MORE THAN WHAT YOU CAN IMAGINE: October 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Get the Most Out of Black Friday Bargains

The words "Black Friday"--referring to the big shopping day that comes right after Thanksgiving--can trigger different emotions in people: excitement, fear, anxiety, or just plain indifference. But with our shopping tips and some planning, this year's bargain bonanza should be a breeze.

Prepare Your Shopping List

First, you need to know what to look for. According to Dealnews.com's CEO Dan de Grandpre, this year's best deals will be found on low-end netbooks, 15- or 16-inch laptops, Blu-ray players, HDTVs of various sizes, external hard drives, and name-brand LCD monitors.
Be aware of trade-offs, however: Bargain products likely won't have the specs and performance of more expensive models. Though de Grandpre predicts that some 15- or 16-inch laptops will hit stores for under $300, don't count on such a machine having a powerful processor or a lot of memory. If you're just looking for a secondary computer, however, that kind of price would amount to a great deal.
Black Friday and the holidays are the time to buy a new TV. De Grandpre advises shoppers to look for budget 46- to 47-inch 1080p LCD sets on Black Friday; prices are about 25 percent lower than a year ago. For a discounted high-end set, however, wait until a few weeks before Christmas. Retailers generally don't put higher-end products on sale during Black Friday because they know customers are looking for the cheapest products possible.

The Web Is Your Friend

Getting up at 4 a.m. and waiting in line is no longer your only option for the big day, as many sales will be found online. But be aware that the best deals might be in the weeks leading up to Black Friday or just afterward on Cyber Monday.
To get an inside scoop on when these deals will hit stores, visit dedicated Web sites such as BlackFriday.info, GottaDeal.com, FatWallet.com, and Dealnews.com, and visit frequently up until the big day. Many of these sites have newsletters or RSS feeds you can subscribe to.
BFads.net archives Black Friday ads back to 2004 and organizes them by store. It's a great tool for seeing historically how much certain products have dropped in price. You can use that information as a guideline for this year's sales.
With all these sites, however, use some caution. So-called "leaked" Black Friday ads that sometimes show up on them may be inaccurate or incomplete, so don't jump the gun on those purported bargains.

How to Tackle the Mall

If you decide to brave the brick-and- mortar stores, go to sleep early on Thanksgiving night so you can hit the stores first thing in the morning. Double up with a family member or friend to divide and conquer larger stores and communicate via text messages on what deals are where. Look for unannounced discounts; in previous years, stores haven't advertised every product that's on sale.
Final word: Resist the temptation to sweep something up just because the vendor says it's a good deal. It doesn't matter how much you saved on a dud. Know what you want, do your research, and you'll survive the experience stress-free. And have a cool new toy or two.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Might Google Overdo?

As Google Inc.'s earnings and optimism continue to rise, analysts are cautioning the Internet giant to beware of taking costly missteps with its bankroll and its focus.
Google late last week reported that its third-quarter profit was the company's best since its founding 11 years ago. And unlike some other major tech companies, the dismal economy didn't prevent revenue growth, as sales increased by 7% from the same period last year.
With those positive numbers came news that Google plans to hire a few thousand people and to spend some of its capital on promising start-up companies. Those plans come less than a year after Google had announced plans to lay off 100 recruiters, and shutter engineering offices in Texas, Norway, and Sweden.

