Archive for February, 2010

The BlackBerry Smartphone

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

The BlackBerry Smartphones are a line of wireless mobile devices developed by Research In Motion (RIM), a company based in Canada. With Smartphone applications (to-do lists, calendar, address book, etc.) as well as the telephone capability to work as a telephone, the BlackBerry is mostly popular thanks to its ability to send and receive emails wherever there is a wireless network provided by certain phone companies. It has a 20.8% share of the Smartphone market, just under Nokia and is usually the phone of choice for most businessmen.

In 1999 it was introduced as a two way pager, but the more commonly known version, the one that has a telephone support, instant text messaging, email functions, web browsing and internet faxing was launched in 2002. Mostly concentrating on emails, BlackBerry made its way into the Smartphone market. Some of the earlier devices used a monochrome display, while all modern versions incorporate a color LCD or TFT.

In recent history all BlackBerry devices were equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard so that email creation would be much easier. All the latest BlackBerry devices have an integrated ARM7 or 9 processor, the beefier ones also sporting RAM memory for faster application access. BlackBerry devices use a proprietary operating system that fully takes advantage of all the Smartphone functions. An instant messaging application was also developed, better known as the BBM, the BlackBerry messenger allows BlackBerry users to easily communicate. The ability to access in real time any email message creating addiction throughout users has earned the BlackBerry the nickname CrackBerry.

The first BlackBerry models used an Intel 80386 based processor, while the modern devices are equipped with an XScale 624 MHz CPU. Some devices in the 8000 series as well as the 8700 series used the 312 MHz ARM processor with the exception being the BlackBerry 8707 that had an 80 MHz Qualcomm based CPU.

Because the developed e-mail client was proven to be so popular other phone manufactures adopted the idea and joined the network. Some of the phones that had integrated email clients are the HTC Advantage X7500, the HTC TyTN, Nokia 6810, Nokia 9300, Nokia 9300i, Nokia 9500 and most of the Nokia E series phones.

Because the BlackBerry Smartphones are pretty complicated devices, RIM decided that they should create a number of certificates for the sales personal that is in charge with their product so that the end-users will be informed about the capabilities of his new gadget. There are 3 levels of certificates: the BCESA, BlackBerry Certified Enterprise Sales Associate qualification, the first level of professional support, the BCTA (BlackBerry Certified Technical Associate) and the most advanced level of competence, the BlackBerry Certified Support Associate T2. Before acquiring a certificate of competence, the user has to pass several exams and prove he has a deep understanding of all the BlackBerry functions.

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Asus VW 198 T LCD Monitors

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, moving pictures, and images. Its uses include most modern electronics like computer displays, televisions and mobile phones. Some of its most interesting features are the lightweight construction, portability and the ability to be produced in much larger screen sizes than are practical for the construction of cathode ray tube (CRT) display technology. The low electrical power consumption recommends it for most users, thanks to the positive impact it has on global warming.

The ASUS Company was founded on the 2nd of April 1990 by two Taiwanese engineers that used to work for Acer. The name ASUS originates from the Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek mythology. Because of high dedication from the ASUS engineers, since 2009 the company has started receiving new Intel processor samples with a few months ahead of the official launch date and even before competitors like Gigabyte or ECS, renowned motherboard manufacturers.

When you talk about the future of monitors, the LCD displays surely have the advantage. With a thin profile and high quality images, the battle between LCD producers is one to pay attention to. Everyday advancements and new technologies only stand for a better experience for the end user. With that in mind ASUS, better known as a motherboard producer, recently entered in the manufacturing of audio and video boards and has launched one of its first a LCD monitors.

With high-resolution LCD displays increasingly gaining more popularity, Asus has entered the high quality monitor production with the Asus WV 198 T LCD monitor display that features a WSXGA+ 1680×1050 high resolution, the resolution recommended by Microsoft for the Windows Vista operating system. The monitor includes the ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio Technology, without which the amazing 3000:1 contrast ratio could never have been achieved, yet again making it ideal even for the Premium version of Windows Vista. The ASUS VW198 T LCD has a 15% shorter pixel pitch to deliver better image quality than most 19 inch LCD computer monitors.

With such cutting-edge enhancements, users will be able to have clearer details when it comes to all Windows applications. The Asus WV 198 T LCD monitor has a user friendly mounting system that allows users to easily mount their LCD on the wall. ASUS has also launched two other top quality displays for consumers. The 22-inch widescreen VW222U has the new Trace Free Technology enhances with a 2 ms response time to display the clearest image quality, while the 20-inch widescreen VW202T has enabled the HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) support and ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio Technology to deliver up to a 2000:1 high dynamic contrast. Both models are certified for Windows Vista Premium Version and are equipped with up to 1680×1050 high resolutions.

