Your PC might be sick,

 Just like humans; Computers could also pick up illnesses. Signs and Symptoms of an illness is somewhat the same. Just as you know when you are not feeling 100%, your computer will give off signs and symptoms that it is also maybe feeling a little under the weather. Computers are capable of running certain numbers of operations at any given time, generally these operations are the software that are running on your computer.

 If your computer seems a little slow in loading programs, making a lot of fan noise, you see screen pop-ups that seem out of place and things do not seem to be running like they normally do, it’s possible that your computer has bugs. Malware and viruses are created to exploit your computer and make it do things that it normally wouldn’t do, such as sending spam or stealing information such as banking details, or to make you pay for things you didn’t need to.

People who create these viruses to exploit you through your computer are clever and constantly changing their approach. To help keep your computer in tip-top condition it is worth seeking professional advice.

Below is a list of handy tips to keep you safe from some of these predators

Shop smart

As more and more shopping moves away from Main Street and to the Internet, it’s crucial you exercise the same amount of caution online as you would when buying from a local store.

The Government’s Shop Smart campaign lists 11 handy tips to help you avoid being caught out when shopping online this festive season.

Scam smart 

That email alerting you to $10,000 in your name is most likely a hoax. Especially when it requests you to supply usernames or a password so funds can “be deposited immediately in your account.” (Spelling errors are typical in such hoax emails.)

Yet so many people still fall for such scams, mainly because fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated ‘phishing’ methods to dupe customers.

Defend smart

A trojan is malicious software installed onto a computer that can extract personal and financial information, often without you knowing.

So with children on school holidays and likely to be using the home computer more, it's essential to protect yourself against such threats.

15 May 2013

How to increase your laptop battery life in emergency situations.

 

1. Unplug all USB devices and remove CDs.

2. Turn off Wi-Fi when not in use.

3. Disable Bluetooth.

4. Lower your screen brightness and turn on high-contrast mode.

5. Turn off backlit keyboards.

6. Close messaging software and apps that ping the internet in the background (such as Skype).

7. Minimise hard drive usage (searching for files).

8. Prevent scheduled tasks from running (such as updates or computer scans).

9. Close unnecessary programs (see icons in the dock), right click on each and close/exit.

---

Be aware of cheap, low quality foreign products.

Most of the laptop parts (Laptop Batteries and adapters) found on online searches are advertised by overseas companies. They deceive customers by making the website appear as if they are an Australian company by using .AU in their URL or having an Australia Post logo on their site. These companies often sell low quality products, which claim to be genuine brand name products, for a very low price.  These products are often sold knowing that they will not perform, but due to the low cost they will not be returned to the overseas company (place of purchase) for warranty or refund (as the cost shipping the parts back could be more than the initial purchase price).  It is also for this reason that these companies sometimes offer up to 3 Years warranty on a product that would normally come with a 1 Year warranty.

It is important to pay attention to where the parts are being shipped from, how long it takes to receive the part ordered, if the company provide any contact information besides email, the type of cable that is supplied with the part (in case of adapters; the type of wall socket). These points are just a guide as to the integrity of the product and the company that is selling it, and in case of problems, what warranty options are provided to the end user.

Google Glass will released to public in 2014,

This futuristic mobile device called Google Glass is next must have gadget in 2014.

What is Google Glass and what does it do;

It is an eyewear device which brings data in front of user’s eye, according to Google “it displays equivalent of a 25-inch high definition screen from eight feet away".  right now software developers are creating various different apps which will be released once the device has come to the market.

Here are some of the functions that have been revealed so far;

You can view photos and movies right in front of your eye.
Using hangout software users can demonstrate product, video conference or even run an actual presentation from their home/office or showcasing a new house on the market.
Using Google maps and pairing the Glass with your smart phone, users can get direction point exactly where you need to go.
Device is audio capable; this means users can have a benefit of audio visual communications.  
One function that has talked about is on spot translation while travelling overseas.

30 April 2013

 Laptop, Tablet or Ultrabook: which one should I get?

This is becoming a very common question asked by consumers who are in the market for a new portable computer.

The reality is that the rapid advancement in portable computing has made it harder to choose what type of device best suits ones needs.

If you’re looking to invest in a Laptop, Tablet, or Ultrabook, it’s important to understand what these portable computing devices are and how to choose the right one based on your needs. In this article, we will review these three computing devices so you can decide which one is right for you.

Laptops: laptops are mobile computing device, however most laptops in the market today are as powerful as a desktop computer; they are therefore suitable for business use as well as personal or home type computing with the added advantage of portability over a traditional desktop computer. In comparison with Tablets and Ultrabooks, Laptops have the convince of having an Optical Drive (CD/DVD player/burner), all the necessary ports for other devices and second display as well as a choice of screen sizes from 11” to 17”. Furthermore by adding a port replicator and a second screen one can turn a laptop into a desktop computer, giving you the convenience of a full size keyboard, mouse and screen without sacrificing the portability that is often the decisive factor for purchasing a laptop.  These advantages make a laptop more attractive for users that intend to use their machine as a complete desktop replacement.

