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Connect Two Computers

Karpat Zoltan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:30:05 +0000

In the old days when the first personal computers were launched, the only way to transfer data from one computer to another was through removable storage devices like tape drives and floppy drives. Later developers have come up with direct link through serial (COM) or parallel (LPT) ports. This solution was almost as slow as copying data to a floppy disk and retrieving it on the other computer but had the convenience of not having to use unreliable floppy disks or tapes. These direct links had a maximum speed of 50-150kilobytes/s, basically like a very slow Internet connection today.

Network cards have also been developed to hook up hundreds of personal computers in the same building (or local area).

Today connecting two computers is most frequently done by connecting both computers to the world wide web and/or a local area network through a crossover UTP cable, USB cable that simulates two network cards connected to each other through UTP cable, or through Wi-Fi technology.

The most convenient solution is of course the Wi-Fi connection because it’s very easy to set up and the transmission speed has also been improved to match the speed of a wired network. The latest Wi-Fi specifications (IEEE 802.11n) support a 600MBPS maximum transfer rate, while wired networks can reach 1000MBPS (1GBPS) speeds in optimum conditions.

Wireless adapters supporting this relatively new technology can be found in almost all new laptops sold today.

The easiest way to set up a Wi-Fi connection between two computers is to use a wireless router. This idea may look absurd at first, but there’s a very logical explanation: most wireless routers come fully configured for wireless networking, so all you have to do is plug them in an AC outlet. This way both computers will detect the newly created wireless network and will receive local IP addresses, network masks and everything needed for the connection to work, if the wireless network cards are set to request IP addresses automatically (this is usually the default setting).

Another solution is to set up an Ad Hoc Wi-Fi connection, but this will require more time to set up. Network name (SSID), IP address, network mask, default gateway …etc have to be set on both computers.

Some wireless adapters however come with flexible drivers and software that let the user configure one computer as a virtual access point so all computers nearby could connect to it with automatic settings.

This solution is still more complicated than the wireless router solution, but if you configure your computer once to function as a virtual Wireless Access Point, then wherever you go any computer will be able to connect to yours automatically, with the risk of connecting more computers nearby that are also set to connect automatically.

A UTP network cable is a more secure way to connect two computers, and practical too, because on-board UTP network cards can be found in all computers manufactured since ~2005 (with very few exceptions).

Just like the Ad Hoc connection, both computers have to be configured by hand. One of them will have to look like this:

The most important thing to remember is that you have to give a different IP address to the other computer from the same class (ex: 192.168.0.2):

It’s unclear whether the workgroup has to be the same on both computers. Personally I have successfully connected computers from different workgroups too, so I recommend changing it (so both PCs will be in the same workgroup) only if you’re unable to see/access the other computer’s resources through the connection.

To make a computer-to-computer connection you’ll need a crossover UTP cable, which will allow 1000MBPS (~125Megabytes/s, the speed of an average desktop hard drive) transfer rate in both directions.

Micro Center Computers

Karpat Zoltan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:26:41 +0000

RadioShack Corporation, a huge chain of electronic retail stores in the US with more than 4500 store locations today, was founded in 1921. As it goes in the business world, two x-employees (John Baker and Bill Bayne) founded their own company, Micro Center Computers, probably after learning RadioShack marketing strategies on how to spread and make profit.

Micro Center Computers has just a few retail stores per state, strategically placed for efficiency, trying to avoid building a large number of stores that would undermine stability and may prove to be fatal investments. Making an on-line store is the smartest step for any company to make because of its high efficiency. Basically even with a very poor advertisement you start receiving orders for which you need just a couple of extra employees to verify, confirm and send them out to customers using one of many courier services that already cover every part of the world.

Micro Center Computers has an very easy to use on-line store where you can also check for products available for pickup at any retail store in a specific location.

They sell a limited number of brands: Acer, AMD, Antec, Apple, Corsair, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Linksys, Microsoft, PowerSpec, Seagate, Sony, Toshiba and Western Digital.

Although this is a very short list of manufacturers, it includes the most important hardware and software brands.

One of the most interesting products is a cheap laptop computer that costs only $289.99.

Although it’s a refurbished laptop, its configuration is not so old. It’s based on AMD’s Athlon 64 1.6GHz processor that with the help of 3GB of system memory runs Windows 7 without any problems. The on-board graphics chip is a generation older, but ATI Radeon 3200 is almost as fast as ATI’s Radeon 4200 or its equivalent from the Radeon 5xxx series (the latest).

