tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64391612024-03-13T20:56:54.267+08:00Tech ThroesEver feel technology is going to be the death of you?Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-43210932985917535682013-04-18T22:56:00.000+08:002013-04-18T22:56:00.046+08:00Unboxings & Choosing Your Next Smart Device - IINow this is what I'm talking about when I say there is a lot of quality material out there from Pinoys into tech reviews. Just take a peek at these 2 videos on the features of the Cherry Mobile Omega HD. The content is just so compelling, I almost want to run out and buy one of these phones.<br />
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Check out Rommel Manzano's channel at Youtube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/rommelmanzano?feature=watch">http://www.youtube.com/user/rommelmanzano?feature=watch</a>Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-22732632346779860212013-04-17T22:52:00.000+08:002013-04-17T22:52:00.387+08:00The MSI MK9132 Keyboard-Mouse Duo<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006O5ZCHG/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006O5ZCHG&linkCode=as2&tag=thedialofaday-20" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B006O5ZCHG&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=thedialofaday-20" width="200" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006O5ZCHG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
When I did my most recent build last year, I just so happened to purchase an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Chipset-Micro-DDR3/dp/B006O5ZCHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1366080528&sr=1-1&keywords=MSI+A75MA-P35">MSI A75MA-P35 motherboard</a> and installed it on an <a href="http://www.cdrking.com/?mod=products&type=view&sid=11093&main=149">MSI Eagle slim-ATX case</a>. A few days ago I bought an MSI keyboard+mouse combo I've been eyeing at <a href="http://www.cdrking.com/">CD-R King</a> for months. I didn't really know if this was an actual product from <a href="http://www.msi.com/about/profile/">Microstar</a>, but heck the price won me over.<br />
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For the low-low price (which is what <a href="http://www.cdrking.com/">CD-R King</a> is best known for) of 320 pesos, I got this set:<br />
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The keyboard is actually quite good. The keycaps are made of ABS plastic. It's supposedly spill-resistant. A quick inspection of the bottom confirms the presence of drain holes. Well, sorry but I won't be testing that for you though. It's also supposed to have laser-etched markings so the letters printed on it should last at least a few years. What surprised me was how quiet this thing is when you're typing. It is quite silent compared to my trusty old <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CJH6Y6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001CJH6Y6&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20">A4Tech KLS-5UP mini-keyboard</a>. <br />
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The mouse on the other hand felt quite flimsy in comparison. The material for the right and left buttons felt so plasticky I was afraid I'd chip it if I pressed too hard. The wheel was noisy compared with how quiet the keyboard was...LOL. The sensor was spot-on though. No complaints there. I mean, this ain't gaming quality, but for simple everyday browsing, it works fine. I did put it back in the box though. I still preferred my <a href="http://www.a4tech.com/product.asp?m=p2&cid=170&scid=170&id=684">A4Tech V-Track N-400</a>.<br />
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I now have a complete system though. I won't be buying an MSI monitor any time soon, so scratch that. But I think having a set like I have now is quite satisfactory.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-80933563617514529012013-04-16T21:32:00.000+08:002013-04-16T21:32:00.476+08:00Samsung Mega - Phones Just Got Ginormous...Again! Samsung announced the<a href="http://www.samsungmobilepress.com/2013/04/11/Samsung-Introduces-the-GALAXY-Mega-1"> Galaxy Mega last week in a press release</a>. I've been waiting for videos of the product in actual consumer hands but they have been hard to come by. But here's a video that was apparently leaked, with commentary from the poster:<br />
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I haven't seen units yet in any local stores either. What is known for certain are the specs, as published in the press release. In a nutshell, the specs I find important are as follows:<br />
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<li>Display: 6.3-inch HD TFT </li>
<li>Processor: 1.7GHz Dual Core ARM Processor </li>
<li>OS: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)</li>
<li>Camera: 8 MP rear-facing camera, 1.9 MP front-facing camera</li>
<li>Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct, BT 4.0, USB 2.0</li>
<li>Memory: 8/16GB Internal Memory (microSD up to 64GB) + 1.5GB RAM</li>
<li>Battery: 3,200 mAh Li-ion Standard Battery</li>
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This thing is huge compared to the Galaxy Note II's 5.3 inches. It is just ever so slightly smaller that a 7-inch tablet. Aside from the pudgy-fat-fingers use-case and the i-can't-type-properly-on-a-small-screen issue with users like me, this is not a phone for everyone. However, personal opinions aside, right now it's Samsung that is forging ahead of the competition in terms of creating new niches in the market. Creating products like the Samsung Mega explores the possibilities. If you check stores, both online and brick-and-mortar, other lesser known brands like <a href="http://www.starmobile.com.ph/index.php">Starmobile</a>, <a href="http://www.cherrymobile.com.ph/">Cherry Mobile</a>, <a href="http://www.cloudfonemobile.com/">Cloudfone</a>, <a href="http://www.myphone.com.ph/">MyPhone</a>, etc. already have their own 5-inch or slightly smaller screened phones. That niche was non-existent if we were talking about screen sizes before the original Galaxy Note was launched. <br />
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With the positive response from the way the Galaxy Note II got sold out when it was launched, only time will tell if the consumer market will embrace an ever bigger phablet. This is a gamble that I think Samsung will win though. But ultimately it's going to be the consumer who decides whether this niche deserves it's own line of products.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-44592758025906643032013-04-13T21:53:00.000+08:002013-04-16T14:05:40.225+08:00Unboxings & Choosing Your Next Smart DeviceWith the increasingly overlapping release dates of so many competing smartphone brands, it's been hard to keep up with the latest device releases. It's become harder to maintain a good grasp of what products give the best value for money, especially if you're on the lookout for your next phone or tablet. So reviews, specifically unboxings with demos, like the one below are really useful for evaluating products you may want to consider buying. The one linked below is for the about to be released Starmobile Diamond:<br />
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Increasingly, I find myself watching the feeds for sites like <a href="http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/technology">Rappler.com</a>. You should look for local reviews when looking for a product to buy. The important thing is to see the Filipino perspective about a device before looking at it. Like other Asians, we don't necessarily have the same use-case scenarios that North Americans have. It's better to look for local tech journalists reviewing locally released products, so you get to experience a review that is as relevant to you as possible.<br />
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Also look for product information on stores you can physically go to to try the thing. It's common for stores not to give you hands on time with device, so walk away if the retail store does that. You should 'vote' with your money. Buy from the stores that give you the chance to test the product before you actually buy it. Let them know you appreciate the tinker time they give you.<br />
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So what will your next smartphone be? Where did you first hear about it? Did you watch a detailed review of it before deciding to go to store to check it out?Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-85164415625126655722013-04-10T22:00:00.000+08:002013-04-10T22:00:07.853+08:00Best Cans for Your Portable AudioEvery music and podcast lover wants to take their music with them. Be it a boring commute to work, or the dreary atmosphere at the office, having your own audio to make the day bearable always helps gets you through. Here are in my opinion the best cans out there:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008D64IG0/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008D64IG0&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B008D64IG0&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B008D64IG0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><b>Heil Sound Pro Set 3</b> - with high quality 40 mm Rare Earth Neodymium magnets and voice coils, a frequency response of 10 Hz - 22 kHz and the solid engineering of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Heil">Bob Heil</a> behind it all, what's not to love about it? Well, maybe the price. But then again, these cans are worthy of any studio and are frequently used by recording artists, pro podcasters and musicians. If you want to show everyone you've evolved into the pro, get these headsets. Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008D64IG0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008D64IG0&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/products/ps3/#1">Heil Sound</a>. Price: US$110.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GC4L7S/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007GC4L7S&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B007GC4L7S&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007GC4L7S" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50WH-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B007GC4L7S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1365471643&sr=8-4&keywords=audio+technica">Audio-Technica ATH-M50WH Professional Studio Monitor</a></b> - Nothing says cool like a white set of <a href="http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/8899070fa454699b/index.html">Audio Technica</a> cans. And nothing is cooler than a bargain! You know me, I love bargains. This pair used to cost US$209. It's available now at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50WH-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B007GC4L7S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1365471643&sr=8-4&keywords=audio+technica">Amazon for almost $90 dollars less</a>! And these don't scrimp in quality either. With 45 mm large-aperture drivers with neodymium magnets, a closed-back cushioned ear cup design and an adjustable padded headband, you'll wear these all day long and enjoy that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_rock">progressive rock</a> playlist you've been keeping secret from friends. It even has a coiled cable and a collapsible design for easy portability and convenient storage. I would prefer these over any $200, celebrity-endorsed, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&qid=1365472822&sr=8-12-acs&tag=techthroes-20">big-letter-B-branded</a> pair any day! Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GC4L7S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007GC4L7S&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/8899070fa454699b/index.html">Audio Technica</a>. Price: US$121.<br />
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<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802101940&pubid=21000000000250762&lsrc=17" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="505527_FREE SHIPPING On ANY Product! Shop Klipsch Today for Gifts" border="0" src="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_impression?lid=41000613802101940&pubid=21000000000250762&lsrc=17" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043M9AU2/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0043M9AU2&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0043M9AU2&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0043M9AU2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043M9AU2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0043M9AU2&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20">Klipsch Image ONE Premium</a></b> - Time for another bargain! Klipsch, another one of those less popular but reliable brands came out with this a few years back, but now is the time to snap a pair. This used to cost US$ 150. It can now be had for almost half that. With a 16 Hz - 23 kHz frequency response, 40mm dynamic moving coil speakers, professional grade memory foam ear-cups, these cans won't shortchange you even one bit for its current price. And it's perfect for your iPhone, with its iPhone-friendly mic & 3-button remote. For smartphones, this one is a nice compromise between portability and quality. <b> </b>Available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043M9AU2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0043M9AU2&linkCode=as2&tag=techthroes-20">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802576964&pubid=21000000000250762&lsrc=17">Klipsch</a>. Price: US$85 (for a limited time, <a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000613802576964&pubid=21000000000250762&lsrc=17">Klipsch is offering Free Shipping ON ALL Orders At Klipsch.com! Click Here!</a>).<br />
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Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-28613945488437009042011-11-08T15:40:00.002+08:002011-11-24T16:22:47.283+08:00Install Linux & Boot Tools on a Multiboot USB Drive<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E6T636/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B001E6T636" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001E6T636&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=techthroes-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" width="200" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001E6T636&camp=217145&creative=399369" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />Okay, so you want to try the latest Linux distributions and you don't want them installed for some reason. Or you want to just do some test driving before you commit to a full install. Or maybe you're the sort of guy that helps family and friends with their computers and you're fond of using Linux tools to get the job done. Well, it would be handy if you had all your software tools in one small handy package. Think of the swissarmy knife a s good analogy. It may now have the best tools, but since it's pocket-able and has several different small tools, it comes in very handy in many situations.<br />
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Well, there's an easy way to create a multiple boot USB thumbdrive to enable you to boot of different tools without having to burn each one on to a CD. It's called Xboot [https://sites.google.com/site/shamurxboot/home]. It's just like UNetBootin which I wrote about on another post [http://techthroes.blogspot.com/2011/08/install-linux-onto-usb-stick.html]. What makes Xboot a little better is that it can configure you're USB drive with a bootloader enabling you to install more than just one operating system. You also have the option to install non-Linux bootable tools like Ultimate Boot CD or Hiren's Boot CD.<br />
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Here's how to install you're favorite tools onto a USB drive with Xboot: <br />
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First, download the tool from https://sites.google.com/site/shamurxboot/download:<br />
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After you download it, you need to extract the zipped file to a location on your computer where it'll be easy to find. The Desktop usually works best. You'll always know how to get there and it'll make it a cinch to find. Click on the extracted xbootvs1.0beta14.exe file and you should see this window:<br />
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Next, from the main window (as it appears above) drag your Linux ISO images onto the open space with columns labeled Name, Size, CAtegory, etc. It's really that simple. Just click on the files from your file browser and drag 'em there. Now in some cases the ISO you choose can't be identified by Xboot. You'll need to tell it what kind of image it is. Is it a Linux image, like <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download&sa=U&ei=xsTNTt34MuHeiAKb8siKDA&ved=0CAQQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFqyUwbMRSuvhCA3zpzHvgEoVBe2w">Ubuntu</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://get.fedoraproject.org/&sa=U&ei=8MTNTtOrGa3JiQKN85jkCw&ved=0CAQQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHTGFGD1qQnJYlc3TuElxPYGt2nsw">Fedora</a>, or <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://software.opensuse.org/&sa=U&ei=B8XNTraVGoWaiAKj9Oj7Cw&ved=0CAQQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHmcc5lq4YoRGKFk7KL6umvCM_6WA">OpenSuse</a>? Or is it one of those self-booting rescue tools like <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.dban.org/&sa=U&ei=jcTNTrLKAaeniQKCufyIDA&ved=0CAQQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHs5XYmbX4A4C2Xdj17z-RyI33Cww">DBAN</a> or <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/&sa=U&ei=rsTNTo-xMMHZiQLwx6W-AQ&ved=0CAQQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNEc6MfNNVuay3-sJKhxT5elkRb09Q">Ultimate Boot CD</a>:<br />
