 |
|
32-bit vs. 64-bit Computing –
|
|
|
Without getting too technical or doing any math, I'll explain the difference and why you should go with it. The Difference:
For your computer, this gives you support for more system memory, and that means better multitasking and generally improved performance across the board. How viagra 100mg tablets to get it:
There's still plenty of headroom in the 64-bit architecture to last for many years to come, even considering how fast technology advances. Just go with it:
I was quite familiar with the warning message in Windows XP, telling me I was out of free memory. While it's generally seen as the sweet spot amount of RAM to have, having more than 4 GB of memory in a 64-bit operating system can make it easier to manage large multimedia files like high definition videos and is essential for high-resolution 3D gaming. Audio and video recording also become more stable because the RAM provides an ample buffer while the hard drive busily spins away recording your data. Plus, you can do fun things like open every Tech Tip article in your web browser at the same time! |
|
It's quite easy to get a 64-bit system these days. Most every modern computer, application, and operating system is designed around the 64-bit architecture. Due to both availability and price, your average 
The obvious benefit to having more memory in your system is that it lets you hold more data in a place that the CPU can access quickly. Your RAM is a much faster resource than the virtual memory that your hard drive uses, in part because of the way the data is stored, on chips, and because of the speed of the interfaces. You may notice when your system is low on available RAM, it begins to chug and hang; that's your hard drive trying to keep up with the speedy demands of the CPU.May 17, 2010
Serial ATA 6Gb/s – The Third Generation
 |
Serial ATA 6Gb/s – The Third Generationby Ryan Morse – May 16, 2010 |
|
In this Tech Tip I'll go over what you need to know to decide when the right time is for you to upgrade. What's In A Name?
What's New?
How Do I Get It?
|
The third revision to the 
It turns out that what's in a name is understanding. A rose by any other name could be just as sweet, but how would you know how fast it is compared to other roses? There was some confusion regarding how to officially refer to the previous two standards. You would see SATA I and SATA II as well as Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s and Serial ATS 3Gb/s used interchangeably. Naturally, with this third revision to the specification coming out, it was important for the 
The biggest and most obvious improvement in the third generation of the interface is the 6.0 Gb/s transfer rate, which translates to 768 megabytes per second, about as much data on a 
The two ways to get this new technology remain the same as with most I/O technologies, you can install an add-on card or buy a 
As of now, the only people that are going to see instant performance increases are going to be Solid State Drive May 9, 2010
Laptop Buyer’s Guide Summer 2010 Edition!
 |
Laptop Buyer’s Guide Summer 2010 Edition!by Mark Tiongco – May 9, 2010 |
|
Are you in the market for a new laptop but don’t know where to start? Well check out our laptop buyer’s guide and let us help you decide! First, you’ll want to figure out what you’ll use your new laptop for. This will help you in deciding how big or small the laptop itself should be.For on-the-go web-browsing, quick blogging and simple email, you should check out a smaller, lighter, 10-13" cheap netbook.Netbooks are designed to pack enough power to get the quick essentials done and also have a tiny footprint so you’ll have no trouble carrying them to a coffee shop, school or on a plane trip.Some extras you’ll want to look out for an enhanced netbook experience:
Unless you’re planning on carrying your entire iTunes collection on your netbook, 120-160 GB-size hard drives are plenty for netbooks. If you need something more for writing school papers, doing research and multi-tasking, a notebook computer between 13-15” should be what you’re looking for.
Now if you’re a gamer, graphic designer or just need the absolute raw power, you should opt for a 15-18” desktop replacement notebook.These monsters have the power of a desktop computer but are relatively more portable than lugging around a tower and computer monitor.In addition to the 13-15” notebook specs, you should also add the following:
For all you Mac fans out there, Apple has refreshed its notebook lineup with many goodies. First and foremost is the long-awaited iPAD .Make no mistake, Apple has declared the iPAD IS NOT designed to replace your current notebook which is why you won’t find amenities such as a card reader, webcam and multi-tasking features. According to Apple, the iPAD works great for quick email checking, reading ebooks, viewing photos and casual movies and music. Considering its operating system is taken from the iPhone, this notebook would be ideal if you’re commuters, students, mobile professionals and any job that requires you to be able to send out an email or chat without the formality of finding an empty seat/table at a busy coffee shop and waiting 1-2 minutes to boot up a traditional laptop. In addition, Apple’s Macbook family now has Intel’s new Core lineup (i3-i5-i7). These processors do a fantastic job with multi-tasking thanks to its Hyper-Threading technology. Video muscle is improved with nVidia’s current Geforce 3xx- series video cards which help with intensive multimedia applications such as Final Cut Studio and Adobe Photoshop. Apple has also increased battery runtime for the 13.3” Macbook Pro to approximately 10 hours while the 15-17-inch versions have a still-impressive romania viagra 8-9 hours of battery life.Regardless of which brand or platform you choose, keep in mind the reason(s) for your notebook purchase so you can avoid unnecessarily paying extra for those unimportant bells and whistles. |
|
Laptop Buyer’s Guide Summer 2010 Edition!by Mark Tiongco – May 9, 2010 |
Are you in the market for a new laptop but don’t know where to start? Well check out our laptop buyer’s guide and let us help you decide! First, you’ll want to figure out what you’ll use your new laptop for. This will help you in deciding how big or small the laptop itself should be.For on-the-go web-browsing, quick blogging and simple email, you should check out a smaller, lighter, 10-13" cheap netbook.Netbooks are designed to pack enough power to get the quick essentials done and also have a tiny tablet viagra footprint so you’ll have no trouble carrying them to a coffee shop, school or on a plane trip.Some extras you’ll want to look out for an enhanced netbook experience:
Unless you’re planning on carrying your entire iTunes collection on your netbook, 120-160 GB-size hard drives are plenty for netbooks. If you need something more for writing school papers, doing research and multi-tasking, a notebook computer between 13-15” should be what you’re looking for.
