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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Modding

The computer design could be discussed for hours - it is almost the same as talking about art. Throughout history, the mankind has sought for a diversity of the surroundings. It is a commendable zeal, I hasten to say. So, with the advent of home and office computers, a new problem appeared. Your may not believe but it concerns the design of computer case. In the late 20th century, the computer case represented a uniform gray box with a monitor over it like some leader bust. This can not go on foreverâ€¦ and modding appears to help those who are unsatisfied. Modding is a vocation of home masters who can keep an instrument in the hands and who got tired of beloved computer serial design. Modders, this is what modding-lovers are called, are actively introducing new self-designed and homemade computer cases, invent new technologies and approaches to make their unique home computers so that they will stand out from the crowd and enjoy possessing an exclusive computer with heretofore unseen features, forms, etc., i.e. a real modding thing. Any modding computer consists of main serial units and components, whose appearance and features are developed and upgraded. Modding concerns not only the outer parameters of computer hardware, but also the complex technical modernizations, such as an increased processor speed, RAM starting, etc. Great success is a silent computer, i.e. the noiseless computer that has removed headache of many PC owners and allowed them sleeping at night. No modding project goes without backlighting, whose halogen illumination makes mysterious any project, emphasizes the dignity of excellent design and hides minor shortcomings and constructive lacks. An excellent contribution to any modding makes Airbrush. This is a specific trend, a way to draw with acrylic nitroenamel paints on the computer hardware using a miniature sprayer - aerograph. The computer decorated by the master will look so wonderful that people can not forget it. So, if you get interested in modding or want to do something by yourselves, visit our site.

Accurate Time on your Computer

By Expert Author: Magdalena Sperber

An accurate time reference is very important for the use of computer software applications. Athough every Computer includes an internal clock, it pays to check time and date settings are correct on your PC every time you turn it on. For important applications, the time base should be synchronised with a highly accurate external time source. Personal Computers are not designed to be perfect clocks. Their design has been optimised for mass production and low-cost rather than maintaining accurate time. Where time is crucial to the application, there are a number of precise external references available that enable computers to maintain accurate system time. This article looks at the various sources of time references to show how they can be utilised to maintain synchronised time on your computer. Working to a synchronised time base is essential in computer networks. Without any external reference, individual computers will start to drift, anything from a few seconds to a few minutes each day. Clearly such a situation would not be acceptable when processing transactions or performing time critical tasks. On the Internet this problem has been solved by introducing the Network Time Protocol (NTP). The NTP protocol supports the distribution of accurate time from a highly precise time server to network time clients. Most modern operating systems have the ability to synchronise time with an NTP server. Generally all that is required is the IP address or domain name of Stratum 1 or Stratum 2 NTP servers. UNIX and LINUX operating Plattform is able to download the complete NTP application from the NTP website.ntp.org NTP is freely available, open source software, available under the GNU public license. Mirosoft Windows XP/2000/2003 and Vista system software use a standart SNTP client for Simple Network Time Protocol. This is based on a sub-set of the Network Time Protocol, using a simplified NTP algorithm with many of the more complex high precision routines removed. The Windows operating systems provide facilities for an IP address or domain name of an Internet or Intranet NTP server to be entered in the time properties tab. The SNTP client will then contact the NTP server periodically in order to update and synchronise system time. Alternative methods will be required for standalone computers and systems which do not have access to the Internet. These can be provided with a local access to national radio time references which are transmitted free-to-air. All that is required is a small RS232 serial or USB radio receiver, and the PC can obtain continuous accurate time. The PC system time can then be synchronised to the received time and frequency radio source. Radio broadcasts are identified by their 'call sign' The UK time transmitter call sign, MSF, is located at Anthorn, Cumbria. Similar arrangements exist in Noth America - call sign WWVB from Colarado. Germany is covered by DCF broadcast from Mineflingen, near Frankfurt. National broadcasts are also available in France, Switzerland, Japan and Canada. The only shortcoming with national radio time and frequency solutions is that they have a finite transmission range. In general they are limited to geographic boundaries also. Such issues do not apply to the Global Position System (GPS) a satellite based universal navigation system. Each GPS satellite carries a highly accurate synchronised atomic clock. This enables GPS to provide precise timing information anywhere on the face of the planet. All that is required to receive the transmission is a low cost-cost GPS receiver and antenna with a clear view of the sky. PC connections are similar to the radio transmissions configuration, using a serial or USB port, enabling accurate timing information to be available continuously. Copyright (c) 2007 Galleon Systems
About the Author/Author BioMagdalena Sperber provides authoring services about computer time synchronisation. Click here for information on Windows 2003 Radio and GPS time Server systems.