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It's good though that there are a lot of presets and Xboot will try to configure the install for the particular bootable tool or OS using the option you choose. Be cautious though, since if you make the wrong choice the whole USB will not boot at all. Here's a preview of those options:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKV5rIrtvG-Qw7jSSq10B04pe1aaddTFMqd6CdesQRAkv8HE0h_sB-wvyn_vsyrHJ0_iuTysg9gIW55boIsj2w7DWCaFaBjL6-pI1REcBDehVbIGBwcY0aoA05wqdd2UBCSt7/s1600/xboot-choose-iso-type01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKV5rIrtvG-Qw7jSSq10B04pe1aaddTFMqd6CdesQRAkv8HE0h_sB-wvyn_vsyrHJ0_iuTysg9gIW55boIsj2w7DWCaFaBjL6-pI1REcBDehVbIGBwcY0aoA05wqdd2UBCSt7/s400/xboot-choose-iso-type01.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now, once you've had your starting line up figured out, have Xboot create the Multiboot USB for you. Just click on the Create USB button:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_LOOz9mY0ur2gK0ruDB2aWGIZIgEeuFcv2J799SrHRet5II63CcY4ht09zTylKR9-IPYFXjnTzUzcYT8aF2nsuywy_u1EbU5V2eqRBTXtTXkEPA9kc5nkypmkOlV5pbdLleu/s1600/xboot002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_LOOz9mY0ur2gK0ruDB2aWGIZIgEeuFcv2J799SrHRet5II63CcY4ht09zTylKR9-IPYFXjnTzUzcYT8aF2nsuywy_u1EbU5V2eqRBTXtTXkEPA9kc5nkypmkOlV5pbdLleu/s400/xboot002.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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After that you'll be asked to pick which drive you'd want to install everything in. You can also select you choice of bootloader from the same dialog, but I'd go with Syslinux:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv_dEfVF5zgSAvuBfcG-dvo0vCC_S1Bt59rKjaKIXc8iJTzMtKcc-_YaWWrViMABBO6Rw4gIp25rkjjsoD6Nn0RjibHulrpvP8o5Vgn1q4V30LP9F2DRcWM9vT4vOmGj7IOuw/s1600/xboot003.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv_dEfVF5zgSAvuBfcG-dvo0vCC_S1Bt59rKjaKIXc8iJTzMtKcc-_YaWWrViMABBO6Rw4gIp25rkjjsoD6Nn0RjibHulrpvP8o5Vgn1q4V30LP9F2DRcWM9vT4vOmGj7IOuw/s400/xboot003.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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So after you're done with all the options, let Xboot do it's thang...<br />
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<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000000102709&pid=98355-BLCK&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chefscatalog.com%2Fproduct%2F98355-cuisinart-4-cup-coffee-maker.aspx&usg=AFHzDLtdlv3GVn74XbE6o8SmFJi5o43gug&pubid=21000000000371074" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="200" src="http://www.chefscatalog.com/img/products/500x500/98355_BLCK_500.jpg" width="200" /></a>Now it will take some time for Xboot to set everything up, so this would be the perfect for you to get a Coke from the Vendo or a cup of coffee from the pot. If you've known me for some time, you would know. I'm a coffee kind of guy. So I'd get a cup if you were me. But, you know. To each his own. It may take around 15-20 minutes to get everything setup, so take your sweet time and don't worry about it. Okay, okay. I know... I'm stalling. Next step is to test the thing's working. </div>
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To test if the installed OS and tools are booting, you can go back to Xboot. Click on the QEMU tab, pick the drive you installed to and click boot :</div>
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I never did get that to work for some reason. So YMMV (your mileage may vary) ... I did however, reboot my machine and and let it boot from the USB and tadaaa: </div>
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I tested all of the stuff I installed and when was sure everything was working I got back to my cup of joe. I thought to myself, it's nice to have a multi-tool like this in your pack of geek gear. You can have this too. Have fun experimenting with Xboot while you're at it :-)</div>
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</div>Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-80488542566231001782011-10-12T21:30:00.000+08:002011-10-12T21:30:02.492+08:00The Latest & Cheapest - AMD Llano Build With $ to SpareI've always been an advocate of the new technologies, but I've always had to spend within reason. The latest and greatest isn't practical. When you've got responsibilities, there are some things that need more priority when it comes to money. Anyway, I don't feel too left out. I do what I got to do and still have the latest technology. If I choose my parts right, I can definitely have a computer that's not a sluggard even after 2 years of use.<br />
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So here's my choice for my Latest & Cheapest build: <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IMJ18M/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=thedialofaday-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005IMJ18M" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B005IMJ18M&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=thedialofaday-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005IMJ18M&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://products.amd.com/(S(0givh5mklezzez3ipl1xvj55))/pages/NotebookAPUDetail.aspx?id=6&f1=&f2=&f3=&f4=&f5=&f6=&"> AMD Llano A4 3400, 2.7 GHz</a>- the latest iteration of AMD techniologies focuses on creating a product with a lot of value. AMD's Llano is it's APU, an Advanced Processing Unit, it's nickname for a CPU+GPU combo on the same physical package. The A4 may be the cheapest of it's siblings, but it isn't the slowest processor out there. It's got 2 cores pumping out 1.9 GHz all while sipping power with it's TDP of 35 Watts. Price: <a href="http://tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=11990498">PhP 3,290 (Cash Promo)</a> at PC Hub.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ICX7RA/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=thedialofaday-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B003ICX7RA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003ICX7RA&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=thedialofaday-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><a href="http://tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=11991392">Emaxx A75GM iCafe</a>- Emaxx has been producing low-priced motherboards for around 5 or 6 years now. Teir iCafe series has always been the cheapest of the lot, focusing on just the basics and a price that makes it irrestible to small business owners (re: internet cafe owners) Price: <a href="http://tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=11991392">PhP 3,110 (Cash Promo)</a> at PC Hub.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003ICX7RA&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://nabcomputers.net/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=71&Itemid=11">Inwin EC036 ATX w/ 350W PSU</a>- Low-priced ATX case bundled with a 350W PSU that should be plenty if you choose the right parts. It looks good too. 'Nuff said. Price: <a href="http://tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=10230375">PhP 1,590 (Cash Promo)</a> at PC Hub.<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G8KCGO/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=thedialofaday-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004G8KCGO" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004G8KCGO&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=thedialofaday-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004G8KCGO&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://gskill.com/products.php?index=97">G.Skill Value Ram 4GB DDR3 1333</a>- I know a bargain when I see one. GSkill has always enjoyed a good rep with geeks for its performance. It don't matter that this is the Value RAM. GSkill is still GSkill. Price: <a href="http://tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=11754268">PhP 1,150 (cash Promo)</a> at PC Hub.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IZN3YI/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=thedialofaday-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004IZN3YI" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004IZN3YI&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=thedialofaday-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004IZN3YI&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<a href="http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/desktops/barracuda_hard_drives/">1TB Seagate 7200.12 (32mb cache) SATA HDD</a>- I keep harping on how good Seagate is. Well, I'll harp on it some more. They are reliable. And one more thing, 1TB should be more than enough room to store that ",movie collection" of yours ;-) Price: <a href="http://tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=9426809">PhP 2,790 (Cash Promo)</a> at PC Hub.<br />
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<a href="http://gskill.com/products.php?index=97">LiteOn iHAS524</a>- Another brand that I've trusted and relied on for many years, these guys have been OEMing for Dell and Sony for the longest time. It's time they get some press, even if it's from a small-traffic blogger like me :) Price: <a href="http://enigma-phil.com.ph/images/stories/Retail.pdf&pli=1"> PhP 830 </a> at Enigma.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B003SVV9KS&camp=217145&creative=399369" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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The final price? PhP 12,760 or around US$ 295. It's cheap and the tech is new. I couldn't ask for more for the money.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-53986963010012976502011-08-11T20:13:00.107+08:002011-08-13T20:38:52.412+08:00Install Linux Onto a USB Stick<a href="http://www.amazon.com/v165w-Flash-Drive-P-FD16GHP165-EF-Blue/dp/B0041RSDXE?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="HP v165w 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD16GHP165-EF (Blue)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0041RSDXE&tag=techthroes-20" /></a>Okay, so I wrote about using the Universal USB Installer to create a bootable virtual CD-ROM on your USB thumb drives. That was a few weeks back, but I've been busy with a lot of other things so pardon the delay. If you want to go back, I wrote about it here: <a href="http://techthroes.blogspot.com/2011/06/install-ubuntu-1104-from-usb-stick.html">Install Ubuntu 11.04 From a USB Stick</a>. So you might ask, "Why would I use this?" I covered some of the reasons in my earlier post. Another reason I do this is I usually get asked to help out friends and relatives with their computers. I used to bring along this small zip up sling bag that was a CD wallet inside. I have all my rescue CD's in there. I also have a precision screw driver set in there. That's all I need to be a one-man geek rescue squad. Well now that USB sticks have increased in capacity and tools have been made available online, it's now possible to chuck those CD rescue disks and use USB thumb drives instead.<br />
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Well after posting that, I felt it was a bit unfair if I didn't post about how to do this over on the Linux end with <a href="http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/">UNetBootin</a>. And yes, it is as easy as downloading the application, choosing settings and rebooting your computer. Let's get to it.<br />
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1. If you're comfy with using commands on the terminal, just open one up and type in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">sudo apt-get install unetbootin</span>. You'll be asked for your password, as always:<br />
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2. You can also launch the <a href="http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/">Synaptic Package Manager</a> (available in many Linux distributions) and download it from there. Just <a href="http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/action.html">fire up Synaptic</a>, click Reload and once everything's updated use Search to find <a href="http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/">UNetBootin</a>. Tick the check box and click Apply:<br />
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3. After installing it whichever way you want, launch <a href="http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/">UNetBootin</a> :<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-D_4aRky3QfSCohcvQmNyhA8b7C_H-A8LwQbCZAJELwcdy8OyngMZSEFEPjjr2gknrEISO03d5c3ydvhj_Z1H1xeFX-iG5hSe3pgjcIojZbng7R77o8srkkX3v7tVMvZi4UK/s1600/unetbootin_003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-D_4aRky3QfSCohcvQmNyhA8b7C_H-A8LwQbCZAJELwcdy8OyngMZSEFEPjjr2gknrEISO03d5c3ydvhj_Z1H1xeFX-iG5hSe3pgjcIojZbng7R77o8srkkX3v7tVMvZi4UK/s320/unetbootin_003.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
4. You can have <a href="http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/">UNetBootin</a> download the ISO image of the Linux distribution you want by choosing the Distribution and use the drop-down menus to choose your flavor of Linux and version of choice:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW00ADlBaWQBrpP4YX3RpcL7qIdM_G1f08RGg4s_4lcI4E3Kc-i7xKWxfvb0hu1oQErZd-Ryt4ulm34jQV2f0ST0EGnqFj4LW3ExyD4-wXs4Ra2CFsMZ8M048LXuGaw3Gk8pAi/s1600/unetbootin_004.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW00ADlBaWQBrpP4YX3RpcL7qIdM_G1f08RGg4s_4lcI4E3Kc-i7xKWxfvb0hu1oQErZd-Ryt4ulm34jQV2f0ST0EGnqFj4LW3ExyD4-wXs4Ra2CFsMZ8M048LXuGaw3Gk8pAi/s320/unetbootin_004.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
5. If you already downloaded the ISO of your Linux of choice, just click on the Diskimage option and tell <a href="http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/">UNetBootin</a> where it is on your computer. :<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlWVlTsTm1O0LhI8nSE_QzemfQRcvLgcJBntpoH22RMRsPlYNtP4cKeZWfTVSu6ktMWOKrecika5BQosWd3SAPqxdbISiPUInBHLmFfNWeGm65wUVgG2LODITLS4cOFFnQyCH/s1600/UNetbootin_005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlWVlTsTm1O0LhI8nSE_QzemfQRcvLgcJBntpoH22RMRsPlYNtP4cKeZWfTVSu6ktMWOKrecika5BQosWd3SAPqxdbISiPUInBHLmFfNWeGm65wUVgG2LODITLS4cOFFnQyCH/s320/UNetbootin_005.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By the way, I would recommend connecting one USB thumbdrive so it doesn't get confusing when you choose the device to install everything on. If you're all good with that, click on the OK button.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
6. This here is my favorite part. I let the app do it's thing automagically and I get to get up and grab a cup of coffee:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHn8QvBU75CSqpbrUKiTMVerXkvpsNNfDk2E-4lXFdj3eTaRoxT1SPgOYd3X0JlsVsyAPpySm_t9FH06OoE7qdAciYzzflDAC8AKDqAtqdK4RsX43nPN9ZH29xfoaRoT34Ws9J/s1600/UNetbootin_006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHn8QvBU75CSqpbrUKiTMVerXkvpsNNfDk2E-4lXFdj3eTaRoxT1SPgOYd3X0JlsVsyAPpySm_t9FH06OoE7qdAciYzzflDAC8AKDqAtqdK4RsX43nPN9ZH29xfoaRoT34Ws9J/s320/UNetbootin_006.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
7. Once the install is complete, just click on the Reboot button:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKS5niWyIXCCPMLeHSAMqZskyzjg9EReLJpKZB2ioXRYrlxvXxWj0FPZmmRmm_fhXOEFUCu8s7cHwfUFGttR4cJTRVh-kuZZyBvAcP6gRozWqBPzI7SQNuMZ9ffJcCbn-lr_i/s1600/UNetbootin_007.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKS5niWyIXCCPMLeHSAMqZskyzjg9EReLJpKZB2ioXRYrlxvXxWj0FPZmmRmm_fhXOEFUCu8s7cHwfUFGttR4cJTRVh-kuZZyBvAcP6gRozWqBPzI7SQNuMZ9ffJcCbn-lr_i/s320/UNetbootin_007.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
When the computer reboots, go into BIOS and change the settings to make the USB stick the first thing it will boot to. On certain computers, you have function keys (F1 to F12) that you can use it brings up your booting options. This is different from computer to computer, even from motherboard to motherboard. So consult your handy user manual.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDCZ36-016G-P36-16GB-Flash-Drive/dp/B003U7GVOO?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="16GB USB Flash Drive" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003U7GVOO&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003U7GVOO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003U7LJJ6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />So now that I have a bootable Linux rescue CD installed on my USB thumb drive, I can ditch the real CD's. And I can ditch the sling bag too. I still need to bring along my screwdrivers though. But what if I have several rescue CD's I need? Well, I'll cover installing multiple live CD's onto a single USB stick on another post. Yes! Multi-boot is possible on USB sticks too with the right tools. Stay tuned in for that one.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-51999077803244931922011-06-17T19:31:00.021+08:002011-06-21T16:51:24.543+08:00Edit Grub2 Boot Options Easily on Ubuntu 11.04<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000012871747&pid=21331029171&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fgifts.barnesandnoble.com%2F2-in-1-Mobile-Desktop-Optical-USB-Mouse%2Fe%2F21331029171&usg=AFHzDLvMyF5hUK80T6QtbeA5xsOmJutbmg&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="200" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/41070000/41077009.JPG" width="200" /></a>A few months back I shared my discovery about editing boot options in Grub2 and how there was a different way to edit the boot options on menu.lst safely. I blogged about that in this post: <a href="http://techthroes.blogspot.com/2010/06/missing-your-menulst-youve-got-grub2.html">Missing Your menu.lst? You've Got Grub2!</a><br />