A very good product can be found in the monitor section, for only $99 you can get a ACER 19” Wide screen TFT monitor with both VGA and DVI inputs. It doesn’t have a 16:9 aspect ration like the latest models, but 16:10 is a better choice when you don’t work only with HD content and also the 1440 x 900 resolution is somewhat bigger than the “HD Ready” 1366 x 768 resolution.

Because Micro Center Computers sells second hand/refurbished products too, you can get your hands on a Dell Optiplex GX260/270 desktop computer system for only $129. It’s not a very fast system, but with Windows XP it can handle any general home or office programs. It has a 1.8GHz Pentium 4 processor, which is slower than Intel Atom processors, but with 512MB of DDR memory (expandable to 2GB) it can be a very good budget solution.

As for multimedia, HD is out of the question without a proper graphics card, only DVD resolution (SD) DivX files can be played without any problems, and also YouTube 360p clips should run perfectly with a proper Internet connection (at least 2MBPS download speed).

Computer Renaissance

Karpat Zoltan — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:23:48 +0000

Computer Renaissance was founded way back in 1988 and has served millions of clients since then, inside the United States. At first it was simple store that commercialized used computers and components, which is a very profitable business, addressing the poorer customer segment and users that simply don’t want to spend much on computers, although they could easily afford new computers.

Today Computer Renaissance offers a wide range of computer products and services such as buying, selling or trading new and second hand computers and components. This way they keep customers from turning to less dependable used computer sources, while still offering new products for all wallet sizes. Buying back used components isn’t a very charitable service, because they usually offer customers only about 25-50% of the real price of the used product, so by reselling them even cheaper than sold on the market, they make a respectable profit.

They have a brilliant marketing strategy that includes services like consulting, fast response repairs in just 48-72 hours for which they offer warranty (mandatory when you’re using second-hand products for repairs). On the main website there aren’t any listed products, because every store decides which brands to commercialize/stock depending on transport fees, taxes and other regional factors.

They have special offers for Indiana, six different types of coupons can be printed from the website which give you 10% off for laptop repairs, cheaper back to school laptops …etc.

Of course these offers appear to be useless, because there are too many ifs and buts, so a very small number of customers can take advantage of these modest price cuts.

For $299 you can get a refurbished IBM ThinkPad Laptop with the back-to-school special coupon, which is a bit odd, because for only $13 more you can get from Newegg.com a new Compaq laptop that is also appropriate for school work. The Compaq Presario CQ61-411WM is based on a very efficient AMD Sempron M120 (2.1GHz) mobile processor, helped by 2GB of DDR2 system memory, a 250GB hard drive and ATI Radeon 4200 on-board graphics. The most important part of this laptop may be the graphics chip from ATI, because it’s very efficient and its speed is close to the more power-hungry nVidia ION and ION2 graphics chips, and it also plays compressed FullHD movies thanks to the ATI Avivo HD (UVD2) technology.

Another special offer wants to convince you to buy a G5 Power Mac for $399.

It looks good, just like the latest Mac Pro, but lacks the processing power of new Intel (or AMD) processors. When Apple decided to switch to Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors the speed upgrade was around 300%, meaning that the latest Power Mac G5 was 4 times slower that the a Mac Pro with an Intel processor.

The third offer seems acceptable, because it consists of a Dual Core “business grade” desktop with 2GB of system memory and Windows XP PRO license for only $229. If we compare it to newegg.com offers, we can certainly state that a new Dual Core system is much more expensive, a Pentium Dual Core E5300 with 6GB DDR2, 640GB hard disk and Intel GMA X4500 on-board graphics costs $284.

In conclusion it’s best if you check out prices of new systems before adventuring into a store like Computer Renaissance, so you won’t end up with a used system that costs only a few bucks less than a new one.

Best Buy Computers Under 400

Karpat Zoltan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:18:01 +0000

During difficult financial times people tend to spend money more responsively and buy products that are the bare minimum for a specific task.

Best buy and other large retail stores support this idea by coming with many low-price offers, so when it comes to computers, there are a lot of different choices under 400 dollars in both desktop and laptop categories.

Best Buy computers under 400 dollars include the 15.6” Compaq Presario which costs $325:

It’s based on the latest Intel chip set with Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics and the cheapest Intel single-core processor above the Atom class, Celeron 900 clocked at 2.2GHz. The screen HD capable at standard 1366 x 768 resolution (720p), but it still uses traditional fluorescent backlighting. Compaq managed to compensate for the lack of a dual core processor with a 250GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive and a super multi DVD burner. Installed system memory is only 2GB, 797MB of which is dynamically allocated to the on-board graphics card, but it’s expandable to 4GB or even 8GB if we look at chip set specifications. Because it’s not a high-performance laptop it has only a 10/100MBPS LAN adapter but also a Wi-Fi module that supports B, G and N speeds. The 6-cell battery allows it to function up to 3 hours and 45 minutes on a single charge, while Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit operating system offers the ultimate user experience. All-in-all it’s a very capable computer system, sufficient for office work, light programming and very basic gaming that includes some very popular 3D games like SIMS 3 and World of Warcraft.