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The First Computer

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

The first computer, ENIAC is short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. It was conceived and designed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania. Supposedly 1000 times faster than any mechanical calculus machine it had a variety of uses (the US Army being the main sponsor of the project).

The construction was started in 1943 during the World War II at University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering under the codename ‘Project PX’. At 14 February 1946, after costing about 50.000 $ (about 6 million $ in 2008 if you adjust it for inflation) ENIAC was finished and passed to the US Army. For its time it was an incredibly fast computer, although some of its components might seem at least strange. It was built from 7.200 crystal diodes, 70.000 resistors, 1.500 relays, 10.000 capacitors and 17.468 vacuum tubes.

It had a weight of about 30 tons and a size of 2.6m x 0.9m x 26m, needed a space of about 63 square meters and consumed 150 KW of power. Because the vacuum tubes technology was not the most reliable, for most of its time the ENIAC would usually crash once every two days until 1948 when high reliability tubes became available. The computer could be programmed to perform complex calculations, but usually they would take weeks to write on paper and at least a few days to program the actual machine itself. There were 6 women that did most of the programming itself, all of them being included in the Women in Technology Hall of Fame.

One of its main flaws was that it didn’t have a memory, thus all the input and output was made on magnetic cards. Eckert and Mauchly, being aware of the downsides of the ENIAC started designing a new super computer that would be later called EDVAC, a computer both faster and simpler. From 1948 until its release in 1955 a number of improvements were made to the original ENIAC design.

These included an early read only mechanism that would allow the computer to store data, a high speed shifter that was added in 1952 which improved the speed of shifting by an almost 5 factor. In 1943 another upgrade that included a 100 word expansion memory was added. It used binary and decimal code and excess-3 number representation. Also a new Function Table selector was added to support all the new addictions.

On the 2nd of October 1955 it became obsolete and was donated to the University of Pennsylvania where some of the ENIAC panels still are on display.

In the end the question remains: Who made the first computer? Although it was their design, the University of Pennsylvania cannot take full credit when it comes to the development of the first computer. After a 6 year lasting World War II the US Army acknowledged the importance of information and logistics, thus investing a huge amount of manpower and money into the first fully electronic computer: the ENIAC. The US Army is more likely to be called the first computer supporters.

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Asus Eee Computer Accessories

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Without a doubt the ASUS Eee PC is one of the most wanted gadgets on the market these days. The lucky possessors now have a series of accessories for their favorite netbook at their disposal (mouse, stereo headphones, batteries and adaptors) created by ASUS to make the small notebook more user friendly.

It’s compact and stylish and can be easily deposited in the netbook briefcase next to your Eee PC. The optical mouse has an USB connection, a 1000 dpi resolution and is available in pink, blue, white and black all of the colors having a glossy finish to them. Its only downside is that it’s not wireless. The Eee PC stereo headphones offer a crystal clear sound and have the ASUS logo on them. The 2.5 mm jack offers compatibility with the integrated Eee PC stereo jack. They can be usually purchased for about 25-30 $ and are shipped with a few spare ear-buds.

If the three hours of standard time that the Eee PC battery offers you isn’t enough, you can always double that time by purchasing another 4 cell 5200 mAh reserve. If you feel you need even more, the 6 cell 7800 mAh battery will provide you with an extended work time on your favorite Eee PC. The ASUS Eee brand accessories that the company provides you with might make your life a bit easier, but they won’t really attend to all their costumers needs.

One of my favorite ASUS Eee computer accessories is the Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB external HDD with which you can be certain that all your DVD backups and music collection can be taken on the road, with no compromises. It’s plug and play compliant and doesn’t need an external power supply. With a book like design it won’t take up too much of space.

Its password security encryption will please even the most pretentious costumers. With a 256 bit hardware based encryption you can be certain that no one will ever access your files. It even comes with a drivers CD that will enhance your backup experience allowing you to visualize the free space as well as other interesting information.

If the compact type headphones never pleased you, you can always go for Plantronics Gamecon 777 gaming headphones. With an integrated 5.1 sound board and open-ear technology they will certainly turn a few heads wherever you are.

