Keeping Your Wireless Number when You Switch Carriers
July 23, 2007
Keeping Your Wireless Number when You Switch Carriers
by: Tom Spelling
Some consumers are hesitant to change their cell phone provider, even if they see a better deal, simply because too many people already know their existing cell phone number. Meanwhile, that cell phone contract service may be costing you an arm and a leg every month. You can better manage your cellular budget with prepaid, and you don’t have to lose your old cell number. Depending on your carrier, there may be a small fee involved for the transfer of service.
The FCC has required most carriers to implement Local Number Portability (LNP), which is a service that lets you transfer a phone number to another carrier, so long as the new carrier is still in your local area. You can take advantage of the LNP mandate to switch wireless carriers and keep the same number, or even to transfer your landline phone to a cell phone. You can’t transfer a pager number, toll free number, or some other types of special use numbers.
Be Prepared in the Event Computer Disaster Strikes
July 22, 2007
Computers
Businesses and individuals alike have all grown to rely on computers. The reliance is never more apparent than when something happens to the horrid little box that makes our lives easier. We expect computers to react a certain way, in certain situations. It nearly always comes as a surprise when the beloved little box, know as a computer, refuses to boot up. Probably even more shocking, is the dawning that we’ve neglected to backup or prepare for the unforeseen disaster that has just been thrust upon us.
Regardless of the number of times you have experienced the dread of being unable to access the information trapped in the god-awful computerized contraption, we are always invariably unprepared.
The reality of it is that computers, not only contain moving parts, but they like other machines, they are prone to failure at some point in their lives. Not only can hardware failures occur, but viruses can also corrupt data making it impossible to retrieve. Regardless of the litany of words used to bully the box into behaving, the truth is that the only offence is a good defense.
So how do you prepare for a computer tragedy?
Finding the Right 27 LCD TV
July 21, 2007
Finding the Right 27 LCD TV
by: Ryan Tenney
A 27 LCD TV provides a much better picture than the old CRT televisions - and they come in much more attractive styles. In many homes an LCD TV has become an integral feature in the entertainment room’s decorating scheme. They’re versatile, too. A flat screen 27 LCD TV can be mounted on a wall, under a cabinet, on the ceiling, or it can sit on a stand or on top of furniture. A 27 LCD TV comes in a size that is big enough to comfortably watch from a reasonable distance, but it’s also small enough to fit in even the smallest viewing rooms.
The 27 LCD market is also highly competitive - almost every television manufacturer makes at least one 27 model. Choosing the right model for your needs can be time-consuming; to get you started, take these steps as you search for the right TV for you.
First consider your room’s dιcor, and think about how you’ll sit relative to the TV. Because a 27 LCD TV has significantly higher resolution than a conventional TV, you’ll be able to sit closer than you normally would and view a larger screen much more comfortably. The optimum viewing distance for a 27 LCD TV is approximately 6 feet, so plan your furniture arrangement accordingly.
10 Time Saving Keyboard Shortcuts
July 20, 2007
Time is money. And when you constantly have to divide your time between your mouse and your keyboard, your workflow rate really slows down.
That’s particularly true when you’re working on a laptop, where the pointing device is even slower.
The answer - short of growing another arm - is to learn a few “handy” keyboard shortcuts. Here are 10 of the best:
1. Make a quick exit:
ALT - F4 will terminate any program immediately.
2. Flick - don’t click:
ALT - TAB to flick through open programs.
3. Make a quick selection:
CTRL - SHIFT and move cursor with left / right / up / down arrows to quickly select areas of text.
4. Cut, copy and paste to the chase:
CTRL - X / C / V to cut, copy and paste selected text.
5. Undo what you’ve done:
CTRL - Z will undo anything. (And to redo: CTRL - Y although this varies between programs.)
6. Page - don’t scroll:
In MSIE use Page Up & Page Down to save time fiddling with the scroll bar.
7. E for explorer:
Staying Mobile - Replacing Your Cell Phone Battery
July 19, 2007
Staying Mobile - Replacing Your Cell Phone Battery
by: Eric Comforth
There are several cell phone replacement battery choices on the market, some better than others. Here we will explore a few of the options out there.
Basically, there are four different types of cell phone battery:
Nickel Cadmium Batteries (NiCd): These are the oldest type of cell phone battery. To counter the problem of memory effect which lessens the life of the battery, they must be fully discharged before being recharged. This is obviously more time consuming and lessens the efficiency of the cell phone.
Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries (NiMH): Developed in the 1990s. These batteries are more efficient than the NiCd type. Although prone to some memory effect, they are quicker to recharge than the NiCd and have a battery life up to twice as long.
Lithium Ion Batteries (Li-Ion): Lithium Ion Batteries are the most popular cell phone batteries today. They are lighter than the NiMH, do not suffer from memory effect and have a 30% longer life.
Lithium Polymer Battery (Li-Poly): This is the newest cell phone battery technology on the market. Li-Poly batteries enable the most compact of cell phones and their lifespan is more than twice that of Lithium Ion batteries.
