08 Apr 09 Are Acer PC’s Worth Your Cash?

You want to buy a new computer right? And who doesn’t, whether you need more hard drive space, a faster processor, or you just need to keep up with the latest in the high PC demands that the newest computer games require. But with top of the line machines costing well into the thousands, it’s not exactly an affordable option to constantly upgrade your PC. Unless of course you consider the brand Acer which seems to offer ridiculously good Notebook and Desktop PC’s for relatively low prices.

Well I should say, at least they appear to be ridiculously good. In actuality Acer is not a very favorable brand, and is not something you should necessarily count on, for a few key reasons.

Number one being that Acer computers have a habit of breaking down quickly. While it’s been a household brand for computer equipment since 1976, Acer just hasn’t aged well within the computer industry. And anybody who’s owned an Acer laptop recently can attest to the fact that you’ll find disappointing performance from the unit’s processor, and a tendency to break down easily.

Not to mention the fact that Acer have had two recent recalls over faulty technology in both their laptop and desktop PC’s. About a year ago Acer had to recall laptops because of an issue with their batteries that caused the unit’s to overheat and start fires. And now only a few months ago, Acer issued another recall on their Acer Predator desktop PC’s, for basically the same hardware malfunction, in which the unit’s overheated causing the inner components to melt and practically start on fire.

Meaning in my humble opinion, Acer PCs just cannot compete in today’s market, and the company has to do some serious reworking in their hardware before they can release anything reliable and worthy of your hard earned dollars.

Tags: Acer, Acer Computers, Acer Laptop, Acer Pc, Actuality, computer, Computer Equipment, Computer Games, Computer Industry, Computer Right, Desktop, Desktop Pc, Drive Space, Earned Dollars, Faulty Technology, Hardware Malfunction, Inner Components, Key Reasons, Laptop, New Computer, PC, Predator Desktop, Recalls, S Market, Top Of The Line

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09 Jan 09 IPTV: The future of Television

The world of television is fast changing. With the advent of HDTV and digital cable, beginning of a new era has been marked where technology is getting advanced and penetrating deeper into the lifestyles of people. A new invention IPTV (Internet protocol TV) is another sign of advancement which is sure to move the world on its heels.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a digital TV service where the content instead of being delivered through cables, is transferred through technologies used for computer networks. It is a platform entirely based on interactive TV software and videoconferencing so the day is not far when you can actually respond to the game shows on your TV with your TV remote. IPTV can be bundled with web access and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).If you have ever watched a video on internet, in broader sense, it is the same technology. But for IPTV to work you need to have very high speed internet connection, a slow connection just won’t work. That’s why lots of telecommunication companies are eyeing this competitive market to make hay will the sun shines as they have their own local networks, a must for reliable IPTV, and all of them are getting ready to provide a triple play (IPTV, internet access and VoIP).Set top boxes are here to stay but with many modifications and advancements as it is not always possible to have a running PC beside your TV.

IPTV has many possibilites. Video on Demand is a reality with IPTV. You can browse online the movie catalogues and select a movie to playback. Interactivity, program guide, picture in picture are some of the other enviable features, which although is still possible with many satellite TVs but to a certain extent. Using wireless phones to schedule a recording of your favorite show, accessing photos, music from PC to TV are other features that can happen.

It comes with its own limitations as well. Since it uses Internet Protocol which transfers video stream in the form of packets, it is liable to loss of packets on the way and can cause delays, so is unreliable. Channel switching may take time because of the delay time in flow of packets. Internet connection has to be fast enough to prevent any breaks in the relay.

The deep pockets of telecommunication industry have already started pumping in the money to make it a success. Although many big challenges lie ahead for IPTV but with the way the technology is surging, high speed broadband reaching people and efforts being put into overcoming its limitations, IPTV is surely the next big thing in the league.

Tags: Competitive Market, Computer Networks, Digital Cable, digital tv, Digital Tv Service, Favorite Show, High Speed Internet, High Speed Internet Connection, Interactive Tv Software, Internet, Internet Protocol Television, Internet Protocol Tv, IP, IP TV, IPTV, Local Networks, New Invention, Photos Music, Satellite Tvs, Speed Internet Connection, Telecommunication Companies, video on demand, Video Stream, Videoconferencing, Voice Over Internet, Voice Over Internet Protocol, VoIP, Wireless Phones

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02 Jan 09 Virtualization for everyone

As computer processor vendors start to move from single processing to multi processing, one technology is also starting to gain popularity. Virtualization technology is now starting to be used widely not only in the technology niche but in the mainstream computing public as well.

Virtualization allows multiple operating systems to co-exist and run at the same time on one host computer. These operating systems are usually called guest operating systems and the platform where they are installed are called virtual machines. For the guest operating systems to be able to access the actual hardware installed on the computer, virtual devices are created to represent these actual devices to the guest operating system.

Though this technology has been available since the 60’s, only with the advent of the Intel VT or AMD-V technologies did it become available to consumer hardware platforms. Previously, support for virtualization on the PC was limited to software implementations which only allowed the guest operating systems to see virtual devices in the created virtual machine. With virtualization now being available through hardware, it is now possible to create virtual machines that can provide performance similar to running the operating system directly on the hardware.

Some of the striking results of virtualization that is available in the market now is that of Mac OS X 10.5. Now, it is possible to have both Mac OS X and Windows installed on a Mac computer. So if you are a Mac user but you really have no choice but to use a Windows application, you no longer had to have two machines. You can have the best of both worlds with your Mac computer. Another good example is that of Ubuntu Linux allowing the user to install Ubuntu as a virtual machine instead of creating separate partitions for it on your hard drive before installation. Ubuntu can now be installed just like a common Windows application all thanks to the new Wubi installer included with Ubuntu 8.04 and above. Now, there is no risk to find out what Linux is all about while still having the ease of mind knowing that you can always go back to Windows if you need to.

Hardware OEMs are also starting to get into virtualization. Asus recently implemented Splashtop features in some of its laptop and PC machines. Splashtop, created by DeviceVM, allows the user to quickly boot up the computer in 4 to 5 seconds and immediately connect to the Internet while waiting for Windows to load in the background. It is no longer required that the user wait for Windows to finish loading before they can enjoy going online. It is really fast because the software needed for that feature is installed directly on the motherboard of the computer.

No doubt, power users of virtualization technology would still purchase separate software to allow them to create multiple virtual machines at will. But for most consumers, the added ability to run a whole separate operating system in their current machine or one that just allows them to use the computer quickly while waiting for their main operating system to boot up is already a great boon, and all that is possible thanks to virtualization.

Tags: Array, Best Of Both Worlds, Computer Processor, Consumer Hardware, Hardware Platforms, Host Computer, Mac Computer, Mac Os X, Mac User, Multiple Operating Systems, Partitions, Processor Vendors, Software Implementations, Striking Results, Technology Niche, Virtual Devices, Virtual Machine, Virtual Machines, Virtualization, Windows Application, Wubi

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08 Apr 09 Are Acer PC’s Worth Your Cash?

09 Jan 09 IPTV: The future of Television

02 Jan 09 Virtualization for everyone

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