

For the 19" or 22" monitor with 1680x1050 resolution, you should choose $300 videocard. Because the videocard for $200 is less ideal for pairing with the monitor's size.

Videocard $150 class was actually could be run games in 1680x1050 resolution, but only feasible for the light games category such as Call of Duty 4, Devil May Cry 4, Unreal Tournament 3, Bioshock, ET Quake Wars. While in the game a little weight, you need to start setting down the detail so that the graphics quality of videocard $150 class is able to provide a smooth framerate. However a bad graphics quality result from that, is still better rather than the graphics quality on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Please note that the 32" LCD TV (720p HD ready) the number of pixel still less rather than the 17" LCD monitor. LCD TV is basically just the bigger size of course, but in terms of sharpness (resolution) of image is still less rather than LCD monitor.

Back to Part 1

...Continue reading...

How to Build Powerful PC for Gaming, Gaming PC vs. Next-Gen Consoles (Part 1)

Translated from reviewland.com by Budzkay

Preface

During this time people assume that the game consoles such as XBox and Playstation is best means to play games, while the functions of the PC game is just additional functions only. Most gamers are still assume that the game consoles are able to provide a better picture rather than a PC. Presumption may be correct only if they use a PC that still use the onboard videocard or low-end VGA, a practical function not much different with the PC in the office whose function is only for typing and internet.

Currently, the technology for the PC videocard again and again was far above the technological sophistication latest game consoles. For example, the cheapest Geforce 8800 series like a Geforce 8800GTS 320MB that has technology & performance far above the Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3. Videocard prices are even cheaper than the price of Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Using a Gaming PC was based on Core2 Duo processor and the generation of Geforce 8800GTS videocard will cost nearly 2X price of Xbox 360, but the PC Gaming has function that 7X more than a game consoles. And keep in mind that the view of game in Gaming PC is far better than the consoles.

Some of the functions of a Gaming PC:
- Gaming, off course
- Video Editing
- Movie/Music Encoding
- Desktop Publishing
- Graphic Design
- Office productivity
- Multimedia
- DVD/CD duplicator
- Home entertainment
- Internet browsing
- Scientific calculation
- Server
- Chatting
- Blogging
- Instant messaging
- Web Design
- Data Storage
- And many more ....

There are 2 main reasons why the Gaming PC can be a more attractive option than buying a game console such as Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 :

1. Graphics quality in PC games better than the next-gen gaming consoles. Because the technology in the PC videocard always more advanced than the graphics chip used in the consoles. For example is the Lost Planet game and Gears of War which looks better on a PC rather than on the Xbox 360. Mass Effect was became hits in Xbox 360, also appear in the PC version with better graphical display. And recently Grand Theft Auto 4 has also been present in PC version that is capable of resolution with 3X higher than the version of Xbox 360 & PS 3.

2. For the people who life and work that can not be separated from the computer, then build a Gaming PC that costs would be far cheaper than buying a game console such as Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Buy a next-gen game console can become the cheaper solution to play games, only if you do not need a PC in your life and work. So, most students of primary school or Junior High School will tend to select the game consoles because they have not really need a PC intensively. However, when someone began to adults, where he began to work and the work requires a PC intensively, then build the gaming PC will be cheaper than buying a next-gen console.


Spesification of Standard PC to Work

At this time the PC to use for working with comfortable need the specification does require dual-core processor and 1GB memory. PC with low spesification will cause inconvenience in the work and reduce the productivity of you. A computer with only 512MB memory is not even used to be comfortable with internet activity when you open multiple web pages or multiple applications simultaneously. Now, a computer will feel responsive and comfortable to work with at least 1 GB memory. A graphic designer and people who work in the field of video editing even need a PC with at least 2GB memory.

For harddrive, 80GB capacity at this time is also not enough for most people who are very diligent to download the movies and pictures from the Internet, especially for people who work in the field of multimedia. With the difference price between 80GB and 160GB harddrive that is not up to $10, it's very foolish if you persevere to buy 80GB harddrive.
Thus, a standard PC is feasible to use for working will have specs at least dual-core processor and 1GB memory. The price will be around $200, with specs details as follows:
- Dual-core Pentium E2160 (1.8Ghz)
- Motherboard nForce 7100 chipset (nForce 630 with the onboard graphics Geforce 7100)
- DDR2 Memory 667 1GB
- Harddisk 160GB SATA
- DVDR-W drive 20x multi
- Casing + standard PSU

By adding an Wide LCD monitor 15" at $130, the total price of the desktop PC become $330 only. In comparison, a notebook that has the same specs as the price is about $650. Therefore, who was said that notebook was cheap? Notebook price still 2x more expensive than desktop PC with the same specs.

Remember that computer with high performance (eg Gaming PC) is cheaper, but the computer that used for style (eg Notebook) is expensive.
A real example in our life reality show that the prestige is more expensive than performance: Having beautiful girlfriend more expensive costs rather than have a girlfriend who worked diligently (but not beautiful). Same as a sexy secretary has higher salaries rather than stiff who work for 24 hours.

A desktop PC with a standard specs as above will not be able to jack up your prestige as well as the notebook with same specs. However, desktop PC is foundation a Gaming PC. And the Gaming PC is an object that has a prestige value....


Spesification a Gaming PC

If you want to make standard PC specs above to be a Gaming PC, add enough memory to 2GB and buying a videocard Geforce 9800GT 512MB or Radeon HD 4830 512MB that can bring the graphics quality that far better than the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The cost of adding memory from 1GB to 2GB only $14 and videocard Geforce 9800GT 512MB or Radeon HD 4830 512MB just around $150. This means that the cost of a standard PC into a gaming PC is not up to $200 means a much cheaper price than the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii.

The Cost to change the "Standard PC" to "gaming PC" is just $ 160, which means the price is equivalent to the ancient game console Playstation 2.

Videocard technology of Geforce 9800GT & Radeon HD4830 are surpassing greatest game console at this time. Karena itu the graphics quality in the Gaming PC is certainly will be better than any game console ever created by human.

If you want to make the Gaming PC more economical, you can use a videocard Geforce 9600GT 512MB that the performance 10% more slowly than Geforce 9800GT, but it costs only $100 which means that even cheaper prices rather than the Playstation 2 Slim notabene ancient console technology.

Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 that have been said as the next-gen game consoles, actually uses ancient technology graphics chip that has been used on the PC videocard a few years ago.

For details, see the comparison table of graphics chip technology Console vs. PC videocard.


Current price

Released

Graphic chip technology

Playstation 2

$150

1999

Graphics Synthesizer

XBox 360

$400

2005

ATI Xenos (R500)
Used in PC
at videocard
ATI Radeon X1800XT
in 2005

Playstation 3

$400

2006

NVIDIA RSX (G70)
Used in PC

at videocard
NVIDIA Geforce 7800GTX
in 2005

Nintendo Wii

$400

2006

ATI Hollywood
Equivalent with

videocard ATI Radeon 8500 was released for PC
in 2000

Radeon HD 4850

$200

2008

RV770

Geforce 9800GT

$160

2008

G92

Radeon HD 4830

$150

2008

RV770LE
(cheap version RV770)

Geforce 9600GT

$120

2008

G94
(cheap version G92)







































Game consoles are goods that can not be upgraded like gaming PC. So the game consoles user
can only receive and trapped in to the old technology. As comparison, look at the pictures below.


Read more to Part 2

...Continue reading...

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