Email Management
July 19, 2007
If you utilize a computer at home or work it is likely that you use email. Email is an electronic message that is sent from one computer to another following a specific protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol or SMTP). As email’s popularity has grown so too have the inherent problems with email.
In order to send email you must have the exact spelling of the email address. If there are any typographical errors in the recipient’s email address then an unintended recipient could receive the email message. When creating an email address avoid characters that cause confusion, like the number 1 (one) and the letter l (el), computer fonts often cause those two characters to have similar appearances. Try to create an email address that cannot easily be misspelled.
As email has become a popular communication medium the email address should not be too long or complicated, but easily said in a phone message. Choose an email address that is easy for others to remember, as a pen is not always handy.
10 Top Tips To Consider When Purchasing A Digital Camera
July 18, 2007
10 Top Tips To Consider When Purchasing A Digital Camera
by: David Crossley
A digital camera is an electronic device to transform images into electronic information. New digital cameras are typically multifunctional and the same device can take pictures, video and audio.
Many digital cameras can connect directly to a computer to transfer data. Early cameras used the PC serial port. USB is the most commonly used method, though some have a Firewire port or use Bluetooth. Some cameras are able to attach to computer networks wirelessly via Wi-Fi.
Here are 10 top things to consider when looking to purchase a digital camera: -
1. Price: This can vary from around $100 to upto $10,000 for a high end professional camera. You can buy one with good resolution and options for under $600. Ones with more manual control settings can be found for around $600-2000 dollars, usually suited to serious amateurs.
2. Resolution: To print good quality color photos at the standard film sizes 4″x6″ or 5″x7″ you’ll need a 1-2 megapixel camera. If you are printing as large as 8″x10″ then you’re going to need a higher resolution around 2-3 megapixels.
10 Tips to SPEED Up Your PC
July 17, 2007
1. Let your PC boot up completely before opening any applications.
2. Refresh the desktop after closing any application. This will remove any unused files from the RAM.
3. Do not set very large file size images as your wallpaper. Do not keep a wallpaper at all if your PC is low on RAM (less than 64 MB).
4. Do not clutter your Desktop with a lot of shortcuts. Each shortcut on the desktop uses up to 500 bytes of RAM
5. Empty the recycle bin regularly. The files are not really deleted from your hard drive until you empty the recycle bin.
6. Delete the temporary internet files regularly.
7. Defragment your hard drive once every two months. This will free up a lot of space on your hard drive and rearrange the files so that your applications run faster.
8. Always make two partitions in your hard drive. Install all large Softwares (like PSP, Photoshop, 3DS Max etc) in the second partition. Windows uses all the available empty space in C drive as virtual memory when your Computer RAM is full. Keep the C Drive as empty as possible.
What Is A SIM Card For A Cell Phone?
July 16, 2007
What Is A SIM Card For A Cell Phone?
by: Johnny McKenzie
A SIM card for the phone is like having a small computer in your computer. The SIM card stores a lot of data such as your messages, whether text or pictures, your phone number, reminders, files, value added services etc. What determine the phone number are actually the card and not the phone. In fact the mobile phone company keeps track of all your calls whether incoming or outgoing through your SIM card. They can identify the precise city and country that you have taken the phone to. In this way, the company charges you for the calls.
The SIM card is actually called a Subscriber Identity Module and is the size of a thumb impression. This tiny chip is a small microprocessor, but it packs in a lot of data and information. It’s inserted into the back of the cell phone that one is using and only then can the cell phone be activated. As soon as the cell phone is activated, it’s connected to the network of the cellular phone company. Thus one can start making and receiving calls.
Changing the Location of Your Dish Network Dish - Easily
July 15, 2007
Changing the Location of Your Dish Network Dish - Easily
by: Mitchell Medford
One of Dish Network’s offers is free installation of all equipment and service to first time subscribers. This is excellent because you are assured of expert installation initially. There may come a time, though, when you either must change Dish Network’s Dish because of necessity or just because you want to change it. Whatever the reason, it is easily accomplished with some precaution.
The actual Dish Network Dish is small, about 2 to 2 l/2 feet in diameter, and mounts quite easily on an outside wall, a veranda, roofing, fences, or even the roofs or sides of garages. It is light in weight and this makes it even easier to fasten. Each Dish Network Dish has two antennas, and they should always be pointed toward or facing the Southern sky. Each of these antennas is instrumental in intercepting and transmitting satellite signals onto your television screen. When choosing a new location for your Dish, be sure you look at the environment well so there will be no future obstructions of the signal transmission. Place it away from trees, places where children play, buildings, other wiring, any thing that might get in the way of satellite transmissions. Dish Network’s satellite dish must be pointing directly and unobstructed at a Southern sky at all times. This assures you of uninterrupted signal transmission from Dish Network’s satellites and the best in quality program viewing on your television system.
