The Latest Trends in Notebooks

In technology it seems that most products’ lifespan follow the same pattern. Products evolve by becoming smaller, more advanced in capability, and/or cheaper. All three of these characteristics can be seen in the evolution of the notebook. Over the years advancements in the hardware and software have made it possible for smaller, lighter, more advance notebooks. Additionally, as technologies become more prominent, prices seem to drop even lower. All of this is good for both manufacturers, who gain economies of scale, and for consumers, who can buy more for their money.

Accordingly, one of the latest trends seen in portable notebooks is to be extremely light weight and thin with a high degree of capabilities. This past month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV, microprocessor company AMD announced that its Athlon Neo platform will make its first appearance in HP Pavilion Dv2 12.1 Notebook. The advanced Athlon Neo processor carries enough power to support Windows Vista and MediaSmart software on the notebook. In addition, the Pavilion Dv2’s CPU runs at 1.6GHz and is paired with ATI Mobility Radeon HD3410 graphics. All of this matched with the Pavilion Dv2’s ability to support external Blu-Ray Disc, will soon make HP Pavilion the best notebook for delivering high quality entertainment to its user.

HP Pavilion Dv2’s pricing starts at about $699. Though this price doesn’t follow the trend of becoming cheaper in the greater scheme of all notebooks (most midlevel notebooks are priced at about $500), it is important to remember that the Pavilion Dv2 is one of the first of its kind and its price will probably drop over the next few years. And if not, another company is sure take advantage of a like technology and come out with an equal computer at a lesser value. Furthermore, HP is not the only company currently producing light weight notebooks, Sony, Panasonic, and Apple are also name brand companies working to produce smaller laptops with bigger functionality. So if you are in the market for a new laptop, stay up to date with all of the newest technologies hitting the market and you will be sure to find great deals for your money.

Recycling Your E-waste

Many consumers would like to be green conscious, but regulations and fees often make recycling of e-waste inconvenient and costly. Manufacturer Recycling Management (MRM) is a company that is dedicated to the long-term goal of making manufacturers a part of the recycling process, and in-turn building convenient recycling systems for consumers. Founded by the industry leaders in green electronic programs, Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba, MRM has quickly been growing since the September 2007 start date in Minnesota.

Consumers of electronic goods are now able to drop-off and dispose of any e-waste at any of the 280 locations nationwide. So far there is at least one drop off location in every state (in most states there are two), but by 2011 MRM hopes to increase their locations to include 800 collection sites. Participation is open to all electronic product manufacturers, and currently includes 21 manufacturers and retailers participating in its program. There is no fee to consumers dropping off any of the participating company’s end-of-life electronics; however, e-waste produced by non-participating manufacturers is being accepted, though some of these products may have a disposal fee. MRM is committed to recycling the e-waste collected correctly; vowing not to use Federal Prison Industries (Unicor) or ship any of the waste oversees.

The ultimate goal of MRM is to bring manufactures together to build a collaborative e-waste collection infrastructure which will facilitate the sharing the of collection costs. In the end this should further motivate consumers to be more environmentally conscious when disposing of their old electronics. MRM is taking away the consumer’s excuses of “inconvenience” or “cost” as why they are not properly disposing of their electronic waste; which in the end creates a better situation for everyone.

Generic vs. Name Brand Ink

Because of the sometimes high prices of ink cartridges, people often opt to buy generic brand inks or refill old cartridges. However these options may not actually be saving you money in the long run. Factors such as prints per-cartage, longevity of the prints, and quality of the prints actually may make buying name brand ink over alternative options a better choice for you.

For instance, HP claims that their ink will last twice as long as any refilled cartridge and that their cartridges are about five times more reliable then remanufactured toner. Additionally, companies such as HP often offer additional high end ink lines to increase the quality of your prints at home. HP’s Vivera inks are specially designed to give radiant colors, superior shadow detailing, and reduce image grain- all in order to deliver professional quality prints at home, especially when paired with HP Premium Plus Photo Paper. And yes, the brand and quality of the photo paper matter as well when trying to achieve the best quality prints. Because HP designs the printer, the ink, and the paper, the compatibility of this printing trio work together in harmony to deliver the best professional quality prints. Furthermore, the Vivera inks use dyes to enhance their colors rather than pigments. This not only guards your prints from fading for 108 years, but also enhances the print finish to be extraordinarily uniform, smooth, and high gloss when paired with high gloss photo paper.

Buying the ink specifically made for your printer by the printer’s manufacturer will insure quality prints every time. The ink is specifically designed to fit the specs of your printer, ultimately meaning that it is your printers best fit. So next time you are considering “cheaper” ink alternatives, consider factors that go beyond the absolute immediate monetary cost of the ink.

