10 key features to consider for buying cellphones

1. Organizer applications: Even the most basic handsets offer organizer applications. Typically, you'll find a calendar, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, and a calculator. Higher-end handsets will have many more options, while other models will offer offbeat applications such as a compass or a thermometer.

The LG enV has a full keyboard for faster messaging.

2. Phone book and voice dialing: Consider how many contacts you can store. Voice dialing lets you make calls without using the keypad, which is particularly handy when you're on a headset or if you're using the speakerphone.

3. Web browser: This lets you surf the wireless Web and get information such as news and sports recaps, weather reports, and stock quotes. It also lets you download files including games and ring tones. WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) browsers are optimized to view sites configured to display on small, mobile devices but keep in mind that not all sites are made for WAP browsing. On the other hand, some newer, high-end phones are including full HTML browsers so find out which you'd prefer. You can use some Internet-ready phones as a modem for your PC, but you'll need to purchase the proper data cables to take advantage of this feature.

4. Messaging and e-mail: Text messages send text only, and multimedia messages send pictures and videos as well as text. Some handsets support instant messaging from services such as AOL and Yahoo. If you'd like to receive personal or work e-mail on your handset, make sure it supports this feature. Messaging and e-mail does cost extra, however, so consider purchasing a data plan if you'll be using the features frequently. You might also consider a phone with an integrated keyboard for faster typing.

5. Camera and video recorder: Use them for taking pictures and shooting brief video clips. Some have a low-grade VGA resolution, but many camera phones now have resolutions of a few megapixels or more, which offer much better photo quality. Similarly, while some camera phones offer just a few extra features, other models offer a flash and editing options that resemble those on a regular camera.

6. Speakerphone/conference calling: A speakerphone is useful for hands-free calling when you're driving or multitasking. Consider getting a unit with a full-duplex speakerphone, which allows both parties to speak at the same time. Business travelers who need to set up impromptu meetings will want to look at a phone that supports conference calling.

7. Push to talk: A walkie-talkie-like service that lets you immediately connect with individuals or call groups, which is especially useful for business users who need instant contact with their colleagues. Best of all, you don't need a cell signal to use them and you won't use standard calling minutes. Not all carriers offer this feature, however.

8. Bluetooth: This feature lets you wirelessly connect via low-frequency radio waves with external devices, such as a headset for making calls. Many phones also allow you to use Bluetooth to exchange or sync data with other Bluetooth devices or to connect to stereo headphones to listen to music. Verizon, however, has limited Bluetooth on some of its phones.

9. Multimedia options and memory: Some features to look for include a digital music player, support for MP3 files, and an FM radio. Also, many phones now support streaming video and videoconferencing through 3G wireless broadband networks, and other handsets can download music over the air. Services will vary by carrier, but Sprint and Verizon both offer music stores. There will be an extra fee, of course, and you'll need 3G service in your area.

For the best experience with a multimedia phone, make sure your phone has plenty of storage space (an external memory card slot is best), and consider whether you want dedicated music controls on the exterior of the phone

10. Accessories, applications, and personalization options: Some phones come in multiple colors or allow for changeable faceplates. Accessories such as Bluetooth headsets, speakers, or SIM card readers also are available, but make sure it's specifically designed for your phone of choice. Most models offer a variety of customization options as well. These can include a choice of display wallpaper, screen savers, and ring tones. If personalizing your phone is important to you, make sure you have a lot of options before buying a particular model.

Handsets will also differ on their support for extra applications. Though every cell phone supports games not every model comes with integrated titles. In that case, you'll have to buy them for a few dollars a pop, and your selection will change by carrier. Extra applications are available depending on your phone model and your carrier. For example, Sprint offers a wireless backup service to save your contacts, while Verizon Wireless has a GPS application called VZ Navigator.
the topic is seen at cnet.Look for more on cnet

Dangers of working with pc

Wiggle those toes, stand and stretch to prevent injury and feel better — doctors say too much PC time can do permanent damage.

Your computer can kill you. It’s true. We’re not talking only about the gamers who have died at their machines after days of no food and water, but anyone who spends long hours at a desk. Yes, you do need to worry about words like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Cumulative Trauma Disorder.

Take the case of Saurabh, an IT professional who developed aches in his right arm and wrist two years ago. He ignored the discomfort till it got unbearable and then took pain killers. A year later, when the pain reached the point at which he could not manage everyday tasks, he consulted a doctor, who advised treatment and reduction in PC usage to avoid more permanent damage. If it had not been for timely medical help, he might have had to give up his job.

Saurabh’s is not a stray case - several IT industry employees who have been working on PCs for over ten years are now showing signs of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) – a wake up call for the rest of us to immediately examine our own PC habits and take preventive measures.

RSI is a condition that arises in the human body when any part of it is subjected to repetitive actions for a long time. Using your fingers to type or navigating with the mouse for long hours, are typical examples of repetitive strain. For instance, if you are playing a game that involves heavy usage of the mouse (most FPS and RTS games are prime culprits); or by simply typing long documents, you are staining certain areas of your body – wrists, arms and shoulders in particular.

The typical computer keyboard forces your hands into an unnatural position and makes your fingers stretch to reach commonly used keys. The mouse, for its part is one of the biggest contributors to RSI. It’s typically positioned far to the right, requiring you to stretch when using it. And having to grip the mouse, then move it and click the buttons, adds to the stress.

Laptops, while being extremely convenient to lug around can be a torture if you are not careful in using them. First, the cramped keyboard makes it more difficult to use compared to bigger desktop keyboards. The smaller arrow keys and absence of dedicated number keys add to the inconvenience.

Touchpads that are not responsive enough compound the problem, more so if they don’t have a smooth scrolling function. While displays on most laptops have come of age, their relative smaller size is an inherent handicap.

On a larger desktop monitor, you have the option to increase resolution or dpi for better readability and still have a good amount of the program window in view. Not so with the smaller displays on laptops, on which you will have to excessively scroll as you decrease resolution.

A problem with many newer laptops are their bright and glossy displays which are good in evenly lit conditions, but cause very noticeable reflection if there is a light source in front of the display, leading to eye strain. It’s not just PCs that can cause injury. Mobile phones are notorious for hurting wrists and fingers.

Manoj, a college student in Mumbai was an ‘SMS machine’, making full use of free SMS offered by his Telco. That is, until his fingers started aching so severely that he could not type messages out. He is currently on treatment and has been asked to use his phone for emergencies only. The problem affects all age groups, and children are no exception. Nikhil, a twelve year old, like most computer savvy kids of his age, was hooked to PC games. Being engrossed in game play, he would go on for hours with very rapid and hard keyboard strokes. Within a year, he was experiencing difficultly in writing.

SYMPTOMS
Computer related injuries do not generally appear overnight (there are exceptions, though). In most cases, the affected person will be able to sense the onset of the problem, if he knows what to look for. The early symptoms of your body complaining about your style of work or use of gadgets is pain in the affected parts, which is more pronounced after working for long hours.

Usually, day long use of the PC results in moderate pain or stiffness or a burning sensation in the neck, lower back, wrists, forearm and shoulders. Once you get off the PC, the discomfort disappears. This is the first stage of RSI, from which recovery is easier. The next stage is when the pain persists even after you stop your activity for the day and relief comes only after a night’s sleep. It is imperative that you seek medical advice at this stage. The third stage is when doing everyday task results in pain, and resting does not help either. If you don’t act at this stage, things will only get worse. The best time for you to react is when you are at the first stage.

Prevention is Better Than Cure


Why should you worry about RSI? Or change your working style? Because, the odds are heavily against you. Three out of four persons in India who interact with PCs suffer from some form of RSI or the other.

This is what Dr. Deepak Sharan who specializes in RSI treatment and is a founder of RECOUP, a Neuro Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation center, has to say after collating data on 27,000 individuals who extensively use computers (his study excludes people who use computers for leisure, like gamers). That’s certainly reason enough to start making changes in the way you work or play and reduce the strain on your body. The old adage for good health is true here as well – preventing injury is wiser and less painful than curing it. After a critical point, fixing the problems created by RSI is a long process, and at times may not be completely effective.

FOR PAIN FREE CLICKS AND KEYS
Input devices are one of the two biggest contributors to computer related RSI (the other being wrong posture). The starting point for tackling RSI must be adopting least stressful and natural posture while using the input devices. Those have us who have not learnt the traditional way of typing that uses all fingers, are at an inherent disadvantage. If possible, learn to use all fingers while typing, which reduces stain on the middle and index fingers. Place your hands on the keyboard such that the wrist is at the same level as the forearm (see illustration).

A raised wrist is strict no-no, which unfortunately is the typing position most of us adopt. Only the fingers need to drop to touch the keys, not the entire wrist. As you type, ensure that the entire arm moves, not just your fingers or wrists. This is essential because, the movement causes much needed blood circulation. This also prevents the smaller muscles in the wrists and fingers from doing all the work, which can done by the stronger muscles in the arm with lesser effort.

Adjust the position of the keyboard, desk and chair such that your forearms point towards the ground and make an angle of about 100 degree at the elbow (see illustration). While some websites suggest placing your wrist on a jelly pad or a ‘support’ provided by the keyboard, Dr. Sharan strongly cautions against this practice saying that placing the wrists on any kind of support, applies pressure on a sensitive nerve near the wrist, thus damaging it.

