As I said it’s an old laptop, first launched sometime in 2005. At the time Pentium M processors were the maximum the industry had to offer for laptops, so the Pentium M 740 1.73GHz was at the time what a Core i7 Mobile is today. The advantage of these Pentium M processors was the large cache size, 2MB L2, while Celerons had only 256K/512K or 1MB. This was one of the first processors which had exceptional performance despite their low clock speed. It would be interesting to see how much memory does it support today, because the Acer TravelMate 4151 supports two modules, 2GB total, but nowadays 2GB and 4GB modules are also available.

The first problem with large memory modules is that they can be addressed only in 64bit mode, but the 2GB limit should be 3GB or 4GB. It’s interesting to see how much these processors have been improved from Pentium M to Core i7 Mobile. While the Pentium M 740 has only one core with 1.73GHz frequency and consumes 27Watts due to old 90nm manufacturing process, the Core i7-620LM uses 32nm technology, three times smaller, and features two cores running at 2GHz, integrated graphics and memory controller, all under 25Watts power consumption. So in 5 years using the same amount of power these new processors can do around 4-5 times more work.

Acer TravelMate 4151 laptop computer parts include the ergonomically placed keyboard, without a separate keypad, although it can be enabled with Fn + NumLock and used on other keys (letters and numbers). The resolution of the screen is only 1024 x 768, just 172032 pixels more than netbooks have (1024 x 600). When we’re talking about cheap laptops, the Active matrix TFT display is more than appropriate, equipped with fluorescent tube backlighting.<

The main reason why such a laptop computer isn’t really practical today is the high cost of compatible parts. It doesn’t have S-ATA, so if the optical drive or hard drive break, you end up spending more than the whole laptop is worth. IDE drives are very rare, so prices are very high and will still be going up in the next 2-3 years, if they’ll be available for that long.

Battery power on the other hand is something the Acer TravelMate 4151 had. The average battery life is 4 hours (up to 5hours), which is very impressive even according to today’s standards. Because it’s unlikely that you’ll find new parts for it, including the battery pack, it may be a good idea to buy some original Japanese Li-ion cells to refurbish an old battery pack. This way battery life may be extended up to 6-7 hours at the price of a new battery, depending on the quality of the new cells.

The graphics card is a bare minimum for today’s applications. The Intel GMA 900 is enough for movies and some older 3D games like the first versions of World of Warcraft.

Amazon.com still sells all kinds of parts for this laptop, but please note that they are not all new and/or original, so be careful what you order. Quality may be worse than you expect it to be.

Several types of RAM available. In “strips” from 256MB to 2GB (the most common now), they are chosen depending on the processor and use that one makes the PC the one hand and opportunities on the motherboard ( capacity, number of available sites …) on the other.

The drive
The hard drive saves and stores data. It is on the hard disk to store data are recorded. That is to say almost anything: files of the operating system, software and especially your data (photos, video, music, emails etc. …). We do not see the disk (platter) itself nor the mechanical arm that holds the read head unlike the illustration cons, it comes in the form of a rectangular box, screwed to the lame pc. The faster rotation of the plates, the greater the performance is high, it is currently hard drive running at 5400, 7200, 10,000 or 15,000 RPM (Round Per Minute: revolutions per minute), speed of 7200 RPM and 10,000 being the most common.

It is connected to the motherboard through a sheet (ribbon cable) or through an IDE interface to SATA (Serial ATA) or SCSI. A rider to position the rear of the device the disk designated as “Master”, the main hard drive (master) or as “Slave”, an auxiliary drive (slave).Hard drives today can hold hundreds of gigabytes of data.

The reader / writer CD / DVD
A reader / writer or CD burner drive or DVD.The is screwed to the box, slipped into an open slot on the front of the PC, thus opening the drawer to receive the optical disc is known more commonly CDs (Compact Disc) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). It is connected to the motherboard through a flat cable (ground) IDE or SATA. The recording and playback speeds are large enough these days that no one pays for not the greatest of interest. Rather, the type of disks allowed in reading and writing skills that will be the object of our attention.