Industry analysts are split on whether Google's strengthening financial position is a bellwether for the rest of the technology industry. But nearly all of them cautioned that Google should maintain its focus, which they note can be a tough task for a company with coffers full of money and opportunities around every corner.
"Google is strong right now, very strong," said Dan Olds, principal analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. "With revenue up and a huge war chest, they can make just about any move they want. This becomes even more significant in an environment where acquisition prices are at rock-bottom due to the economy. Google is a rich, fat kid in a candy store having a going-out-of-business sale'."
Olds said it can be confusing and risky to be the rich kid in such a store.
"For Google, there aren't any real constraints," he added. "They can go in any direction they want, which is dangerous. They could squander their energy trying to go in too many different directions."
Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group, contended that a company with cash on hand in buyer's market can be in a dangerous position. That pertains even to very successful companies like Google, he added.
"Google could generate a substantial amount of complexity over a very short period of time and run the risk of creating a company that is unmanageable," he added. "Yes, there are bargains to be had, but Google needs to show they can make past acquisitions, like YouTube, profitable. There's the feeling of throwing [stuff] against the wall in the hopes that something will stick and the result will be beneficial."
On the other hand, IDC analyst Caroline Dangson says Google needs to prove that it can be successful outside of its Internet search business . One way to do that is by acquiring companies that are creating innovative technologies that Google is not, she added.
Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research Inc., said Google has shown strong discipline in the past, so it will likely avoid spreading itself too thin.
"They're practiced in acquisition," he added. "They're not about to neglect their main business. They've become more disciplined, which is helpful. In the past year, they've eliminated a number of unproductive products and initiatives, including Notebook -- a Web-based clipping file, which I miss -- and television advertising. When the market slowed down, they started to act more like a business."
Google, said Gottheil, has a lot of money and opportunity to play with, but execs there know that they need to have a plan and keep to it as well.

Friday, October 23, 2009

A Game in the Life of Windows 7

Back from the store on a storm-drizzled thursday , i'm installing the 64-bit versions of the windows 7 domestic premium upgrade as i conformation this--not without a sense of irony--on a macbook pro running snow leopard. i've had the windows 7 disentangle candidate on my desktop (build 7100) since last may. i've been using this latest-gen 15-inch macbook pro for the past month. evenly it goes for those of us who gauge our geek-fluency in proportion to our collection of computer genotypes.

Despite the sense one has of déjà vu watching the installer beam "expanding windows files , " and "setup is starting services , " on through to "completing installation , " i'm veritably a little excited. it's here. no supplementary fitful waiting or wondering if the glitch you're experiencing , e.g. "internet explorer has stopped responding , " is beta-related. the primal words are benignant , kinder than i'd expected. that's good news for all , considering how long it's been since we've had a version of windows to crow regarding or this broadly acclaimed in the stipulation.

Just navigating around , the interface seems supplementary responsive. don't confidence me--see our performance tests for the science--but that's the sense you have fissure control panel and fiddling in the device manager , copying files and running driver updates and antivirus utility installs. i calm have mixed feelings regarding aero's default visual settings. it's fair , but the fade animations introduce an singular sense of delay fissure or switching between windows. you may rotate this off under "visual effects" in the performance settings without disabling the rest of aero's 3d finery.

Why domestic premium? speaking as a guy who uses windows to game wholly , i won't miss windows xp rage , or demesne combine , or automatic backups in the "professional" version. i can't say i care regarding bitlocker drive encryption or the option to skirmish up on my french , thai , or latvian (of 35 language alternatives) in the "ultimate" version. if you need whatsoever of those matters , whack yourself out , but if you're a gamer , domestic premium covers the essentials.

A few matters calm bug me--longstanding standard windows gripes overlooked (or maybe simply grudgingly tolerated) by reviewers. i started to install aol's immediate messenger , for specimen , and changed my intellect before clicking the "install" button , yet there's now a folder called aim6 under program files (x86) with an empty "install" text file. ill-will the way sloppy (intentionally or otherwise) applications leave this sort of detritus behind? i execute. care to wager what a registry glare on 'aim' or 'aol' turns up? can't these organizations be bothered to clean up after themselves after 15 years of 'program files' and the registry?

There's calm a jot of tomfoolery going on during game installs , too. installing a steam game , i clicked the box to put a shortcut on the institute menu , expecting i'd see one under windows 7's games box as desirably. the game box? you recognise , the one-stop shortcut shop off the institute menu designed to design perusing tree-like menus cluttered with nested folders and application links? instead , i attain a shortcut under 'steam' on the institute menu and zilch in the games glower. i thought the point of these os upgrades was to un-clutter.