You don’t need support for your wrists, so long as your posture is right. There are several keyboards and mice available today that claim to be ergonomically designed, but there is no single model that can suit all people. If possible, try them out, look for adequate spacing between the keys and the feel of the keys.

The feel of the keys – tactile or soft, is greatly a matter of preference. But, if typing speed is important to you, a tactile keyboard is generally less stressful. The ideal placement for a keyboard is at your thigh level, with a small negative slope. This ensures that your hand is able to make the 100 degree angle as discussed earlier. If the keyboard is placed higher, your wrists will be forced to rise above your forearm (and rest on a support, which is bad, as discussed) and your forearm in turn will make short angle at the elbow, affecting blood flow. If you place the keyboard at the correct height, you will be able to attain the correct posture easily. When buying a mouse, ensure that it ‘fills’ your hand – a mouse that is too small for your hand is sure to give you pains.

A mouse that is heavy and makes you put more effort in moving it is also not recommended. The buttons must be easy to press and must require you to use the least force to press them. The ‘center click’ in the scroll wheel tends to get hard after a while with many unbranded pieces – stick to established brands.

Clean the underside of the mouse regularly (even for optical models) as dust tends to make the movements rough. If the cord length is forcing you to stretch out to reach the mouse, consider a wireless mouse – prices are as low as Rs 600 for a branded wireless optical mouse. This allows you to place the mouse in a spot that is convenient to you, not restricted by the cord. A good mouse pad can greatly reduce the effort required to operate a mouse – this holds good for optical models as well.

Choose a pad that has a soft cloth covering, rather than a plastic finish. These are the things that your IT purchase department must also consider as well.

WATCH OUT FOR DISPLAY DANGERS
The importance of a good display cannot be over-emphasized. Your eyes, more than any other part of the body are continuously at work as you work on your PC. Being careless here is a sure shot recipe for eye problems. Reading these instructions carefully can potentially save your eyes! Replace your CRT with an LCD if you can afford the upgrade.

A 19 inch LCD monitor costs about Rs 9,000 – consider it as an investment for good health if you are spending the larger part of your day staring at the monitor. An LCD is easier on your eyes with next to no perceivable flickering. If you are constrained to use a CRT, set the refresh rate as high as possible. While this may cause premature wear and tear of the monitor, it’s a lot better than wearing your eyes out.

Set a 75 Hz refresh rate to be on the safer side (reduce the monitor resolution if need be). Note that this does not apply to LCD monitors. At higher resolutions, if you find the text and icons too small to be easily readable, either reduce the resolution or increase the dpi in Display Settings. Increasing the dpi by even 4-6 percent will give you a much larger text. Manually increase icon size as well if you so desire. Set brightness – contrast levels at which can easily read text. Try different levels to find a combination that suits you best.

PAINFUL PORTABLE
If you have to use your laptop for long hours that involve a lot of typing or editing text, using an external mouse and keyboard will greatly reduce the strain on your wrists and arms. Smaller form factor mice are available specifically to be carried around in laptop bags. While most people find them more comfortable than the touch pads on their notebooks, they are still not as good as the general desktop mice. If you are happy with the spacing and feel of the keys on the notebook, an external keyboard is not essential.

Most people who use an external mouse say that it is less strenuous to use them in place of the touchpad. If it is possible for you to connect to a bigger external display, do so. Even at the same resolution, text and images appear bigger on a larger monitor.

EXERCISE HELPS
Nothing can substitute the good old way of keeping health, exercise. Take a compulsory break from work every 30 minutes – walk around, make yourself coffee, step out of the office and look at distant objects like buildings or towers. If your arms ache, move them a bit to increase circulation and gently massage your wrists or rotate them. The same goes for your arms too.

An effective way to reduce eye strain is to close your eyes for a couple of minutes every hour. You need to do this more frequently if your eyes feel sore. Many PC users, especially gamers can get so engrossed with the activity on screen that they just stop blinking thus leaving their eye dry.

General exercises like walking, running, gym sessions improve blood circulation and give strength to your muscles. Consult a doctor to guide you on specific exercises to negate some of the ill effects of RSI. Dr. Sharan elaborates on the need to take breaks during work.

A micro break, taken for a few seconds every five minutes to rotate your arm and gently massage it will help restore blood circulation. A macro break needs to be taken every 30 minutes, wherein, you need to walk around a bit and look at distant objects to provide some movement to the muscles in the eyes as well. Taking these breaks goes a long way in reducing RSI, and must be done compulsorily by people who are already suffering from it. Software such as Microsoft’s Outlook, can be set to give you reminders every 30 minutes.

Computers and mobile phones are marvelous devices that are workhorses as well as entertainers. They have shrunk the world the way no other technology ever has. But, overuse and abuse can cause serious health problems. It is up to the users to take preventive and curative measures to prevent harm. When 75 percent of persons who use PCs for long hours suffer from RSI, it is wise to act. Now.
information from pc world

G Mail Update

A major upgrade to Gmail is getting the thumbs down from users who complain that the new version is extremely slow, often fails to load pages and even crashes their browsers.

People have flooded discussion forums with complaints since Google began "upgrading" users about two weeks ago to the new version, popularly referred to in the blogosphere as Gmail 2.0.

Ironically, Gmail 2.0, which features an upgraded contacts manager, is designed to be faster and more stable. Gmail 2.0 is based on what a Google spokesman calls "a major structural code change" upon which new features will be launched in coming months.

"Most users should see a marked improvement in performance. We recommend using IE7 and Firefox 2 to take full advantage of Gmail's speedier interface," said spokesman Jason Freidenfelds via e-mail.

Asked about the problems users are reporting, Freidenfelds didn't address the complaints specifically but said that Google appreciates the feedback it's getting. "The new code underlying Gmail should allow us to roll out performance improvements more frequently," he said.

Users interviewed via e-mail for this article report a variety of performance problems with Gmail 2.0.

The most common complaint is that it is generally very slow, with delays of a minute or more when attempting to display the inbox upon logging on, to record keystrokes when typing text and to respond to mouse clicks. Often the tasks time out. Others report that Gmail 2.0 repeatedly crashes or freezes their browsers, in particular Firefox.

If these users switch to the "old" Gmail version, the problems go away. However, these users say they have to switch manually every time they log on, because Gmail 2.0 automatically became their default version once they got upgraded to it.

When Google upgraded his account last week, Jim Sellers, a software programmer based in Ottawa, Canada, was eager to try Gmail 2.0's improved contacts manager, but his Firefox 2.0 browser kept crashing both on Windows 2000 and Mac OS X 10.4.

"These problems were very disruptive. I spend at least 25 percent of my day using my browser as one of my main working tools. To have it crash like that made the new version of Gmail a non-option," said Sellers, an otherwise satisfied Gmail user since June 2004.

As a workaround, Sellers has bookmarked the URL for the "old" Gmail version. However, others expressed worry that Google at some point will phase out access to the "old" Gmail without having fully resolved problems.

Some users interviewed also complained that Google didn't notify them that they would be moved to Gmail 2.0, or give them an option to decline the upgrade.

Others, on the other hand, trust Google will soon solve the issues. That's the case of Jack Freeman, a retiree in Oklahoma who, for lack of broadband options in his area, has learned to live with, and make the best of, his relatively slow dial-up connection.

For example, he enjoys posting answers in Google discussion forums, and in recent days has been addressing a lot of questions about the slowness of Gmail 2.0. Freeman's solution to the delays has been to toggle between the two versions of the service. "It is still my favorite e-mail program," Freeman said.

Google is moving people progressively to Gmail 2.0, so some users have it and others don't.

Google didn't immediately reply to a series of follow-up questions, so it's not clear what percentage of people have access to the new version and how many are experiencing problems with it. It's also unclear when Google expects to have everyone on the new version and when the performance problems be solved.

What's clear is that the problems have unleashed a storm of complaints. A search, sorted by date, for "Gmail slow" in the Gmail Help Discussion forum returns about 35 pages of results related to problems with Gmail 2.0.

Xbox 360 to Live Long and Prosper

So sayeth the suits at Microsoft, who think the
Xbox 360 has legs to carry it past the typical
five-year lifespan of the average game console.
Well...what else are they going to say?

Sony and Microsoft have turned "losing money to make money"
into a convoluted cash-splash process worthy of an equally
convoluted motivational seminar. Microsoft's Xbox gaming division,
over six years old, is supposed to finally be profitable in 2008.
But that's effectively seven years of net losses,
and more if you count research and development time.
Seven years, which is fast approaching a full decade.

To paraphrase Gordon Gekko, risk is good, risk works, risk clarifies. Mm-hmm.
But what's the ceiling on a money pit?
At what point do you pull a Sega and cash out?
And if you ever "arrive" -- unless you can somehow
mimic the Windows model, where consumers and businesses
are essentially "indentured users" --
what's the guarantee you'll be able to hold on for
more than a month or a year or a single product cycle?
Sony had and arguably still
has the market by the teeth with the PlayStation
2.
Now look at the PlayStation
3.
A year on, hemorrhaging component costs, and Sony
rumored to be pleading with developers to stay the course.