Technology changes quickly, but we shall not repeat these standards are explained in our lexicon: CD-R or DVD-R, CD-RW or DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, Dual-layer Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Graphics card
The graphics card processes transactions on the display. The graphics, although very important for some uses, is placed last on this list because it can be replaced by an integrated chipset (chipset) directly to the motherboard. However, for certain applications, including games, it is essential. By taking charge of managing the display, it frees the processor for this function, processes the information itself and uses its own memory (see hardware acceleration).

The graphics card fits into a connector on the motherboard: the AGP or PCI Express for the latest. Once connected, the inputs and outputs of the board are accessible from the rear of the housing to provide a screen image and / or television if it is equipped with the proper exit.

This is the first vacuum tube computer.

1943: first electronic computer programmable, the Colossus
The Colossus was developed in England during the Second World War, under the Ultra Project. The Germans have perfected their system of encoding messages . The Colossus is to take over. It owes its development to Max M. A. Newman, professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, T. H. Flowers, an engineer with the Post Office Research Station and to Alan Turing, a Hungarian settled in England since 1936. The Colossus, which includes 2000 vacuum tubes, punched tape can play at a speed of 5000 characters per second.

One tape at a time is given to the machine. Comparisons are made electronically, which is a major innovation for the time, and results are stored in a memory thyratron triode filled with gas. To eliminate errors, a clock pulse generated by a photosensitive cell is used to mark the tempo of operations. The programming is done using plug-in cards. Colossus II, was completed in 1944

1946: ENIAC
ENIAC was invented in 1943 at the Pennsylvania University, John Mauchly, J. Presper Eckert and colleagues have undertaken the construction of the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator), with funding from the Ballistic Research Laboratory. This machine was designed for ballistic calculations, but it was really a general purpose machine. It was programmable through interconnections plug. It  was capable of 5000 arithmetic operations per second and was 1000 times faster than the Harvard Mark I. It  had an electrical capacity of around 200 KW to function because the ENIAC included some 19,000 lamps. It weighed 30 tons and occupied a space of 3000 cubic feet or 160 m2 floor. Memory capacity was only 20 words of 10 units each, and it could only deal with programs of instructions does not exceed 300 words.

1946: The Binac works in real time
The Binac (Binary Automatic Computer) is the work of Mauchly and Eckert. It is actually two computers together to calculate simultaneously, their results are then compared. They said that the Binac worked in real time as it provided results very quickly. The Binac computer was extremely reliable.

1947: first fully electronic digital computer, the EDVAC
After the ENIAC, there was the John von Neumann EDVAC which was made . This is a serial binary machine that requires a lot fewer lamps than ENIAC. It also has a much larger internal memory (100 times greater). With EDVAC the invention of the first generation of digital computer for general purpose is completed.

1947: the first IBM computer, the SSEC
The IBM SSEC projects include computers in the late 1940s, we must mention the SSEC (Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator), the first IBM machine stored program. Since 1944, John von Neumann worked with the team that developed the ENIAC.

He imagined that computer for stored-program . The computer memory contains not only data but also instructions that the computer can modify and choose their sequence of calculation . The SSEC was composed of 13,500 vacuum tubes and 21,000 relays and it could add 3,500 numbers of 14 digits per second. It  multiplied 100 times faster than the Mark 1.

There are two main technologies for flat screens: liquid crystals designed by the LCD and plasma. So how to choose a model? As a fist step : you can have choices about the size. LCD TVs have typically a small screen size, however it can reach one meter diagonal. In over a meter diagonal, we find that only in plasma.In terms of brightness, you can find anything. The LCD may be low, suitable or bright, depending on lamps chosen by the manufacturer to illuminate the slab. Plasma screens are more consistent , with a good brightness too .