Anyway. i'm off to put this object through its paces and blow out my half-terabye tough drive installing things on the shelf , simply to see. matters may be looking down for pc gaming , but who may say where we'll be in a year or three? if windows 7 carries wayward at the rate it's been pre-selling , maybe it'll finally ignite publishers from their console-soused stupor to confer this grand platform the help it deserves.

http://it-crater.blogspot.com/2009/10/game-in-life-of-windows-7.html

Thursday, October 22, 2009

How to Upgrade From XP to Windows 7

You had good understanding to stick with xp and skip the vista experience completely.felonious but now that the folks at microsoft hold created a new operating system that's worth moving to , felonious they haven't made the upgrade easy , felonious because you hold to perform a clean install of the os.felonious here are the issues you need to be conscious of , felonious and how to handle them.felonious then read the main article , felonious "how to upgrade to windows 7" for supplementary data on the process.

Hardware: your hardware can not be up to the task of running windows 7--and level provided it is , felonious your drivers won't labor.felonious unfortunately , felonious a simple upgrade install is out of the catechize , felonious too; microsoft requires that you xp users perform a clean install.

It's a good idea for anyone contemplating the upgrade to gallop the windows 7 upgrade advisor first; for xp users , felonious this step is absolutely imperative.

Upgrading your motherboard's firmware also becomes supplementary important; clog your system manufacturer's web site to see provided an upgrade is available.

Windows 7 can't implement xp drivers: clog the windows 7 compatibility center , felonious which was serene in its "coming soon" phase at the time of this writing.felonious in the meantime , felonious the vista version of the compatibility center--look for a connect on the page--can second , felonious since vista drivers labor in xp , felonious but the suitable isn't perfect.felonious some vista drivers download as felonious.exe files that gallop completely in vista.

Not all xp applications labor in vista , felonious or in windows 7 , felonious either.felonious again , felonious the compatibility centres can recite you what works , felonious what doesn't , felonious and where you can download the essential patches.

Windows xp mode: windows 7's xp style could be the resolution to your application compatibility problems.felonious this style runs xp in a virtual machine inside 7 , felonious though the user interface is supplementary integrated than in most virtual machines.felonious for instance , felonious xp and 7 applications appear together on the same desktop.

But xp style can not labor on your pc.felonious it requires a cpu with virtualization capabilities.felonious browse to the microsoft's page of directions on how to find out if your cpu has this feature and , felonious provided it does , felonious how to whirl it on.felonious xp style doesn't ship with windows 7 , felonious but it's available as a release download.felonious it also comes with a full version of xp.

One xp-to-7 issue is simply something to be conscious of: these two versions of windows store your data files in dissimilar locations.felonious the xp folder c: documents and settings is now c:users.felonious application data is now the abbreviated appdata.felonious local settingsapplication data is now appdatalocal.felonious and your music , felonious pictures , felonious and videos folders now sit beside my documents rather than inside it.

The windows 7 installation program moves all of your obsolete folders to a folder called c:windows.obsolete.felonious you can need to remember , felonious as you try to earn your new program installations together with your obsolete data , felonious that the outlook.pst dossier that is now in c:windows.olddocuments and settingsyourlogonlocal settingsapplication datamicrosoftoutlook belongs in the new location c:usersyourlogonappdatalocalmicrosoftoutlook.

http://it-crater.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-upgrade-from-xp-to-windows-7.html

How to Upgrade From XP to Windows 7

Windows 7: A Complete Survival Guide

Windows 7 launches upon thursday , immoral and everywhere you look retailers and manufacturers are getting expeditious for a large day of sales.immoral apple can be looking to rain upon microsoft's pomp with stellar news approximately its monetary functioning , immoral but there's little doubt this week belongs to windows 7.

Yet questions motionless dwell approximately upgrading to the novel os , immoral how windows 7 works compared to vista , immoral and if there will be any serious compatibility issues once windows 7 is finally installed upon computers across the unified states.

There are a lot of questions out there approximately windows 7 , immoral and i own answers.immoral i've gone through the pc earth vault to find all the data you penury approximately upgrading , immoral the pros and cons of buying a novel system , immoral windows 7 security , immoral and additional.immoral with this handy conduct at your side , immoral you'll be capable to embrace everything windows 7 has to offer.

Upgrade to windows 7

Upgrading to a novel windows os is always filled with questions , immoral like which version of windows 7 is for me? how much does it cost? should i smooth bother upgrading at all?

Check out our windows 7 upgrade faq to read up upon the a Heap Of editions of the os , immoral and to find pricing data.immoral but you can want to own off upon upgrading since windows 7 upgrade fees could go down in the close future.