The guys with perpetual game-driven money in the bank, making a profit out of the gate? Who else?

So when we eventually hear how Microsoft's gaming division is finally in the black, or witness the point at which the PS3 turns the curve (and I think a recognizable turnaround's coming) instead of clapping or cheering, all I'll be wondering is: "At what cost?" "TANKS TO PC WORLD

Manufacturer's description of PS3

The PlayStation 3 was first officially announced May 16, 2005, at a press conference prior to the 11th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. The design of the machine incorporates many successful standards established by the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2 both of which led the console markets throughout their respective generations but it also offers some new features that distinguish it from its predecessors as well as its competition.

Fittingly, the central feature of the PS3 is its CPU, the Cell processor, which was codeveloped by IBM, Toshiba, and Sony. The PS3's Cell processor uses seven "Synergistic Processing Elements" (SPEs) plus an eighth for "redundancy," and is designed to dynamically handle multiple operations. Graphics are produced through the RSX GPU, which was codeveloped with Nvidia. The console has 256MB of XDR RAM for use by the CPU, and another 256MB of GDDR3 VRAM for use by the graphics chip.

PlayStation 3 games can be written to DVD or Bluray discs (BDs), the higher density format codeveloped by Sony and Toshiba. Like the PS2, the PS3 is backwardscompatible, and can play both original PlayStation and PS2 games, as well as PS3 games. It can also read and play audio, video, and other files from a variety of contemporary media formats, including CDs, DVDs, and BDs.

The form of the PlayStation 3 console is similar in size but somewhat squatter than that of the PS2. It can be operated in either a horizontal or vertical position. When laid flat, the PS3 console case has a squareish footprint, and its top bows upwards, with a fronttoback arch. This case is a silvery gray plastic, and it has a sleek, Spartan aesthetic, with a only the disc drawer plainly visible along its front. Four USB ports are hidden behind a front panel.

More so than its predecessors, the PlayStation 3 was designed for communication and compatibility with other electronic devices. In addition to its Bluetooth functionalities, the console has Ethernet ports and capacity for a IEEE 802.11 b/g "WiFi" connection. Internetconnected gamers can access the web, chat with online friends, and even download content, even while playing a game. The console also reads Memory Stick, SD, and Compact Flash memory, creating opportunities for crossplatform file sharing and other communications between the PS3 and the PlayStation Portable

Nintendo Number One in Game Sales

Nintendo displaced Sony as the leader of video game sales this past quarter said a new market report published on Tuesday.

According to iSuppli, combined game sales of both Wii and DS totaled US$1.2 billion dollars during the third quarter of 2007, up 31 percent from the second quarter of this year and more than double the amount sold a year prior.

By comparison, combined PS3, PS2, and PSP game sales totaled $1 billion for the same period while Microsoft reached $318 million in total Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 games sales.

The news marks the first time that Nintendo has accomplished the feat since first being displaced by Sony in the mid nineties with the release of the original and much more popular PlayStation 1 when compared to the Nintendo 64.

"Because Sony was slow to reduce the price of the PlayStation 3 and to produce compelling games, third- party game publishers are flocking to other platforms," says the report. "If the PlayStation 3 can't promote more game sales, developers may begin to feel working with Nintendo outweighs the benefits of working with Sony."

U.N. Agency Gives Boost to WiMax

PARIS, Oct. 19 — The United Nations telecommunications agency in Geneva gave the upstart technology called WiMax a vote of approval, providing a sizable victory for Intel and something of a defeat for competing technologies from Qualcomm and Ericsson.

The International Telecommunication Union’s radio assembly agreed late Thursday to include WiMax, a wireless technology that allows Internet and other data connections across much broader areas than Wi-Fi, as part of what is called the third-generation family of mobile standards.

That endorsement opens the way for many of the union’s member countries to devote a part of the public radio spectrum to WiMax, and receivers for it could be built into laptop computers, phones, music players and other portable devices.

Unlike Wi-Fi, this mobile Internet technology can hand off a signal from antenna to antenna, thus allowing a device to hold a connection while in motion. WiMax potentially can move data at 70 megabits a second across 65 kilometers, or 40 miles. Current fixed-line broadband connections have speeds of about 2 megabits a second.

The approval, which came in the form of a consensus of the radio assembly ahead of the World Radiocommunication Conference next week in Geneva, gives WiMax a leg up on Ultra Mobile Broadband, an alternative technology from Qualcomm, and Long-Term Evolution, an equivalent from Ericsson.

Intel has been promoting and investing in WiMax for the last three years and led “a pretty substantial amount of lobbying” to prove its case and get the union’s stamp on the technology, said Sriram Viswanathan, vice president of Intel Capital, the company’s strategic investment program, and general manager of its WiMax business.

The radio technology is the first to be added to the specifications for third-generation radio standards since the union approved them a decade ago.

Even before the union’s endorsement, WiMax had been gathering momentum with Intel’s weight behind it. Lenovo, Acer and a few other makers of personal computers recently committed to using Intel’s WiMax chips, which are expected to reach the market in May. Nokia said last month that it would make its N-series of tablet devices with WiMax when they go on sale next year.

Japan, Britain and Switzerland have scheduled auctions in the coming months to allocate licenses in the radio frequency in which WiMax operates, 2.5 to 2.69 gigahertz.

But WiMax is not universally cheered. Gary D. Forsee resigned as chief executive of Sprint Nextel last week amid doubts about his strategy, which includes $5 billion to roll out a commercially unproven WiMax network. Sprint Nextel’s WiMax partner, Clearwire, introduced an access card this week for laptops for its high-speed network.

Qualcomm said Friday that it "remains dedicated" to providing the technologies, including WiMax, that its operators choose.

Before You Buy Desktop Computer Systems

Looking to buy a new desktop personal computer system? This guide covers many of the basic items to examine when comparing desktop computer systems so that you can make an informed purchasing decision. Due to the changing nature of the PC Hardware industry, this guide will be periodically updated. Links are provided below each topic for a more detailed discussion on that subject.
Processors (CPUs)
For processors there are two basic choices to make: brand and speed. A lot of change is happening in the market. Both Intel and AMD are starting to produce dual core processors, but they aren't required for most people. Budget CPUs can be found around the 2.4 to 3.0 GHz (PR of 3000+ and below) range, mid-range at 2.8 to 3.2 GHz (PR of 3200+ to 3800+) and high-end processors at or above 3.4 GHz(PR above 4000+)

Understanding Desktop CPUs:

Knowing a CPUs Power When Buying a Desktop PC

The first specification listed for all computer systems on the market tends to be the processor that is running on the computer. Typically it will say the brand, model and speed of the processor in the spec sheet, but the marketing information may only list its speed rating. This can make it very difficult to determine how good a machine is. After all, one processor running at a specific speed may not run as well as a different model from the same manufacturer. That is why I've pieced together this list of categories to let you know how functional each processor is.

Outdated Processors

Processors that fall into this category are generally no longer in production by the manufacturers and are typically sold in either budget systems or older refurbished systems. Machines with these processors will typically take longer to run application and possibly might not even run some of software on the market today.It is best to try and avoid systems with these processors unless you want to use a computer for the very basic functions such as word processing and general web browsing.

* AMD Athlon 64 (Socket 754)
* AMD Athlon XP
* AMD Duron
* Intel Celeron (Without the D Model Numbers)
* Intel Pentium 4 (non-Socket T)
* Intel Pentium III

Budget Processors

These are processors that may or may not be in production anymore by the manufacturers but are very inexpensive and functional. There are typically two types of processors that will fall into this category: older high-end processors no longer manufactured and new low end budget processors. Discontinued high-end processors typically provide a better bang for your buck functionally. While they may have a slightly lower clock speed, their architecture of the processor tends to allow them to actually perform better at most computing tasks than newer budget processors.

* AMD Athlon 64
* AMD Sempron 64
* Intel Celeron D 300 Series
* Intel Pentium 4 (Socket T)
* Intel Pentium D 805 Through 820

Middle Processors

This is the segment of the market that is probably the best overall value for your computing dollar. These are generally processors that used to be top of the line processors 6 to 9 months ago but now have hit that sweet spot in the price points from the manufacturers. While they are not the fastest processors on the market, they still perform very well in all aspects of computing. They may not have the total functional lifespan of the highest end processors, but the price to performance ratio tends to outweigh their longevity.

* AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ to 4600+ (Socket AM2)
* Intel Pentium D 900 Series
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 to E6700

Top of the Line Processors

This is the cream of the crop when it comes to processing power. If you absolutely must have the best thing out there for your new computer than this is what you want to look at. It will cost you though. Generally the most recent processors from the manufacturer's come at a price premium of about double that of the middle processors. While the price is over double that of the middle processors, the performance tends to be only about 25-50% more at the best of times from their counterparts in the middle category.

* AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 and higher
* AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ and higher
* Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800, QX6700 and higher
Dual-Core Processors:

Are Two Really Better Than One?