Computer Training Course

By Expert Author: Javier Salces

There are several types of computer training course available to the person seeking to learn about computers today. In fact, the whole arena of computer training can be so intimidating that it is good to take your time in selecting what courses you are wanting to take. In this article, we will examine the outline of a computer training course that would appeal to the computer newbie. This course outline is not meant to be all inclusive, nor is it meant to be professional advice for someone looking to enter into the computer technology field. It is simply a broad outline of which subjects are suggested, and in what order, for someone to learn about computers. That being said, let's take a look at our suggested computer training course. To start, it would be a good course of action to look at classes teaching the basics of how to operate a computer. Information for this computer training course should include things like the basics of using an operating system, how to save information on a hard drive, floppy drives (although they are quickly becoming obsolete), and CD / DVD ROM drives. It is a good idea in the computer training course to also learn some basics about the internal operation of the computer (i.e., what makes it tick, how it works). It may seem like it is best to leave information on how the memory works and what RAM actually stands for to the professionals ... however, this would be a mistake. It is important even for the average home computer user to understand some of these basics, as it will impact how they use the computer and their expectations of performance under certain work loads and software compatibilities, among other things. Moving on from the basics, a computer training course should teach more advanced concepts as well. Some of these concepts would include back-up procedures, file maintenance, and data recovery. Security issues are also on the rise, with the increased usage of the Internet, and safeguarding your computer against viruses and other attacks should also be covered in a computer training course. All of these are items that the average computer user should be aware of how to operate. Just knowing this information can save you in the long run from calling that professional for a service call that could literally cost you as much as the computer did in the first place! Last, but certainly not least, every personal computer user should learn how to install and replace the basic plug-and-play circuit boards or cards that are in every personal computer. A computer training course would simply not be complete without this information. There are many parts that are truly user-replaceable, but unless you know how, you will end up paying that tech big bucks for a simple part swap. Things like that newest video card, an upgraded modem card, installing a firewire card, network card or extra USB port card are very simple. Unfortunately, unless you are selective in your outline of courses, many basic computer training courses will fail to train you in these aspects of computer maintenance.
About the Author/Author BioJavier Salces is an experienced online marketer and list building expert. To find out more on how you can profit from affiliate internet marketing visit www.listbuilding.ws/go/go.php/art

3D Computer Graphics

By Expert Author: Dean Barnard

Powerful computers and computing capability have enabled realism in computer generated imagery. The animated films made today are realistic to a fault. For instance, Shrek 3.0 has been wildly popular because of the life like characters which inhabit the movie. 3D animation basically consists of generating depth in 2D objects by various means. Lighting and shading is a powerful way to provide depth to objects and characters. At first the model of the object is created using a number of polygons. The density of polygons or the number of polygons for a given area defines the smoothness of an object. In applications like 3D video games where real time response is more important than faithful reproduction, the polygon density is obviously less. In applications such as a animated movie, realism of scenes take primary importance. The complexity of the objects requires a high polygon density. Once the objects have been modeled, they have to be imparted motion or they have to be animated. Finally the animated objects which are essentially 3D in nature have to be converted to 2D. This process is called rendering. More the polygon density, more time it takes to render an object. It is often required to combine video and 3D images. This process is called compositing. Rendering process is one of the most important in generating a 3D image. A small bit of a movie lasting just a few seconds can take days to be rendered. Render farms and piping are phrases associated with 3D animation. Mental Ray is a renderer provided as a part of Softimage and Maya 3D packages. It is also gaining in popularity among other 3D developers. Renderman is a renderer used by Pixar and some large film production companies, for development of feature films. A number of operations are involved in creating 3D animations. The three most popular software commercially available for 3D modeling , lighting and shading are Maya, 3ds Max and Softimage .Each of the software has its strength and tools to address various requirements of 3D design and development . Maya was originally developed by Alias which has now merged with Autodesk. The developers of Maya claim its tools have superior capabilities for production of 3D animated movies. 3ds Max is also a Autodesk product, originally from Discreet. Due to its high availability and competitive cost, 3ds Max claims to be the most popular 3D software. It has an excellent game engine and is extensively used for video game development. Softimage 3D software is a part of Avid. The developers of this software claim mixed pipeline management leading to more efficiency, less time for development and uniquely suited for game development. 3D computer generated imagery has caught the imagination of the public. US based movie moguls are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create realistic feature films. These in turn are grossing many millions of sales. The 3D computer graphics industry is therefore growing in leaps and bounds. Features like natural hair, skin and human expressions are being refined and polished, to give life like appearance to animated objects. Copyright (c) 2007 Dean Barnard.