If you're motionless trying to decide if the novel os is for you , immoral here is why you should upgrade to windows 7 , immoral and reasons why you shouldn't bother.immoral we also own data approximately an online tool that tells you if your pc is upgrade-ready.

But if you're expeditious to form the flog , immoral be sure you go through pc world's windows 7 upgrade checklist , immoral and the installation how-to conduct.immoral they can befriend ease you through the process.immoral if you're a commerce proprietor , immoral you should also read over these four tips for smooth upgrades to windows 7.

Windows xp users can find the upgrade process too difficult , immoral but we've got an xp-to-windows 7 upgrade conduct to form it easier.immoral netbook owners should also impede out how you can gain from xp to windows 7 in obviously 30 minutes.immoral but smooth if you decide to stick with xp , immoral that doesn't mean you can't own a Heap Of of the large novel functionality in windows 7.immoral witness how you can gain windows 7 visage upon an xp or vista system.
Should i buy a novel system?

When vista was released , immoral it was clear that most users were going to penury a novel system to handle the os.immoral windows 7 , immoral notwithstanding , immoral is supposedly designed to trot upon anything , immoral and was smooth begin to be a little particle faster than vista in pc world's functioning tests.immoral gracefully you can not penury a novel computer after all , immoral but if you're running xp or finding the upgrade path a little too scary , immoral perhaps you should pomp upon that novel laptop you've had your eye upon.

It manager and pc earth blogger michael scalisi has a large faq to befriend you through the large decision , immoral but the tech inciter , immoral david coursey , immoral says forget approximately upgrading and obviously buy a novel computer already.

If you effect decide to invest in a novel machine , immoral or smooth if you've upgraded , immoral pc world's david murphy has a Heap Of tips to befriend you optimize your windows 7 system.

Features , immoral visage , immoral features

Windows 7 is loaded with novel visage and interface changes.immoral a heap of you can find intuitive , immoral while others are going to take a Heap Of time getting utilised to.immoral impede out harry mccracken's roster of the 10 best visage of windows 7 , immoral which includes jump lists , immoral a better windows media player , immoral and the novel taskbar.immoral rick broida tells you approximately one-click wi-fi , immoral devicestage , immoral and homegroup.immoral then join tony bradley for his roster of the best visage in windows 7.immoral if you penury additional feature mania , immoral how approximately a slideshow of the best and worst of windows 7 and windows 7 server.
Windows 7 security

Any windows user knows you own to note out for viruses , immoral spyware , immoral and worms , immoral but vista's security visage were widely panned for being annoying.immoral windows 7 has toned down the warnings , immoral but it's motionless got a Heap Of large security visage.immoral in fact , immoral windows 7 can be the safest windows os yet.immoral pc world's commerce centre has an large conduct to windows 7 security like user account control , immoral fingerprint scanner befriend and data encryption.immoral you can also impede out a video jaunt of the improvements with senior editor robert strohmeyer.
The best of the rest

If you've got multiple computers in your structure , immoral then you'll want to read up upon how you can take virtue of windows 7's networking visage to join all the computers in your domestic.immoral pc earth also has a networking video jaunt taken at its windows 7 launch cabal.

There's also a conduct to the broad range of keyboard shortcuts in windows 7 for fleet access to common actions.immoral if you're tired of both the mouse and the keyboard , immoral windows 7 also has a serviceable invective recognition tool value checking out.

Pc earth also has a rundown of the good , immoral the bad , immoral and the unknown in windows 7 , immoral and impede out nick mediati's conduct to how they trial windows 7 for functioning speeds.

Finally , immoral windows 7 gives a lot in terms of novel visage , immoral security improvements , immoral and user interface tweaks , immoral but it also demands a lot from your computer.immoral impede out how to reduce the seven deadly sins of windows 7.

Not enough windows 7 data for you? be sure to impede out pc world's windows 7 part for additional windows-related tips , immoral news and tweaks.

3 Key Tweaks for Windows 7

As an environment to work and play in , wicked windows 7 beats vista , wicked hands down.wicked but it isn't perfect , wicked and you may find yourself lost a few visage that possess disappeared.wicked here's how to obtain them back.