Introduction

Both Intel and AMD have been slowing down the rate for increasing the clock speeds of processor. Part of this is due to the limitations of the current technology and designs. To try and keep up to pace with future developments, both companies are introducing dual-core processors in 2005.

For some time now, the benefits of multiple processors have been seen in the server environment. By having multiple processors on a single server, the tasks running on the server can be divided between the processors to allow the system has a whole to function faster. The goal of a dual-core CPU is to take two physical processors and integrate them on one physical chip.

Threading

Before going into the benefits and drawbacks of dual-core or multiple processors, it is important to understand the concept of threading. A thread is simply a single stream of data through the processor on the system. Each application generates its own or multiple threads depending upon how it is running. With current multitasking, a processor can only handle a single thread at a time, so the system rapidly switches between the threads to process the data in a seemingly concurrent manner.

The benefit of having multiple processors is that the system can handle more than one thread. Each processor can handle a separate stream of data. This greatly increases the performance of a system that is running concurrent applications such as a server.

Intel implemented something they called Hyperthreading. This is not the same as multithreading. Instead it is a technology embedded within a single core processor to make it appear to the system as if it had multiple processors. What this really did was speed up the rate at which the system could switch between multiple threads thus boosting multitasking on personal computers.

Software Dependent

While the concept of multiple processors sounds very appealing, there is a major caveat to this ability. In order for the true benefits of the multiple processors to be seen, the software that is running on the computer must be written to support multithreading. Without the software supporting such a feature, threads will be primarily run through a single processor thus degrading the efficiency.

Thankfully, all of the major current operating systems have multithreading capability. But the multithreading must also be written into the application software. Most of the applications that the average user runs currently do not have this. As a result, any speed benefits will solely be from the operating system being able to separate applications between the processors.

A good example to explain this is to look at a typical PC game. Most games require some form of rendering engine to display what is happening in the game. In addition to this, there is some sort of artificial intelligence to control the computers controlled events in the game. With a single processor, both of these must function by switching between the two. This is not necessarily efficient. If the system had multiple processors, the rendering and AI could each run on a separate processor. This looks like an ideal situation for a multiple processor.

The problem is that the game, like most applications, is not designed to take advantage of the multiple processors. As a result, both the rendering and AI happen on a single processor leaving the second processor essentially unused. As a result, a multiple core PC will not have any speed benefit. If the game is designed with multiple threads, then a dual-core processor would be advantageous over a single processor.

Clock Speeds

One thing that has not been mentioned yet is clock speeds. Most people are still familiar with the fact that the higher the clock speed, the faster the processor will be. Dual-core processors are going to make things more complex. Since the dual-core processors are being designed to fit in roughly the same dimensions as a single core processor, speeds are not going to be equivalent.

Most of the early dual-core processors are going to be running at lower clock speeds compared to single core processors. The rational behind it is that a dual-core processor with each running at 1GHz should be equivalent to a single processor running at 2GBz. The problem is that this doesn't work in practice when the applications are not written to take advantage of the multiple processors. Until the software is written this way, unthreaded applications will run faster on a single processor than a dual-core CPU.

Conclusions

Those individuals out there who already use software that is multithreaded will see the most benefit from the dual processors. For the majority of people, there is not going to be much of a benefit for the dual-core over a single core processor. This will gradually change as the dual-core model becomes more common, but it will likely take some time.

Top 6 Desktop CPUs:

8/1/07 - There are a large number of desktop processors available and this list was generated to point out the three major categories of processors for both the Intel and AMD product lines. The three categories listed are the top performance processors, best value processors (<$250) and best budget processors (<$100). This allows users to select the CPUs best suited to their budgets.
1. AMD Performance - Athlon 64 FX-74
AMD has fallen pretty far in terms of the performance crown in processors, but that doesn't mean they aren't willing to try different things. The Athlon 64 FX-74 certainly is much less expensive than the Intel Core 2 Extreme processors, but it does require additional specialized hardware. Unlike the standard AM2 socket design, the FX-74 uses the Socket F design this requiring a different motherboard from the other Athlon 64 processors. It is the fastest one can currently get from AMD though.

2. Intel Performance - Core 2 Extreme QX6850
It wasn't that long ago that Intel introduced the Quad Core Extreme QX6800, but they have already released the QX6850. It still features the same quad core configuration and the unlocked clock multipliers for easier overclocking. It does boost the overall base clocking speed to give it some additional performance over the previous model. Of course, only those with heavy multitasking or multithreaded applications will see a huge performance boost with the QX6850.

3. AMD Value - Athlon 64 X2 6000+ AM2
The Athlon 64 X2 6000+ is currently the fastest processor available to use the Socket AM2 design. What would have once commanded a high price is now going for an extreme bargain due to the competitive pressures from Intel and their Core 2 Duo lineup. It may not command a high price due to its older design, but when compared dollar for dollar with Intel offerings, it certainly offers an extremely compelling value.

4. Intel Value - Core 2 Duo E6750
With all the rapid development happening at Intel recently, the pace of processor upgrades is just as hectic. Much of the change occuring now is due to the new Intel chipsets that support the new 1333MHz bus speeds. The new Core 2 Duo E6750 is one such model that comes at a very affordable rate. The performance is quite strong from this dual core processor and it comes in at a price that is higly competitive. This is certainly a very strong desktop processor capable of pretty much any task one has for it.

5. AMD Budget - Athlon X2 BE-2300
One area that AMD does beat Intel is processor efficiency. Sure, they aren't as fast overall compared to the new Core 2 lineup, but in a performance per watt comparison, AMD has the clear advantage. The new Athlon X2 BE-2300 is certainly not one meant to be a top of the line performance processor from AMD, but it does perform quite well and has some of the lowest power consumption on the market. This makes it great for those looking for a system with a decent processor that can help them save on electricity.

6. Intel Budget - Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160
While AMD has pushed their dual core processor prices down heavily, Intel has attempted to compete using some of their older product lines such as the Pentium D. These didn't offer the same level of performance, but were still quite good for those on the budget. Now Intel has gone and tweaked their designs to boost performance in the form of the new Dual-Core E2160. Sure, it won't have the same performance as their new E4300, but this processor does come in under the $100 mark.

Memory (RAM):
RAM is important because if you don't get enough, your system won't run optimally. The minimum amount of RAM for today's systems should be 512MB even for budget systems. 1GB of RAM provides better performance. DDR memory is now used by all current systems with the most common being PC3200. DDR2 can be found on newer Intel systems. Budget systems may still use older PC2100 or PC2700 DDR. When buying memory, try to buy as few DIMMs as possible to allow for future memory upgrades if needed.

Understanding Desktop Memory:

How to Evaluate Memory in a Desktop PC

Most computer system specifications tend to list the system memory or RAM immediately following the CPU. In this guide, we will take a look at the two primarily aspects of RAM to look at in computer specifications: amount and type.
How Much is Enough?

The rule of thumb that I use for all computer systems for determining if it has enough memory is to look at the requirements of the software you intend to run. Pick up the boxes for each of the applications and the OS that you intend to run and look at both the "minimum" and "recommended" requirements. Typically you want to have more RAM than the highest minimum and ideally at least as much as the highest listed recommended requirement. The following chart provides a general idea of how a system will run with various amounts of memory:

* Minimum to Boot: 512MB
* Minimum Functional: 1GB
* Optimal: 2GB
* Smooth Sailing: >2GB

The ranges provided are a generalization based upon most common computing tasks.It is best to check the requirements of the intended software to make the final decisions. This is not accurate for all computer tasks because some operating systems use more memory than others.
Does Type Really Matter?

The type of memory does matter to the performance of a system. There are two basic types of memory currently used: DDR and DDR2. There are older RDRAM and SDRAM modules, but these forms are both outdated and should be avoided in a computer purchase. Beyond the type of memory, each memory type also has a related speed to that ram as well. Below is a chart detailing the order of the type and speed in order of slowest to fastest:

* DDR2 400 MHz or PC2-3200
* DDR 400 MHz or PC3200
* DDR2 533 MHz or PC2-4200
* DDR2 667 MHz or PC2-5300
* DDR3 800 MHz or PC3-6400
* DDR2 800 MHz or PC2-6400
* DDR3 1066 MHz or PC3-8300

These speeds are all relative to the theoretical bandwidths of each type of memory at its given clock speed when compared to another. A computer system will only be able to use one type of memory and this should only be used as a comparison when the CPU is identical between the two systems.

Before You Buy Computer Memory Upgrades:

One of the easiest ways to boost performance for any PC is to add memory to the system. But before you go to get that memory upgrade, be sure to gather information about your computer to ensure you get the right memory for your system. You need to know what type of memory the computer uses, the memory module sizes and what already exists in the system.
How Much Memory Do I Have?
Find out how much memory is in the computer by examining the BIOS or operating system. For Windows, this can be located by opening up the System properties from the Control Panel. Also open up the case while the computer is off and find the memory slots to determine how many modules are installed and how many slots are available. If all the slots are full, you may have to take some out to put more in, if the system can use larger modules.

How Much Do I Need?
Check your operating system and application programs. Often they will have a printed "Minimum" and "Recommended" memory listing somewhere on the package or in the manual. Find the highest number out of "Recommended" section and try to plan on having this much or more memory by the time you are done upgrading your system memory.

