Archive for the 'Technology Stuff' Category

Searching for a new television - look at John Lewis

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Looking for a wonderful deal on a shiny new flat screen TV? The John Lewis web site can be a great place to browse for for a wide array of technology and accessories. John Lewis keep available a vast range of great products, such as; plasma televisions, Sony televisions, iPods, Samsung digital cameras, laptops, etc. It goes without saying that each and every one of the plasma screen televisions the John Lewis website keep available are from leading brands like; Samsung, Panasonic and Sony.

So you are looking for a great new Sony TV and do not know which place to start. Unsurprising with the bewildering mishmash of TVs on offer in the market; LCD, plasma, flat screen, HD, Freeview etc. An exceptionally handy resource for sifting your way through all of the industry terminology is the John Lewis buying guide - this neutral page should guide you through the terminology and help you best choose the television that is most suited for you and your family. It’s fundamental not to ignore the addons too! Eventually determining the most appropriate TV stand and cabinet, that will naturally complement your living room and quite obviously hold up your great new Panasonic television is an often overlooked part of the decision making process.

Your follow up query might be at which web site to look online for your brand spanking new television? There are a hell of a large number of websites on the world wide web offering the best deals, but how do you decide which site you can really trust? With John Lewis you and your family may make a purchase in full confidence, and here’s the reason; Absolutely free national delivery on every last one of your orders - no need to worry about that ’special price’ you think you’ve found suddenly not looking very good once you factor in the additional cost of shipping. In addition, if you require any product in a big rush, next day delivery service is certainly available for nearly all items. One more super thing is, if you are not happy with your brand new Panasonic TV then returns are free! But saving the very best till last - they offers you a free five year warranty for each and every one of their TVs, which is something you would pay a big premium for at most other retailers. Samsung TVs are an investment that can last a long time - make sure you choose the right one.

With a TV in your sights you might well now be all set to look through the excellent array of flat screen LCD televisions on offer on the John Lewis web site. Their web site is uncommonly painless to navigate and making your way to the right category and product will require very little effort at all. So why not give John Lewis a try for your new LCD TV… Happy shopping!

Would Greater Competition in Gaming Notebooks Be Beneficial for Us

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Gaming laptops were once only for those who had money and not for the average people. They were tiny volume sellers and big profit producing items. The most sought after laptop computers were the ones that were too expensive to consider purchasing. Simply they were the best laptop computers available. Despite the fact that was true I guess the prices were so expensive that we would buy laptop computers that were not so great instead. Lately all that has appeared to have changed as the massive companies have spotted the opportunities in gaming notebooks.

Bringing their well known names into the market could allow them to charge even more. This would be an excellent opportunity to make sizable margins for them. In addition they know they can convince us to buy laptop computers like these better than small resellers. This is a giant threat to littler specialist retailers. I reckon once it gets mass marketed it will lose some of the desirability. Also the recognisable brand name will give people more confidence.

The laptop computers are surprisingly good as well. Still though, for the little small retailers this should prove to be positive. I don’t believe people would like to have a similar configuration like everyone else in this type of sector. This type of prospect is typically well versed in the technology and is able to compare the specs. For certain consumers specifications and statistics are more valuable than physical appearance.

Certainly what’s taking place here can benefit people in the long term. This should act to make the newest technology increasingly accessible for the customer. Even though I say that, I’m not so confident with my claims. Premium prices should continue and be constant with the best laptop computers is what I’m guessing. We will find out what we can look forward to from the gaming notebook sectors giant brands.

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Whats In Store For Notebook Computers

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

Everybody needs laptop computers it seems. How did we exist without them? In fact demand is so high that taiwanese manufactures are anticipating component shortages proacitively. In fact if anything has dented demand or sales of laptops then its been limited supplies of parts. It’s a rapidly changing industry that is witnessing new trends all the time.

I’ve witnessed a lot of gaming laptops being released lately. These days you get a lot more for your money because the new technology is always poised to be released. Notebooks can now realistically be used for gaming by gamers due to the advanced performance of up to date systems. Even more suprising these days In my opinion is how sleek the cases are becoming especially when you think about much power is in them. Though gaming laptops have evolved in many areas, in terms of pure performance they still can’t contend with desktops. It’s an area to pay attention to as potential customers are looking for mobile, more powerful systems as we speak.

Custom laptops will always be attainable because the average configurations do not offer the specification the specialist niche consumers require. I feel the parts are more well known and operate more stable. You can normally save money on specs you do not desire by specing the laptop to your needs. Pre configured notebooks are made for common tasks and not upto doing more specific things. You get around this by aquiring a laptop built to . You can hunt down of manufacturers who supply direct so there are a lot of alternatives too. I actually feel this is a major thing that goes in favour for buying a notebook thats made to .