Golden connectors allow for crystal clear sound while the Dolby Headphone 5.1 technology provides you with one of the most immersive experiences when it comes to sound (given that you have 5.1 compatible movies or music that you can listen to). With a price tag of about 90 $ these are certainly an investment when it comes to the compact Eee PC, but nevertheless a true enthusiast will appreciate them.

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Basic Computer Hardware

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Computer hardware is the physical part of the computer including the digital circuits inside the computer as opposed to the software that carry out the computing instructions. The hardware of a computer is unlikely to change frequently unless due to the crash or for upgrading them. The devices that is capable of storing, executing system instructions and controlling other logical outputs.

Hardware comprises all of the physical part of the computer such as Monitor, CPU, motherboard, ram, CD-Rom, printer, scanner, hard disk, flash drive (AKA pen drive), processor, pci buses, floppy disk, power supply, VGA card, sound card, network interface card, peripherals, joystick, mouse, keyboard, foot pedal, computer fan, camera, headset and others.



CPU (Central Processing Unit): CPU or central processing unit relates to a specific or processor. The performance of the computer is determined by the CPU chip (processor speed) and the other computer circuitry.



Hard Disk Drives – Disk drive is the mechanism to run the disks. All disks need a drive to get the information, read it and put it back to the disks. Hard disk is used to store the data permanently. Often the terms disk and drive used to describe the same thing but it should be clear that a disk is a storage device.



Modem – A modem is used for the modulation and demodulation of the data that is transferred through the modem and the telephone lines. Modem translates the data from digital to analog from analog to digital. Because on the telephone lines data can travel in the form of the analog signals and in the computer data transmits in the form of digital signals. Modems are measured by the speed which is called baud rate.



Video cards-Video cards allow computer to display video, graphics and animation. Some video cards allow computers to display television. A video card with a digital video camera allows users to produce live video. A high speed broadband internet connection is required to watch the videos on net.



Network cards: Network interface cards allow PCs to connect with each other and communicate. Every network computer is required to have a NIC card. NIC cards are required both in wired and wireless networking.



RAM (Random Access Memory) RAM is a memory that is being used by the computer to store the information temporarily. For example when some work is performed on some applications that work is temporarily stored in the RAM. More RAM in the computer more faster computer works.



Cards – Cards are the hardware components that are added to the computer to increase their functionalities and capabilities.

Memory – Memory is the one of the important piece of the hardware. Sometimes memory chip memory is confused with the hard disk memory. Sometimes unallocated space of the hard disk is used as virtual memory also known as page file. This type of memory is a temporary memory and is used actual memory is less and requires some additional memory to perform a specific task.

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Computer And Its Parts

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

If you use a desktop computer, you might already know that there isn’t any single part called the “computer.” A computer is really a system of many parts working together. The physical parts, which you can see and touch, are collectively called hardware. Software, on the other hand, refers to the instructions, or programs, that tell the hardware what to do.

The illustration above shows the most common hardware in a desktop computer system. Your system may look a little different, but it probably has most of these parts. A laptop computer has similar parts but combines them into a single notebook-sized package.


The system unit is the core of a computer system. Usually it’s a rectangular box placed on or underneath your desk. Inside this box are many electronic components that process information. The most important of these components is the central processing unit (CPU), or microprocessor, which acts as the “brain” of your computer. Another component is random access memory (RAM), which temporarily stores information that the CPU uses while the computer is on. The information stored in RAM is erased when the computer is turned off.



A mouse is a small device used to point to and select items on your computer screen. Although mice come in many shapes, the typical mouse does look a bit like an actual mouse. It’s small, oblong, and connected to the system unit by a long wire that resembles a tail. Some newer mice are wireless. A mouse usually has two buttons: a primary button (usually the left button) and a secondary button. Many mice also have a wheel between the two buttons, which allows you to scroll smoothly through screens of information.



A keyboard is used mainly for typing text into your computer. Like the keyboard on a typewriter, it has keys for letters and numbers, but it also has special keys. The function keys, found on the top row, perform different functions depending on where they are used. The numeric keypad, located on the right side of most keyboards, allows you to enter numbers quickly. The navigation keys, such as the arrow keys, allow you to move your position within a document or webpage.

A monitor displays information in visual form, using text and graphics. The portion of the monitor that displays the information is called the screen. Like a television screen, a computer screen can show still or moving pictures.

There are two basic types of monitors: CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors and LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors. Both types produce sharp images, but LCD monitors have the advantage of being much thinner and lighter. CRT monitors, however, are generally more affordable.




Speakers are used to play sound. They may be built into the system unit or connected with cables. Speakers allow you to listen to music and hear sound effects from your computer.

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