What Type Does Your Computer Support?
Look through the manuals that came with your computer or motherboard. Included in the documentation should be a listing of the specifications for the memory supported. This is important because it will list exactly the type, size and number of memory modules that are supported. Many retailers and memory manufacturers have this information in case you can't find the manuals.

How Many Modules Should I Buy?
In general it is best to try and buy as few modules as possible for the amount of memory that you wish to install. This will increase the potential for future upgrades on the system. Thus, if you have 3 memory slots, one of which has a 1GB module in it, it would be better to buy another 1GB module to get to 2GB of total memory than to purchase two 512MB modules.

Not All Memory is Created Equal:

Part I: Background and Memory Types

Most people who have or are planning on purchasing a computer know to look for certain things. One of those things is the amount of memory or RAM that comes in a computer. The higher the amount of RAM, the better the system. What a lot of people don't know is that the type of memory that goes into a computer can also make a big difference in the performance and future ability to upgrade that system.
Some Background

Before really talking about memory and what to look for, it is important to talk about the other components in a computer that interact with the memory. In particular, there are two primary pieces that determine the memory that is used in a computer, the CPU and the motherboard or chipset.

All CPUs have a speed rating given to them. This is often the rating of the processor in gigahertz.There is a second speed rating to the processor referred to as the front side bus. The front side bus refers to the speed at which the processor can talk to the memory and other components on the system. The processor speed is actually a multiplier of the front side bus speed. For example, an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU has a 1066 MHz front side bus which is multiplied by 2 to generate the 2.13 GHz speed. Even though the front side bus is 1066 MHz, the memory interface runs at a fraction of this due to memory not running to such high speeds when it was released.

Now the motherboard also determines a lot about the memory. The chipset that interacts with both the CPU and the memory is designed to work with specific memory types and sizes. While the chipset may be able to support a processor such as the Intel Core 2 Duo mentioned before, it might only support memory up to speeds of 533MHz. Also, these chipsets are generally designed to communicate with memory up to a specific size, such as a 2GB DIMM modules. This coupled with the motherboard layout will determine the maximum amount of memory a system can hold. If the system has 2 slots, then the maximum would be 4 gigabytes of RAM which is less than a separate board which can support 4 modules resulting in 8 gigabytes of RAM.

Therefore, before you start looking at the memory, do research and make sure you know how many memory modules your motherboard can support as well as the maximum speed of the memory it can hold. This will help you to determine what the best mix of memory modules in a system will provide you when the system is first purchased and for when you plan any future upgrades.
Memory Types

While there are many different types of memory on the market, the most common types that are used in PCs right now are:

* Double Data Rate DRAM (DDR)
* Double Data Rate 2 DRAM (DDR2)
* Double Data Rate 3 DRAM (DDR3)

Double data rate or DDR memory is designed to function at two memory operations per clock cycle. This effectively doubles the speed of the memory over older synchronous memory modules. This memory type has been phased out in favor of the high clocked DDR2 standard.

DDR2 is an updated version of DDR that provides even faster clock speeds than the previous DDR memory standard. The two types of memory are not interchangable as they interface with the chipset and memory in a different method. To differentiate the two, each type has a different pin count and layout for the memory modules.

DDR3 is the latest version of memory to be released and once again provides speeds faster than those of DDR2. It is still fairly uncommon but will likely gain more acceptence over time as processor speeds increase requiring the faster memory.

Hard Drives
Hard drives boil down to capacity and speed. Most hard drives available now will provide you with more than enough storage. Look for 80 GB drive as the minimum. If you feel you need more space or the extra space doesn't cost more, get the upgrade. As for performance, 7200 rpm drives are the best choice currently. If you really want performance, look for drives with 8MB or 16MB of cache. Drives will either be Serial ATA or IDE but performance levels are roughly the same.

Optical Drives
Most systems sold now feature DVD burners, even the budget systems. It is best to make sure that you get a multiformat DVD burner that can support both the +R/RW and -R/RW formats. Speeds should be 16x for the recordable speed. Dual or Double Layer media support is also a common feature although less likely to be used due to media cost. If you don't need a DVD burner, try to at least get a CD-RW/DVD combo drive of 24x recording speed to allow for CD media storage and DVD playback.

Video Card
Video cards change every 6 months, so selecting the right one is difficult. If you want to have future capability, go for a card that supports DirectX 9 and has at least 128MB of memory. If don't have to be on the cutting edge of video technology, there is a wide range of choices to fit your needs. Things to consider now on video cards are DVI connectors for digital LCD panels and multi-monitor support. New systems should use PCI Express graphics cards over the previous AGP interface.


External Connectors
Many upgrades and peripherals to computers now connect through external interfaces instead of internal cards. Check to see how many and what type of external ports are available on the computer for use with future peripherals. Look for systems that have both USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 or FireWire ports. It should have at least six USB 2.0 connectors and one FireWire ports.

Monitors
What good is a computer without a monitor? Consumers can choose between CRT or LCD monitors. CRTs provide a wide range of capabilities at a good price but are bulky. LCDs take up less desk space but cost more and have limited capabilities. Regardless of type of monitor, look at getting at least a 17” monitor capable of displaying a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels.

CRT vs. LCD Monitors

Which Monitor is the Best to Buy?

Introduction

This question is actually much less valid than it was several years ago. Many companies have cut the production of CRT monitors except for the extremely high end and the very low end. In fact, most desktop computer systems sold now by default come with LCD monitors. Still for those that what to know the difference and which they would be better off purchasing, I have updated this article to be more relevant to the current technologies and products offered today.

CRTs

The primary advantage that CRT monitors held over LCDs was their color rendering. The contrast ratios and depths of colors displayed were much greater with CRT monitors than LCDs. While this still holds true in most cases, many strides have been made in LCDs such that this difference is not as great as it once was. Many graphic designers still use the very expensive large CRT monitors in their work because of the color advantages. Of course, this color ability does degrade over time as the phosphors in the tube break down.

The other advantage that CRT monitors held over LCD screens is the ability to easily scale to various resolutions. This is referred to as multisync by the industry. By adjusting the electron beam in the tube, the screen can easily be adjusted downward to lower resolutions while keeping the picture clarity intact.

While these two items may play an important role for CRT monitors, there are disadvantages as well. The biggest of these are the size and weight of the tubes. An equivalent sized LCD monitor is upwards of 80% smaller in size and weight compared to a CRT tube. The larger the screen, the bigger the size difference. The other major drawback deals with the power consumption. The energy needed for the electron beam means that the monitors consumer and generate a lot more heat than the LCD monitors.

Pros:

* Multisync Capable
* High Refresh Rates
* Color Clarity and Depth

Cons:

* Very Heavy and Large
* Use Large Amounts of Energy
* Generate Excess Heat

LCDs

The biggest advantage to LCD monitors is their size and weight. As was mentioned earlier, the size and weight of an LCD monitor can be upwards of 80% lighter than an equivalent dimension CRT screen. This makes it possible to users to have larger screens for their computers than was possible before.

LCD screens also tend to produce less eye fatigue to the user. The constant light barrage and scan lines of a CRT tube tend to cause strain on heavy computer users. The lower intensity of the LCD monitors coupled with their constant screen display of pixels being on or off produces less fatigue for the user.

The most notable disadvantage to LCD screens is their fixed or native resolution. An LCD screen can only display the number of pixels in its matrix and no more or less. It can display a lower resolution in one of two ways. Using only a fraction of the total pixels on the display or through extrapolation. Extrapolation is a method whereby the monitor blends multiple pixels together to simulate a single smaller pixel. This can often lead to a blurry or fuzzy image particularly with text when running the screen below is native resolution.

Video was problematic with early LCD monitors because of lower response times. This has been overcome by many improvements, but there are some that still have low response times. Purchasers should be aware of this when purchasing a monitor. However, the improvements are often work arounds that can actually lead to another problem of reduced color clarity. Unfortunately, the industry is very poor about properly listing the specifications for monitors to help buyers understand and compare monitors.

Pros:

* Smaller and Lighter
* Energy Efficient
* Causes Less Eye Fatigue

Cons:

* Blurry Images Outside Native Resolution
* Motion Blur on Fast Moving Images
* Come Models Have Reduced Color Clarity



Conclusions

At this point and time, most consumers will likely be purchasing LCD monitors over CRTs. There is almost no difference in the cost to consumers thanks to production improvements in LCDs and the reduction in the production of CRTs. Typically CRTs will only be seen sold with the least expensive of desktop computer systems or by those with special imaging needs such as graphics and medical professionals.

Beginners Guides: Essential USB Memory Drive Projects & Tips

Encryption, Firefox browser, word processing, arcade games and yes even an operating system can be run off your USB hard drive... if you know how! - Version 1.0.0

The USB memory key appears well on its way to replacing the floppy drive completely; as flash memory prices have dropped, these devices have become cheap enough that anyone can afford them. This, coupled with the easy support of such drives in Windows XP, has made them an extremely attractive device for anyone that needs to move files from place to place. USB memory drives are not just geek toys anymore!