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Having re-installed Ubuntu recently, I wanted to document how to do it within a GUI environment with mouse-click ease. Well, not really. I mean, you do have to type in a few things to actually download the app you need to do the boot options editing for you. But, it is easy and it is inside the picture-pretty interface. No terminal commands are involved and there were no animals harmed during the making of this HowTo. So enough of the dry wit and let's get to it: <br />
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1. First, you need to download StartUp-Manager. The easiest way to do that is through the Ubuntu Software Center. You can click on the icon on the sidebar in Ubuntu 11.04:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqXelZQRpAmhNMzU2C4POsKC_5XeX39JsuG5cvhjfI5Uh7aFyR7IVsXSzJ_dy3-Yr-bL3nP9mTvcRjo7qyD_Z_LLjeK8rKMpzZp5Pkyu521vdhfgMG8RximSkQ3vGTDjw8L_l/s1600/StartUpMgr-001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqXelZQRpAmhNMzU2C4POsKC_5XeX39JsuG5cvhjfI5Uh7aFyR7IVsXSzJ_dy3-Yr-bL3nP9mTvcRjo7qyD_Z_LLjeK8rKMpzZp5Pkyu521vdhfgMG8RximSkQ3vGTDjw8L_l/s320/StartUpMgr-001.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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2. Next, use the Search box in the Ubuntu Software Center to find the software you need. You can simply type in "StartUp" and Search will give you choices. StartUp-Manager is usually the first one:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gS_0zxiBhXecguPpbk-oVxg4JoGLeXdqwmOCl5cu3iqfz0svwTpa-VBWwx4Zees_3GzZFEzGj_3lPmV6z5uE7nz0ICjNCHxTQ2lRQ_7BK-lHQbDGz0ULFcaIpkcv13bxWF6X/s1600/StartUpMgr-002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gS_0zxiBhXecguPpbk-oVxg4JoGLeXdqwmOCl5cu3iqfz0svwTpa-VBWwx4Zees_3GzZFEzGj_3lPmV6z5uE7nz0ICjNCHxTQ2lRQ_7BK-lHQbDGz0ULFcaIpkcv13bxWF6X/s320/StartUpMgr-002.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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3. Click on the entry for StartUp-Manager to select it. Once you click on the Install button, you'll be asked for your password:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBnW3JN2YjlOdDQ4oMcGl6gPkMhDKaqR9qDQ1XVd1KIrbWlRadMVhz3j6BbHcv5nkWJuBmEJbcrwUrcaKyPn8czibBTtB0FXWJVCbEftQjnK5ncOCNMUo3cgZOwhZwq-Qa9du/s1600/StartUpMgr-004.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBnW3JN2YjlOdDQ4oMcGl6gPkMhDKaqR9qDQ1XVd1KIrbWlRadMVhz3j6BbHcv5nkWJuBmEJbcrwUrcaKyPn8czibBTtB0FXWJVCbEftQjnK5ncOCNMUo3cgZOwhZwq-Qa9du/s320/StartUpMgr-004.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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4. Key in your password to authorize the install:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekP5XF28TGrSEEOyC5tqehasTo1DeeVa4wdyELOOWyCbQkYRW4znc9DRakm6G1IH8xs83twJoGf5vCD7KZhOsa7wDL_h1KksE82l4lEJLF6BVL2Z56SZIXPSWOtj7MfEiS8J0/s1600/StartUpMgr-003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhekP5XF28TGrSEEOyC5tqehasTo1DeeVa4wdyELOOWyCbQkYRW4znc9DRakm6G1IH8xs83twJoGf5vCD7KZhOsa7wDL_h1KksE82l4lEJLF6BVL2Z56SZIXPSWOtj7MfEiS8J0/s320/StartUpMgr-003.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;">5. You'll be able to check on the progress of the download while it is running: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sBrxvTJ9pkwbpDhpifx0JZZBtHQGqkbuu4DoGhcOrdJfdx4CsJsxdLhINFe_kPp5WGZOQXXF8kilgpsDHsqmTbGDGl23b1fYX8iPScvGZCLTXHNENN0wzjvJn1r5H9-ULnZg/s1600/StartUpMgr-005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sBrxvTJ9pkwbpDhpifx0JZZBtHQGqkbuu4DoGhcOrdJfdx4CsJsxdLhINFe_kPp5WGZOQXXF8kilgpsDHsqmTbGDGl23b1fYX8iPScvGZCLTXHNENN0wzjvJn1r5H9-ULnZg/s320/StartUpMgr-005.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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6. After it is installed, where do you find it? Unlike previous versions on Ubuntu, where clicking on the Ubuntu logo will bring up a list of applications, 11.04 brings up a Search box instead of a huge list. I'm not a fan of it, but this may be easier for some people. Type in "Start" or "Startup" in Search and you should see StartUp-Manager listed first. Click on the icon to launch:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWJCdN03WBEqgotD5rVjKgRCgpsEHPMvM3_dZNPTecnjwpaGtj2c7rRaQv0SISkdrooAE5dS8MccDFd3k-ZcvGqM0qv_QqCbeILpJOzzE4GHBLnqUGonvprU2C5hMdz4wLuPp/s1600/StartUpMgr-006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWJCdN03WBEqgotD5rVjKgRCgpsEHPMvM3_dZNPTecnjwpaGtj2c7rRaQv0SISkdrooAE5dS8MccDFd3k-ZcvGqM0qv_QqCbeILpJOzzE4GHBLnqUGonvprU2C5hMdz4wLuPp/s320/StartUpMgr-006.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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7. StartUp-Manager will perform a few tasks in the background, basically scan and create a list of items you can configure for boot options:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6BDWszvnRWDxxj901i-ZvUnoEYVglcACf0YofkhE5TXxLKeXCFU_HBUO9VqWEjpODK11kNSVDhO2InqwLLYOuOUJ3Z6kXDQL_kGd5GSOOaLCYCj6jUJ66gHAfE7Z-Ywf4C0_/s1600/StartUpMgr-007.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6BDWszvnRWDxxj901i-ZvUnoEYVglcACf0YofkhE5TXxLKeXCFU_HBUO9VqWEjpODK11kNSVDhO2InqwLLYOuOUJ3Z6kXDQL_kGd5GSOOaLCYCj6jUJ66gHAfE7Z-Ywf4C0_/s1600/StartUpMgr-007.png" /></a></div><br />
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8. Once StartUp-Manager is done polling the system for the information it needs, you can toggle the choices to your liking. In the sample below, I chose to shorten the Timeout to 5 from the original 10 seconds. I also chose to have Windows 7 as the Default Operating System. I'm not the only one using this PC, after all. And the wife prefers Windows 7 still. Everything else was pretty much left to the default values. After you're done, just click on the Close button: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnuG5dja3Ow5edmAf1MC4yE0g9x3V1IS8b3LzfbteP1JpBvO-bZHBOnKIolh0Q59EydzUC5QV3X-XLsLFsAYHI1HX8BIKebnBCRBqdRLZD7qu9oahmkpUF8RDfU88DG2LlV1Z/s1600/StartUpMgr-008.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCnuG5dja3Ow5edmAf1MC4yE0g9x3V1IS8b3LzfbteP1JpBvO-bZHBOnKIolh0Q59EydzUC5QV3X-XLsLFsAYHI1HX8BIKebnBCRBqdRLZD7qu9oahmkpUF8RDfU88DG2LlV1Z/s320/StartUpMgr-008.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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9. StartUp-Manager will do the editing of boot options in the background:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmPXPV9ijrdHU3BtEb_HV9VF-D_NHxxneKNg8x0MqpA-Ajl8gBxfjsjl9is5JzvKUOSec1VKyAWxZW5-cJcOEZ-xl3UIT9fxWhTebH2X2M5F36wn58j9pVoTds8nc9TkDkzcP/s1600/StartUpMgr-009.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmPXPV9ijrdHU3BtEb_HV9VF-D_NHxxneKNg8x0MqpA-Ajl8gBxfjsjl9is5JzvKUOSec1VKyAWxZW5-cJcOEZ-xl3UIT9fxWhTebH2X2M5F36wn58j9pVoTds8nc9TkDkzcP/s1600/StartUpMgr-009.png" /></a></div><br />
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10. Reboot and check to see if the options you set are to your liking. Just repeat the process of launching StartUp-Manager and clicking on different choices if you feel the need to change anything.<br />
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<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000000246206&pid=11295609&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcconnectionexpress.com%2FIPA%2FShop%2FProduct%2FDetail.htm%3Fsku%3D11295609%26ci_src%3D64119933%26ci_sku%3D11295609&usg=AFHzDLuUwnr5_xvJwUsLauVxeu6hU8_1RQ&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://service.pcconnection.com/images/inhouse/11295609.jpg" /></a>So much like everything Linux, there is a the terminal way of doing things and sooner-or-later an all-click, painless, graphical solution that some generous geek out there was kind enough to contribute to the community of users. Both methods are usually just as effective as the other. It's just nice to know that even in customizing your Linux install you are given choices. Choice matters for open-source and it's community of users are a great resource for giving every user in it that choice. Whether it be a way of doing things or different applications doing the same basic thing, there is choice. And that is where the crux of it all is!Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-19575807367327409422011-06-14T19:47:00.000+08:002011-06-17T09:28:53.047+08:00What is Bit Rot?<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003LTYC8S" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Imagine if you will a library filled with over a million books. In the inventory are a mix of old and new books. Now a majority of the books are read more often than others. Some only get read occasionally. Others still have sadly been forgotten and have reached a point where decay had already started or set in. Imagine as well that when some of these books are removed from the shelves they leave behind small bit and pieces or whole pages.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035073791&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Stop PC Crashes with WinZip System Utilities" border="0" src="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_impression?lid=41000000035073791&pubid=21000000000250762" /></a>Windows operating systems are like book libraries. In fact, they had what as <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815065">Dynamic Link Libraries</a> or DLL's. Whenever you click on something or open a program, these libraries are called to perform the sequence of activities to complete the task or function you want. Say, clicking on an icon on the desktop will start the program and the Windows operating system files that help that program do it's work. Now over time, if not properly maintained, neglected files will cause your computer to slow down. A few would be links to uninstalled programs, unused DLL files left over from uninstalled programs and duplicate files. Much like a real libraries, anthing unused just wastes precious space and makes it harder to find the books you really need. And just like real libraries, any left over material will eventually build up and cause further waste of space.<br />
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These broken and unused extra files eventually snowball and can cause everything from slow system performance to system lock ups. It's like the gunk building up on your drain, really. In computing, this is what's known as Bit Rot. So how do you prevent Bit Rot. You need to clean your DLL's and get rid of any unused files left over from installing, uninstalling, updating. You'll also need to clean up temporary files for stuff you won't need anymore. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools out there that can help. One tool that I use is <a href="http://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER">CCleaner</a>.<br />
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It has a Cleaner that will scan for and get rid of temporary files that are unnecessarily taking up space:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxfEEXT2_6uQ4N-8jGVcmJ6g5CfeFaPiaUjnVTLBMR2N8ZyqTj0m5yubiADfs6XN6k6mroQd3XctfcSNNWVBUUxSlNRiIM4sg8L-SQwr2kssRmrlEPoIlKnooNRYvbZhP148p/s1600/ccleaner01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxfEEXT2_6uQ4N-8jGVcmJ6g5CfeFaPiaUjnVTLBMR2N8ZyqTj0m5yubiADfs6XN6k6mroQd3XctfcSNNWVBUUxSlNRiIM4sg8L-SQwr2kssRmrlEPoIlKnooNRYvbZhP148p/s320/ccleaner01.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It's got a Registry Cleaner that automatically detects and cleans unused DLL's, files, shorcuts and help files:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMijxsANOgjdey0vlrpdPRcZqKPW2xUeGQysl72KT7aWekO9utbxy8pIuZC485FcmwjtwajHphDw5Hh4pYtfp5OrdCXKzEak6Qrpw62VlLky7uXmzMTMIJS47TOS4iaJOwG9A/s1600/ccleaner02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMijxsANOgjdey0vlrpdPRcZqKPW2xUeGQysl72KT7aWekO9utbxy8pIuZC485FcmwjtwajHphDw5Hh4pYtfp5OrdCXKzEak6Qrpw62VlLky7uXmzMTMIJS47TOS4iaJOwG9A/s320/ccleaner02.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It has tools to thoroughly uninstall programs, clean up startup items and securely wipe hard drives:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRafwG2-JcGJ-WBD3LGR2dLeISYdUajFGmXOGGEiBS8V8FYYixAmO0m_mPgDbvsre1chgmtkMCYsJhOlB8EZ2PszpbLDRN6LDRH2lzMPr8H0Oj-v-IxeNaP7t-TqVvxJQSDvd/s1600/ccleaner03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRafwG2-JcGJ-WBD3LGR2dLeISYdUajFGmXOGGEiBS8V8FYYixAmO0m_mPgDbvsre1chgmtkMCYsJhOlB8EZ2PszpbLDRN6LDRH2lzMPr8H0Oj-v-IxeNaP7t-TqVvxJQSDvd/s320/ccleaner03.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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You can even run CCleaner to clear out your recycle bin automatically:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-lrkWOH1FWlKI489z6rP1yWLHoGWHEr6_1oSCFp7j-DkGWIriAnbDkftVwy9TRhFkk0jBlifknpkmHQeFzf62yw4oO8qPGviuFlJ8vUwYnPoCvvwXox6q6MLkaP3WQaCO7xZ/s1600/ccleaner04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-lrkWOH1FWlKI489z6rP1yWLHoGWHEr6_1oSCFp7j-DkGWIriAnbDkftVwy9TRhFkk0jBlifknpkmHQeFzf62yw4oO8qPGviuFlJ8vUwYnPoCvvwXox6q6MLkaP3WQaCO7xZ/s1600/ccleaner04.png" /></a></div><br />
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</div>If that isnt enough for you, then maybe you need a swiss army knife kind of solution, a toolkit that will have it all in one small package. WinZip System Utilities might be the thing you're looking for.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035073782&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Fix Registry Errors with WinZip System Utilities" border="0" src="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_impression?lid=41000000035073782&pubid=21000000000250762" /></a>WinZip System Utilities has got Registry Optimizers that scans for and cleans registry errors, and organizes your registry for better faster performance. It's got Disk Cleaners & Optimizers that frees up disk space, defrags your hard disk and checks your hard drives for file system and disk errors. It's got a Memory Optimizer, a Driver Updater and a Game Optimizer to tweak your Windows settings to peak performance for the use you intend it for. It's got Security & Privacy Tools to help you clean hidden privacy-exposing traces, ermanently delete confidential data so that it cannot be retrieved. It's got a built in Encryptor to protect your personal files from unauthorized access. It's got Backup & Recovery Tools that allow you to recover accidently deleted data, automatically backup your important files and restore from saved backups. It even has a duplicate file remover. And to top it all off, all of what I just said can be scheduled to run regularly and automatically.<br />
<br />
It's easy to use, it can do all the work for you when you want it to. I don't think there's a sweeter deal out there right now. So go on over to WinZip's site and run a free scan to try it out.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-20866192116341014062011-06-08T19:49:00.000+08:002011-06-08T19:49:00.055+08:00Install Ubuntu 11.04 From a USB Stick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-DataTraveler-101-Generation/dp/B004TS1J1I?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Kingston Digital DataTraveler 101 Generation 2 - 16 GB Flash Drive DT101G2/16GBZET" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004TS1J1I&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004TS1J1I" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Installing the CD image of Ubuntu onto a USB stcik is quite handy in certain situations. Say you need to install the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu in a Netbook. Or maybe you need to do emergency recovery and your optical drive chose the most inopportune moment to conk out on you. Or you may be like me, with shelves of burnt media and running out of storage. Whatever the case, you can try Ubuntu before you commit. It's just handy (and dandy, Joe) that you can do it from a USB stick. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1. Download Ubuntu from <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download">http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download</a>. Remember the location where you downloaded the .ISO file. Using the default location under My Documents works best, the installer will automatically scan those folders. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2. Download PendriveLinux's Universal USB Installer from <a href="http://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/Universal-USB-Installer/Universal-USB-Installer.exe">http://www.pendrivelinux.com/downloads/Universal-USB-Installer/Universal-USB-Installer.exe</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. Launch the Universal USB Installer and agree with the terms:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJa9tACMWdtgfZui2j1mt3bppyF6RuW6JbneS1mZWWMXiLP2rZm7LqR_Y-Ra83-GsXDlmAnAkdLDmIxsLFqdAtT0ElsYEv4Iv41zvZVtTTQ9FBzNQyuAnPm8P_2dZlO2g39rC-/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJa9tACMWdtgfZui2j1mt3bppyF6RuW6JbneS1mZWWMXiLP2rZm7LqR_Y-Ra83-GsXDlmAnAkdLDmIxsLFqdAtT0ElsYEv4Iv41zvZVtTTQ9FBzNQyuAnPm8P_2dZlO2g39rC-/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-01.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