It surely will fascinating to see what gets released next. So far it looks like low priced portables are the popular trend. Its insane how technology developed for the third world countries have become hyped in the developed nations. Consumers require laptops that are light but additionally big enough to be flexible and easy to use. Companies must be engaged on a solution to this as we speak. Consumer trends suggest that gaming laptops will get increasingly lighter in the next few years. What will be launched next? Your prediction is as good as mine.

I have discovered what I think are the best laptop computers.

Abatement Bacteria and Control with NanoTech for Lunar Base Station

Friday, May 30th, 2008

Have you ever consider what would happen if you are on a colony on the moon and all a sudden runaway bacteria or virus becomes so pervasive that you cannot stop it and it threatens the lives of the crewmembers? It is for this reason that we need abatement procedures and protocols to stop the bacteria from overtaking a Lunar or Martian colony.

But how can we control bacteria in an enclosed capsule or environment without setting off a chain of events? Well very carefully might be the right answer? Nevertheless if we have nano tech devices or nano bots which attack the bacteria where it is clustered and move on to the greatest threat first and continue working until all the bacteria is abated and deleted from the lunar base station, capsule or space station, then we will be well on our way of solving the problem you see?

Is it possible that the nano bots could handle the problem? Indeed it is and it is only a matter of time until they do. Consider if you will that nano bots and nano tech may be used inside the human bio-system to go through the body and constantly weed out cancer cells?

Well the only difference would be that the air inside the capsule, space station is less dense than inside the human body and that the space is bigger and thus you might need a larger amount or a handful of these to take care a larger run away bacteria, mold or virus problem in the artificial habit of the colony, space capsule or space station. So, consider this in 2006.

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History of the Computer: Cooling, Part 1 of 2

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

We have mentioned the provisions made to provide back-up power systems involving generators and banks of batteries (see history of the computer - redundancy). You can probably tell from this that we are talking about a lot of power here.

Power means heat, and in the exacting world of the computer, excessive heat can cause all sorts of problems. Manufacturers had very close tolerances for operating temperature and humidity.

In the early days of vacuum tubes, electronic circuits were more tolerant of heat, most components could be designed to operate at high temperature. For instance a resistor designed for one quarter watt dissipation in a circuit today could have been replaced by a 10 watt resistor of the same value in the tube design, and have the same effect in the circuit. Of course the 10 watt resistor is physically much larger, but space was not as critical as in today’s circuits.

The problems of heat generation were, however, very apparent in the vacuum tube computer. The vacuum tube works by heating the Cathode so that it will emit electrons. The Cathode has a negative charge, while the Anode has a positive charge.

Due to the difference in voltage, of some hundreds of volts, the electrons are attracted to the Anode and can flow freely in the vacuum. This flow is regulated by one or more grids placed between the Cathode and Anode. The grid has a slightly negative bias compared to the Cathode, and can be modulated, or altered, to control the electron flow, and thus the current.

For example, in an amplifier, a triode (a tube with three electrodes, Anode, Cathode and Grid) can be made by applying a varying signal, perhaps from a vinyl disk, to the grid. Its small variations in amplitude, or size, are amplified in the current flowing through the tube, usually measured across a resistor in the Anode circuit.

But we digress! Back to the computer. In the computers using vacuum tubes, they were usually used as a switch, on or off, 0 or 1, in tune with the binary system. This was easily achieved by applying a negative voltage to the cathode to turn off the tube, or a more positive one to turn it on. This arrangement works well in circuits like flip-flops and their derivatives.

But - there’s always a but - due to the vast number of circuits required, with each tube generating heat to work, the cooling problems were huge. Large blowers and cooling fans around the tubes, as well as room air conditioning were standard. Also liquid cooling was used.

When transistors came along, in the 1960s, there was less heat generated per circuit. However, with the new solid state technology came new requirements for more sophisticated designs and capacities. The number of individual circuits multiplied.

Added to this was the narrow tolerance to temperature variations. A transistor, also normally used as a switch, could turn on when supposed to be off, when overheated, causing chaos in the system.

A transistor was not a perfectly predictable device at that time. They would behave as required within tolerances, and they were individually selected for this. If close to the tolerance limit, and in a susceptible position in the circuit or physically in the machine, a problem could occur. Room air conditioning became very important.

In part 2 we will look at conditions in the computer room.

Tony is an experienced computer engineer. He is currently webmaster and contributor to http://www.what-why-wisdom.com A set of diagrams accompanying these articles may be seen at http://www.what-why-wisdom.com/history-of-the-computer-0.html RSS feed also available - use http://www.what-why-wisdom.com/Educational.xml