Digital Cameras: The New Generation
February 29, 2008
Digital Cameras: The New Generation
by: Olga Sen
With the advent of modern scientific tools, life has become highly sophisticated. There has been a significant evolution in the technology and the lifestyles of the human beings. One of the fine examples of evolution is the advent and craze for digital cameras. A digital camera is equipped with an electronic photosensitive sensor. The photographs are stored digitally in the in-built memory of the camera and can be directly uploaded on a computer for viewing and printing. There is no need for buying films or getting them processed with these modern gadgets.
The craze for using the cameras can be traced back to the 16th century. Man has used the cameras to capture the history or larger-than-life-events. As the science has expanded in this ever-shrinking world, the expansion of camera technology has soared to new heights. From the normal camera, the world has stepped into the era of digital cameras. These cameras have brought in a complete revolution in the camera industry.
The features of digital camera are so unique and advanced, that handling the camera has become a child’s play. Before you go and buy your digital camera, you should know some basic information on these modern weapons. You must pick the right camera to capture your precious moments.
Compare MP3 Players for the Coolest Features and Sweetest Deals
February 29, 2008
How can you compare mp3 players to be sure you’re getting the best features and price? You’ve checked some mp3 player ratings, and they’re helpful. But iPod reviews and ratings don’t answer all your questions. So how do you decide?
Here’s a great little checklist for your player comparison. Use these criteria to compare players and you’ll have no problem choosing the right one. Simply rate each mp3 player you’re comparing by assigning a value of 1-10 to each of the six criteria. Total the points and voilá, your own custom mp3 player reviews. The players with the highest totals are your best mp3 players, and fit your budget.
MP3 Player Comparison Check-List
1. Features (Rating ____)
Built-in FM tuner, voice recorder, display screen size & functions, hold, plug-n-play, remote, equalizer, search, shuffle and repeat are some features to compare.
2. Memory (Rating ____)
Flash players have 64MB to 1GB and hold 20 to 300+ songs. Micro-drive player memory is 4GB to 60GB and will hold your entire music collection, plus photos and other data.
3. Battery (Rating ____)
Flat Screen TV Comparison: Plasma vs LCD
February 28, 2008
Flat Screen TV Comparison: Plasma vs LCD
by: Mitchell Medford
Flat screen TV is one of the most popular and exciting TV technologies today. At only a few inches thick, flat screen TVs offer unparalleled flexibility and convenience. Older conventional TV’s, in fairness to them, did offer crisp and vibrant images. However, these TV’s, which operate through a cathode ray tube (CRT), suffered from one major drawback, they were bulky. As screen size increased, so did the bulk and weight. However, the TV of old has reached its twilight years. New television technologies have enabled TV manufacturers to create TVs with wider screen size yet still only a few inches thick. Thus, flat screen TVs usher home entertainment into the 21st century.
Flat Screen TV basically refers to two technologies: Plasma and LCD. The advances in these two technologies have enabled TV makers to build thin, lightweight TV screens with a large picture area. Plasma and LCD both offer similarly large, lightweight, flat screen TV’s but the similarities are skin deep for their inner workings are different.
Plasma or LCD?
Plasma TV vs LCD TV
February 27, 2008
For those seeking to buy their first flat panel TV display device, it is easy to be confused with conflicting and counter claims by different interest parties. So what is the truth in the competition between LCD and Plasma TV? Here’s are some pointers before you rush out and buy your flat panel TV on impulse . Just consider and keep them in mind when choosing. Actually, both types of technologies have their pros and cons. Let’s start with various factors. Picture Quality Plasma TVs have better contrast ratios and show better blacks than an LCD TV. That means in a dark scene, you are able to see images more clearly defined. This is because in LCD technology, liquid crystals are unable to shut off all the light completely due to the presence of the backlight resulting in light leakage and therefore it is impossible to get absolute black.I understand plasma TVs are able to produce better color saturation than LCD TVs. Generally, the native resolution of LCD TVs are higher than that of plasma TVs so you may get greater details when watching your programs especially in high definition video sources. Screen Size If you looking for a really big screen, then you have to go for plasma TV as they are available in sizes up to 60 inches. LCD TV on the hand come in maximum sizes of up to 40 inches. If you compare prices on both technologies for the same screen size, you will also realise LCD TVs are more expensive. Life span
You may also want to factor how long your new display device can last. LCD TVs have a greater life span than plasma TV. They have a life span of 60,000 hours compared to about 30,000 hours for plasma TVs. Power consumption Again LCD TV have this advantage over plasma TV. Power consumption for LCD TV is 30% less than plasma TV. With rising oil prices, maybe it is better to get an LCD TV. Further more, plasma TV generate more heat and if you live in an airconditioned home, the air con usage will definitely rise too. Viewing Angle If you are going to invite many guest to your homes, a plasma screen will do better. It has a wider viewing angle than LCD TV. Guests can easily view on either left or right side of the Plasma screen without fear of the loss of image which is inherent of LCD TVs. Response Time If you enjoy action movies or sport programmes, plasma TV offer a better deal as it can handle fast moving images better than LCD TVs. Traditionally, Viewers see a blurry moving images for LCD TV . However, this may no longer be the case as the response time for LCD TV has come down to as low as 12 milliseconds. Burn in effect Plasma TV suffers from this particular effect called burn in. You get a permanent ghost like image stuck on your screen. This is the result when you have static display over a long period of time.
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Ringtone!
February 26, 2008
There’s No Such Thing as a Free Ringtone!
by: Emily Sims
There is nothing worse than being duped. Not only do you feel like an idiot, you are left to pay for an item or service you don’t want. The latest scam is the ringtone subscription service. Companies advertising free ringtone downloads, targeted at teenagers, have caught many users in expensive subscription ‘clubs’. The con is simple: Aggressively market your product as “free”, wait until a user enters their mobile number to access the “free” download, then send the user 30 ringtones a month at a cost of 5 USD per ringtone. Premium SMS subscription services, like ringtone ‘clubs’ allow mobile phones to be used like credit cards.