4. Start configuring the Options: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRpB8qkIoS-UOHTm7H-1F6KmYDCHsVLUHUVNi789xtv4PVef7emgHvcTlHjNYiLvHezBKGw7pkricNcxT7tYWS7AlBtfmr1559cQgeJwm3qY4FRGyZQX0pHMuSo6Klv81WAbq/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRpB8qkIoS-UOHTm7H-1F6KmYDCHsVLUHUVNi789xtv4PVef7emgHvcTlHjNYiLvHezBKGw7pkricNcxT7tYWS7AlBtfmr1559cQgeJwm3qY4FRGyZQX0pHMuSo6Klv81WAbq/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-02.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
5. Select the flavor of Linux you want to install using the drop-down menu on Step 1. For our case it's Ubuntu 11.04: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSL-jOFdY4GeeZ3rLU3VYN6ueySGYBNCYTB_jvQli2VmKFfATXvTAGF2gxAlnPWaTVk149UKFiGBW1aZjlFmpTDOXg9h4ferJQognVWHuqO3TzyXbSxoWZo_BRIg_SOzLDd4eQ/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSL-jOFdY4GeeZ3rLU3VYN6ueySGYBNCYTB_jvQli2VmKFfATXvTAGF2gxAlnPWaTVk149UKFiGBW1aZjlFmpTDOXg9h4ferJQognVWHuqO3TzyXbSxoWZo_BRIg_SOzLDd4eQ/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-03.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
6. If the Universal USB Installer can't find the ISO automatically, specify the location by clicking the Browse button on Step 2. In the sample below, I downloaded it to Drive D:\ : <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegSjsJ3QbdWVFiBLQhugelCpBW-eULpepLeWWgGymQx6sxSIs5x72sVX9lYZ52pkKxTNRFk4XKt1AERN-ik5ppc7OvG-az5GVeqw7sZdzaKSDis-U_j7zoi6_4U-D3IyANf3C/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegSjsJ3QbdWVFiBLQhugelCpBW-eULpepLeWWgGymQx6sxSIs5x72sVX9lYZ52pkKxTNRFk4XKt1AERN-ik5ppc7OvG-az5GVeqw7sZdzaKSDis-U_j7zoi6_4U-D3IyANf3C/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-04.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
7. Choose the drive letter of your USB drive in Step 3. You can tick the option to format the drive before you install Ubuntu on it: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwm7W9Rb-y6KMliNQdZ2_5Jzyf9iG9UX6Xvho-VrcwAjx-tIkJdmvaRQjQefFZY3CU4qxt-OoL7_Xr_S_eLZKXHjHgAo96unPGbGBFrC8duXpupa0ANjZZg7cuwGdsDf8gt0V/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwm7W9Rb-y6KMliNQdZ2_5Jzyf9iG9UX6Xvho-VrcwAjx-tIkJdmvaRQjQefFZY3CU4qxt-OoL7_Xr_S_eLZKXHjHgAo96unPGbGBFrC8duXpupa0ANjZZg7cuwGdsDf8gt0V/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-05.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
8. Click on the Create button to start installing:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJa7EKFUJF4xi4TB-x4FGu0Gyl-xFM-SrLpjd-vaOpIQpwyNZZOWFWo56ds8B1FJ7LkQwNS0-Kx9Ecl6HkPz6hfkSKw7Suk8C1k1OL3hnvSX1o0ZD9x_N3TB07B7oIn_6gqoV/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJa7EKFUJF4xi4TB-x4FGu0Gyl-xFM-SrLpjd-vaOpIQpwyNZZOWFWo56ds8B1FJ7LkQwNS0-Kx9Ecl6HkPz6hfkSKw7Suk8C1k1OL3hnvSX1o0ZD9x_N3TB07B7oIn_6gqoV/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-06.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
9. Confirm your options by clicking on Yes on the next notification:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_Scgon9e5EKtArB6aUABlFHiiYHZ5t-NJk9o2zV1TqB6Zz1_p2hV4rFwQR-qXxBFQWIbB3iaW1yKvcV0d2n1I7pf65VY72gtKxAIaX_13Ge_Wdeae9lDYJIG1y6EfHKDr_MB/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_Scgon9e5EKtArB6aUABlFHiiYHZ5t-NJk9o2zV1TqB6Zz1_p2hV4rFwQR-qXxBFQWIbB3iaW1yKvcV0d2n1I7pf65VY72gtKxAIaX_13Ge_Wdeae9lDYJIG1y6EfHKDr_MB/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-07.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
10. Grab a cup of joe while you let the installer do it's work:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguC5yXvKYj6yk9CepKVlClIJAmeA8GrhHMeDch9qT7f8hzHKzJ2pAKb8xDidTWyWRsPJw-_E9MCytVrdDm-mEQu_LGuZdeRUW0ZQBsuv2pwfxP7hw8rsKHUY5hx-8xsL5mtZj3/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguC5yXvKYj6yk9CepKVlClIJAmeA8GrhHMeDch9qT7f8hzHKzJ2pAKb8xDidTWyWRsPJw-_E9MCytVrdDm-mEQu_LGuZdeRUW0ZQBsuv2pwfxP7hw8rsKHUY5hx-8xsL5mtZj3/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-08.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
11. You'll see another window where the status is tracked. Caution should be exercised, as this can be hypnotic for geeks like me: <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQP4U14MdlHOtrTW5kyn8aM1rhDQ2cGHpV4MYvG2NVrCEHwk92XzTkxgwyPfiI0dZLu0jrsOY7ZW2-QmKANx01M5eN4fN80JWe53qCoWcMEGpqY3rpLWzPZOt9U0DZyJwmGbym/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQP4U14MdlHOtrTW5kyn8aM1rhDQ2cGHpV4MYvG2NVrCEHwk92XzTkxgwyPfiI0dZLu0jrsOY7ZW2-QmKANx01M5eN4fN80JWe53qCoWcMEGpqY3rpLWzPZOt9U0DZyJwmGbym/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-09.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
12. And we are done! <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYqL6AO2GtmUCITXpfGtKBEQ-9BktE-gCbkUsKHlq1hj68PLQnYtapcKwoh2TsWDU1K13AGpF1vCQE8aKIzxZXd_Y1GtdLJFumqZ4-rBPiANnErfIvBiqxGJZ58m9TULRcBu1/s1600/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYqL6AO2GtmUCITXpfGtKBEQ-9BktE-gCbkUsKHlq1hj68PLQnYtapcKwoh2TsWDU1K13AGpF1vCQE8aKIzxZXd_Y1GtdLJFumqZ4-rBPiANnErfIvBiqxGJZ58m9TULRcBu1/s320/pendrivelinux-ubuntu_1104-10.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Now, reboot your computer, go into BIOS and choose the options to boot into USB devices before the hard drive or optical drive. You can use the 'Live CD' in the USB stick to try out Ubuntu or choose to install it to your hard drive from there. Enjoy with a second cup of coffee!<br />
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</a></div>Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-57159715937144865792011-06-04T20:03:00.105+08:002011-06-04T20:03:01.095+08:00Upgrade Itch - Zacate On My Mind (Part II)Okay, after giving it some thought I've decided to come up with a more budget-friendly edition of my first proposal. I'm still going with Mini-ITX though, but this build won't cost as much as the first one. Let's get to it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/MI-008-Tower-Black-Chassis-Supply/dp/B001H0BA24?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="MI-008 Tower Black P4 Chassis with 250W Itx Psu+sata Power Supply" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001H0BA24&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001H0BA24" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.apextechusa.com/products.asp?pID=171">Apex MI-008 ITX Case</a> - Granted this case is bigger than the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Antec-ISK-100-Mini-ITX-Case-ISK100/dp/B0043IQ4NC?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Antec ISK-100</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0043IQ4NC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. And it does have a bigger internal power supply. In ITX terms 250 watts is overkill. But it does cost cheaper. The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MI-008-Tower-Black-Chassis-Supply/dp/B001H0BA24?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Apex MI-008</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001H0BA24" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> is two-thirds the cost of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Antec-ISK-100-Mini-ITX-Case-ISK100/dp/B0043IQ4NC?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">ISK-100</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0043IQ4NC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. When you consider that it can accommodate a desktop-sized internal hard drive and DVD drive, the savings increment up. With the added wiggle room, you can also add a PCI Express card. Well, assuming it's got a low enough passive heatsink. So going with the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/MI-008-Tower-Black-Chassis-Supply/dp/B001H0BA24?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Apex MI-008</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001H0BA24" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; cursor: move; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /> does add up the savings when you consider the bottom line.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-E350M1-Motherboard-350-8-channel/dp/B004KABOZG?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="ASRock E350M1 - Motherboard - mini ITX - AMD Fusion E-350 - AMD A50M - Gigabit Ethernet - onboard graphics - HD Audio (8-channel)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004KABOZG&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><a href="http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=E350M1/USB3"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004KABOZG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Asrock E350M1/USB3</a> - <a href="http://www.asrock.com/index.asp">Asrock</a> has been around for a few years and is known to geeks as Asus' budget brand. If you want bang for the buck, <a href="http://www.asrock.com/index.asp">Asrock</a> is the way to go. You do have to wait around for <a href="http://www.asus.com/">Asus</a> to introduce new features in its flagship brand before it trickles down to <a href="http://www.asrock.com/mb/index.asp">Asrock motherboards</a>, but the wait isn't all that long. Give props to stiff competition. Features trickle down in 3-5 months after a mid to high-end board is released by <a href="http://www.asus.com/">Asus</a>. So going back to the <a href="http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=E350M1/USB3">Asrock E350M1/USB3</a>, it features the same trio of new tech I'm looking for in an upgrade: DDR3, SATA 6 GB/s and USB 3.0. It has solid capacitors, just like the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Mini-DDR3-Motherboard-GA-E350N-USB3/dp/B004P1IN8G?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004P1IN8G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. It also features <a href="http://www.asrock.com/feature/xfastusb/index.asp">Xfast USB</a>, a technology that's supposed to increase the speed of both USB 2.0 and 3.0. You can connect your displays using the onboard VGA, DVI and HDMI. An eSATA port is thrown in there for good measure as well. This is prime kit for the money, folks.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-1600MHz-KHX1600C9D3B1K2-4GX/dp/B003NWWM30?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Kingston Technology HyperX Blu 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM (Kit of 2) XMP KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003NWWM30&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003NWWM30" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0037TO5C0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002K23V1Q" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004JO10RU" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/blu.asp">4GB DDR3 Kingston HyperX</a> - As with my first build, I am going with Kingston. This time around, I would have a little more to spend after choosing a cheaper Mini-ITX case. HyperX is Kingston's premium line. In recent years, this line of premium products has expanded to meet every budget. So much so that they now have the <a href="http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/blu.asp">Blu (entry-level)</a>, <a href="http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/khx_ddr3.asp">Genesis (mid)</a>, <a href="http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/t1_ddr3.asp">T1 (extreme enthusiast)</a>, <a href="http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/lovo.asp">LoVo (premium, low-voltage)</a> and the <a href="http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/H2O.asp">H20 (extreme gaming)</a>. I'm picking the Blu with slim heat spreaders and better-than-average performance over most budget RAM. It goes perfectly with the small case.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200RPM-Internal-ST320005N1A1AS-RK/dp/B003E4M0JI?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Seagate Barracuda 2.0 TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive for PC and Mac ST320005N1A1AS-RK - Retail Kit" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003E4M0JI&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003E4M0JI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/desktops/barracuda_xt/">2 TB Seagate Barracuda XT</a> - Seagate has been my preference for drives ever since I started building. I can only talk of my personal experience when I say that I never had one fail on me. So I trust this brand more than the other brands I've tried. They weren't joking about the Hitachi 'Deathstar', let me tell you. I've had 2 Maxtors fail on me as well. I haven't tried WD yet, so I'll just say I'm keeping an open mind about them. For storage though, you really need to go with at least half of the largest available in the market. I filled up my current <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200RPM-Internal-ST3500418AS-Bare/dp/B001VKYA5E?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">500GB 7200.11</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001VKYA5E" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> in just a little over a year. Yes, I know the reviews say the 7200.11 is a clunker that breaks down easily, but I've had one for 2 years and it's still working. 500 GB is a bit constricted, especially if you are a data pack rat like me. I'm actually just barely getting by, deleting files by the folder when I reach a critical point. So yeah, if you plan on using your drive for a couple of years at least, you need a 2 TB drive.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/LiteOn-iHAS524-DVD-RAM-internal-LabelTag/dp/B003SVV9KS?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="LiteOn iHAS524 - Disk drive - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - 24x/24x/12x - Serial ATA - internal - 5.25" - LabelTag" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003SVV9KS&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003SVV9KS" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002QGDWLK" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002SIMPXM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.liteonodd.com/en/dvd-internal/item/dvdinternal/ihas324">24X LiteOn DVD Writer</a> - It's LiteOn, it's cheap, it's fast and it's a brand I trust. I've said it once, I'll say it again. This is definitely a bang-for-the-buck drive for your basic burning needs. Plus, this particuar LiteOn model has <a href="http://www.liteonit.com/global/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=70&Itemid=221">Labeltag</a>, a burning features that burns a label on the write side of the disk. Well, it does look like a gimmick, I admit. But I would prefer this over having <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightScribe">Lightscribe</a> because with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightScribe">Lightscribe</a> you conditon can only use specific media that costs more than your usual blank DVD's. Lightsribed labels also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightScribe#Drawbacks">fade in certain storage conditions</a>, like using the wrong disc sleeves. With <a href="http://www.liteonit.com/global/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=70&Itemid=221">Labeltag</a>, I can use my favorite <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taiyo-Yuden-Line16x-Thermal-Lacquer/dp/B003GA5SY4?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Taiyo Yuden</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003GA5SY4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />'s without hesitation.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-22795046592176333282011-05-30T20:04:00.002+08:002011-06-03T11:35:03.361+08:00Budget Gaming RigLeo wants a budget gaming rig. He already has his eyes set on a specific 19" wide monitor and he isn't sure what kit to grab. His needs are definitely different from mine, but I did offer to configure a system for him. I recommended going to a local computer stores so if ever a part breaks down warranty replacements or repairs don't put a strain into his tight work schedule. Prices are based off current published prices of Enigma and PC Hub. Here goes...<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-Triple-Core-Desktop-Processor/dp/B003M7BLQU?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1 GHz 3x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor - Retail ADX445WFGMBOX" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003M7BLQU&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003M7BLQU" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/processors/athlon-ii-x2/Pages/AMD-athlon-ii-x2-processor-model-numbers-feature-comparison.aspx">AMD AM3 ATHLON II X3 445</a> 3.1 GHZ 3,560<br />
According to the Steam Hardware survey only around a quarter of Steam gamers use a quad-core processors and another quarter use single-core CPU's. More than half use dual-core. considering that fact, it could be said that in terms of gaming, dual-cores are more than capable of playing most of current games. Consider also that the hexa-cores from both Intel and AMD were released in the months closing the previous year. Adoption is going to take a while and so will games that will take advantage of 6-core architecture. My rule of thumb? With those facts considered, either get a triple-core or quad-core processor. Since I'm configuring a budget gaming rig, I chose the Athlon II X3 445. This was released around a year ago, but it is still very capable processor. Check out the review on <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1353/13/">LegitReviews.com</a>. Depending on your luck even, you may be able to unlock a 'fourth core' on this one. This bang-for-the-buck processor is going to be great for multi-threaded games and applications, with actual performance middling between dual-core and quad-core.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-Socket-Hybrid-CrossFireX-Motherboard/dp/B003L870JM?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="ASRock Socket AM3/AMD 880G/Hybrid CrossFireX/A&V&GbE/MATX Motherboard 880GM-LE" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003L870JM&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003L870JM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?model=880gm-le">ASROCK 880GM-LE</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3,090<br />