Tablets: Tablets are mobile PCs which are far more portable, slimmer and lighter when compared to traditional laptops. Unlike most laptops, tablets have touch screens which come in sizes between 7 to 10 inches. Most tablet PCs do not have a traditional keyboard, rather they have a virtual keyboard which can be accessed via the touch screen. Laptops are the better choice if you want a bigger screen and need to do work that requires a considerable amount of typing.

Tablets use less intensive operating systems and apps instead of programs making start-up times much faster when compared to laptops. Due to simplicity of hardware in Tablets battery life ranges between 7 to 10 hours of continuous use, this is an advantage over laptop computers.

Most Tablets connect to the internet via Wi-Fi and some of them support 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. When purchasing a Tablet you need to consider what best suit your needs. The memory and the storage in tablets is far less than what comes in a laptop; also the availability of external ports like USB, HDMI, SD card slots is very limited. These two points could be a disadvantage for Tablets.

Tablets are more suited for people who use the device for accessing the internet, watching short videos, listening to music, video chatting, and social networking. In short, tablets don’t replace laptops at the present time.

Ultrabooks are light-weight, slim, and portable laptops. They were introduced by Intel during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2012. Ultrabooks can be compared to Apple’s MacBook Air with Microsoft operating system.

Ultrabooks will give you the best of both worlds when compared to traditional laptops and tablets. They are slim and light-weight which makes them very portable, however they are as powerful as traditional laptops, and often actually more powerful. They also have a keyboard and a touch-pad just like a laptop.

Ultrabooks come in 11 or 13 inch screen sizes, they come with a range of Intel processors that are as fast as a conventional laptop as well as hard-drives and RAM comparable to traditional laptops. They have battery life of around 5 to 7 hours which make them more mobile when compared to a traditional laptop. Ultrabooks are Wi-Fi ready and some have 3G built-in, this makes them almost as portable as a tablet.

Ultrabooks come with either a SSD Hard Drive or a Conventional Hard Drive, in both cases the storage in Ultrabooks are much better than Tablets and are very close to that of a Laptop, Ultrabooks also do have ports like USB, HDMI and SD card slots, these two major points tip the balance in the favor of Ultrabook in comparison to Tablets for most users.

13 June 2012 

How to care for your laptop.

6 ways to clean and take care of your laptop.

Clean Up - Clean the outside of your laptop with a damp cloth, run a soft brush through the keyboard and use LCD cleaning products to clean the screen (while switched off).

Software Clean Up - Backup important data, remove unused icons from your desktop, empty the Recycle Bin and uninstall any unnecessary software.

Proper Shutdown - Always shutdown your laptop fully before carrying it around. If placed in the boot of your car use a soft pad or suitable laptop bag to absorb harmful vibrations

Protect Against Liquids - Never leave liquids next to your laptop, if spillage does occur seek the advice of a technician (do not turn your laptop on while it is still wet).

Air Circulation - Avoid using your laptop on soft surfaces (carpet, bed, blankets, etc) for long periods. These materials reduce the air circulation inside your laptop which can result in overheating and permanent damage.

Battery care- read through our Battery Tips page to get the most out of your laptop's battery.

                                                                                                                                                                                    18/4/2012

Things to consider before buying a laptop

When purchasing a laptop computer there are few important points to consider

1. Choose laptop size

The aim of getting laptop computer is to have portability; therefore it is important to consider the physical size of a laptop before approaching your computer retailer.

There are three different types of laptops (portable computer) in the market, Netbooks, Notebooks and UltraBooks.

Netbooks: designed for low level computing such as email, internet browsing or school work. Netbooks have screen sizes between 9.1" and 11.1" and don’t have Optical Drive (CD/DVD player).

Notebooks: these portable computers are designed to provide portable computing for all types of computer use; as a result there are many different screen sizes from 10" to 17".

UltraBooks: these devices are designed for portability, speed, long battery life and a have a small profile. They are between 11.1" and 13.3" and if you require a very light and powerful laptop, UltraBooks are the answer.

2. The CPU for you

CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the brain of your laptop therefore a general rule of thumb is to buy the fastest you can afford, however CPUs are not the only factor when it comes to speed of your laptop. Therefore it is important to assess your needs to make an informed decision. The more popular CPUs in the market are from the Intel rage, which come in three different platforms; Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7. It is best to chose a low end (Core i3) for home and light office use, mid range (Core i5) for office & accounting type use and high end (Core i7) for use such as gaming, graphics and database calculations.

3. How much memory (RAM) do you need?

Having enough memory is very important for smooth performance, lots of RAM lets you run more applications simultaneously. 4Gb of RAM is sufficient for most home and office use laptops, however 8Gb of memory allows you to open multiple programs without slowing down your computer. Having more memory is also necessary for graphics work, image editing and video editing, and is crucial for 3D gaming (especially if the laptop you are buying has onboard graphic card which shares the main system's memory). It is also important to note that adding more memory to your laptop is simple therefore don’t overlook a laptop just because it has small amount of memory.

