Entries Tagged 'computer' ↓

I saw this sound advise from a fellow forumer, I just thought it can be helpful to other UMPC users too,so I’ve decided to put it here on the blog, thanks friend..

Alright, I’ve just found a new trick that maximizes battery power on your UMPC. It involves activating XP’s power saving feature for the WiFi module.

• Click START -> Control Panel -> Network Connections
• Right click on your active wireless connection (usually named “Wireless Network Connection) and click on Properties.
• Under the General tab, click on Configure
• Click on the Advanced tab, scroll down the list to “Power Saving Mode”.
• Set Value from CAM to Max_PSP.
• Enjoy 10% better battery life!

Note that not all wireless access points support this power saving feature. If you find yourself having trouble initiating a wireless connection or if your connection intermittently drops, simply set the value back to CAM.

Other tips I’ve gathered is to minimize using USB, card readers, flash disk, etc. coz they are really battery suckers

What is UMPC?

Little Laptops – that’s what they call it. More and more people are opting to buy a UMPC nowadays, and that prompted me to search more for the specifications of these Ultra Mobile PC, UMPC for short and also known as Project Origami.

Google Search tells me that a UMPC:

- runs on Windows OSs including while others run on specially adapted versions of Linux.

- and low-voltage Intel Pentium or VIA C7-M processors in the 1 GHz range.

- The touch screen is sized 8 inches. (so small)

- Suitable for use of stylus as well as hand

- The Project Origami Ultra-Mobile PC is just a platform for which manufacturers can design any model they want, provided they meet or exceed the baseline specifications laid down by Intel and Microsoft. However, UMPC’s are capable of running a full version of most PC operating systems.

- UMPCs with Windows XP installed are able to run any software that has been written for the Windows XP platform, though the small form factor often mandates some changes to the interface.

- The standard Windows XP interface is the default, though a choice of having an interface more suited for the small form factor is available with the Touch Pack Interface.

- As the units are so small, many UMPCs do not feature a physical keyboard, but an on-screen virtual keyboard provided in the Touch Pack Interface. Also, since the device has standard USB 2.0 connectivity, external keyboards and mice can be attached.

- UMPCs have enough processing power to support audio, video, and gaming, in addition to having rich support for browsing the internet as well as for other communication and networking applications. Windows Media Player is included, with a special skin designed to provide a better experience on the small screen. The devices also feature DirectX 9–class graphics, and all applications available for standard Tablet PCs are expected to be compatible.

- Battery life is expected to increase from the initial 2½ hours to 8 hours.

How about the Price?

Surprisingly, the price ranges from P17,000 to P70,000, it just depends on the brand.

How it Looks

Some brands also features sim slots for HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, is a new protocol for mobile telephone data transmission. It is known as a 3.5G (G stands for generation) technology. Essentially, the standard will provide download speeds on a mobile phone equivalent to an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line in a home, removing any limitations placed on the use of your phone by a slow connection.)

As I understand, it functions more like a regular PC or laptop, the size is the only big difference. You can install programs, connect with the internet, use webcams, wifi, bluetooth, sim, memory cards… what else? Uh - the battery life… more or less a full charge battery can last up to 2 hours only. Unless you are using 6-cell battery. There are also a variety of colors to choose from - black to pink!

But, as of this time I am still confused how to classify a UMDC from netbooks and so many other names that are appearing now. For now, I’ll just leave it to that. Let us just see what the future brings, computing devices really runs fast, it is hard to catch up with the latest!

I am not sure what brands has the most reliable product now… If you have one now, maybe you could share its performance, so you might help us decide what to purchase if times comes we decide to change our laptop and desktop PC.

I am planning to change my web host but I am not sure what to look for. Since I am using WordPress I thought of something like these WordPress hosts but I am not sure if I need all that diskspace and bandwidth. I’m thinking about moving to InMotion Hosting. Their hosting services seem to be very reliable. Anyone having any experience of them or can recommend me another cheap web host?