This motherboard has a nice balanced blend of features for the price. It's got ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) for when you want to try to unlock extra cores. It comes packaged with Asrock's Turbo UCC, an pre-boot application that helps you unlock cores and overclock without mucking around with the BIOS. It even comes with OC DNA, a Windows applciation that helps you overclock while in Windows. It's ready to take Phenom II hexa-cores when you're ready to upgrade and is Hybrid Crossfire compatible.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/GeIL-PC3-12800-1600MHz-Value-Channel/dp/B0047CM3M0?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="4GB GeIL PC3-12800 1600MHz Value Plus CL9 Dual Channel kit (2x2GB)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0047CM3M0&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><a href="http://www.geil.com.tw/products/showSpec/id/126"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0047CM3M0" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />GEIL 4GB DDR3 PC10600/1333</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1,910<br />
I recommend Geil for this build as it is one of the lowest priced branded RAM. Geil has been around for a few years as well, so I'd rather go with Geil than other new and unproven brands. Add to that, friends tell me they overclock quite well. I don't void warranties as much as they do. I overclock after the warranties are over! Anyway, great brand to go with, even if you're going with their value line. They're solid and stable. They're not expensive. They've had years in experience making memory. These are all pluses for me.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200RPM-Internal-ST3500418AS-Bare/dp/B001VKYA5E?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST3500418AS-Bare Drive" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001VKYA5E&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001VKYA5E" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />SEAGATE 500GB 7200 SATA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2,170<br />
Seagate is the only hard drive manufacturer to ever go out on a limb and say they guarantee their products for <a href="http://5yrwarranty.seagatestorage.com/">5 years</a>. It takes a lot of cajones to do that. I've never had a Seagate fail on me and I''l stay with them until proven wrong. 500GB is currently the sweet spot in terms of price and provides a lot of headroom for storing those saved games. Now, one thing that helps with speed is the thinnness of thi particular model. Since all it's 500GB's are in just one platter, you can imagine how dense the storage is for this one. That means accessing the data won't take as long as with previous drives since the space in between data has been cut short. So just remember to use the first 300GB's as this is where the prime real estate is. Data is read the fastest in these first 300GB's.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-HD-5570-PCI-Express/dp/B0036ORMYE?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 - 1 GB DDR3 HDMI/DVI-I/VGA PCI-Express Graphics Card 100293L" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0036ORMYE&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0036ORMYE" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?psn=0001&pid=317">SAPPHIRE HD5570 1GB DDR3 128BIT</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2,995 <br />
A great mid-range card that's great for moderate gaming. It supports Direct X11. It's got HDMI, DVI and VGA Connectors. It's got a slim and low profile. It supports AMD's Stream Technology, so you can use the teraflops of computing power in your video card on stuff like video encoding or transcoding. The computing power that GPU's have these days make them ideal for being re-purposed for other computation heavy tasks like that. It also supports physics processing to make the watter ripples, car crashes and hair movement more realistics in finer details. It supports Dolby 7.1 sound on it's HDMI connector. Head on over to <a href="http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd5570_1gb/17.htm">OverclockersClub.com for their review of the HD 5570</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-W0294RU-Litepower-80Plus-Circuit/dp/B004GK14B4?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="New Thermaltake W0294RU Litepower 80Plus 500W Active PFC Power Supply Dual +12V Output Circuit" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004GK14B4&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><a href="http://thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1208&ID=1861"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004GK14B4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />THERMALTAKE 500W Litepower 80 Plus PSU</a> 2,200<br />
Power supplies tend to be the last to be considered in a build. Often people go with cheap power supplies to be able to spend more on other components. But that kind of thinking leads to trouble. The smoking-burning kind of trouble. If you have an unreliable power supply, it can fry your expensive processor and motherboard, possibly burn your computer and cause a safety hazard for your home. Thermaltake is a well-known, very established brand. They have been making cooling products for years. In the last few years, they've expanded into cases and power supplies. For the most part, they have been consistent with the quality of their products. For a review of the Litepower series, check out <a href="http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/tt_lite_450w/7.htm">OverclockersClub.com</a> and <a href="http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermaltake-Litepower-450-W-Power-Supply-Review/730/10">HardwareSecrets</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Elite-Window-RC-430-KWN1/dp/B003O8J11E?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cooler Master Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window (RC-430-KWN1)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003O8J11E&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003O8J11E" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />COOLER MASTER (RC-430) ELITE 430<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1,950<br />
This is an old case. But for the money it's selling for right now it's great! You can mount 120mm fans on the front and back of the case. It's got space for a couple more up on top. It's got a bottom mounting for the PSU, so cooling comes from the bottom of the case and goes straight out to the back. It's got a tool-free mechanical design to make it easy to add or removed drives. To appreciate it better, you'll need to head on over to <a href="http://www.overclockers.com/cooler-master-elite-430-black-review/">Overclockers.com for their review</a> of the unit.<br />
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So there you have it folks, what I would get for a budget gamig rig.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: I got asked "what about the fragging device like mouse and keyboard? =)" . Here's what I would get:<br />
<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035499560&pid=CCB437080002%2F04%2F1&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.gameshark.com%2FviewItem.asp%3FidProduct%3D4754&usg=AFHzDLsxhxuna5dValfvZ9YlA8U7cTIb9Q&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="200" src="http://store.gameshark.com/catalog/enlarge/43707.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035499560&pid=PK17U&adurl=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.gameshark.com%2FviewItem.asp%3FidProduct%3D3232&usg=AFHzDLuD1L4TBUjYtxGpH8duV8GTBKAwRQ&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="320" src="http://store.gameshark.com/catalog/enlarge/PK17U.gif" width="320" /></a>Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-61574539240149261392011-05-28T21:17:00.002+08:002011-05-28T21:17:00.645+08:00Memorial Day Weekend Gamer KitI was looking around at what kind of gamer goodies are up for grabs this Memorial Day weekend. I found more than a few specials. Here they are:<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution-Augmented-Pc/dp/B004EIOH80?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Deus Ex Human Revolution - Augmented Edition" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004EIOH80&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004EIOH80" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Deus Ex Human Revolution is a first person RPG. Unlike other RPG's, improving your player in Deus Ex involves body modifications, not weapons upgrades, potions or spells. Human Revolution is actually the series' third installment, but it's timeline is a prequel to the first two game releases. In the first two, augmentations were based on nanotech. In Human Revolution, body augmentations are in biomech. Sounds like a Sci-Fi fanatic's dream role-playing game, eh? You can get a glimpse of the gameplay by heading on over to <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/02/03/deus-ex-human-revolution-preview-first-hands-on/">PCGamer.com for their preview</a>. Deus Ex Human Revolution is currently pre-ordering and you can get 10% for the entire pre-order period. 10% off ($49.95) when you buy Deus Ex Human Revolution and 10% off ($59.95) when you buy Deus Ex Human Revolution Augmented Edition from Gametap.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Total-War-Shogun-2-Pc/dp/B004DDIYP8?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Total War: Shogun 2" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004DDIYP8&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004DDIYP8" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Shogun 2 is the second installment of the Total War - Shogun series. To be honest, I've only played Total War - Rome. But the game play was a great combination RTS with turn-based strategy. You play turns on th map and you fight battles in real-time strategy mode. The Total War series, in RTS mode, brings us back to times in history when wars were fought by the man. No fancy smart weapons or long-range nuclear missiles. You command a troop or a whole army and charge into each victory while enjoying the nice effects and scenery. That's what gets me. The reviews are encouraging and I might get this title myself. <a href="http://pc.ign.com/articles/115/1156095p2.html">IGN rated Shogun 2 a 9/10</a> and <a href="http://asia.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/shogun-2-total-war/review.html">Gamespot Asia rated it 9/10</a>. Shogun 2 is 33% off until Monday 30th on Gametap.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000030310553&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="GameTap - Buy and Download Hundreds of PC Hits!" border="0" src="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_impression?lid=41000000030310553&pubid=21000000000250762" /></a>Dirt 3 is the third release of the popular rally racing title. The graphics are even more stunning and game-play improved over it's predecessors. New maps come standard with this release. As always, driving expensive cars safely at super high-speeds in a variety of locales means getting in front of a large-screen TV and turning the console on. Would you risk wrecking a perfectly tuned Beamer to race it on a difficult to manuever dirt road in the real world? Go get your game on, because <a href="http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1169553p1.html">IGN rated this an 8.5/10</a> for the great game-play. You can get the latest edition of Dirt with 14% off:, $42.95 instead of $49.95 when you go to GameTap.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Witcher-2-Assassins-Kings-Pc/dp/B003VJNPPE?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003VJNPPE&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003VJNPPE" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Witcher 2 is a sequel to the original Polish game title Witcher. It's an RPG along the story line that Witchers are warriors trained to use magic starting at an early age. It's personally not my favorite genre of game, but I have got to give props to the graphics on this thing. You have got to head on over to GamesRadar.com to check out their review of Witcher 2. The have got great screen previews of the game. <a href="http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/g-20100323131251436086">GamesRadar rates Witcher 2 a 10</a>, while <a href="http://asia.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/thewitcher/review.html?tag=summary%3Bread-review">Gamespot Asia rates it an 8.5/10</a>. Witcher 2 is 10% off: $44.95 instead of $49.95 when purchased from GameTap.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003IMGFUG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />And what sports nut does not like playing NBA? NBA 2K11 is out and it's 13% off when you go for it on GameTap: $17.25 instead of $19.95. If you don't have the moves on the actual hardcourt, well take out your controller son. Because you can slam your way to a win on this one. <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/04/nba-2k11-review-long-live-his-airness/">Joystiq rated it a 4.5 out of 5 stars</a> for it's realistic game-play and improved AI.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-36431620395454636062011-05-26T19:28:00.000+08:002011-05-26T19:28:00.578+08:00What is Moore's Law?<a href="http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-2-5GHz-4x512KB-Quad-Core/dp/B004SCXD50?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="AMD Phenom X4 9850 2.5GHz 4x512KB Socket AM2+ Quad-Core CPU" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004SCXD50&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004DALW5K" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001NZNJLI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004SCXD50" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Most modern processors, microchips and small electronic components are made up of tiny transistors. In the 1970's, the term <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a> was popularized. The law was named after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Moore">Intel co-founder Gordon Moore</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a> describes the rapid advancement in the increase of the number of transistors that can be fit into the same space in a die. It predicted that number of transistors that can be crammed into a processor will <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Transistor_Count_and_Moore%27s_Law_-_2011.svg">practically double every 2 years</a>. A die is the raw material from which processor is made from. This is where the transistors are carved out of in very very tiny detail. Now I am using the processor as a specific example because it is the subject of most discussion about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a>. Also it is in the manufacturing of processor that technologies in miniaturization are first proven. After these 'fabrication' technologies have proven cost effective enough are they snapped up by other industries for manufacturing other electronics.<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Powershot-SX10IS-Digital-Stabilized/dp/B001G5ZTZO?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B001G5ZTZO&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><br />
Although mostly refered to when talking about processors, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a> also affects advancements in other electronic components that similarly benefit from high transistor density in small packages. Things like the digital camera sensors, computer memory (RAM) and solid-state drives are all fashioned after dies etched with transistors. Even the microchips that make it possible for your LCD TV to process images, or your Blu-Ray player to play those movies.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-SSDNow-Solid-SV100S2-64GZ/dp/B004BDORM4?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Kingston SSDNow V100 64GB SATA II 3GB/s 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive SV100S2/64GZ" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004BDORM4&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001G5ZTZO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001283F60" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a> was originally just a forecast of a trend, but as technologies in manufacturing have advanced, it has become a self-fulfilled prophecy. Think about it. Every 2 years or so, there's a huge increase in the mega-pixels a digital camera will have for the same amount of money. Same goes for computer memory. I remember when I assembled my first computer some 8 years back that 512 MB of memory was a lot. Now, you'll see current computers selling with at least 4GB of memory. Just think back to a few years ago when laptops cost over a thousand dollars each. Now, we have laptops that work just as fast and can be had for half that. All of these advances are the effect of miniaturization and the cost savings that goes with it.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004BDORM4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hewlett-Packard-350-Discrete-Class-Definition/dp/B004IN85QQ?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Hewlett Packard - HP Pavilion dm1z AMD Dual-Core FUSION Processor E-350 (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache)+AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6310M Discrete-Class Graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 3GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive, 11.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768), Webcam, 802.11b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth, 6-cell battery" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004IN85QQ&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004IN85QQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a> is good for both manufacturers and consumers. It allows manufacturers to do more with less material and cost. It gives us consumers more bang for our hard-earned buck. So you could say both sides get more for what they pay for. The next time you overhear a geek mention <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law">Moore's Law</a>, you won't be clueless and you'll be more appreciative about what they're talking about.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-91926857923373629272011-05-25T20:11:00.002+08:002011-05-26T16:01:18.026+08:00Upgrade Itch - Zacate On My MindWhen you're the kind of person who builds your own computers, you tend to get a little itchy when new technology gets announced. You get an upgrade itch every so often. Well, I've got it again. I've had my desktop now for close to 2 years and a lot has changed in the last 18 months. One of the most glaring would be AMD's entry into the ITX market with the Fusion platform. They're desktop and notebook products with graphics integrated onto the processor itself, what AMD calls APU's, have been nicknamed Zacate. <br />