4. How important is Graphic Card

With the introduction of Intel HD Graphics which are integrated into Intel Core i3 to Core i7 CPU, the need for a dedicated GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) for most people has been eliminated. However gaming, graphic design or architecture design, you'll need a dedicated GPU. In the case of needing a GPU, try to grab something with 512MB to 1GB of video RAM. Ignore the salesperson who insists that video memory is an indication of performance; while larger video memory does tend to be paired with higher performing graphic cards, this is not primarily responsible for the performance increase.

5. How much storage is enough?

HDD (Hard Disk Drive) is the component that you store your information on it, over the past few years these HDD’s have not changed much except for the capacity of them which have increased exponentially, today a laptop HDD stores up to 2TB (2,000,0000MB). To give you an idea, an encyclopaedia Britannica with all the images fits on 600Mb. It is often music, HD Photos and movies that take a big space on the HDD, most laptop come with 500Gb (500,000Mb) which is sufficient for most people, there is however a new generation of HDD which used solid state technology to store data hence they are call solid state hard drives or SSD’s. In a big size of 500GB SSDs become very expensive, the common sizes in the market are 64GB to 256GB. The biggest advantage of an SSD is speed and stability on the move. If you are using your laptop on the move all the time it is advisable to get a laptop with SSD. This means the vibration and shock will not affect your data.

6. Personal preferences

There are other points to consider when it comes to purchasing a laptop but these are more personal choice than technical advantage, these points are the size and feel of the keyboard, the feel of the mouse pad, connectivity, colour and operating system (Microsoft Windows)
                                                                                                                                                                                 4/04/2012

5 Bad Habits of Laptop Users 

Not shutting down – Laptops are great because you can just close the lid and walk away, most people believe that their laptop shuts down when it is not used or when the lid is closed. In fact there are three ways that a laptop powers down: Hibernate, Sleep and Shut Down. The biggest difference between sleep mode and hibernation mode is that hibernation mode saves all of the info that's loaded in your RAM (anything that you had running at the time) to your hard drive and completely shuts off.  Putting your laptop to sleep instead of shutting the lid will keep your computer from overheating as all activity will be brought to a halt. But don’t forget that actually shutting down your computer is the best and the safest way especially before moving the laptop.

Taking laptop to bed – Bringing your tablet or laptop to bed at night has been linked to sleep problems. The thought of having these gadgets close by is likely to stimulate your brain into thinking it’s daytime, delaying your body’s ability to fall asleep.  Moreover having these gadgets lying around the bed means they are more likely to be stepped on when getting up in the middle of the night or in the morning.

Not backing up data Regularly – Most people still aren’t backing up the contents of their computer on a regular basis.  Backing up your data to an external hard drive (that you keep in a safe place) ensures that you won’t lose precious memories, documents and information that you have on your computer. It is also important to remember to back up on a regular basis rather than once in a while.

Ignoring updates – it is common to cancel when you see a system update notification so you don’t have to restart your computer in the middle of a project.  Making sure all your programs, antivirus and operating system updates are current is essential to keeping your computer running smoothly and securely.  Most updates are made to fix an existing problem or make specific software compatible with others therefore it is important to allow your computer to update once in a while.

Care for your laptops battery – It’s easy to plug-n-play when it comes to your tech, but optimizing your battery the first time you use your new gadget, then every few months thereafter will help keep your battery in top condition. To do this, fully charge the battery and then let it run down completely before fully charging again.

15 March 2012

A Developer Preview of Windows 8 was Released Last Week.

Here are some distinctive features

Support for both x86 PCs and ARM Tablets - Windows 8 is the first edition of Windows to operate on both ARM-based tablets (touch screen) and traditional x86 PCs based on ARM processors.

Tile-based User Interface (Touch-centric) - Microsoft is actually layering a new animation-enabled user interface on top of an only somewhat upgraded Windows 7

Charms - Charms is a new implementation of the traditional Windows start bar. Charms can also be used to quickly configure settings. On an ordinary non-touch PC, Charms are accessed by dragging the mouse to the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Two touch keyboards - Windows 8 also contains two soft keyboards. An 'enhanced' traditional keyboard, plus a new thumbs keyboard for non-touch typists.

Better Support for Multiple Monitors - Windows 8 also brings increased support for multiple monitors. The Developers Preview of the new OS includes first-time capabilities for extending the taskbar across two PCs without any need for third-party apps. You can also stretch wallpaper across two monitors or display the start screen on one PC and the desktop on the other.

Resource Usage - The goal for Microsoft was not to just increase responsiveness, but also to improve battery life, one of the core criteria for everyone shopping for a new laptop or tablet. Independent tests carried out by IT magazines have shown that Microsoft have managed to achieve an impressive result, improving speeds and lowering battery consumption with Windows 8.