Recover lost programs: windows 7 lacks the bundled-with-vista applications windows mail , wicked movie maker , wicked and photo gallery.wicked microsoft offers newer and supposedly better versions of these programs manumit at its Windows Live Essential download site.wicked as i scrawl this , wicked the linger version of movie maker is serene in beta.

Bring favorite programs back to the start menu: the vista start menu's left pane contained a schedule of favorite programs upon top of one for recent programs , wicked but windows 7 lists merely the recent ones.wicked to restore the favorite-program schedule , wicked click all programs , wicked then tug a favorite program to the back annex at the behind of the panel , wicked possess it there until the recent schedule reappears , wicked and drop it at the top of the schedule.wicked (you may pin a program to the taskbar that way , wicked too.)

Pick your favorite folders (and remove microsoft's): provided you're viewing a folder you ofttimes visit , wicked right-click favourites in the left pane and pick add current location to favourites.wicked provided the favourites schedule is too long , wicked right-click an item you don't visit ofttimes and pick remove.wicked don't worry; it won't delete the folder , wicked merely remove it from this schedule.

One thing you don't possess to do: fortunately , wicked you don't penury to revolve off the sidebar as you did in vista.wicked microsoft wisely removed that pointless resource hog.

http://it-crater.blogspot.com/2009/10/3-key-tweaks-for-windows-7.html

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Optimize Windows 7 -- Part 2

Conserve Resources

Once you've installed a fair amount of programs on your PC--your "core base" of apps, as it were--you'll want to check that your system doesn't have any unwanted applications running in the background that could otherwise impede the machine's general performance. These programs launch themselves during the operating system's startup process, and are often designed to help you load their corresponding applications faster. The problem is that they run every time, regardless of whether you intend to use the application during a given session.
Click Start and type msconfig into the 'Search programs and files' field. Press Enter. In the System Configuration window that appears, select the Startup tab. Move your mouse between the headers of the Manufacturer and Command columns, and shrink the Manufacturer column down; the Command column is the one you care about.

A number of the startup applications that launch on your machine sit in the background, consuming resources. For example, take iTunes: If you've installed this application, you'll find iTunes and QuickTime listings in the Startup tab. Both iTunesHelper.exe and QTTask.exe are unnecessary additions to your system--the former launches when you start iTunes anyway, and the latter places a QuickTime icon in the corner of your system for easy program launching. Uncheck them both.
As for the other programs on your list, try running a quick Web search of each application's executable-file name to find out if the program is worth keeping or removing. Once you've checked the programs you want to launch at startup and unchecked the programs you don't, click OK.
In addition to startup programs, you'll find services on your PC; Microsoft recommends trimming both to squeeze the most performance out of your system. For the services, click Start, type services.msc into the search field, and press Enter. Up pops the Services window, a list of options and executables that's even more confusing than the startup window.

You can't identify which services to turn off (and which to leave on) without taking a close look at how each one affects your system's overall performance. Thankfully, someone has been doing that exact task since Windows XP: Charles Sparks, under the alias Black Viper, has listed every single permutation of Windows 7's services across all of its versions, along with a "safe" and "tweaked" list of which services you should modify and how you should set their parameters.
To follow his advice, just double-click on any listed service. You need concern yourself only with the 'Startup type' listing in the screen that appears next. By switching among the Automatic, Manual, and Disabled modes, depending on his recommendations, you'll be able to control exactly how services launch--if at all--during the Windows startup process and during your general use of the operating system. Every little bit helps.

Maintain Top Performance

If you want to keep your system fast, be sure to clear out your C:\Windows\Temp folder on occasion. Do it as soon as you boot into the OS, or even through Safe Mode, to ensure that you wipe every last unused file from your drive. In the same vein, don't use Windows 7's uninstall function or a program's default uninstall executable to remove the application from your drive. Instead, use the free Revo Uninstaller utility; this awesome application removes programs using their default uninstall routines, but it also goes one step further by scanning your system and Registry to clean away any and all traces of the program from your hard drive.
Tweaking the operating system to increase its performance helps you achieve better results with the equipment you have, but the surest way to boost your PC's prowess is to upgrade the hardware. Once you've done that, remember to keep your system free from clutter--what good is a performance boost on a messy system anyhow?