As you will see here though, there's a lot more you can do with your USB memory key than just transfer files. These flexible miniature storage devices can put a whole range of portable applications, and even operating systems in your pocket.


Boot your computer with a USB drive

As long as your computer's motherboard allows booting from USB devices, your system will quite happily start from a correctly formatted USB key, just as it would from a hard drive. As you would imagine, this fact has led to enterprising users putting all sorts of interesting programs and operating systems onto USB keys.

We will get to some of these later in the article, but for now, let's look at how to turn your USB drive into a useful device for booting your system into DOS for troubleshooting, BIOS flashing , or any number of other purposes.

The emergence of 'boot from USB' features on all newer motherboards may well prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the venerable 1.44MB floppy disk. Previously, floppy disks were still essential troubleshooting tools, as they were the only device which could easily be used to 'clean boot' a PC into DOS (or a similar OS) for troubleshooting and BIOS update purposes. Now you can use your USB drive for the same things (provided your motherboard supports the feature). Let's find out how.

The first thing you need to make sure of is whether your motherboard's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) supports booting from a USB drive. Reboot your computer, pressing the 'DEL' key several times as soon as the computer restarts. This should bring you to your system's BIOS setup screen.

Due to the number of BIOS brands and variations out there, it's impossible to give a precise guide for this procedure, but this should give you the general idea. In most BIOS versions, you will need to go to the 'advanced BIOS settings' section and look for the '1st boot device' entry or the equivalent. Cycle through the possible options in the BIOS. Ideally, you are looking for the USB RMD-FDD option. Failing this, try USB ZIP and USB FLOPPY. If it's there, leave the entry set to it and save and exit to reboot your system

Boot up with a USB drive con't
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If you can't find that setting, look through the various BIOS settings for anything pertaining to USB devices, including DOS support and removable drives. Depending on your BIOS version you may want to look in the 'feature settings' or 'advanced setup' sections.

If you can't find anything relevant, your computer probably does not currently support this feature. All may not be lost though. The manufacturer may have added this feature with a BIOS update to your board. To check this, visit your motherboard manufacturer's website and look for newer BIOS versions for your motherboard model. For more information on finding the exact make and model of your system's motherboard, as well as downloading and upgrading your motherboard with new BIOS files

Once you have set your motherboard to boot from the USB drive, it's time to make the drive itself bootable.

Ironically, the easiest way to do this is by using a floppy disk. If you have a floppy drive on your system, insert a blank disk and double click on 'my computer.' Right click the floppy drive and choose 'format.' Make sure the 'create a bootable system disk' option is checked. This will add the system files you need on your USB drive to the floppy. Click 'ok' to format the disk.

When the formatting process is finished, download the HP USB disk storage tool and install it. It is intended for HP removable drives, but we've found that it works just fine on every USB drive we tried. Using this software and the system files now contained on your floppy disk, you can make your USB drive bootable.

To do this, plug in your USB drive and run the HP USB disk storage tool.

Ensure that the tool has found the correct drive in the 'device' window. Change the file system to 'FAT.' Check the 'create a DOS startup disk' option, and in the 'using DOS system files located at' window, enter 'a:\' to point the program to your floppy disk. Now click 'start.' The program will create the necessary boot files on your USB device.

Reboot your system (with the BIOS set to boot from the USB drive) to check that it works. If all goes well, your system should 'clean boot' to the A: prompt. You can now customize your new boot drive with whatever programs and utilities you need.

If you do not have a floppy drive, you can obtain the necessary boot files from several locations on the Internet including here. Extract the zip file to a directory and point the HP USB disk storage tool to that directory for boot files.

Run Linux on a USB device
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The most obvious and desirable use for a bootable USB key is to cart your entire operating system around in your pocket. Enterprising Linux enthusiasts have made it possible to do just that.

Linux (in case you didn't know) is an open-source, Unix-derived operating system. As it is open-source, people are free to experiment and re-invent the code in new ways. This has led to many interesting Linux operating system variants, the most useful of these being the 'live' Linux distributions which boot and run the entire operating system from a single CD or other storage device. Regardless of the operating system that might be installed on the system's hard drive, booting from the 'live' CD will load and run Linux instead. The advantages of this are obvious. You can have a familiar environment and set of applications with you wherever you travel.

Recently, some of the smaller 'live' Linux distributions have been re-engineered to work from USB drives. These portable operating systems use the system's memory for performing operations, and your flash disk as the 'hard drive' for storing personal data. The rewritable nature of USB disks actually makes them a better platform for portable operating systems than CDs. For now, let's look at one of the easiest of these 'flash' Linux distros to get to grips with; Puppy Linux.

Puppy Linux was originally a 'live CD' Linux distribution notable for its extremely small footprint. All applications load fully into memory (on a machine with 128MB of RAM or more), making loads from the CD non-existent.

Fairly recently, instructions and a wizard for creating a USB drive-based version of Puppy were included on the CD. This 'Flash Puppy' operating system is what we'll use for the purposes of this article, as it is incredibly simple to set up and run. Your USB drive should be formatted with the FAT file system (not FAT32) before you begin this process. To do this, right click the removable drive in 'my computer,' choose the 'format' option, then choose 'FAT' as the file system. Do not do a quick format.

First things first: You need to go to the puppy Linux site and download the latest version of their 'live-puppy' operating system. This will come in the form of an .ISO file which you can use to create a CD with the CD burning software of your choice. If you need help with this process, see our guide here. We used Puppy Linux version 0.9.6 for the purposes of this article.

Once you have created the Puppy Linux Live CD, boot your system from the CD to load the Puppy Linux OS (note that you may need to change the boot options in your BIOS to boot from CD. You will be asked if you wish to use a USB drive as a storage device for personal data. Hit ENTER for no, since we have another use in mind for your USB drive!

Choose the 'US QWERTY' keyboard layout (or whatever is appropriate), enter your mouse type (PS/2 or USB), then choose an appropriate (and safe) graphics resolution. Whatever you normally use on your Windows desktop should be fine here. Now that you are on the Puppy Linux desktop (Puppy uses the FVWM Windows manager by default), go to the familiar 'start' button in the bottom corner, open it up and go to 'utilities\install puppy USB drive.' This will start the USB installation dialog.

This very friendly and simple wizard will walk you through the process of installing Puppy on your USB device (note that you will need at least a 64MB USB key to do this). There are a couple of things that need to be changed though.You will need to type the address of your USB drive as displayed in the dialog. If you have only the one drive plugged into the system, this will generally be '/dev/sda1'

Assuming you formatted your drive cleanly with the FAT file system as instructed, enter N for no when the dialog asks for permission to erase all files on the drive. You will also need to specify a keyboard layout also. Choose 'US' if you are in the US or English-speaking Canada. The final choice you need to make is between the two possible installation modes. Mode 1 will allow you to access documents you created in Linux from a Windows operating system, provided you have applications that can open them correctly. Mode 2 will not, but may run more efficiently.

The process will now format and install the necessary files on your USB drive. When it is finished, reboot and set your computer's BIOS to boot from the USB drive as instructed in the first part of this article. Congratulations! You now have a fully functional pocket operating system at your disposal, complete with the Firefox web browser and ABIword word processor. Now start learning Linux!


Private email encryption application
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If you are using email on a foreign or public computer or Internet connection and you are worried about the privacy of your correspondence, we have a solution for you.

The CryptoAnywhere program is a free, portable email encryption program capable of both sending encoded email and decrypting returning messages. With this program, you can send email securely from any location without worrying about your privacy being compromised, and you can download similarly encrypted messages and decode them safely within the program itself.

This has several obviously useful applications. If you are not keen on the idea of your email correspondence being monitored at work, this is one solution. To use the CryptoAnywhere application, download the file and install the program.

Run CryptoAnywhere and create your first 'identity' with your email address and mail server when prompted. The password is used to decrypt emails sent to you, so remember it. Once this is completed, click the 'create a travel floppy' button along the left side of the screen.

Enter the drive letter of your USB device or use the browse button to locate it. The necessary files will be copied to your USB drive. You can now use CryptoAnywhere (complete with the identity you just created) anywhere you can plug in your USB drive.

When you send mail with CryptoAnywhere, the program adds the encrypted message to an attachment and prompts you for a password which the recipient can use to decrypt the message. To send mail, simply click the 'new message' button, enter the address, message text and any attachments then click 'encipher and send.'


USB travel kit A) Portable web browser
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Using the Internet away from home can be an annoying experience. Despite the ubiquitous presence of Internet Explorer, you may still miss your favourites list and the other comforts of a home-trained browser. Thanks to one enterprising user, you can now take your browser with you wherever you go.

The Mozilla Firefox web browser is an excellent alternative to Internet Explorer, and this portable version of it will run completely from a USB key, so you can always have a familiar web surfing experience. Best of all, it takes up very little space on the USB drive itself, so there's no reason not to try it.

Simply download the latest file from here, unzip it to your USB drive and run the 'portablefirefox.exe' file from the device to start the browser.

All favourites are stored on the drive and travel with you. As you would expect, some compromises have been made to reduce wear and tear on USB drives; the browser does not keep a history or cache web pages, so browsing back through previously loaded pages will be slower than a 'regular' web browser, but we think that's a small price to pay for the benefits this package offers.