Now if you’re a gamer, graphic designer or just need the absolute raw power, you should opt for a 15-18” desktop replacement notebook.These monsters have the power of a desktop computer but are relatively more portable than lugging around a tower and computer monitor.In addition to the 13-15” notebook specs, you should also add the following:
For all you Mac fans out there, Apple has refreshed its notebook lineup with many goodies. First and foremost is the long-awaited iPAD .Make no mistake, Apple has declared the iPAD IS NOT designed to replace your current notebook which is why you won’t find amenities such as a card reader, webcam and multi-tasking features. According to Apple, the iPAD works great for quick email checking, reading ebooks, viewing photos and casual movies and music. Considering its operating system is taken from the iPhone, this notebook would be ideal if you’re commuters, students, mobile professionals and any job that requires you to be able to send out an email or chat without the formality of finding an empty seat/table at a busy coffee shop and waiting 1-2 minutes to boot up a traditional laptop. In addition, Apple’s Macbook family now has Intel’s new Core lineup (i3-i5-i7). These processors do a fantastic job with multi-tasking thanks to its Hyper-Threading technology. Video muscle is improved with nVidia’s current Geforce 3xx- series video cards which help with intensive multimedia applications such as Final Cut Studio and Adobe Photoshop. Apple has also increased battery runtime for the 13.3” Macbook Pro to approximately 10 hours while the 15-17-inch versions have a still-impressive 8-9 hours of battery life.Regardless of which brand or platform you choose, keep in mind the reason(s) for your notebook purchase so you can avoid unnecessarily paying extra for those unimportant bells and whistles. |
Their normal use is represented on the key by the white marking and their alternate use is represented by the blue marking on the key. You need to press the Fn key and then press the system key on your keyboard to make use of the system key's alternate function. The Fn key is located on the leftmost part of the first line of keys of the keyboard of your Gateway laptop.
The system keys include the function keys 1 to 12 except function keys 5 and 7, a few page navigation keys, the up and down arrow keys, and the numeric pad keys. I don't know why F5 and F7 are not used but if you really need to know, you have to ask Gateway about it.
The page navigation keys used for alternate function include the End, Page Up and Page Down keys. The Home page navigation key is not used. The normal keys used alternatively as numeric pad keys include the numbers 7 up to 0, the letters U, I, O, P, J, K, L and M, and the characters semi-colon, period and forward slash.
You normally would not use the numeric pad of your laptop's keyboard. It just might interest you to know that your Gateway laptop offers this facility. To make use of this feature, you need to turn the numeric lock on your keyboard on by pressing Fn and then pressing the Scroll key on the right topmost line of keys on your Gateway laptop's keyboard. You can turn the numeric lock off by pressing the two keys one after another one more time.
Use the F1 system key to toggle the status indicators on your Gateway laptop to on or off position. The status indicators are located below the left and right buttons of your keyboard's touchpad. The indicators tell you if your wireless adapter is on, if you have pressed the Caps Lock key, if you have turned on the numeric lock, if your disc drive is reading or writing, and if your hard disk is in use.
Press the Fn key and then press the F2 key to turn your wireless adapter on or off. Check with the status indicators to find out whether your wireless adapter is turned on or off. Use the F3 key in conjunction with the Fn key to bring your Gateway laptop to Sleep of Hybrid Sleep mode. You can then press the Power button to leave make your laptop leave the Sleep mode.
The F4 key together with the Fn key is used to toggle your display to your laptop's LCD, an external monitor or projector, or both the LCD and the external monitor. The Fn key and the F6 keys are used to turn the optional prescription viagra without internal Bluetooth device of your Gateway laptop on or off.
You can press the Fn and the F8 keys once to increase the intensity of your LCD's display. If you press the two keys again, the display will dim and if you press the keys a third time, your LCD's display intensity will return to normal.
The Fn key in conjunction with the F9 to F12 keys are used to control the playing of your CD or DVD disc. The Fn and F9 keys are used to play or pause the CD or DVD. Fn and F10 keys are used to stop the playing of the CD or DVD. Fn and F11 are used to skip back the CD or DVD one track or chapter respectively while the Fn and F12 keys are used to skip them ahead one track or chapter.
Use the Fn and the Up Arrow key to increase the brightness of your laptop's display. Press the Fn and the Down Arrow keys to dim your laptop's display. Use the Fn and PageUp keys to increase the volume of your laptop's speakers. Use the Fn and the PageDown keys to decrease the speakers' volume. To mute the sound on your laptop's speakers, press the Fn key and then the End key.
System keys provide additional functionalities that you might find useful someday. You don't really have to memorize their alternate functions. Just know that they are there and ready to be used whenever they are needed. The information I have presented here are based on the Reference Guide of my Gateway laptop computer.
