New Computer Technologies and General Information

Hybrid Hard Drive?

Most of us are walking around with “flash” drives in our pockets or brief cases. Now, hard drive manufacturers are looking at incorporating that technology into the current rotating disk package. The problem is that each technology has its pros and cons. Flash drives are good at reading small chunks of data. Rotating drives are great at writing large chunks of data. Another approach to incorporating the two technologies is an add-in circuit card sometimes referred to as “ready boost” or “turbo memory”. Each manufacturer will have their trademarked name. In any case, the flash memory card is used with the existing hard disk drive to increase boot up speed and open applications faster. Working with the operating system, the card “remembers” the programs that are loaded at startup and which applications are opened the most frequently. Unfortunately, the only operating system to utilize this new “hybrid” technology is Windows VISTA.

CPU Speed is No Longer the Benchmark for Performance

CPU chip manufacturers have been working on decreasing the size of the transistors for a log time. The thought process was “if you decrease the size of the transistors, then you can fit more functions in the same area of space”. But, what they have done, and will do, is increase the amount of memory inside the CPU, referred to as “L2 Cache”. What does that mean to you? The larger the “L2 Cache” size, the better performance from the CPU. The smaller the transistor size, the less power is consumed. So, the new generation of processors is giving better performance at lower operating frequencies. On other words, the new 2.2 GHz processors are giving better performance than the older Pentium 4 3.0 GHz units, and using less power, requiring smaller fans and heat sinks.

Virus/Spyware/Spam Warning & Updates

Storm Worm Infects 1 to 10 Million Computers

According to some estimates, the Storm Worm has become the most powerful super computer in the world. By infecting as many as 10 million computers, the virus has succeeded in seeding a massive “botnet”. The word is generally used to refer to a collection of compromised computers (called zombie computers) running programs, usually referred to as worms, Trojan horses, or backdoors, under a common command and control infrastructure. What does this mean to you? If your computer is infected, someone is harnessing your computer power to create a server. If your anti-virus software is not up to date, then it can’t detect and remove the presence of a “rootkit” that may be used to start the “botnet” service each time you start your computer. For more information, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Worm

For “free” on-line security scanning of your computer go to the bottom of the 1on1cc.com home page and select from a variety of providers.
Go to: ( www.1on1cc.com )

"Free" Software Downloads

VLC Media Player 0.8.6c

VLC media player is a multi-platform, free software distributed under the GNU (General Public License). The multimedia player can handle various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, and etc.) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. There’s even a “skin” to give it the look and feel of Windows Media Player 11.
Go to: ( http://www.videolan.org/ )

Netscape Navigator 9.0b1

Chances are that when most people started to browse the “web”, they used Netscape Navigator. Through the years it was overtaken by Mozilla’s FireFox and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. With the latest release, Netscape might start to regain its popularity. Netscape features one-click searching from the address bar; Quick Launch, which reduces the browser start-up time; Click-to-Search, which allows users to select a word within a Web page and search; improved instant messaging, including support for buddy icons, file transfers, and buddy alerts; and tabbed browsing, which allows users to view multiple Web pages in a single browser window.
Go to: ( http://browser.netscape.com/ )

Tips & Tricks

Add Google Map

Want to easily add a map to your web site or link to a map in an email message? Go to the Google Maps web site (maps.google.com), type in the address, and click the "link to this page" option on the top right side of the map. This will give you quick and dirty code to place into a web site or email message. There's also an advanced option to tweak the size from small, medium, large, or custom. Instead of using Adobe Flash, Google employs an “iframe” to simply load the page within the page.

Internet Speed Test

Does your Internet connection seem slow at times? Well, it might not be your computer or web browser that is the problem. Sometimes Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have trouble on their end. There are web sites where you can check your connection speed, but until now, most have been too complicated for the average user. Go to the Speedtest.net web site and just click on the recommended server pyramid icon. The download and upload speeds will be calculated for you. Compare the results to what you’re paying for. Test your connection speed at various times during the day, especially when you suspect a slow down. If you have “cookies” enabled in your browser, the site will save your testing results. Go to:
Go to: ( http://www.speedtest.net/index.php )

Daylight Savings Time

November 4^th, Daylight Savings Time will end. Most Microsoft products will be updated through Windows Update or Office Update, but you can download Time Zone update tools form Microsoft, if you prefer.
Go to: ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933360 )

Be sure to visit the ( One on One Computer Web Site ) for more computer related information and valuable links to other web sites.