USB travel kit B) portable email client

If you thought the portable browser listed above was useful, how about having your email client with you at all times? All you need is Internet access and you can send and retrieve email at will from your own address book without compromising your security or privacy.

Thunderbird is Mozilla's email client counterpart to the Firefox browser. The same clever fellow responsible for the portable Firefox browser modification has also made this program portable. Again, installation is very simple. Download the latest version from here. Unzip the archive onto your USB drive.

Now run the 'portablethunderbird.exe' file to start the application. If you've used Outlook Express, Thunderbird should seem instantly familiar.

All your current addresses can be easily imported from Outlook Express or Outlook by going to 'tools\import' and selecting 'address books.' The same goes for your existing email folders. You can transplant your entire email system onto your flash drive if you'd like.

This is an excellent tool for the road warrior or student, as it makes communicating from the office, public computers or Internet cafes much, much easier.


USB travel kit C) portable word processor
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To finish up our trifecta of essential portable applications, how about the AbiWord word processor? This complete cross-platform writing tool has the distinction of working perfectly well when installed on a USB device, something you can't say about Word or Wordperfect.

Happily, installation is incredibly easy again. Download the file from here , run the installer and set your USB drive as the target. During the installation process, choose not to create a desktop shortcut (for obvious reasons).

Once installation is complete, the executable file can be found in the 'abiword\bin\' directory. Make a shortcut to this file from the root of your USB drive to run the program easily.

A selection of plugins is also available here and here to make this word processor play nicely with various other office applications. These can be installed directly to the USB drive also.

All three applications (browser, email client and word processor) we just listed take up only 40MB of your portable drive. We can't think of a reason not to use these excellent tools if you are planning to compute away from home anytime soon.



WinXP briefcase to synch files on the USB drive
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If you regularly carry documents to and from your work on a USB drive, the Windows XP briefcase feature can help you avoid the confusion of having several different versions of the same work floating around.

The briefcase is a simple-to-use document synchronization application which acts as a virtual container for your work documents. It holds copies of all your current documents, and allows you to work on these files away from your main work system. Upon returning the briefcase to the original computer, you can update any files which have been changed since you left.

Basically, the briefcase creates offline copies of all of your files which can then be moved to any other system and worked on. Returning the briefcase to your original system allows you to update your files with any changes you made while away.

To use the briefcase application on your USB drive: Create a new briefcase on the desktop by right clicking on an empty area and selecting 'new\briefcase.' Now locate any files you wish to add to the briefcase and drag them onto the briefcase icon. This will create copies of the files in your briefcase. Double click the briefcase icon.

Now Drag and drop the briefcase to your USB drive. Now you can take the USB drive to your other system. Double click the briefcase icon to open it, then work on your files inside it. Do not move the files out of the briefcase. Instead, open the files within the briefcase folder in order to edit them.

When you return the briefcase to the original computer, double click the icon again to open it. Note that the 'status' of any files that you edited has been changed to 'needs updating.' Select 'update all items' from the 'briefcase tasks' section on the left.

A window will open illustrating the changes that will be made to the original documents to bring them into line with the ones in the briefcase. Confirm the changes and click 'update' to carry out the operation. All the original files will be updated with the changes you made on your other system.

Format a USB drive with NTFS file system
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By default, Windows XP will not allow you to use anything but the FAT and FAT32 file systems to format your USB drives. With a little fiddling you can also enable the NTFS file system on your removable devices though. As for whether you would want to, there are pros and cons.

On the positive side, enabling NTFS allows you to encrypt your documents with Windows XP's built in file encryption (though you should only do this in a Windows 2000 or 2003 domain network). It also allows the use of file compression to stretch the capacity of your disk. You can also use NTFS to allow and deny permissions for individual files and folders within XP, something you can't do with FAT file systems. You can also set disk quotas. In short, enabling NTFS on flash drives might have several benefits for IT departments that use or issue these devices as standard.

One potential negative of using NTFS on your flash drive is the additional data writes that are necessary. NTFS is a journaling file system, which means that disk transactions are logged separately on the disk as they occur. This adds up to a considerable amount of extra disk activity, which could mean wearing out your USB drive faster in the long run. As the life span of intensively used flash memory is still measured in years, this is unlikely to be much of an issue. Also, Windows 98/ME systems, and most Linux systems cannot read NTFS partitions.

As we mentioned, using the EFS file encryption is not really recommended unless your home or office uses a Windows domain with centralized user accounts. The reason for this is that the encryption depends on the user account to unlock it. Even if your user account on your other computer has the same name, it has a different ID as far as the encryption is concerned. The upshot of this is that you will not be able to open your documents when you get home, as your 'home' user account does not possess the right credentials. While it is possible to get around this with 'recovery agent' certificates, the procedure is time-consuming and complicated. You'd be better off using a third-party program to encrypt your files, like the one we detail below.

To enable NTFS on your drive, right click 'my computer' and select 'manage' then open 'device manager.' Find your USB drive under the 'disk drives' heading. It should be listed as 'generic storage device USB device' or something similar.

Right click it and select 'properties' then go to the 'policies' tab. Select the 'optimize for performance' option. Click 'ok.'

Now open 'my computer,' right click on the removable drive and select 'format.' You will have the option to format to NTFS in the 'file system' dropdown box.


Create permanent folders and share over a network
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An interesting feature of Windows XP's handling of USB drives is the way it assigns them locations and drive letters. As you know, Windows will happily assign any USB storage device the next available drive letter when it is plugged in, then reclaim the letter when the drive is unplugged. It will just as happily assign the same drive letter to a different storage device you plug in later. So far, not very useful... The interesting part comes in if you decide to mount a USB drive as a folder in one of your permanent hard disks.

The storage manager in Windows XP, like Windows 2000 before it, allows you to mount a partition (which would normally be represented with a drive letter like c: or d:) as a directory inside a different partition. Using this method, you could add a new hard drive to your computer and mount it in a directory on your existing c: drive called 'new drive,' for example. The target drive (where the directory is located) must be formatted with the NTFS file system to do this.

This is already a cool feature, but it takes on a new twist when used with USB drives, especially if you use more than one drive on your system or network. While drive letters are assigned dynamically, drive mount locations as we described above are not. The upshot of this is, if you give your USB drive a folder location, that particular drive will be associated permanently with the disk location. Every drive can have its own 'home folder' which will be active and available whenever that drive is plugged into the system, and inaccessible when it is not.

This has several advantages. For one thing, if you use several USB storage devices on a network, you can choose which devices you wish to share data from across the network without having to redo the share permissions every time you plug in a new device. For another, every device can now have a distinct identity on your system or network based on its folder name. Also, this tip removes the need for each USB drive to use up a drive letter.

Let's look at how to set this up. First, plug in your first USB storage device. Go to the Windows XP disk manager by right clicking on 'my computer,' hitting 'manage,' expanding the 'storage' category and choosing 'disk management.'

In the lower disk management window, locate the entry for your USB storage device. It will be marked as 'removable.' Right click the entry and select 'change drive letters and paths.'

Click the 'add' button, then highlight 'mount in the following empty NTFS folder.'

Use the 'browse' button, then the 'new folder' button to create an empty folder in the location of your choice. This will be the new home of your USB drive. Choose the new folder and click 'ok' to get back to the 'add drive letter or path' window. Now that you have your new drive folder, you can remove the drive letter that your USB device was automatically given if you'd like. To do this, click 'remove' and take it out.

Click 'ok.' Your USB drive is now permanently assigned to the new folder you created. When it is plugged in, the drive is accessible like any other folder on the disk you chose. When the drive is unplugged, the folder will still appear as normal, but will be inaccessible. You can share this folder over a network just as you would with any other folder. Share permissions will be removed and restored as the drive is removed and returned.

Repeat this procedure with your other USB storage devices, creating a new directory for each. Now each of your devices has its own particular identity on your network.


Take your favourite media player with you
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Here's a handy and fun use for any USB drive. Several freely available media player software packages (such as certain versions of Winamp) do not require registry entries to run. What this means is that they can be effectively run off any computer without installation.

You might already use your USB flash drive to carry music and other media files from computer to computer. Why not carry around the program to play them with as well? Simply copy the player and your files to a directory on the computer you have plugged into (or even run the player from the drive) and enjoy your media files!

Here's links to a couple of media player applications that can be run straight from their executable files, and will thus work fine on USB drives: Zoom Player (video and music) and XMPlay (audio only). Simply download the files, unzip them to your USB drive, add your media files and move out!

Carry a bootable, portable arcade on your USB drive

Bored in class? Need something to make your off time at work pass faster but can't install games? How about having an entire arcade on your USB drive?

AdvanceMAME is an open-source emulator for arcade games, the kind you might have used to play in the days before Playstation. This in itself is not novel. MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) and its variants have been around for ages. What is novel is that the latest release of AdvanceMAME (2.4.0 as of this article), supports booting from USB drive.

AdvanceMAME, like all MAME versions, uses ROM files, images of the original arcade machine programs you might have played. Generally these files are copyrighted, but you can find many legal ROMS on the Internet. AdvanceMAME comes with three games to get you started, and a menu system so intuitive that it's not even worth describing.