Optimize Windows 7 -- Part 1

Windows 7 comes as a significant performance improvement over its predecessor, Windows Vista. But if you want to get the very best performance possible, you should make a few system tweaks to eliminate resource-hogging programs and features. In this guide, I'll show you a few good ways to boost your PC's performance without upgrading your hardware.
First, one warning: A quick Internet search will lead you to treasure troves of advice for making the most of your OS, but beware--many of those suggestions are fool's gold, myths inherited from Vista and XP optimization guides that could actually do more harm than good for your Windows 7 system's performance.
The tweaks and suggestions I offer here won't transform your rusty old junker into a screaming new Porsche, but they will help you squeeze some extra speed and space out of your native Windows 7 installation. If you intend to perform additional modifications to Windows 7 beyond the options I describe here, be sure to run a quick search for "Windows 7 performance myths." Don't be fooled by the more outlandish tweaking claims and tutorials you'll find on the Internet. Investigate the changes you intend to make to your system before you do anything, or you might find yourself in an undesirable (or even irreparable) situation.

Speed Up a Fresh Windows 7 Upgrade

When you reach the first, fresh desktop after completing a successful Windows 7 installation, you might be stunned to find your components in perfect working order. For the most part Windows 7 is quite good about setting up drivers for networking, video, input devices, and other elements--good, that is, but not great.
To maximize your PC's performance, first hunt down and install Windows 7 drivers for all of the critical components attached to your system. Motherboard drivers are the most important consideration, especially if your system's video and sound are integrated onto the system board. If those components aren't integrated in your PC, add drivers for your video card and sound card to the list, followed by your input devices and any additional parts you've attached to your system in some capacity (including, but not limited to, a Wi-Fi card, any PCI-based devices, and printers). If you're not sure what components you have, grab the free program DriverMax and use it to scan your system for components and for potential driver updates.

Can't find Windows 7 drivers for a product? Try using Windows Vista drivers instead. If you run into trouble, try right-clicking on the executable file and left-clicking Troubleshoot Compatibility. Run through the wizard and select the option that refers to the program's running fine in an earlier version of Windows but not in Windows 7. Select Windows Vista as the subsequent operating system, click Next through the offered prompts, and then run the installation executable again.
Finally, though it might sound odd, don't use the Windows Updater to install drivers for your machine--Microsoft is notorious for releasing old and/or incompatible drivers through this service.

Optimize Your Storage

If you installed Windows 7 as an upgrade from Windows Vista, you'll find a folder labeled C:\Windows.old. This folder, as you might expect, holds the full contents of your old Windows Vista system. It's huge, and it's a waste of space. Scroll through the folders for any files that you want to save in your new Windows 7 OS, and then delete the entire folder from your drive. Space saved.

If your PC has multiple hard drives, you can boost performance by moving the location of the system's paging file from the drive containing the C:\ partition to a separate hard drive. To do that, open Control Panel and choose System. From there, click Advanced System Settings. Select the Advanced tab, and then click the Settings button under the Performance category. On the new window that pops up, choose the Advanced tab. Finally, click Change. Uncheck the box labeled Automatically manage paging file size for all drives. Select C: from the Drive box and switch it to the No paging file option. Next, select a different hard drive and choose System managed size. Click OK and restart your computer.

Pushing Your Performance

To create a faster Windows 7 experience, start by modifying the amount of time that mouse-over boxes and clicked menus take to appear. Click on the Windows Start button and type regedit into the 'Search programs and files' box. Welcome to the Windows 7 Registry--don't touch or modify anything without good reason. Left-click on the expandable arrow next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Expand the Control Panel folder, and then click directly on Desktop in the hierarchy. In the right pane, look for and double-click MenuShowDelay. Change the value from 400 to any lesser number that's 1 or greater; this figure represents the milliseconds of delay between your click and a menu's display. Restart the computer to apply the changes immediately, or continue to the next tweak.
See the folder labeled Mouse (below Desktop)? Click that, and then search for and select the MouseHoverTime Registry key. Just as before, change this value to any lesser number that's 1 or greater. Close the Registry Editor, restart the computer, and you'll have faster mouseovers.