As longtime readers already know, I’m a big fan of Bruce Schneier, CTO and founder of BT Counterpane. Besides being a cryptographic and computer security authority, cryptographic algorithm creator, and author of many best-selling books on security, Bruce produces some of the most relevant conversations on computer security. I consider his books, his Cryptogram newsletter, and his blog must-reads for anyone in computer security.

Bruce is a guy who pushes us to rethink our currently held paradigms. He lays bare unsubstantiated dogma. I don’t always agree with Bruce. But many of the potent ideas that I disagreed with when he espoused them a half decade ago, I find myself agreeing with years later, ideas like how two-factor authentication won’t stop malicious hackers from stealing gobs of money from the online banking industry, and how the biggest problem with security, in general, is us and our irrational ranking of threats.

I distinctly remember Bruce telling me a decade ago how computer security, with all of its advances, was more than likely going to get worse in the future. This was in the face of increasingly accurate anti-virus programs, improved patch management, and solid improvements in OS security across all platforms. He said this in the days of Windows 95 with almost no security, and today we’ve got User Access Control and security so tight on a Windows system that vendors are frequently complaining. At the time, Bruce was the only voice saying that computer security was going to get worse. And he was right.

But it’s a decade later now. ISS’ annual report announced that the number of vulnerabilities went down for the first time in a long time, along with the amount of spam. (Interestingly, they also said that 50 percent of reported vulnerabilities could not be fixed by a patch.) The latest evolving security technologies (such as IPv6, IPSec, Network Access Protection/Network Access Control, anti-malware software, and so on) are promising. End-user education is higher than it’s ever been. Many professional entities and governments are requiring baseline security compliance. My friends only send me half the hoax virus warning messages now that I used to receive.

So, I asked Bruce the same question again, “Will computer security get better or worse over the next decade?”

Here’s his response:

“Computer security is not likely to improve in the near future because of two reasons. One, bad guys are getting better at attacking us. And two, we’re not getting better at defending ourselves. by: infoworld.com

Light Up Your Brain is an interesting multi-facted site. Why do we say that? Because it seems to be many things to many different kinds of people. That’s why it’s become so popular over the last few years. On the face of it, it just appears to be a cute little site for kids, hosted by a guy named Chuck Brown. He has a cute little caricature on the front page. But as you look a little deeper, you find some more interesting things:

Games for Kids - A lot of game sites have hundreds or thousands of games. This is great for your average teenager…but for younger kids…not so much. Younger kids aren’t as prepared to handle violence and adult themes. So it’s great that this place focuses more on brain-teaser games…making quick decisions, solving problems, hand-eye coordination. This is one of the main reasons that many schools recommend the site to kids during free periods or for play at home.

Classic Childrens Stories - Again, there are a lot of sites out there with stories for kids. Some are text, some have pictures to go along with them. It’s a lot more unusual to have audio stories that you can listen to in MP3 format while you read along. This is obviously very helpful for kids who are just learning to read (we’ll return to that point in a minute). But, this site also allows you to download the MP3s and put them on your computer or iPod to take on the road. Very nice! And what kind of stories do they have? See if any of these sound familiar…Peter Rabbit, Rapunzel, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Snow White, Velveteen Rabbit, Cinderella…we’ll stop there, but there are plenty more. And they’re not just read by some guy off the street into one of those cheap computer microphones that POP when you talk into them. These are professionally recorded by a narrator. Nice again!

Help for English Learners - Now, back to that previous point again. Remember, kids are not the only ones learning to read English. There are also ESL (English as a Second Language) students all over the world who use the site to learn to read. Many of them have written to the site to say “thanks!” for the ability to listen and read along as they learn, and many ESL web sites have linked to LUYB for that very reason.

Well, that’s enough for now. As you can see, while it may not be EVERYONE’s cup of tea, Light Up Your Brain is a site that scratches a lot of itches for people. It might just be worth your time to check it out, and maybe to share it with a friend who you think might enjoy it!