High definition (HD):
There are two main families of HDTVs on the market: HD Ready and Full HD models. If the first one  has been a fad in the early flat screens, manufacturers rely today on the Full HD. The difference between the two definition is on the diagonal and vertical lines of the TV. A good Full HD must have a diagonal of 36 inches with a minimum number of vertical lines of 1080. On the market, the Full HD is usually expensive . Keep in mind that a good reputation is based primarily on the quality of the source and then the quality of the screen. If you do not plan to acquire a Blu-ray, Full HD model will lose its significance .. While watching a movie or playing a game  for example in a standard definition image will be worse on a full HD than on an HD ready monitor , as it will create extra pixels.

With or without DTT:
Most screens have integrated DTT. So if you buy a screen , choose those that have integrated with TNT HD. Even if TNT is not present everywhere . The end of analog broadcasting  does not have much before it disappears , DTT will be mandatory. Now you have the key for flat screens. It remains to choose the maker and model of your flat screen. It also needs to be taken into consideration. Indeed, there are manufacturers who are better than others but we are not here to advertise.

In summary the choice of the flat screen:
The advice  to keep in mind when choosing your monitor : With plasma, the picture is more fluid, more mixed, even in darkness conditions and the colors are natural. Between one and another, the choice will depend upon the intended use. For everyday use, an LCD will do, if you are an amateur of big shows, the plasma has the advantage even if it consumes more  energy.

Cracker
The hackers of the moment , such as Eric S. Raymond did not like being commingled with petty crime and they were then called crackers , although this term is sometimes used to designate persons breaking software protections.

Black hat hackers and White hat hackers
In today’s terminology (2006), the black hat hackers  that is to say the experts who use their knowledge inappropriately, are also skilled hackers. In contrast, white hat hackers use their skills to solve problems by alerting the person concerned of a security problem. They often have, through their work, the appropriate response they can monetize as they see fit. It is a bit like the black and white magic stories in which the black witches are seen as bad and the white witches on the other hand are considered good.

Downloading files
It is now common to hear the music producers and the film makers the word of “hacker” to refer to people downloading music and movies, despite the copyright. This gave way to a new semantic shift in order to confuse Internet users who download, and associate them to people attacking computer networks and hackers . The term “hacker”  is still not weak .

Certification of the term use
In 1998, in his Dictionary of the Internet, J.-C. Finidoris defines a hacker as a computer expert who enters by criminal means in a secure machine, to retrieve confidential information or damage the system and its files . The term hacker has been chosen by the General Commission of Terminology and Neologisms and defines a person who destroys or circumvents the protections of a software, a computer or a computer network. It has also been chosen to replace the term “cracker”.

However, in most cases, the conventional solutions (antivirus, antispyware …) are unable to completely eradicate the infection, even if these tools are very useful for prevention. The malware have indeed made such progress – and evolve so quickly – that their eradication can be done only by people familiar with the latest developments in this field. However there are a number of tools and people who can help you disinfect your own computer. In this case, you should start first by a diagnostic of your computer to detect and to find out the origin and the type of the malware that is infecting your computer.

Eliminating it will be the next step . though it is not guarantee 100% , there are some programs that allow deleting the infected files but if it does not seem like working , formatting the computer would be better and be careful when moving your data from one computer to another to take it with you so be sure the other machine is protected and run a scan every time you are copying something from one computer to another .

The use of these tools poses no problem if you follow the simple procedure described usually in their official websites or forums . In an overzealous antivirus or antispyware some may wrongly indicate that these tools are infectious. Please disregard this warning. If necessary temporarily disable the antivirus.  We must draw attention to the fact that besides the obvious discomfort experienced by the users there are others, not visible but much more serious. Some infectious programs can track your keystrokes and send to a hacker your credit card number, your passwords on shopping sites, etc.. Others turn your computer and without your knowledge to a spam machine sending to various addresses thousands of messages, or use it  as a weapon to attack commercial or institutional sites. Your responsibility is seriously involved. The disinfection of the computer followed by the establishment of some conventional protection tools are therefore two essential steps to guarantee that you will not have to risk your computer security in the future .