If you're willing to sacrifice looks for speed, you can modify the visual settings of the Windows 7 interface to emphasize performance over presentation. Go back to the System section of Control Panel and click on Advanced System Settings again. On the System Properties window that appears, choose the Advanced tab and then click on the Settings box underneath the Performance category. The Performance Options window will pop up. There, you'll see a list of checked boxes that correspond to all of the window dressing in the operating system.
If you don't mind transforming your OS into a clone of Windows 2000, click the button that tells Windows to adjust its visual settings for best performance. It's a harsh step to take, though--if you'd prefer a piecemeal approach, uncheck only the boxes that relate to Windows Aero (such as Aero peek and transparent glass). You'll retain a semblance of a pretty desktop while still improving performance a teeny bit.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

No Sound on Computer?

No sound from computer? It is an annoying problem which bothers thousands of computer users. I got this problem once. When I used windows media player to play a video, but there was no sound from computer. Fortunately, I fixed this problem finally.

How I fixed this problem? Before I tell you the method, I would like to tell you the usual issues which cause the problem. One factor is the sound card problem and another is the driver. You should follow the steps below to fix the problem. (The process may be a little different between Windows XP and Windows Vista. )

1. Check Your Sound Card

1) Check the Sound Card.
Firstly, you should check out if your sound box is working. If your sound box is working, then check out your sound card. If it is attached close to the socket;if the chipset is still working?

2) Check BIOS Setting.
If you are using on board sound card, you should check your BIOS. When you enter BIOS, open Integrated Peripherals and find your sound card(normally its name is AC97 Audio). Then set it to be Auto or Enable. Then find On Board AC97 Control and set it to be Auto or Enable. Save and exit.

If all those issues are all right, but still no sound on computer, it must be the problem of the driver.

2. Check the Audio Card Driver.

1) Open Device Manager.
Right click My computer and Properties. Then the Properties Window opens and click Hardware tab. Click on Device Manager. The Device Manager will pop up.

2) Check the Audio card.
Click "Sound, video and game controller". You will see a list of items, if there is a red cross before a item, it means this item is disabled. Then you right click it and set it to be Enable.

3) Driver is corrupted or outdated.
If you see a exclamatory mark before a item, it means that the driver is corrupted or outdated. So you need to install a new driver for it.

Normally corrupted or missing driver files cause the sound problems. The best way is to back up and update your drivers regularly.

If your computer has no sound when you have completed the instruction above, you can click here to use a driver repair tool to help you repair sound card driver. And you can click here to find an easy way to update Windows drivers.

Netbooks ??

You may or may not have heard of Netbooks. Well, compared to proper laptops, they're basically what Lego is to proper bricks. They're smaller, lighter and much better looking. A Netbooks main job is to surf the internet, hence the name Netbook.

Although they usually come with a tiny set of specs, ie - less than 1GB of RAM, a slower processor, they will do all the everyday jobs you need. You can write your next essay, surf the net to check up on the news and listen to music. The only point where they fall down is that, since they have such a small memory, you can't do these all at once. Netbooks are like men - they can't multi-task. Unless it's a few easy tasks. Also they don't come with a disk drive meaning you can't use disks in them - so if you want any programs, you'll have to download them.

But these sacrifices are not worthless. Oh no. The point for them all, is that:

They're unbelievably small and light - I'm talking just over a kilo, compared to some laptops that can weigh up to 3 times as much as this. A Netbook's screen is around 9 inches compared to the 15 inches of a laptop - no innuendos please.
Netbooks are dirt cheap (in electronics terms). I picked one up roughly six months ago for £219. You could buy two for the price of a laptop.
Many get supplied with a version of Linux - a free alternative to Microsoft Windows. This means that, if you're willing to learn a new operating system, which really, is not hard at all, you can shave up to £70 of the price. And you have the option of putting on Windows if you want.

Of course as mentioned before, you can't do memory intensive tasks on them. So if you want to listen to music while writing that essay, you can either chug along slowly using the computer for both, or turn on your CD player. You can't play games on them of course, except small, lightweight games.