Bettering Your HD Experience- HDMI Cables

For those of you out there who have not heard about HDMI cables, HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. Simply put, an HDMI cable is the connection between your HDTV and any other audio/video source, such as your DVD player. This digital cable not only simplifies your cabling system, because audio and video cables are encompassed in one single cable, but HDMI also delivers the highest-quality crystal-clear experience to any home-theater. The quality of the audio/video signal sent is improved because both the signal sent is digital and is never converted to analog and back, and also because the signal is never compressed. These two things combined work to send the highest quality signal, which in turn delivers the highest quality experience for the viewer.

Now there are a number of HDMI cables currently on the market ranging in price from $10-$150. So what’s the difference? The truth, not much but the price. Though salesmen may try to convince you otherwise, arguing that the more expensive cables have 14k gold connectors or have lifetime guarantees- none of this makes any real difference. For one, all HDMI cables are going to have the same basic parts and any variation of part will not make your picture any more or less clear, even if the connectors are made of 14k gold. Secondly, why would you want a lifetime guarantee on a technology that is going to advance to an upgraded version in the next few years, when that time comes you will probably be buying another upgraded cable anyways.

The only drawback of buying a cheap cable is that most electronic stores, only carry more expensive HDMI cables and cheap versions usually must be ordered online. The brands of HDMI cables that I would recommend to look for online are Belkin, Cables to Go, and IOGEAR. All of these brands carry HDMI cables that are both inexpensive and quality.

Making the Match- Which is the Best Printer for You?

In general consumers enjoy the ability to choose from a selection of different product alternatives; however when faced with too many options, many consumers find themselves feeling baffled and distressed. These consumer feelings often apply to those in the market for a new printer. Accordingly, the following are a few tips to help simplify any consumers hunt for a new printer.

To get started, a good basic question to ask yourself is ‘what do I need this printer to do?’ Make a list of the functions that you need for your printer to complete, such as being able to print family photos. This ensures that you are getting the printer that truly fits your personal needs and that you are not being sold on irrelevant features at the point of purchase.

Now that you have your needs in mind, here is a short run down of the basic types of printers you will encounter on your hunt. Keep in mind what functions you want from your printer, choose accordingly from the following printer categories and go from there.

Laser printers are often a more costly investment, but over time with moderately heavy usage, laser printers can actually prove to save money and productivity. The speed and quality of prints is often what draws people to buy laser printers. Having faster prints can boost productivity in any fast-paced office or for any aspiring author. Additionally, the cost of toner may seem initially high, but the long life span of each toner cartage actually drives down the cost per print often lower then that of the average inkjet print.

Inkjet printers are usually the choice of the average consumer. They can be very affordable, name brand quality inkjets printers can start as low as $30. Also, they are very versatile in their capabilities, printing anything from family photos to lengthy book reports. However, though initial printer prices may be low and attractive, often ink cartridges run out quickly and can add up to be quite costly. Another drawback is that most inkjet printers will not give professionally finished photo prints.

If you are looking to get professional photo prints at home, you have a few basic choices. A high quality inkjet printer can do the job, but you must research the capabilities of the compatible ink, the supported types of paper, and the color management tools supported by the specific printer. Snapshot photo printers can also be a good choice. Though these printers serve only one function, most can be hooked up directly to your digital camera making a computer unnecessary to print quality photos.

Multifunction printers, also known as All-in-ones, can be the perfect solution to any home, office, or home office. These printers have the capability to not only deliver quality prints, but they can also copy, scan, and fax documents. Encompassing the functionality of four office essentials, many people are finding the benefits of multifunction printers.

Now that you have chosen the type of printer you need, going to the store to buy will not be such a intimidating task. You have an overall idea of what you want, and now it is up to you to determine your final choice of make and model. A little extra help at this step can be gained from the cnet.com article “How Do I Sort Out The Specs?” This article gives an easy to read run down of how to read all of the confusing printer information given on the box, etc. Good luck!

Network-Attached Storage Devices

The role of any corporate network is to keep employees connected. Network-attached storage (NAS) devices allow for the people within a network at different work stations to universally access, share, and back up files onto an external device. These network storage devices are not hosted by any one computer, but are attached to the main corporate network and can be accessed by any computer connected to the network.