Legality is addressed in the terms and conditions agreement, a small box on the subscription form that must be ticked before processing. Written in practically illegible 9pt sans serif text, terms and conditions usually pop up in a small window which must then be maximised. Typically, the word ‘subscription’ and service pricing appear only in the terms and conditions. For example:
4 Easy Ways to Speed Up A Sluggish PC
February 25, 2008
Computers are supposed to speed up our productivity?to help us do more in less time. What do you do when your computer is running so slow that it’s keeping you from getting your work done? Before you kick it to the curb, try these easy, do-it-yourself suggestions to help your system run & perform better.
Why do computers get slow in the first place? There are lots of reasons. When you first setup a new system, it’s usually fast and responsive. Applications open quickly, websites load instantly and startup and shut down take no time at all. But after a few months of serious use (installing and removing programs, downloading files from the Internet and general wear & tear) it’s normal for things to slow down a bit. This is where computer maintenance comes in?your disks and your file system need to be maintained for them to continue operating at peak performance.
According to an article from Microsoft.com (see link at the end of this article), there are 4 things you can do to increase the performance of your PC:
1) Free Up Some Disk Space
Mobile Reliant. Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Payphone!
February 24, 2008
Mobile Reliant. Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Payphone!
by: Emily Sims
I’m waiting for a friend to pick me up. There are nine people coming for dinner and I’m cooking. Our whole evening depends on my hasty retrieval from the train station, and I’ve forgotten my mobile phone. I was standing on the platform, fumbling for it in my bag, when I realised my phone was absent. I had told my friend that I’d call her when I arrived at the station. Unsettled, but not yet disturbed, I located the nearest payphone and picked up the receiver. It was then it dawned on me: I didn’t know the number. The number was in my mobile phone! So, now I am sitting outside the station wondering why I didn’t specify a time or place to be picked up. I watch other commuters rushing out of the station. I envy them their good memories and handheld gadgets. “Hi, mate. Yeah I’m at the station. Where are you?”, a man declares to the other half of the conversation, instantaneously cementing his plans. I go to the payphone and call my boyfriend, I’ve been sensible enough to write a few numbers in an archaic pocket address book. His mobile is switched off. I leave a message asking him to tell my friend that I’m waiting at the station. I pray that he gets it and –heaven forbid– his battery isn’t flat. I wait. Waiting, I seem to recall a distant time when there were no mobile phones. What did we do? How did we live without them? Have we become dependent upon mobiles?
Cellphone Etiquette for the Clueless
February 24, 2008
Cellphone Etiquette for the Clueless
by: Emily Sims
There are very few people in this world who posses the kind of social graces intrinsic to the characters in an Austen novel. Some would argue the children of the “information revolution” lack social propriety altogether. Despite the rumours that etiquette is dead, many of us do manage to exercise a little common courtesy toward our fellow man. After all etiquette exists simply to make the whole society caper a little less confrontational. The introduction of wireless communication has taken social interaction to an unprecedented level. Mobile technology allows people to communicate regardless of time or location, giving rise to a raft of contemporary etiquette concerns. Foremost among these concerns is consideration for the sensibilities of those in our physical presence when we take a call. Is it impolite, for example, to conduct a phone conversation whilst engaged in a carnal act? The contemporary socialite must also extend courtesy to the absent caller. Is it offensive to conduct a telephone conversation whilst using the toilet? This article offers guidance to the bewildered and brutish.
Internet Explorer Shortcuts for Mouse-o-phobes
February 23, 2008
If you’re like me, you occasionally find the ubiquitous mouse inconvenient. Here are keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (I.E.), the default browser for most personal computers in the business environment.
Of course, learning them all would be far more trouble than it’s worth. But as you scan through the possibilities, look for the tasks you do multiple times a day. Acquiring shortcuts for these repeated tasks makes sense, because you thereby improve your efficiency and reduce your unproductive mousing time. You may also find using the keyboard ergonomically more comfortable.
I’ve divided the tasks into categories that seem to reflect the routine process we all follow when using I.E. Remember: Some of these only work in certain locations or sequences.
Navigation ALT+HOME — Go to your home page. ALT+D — Select text in address bar. CTRL+ENTER (cursor must be in address bar) — Add “www.” to beginning and “.com” to end of text entered in address bar. F4 — Display/hide list of addresses you’ve recently entered. SHIFT+TAB — Move back through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar. UP ARROW — Scroll backward through a document one line at a time. PAGE UP — Scroll backward through a document in larger increments. BACKSPACE or ALT+LEFT ARROW — Move backward one page.
Look to the Internet to Find That Perfect Gift!
February 22, 2008
Look to the Internet to Find That Perfect Gift!
by: Chris Robertson
I admit it - I’m a gift-a-holic. There’s nothing I like better than
seeing the look in someone’s eyes when they open the perfect gift that I
picked out for them. I shop the discount stores and malls, the closeout
shops and railroad salvage lot stores to get the best bargains - or at
least I used to. These days, when I need a special gift for a special
occasion, I save the gas and the time and hit the internet instead of
the shopping center.
Wholesale internet shopping sites have opened up a whole new world of
low-priced, quality gift-giving. It’s a matter of simple economics. It
costs a whole lot less to maintain a web site than it does to maintain a
brick and mortar store - and the closeout and discount wholesale
internet gift sites pass those savings on to their customers.
Can you benefit from shopping for gift items online? Chances are that
the answer is yes. Whether you’re looking for a single special Christmas