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I've been looking around at prices and I've decided to mock up a few set-ups that will possibly go into my next build. Here are the parts that I would go with on a small-footprint-energy-efficient build: <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Antec-ISK-100-Mini-ITX-Case-ISK100/dp/B0043IQ4NC?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Antec Mini-ITX Case ISK100" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0043IQ4NC&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0043IQ4NC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://store.antec.com/Product/enclosure-itx/isk100/0-761345-15170-2.aspx">Antec ISK-100</a> - A true Mini-ITX case for the footprint conscious. This is trully small. It measures in at 248 mm (H) x 108 mm (W) x 212 mm (D). It's side about as wide and as high as an outstretched hand. To fit everything in, some sacrifices had to be made. It does fit 2 hard drives, but it will only take 2.5" laptop hard drives. It does not have a power supply in the traditional desktop sense either. Inside the case is a small power board that distributes power to the devices inside. What gives it power is an external AC Adapter, much more common on laptops than in desktops. The AC Adapter is only 90 watts, so that gives you an idea of how energy efficient the parts you choose should be. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Mini-DDR3-Motherboard-GA-E350N-USB3/dp/B004P1IN8G?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Gigabyte M1 Mini ITX DDR3 1066 Motherboard GA-E350N-USB3" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004P1IN8G&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><a href="http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3681#ov"></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004P1IN8G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3681#ov">Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3</a> - This board has all the new goodies. It's got USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s ports and DDR3. The integrated graphics also support DX11. Having VGA, DVI and HDMI also give you flexibility when it comes to displays. It's built for durability too. Most Gigabyte boards these days have an extra layer of copper in the board to make them more sturdy in constant use. They also come with 'solid' capacitors that are more heat resistant and don't leak like electrolytic capacitors. All in all a great board packed with features and built to last.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-ValueRAM-PC3-10600-KVR1333D3N9-2G/dp/B0019MI1CW?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Kingston ValueRAM 2 GB 1333MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 DIMM Desktop Memory KVR1333D3N9/2G" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0019MI1CW&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0019MI1CW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.kingston.com%26ktcpartno%3Dkvr1333d3n9k2/4G">4 GB (2 x 2 GB) Kingston DDR3</a> <a href="http://www.valueram.com/">ValueRAM</a> - I chose this in particular because I have been using Kingston RAM for more than 6 years now. I have never had any problems with them. Another great thing about certain ValueRAM models is their size. The one pictured left are low-profile and if you're working with a case as tiny as the Antec ISK-100, every millimeter counts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus-ST9320423AS-Bare-Frustration-Free-Packaging/dp/B0027P9BO2?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Seagate Momentus 7200.4 320 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 16MB Cache 2.5 Inch Internal NB Hard Drive ST9320423AS-Bare Drive(Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0027P9BO2&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0027P9BO2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/laptops/laptop-hard-drives/#tTabContentSupport">320 GB Seagate Momentus</a> - I've always used Seagate, starting with the 1st computer I built. I will continue to do so, since they are the only manufacture ballsy enough to <a href="http://5yrwarranty.seagatestorage.com/">guarantee their products for 5 years</a>. Anyway, since laptop drives are definitely more money per gigabyte of storage, I opted for the current smallest capacity. It would be more practical from cost perspective to get a small-capacity laptop drive to fit the case and a large-capacity external USB drive to store your stuff. And with USB 3.0, the file transfer speeds will not matter so much because it will be fast enough not to bore you from waiting.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Essential-Desktop-External/dp/B0041OSQBG?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0041OSQBG&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0041OSQBG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=240">2 TB WD My Book Essential (USB 3.0) Drive</a> - When it comes to friends and external hard drives, most of mine recommend Western Digital drives. You may ask why 2 TB? My rule of thumb for hardware has always been to get a hard drive that is half of the current largest capacity. This wiggle room allows me to buy a drive and use it for at least 2 years without feeling the pinch. It has worked for me for years. 2 TB may be a little over half the current 3TB king of the hill, but with the large files these days thos extra GB's will come in handy. Especially when you decide to use your digital camera's 12 mega-pixels full on. You do need to store those memories somewhere.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Liteon-ETAU208-96-Load-Writer-Black/dp/B002QPZY8A?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Writer Black" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002QPZY8A&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002QPZY8A" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.liteonodd.com/en/dvd-external/item/dvdexternal/etau208">LiteOn External Optical Drive</a> - I've been using LiteOn for as long as I can remember building PC's. I've only had 1 drive die on me after 2 years, but that was because I really abused it. I would burn 15-20 DVD's for friends in a single sitting. Then again, in hindsight, with that abuse I'm surprised it lasted 2 years. Lesson learned for me. I don't abuse my drives that much anymore. But again, it's a brand I trust. And they don't cost as much as the other major brands. Oh, and a little trivia. LiteOn makes drives for Sony, so if you've got a Sony DVD drive, chances are it was made by LiteOn.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-84967859331126670842011-05-24T20:22:00.001+08:002011-05-24T20:22:00.260+08:00Terminal in Geek<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Shell-Scripting-Second/dp/1118004426?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible, Second Edition" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1118004426&tag=techthroes-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Shell-Scripting-Second/dp/1118004426?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Linux Command Line & Shell Scripting Bible</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1118004426" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></u></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1430218894" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1118004426" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />No, no one is sick or ill. It isn't where buses wait for passengers either. Terminal or the Terminal Window is where geeks type in commands to make the computer do something. Back in the day, when Unix and Linux didn't have graphical user interfaces or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface">GUI</a> (pronounced gooey), geeks typed in commands using a command line interface in a terminal environment. The screen was all text. No fancy graphics where you just click on stuff. Just a blinking cursor on screen waiting for the user to enter a command. Type in a sequence of words or acronyms and the computer does what you ask it to do. Commands follow a syntax, kind of like grammar in English. The syntax follows patterns and you'd have to know what your typing was 'grammatically correct' so the computer does what you ask it to do.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0470082933" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Nowadays, Linux has graphical user interfaces. The thing is most old school linux users still love using terminal commands. It is still the most efficient way to do things in Linux. So inside the graphical interface is a terminal window, a miniaturized terminal environment contained inside a window. It functions in a similar fashion to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMD">CMD</a> or <a href="http://www.c3scripts.com/tutorials/msdos/open-window.html">MS-DOS Prompt</a> window in Windows systems. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-was-Command-Line-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0380815931?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="In the Beginning...was the Command Line" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0380815931&tag=techthroes-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Was-Command-Line-ebook/dp/B0011GA08E?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">In the Beginning...Was the Command Line</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0011GA08E" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003VAPVPA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0380815931" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Most operations like say installing software are still performed within a terminal window. Graphical interfaces were just added to make it easier for users to click and choose. Say you're an <a href="http://www.getubuntu.com/">Ubuntu user</a> and you want to install a piece of software. You open up the <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto">Synaptic</a> package manager and tick on a checkbox or two. After <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto">Synaptic</a> downloads the needed files, it will launch it's own terminal window and if you choose to view the details, you'll see the commands run on their own in a terminal window.<br />
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So the next time you talk to a geek and they mention the 'terminal', you know they're not talking about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Holmes">Rupert Holmes</a> or his song :-)Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-82550883691322710192011-05-23T19:52:00.002+08:002011-05-23T19:52:00.115+08:00Keep Passwords Secure with EncryptionUsing a text file for passwords has always been handy. It's portable and you can send it whenever you need it. But it is inherently insecure. There are a lot of tools that can help you secure your valuable passwords, especially in these days of hack attacks and prevalence of intrusions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJub9-os-nBX9qdPQk1msdhyLapfwn8WrFxvAWIbUEtKCnJkuJ3HWCW4n-TsesFL9JVwNIzsReuqQqSuKOzDPVRmnecWNsXdkUDKz-4RQHUQzfClYPjy-sLlijjCOc1kzsGsT/s1600/keepass_64x64.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJub9-os-nBX9qdPQk1msdhyLapfwn8WrFxvAWIbUEtKCnJkuJ3HWCW4n-TsesFL9JVwNIzsReuqQqSuKOzDPVRmnecWNsXdkUDKz-4RQHUQzfClYPjy-sLlijjCOc1kzsGsT/s1600/keepass_64x64.png" /></a>One tool I recommend to friends is <a href="http://keepass.info/">Keepass</a>. KeePass is an open source project that encrypts your passwords to keep them protected from prying eyes. It supports <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard">AES</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard">(Advanced Encryption Standard)</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twofish">Twofish algorithm</a> to encrypt passwords. These are considered 2 of the most secure ways to encrypt data. In addition, Keepass encrypts all data it keeps and not just the passwords, so even your usernames are protected. It also features on-the-fly encryption, which means even if your computer freezes while you're using it, your data is safe. <a href="http://keepass.info/features.html#lnkport">Keepass is also portable</a>, so it doesn't need to be installed in a particular computer. That means it doesn't leave any traces on a computer you use. Convenient, especially when you have Keepass on a USB stick and you ask to use a friend's computer to access your accounts online. No worries from keyloggers as well. While it is running, you can press a hotkey and Keepass can automatically fill in the password when it detects your logging in with a username you saved in it. You can also generate very hard-to-crack passwords by using its random password generator. Since your using it already for keeping your passwords, you need not worry about remembering a difficult password. <a href="http://keepass.info/">Keepass</a> has a ton of advanced user features as well. You can check them out here: <a href="http://keepass.info/features.html">http://keepass.info/features.html</a>. Best of all, it is free!<br />
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Did I get your attention now? Here's how to start using Keepass in 4 easy steps: <br />
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1. Download the portable version of Keepass from <a href="http://keepass.info/download.html">http://keepass.info/download.html</a>:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYMbY6-9hpvknnG82UUvdUbzNw9ZAnkmB3ibfUcIVQ2FSehiSIlqBVjv6RHoLo3X768cwoUl49lmPPqr5DtxjsewgDS2Gn6_FYkrJpJrX1rcD1FYe-QyIXYYLW4Fwxin3TKhv/s1600/keepass-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYMbY6-9hpvknnG82UUvdUbzNw9ZAnkmB3ibfUcIVQ2FSehiSIlqBVjv6RHoLo3X768cwoUl49lmPPqr5DtxjsewgDS2Gn6_FYkrJpJrX1rcD1FYe-QyIXYYLW4Fwxin3TKhv/s320/keepass-01.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
2. Extract the files from the .ZIP folder:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9RXUk5QR2cA2vV1OHsIv0JQOt1SJEraHdwMwDrJ3NzAZEml874te4puq9zQ19q8pGSYBZcbkHtM3HOwlLQUaK_wu9YAgvACphO2VJq3Z4mb1lkUzPPFzvGfknEbwP8U-jPmW/s1600/keepass-02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9RXUk5QR2cA2vV1OHsIv0JQOt1SJEraHdwMwDrJ3NzAZEml874te4puq9zQ19q8pGSYBZcbkHtM3HOwlLQUaK_wu9YAgvACphO2VJq3Z4mb1lkUzPPFzvGfknEbwP8U-jPmW/s320/keepass-02.png" width="299" /></a></div><br />
3. Click on KeePass.exe from the extracted files:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgNF785sBUlYlPAACvoK1kbSYGxDv3qrjMSAwpVNnT60gLfM4YcCd-jPWN4jcR2lP-2QWm88Rtw2MQgRkac3FeeLIGjkJHqntNuhBMZ8nAp73mUF8ZQYfgGqj8cVkxvth5rtb/s1600/keepass-03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgNF785sBUlYlPAACvoK1kbSYGxDv3qrjMSAwpVNnT60gLfM4YcCd-jPWN4jcR2lP-2QWm88Rtw2MQgRkac3FeeLIGjkJHqntNuhBMZ8nAp73mUF8ZQYfgGqj8cVkxvth5rtb/s320/keepass-03.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
4. Start typing in your passwords!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydK-jyuvlmhmSObiAXHXVk_UcTJIZkWvz64PoDDQNNqzTNN-HjVauXX437cDSZWzPaU3-3vpd9_zeLs-QXNePZeWh1YecQd8_mnJuu8iUE0KNMyJarKP_tA0QikzwvXPFvDAI/s1600/keepass-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydK-jyuvlmhmSObiAXHXVk_UcTJIZkWvz64PoDDQNNqzTNN-HjVauXX437cDSZWzPaU3-3vpd9_zeLs-QXNePZeWh1YecQd8_mnJuu8iUE0KNMyJarKP_tA0QikzwvXPFvDAI/s320/keepass-04.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
