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Still Don’t Have a Computer?

For some it is hard to believe that someone doesn’t have a computer. For others it is either they figure they won’t be able to figure out how to use the device or they just plain don’t realize what they could get from having a computer in the house. If you are one of the later people, this information may help you determine if you should get a computer.

Probably, the most important reason for most computer users is that they use the computer to stay in touch with friends and relatives. Yes, this means a connection to the internet. With a computer and a connection to the internet an entire world of communication will open up for you. It will allow you to use email services and the social networking sites that are growing in popularity. It will allow you to use internet phones, some of which such as Skype offer transmission of both audio and video. The phone of the future where you can see and hear the person you are communicating with. And with email you can send a letter in an instant. The internet will give you access to a countless number of resources that you can’t find anywhere else. As libraries start to get smaller, the reason is that the information is available on line, all day long.

In addition to the internet there are great opportunites for typing documents and storing photos. With today’s word processors there is spellcheck, grammar check and so on. There are great advantages to formating your document on a computer. Since so many photos are taken digitally today, if you don’t have a computer you won’t see them. It is easy to share photos when you can give easy and free access to your photos to everyone.

These are just a few of the reasons a computer should be in every home. If you are going to stay connected with younger generations a computer is probably necessary.

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The Internet has Changed Everything

Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase

The Internet has made an indelible impact on the world we now live in. Where at one point you had to research things by going to a library, you can now simply go to a search engine and look up any topic that you want to know more about. Whether in our personal lives or in business, the fact is that the Internet has given us all a very large box of tools that we can use to advance any cause we choose to put our energy into.

Business has been especially advanced by the presence and power of the Internet. A business owner can use free online surveys to figure out what her customers really want, for instance. And through a simple search, that same business owner can figure out what sorts of words and phrases they should be using if they want to attract more customers to their website. Also, simply knowing what not to do can be very helpful to a business owner as they can make changes a lot quicker. Also, any business can reach literally hundreds of millions of people through the use of social networking websites. They can niche down their offerings to a specific type of person who is highly likely to buy, and still have a large pool of people that they can reach.

Of course, business is not the only part of human life that has been positively affected by the existence and prevalence of the Internet. Consider the realm of online music downloading and the frequency with which people do so. But when you can find nearly any kinds of audio and video you want on sites like YouTube and Hulu, who needs to download anything at all? One day, we may go back to not needing hard drives, because everything may be online.

Filed Under: Computer, World Wide Web

Have Your Computer When You Want It

Many people want to take their computer where ever they go. It is important to them to have access to their files, yet they don’t want to carry the big laptop all the time. For other people they don’t want to have several different computers, they don’t want to carry around or pay for a smart phone and people want a solution. Here are a couple of solutions for people today.

One solution is to have a couple of computers. For some this is not ideal but this could work out. For instance you may own a desktop or higher end laptop along with a iPad or some similar unit. This will give you versatility both in and out of the home. The iPad can go where ever you go and the other computer can generally stay in the house.

A second option is to get a small notebook or net book and have other peripherals available for use when you are home. For instance these computers often do not have drives and large monitors allowing the computer to be more compact and fit easily into your bag or even a purse. When you are home the device can be plugged into a keyboard, mouse, monitor, disc drive if you need and any other peripheral you may find you need. This scenario will work best for people that use their computer more recreationally or for general communication purposes. For those that use their computer for business, the best choice may be to have separate computers. One computer for your work and one for your personal use. By dividing these uses you are able to use the proper tool for the proper job.

The market today, has computers of all shapes and sizes. If you determine what you need, chances are it is available. It doesn’t mean that you will be able to afford it, but check around, there are many alternatives and often many sales.

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Attracting Customers Online

Getting better known online is a matter of getting your brand name known and getting links to your website. The more links you have, the better your website’s search engine ranking will be. Every Web business is determined to get great rankings, making them increasingly determined to get more links. This makes it important for your business to attract those links with content that is as interesting or informative as possible. The best ways to do that has changed over time as new and effective online marketing trends become clear. One of the ways that companies are creating their own high-powered marketing is to create their own Internet radio content.

DrJays is a website that has long used an Internet radio show to build an online audience. The site uses a radio show hosted by a journalist named Boss Lady to keep customers coming back again and again for new shows. Boss Lady interviews the hottest artists in the hip hop world, appealing to the same fan base that buys the clothing sold by Dr. Jays. Keeping the subject matter close to the item being sold, in the case of Dr. Jays,is the key to getting the right demographic to listen to the show and get interested in the products. A hip hop radio show attracts the demographic that also is interested in Dr. Jays clothing line. Internet radio can be used by websites of every type in order to create a loyal following and to spread the word about what the site sells.

To keep the customers coming back, there are other techniques that website owners can employ. Keeping a topical blog is a way of getting regular readers. Because it is frequently updated, just like an Internet radio show, it encourages repeat visitors. With repeat visitors comes waves of returning customers and an expanded branding that keeping expanding across the Internet to find new buyers.

Filed Under: Computer, World Wide Web

A Look Back at the Commodore 64

Commodore 64 computer (1982). Post processing:...
Image via Wikipedia

When you try to conjure up an image of a computer nicknamed “bullnose” and “breadbox,” you don’t exactly come up with something beautiful and appealing. So, with that in mind, would you believe that this “breadbox” was the most successful single computer model ever? Would you believe that it has sold more than 17 million units and nearly everyone wanted one back when they were $595 a pop?

