Microsoft Milan Surface Computer Playtable

Some big news from Microsoft yesterday on a new computer called the Microsoft Milan Surface Computer (or Playtable) which is basically a computing table.

Then you add to that some amazing technology and this is one of the best products I have seen from Microsoft in many years, just look at the photos (IT LOOKS AMAZING) and I am not just saying that because I love technology and gadgets.

With all new computers and phones the designers are talking computer interaction and touch (just look at the iPhone), this is the first product from Microsoft’s Surface Computing group (a tabletop computer code-named Milan).

30-inch horizontal display and 22 inches high, this acrylic table is very similar to a table top Pacman game my dad had years ago but obviously not with the technology that’s in the Milan Playtable.

Microsoft Milan Surface Computer Playtable Features:

• Wi-Fi enabled (put a WiFi digital camera on the table top and the machine downloads the photos automatically)
• Interact with photos much like actual physical photos (pass them around the table)
• Music application turns the table into a virtual jukebox
• Concierge application that helps you pull together an itinerary for a day out in a strange city
• First generation Microsoft Surface Computer aimed at retail and in bars and hotels
• Browse the Web
• Imagine controlling a Media Center PC like this
• Interactive slideshows
• …and so much more

The surface computing market is potentially a multi-billion dollar business, so Microsoft does not want to make the same mistakes they did with Search (They are getting in early with this market).

Microsoft is launching the platform just for big retail clients currently (or I guess if you’re a millionaire you can get what you want, for a price).

So for us lesser earning people, the cool Microsoft Milan coffee table will just be in the photos…

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Amazing - Technology Beyond Your Imagination

Amazing technology from Japan . . . . but can you guess what it is?

Look closely and guess what they could be...

                           
                                Are they pens with cameras?

Any wild guesses? No clue yet?


 Ladies and gentlemen... congratulations! 
You've just looked into the future... yep that's right! 

    You've just seen something that will replace your PC in the near future. 

Here is how it works:

               
                       In the revolution of miniature computers,
                   scientists have made great developments with
                                  bluetooth technology... 

                     This is the forthcoming computers you can
                                carry within your pockets.

 
 

            This "pen sort of instrument" produces both
             the monitor as well as the keyboard on any
             flat surfaces from where you can carry out
                functions you would normally do on your
                             desktop computer.

Can anyone say, "Good-bye laptops!"

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Mini Notebooks

Searching for the best mini notebook will bring in front of your eyes a lot of options, but the choice you will make about purchasing one depends on your preferences. The most important things you look for into a notebook will also cost. If you want a special notebook for business, or for gaming, or just for personal use, be sure that those special specifications will cost you. Finding the right one is always depending on your needs, and you should also take into consideration the product as a whole, and analyze each of notebook's characteristics. It is a good step, in the beginning of your search process to look for the best products on the market, and then see if they fit with what you need, and most important, if they fit with your budget.

On the first place I would mention Acer Aspire, which is popular for several reasons, and there are real reasons for this product to be on the first place in our "mini" top. Acer has a 9'' widescreen, which is perfect if you want to use a lot this notebook. Its sharp and bright colors on the display will offer you a high video performance, and these characteristics are adjustable according to your needs. This mini notebook is a little bit large, but it offers great performance for a mini laptop. It is actually a real laptop in notebook clothes, and I think it is the best idea for a person who wants a smaller laptop with high performance.

The second mini notebook is Asus Eee PC 1000, and its popularity is growing day by day. This model has bigger dimensions than average notebooks, but it still is considered a mini. It has an Intel Atom processor, and this one can be found in all Asus' models. A good feature is that this notebook runs on less energy than other notebooks, and it is a great option if you are planning to use it a lot while traveling, and if you don't want to charge it too often.

Another option would be Dell Inspiron Mini 9''. The best thing about this mini notebook model is that its hard drive can be upgraded to 16 GB, for a larger storage space. The battery has a very good life, and it can last about 3 1/2 hours without charging. Dell Inspiron can be customized, and built according to your needs, and you can put whatever you want into it. The design is elegant and it attracts a lot of notebook users with this feature.