The main fault system in the computer security lies between the keyboard and chair. This means that YOU will avoid almost all problems by adopting a reasonable behavior. Most worms and viruses are arriving by email: always use the latest version of your mail program, adjusted for known vulnerabilities. Never open attachments and never click on a link to a message that you do not know the sender. Even if you know the sender, make sure that sending the attachment is plausible: the sendercould be infected without knowing, or it may be an identity theft (which happens too often).

Other malicious programs can come through instant messaging or be under very attractive names like winning prizes , listening to music or watching the latest movies , but misleading, in computers also with P2P files. Remember, as it has been said above, that any new file coming into your computer must be scanned by your anti-virus, even if it is a Word document, a. Zip archive, or an image to be sure it is not a threat for the safety of your computer .

Some malware can infect your computer simply by opening a page or an image trapped. Even if you apply the security measures above, avoid sites that seem more “borderline” for example through their photographic content or the availability for download of programs that should be in the commercial circuit . The last piece of advice for your own protection is that you rather avoid phishing.

Your bank, insurance company, online payment service … do not ever contact you by email to ask for your passwords, bank card information, even if the message will appear to be very well imitated and they will try to be more credible by offering you to click on a link which seems to be that of the bank, for example. These are actually imitated sites for you to feel confident and to get your information that will be used to operate your accounts without your knowledge.

The deficient  computers are the professionals OptiPlex, Dell‘s flagship products, both were sold to small and medium companies  to large retailers like Wal Mart, or even government authorities, the newspaper said.

The manufacturing defect is bound to capacitors integrated into the motherboard of the computers. “A survey by Dell found that these capacitors were likely to cause problems in 97% of cases over a period of three years,” said the New York Times, quoting from the documents. The crux of the matter is not the default, but the fact that Dell knew that these capacitors, provided by the Japanese company Nichicon, were defective. The Texan manufacturer did not focus on the quality control, but has preferred to treat the problem downstream, through its customer service. Consequence: if Dell has replaced the motherboards of the defective computers , the replacement cards themselves were defective! In part because Dell has squandered, 97% of the production Nichicon, over a period of nearly three years, were flawed. Quality problems were thus ten times worse than what Dell had planned.

So Dell will certainly have to pay a heavy fine, and a hefty bill in compensation to its customers. This example is instructive, because it affects a large number of machines: it is very nearly the equivalent of the annual production of computers from Apple. But Dell is not an isolated case , Apple itself had problems with capacitors at its iMac G5 . In 2007, Advanced Internet Technologies has filed a complaint against Dell after purchasing a fleet of 2,000 of these computers which a significant number of them quickly broke down.

The investigation  conducted in this case focused on whether Dell was, yes or no aware of these risks and problems related to components used in assembling its machines. According to the New York Times who obtained certain documents from the investigation, there is no doubt that Dell has knowingly sold defective computers that they knew about .

Indeed, we learn that Dell had even commissioned a study of these machines that revealed that these computers were 97% likely to fail within three years after their first power. But Dell had continued to sell them. An issue with these revelations, should take on new dimensions. Indeed, many professional  customers  will discover the existence of the complaint and support it. There is already talk of many class-actions and millions of dollars in compensation to be paid by Dell.

Regarding the consequences of such a scandal in terms of image, it could be disastrous for the Texan company!

With his PhD in 1930, he returned to Ames, Iowa state University, where now it he became an appointed assistant in mathematics and physics. His students also feeling the need to make calculations automatically, they started working on it . Aftera  long deliberation he divided the existing calculating machines in 2 group, analog computers and machines correctly calculating .He fumbles for a long time .

One evening in the winter of 1937, he took his car without a specific destination and after 300 km of road, arrived in Illinois, he stops for a drink at the roadside, and sat at his table, he sees all the pieces come together and reach a clear vision of what should be his machine.In return, he formulates his ideas, got a $ 650 grant from his university and with the help of a brilliant young student named Clifford Berry. They succeeded both in the realization of an electronic computer from which the prototype was running on 1939.

