Archive for the ‘Knowledge Base’ Category
Is the Apple iPad for You?
Yesterday’s announcement by Steve Jobs was exciting to say the least. For anyone looking for a portable browser, reader, and multimedia device, the iPad is a game-changer. It also promises to be extremely handy for managing personal data like contacts, calendaring, and email. However, if what you need is a portable ‘primary’ business device, this will likely not be it.
The iPad’s stand-out features are its multi-touch screen, extremely light weight (a little over a pound), all-day battery, and low price ($499 to start). It does everything you can currently do on an iPod Touch but on a 9.7 inch screen. For games, reading an e-book, or surfing the Web and emailing from your favorite coffee shop the iPad is almost untouchable (pardon the pun) except for not supporting Flash or Silverlight which knocks out a lot of Web content. For students, scientists, artists, and business professionals, the iPad lacks the tools for serious data entry. The on-screen keyboard is not a full QWERTY and is too small and uncomfortable to use for more than just a few minutes. The iPad also does not come with a stylus and does not support handwriting recognition. This kills any extended note-taking for meetings and classes. While Steve Jobs touted the iWorks business applications one wonders how you can seriously work on a spreadsheet with just your fingers. To address the problem of losing significant screen real estate when the keyboard is launched Apple announced a plug-in external keyboard. However the iPad does not support the use of an external monitor and amazingly the iPad does not have any USB ports. Expandability is limited to a dock for the keyboard and a SIM card tray – that’s it. Also incredible is the lack of a built-in video camera so video conferencing is out of the question.
The iPad comes with a 1 GHz processor, 64 GB flash memory, and the iPhone’s operating system. As you can see this is not really a Tablet PC or a Slate PC but a large handheld device that is extremely powerful for its niche. Having no stylus, no ports to speak of, no expandable memory, no Adobe Flash support, and no way to work on more than one application at a time, means this device is impractical for real-world business applications. So don’t trash your laptop, Netbook, or Tablet PC just yet. However if Apple includes the aforementioned features in future versions of the iPad watch out!
What’s the difference between Intel Dual Core and Core 2 Duo?
- Intel’s Core 2 Duo & Dual Core processors
The simple answer is, “not much difference.” Both are Pentium processors and both contain two separate processing cores. Intel’s Dual Core and Core 2 Duo are two product lines. The Pentium Dual Core is the budget line and the Core 2 Duo the premium line. These CPU’s are 95% identical. The premium Core 2 Duo has higher L2 cache. That is really the only technical difference between the two lines of processors.
The Core 2 Duo has between 2 and 6 MB cache. The Pentium Dual Core line only has 1 MB cache. By the way, each processor has an Intel number, like e5200 or e7500, so you can look up the specs online. Is it worth shelling out a couple hundred bucks for more MB cache? If you know how to over clock your processor, or you are using the PC for home and small office use, the answer is no. The Pentium Dual Core will be just fine. However, for each MB of cache you probably increase system responsiveness by 10%. That means if you spend another $200 for a Core 2 Duo with 2 MB cache you will likely not feel the difference in performance. You are going to spend considerably more for 6 MB cache. Is it worth it? For most folks it isn’t.
How to Build a PC – Every Step Explained
Will Smith (not the actor) is the gentleman in the video and the editor of Maximum PC. They shot this video demonstration to show people how to build a killer PC, one step at a time. It’s really a great reference for beginners and experts alike. This video was created for viewing by attendees of Comic-Con 2009.
Is it still cheaper to build your own PC?
Build your own PC?
With so much competition in the PC marketplace it is generally less-expensive to buy a built PC than to build your own. Why? If you are looking to use a PC for basic business, or for home/student use, you simply can’t buy the pieces needed to build a PC for what you can buy a budget PC for these days. Of course if you are in the market for a gaming PC, or other high-end unit, you can actually save a little money on parts if you know what you are doing. However, once you factor in time, you will probably still be better off buying a built unit, that is, if you can find one that meats your specs.
