Buying a New Computer
Windows or Mac?
You may have friends, relatives or neighbors trying to pull you into the "Windows vs. Mac" holy wars. In my opinion, the choice of operating system really doesn't matter. From a beginner's perspective, each has point & click interfaces that are pretty easy to use. Both will take you to the same Internet, and enable you to send and receive email. Both offer word processing, and the documents they create are interchangeable. Because Windows-based computers make up 90% of the market, they are cheaper. It's the law of supply and demand in operation. And in some areas, it may be hard to find technical or repair support for Apple Macintosh computers. So if you're budget-minded, and you don't have any friends willing to help you with Mac issues, I suggest you go with a Windows-based PC. But if all your friends have Macs, and you don't mind spending a bit more, then buy a Mac. Like I said, they both take you to the same Internet, and the user interfaces are very similar.
A good entry-level Windows-based computer with monitor can be purchased for under $400, and sometimes you even get a printer in the deal. A Mac Mini goes for about $600, but that price doesn't include a monitor, mouse or keyboard, so figure around $750 total. So what should a newbie look for in terms of speed, monitor, memory and hard drive specs? It doesn't have to be all that confusing...
What about Horsepower?
The CPU (central processing unit, or "processor" for short) is the brain of your computer. In general, the faster the better. Processor speeds are measured in gigahertz (GHz) and as of this writing, the fastest models available operate at about 4 GHz. Entry-level machines start at 1.5 to 2.0 GHz and are more than adequate for web surfing, email and word processing. If you see a computer with a processor that has a speed specified in megahertz (MHz), steer clear -- these are older models. (Tech Note: 1 GHz is equal to 1000 MHz, so an older 300 MHz system will be about seven times less powerful than today's entry level machine.)
The more powerful iMac. Now running at speeds up to 3.06GHz.
Just when you thought iMac had everything, now there’s even more. More powerful Intel Core 2 Duo processors. And more memory standard. Combine this with Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’08, and it’s more all-in-one than ever. iMac packs amazing performance into a stunningly slim space
USB Multi-Cellular Phone Charger
I don’t think that all families use only one brand of cell phone, and this is where the USB Multi-Cellular Phone Charger comes in handy. This device is able to cater for all popular brands in the market, including Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Nokia among others. It relies on USB power to juice up your exhausted handsets, which makes it all the more convenient since you can always plug it into your laptop while you’re on a trans-Atlantic flight. Each $18 purchase comes with eight different connectors.
Zune 80 Gb
With Wal-mart dropping the Zune 80GB from their inventory and rumors of a 120GB Zune being just around the corner, some opportunistic sellers on Amazon have decided to jack up their prices for their remaining 80GB Zune players. Maybe we're wrong but if memory serves don't the prices for older hardware drop as the newer versions become available? Apparently not, as we've watched the current going price for the Zune 80GB rise from $250 to a whopping $499 as of this posting. We hope everyone out there knows that paying more than the listed retail of $250 for a hard drive Zune player right now is sheer lunacy. We suggest you consider pre-ordering the 120GB Zune for $250 instead. Amazon lists the new Zune's street date as September 12th!
New High Tech Gadgets
Stay up to date with the latest gadget and tech developments and read reviews about the coolest new gadgets worth owning. Welcome to the Gadget section where you’ll find editorial reviews about the best gadgets on the market. Geek.com also breaks the news on upcoming releases and prototypes of electronic, computer, security gadgets and more. If you are looking for an old gadget, you can find it in all its glory in our archives, or you can discuss the future of the gadget world in the forums.
Pre Order Official Sony PS3 Bluetooth Headset
PSP DOCK CRADLE
We love our red PSP 2000 alot. We love the enhanced graphics, the Skype capability, and especially the TV output feature. We don't love the lack of remote and docking station though, especially when using the TV out functions of the PSP. Maybe it's because we use the PSP Camera to shoot photos & movies that we then like to display for our friends and family on their TV, but it's always been very inconvenient not having some sort of docking station or remote control. Sony's finally wised up to this (seriously guys, what took so long?) and released this nifty docking cradle with remote that will both charge your and output your PSP 2000 to your TV provided you have the right cables.
Car Computer Desktop Do It Yourself: Mobile Computing Project
Many manufacturers are installing what they call car computers for the productivity and daily agenda of the vehicle, but this do it yourself car computer takes a whole different perspective to mobile computing…
Google Chrome Channel Chooser Updates to Cutting Edge Builds
People who prefer speed over everything else, downloaded Google Chrome and started using it right away, are now provided a new option to decide whether you want the latest cutting-edge Chrome builds or less frequent but more stable beta versions. Google gives an option for individuals to try the latest versions of its Chrome Web browser through a new Developer program.
With this new option, Google can gather all the feedback needed to iron out the bugs and add new features to their browser, making it more powerful and secure.
Chrome Program Manager, Mark Larson wrote to a mailing list, “The Dev channel lets you test the latest fixes and get access to new features as they’re being developed. We will release new builds to the Dev channel about every week so that you can preview — and provide feedback on — what’s coming in Google Chrome”.
Build 1251, the first update through the program, fixes some of the well known bugs with the Google Chrome Browser like the bug with Microsoft’s Silverlight software, tab behavior, video playback with YouTube and other Flash players, scalable vector graphics and it suppresses full-text indexing of sites accessed with encrypted web connections. It also provides users with a feature that lets users activate two developmental features - new technology for networking and for managing Chrome windows. Two switches are granted that can be set when the software boots so you decide whether you want to activate the above said developmental features or not.
You don’t have to be a magician to make your Mac speak. In fact, the ability to speak text in email messages, Pages documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and other text-based files is built in to every Mac. You turn it on in System Preferences, where you’ll find all the Text to Speech options made available to you in Mac OS X Leopard. You can read about them in the latest Pro Tip.