To install AdvanceMAME on your USB key, download the latest files from here and unzip them to a folder on your hard drive. Now plug in your USB drive and format it (right click the drive in 'my computer' and choose format). Use the FAT file system.

Navigate to the folder that you unzipped the AdvanceMAME files to and double click the 'makeusb' batch file. A DOS window will open and begin the process of installing the necessary boot files onto your USB drive. Once the install is complete, simply boot any system with the USB drive to load AdvanceMAME and start playing.

Spyware

How You Get Spyware
Spyware usually gets onto your machine because of something you do, like clicking a button on a pop-up window, installing a software package or agreeing to add functionality to your Web browser. These applications often use trickery to get you to install them, from fake system alert messages to buttons that say "cancel" when they really do the opposite.Here are some of the general ways in which Spyware finds its way into your computer:

* Piggybacked software installation - Some applications -- particularly peer-to-peer file-sharing clients -- will install spyware as a part of their standard install. If you don't read the installation list closely, you might not notice that you're getting more than the file-sharing application you want. This is especially true of the "free" versions that are advertised as an alternative to software you have to buy. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

While it officially claims otherwise, Kazaa has been known to include spyware in its download package.
While it officially claims otherwise, Kazaa has been known to include spyware in its download package.

* Drive-by download - This is when a Web site or pop-up window automatically tries to download and install spyware on your machine. The only warning you might get would be your browser's standard message telling you the name of the software and asking if it's okay to install it.

If your security settings are set low enough, you won't even get the warning.

* Browser add-ons - These are pieces of software that add enhancements to your Web browser, like a toolbar, animated pal or additional search box. Sometimes, these really do what they say they do but also include elements of spyware as part of the deal. Or sometimes they are nothing more than thinly veiled spyware themselves. Particularly nasty add-ons are considered browser hijackers -- these embed themselves deeply in your machine and take quite a bit of work to get rid of.

Bonzi Buddy is an 'add-on' application that includes spyware in its package.

* Masquerading as anti-spyware - This is one of the cruelest tricks in the book. This type of software convinces you that it's a tool to detect and remove spyware.

This type of software convinces you that it's a tool to detect and remove spyware.

When you run the tool, it tells you your computer is clean while it installs additional spyware of its own.

What Spyware Can Do
Spyware can do any number of things once it is installed on your computer.

At a minimum, most spyware runs as an application in the background as soon as you start your computer up, hogging RAM and processor power. It can generate endless pop-up ads that make your Web browser so slow it becomes unusable. It can reset your browser's home page to display an ad every time you open it. Some spyware redirects your Web searches, controlling the results you see and making your search engine practically useless. It can also modify the DLLs (dynamically linked libraries) your computer uses to connect to the Internet, causing connectivity failures that are hard to diagnose.

Snitches and Sneaks
There are computer programs that truly "spy" on you. There are applications designed to silently sit on your desktop and intercept personal information like usernames and passwords. These programs include Bugdrop, Back Orifice and VX2. These are more like viruses or hacker tools than spyware.

Certain types of spyware can modify your Internet settings so that if you connect through dial-up service, your modem dials out to expensive, pay telephone numbers. Like a bad guest, some spyware changes your firewall settings, inviting in more unwanted pieces of software. There are even some forms that are smart enough to know when you try to remove them in the Windows registry and intercept your attempts to do so.

The point of all this from the spyware makers' perspective is not always clear. One reason it's used is to pad advertisers' Web traffic statistics. If they can force your computer to show you tons of pop-up ads and fake search results, they can claim credit for displaying that ad to you over and over again. And each time you click the ad by accident, they can count that as someone expressing interest in the advertised product.

Another use of spyware is to steal affiliate credits. Major shopping sites like Amazon and eBay offer credit to a Web site that successfully directs traffic to their item pages. Certain spyware applications capture your requests to view sites like Amazon and eBay and then take the credit for sending you there.

There are several applications you can turn to for trustworthy spyware detection and removal, including Ad-aware, Spybot and Microsoft AntiSpyware, which is currently in beta. All three are free for the personal edition. These work just like your anti-virus software and can provide active protection as well as detection. They will also detect Internet cookies and tell you which sites they refer back to.

Note - Once you know which spyware is on your computer, in some cases you'll need to seek specific instructions on how to remove it. Links to some of those instructions are listed in the "Spyware Help" box to the right, and more are included in the Lots More Information section at the end of this article. Here are a few more solutions:

Use a pop-up blocker.
Many of the current browsers, including Internet Explorer 6.0 and Mozilla Firefox 1.0, have the ability to block all Web sites from serving you pop-up windows. This function can be configured to be on all of the time or to alert you each time a site wants to pop up a new window. It can also tell you where the pop-up is coming from and selectively allow windows from trusted sources.

Disable Active-X.
Most browsers have security settings in their preferences which allow you to specify which actions Web sites are allowed to take on your machine. Since many spyware applications take advantage of a special code in Windows called Active-X, it's not a bad idea to simply disable Active-X on your browser. Note that if you do this, you will also disallow the legitimate uses for Active-X, which may interfere with the functionality of some Web sites.

Be suspicious of installing new software.
In general, it pays to be suspicious when a site asks to install something new on your computer. If it's not a plug-in you recognize, like Flash, QuickTime or the latest Java engine, the safest plan of action is to reject the installation of new components unless you have some specific reason to trust them. Today's Web sites are sophisticated enough that the vast majority of functionality happens inside your browser, requiring only a bare minimum of standard plug-ins. Besides, it never hurts to reject the installation first and see if you can get on without it. A trustworthy site will always give you the opportunity to go back and download a needed component later.

Use the "X" to close pop-up windows.
Get to know what your computer's system messages look like so that you can spot a fake. It's usually pretty easy to tell the difference once you get to know the standard look of your system alerts. Stay away from the "No thanks" buttons if you can help it, and instead close the window with the default "X" at the corner of the toolbar. For an even more reliable option, use the keystroke combination for "close window" built into your software. You can look in your browser's "File" menu to find it.

Vista Tricks

1. If you hate the look of Aero, click Start/Control Panel/Themes and you can choose a non-Aero theme, such as Windows Classic.

2. Windows Vista's installer can detect serial-ATA (SATA) drives without the need to provide a driver diskette. Don't bother creating a diskette for your SATA drives before you install Vista.

3. If, for some reason, the Vista installation gets interrupted due to an unintentional shutdown or reboot, start the computer without booting the Vista DVD. Windows Vista's installer should pick up where it left off. If it does-n't, then restart the installation over from scratch.

4. When you perform a search with Vista's new, instant search feature, you can save the search in a special folder. This powerful feature allows you to create a virtual folder which, by default, is saved in your \\Searches\ folder. Every time you open such a folder, the search results are updated.

5. In Windows Vista, you can add additional clocks to the system tray. Click the clock, and then click Date and Time Settings. Click the Additional Clocks tab. You can add one or two additional clocks to the tray and select their time zones.

6. You can save your progress in most of the games included with Windows Vista—even the carry-overs from earlier versions of Windows.

7. You can create XML documents, which are more secure than regular text files or even word processor docs. Just create a document in a word processor, print it via the options menu, and select the XPS printer.

8. If you upgrade your graphics card in preparation for Windows Vista, be sure to get a new card with as much local memory as possible. Since Windows Vista renders everything—even the desktop and windows them-selves—as 3D surfaces, local 3D memory greatly improves performance...sometimes even more than a more powerful GPU.

9. Windows Vista games deposit their saves into a special directory, called Saved Games, in your personal folder. In theory, that will make upgrading to a new system much easier for gamers, who like to migrate their game saves.

10. When using the Help system, it's usually advantageous to include Microsoft's online database in your search. The online/offline status of your search is located on the bottom right of the Help window. You can click it to toggle.

11. The Games folder is a powerful repository of all things gaming. From within, you launch games, update games with the latest patches, enable parental controls to protect younger users from harmful content, and more. Invoke it by clicking Start/Games.

12. Several applications are available to help you tweak Windows Vista for maximum performance. They in-clude TweakVI (www.totalidea.com), TweakVista (www.tweakvista.com/tweakvistautility), and VistaBootPRO (www.vistabootpro.org). And don't forget about Windows ReadyBoost, which lets you use a removable flash memory drive to boost system memory.

13. Do you use the icon in the upper left corner of system and application windows? A quick double-click closes the window (instead of a single click on the X at the upper right). Though Microsoft left the icon out in Vista, the function remains.

14. In Microsoft Windows Explorer, you can use column headers (Name, Size, and so on) to sort files. Savvy users may right-click on a column head to remove items or add some—say, Dimensions for images. There are around 45 such columns available in Windows XP. Windows Vista has well over 250, covering a multitude of metadata.

15. If you've become used to surfing your Program Menu to get to applications, you'll be in for a shock when you first use Microsoft Windows Vista. The new Program Menu shows you only recently used applications and requires extra clicks to navigate to submenus. This can be very frustrating but, thankfully, the Search box Microsoft has added to the Start menu is a great replacement—as long as you're an accurate typist. As quickly as you can type, it returns intelligent results in apps, files, even e-mail messages.