On-the-other-hand building your own PC has value in itself. If you enjoy puzzles and tinkering the fun and excitement of building your own hotrod will be worth it. Another approach is to buy an expandable PC with the basic features you want and then to add components as you wish. This can save you money if, for example, the PC is expandable to 16 GB of RAM but you buy it with only 2 GB. Manufacturer RAM upgrades are usually much more expensive than it would be for you to buy and install your RAM after purchase. This may also be true of larger secondary hard drives.
In the final analysis you will usually do better just shopping around for the best deal. If you want to latest and greatest, you know what you are doing, and you enjoy the process, then building your own is the way to go.
This article is based on input from PC users here.
New Windows 7 Features and Keyboard Shortcuts
In this video Chris shows us some new features of Windows 7. You can see the new Aero features: Aero Snap, Aero Shake, and Aero Peak. Chris also explains how Jump Lists are used and shows the new pin to taskbar functionality. So have a short look and see what’s possible.
Now we show you the new and best keyboard shortcuts in Windows 7. Take a look, learn, and enjoy!
How the Internet Works and Tips On Solving Browser Problems
How does the Internet work? What is a browser? What should you be aware of when browsing the Net? Why do Web sites appear differently in different browser? With the help of Florian, and his aunt, we share tips and tricks regarding the use of a web browser. You will find the videos below helpful in explaining these concepts to others.
In this second video we explain how you can solve browser display problems and we provide some tips, tricks, and valuable resources for webmasters, web developers, and web designers. If your site is not working just right you really should watch this informative video.
What Is a Denial of Service (DoS) Attack?
The name of this attack, “denial of service” (DoS), refers to the intended result. Also known as a “distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack), these types of attacks attempt to make a Web site unresponsive, in other words to crash it. Of course the target can be any Internet site or service but the most likely targets are high-profile servers.
The perpetrators of these attacks usually flood the target with massive requests. The servers get overwhelmed and stop responding to legitimate requests. A “successful” denial of service attack forces the target computer to either reset or it consumes so much of the server’s resources that it can no longer provide service to its customers. These attacks are malicious, malevolent, and unethical. Perpetrators may be prosecuted under the laws of some countries.
For more technical information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack.
Critical Alert: Microsoft Office Web Components ActiveX Control Memory Corruption Vulnerability
The Microsoft Office Web Components are a collection of Component Object Model (COM) controls used for manipulating office documents. There is a memory corruption vulnerability in some of the ActiveX controls that are installed by default by Microsoft Office. The specific flaw is in the Spreadsheet ActiveX control “OWC10.DLL” and “OWC11.DLL”. A malicious web page that instantiates the vulnerable component could trigger this vulnerability and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user. The users will have to be tricked into visiting the website that hosts such a web page, typically by persuading them to click on the links in e-mail messages. Some technical details are publicly available for this vulnerability, along with public proof-of-concepts.
What To Do
Microsoft has confirmed this vulberability and no updates are available. Users can mitigate the impact by disabling the affected controls via Microsoft’s “killbit” mechanism for CLSIDs “0002E541-0000-0000-C000-000000000046″, “0002E559-0000-0000-C000-000000000046″. If you need help with this please contact us immediately.
Affected:
- Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3
- Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3
- Microsoft Office XP Web Components Service Pack 3
- Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components Service Pack 3
- Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components for the 2007 Microsoft Office system Service Pack 1
- Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004 Standard Edition Service Pack 3
- Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004 Enterprise Edition Service Pack 3
- Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006
- Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 Supportability Update
- Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 Service Pack 1
- Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006
Microsoft’s Security Bulletin:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/973472.mspx
Microsoft Windows 7 System Requirements
If you are planning an upgrade to Windows 7 I’m sure you’re wondering if your PC is up to the task. Actually, if you are currently running Windows Vista and you have a Gig or more of RAM, you are likely good to go. Just to make sure, here’s what it takes:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- Internet access (fees may apply)
- Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory and advanced graphics hardware
- For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional hardware may be required
- Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
- HomeGroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7
- DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive
- BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
- BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive
- Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
- Music and sound require audio output
Product functionality and graphics may vary based on your system configuration. Some features may require advanced or additional hardware.