It works in binary. Only the clock is mechanical, it runs at 60 Hz memory (60 words of 50 bits) consists of capacitors placed on a drum, with a cooling system.  The computation unit consists of 210 electronic tubes. This machine will be known in history as the ABC (Atanasoff Berry Computer)

The eminent jurist of Chicago Richard R. Trexler applied for a patent that will remain unanswered. Atanasoff’s ABC did not have more success at the Remington Rand.  But he had the opportunity, in 1940, following a Mauchley conference, to explain to him  the principle which was interesting . Coincidentally, these principles find themselves in a few years later in the ENIAC …  The war came, Berry is mobilized, Atanasoff is required to run a program in underwater acoustics in the naval artillery laboratory of White Oak, ABC is removed (without the consent of its creators) and forgotten.

After the war, Atanasoff continued to work for the army. He was the scientific director of the Army Field Forces at Fort Monroe in Virginia and participated in tests at Bikini in 1952, and returned to his naval artillery laboratory to direct the rocket program in the U.S. Navy. afterwards he founded his Company, Ordnance Engineering Corp. in Rockville, Maryland who works in the same area. In 1956, he sold his company to Aerojet Engineering Corp, where he became Vice-President. He retired in 1961.

The ABC continues to be unknown until a trial between Honeywell and the Remington Rand for the authorship of the invention of electronic computing. At the end of this trial which lasted six years the federal judge Earl R. Larson concludes that the ENIAC was “derived from the ideas of Dr. Atanasoff. It is now regarded as the father of electronic calculator.

He received numerous medals including the most notorious which is the National Medal of Science and Technology in 1990. This medal was presented to him by President Bush (father) in person at the White House.He died of a stroke on June 15, 1995 at more than 91 years.

The Jetway JC200S-B-J7F2WE1G3S computer barebone is based completely on VIA components.

It’s a very complex computer system if you ask me. It has a VIA C7 1.3 GHz processor that is not the best from VIA, but very cheap. The VIA CN700 and VIA VT8237RP chips that form a very competitive VIA chipset support only one DDR2 module up to 1GB, which is more than enough for this specific computer barebone. The VIA UniChrome Pro graphics chip offers basic 3D rendering and flawless FullHD playback, but it also has a few interesting features like S-Video and RCA outputs alongside the traditional D-sub (analog VGA). It also has a Firewire port, although it’s unclear how much good it does for a categorically slow computer system. My best guess is that VIA had in mind to support external hard disk with high transfer rates, and not allow the recording in FullHD from video cameras, there just isn’t enough horsepower in the system for something like that.

The motherboard inside the Jetway JC200S-B-J7F2WE1G3S looks like any other mini-ITX board, but with supports for 4 IDE devices and two S-ATA. The processor is soldered onto the motherboard so there’s no possibility for upgrade, although the chipset would support newer VIA processors. This one consumes around 10Watts of power while the external power supply can deliver a maximum of 60Watts. The small computer case has a 2.5” notebook hard drive bay and a slim optical drive bay, but these add very little to the system’s power consumption. If the hard disk and optical drive are used at the same time, their combined power consumption may go up to 10Watts max. So what can you do with the additional 40Watts ?

Well, some of it is used by the 8 connectible USB devices (~2Watts each), the Firewire port also needs a few watts and the rest is unused. Typically such a computer system uses on average around 20Watts of power, but theoretically with all the external devices connected it could reach 60Watts.

The VIA C7 1.3GHz being a very old processor, it’s compared to Intel Pentium M processors in the next benchmark:

Today it may not be relevant, because Intel processors have also improved a lot. If you compare the VIA C7 to a Celeron 900 (2.2GHz) or Dual Core Atom processor it doesn’t have a chance in the efficiency benchmark.

In conclusion it’s a very basic computer that can be used for web browsing and multimedia playback (maybe a few 3D games too). If we look at the $129 price at newegg.com it’s a viable solution with a cheap hard drive and optical unit. You can save money on the monitor too, because it can be connected to any TV with an S-video or RCA input.