For more demanding tasks there’s another Best Buy computer under 400 dollars, a $399 ASUS laptop to be more exact:

It’s basically the same configuration as the Compaq, but with small improvements here and there. The processor is a 2.2GHz Pentium Dual Core that comes very close to Core 2 Duo performance. LED back lighting is used for the TFT screen with the same 1366 x 768 resolution, there’s 3GB memory instead of 2GB and the integrated LAN adapter supports 1000MBPS speed. This ASUS laptop can handle any office work and more demanding programming, but for gaming it might be only slightly better than the Celeron based Compaq.

In the desktop sector there are many systems with price tags up to $400, but the most representative configuration comes with a 19” monitor, keyboard and mouse for $399:

The (ACER) eMachines ET1831-05 desktop is based on a 2.2GHz Celeron 450 processor, very similar (if not identical) to the Compaq laptop’s processor. With 3GB of installed system memory and Geforce 7050 on-board graphics card it’s basically in the same category as the mentioned laptops when it comes to gaming, but it also has a PCI-Express 16X slot for a more powerful graphics card (only limited by the power supply). As for storage, the 3.5” 500GB 7200RPM desktop hard disk is one of the cheapest models on the market, but still offering a decent performance. It has a super multi DVD burner, a standard for both laptops and desktops and comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. Although the computer comes with a 18.5” HD 1366 x 768 resolution screen, keyboard and mouse, it’s quite unusual that they didn’t include some cheap speakers or headphones, so sound may be the only thing absent from this great offer.

Best Priced Dell LCD Monitors

hugepedia — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:53:28 +0000

Dell Inc. is a multinational company from Austin, Texas, founded in 1984 by Michael S. Dell and it’s main focus is to develop, manufacture and sell personal computer support and other computer related products. Dell has developed during the 1980 and 1990 to become – for a limited period – the biggest computers and servers manufacturer. In 2008 Dell was placed second in selling calculating techniques. In present the company sells personal computers, servers, data stocking devices, network switches, softwares, PC peripherals and TVs.

Dell has a wide variety of monitors. The LCD flat panel monitors and wide screen monitors are available in different sizes from 17 inches or smaller to 30 inches screens. Here you have the best prices for Dell LCD monitors on each category:

So they have the 17 Inch and Below Flat Panels category that includes the next monitors at their best prices: Dell Professional P170S 17 inch Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand at only $189.00, the Dell E170S 17 inch Black Flat Panel CLD Monitor at $149.00 and the Dell UltraSharp 1708FP 17 inch Black AIO USFF Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand at only $239.00.

20 Inch – 19 Inch Flat Panels contains the following monitors at the best prices: Dell UltraSharp 2007FP 20 inch Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand at only $379 – saving $20 from the starting price of $399.00 -, Dell Professional P190S 10 inch Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand at $219.00 and Dell E190S 19 inch Black Flat Panel LCD Monitor at $169.00.

19 Inch – 17 Inch Wide Screens containing the Dell E1910 19 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at $179.00 and the Dell E1910H 18.5 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at only $119.00, at their best prices.

On 20 Inch Wide Screens category they offer you at their best prices the Dell Professional P2010H 20 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at $199.00, the Dell E2009WFP 20 inch Wide Flat Panel Monitor at $199.00, the Dell E2010H 20 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at $169.00, the Dell ST2210 21.5 inch wide screen Flat Panel Monitor with Wireless Keyboard and Mouse and 1 year warranty at only $248.99, the Dell ST2010BLK 20 inch HD Wide screen Monitor with AX210 Stereo Speaker System and 1 year warranty at only $183.99 and the Dell Professional Series 2009W 20 inch Wide Screen Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand and 5 year advance exchange Warranty at $288.00.

23 Inch – 22 Inch Wide Screens contains the Dell Professional P2310H 23 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at $24900, the Dell E2310H 23 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at $229.00 and the Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22 inch Black Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor at only $299.00 at their best prices.

And in the 30 Inch Wide Screens they include the Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP 30 inch Wide screen Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand at $1,699.00, the Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC 30 inch Wide Screen Flat Panel at $1,399.00 and the Dell UltraSharp 2709W 27 inch WideScreen Black Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand at only $799.00, saving $130 from the starting price of $929.00.

These are only the best prices for Dell LCD monitors, for more detail on the other monitors they sell, you can access their webpage at http://www.dell.com.