HP offers a great mini notebook, but one thing a lot of people mentioned as a disadvantage would be the price. It is quite expensive, and it actually doesn't offer anything revolutionary. The quality and the performance offered are great, but there is nothing out of the box about this laptop. HP includes all the features someone could want. It is an average laptop, and it fits for many purposes: business, personal use, gaming, and a real advantage would be that the battery life is quite long. This laptop has a full keyboard and it is very comfortable to use in a lot of situations.

Another cool mini notebook would be Sony VAIO. This mini notebook has a 8.9 inch screen and it also has a great 80 GB hard drive. This is enough space for a mini model, and the battery's life is also good, if you plan to use it a lot unplugged. It comes with preinstalled Vista Home Basic. This notebook offers high performance and a lot of features which make it fit a lot of people's preferences.

These were the best mini notebooks on the market, and if you still didn't make up your mind yet, you might want to consult the "Laptop Buyer's Guide" I presented in the last post, and see what you should take into consideration when you purchase a portable computing device. All the advice there can be applied on notebooks too, and maybe you would like to check other models too, but these are the best. A good idea would be to make a list with the most important aspects you are looking for in a notebook. You should narrow down the list and in the end make the perfect purchasing decision.

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Types of Memory

EDO MEMORY

Once considered cutting edge, EDO is simply FPM DRAM that is been slightly modified to modestly boost performance. The modification allows one read to begin before the last one has been completed, and the overlap can increase raw transfer speed by 20 percent.

SDRAM

(Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) has largely been superseded by DDR-SDRAM, but you still see SDRAM on some systems. For basic computing needs, you probably won't notice much of a performance difference between SDRAM and the faster DDR-SDRAM. But given DDR-SDRAM's popularity, the only reason to go with SDRAM is if it was the only choice on an otherwise desirable computer.

DDR1-SDRAM

(Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the dominant type of memory today. DDR refers to Double Data Rate, where data is sent both at the beginning and the end of each clock cycle, resulting in faster access speeds.
DDR SDRAM utilizes the existing SDRAM infrastructure and technology while doubling the nominal bandwidth available to systems. In plain English, imagine that PC133 SDRAM is like data going along a one way street. DDR SDRAM is like data going along a two lane highway, as DDR stands for Double Data Rate. What is this good for? Well, any application really. Everything uses RAM and therefore everything from the Operating System to intensive 3D gaming benefits from the increased speed of DDR SDRAM. DDR-SDRAM has another important improvement over PC133 SDRAM. Its voltage supply is only 2.5V, instead of 3.3V. This and the lower capacitances inside the memory chips lead to a significantly reduced power consumption, which makes DDR-SDRAM very attractive for notebooks.

DDR2 SODIMMS

For notebook-pc's offer a number of improvements over the previous DDR1 generation memory solution. These include a space-saving form factor, low power consumption, improved thermal characteristics, and high bandwidth. All this results in greater performance per watt and improved battery life compared to other memory standards.

DDR2 notebook SODIMMS are rated at 1.8 Volts, which is nearly a full Volt (0.8V) lower than DDR1 SODIMMs and feature IC's based on the FBGA process. This means that notebooks with DDR2 modules require up to 65% less voltage than those running DDR400, thus improving battery life. Samsung, a leading semiconductor manufacturer, ran internal tests and showed that a notebook PC equipped with Samsung DDR2 memory lasted close to 10% longer before requiring recharging. Notebooks with DDR2 memory bring this goal a step closer as the extra 10% battery life can improve mobility and thus productivity.

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SSDs Are Making Life Hard For Hard Drives

Stop. Look. Listen to your drive; hear what it’s saying.
If the drive in your new notebook isn’t saying anything—that is, it isn’t making any noise at all—it might be part of the vanguard of a storage invasion. Hard drives are making way for flash memory, and SSDs (solid-state drives) are fueling the revolution.