If you need something more robust to work across multiple devices, there are other options. For one, <a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035274155&pubid=21000000000250762">Keeper Data Vault</a>. <a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035274155&pubid=21000000000250762">Keeper Data Vault</a> is compatible with PC, MAC and Linux operating systems and apps for mobile devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, BlackBerry(r), Android, Vodaphone 360/Symbian are available. It's available in English, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese. It uses also uses <a href="http://www.nexiondata.com/products/options/encrypt/howgood.htm">128-Bit AES cipher encryption</a> and syncs your data across all your computers and devices. A random password generator comes standard and is aptly called 'Dice'. Keeper also supports automatically filling in usernames and passwords, convenient when using mobile touchscreen devices like iPhones and Android phones.<br />
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<a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035630638&pubid=21000000000250762" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_impression?lid=41000000035630638&pubid=21000000000250762" /></a>The most robust security feature on it has to be the Self-Destruct Mode. If set to that option, Keeper erases all data after 5 unsuccessful login attempts. If you tavel a lot and you have your passwords stored in Keeper on a mobile device or laptop, this has to be the single-most important security feature if ever you loose your device or laptop. So if you happen to leave your phone or your laptop on the train or taxi, you know your passwords are still secure. You also don't have to worry about your data on your other computers or devices either. Even with Self-Destruct turned on, your other devices are not affected. Since Keeper syncs data, everything can be restored by using the secure backup & restore features. <br />
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If you're interested in trying out Keeper, you can get it here: <a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000035274155&pubid=21000000000250762">Keeper 50% Off</a>. If you use that link, you can get a 50% discount by using the code KP50 at checkout.<br />
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So keep your passwords safe and download these 2 applications. Be careful out there.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-29986533627189690102011-05-22T19:52:00.001+08:002011-05-21T09:48:34.020+08:00Hello World in Geek<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Programming-Beginners-PROGRAMMI-Paperback/dp/B002VGQXPC?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank">1<img alt="Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners [HELLO WORLD COMPUTER PROGRAMMI] [Paperback]" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002VGQXPC&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1933988495" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002VGQXPC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Hello World is an innocent enough phrase, but it actually means a lot more to geeks. In programming, a Hello World program is the first thing aspiring programmers are taught to write. Their introduction into programming often starts with the exercise of piecing together a set of instructions to make their programs say Hello World. Writing it allows a new learner to grasp the basic rules in authoring programs. It does something simple enough, it just displays the message Hello World. That's it.<br />
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Want learn more? Head on over to <a href="http://www.roesler-ac.de/wolfram/hello.htm">The Hello World Collection</a> to see samples of code that explore Hello World in all it's simple geek glory.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-45073041450285529152011-05-21T20:39:00.001+08:002011-05-21T20:39:00.255+08:00Racks for Geeks<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dell-PowerEdge-3-0GHz-3x36GB-Server/dp/B0029KUR5C?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Dell PowerEdge 2850 Dual Xeon 3.0GHz 4GB 3x36GB DVD FDD 2U Server w/Video, LAN & RAID - No Operating System" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0029KUR5C&tag=techthroes-20" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dell Power Edge</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0029KUR5C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />The word 'Racks' has been around in slang for quite a while. A 'nice rack' is often a reference to a slightly more than adequate bosom. Racks can also be a reference to food. Ribs are also called racks. But alas, to geeks it means not an indulgence in ogling or eating. Racks mean servers. Yes! Rack servers or rack-mounted servers as they are properly called, are the kind of computers your ISP or large companies have. It basically serves data to other computers. Much of the work it does is to decide which computer gets what data at what time. It can also serve as storage, the way most enterprises use them. If you're blogging or using social networking sites, they're hosted from servers that store their data. When you browse a webpage, much of what you see gets dished out by a server.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Water is stored by the dam and released only to the level needed to meet the demand. Servers behave in a similar fashion. It acts to control the flow of data or store it. From acting like web traffic controllers to storing the bits and pieces of your favorite websites, servers get a lot of work done in the background without you knowing it. With so much technology in these things, it's no wonder that geeks have a natural attraction to racks. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-CSE-512-200B-Rackmount-Chassis-Quality/dp/B004UIVTMQ?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="New Supermicro CSE-512-200B 200W Mini 1U Rackmount Server Chassis Black High Quality" height="170" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004UIVTMQ&tag=techthroes-20" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004UIVTMQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004XKQX3G" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Some famous racks are even tourist attractions. Take for example the servers that hosts different open source projects in Oregon State's Open Source Labs. Visiting <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddymulyono/3925881687/in/photostream/">geeks have their pictures taken with the racks</a> serving their pet projects. LOL!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the next time you overhear a geek say, 'Nice Racks!' better be on the look out for a geek checking out hardware of the computer kind.</span>Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-28349681859289199762011-05-19T16:01:00.000+08:002011-05-19T16:01:41.654+08:00Grumbling Geyser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvoyRoEraWOyZ72q2XV-oSI8adKmkOglQ5OhZMljUQEqbM_tQZrRRVcmBDBbZnN4_RcnHyZ3bLDGUku0YoFm2zSEMsVA3CZcHP_h-GLkjmEawx_r1_s18YpeRB8IEh0m0H929IA/s1600/IMG_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvoyRoEraWOyZ72q2XV-oSI8adKmkOglQ5OhZMljUQEqbM_tQZrRRVcmBDBbZnN4_RcnHyZ3bLDGUku0YoFm2zSEMsVA3CZcHP_h-GLkjmEawx_r1_s18YpeRB8IEh0m0H929IA/s320/IMG_0471.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>In a spiteful, vengeful act of spring clearing my desk drawer, guess what I found? I had to stop scorching the earth to admire a relic from the good past. I found an old copy of <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HoaryHedgehog">Hoary Hedgehog</a>! I've actually been around since <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WartyWarthog">Warty Warthog</a>, but I don't have any CD's anymore. I must've given them away. I was always on a frenzy back then, ordering like mad, wanting to give away the CD's to leery friends who started avoiding me. Well, anyway, I'm glad I kept a copy around just for old times sake.<br />
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Ah, those were the days! Way before they started scheming to go by the alphabet for the order of the version nick names. Back when downloading anything close to the size of a full CD meant days on end on a dial-up connection. Frustrating was it to find your download interrupted by something as trivial as a call coming in. Back in dial-up age that meant starting over. So when a friend told me that there was this distro that was shipping CD's free-as-in-beer to anyone anywhere in the world, I was esctatic! Back in those days, I'd order a pair of discs the day they announce the release and eagerly await the three weeks it would take to get them in my sweaty palms.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJLVTM4ETZcqo6HKJRaFiI3HdKIRv9aMhLibTL-DWQ0ge4Rah1b_IJF-gICB6qiWYoCrd2-kwh-nsS-v51Scha4l7GD5hw2QCeAURO1TocrYXwV8P7XlpD9sBfnHjkO2qLhPX5w/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJLVTM4ETZcqo6HKJRaFiI3HdKIRv9aMhLibTL-DWQ0ge4Rah1b_IJF-gICB6qiWYoCrd2-kwh-nsS-v51Scha4l7GD5hw2QCeAURO1TocrYXwV8P7XlpD9sBfnHjkO2qLhPX5w/s320/IMG_0472.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>It's wonderful to romanticize about the old days. Sad to say as the years pass I begin to be less enthused and more bemused. Everything goes by so fast these days. Probably because i have so much to do and only 24 hours every day. Along with that dilemna comes less time in front of the computer. Well, not really. I meant I spend more time on the computer now than 5 years ago, except these days it tipped over to work related things instead of tinker time.<br />
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<br />
With <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyNarwhal">Natty Narwhal</a> barely a few weeks old and <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/OneiricOcelot">Oneiric Ocelot</a> peeking over the horizon, I tend to wonder if the whole scheme of releasing a new version every six months is still relevant. Probably because by the time I had afforded myself enough use-time to get comfy with one release, here comes another. And there something to be said about really customizing a linux install to the tweaks that you want. I mean when you hit the sweet spot, it's just in time for the next release. Reminds me of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and how a lot of long-time linux users will find a version that is stable and feature-sufficient enough for them and stick with it until they really have to upgrade. I mean really need to. Like probably when the repositories for that version already go offline kind of have-to.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/UBUNTU-Technology-Internet-T-Shirt-CafePress/dp/B004E0D6BW?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="UBUNTU Geek Technology Produc Internet Dark T-Shirt by CafePress" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004E0D6BW&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><br />
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thedialofaday-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004E0BAA6" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />So gleaming from that wisdom and after weighing the history I've had with Ubuntu, I've decided to just go with what works for me. I installed <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyNarwhal">Natty</a>, but then I couldn't get used to <a href="http://unity.ubuntu.com/">Unity</a>. I will go back to <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickMeerkat">Maverick</a> and will probably stick with that until I really need to (have to) move on. <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickMeerkat">Maverick</a> was the last thing I got excited about and it worked great with the tweaks that I added. I'm starting to feel old already just admitting that I prefer the older stuff. I mean I'm starting to love older things all of a sudden. Someone send me an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/UBUNTU-Technology-Internet-T-Shirt-CafePress/dp/B004E0D6BW?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Ubuntu shirt with the old logo</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004E0D6BW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />!!!<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004E0D6BW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-10605015056065006022011-04-13T12:14:00.002+08:002011-04-13T12:19:46.457+08:00Broadband Jitters<a href="http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Cable-Tester-COAX-TC-NT2/dp/B0000AZK08?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="TRENDnet Cable Tester 10/100 COAX and TP ( TC-NT2 )" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0000AZK08&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001CDM4F8" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0000AZK08" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Been noticing the past few days that our PLDT DSL connection has gone flaky. Well, I guess it's just the way it is. When you complain, they give you the whole tirade the advertised speed is "up to" and not a guaranteed, consistent speed like it is with big corporates. True. But things should get better for consumers too, right?<br />
<br />
Curious about the actual numbers, I tried different sites to kind of gauge how slow my connection was. Speed tests on the web are actually not that accurate in my experience. ISP's now allow super speedy bandwidth on short bursts, optimized of small packs of data. Speed tests usually send and receive small amounts of data. Those short bursts of speed help them perform better in speed tests. Some people call it a tweak, others term it as a cheat. However you prefer to call it, it still doesn't give you, the consumer, an accurate assessment. What's better? Right now I'd say ping tests.<br />
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Here're the results of a ping tests I did using <a href="http://www.pingtest.net/">Pingtest.net</a>. I used different volunteered servers from different ISP's for comparison's sake. Notice how fast it is when it's pinging PLDT servers and how atrocious the packet loss was when it crossed ISP's... <br />
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Sky Broadband:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.pingtest.net/"><img alt="Bayantel - Ping Test April 13 2011" src="http://www.pingtest.net/result/38709420.png" /></a></center><br />
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Globe Enterprise:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.pingtest.net/"><img alt="Bayantel - Ping Test April 13 2011" src="http://www.pingtest.net/result/38709599.png" /></a></center><br />
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Bayantel:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.pingtest.net/"><img alt="Bayantel - Ping Test April 13 2011" src="http://www.pingtest.net/result/38709686.png" /></a></center><br />
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PLDT:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.pingtest.net/"><img alt="PLDT - Ping Test April 13 2011" src="http://www.pingtest.net/result/38709751.png" /></a></center>Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-51644351473995454432011-02-05T11:15:00.000+08:002011-02-04T14:33:54.709+08:00Intel Cougar Point Recall, Burns Early Adopters<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-2600K-Processor-Socket-LGA1155/dp/B004EBUXSA?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Intel Core i7-2600K Processor with 8 MB Cache, 3.40 GHz for Socket LGA1155 - Unlocked Boxed" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004EBUXSA&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004EBUXSA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Intel announced January 31 a design flaw in the P67 and H67 Cougar Point chipsets for its Sandy Bridge platform. <a href="http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/31/intel-identifies-chipset-design-error-implementing-solution">In its press release Intel disclosed</a>, "As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives... Intel has stopped shipment of the affected support chip from its factories. Intel has corrected the design issue, and has begun manufacturing a new version of the support chip which will resolve the issue."<br />
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In the wake of the announcement, several manufacturers have either announced recalls or promised fixes in the next few months. <a href="http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/Direct2Dell/b/direct2dell/archive/2011/02/02/intel-chipset-issue.aspx">Dell was one of the first to post an update in it's blog Direct2Dell</a>, "Customers experiencing issues will be supported under the warranty and service terms. Once we have new chipsets from Intel in early April, we will provide a motherboard replacement that corrects the design issue at no cost to our customers. Replacements will be provided at the customers’ location and convenience via authorized Dell service providers. Affected customers may also take advantage of the applicable return policy, which may vary by region."<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideapad-2958-9PU-15-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B003N2OVOS?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Lenovo Ideapad G550 2958-9PU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003N2OVOS&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003N2OVOS" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.lenovo.com/popup/web_statement.html">Lenovo also took it's turn to assure it's customer</a> that, "Following Intel's announcement confirming a design issue in their recently released support chip, the Intel 6 Series, Lenovo will be putting in place a special service program that will enable customers who purchased affected PCs to receive a system board replacement free-of-charge, as soon as those parts become available."<br />