There are many benefits that can be attached to NAS. One of which is that this system offers network users the ability of data sharing. Because files are stored and consolidated onto one shared network device, anyone with access to the network has access to the files, a big plus to many corporate networks. This system also creates the separation between storage management and the application of database servers; making upgrading either the storage or the servers a more flexible decision because they are made to be separate entities. Another key benefit to NAS is its simplicity. Installation of a network storage device comes with ease and minimal monetary cost. This simplicity also applies to the scalability of the shared network devices. As the network itself grows, devices with more storage or bandwidth can be easily installed and upgraded. Additionally, because many people on the network have access to the shared files, management over the files becomes a shared task. Sharing management roles over the network means no one person need be responsible for regular housekeep tasks such as back up.

To give you a head start, PC World has outlined their top-five picks for Network-attached storage devices. Among the top-five are Netgear’s ReadyNAS Duo and ReadyNAS NV+ and the Iomega Storcenter Network Hard Drive. Improve the communication, efficiency, and capabilities within your corporation all at once. Make the choice to upgrade your corporate network with a network applied storage device to improve the productivity flow of your business.

Streaming Netflix at Home

Presently, Netflix is hitting the movie rental industry as online music downloads hit the CD industry in the 1990’s. Seemingly ever growing in popularity, Netflix has quickly gained a cult of loyal following. Offering over 10,000 movies in stock to be delivered to your door in a mere few days, many inpatient consumers have been looking to Netflix’s newest addition of technology as the answer to an even more speedy delivery of movie rentals. Watch Instantly is a relatively new concept by Netflix which allows subscribers to instantly watch movies streamed over the internet from their website to people’s PCs. As of now, consumers have a few choices as to how to view their streaming videos, but each come with their own drawback. Viewers can choose to view the streaming movies on the monitors of their PCs (which offers a viewing screen often smaller then desired), or can turn to a number of external devices (all of which come with additional monetary costs) such as the Roku Netflix player, Xbox 360, or TiVo DVR to connect the streaming Netflix video to their TVs.

However, on Monday, LG announced a leap in advancement concerning this technology. LG has publicized the introduction of the first TVs to contain built-in Netflix streaming capabilities which will hit stores in the US this upcoming spring. The TVs are being called Broadband HDTVs and will be available in both plasma and LCD technologies. The true feature that will set these TVs apart from all the others, is that the Broadband HDTV will be equipped with Ethernet jacks. This will enable the televisions to directly stream movies off of internet sites such as Netflix. Though these televisions are estimated to cost about $300 more then comparable models without the Ethernet jack, it is important to note that these LG Broadband HDTVs will be the first of their kind and are a breakthrough in technology.

In addition to their Netflix streaming capabilities, though no formal announcement has been made thus far, many are speculating the further capabilities that an Ethernet cable could bring to a television. Added viewing capabilities of videos off of online sites, such as YouTube and CinemaNow, are soon to be considered a technology of the present, not the future.

Having the Best of Both Worlds

There are a number of methods for people owning Macs to run Windows OS. For most users’ needs, simply installing the Mac version of Office will resolve any problems. The instillation of Office will allow the user to employ programs such as MS Word and Excel. Files saved under Mac’s OS X Office are generally saved as the same format as files saved under Windows systems, however some differing features may make editing between systems challenging.

This, along with the fact that not all of the Windows applications are offered on the Mac version of Office (for example Access) and some gamers need to run their gaming software on Windows systems; some Mac users may want to have Windows operating system installed onto their Mac. This can be achieved in one of two ways.

The first way is to install Windows onto your Mac, giving Windows an entirely separate hard drive space from the OS X. To accomplish this, your Mac’s OS X already has a program to help carry out this instillation with little thought. The program is called Boot Camp Assistant, and can be found by clicking Finder à Applications à Utilities à Boot Camp Assistant. First the Boot Camp will determine how many hard drives your computer has; if there is only one, Boot Camp will set aside a portion of the drive for the Windows instillation; if there are more then one drive, Boot Camp will ask which drive (or portion of a drive) you would like to set aside for the instillation. Once hard drive space has been reserved, Boot Camp invites you to insert the Windows instillation CD. From here, Microsoft installer takes over and guides you step-by-step through the set-up process. This method allows you to switch between operating systems (OS X and Windows), however the computer must be rebooted each time you switch between systems.

The second approach to installing the Widows operating system on your Mac is to run Windows as an application under the OS X. This allows you to run OS X and Windows seemingly simultaneously- in actuality only a virtual version of Windows is being run as an application under OS X. These programs are a bit more costly then merely buying the Windows instillation CD, however many of these programs can be downloaded with little effort online and often offer reduced rate trials. Two recommendations for virtual Windows programs that can be downloaded online are Parallels and Fusion.