The year was 1982 and the computer was the Commodore 64. The predecessors of the C64 (as it was commonly know) looked nearly identical but had much less computing power. Some of C64’s features included the following:

— 8-bit processor
— 64 kilobytes of memory (compared to the 5 kilobytes of the Commodore VIC-20)
— Sound and graphics superior to other computers
— Could be plugged directly into the TV (this allowed it to rival video game systems)
— BASIC 2.0 programming language

The C64’s plethora of features certainly gave it an edge over much of the competition, but there is more to its success than its properties alone. The marketing of the Commodore 64 was brilliant. In addition to being sold at electronics stores like other computer models, the C64 was sold in department and toy stores as well. This was due to its versatility as a video game console and its ability to be easily plugged into the TV.

Because of its amazing graphics and sound, the Commodore 64 was one of the first computers used less for the traditional functions of computing and processing and more for gaming software. One of the C64’s major competitors, Atari, was flabbergasted by the C64’s capabilities and price. The other competitor, the Apple II, had a higher resolution but was a poorer quality and less usable than the C64.

The Commodore 64 changed the industry and was major step forward in computing power, spawning creations aplenty from there forward.

Filed Under: Computer, General Tagged With: , ,

Linux: The Underground Operating System

Tux, as originally drawn by Larry Ewing
Image via Wikipedia

The Linux operating system is a free cloned version of the much older Unix operating system. Unix was created in 1969; it wasn’t until 1991 that a University of Helsinki student named Linus Torvalds invented Linux. The key difference between Linux and other operating systems is the model is completely open source. That is, the public is able to change the programming code of Linux for personal use.

Origins of Linux

Torvalds used an operating system much like Unix, Minix, before he decided to develop his own kernel for the original OS. In operating systems, the kernel is the main component. It manages the operating system and allows for use of applications. When he had created the kernal, which he called Linux, he added it to a free, burgeoning operating system called GNU that was missing a kernal. Linux is unique in that Torvalds posted his combination of GNU and his kernal online and volunteers added improvements to it.

Linux as a Community

The idea of open-sourcing an operating system had not been tried before Torvalds created Linux. Early after its release, and in addition to the few in the beginning who added improvements, many more programmers began debugging and developing Linux on the Internet. A community of Linux users quickly formed. As Linux is a free operating system, those who use it tend to be the ones who send in suggestions for improvements.

Those who use Linux tend to love it, but its users are mostly programmers and industry folk. Nevertheless, they champion Linux above all others. The competition between Microsoft and Linux is fairly minimal. Although Linux is free, it’s not as widely regarded by those outside the industry as better. In fact, it seems more of a taste preference than a performance one, although it’s true that many would disagree with such a claim.

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The Columbia Supercomputer

The Columbia supercomputer once was the second fastest computer in the world. It achieved that ranking in 2004 by the TOP500 project, but since that time it has dropped to 13 and then 25 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Despite the depreciating rank, Columbia still is one of the fastest computers in the world. In addition to being alarmingly quick, its purpose for being built is rather engaging.

Columbia, named after the fallen crew of the space shuttle Columbia, was built for NASA in 2004. It was conceived of and assembled in only four months with the help and dedicated hands of both the government and private companies. The breakneck construction time proved to many that NASA and the United States is able to remain leaders in technology. It is stationed at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett, California and was constructed to simulate how the formation of elliptical galaxies. Spiral galaxies must collide in order for elliptical galaxies to emerge, and Columbia was fast and powerful enough to duplicate the process virtually. Columbia is also used for more general physics-based simulations and calculations.

The sheer size of the 10,240-processor supercomputer in the research center is compelling enough, but even more fascinating is what is working inside the supercomputer. The following are some of the elements that give Columbia its power:

— 20 SGI Altix 3000 nodes that use a version of the Linux operating system. Each node has 512 Intel processors.
— 20 terabytes of memory
— 440 terabytes of storage

After its installation and initial use, Columbia increased NASA’s overall computing power by 10 times. Columbia put the United States back in the game in terms of technology. Even though Columbia is no longer close to being the fastest in the world, it continues to be used by NASA and has the capability to impact the field science and engineering further.

Filed Under: Computer, Hardware, Software Tagged With: , ,

Use Tools on the Internet to Make Your Business Better

Owning your own business is a lot of work. There is paperwork to keep track of, expenses to pay, employees to keep tabs on, and much more. This is why you should do everything possible to keep yourself organized and more efficient. There are many different functions available on the Internet to do just that. Stay organized and have more time to focus on the important things in your business. It really doesn’t matter whether you are running an online business or you have a physical business, you should still be implementing tools that have been made possible because of the Internet.

The most important tool you should utilize is e-mail. It is faster to communicate with customers, vendors, and employees when you use e-mail. This is because it can take days for letters to arrive, and e-mails take seconds. Plus, most people check e-mail multiple times a day. Fax machines are hardly ever used anymore because it is just easier to send files as attachments than it is to send a fax.

Another tool your business should use on the Internet is cloud storage and cloud computing. You can have your entire database online so that employees can access it remotely. This will save you money on computer networks and open the door for remote jobs, which saves office space. There are many other benefits to cloud storage, too,. It has provided a way to store data in an organized and paper-free manner. Why not be friendly to the earth if it means you’ll be more organized, too?

If you haven’t already started using many of the tools made possible by the Internet, it is time to start. There are a lot more than what is mentioned in this article. You can pretty much find any software you need to make your business run more smoothly and efficiently. The Internet is the best option for saving money and being successful.

Filed Under: Advacements, Computer, Internet Tagged With:
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