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<a href="http://www.msi.com/news-media/news/1178.html">MSI made public a somewhat similar announcement</a> for it's products, assuring it's customers that, "MSI takes the quality of our products very serious, so at this moment we are investigating product batches that may be affected and, meanwhile, have stopped all shipments to our distributors and resellers." <br />
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<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-02/hp-says-it-stopped-making-pcs-with-flawed-intel-chips.html">HP</a>, <a href="http://news.rssnewest.com/acer-group-will-fully-support-customers-with-intels-sandy-bridge-problem/">Acer</a>, <a href="http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/bulletinDetail.jsp?soid=2926784&pf=true">Toshiba</a> and <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/01/samsung-offering-refunds-for-pcs-affected-by-sandy-bridge-glitch/">Samsung</a> have reportedly made announcements about recalls and release delays for their own products. The recall is supposed to cost Intel <a href="http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/31/intel-identifies-chipset-design-error-implementing-solution">$300 million in lost revenue</a> and <a href="http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/01/31/intel-identifies-chipset-design-error-implementing-solution">$700 million in repairs and replacements</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-Thuban-Six-Core-Processor/dp/B003FVI2KQ?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2 GHz 6x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Processor - Retail HDT90ZFBGRBOX" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003FVI2KQ&tag=techthroes-20" /></a>If there ever was a perfect time not to be an early adopter, this would be one of them. I count myself as one conservative upgrader. This time around, that actually worked to my advantage. And I'm thinking it's about time everyone give AMD a second and well-deserved look.<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003FVI2KQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-40803793540455571072010-08-26T23:51:00.001+08:002010-08-27T01:34:37.011+08:00HowTo Install Dropbox in WindowsDropbox is software that makes it easy to save, share and sync files between different computers and devices. I posted about it here: <a href="http://daysleepered.blogspot.com/2010/08/dropbox-save-share-sync-files-between.html">Dropbox - Save, Share, Sync Files Between Computers</a>. When you install Dropbox, you get a dedicated folder on your computer that is automatically backed up. The nice thing about it is if you have multiple computers and each one has it, Dropbox syncs the files on each. Your files are available everywhere. You get the same file version on each computer updated automatically. What's more, you can go back to previous versions from the last 30 days should you need to. Here's how to install it:<br />
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1. Go to <a href="http://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEwMjA1MzQyOQ">http://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEwMjA1MzQyOQ</a> and sign up for an account:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22yXo9GU0IYJ9JaA4RfbA_LnKUG_6NFGZwMhn6gFCMh5ogoSlrOynbXYvCH_u57XN7L9hoBPoC8rywvjtahKCRpVrRFHZGVdzbSvGpMLNafdKd6Ja_pf5wesqLTPNOuixT7Mt/s1600/dbx001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj22yXo9GU0IYJ9JaA4RfbA_LnKUG_6NFGZwMhn6gFCMh5ogoSlrOynbXYvCH_u57XN7L9hoBPoC8rywvjtahKCRpVrRFHZGVdzbSvGpMLNafdKd6Ja_pf5wesqLTPNOuixT7Mt/s320/dbx001.png" /></a></div><br />
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2. After signing up, you'll be directed to the downloads page:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK4w6UY5L57O7Ft1YKTAz6C-Bfj8kpctF6i1KTnd83S0hXiCsuGQTnzJGxBmzmO-GRA4t9n4T7IXENtUWHEFHCvbtB2uw_nsg_v6MI26syRsWWOBDdX1QMbylGt_SbTLpM4J_/s1600/Dropbox+-+Downloading+Dropbox+-+Online+backup,+file+sync+and+sharing+made+easy.+-+Opera_002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK4w6UY5L57O7Ft1YKTAz6C-Bfj8kpctF6i1KTnd83S0hXiCsuGQTnzJGxBmzmO-GRA4t9n4T7IXENtUWHEFHCvbtB2uw_nsg_v6MI26syRsWWOBDdX1QMbylGt_SbTLpM4J_/s320/Dropbox+-+Downloading+Dropbox+-+Online+backup,+file+sync+and+sharing+made+easy.+-+Opera_002.png" /></a></div><br />
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3. Click Run when prompted:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhmShCVBKcqj7UX1Tqc7t5ckuqT2YVUt-aMOum5YD5iyW0JUw9qH-3C4n0OV7M_wmu809qRsy7f6F20Q4JDIstZkHgqCvhGnU-oCGA2HiHFpqgAp6ABJvUma_rVcCmbDKQ9vy/s1600/dbx002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhmShCVBKcqj7UX1Tqc7t5ckuqT2YVUt-aMOum5YD5iyW0JUw9qH-3C4n0OV7M_wmu809qRsy7f6F20Q4JDIstZkHgqCvhGnU-oCGA2HiHFpqgAp6ABJvUma_rVcCmbDKQ9vy/s320/dbx002.png" /></a></div><br />
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4. The download may take a while. Go get yourself a cup of coffee:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUTVxHuI3b24bwK4WEUSKm6BuH9aOL1KJ74lJJ8OdPsZs8C4l2t_4zQ11DCIUTjvHa2X0zRJ0jTdXuFDwFVFemucahJH1jyavBp1HJcW410PAvpX3ZIsBBHuIVTCAeixg8wHQ/s1600/dbx003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUTVxHuI3b24bwK4WEUSKm6BuH9aOL1KJ74lJJ8OdPsZs8C4l2t_4zQ11DCIUTjvHa2X0zRJ0jTdXuFDwFVFemucahJH1jyavBp1HJcW410PAvpX3ZIsBBHuIVTCAeixg8wHQ/s320/dbx003.png" /></a></div><br />
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5. When the download finishes and after you've had a few sips of your coffee, click on Run:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXox0LvbzOF-Vw1dEEq9ji2bF0pDo2Zc-88Stdbyoo5aWWE6dRHKOmbMWsuwGPzorxhOyfe9pM7ahdS95RY6rnTYaqgWgSWohlmqZ8d6bJWhkN0SyyhE3xYp13i8sjdnS_-C6J/s1600/dbx004.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXox0LvbzOF-Vw1dEEq9ji2bF0pDo2Zc-88Stdbyoo5aWWE6dRHKOmbMWsuwGPzorxhOyfe9pM7ahdS95RY6rnTYaqgWgSWohlmqZ8d6bJWhkN0SyyhE3xYp13i8sjdnS_-C6J/s320/dbx004.png" /></a></div><br />
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6. Click on Install:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7e2u425bUXo5IEZLuRdKY4Xe49F1n_j0JhbXFNuixk396Qr8oOqjdnZKYcfyUynXtwvKD9n_VyiHhUh-pqa6Iy4_KEtvORtibQv8CtdZjp3JZZllaXLMKVrKHlQ9_g7TQtd12/s1600/dbx005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7e2u425bUXo5IEZLuRdKY4Xe49F1n_j0JhbXFNuixk396Qr8oOqjdnZKYcfyUynXtwvKD9n_VyiHhUh-pqa6Iy4_KEtvORtibQv8CtdZjp3JZZllaXLMKVrKHlQ9_g7TQtd12/s320/dbx005.png" /></a></div><br />
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7. Finish your coffee while it installs:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX_KmOnUU9ihEaJQlFb7GhaZ5UsLLaIO7aaMkBrWHoLEEeCvNv3hePqBCbtMkQogjRdjDzVDaCrMeYvor7QCf-gT-sYPGheaeJePRXIfNlHtHRWtuJSJyRqtCOJFVP8sr0Q-2/s1600/dbx006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX_KmOnUU9ihEaJQlFb7GhaZ5UsLLaIO7aaMkBrWHoLEEeCvNv3hePqBCbtMkQogjRdjDzVDaCrMeYvor7QCf-gT-sYPGheaeJePRXIfNlHtHRWtuJSJyRqtCOJFVP8sr0Q-2/s320/dbx006.png" /></a></div><br />
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8. Since you signed up using my link **hint, hint**, choose I Already Have a Dropbox Account:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX0pM4MM9IV_Xikdz7uz2NWOi0uBllDN3XgmZAo2tXk330t3ZSsZUTUiwypsyf64p5POa-V9Lxd6uysWhLhCThcZ3EcZ_nVfmNXj-oQph62Qpo2D9KU48iYuh5LIpw5HWCq_k/s1600/dbx007.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX0pM4MM9IV_Xikdz7uz2NWOi0uBllDN3XgmZAo2tXk330t3ZSsZUTUiwypsyf64p5POa-V9Lxd6uysWhLhCThcZ3EcZ_nVfmNXj-oQph62Qpo2D9KU48iYuh5LIpw5HWCq_k/s320/dbx007.png" /></a></div><br />
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9. Type in the email and password you signed up with and edit the computer's name if you want to, then click Next:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWYNVgRG4iXLyIHgY9X4oOyHhZiMlq5aJmZVaefOqqHcGW16WENGzSNbQn1t41ggL5JWNjEDuAztzEVTSJaoUfCPIxDCCgpm1EbbFSwrWLwbSnkX7eapADfNQJtrtxD0E1rot/s1600/dbx008.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWYNVgRG4iXLyIHgY9X4oOyHhZiMlq5aJmZVaefOqqHcGW16WENGzSNbQn1t41ggL5JWNjEDuAztzEVTSJaoUfCPIxDCCgpm1EbbFSwrWLwbSnkX7eapADfNQJtrtxD0E1rot/s320/dbx008.png" /></a></div><br />
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10. Choose the 2GB Free option and click Next:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRuJTB-zcOX9aBLWhIfIBa3JmkMsPkznJhRi4MH9NpRWW7NhVBLujSuccuW7KalkjHoPjyxkUtvR5Hq_QWd0xiFlUoD9td0ZB7rz6qf0yq8O4BNjYilerOkLpSlm6-zGLJYt_/s1600/dbx009.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRuJTB-zcOX9aBLWhIfIBa3JmkMsPkznJhRi4MH9NpRWW7NhVBLujSuccuW7KalkjHoPjyxkUtvR5Hq_QWd0xiFlUoD9td0ZB7rz6qf0yq8O4BNjYilerOkLpSlm6-zGLJYt_/s320/dbx009.png" /></a></div><br />
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11. I'd recommend reading the info on the 4 slides, to get a little more background on how to use it. Click on Next to move to each one:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gKcPHpwUK9kVJATnGx9jozFR3ADsXj2NnX4fwJR2Vrnu_Ql3qK9IB5sFLmCGDluUP5HpVYElLhw_Z-EIRRUQuyZ3t7x3dIwliMU_kekpWSWqBxUS_GEB8BvLBi_WZR-DaSkj/s1600/dbx010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gKcPHpwUK9kVJATnGx9jozFR3ADsXj2NnX4fwJR2Vrnu_Ql3qK9IB5sFLmCGDluUP5HpVYElLhw_Z-EIRRUQuyZ3t7x3dIwliMU_kekpWSWqBxUS_GEB8BvLBi_WZR-DaSkj/s320/dbx010.png" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ilweT5KJ6ozaix-C6HsYotxMmNeWF1p6dq5ddk-JXXZ6lp4mcteksERe94hMjUMIOmWrSbrLgt-2sltm5ukPHfpGBSROMJuy_S0lIfbZ9dZExZyzVWDrg78gDQtnS_h3LSV0/s1600/dbx011.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ilweT5KJ6ozaix-C6HsYotxMmNeWF1p6dq5ddk-JXXZ6lp4mcteksERe94hMjUMIOmWrSbrLgt-2sltm5ukPHfpGBSROMJuy_S0lIfbZ9dZExZyzVWDrg78gDQtnS_h3LSV0/s320/dbx011.png" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHUOt5sGP5HTRXAb5T-8dxQ93ycMaM0HUI4IdlvIe942Utik3okPLmIPATvOspvoHxSSs8f8vikmiu_UJ3RshUQTp79H-Q4pgZogOIA0PzXgh796TK_ryOpTqkSAuI4ptKCKz/s1600/dbx012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHUOt5sGP5HTRXAb5T-8dxQ93ycMaM0HUI4IdlvIe942Utik3okPLmIPATvOspvoHxSSs8f8vikmiu_UJ3RshUQTp79H-Q4pgZogOIA0PzXgh796TK_ryOpTqkSAuI4ptKCKz/s320/dbx012.png" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPg5WaB3k6axFdonQI9vT0SwzkkXYyQIb8AOUyu3-7x5rllLIc5Z7cSnsJjjxc0Y1TyscUF675ikdWyZWe2uOFM0UhHhIuM7Rsobi6bgZnpwecCLN44N93kEdWnu_tKYctJBx1/s1600/dbx013.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPg5WaB3k6axFdonQI9vT0SwzkkXYyQIb8AOUyu3-7x5rllLIc5Z7cSnsJjjxc0Y1TyscUF675ikdWyZWe2uOFM0UhHhIuM7Rsobi6bgZnpwecCLN44N93kEdWnu_tKYctJBx1/s320/dbx013.png" /></a></div><br />
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12. Finish the install by ticking either on Add a Shortcut on My Desktop or I Want to Choose Where to Put My Dropbox Folder, then Finish (i personally prefer the Desktop, it makes it easier to find):<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmXshNoLXFRg1UCPz2-QFBFfJCLEVJKE-BATJKyP1aRS-TqW2kvHVql_mPkSF8e9cBmG0nAsCowE5xPHaU-RlSokcdqXXQ5XLLaqcJDrb6RGQTNjgv2r0J62PdXzJ_VE77Qr5/s1600/dbx014.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmXshNoLXFRg1UCPz2-QFBFfJCLEVJKE-BATJKyP1aRS-TqW2kvHVql_mPkSF8e9cBmG0nAsCowE5xPHaU-RlSokcdqXXQ5XLLaqcJDrb6RGQTNjgv2r0J62PdXzJ_VE77Qr5/s320/dbx014.png" /></a></div><br />
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13. You should have a link on you desktop after clicking on Finish in the previous step:<br />
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14. Click on the icon to access you Dropbox and start drag-dropping your files:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK5x3IL1xFytM4NKmD835nw8x0msFCkUMERYDqlWmXnQQsQ8esvhfSIbCHuQOkSQ3msxz9QGcO8J7j7NZF1tznkWmNuwLADT0e3kQC0brO_7F6mcw0Sx-C8eTUG7Le-bw5SRe/s1600/dbx016.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK5x3IL1xFytM4NKmD835nw8x0msFCkUMERYDqlWmXnQQsQ8esvhfSIbCHuQOkSQ3msxz9QGcO8J7j7NZF1tznkWmNuwLADT0e3kQC0brO_7F6mcw0Sx-C8eTUG7Le-bw5SRe/s320/dbx016.png" /></a></div><br />
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If you want to keep it free, you only have 2GB to work with. But you can increase your free storage if you invite friends. For every person who signs up using your link, you and that person get 250MB each. You can get up to 8GB free! That's 10 GB total, for free. So if you want to try it out, use click my link (<a href="http://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEwMjA1MzQyOQ">http://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEwMjA1MzQyOQ</a>) and we'll both get 250MB free ;-)Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6439161.post-85940973104434402382010-08-24T00:35:00.001+08:002011-05-21T10:10:55.594+08:00What is a Podcast?<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apple-touch-Generation-NEWEST-MODEL/dp/B002M3SOC4?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Apple iPod touch 32 GB (3rd Generation) NEWEST MODEL" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002M3SOC4&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002M3SOC4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />MP3 players are a popular way to bring your music with you. One of the first to really innovate in this space was Apple with their iPod some nine years ago. MP3's were gaining popularity at the time because it enabled people to easily move music from device to device by turning it to data and compressing it. Apple, by launching the iPod with their online music store, changed the way music was bought and brought along. The Apple scheme changed the way music was distributed and sold. Podcasts are a natural evolution that stemmed from that piece of innovation. Now, think of podcasts as radio shows. The difference is that while radio shows are broadcast over the air, podcasts are recorded and distributed through the internet. You subscribed to a podcast using podcatchers. iTunes, aside from managing your personal MP3's can also be used to subscribe to podcasts. To learn how to subscribe to podcasts using iTunes, <a href="http://techthroes.blogspot.com/2010/03/howto-manually-subscribe-to-podcasts-on.html">go to this page</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's how podcasts work. With every new episode, an update is posted on the internet. The update or notice is published on a special page called an RSS page. A podcatcher, or say iTunes, regularly checks the RSS pages of the podcasts that you've subscribed to. When it notices a new episode, it then downloads that. Depending on your preferences, you iPod can be updated with the new episodes automatically or only when you tell it to do so.<br />
<br />
Listening to podcasts isn't limited to the iPod or iTunes. There are a plethora or MP3 players and portable media devices that can be used to listen to them. A few that I have tried and liked are the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Zen-Vision-Video-Player/dp/B000CS7U1C?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Creative Zen M</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000CS7U1C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/RCA-RD2217-Sport-Digital-Player/dp/B00092M1RO?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">RCA Lyra</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00092M1RO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Clip-Player-Black/dp/B002MAPS6W?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Sandisk Sansa</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002MAPS6W" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. There are also a veritable cornucopia of podcatchers and management software that you can use to subcribe to podcasts and sync them to your music player. One of my favorites is <a href="http://www.doubletwist.com/dt/Home/Index.dt">DoubleTwist</a>, touted by some as an iTunes alternative. I like it because aside from syncing media players, it can also <a href="http://www.doubletwist.com/dt/Home/Help.dt#supporteddevices">sync media to phones</a>. It can be slow at times though. Over on the linux end, I use <a href="http://banshee.fm/">Banshee</a>. Starting with version 1.7.2 (i think), it supports syncing to Android phones ;-)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Home-Tablet-Android-Black/dp/B003COZM2C?ie=UTF8&tag=techthroes-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Archos 7 8 GB Home Tablet with Android (Black)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003COZM2C&tag=techthroes-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthroes-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003COZM2C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />In recent years, video podcasts have also gained popularity. Think of a video podcast as a TV shows, only not broadcast over the air or distributed through cable channels. Video podcasts are distributed over the internet, much the same way podcasts are.<br />
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Podcasts are usually very focused on specific niches and most cater only to specific interests. Two of the most popular podcast networks are <a href="http://twit.tv/">TWIT</a> and <a href="http://revision3.com/">Revision 3</a>. A lot of traditional news organizations have also jumped on the podcast band wagon. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts">BBC</a> and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/services/podcasting/">CNN</a> offer their own niche-interest podcasts as well as news over their feeds. Even <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/podcasts/">Fox News</a> has a podcast. <br />
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So if you've got some interest in something, why not try and look for a podcast. You might find the knitting show that you've been looking for for so long.Edhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08128019008732356137noreply@blogger.com0