A Long Hard Drive

The hard drive has had a long and illustrious reign. But as with the new flash-based storage upstarts, the hard drive also came to power in a revolutionary manner.

Back in the early 1980s, if you wanted to run an application on your personal computer, you first had to load it from a floppy diskette (or, more often, a small stack of them). There wasn't much in the way of multitasking, either: If you needed to run a different program, you had to quit the application you were using and then load the new one. It didn't help matters that the floppy drives of the time were highly unreliable, and the diskettes were very easy to damage.

Later in the decade, the hard drive made its way down to personal computers from the business world. This miraculous storage device had enough room for many floppies’ worth of data. More importantly, you could install an application (that is, copy the contents of its diskettes to the hard drive one time) and then launch it from the hard drive whenever you liked.

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All About Computer

Introduction:
A computer is acquiring the parts. This guide will start with a quick explanation of essential parts and elaborate on them further on.

A computer is made up of a case, also called a chassis, which houses several internal components, and the external components, including peripherals.
Inside the case go the following internal parts:

• Power Supply/PSU – power supply unit, converts outlet power, which is alternating current (AC), to direct current (DC), which is what the internal components require, as well as providing appropriate voltages and currents for the various internal components.
• Motherboard/mainboard – As the name indicates, this is the electronic centerpiece of the computer, everything else connects to the motherboard.
• Processor/CPU – central processing unit, the "brain" of the computer, most actual computation takes place here.
• RAM – random access memory, the "short-term memory" of a computer, used by the CPU to store program instructions and data upon which it is currently operating. Data in RAM is lost when the computer is powered off, thus necessitating a hard drive.
• Hard Drive/Hard Disk – the "long-term memory" of the computer, used for persistent storage – i.e. the things stored on it remain even when the computer is powered down. The operating system, and all your programs and data are stored here.
• Optical Drive – device for reading/writing optical disks. May read CDs, DVDs, or other optical media, depending on the type. It is essential for installing many operating systems and programs. It may be able to write some of these discs, as well. Some people like to have two such drives for copying disks. 
• Video Card/Graphics Card/GPU – does processing relating to video output. Some motherboards have an "onboard" GPU built in so you don’t need (but may add) a separate video card. Otherwise, you will need a video card. These plug into a slot on the motherboard and provide a place to connect a monitor to your computer.
• Keyboard – for typing on. Many motherboards won't even boot without a keyboard attached.
• Mouse – for pointing and clicking. Unless you chose a text-based operating system, you will likely want one of these.
• Monitor – This is where the pretty pictures go. They come in many forms, the most common being CRT and LCD.

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Operate Your System

Now that you’re finished building your PC, you’ll need to install an operating system. If you want to use Windows XP and you don’t have an old disc lying around, you can purchase an OEM version off of Newegg for $100.

Since we didn’t factor in the price for the OS, the choice is yours; XP, Vista, or even the readily available Windows 7 Beta. We chose to use an old XP key from a previous build to install and run our benchmarks, which we believe is what most budget-minded builders would do.

Check the following before you decide to install an operating system:

-    All the parts are properly seated
-    All the cables are in place
-    Double check that the front panel connections are correct
-    Plug in the monitor, keyboard, and mouse
-    Plug in the power cord to the PSU
-    Flip the PSU switch to the on position

When everything is read to go, press the power and voila! Hit the DEL key during startup to be taken to the BIOS screen.

Go to Advanced BIOS Features – Boot sequence and select the CD/DCD optical drive as your first boot device. Press ESC to go back and disable the Full Screen Logo Display to enable Quick Booting and increase your boot time. Once you’ve made the necessary changes, press F10 and select Yes. The PC will restart and during reboot, insert your Windows CD of choice into the optical drive and setup will begin. Follow the instructions to successfully install Windows.

After Windows has installed, head back to the BIOS set up and change the boot sequence to set it up so that the hard drive boots first and then the optical drive.  Find the manufacturer’s CD that came with your MOBO and be sure to install all the appropriate drivers, as well as the drivers that came with your GPU.

Hooray! Now you’re all finished assembling this PC. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?

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