Computer Forensics vs. Electronic Discovery

By Expert Author: Karen Unger

Computer Forensics The field of computer forensics was developed primarily by law enforcement personnel for investigating drug and financial crimes. It employs strict protocols to gather information contained on a wide variety of electronic devices, using forensic procedures to locate deleted files and hidden information. Computer forensics tasks include capturing all the information contained on a specific electronic device by using either a forensic copy technique or by making an image of all or a portion of the device. A forensic copy provides an exact duplicate of the hard drive or storage device. None of the metadata, including the าlast accessed date,ำis changed from the original. However, the copy is a าliveำversion, so accessing the data on the copy,even only to าsee what is there,ำcan change this sensitive metadata. By contrast, making a forensic image of the required information puts a protective electronic wrapper around the entire collection. The collection can be viewed with special software, and the documents can be opened, extracted from the collection, and examined without changing the files or their metadata. Other forensic tasks include locating and accessing deleted files, finding partial files, tracking Internet history, cracking passwords, and detecting information located in the slack or unallocated space. Slack space is the area at the end of a specific cluster on a hard drive that contains no data; unallocated space contains the remnants of files that have been าdeletedำ but not erased from the device, as าdeletingำ simply removes the pointer to the location of a specific file on a hard drive, not the file itself. Electronic Discovery Electronic discovery has its roots in the field of civil litigation support and deals with organizing electronic files using their attached metadata. Because of the large volume encountered, these files are usually incorporated into a litigation retrieval system to allow review and production in an easy methodology. Legal data management principles are used, including redaction rules and production methodologies. Electronic discovery tasks usually begin after the files are captured. File metadata is used to organize and cull the collections. Documents can be examined in their native file format or converted to TIF or PDF images to allow for redaction and easy production. Common Capabilities, Different Philosophies Computer forensics and electronic discovery methodologies share some common capabilities. One is the ability to produce an inventory of the collection, allowing reviewers to quickly see what is present. Another is the ability to determine a common time zone to standardize date and time stamps across a collection. Without this standardization, an e-mail response may appear to have been created before the original e-mail.
About the Author/Author BioKaren Unger founded American Document Management. in 1989. She is an expert on of computer forensics and Electronic discovery.

Databases and Maintaining Their Uptime

By Expert Author: Stephen J Richards

Databases provide a convenient means of storing vast amounts of information, allowing the information to be sorted, searched, viewed, and manipulated according to the business needs and goals. A computer database relies upon software to organize the storage of data. The software models the database structure in what are known as database models. The model in most common use today is the relational model. Other models such as the hierarchical model and the network model use a more explicit representation of relationships (see below for explanation of the various database models). The first database management systems were developed in the 1960s. A pioneer in the field was Charles Bachman. Bachman's early papers show that his aim was to make more effective use of the new direct access storage devices becoming available: until then, data processing had been based on punched cards and magnetic tape, so that serial processing was the dominant activity. While storing data is a great feature of databases, for many database users the most important feature is quick and simple retrieval of information. In a relational database, it is extremely easy to pull up information regarding an employee, but relational databases also add the power of running queries. Queries are requests to pull specific types of information and either show them in their natural state or create a report using the data. For instance, if you had a database of employees and it included tables such as salary and job description, you can easily run a query of which jobs pay over a certain amount. No matter what kind of information you store on your database, queries can be created using SQL to help answer important questions. Databases can be very small (less than 1 MB) or extremely large and complicated (terabytes as in many government databases). However, all databases are usually stored and located on hard disk or other types of storage devices and are accessed via computer. Large databases may require separate servers and locations, but many small databases can fit easily as files located on your computer's hard drive. Obviously, many databases store confidential and important information that should not be easily accessed by just anyone. Many databases require passwords and other security features in order to access the information. While some databases can be accessed via the internet through a network, other databases are closed systems and can only be accessed on site. The need for database maintenance is unavoidable, so enterprise data availability software solutions have been created to help businesses reduce downtime from hours or days to mere minutes or even seconds. Effective database management applications can reduce or eliminate downtime that renders a database unavailable, giving business owners and developers a flexible and powerful tool to protect the performance of their valuable business operations. Companies which provide enterprise data availability software and services help businesses manage their databases by offering services such as backup and recovery, automation of maintenance tasks, and fine tuning performance efficiency, among others. With an assessment of current database maintenance practices, enterprise data availability companies can recommend the appropriate system to implement that can solve the database management shortfalls of most organizations, playing a valuable role in the protection and longevity of their clients.
About the Author/Author BioStephen J. Richards has 25 years experience in Data Management and Information Technology. This information is provided as a public service by Neon Enterprise Software, a leading provider of IMS outsourcing. For more information, please visit http://www.neonesoft.com/

Advantages of Notebook Computers over Desktop Computers

By Expert Author: Henery Cruz

In this era of technology almost every person are well aware of the importance of Computer. Nowadays Computer can be found in most of the houses; but considering the factors such as portability and mobility, the notebook computer is in great demand over the recent years. Notebooks or laptop computers are small, compact, portable computers. Depending on the size, Laptop computers weight between two to eighteen pounds. An externally connected adapter is used for running Laptops or they run on a single battery. Notebook battery packs need to recharge after which they may be used for power back up for few hours. Notebook computers have many advantages over personal computer. Notebook is an particularly lightweight as compare to personal computer. One major difference between the personal computer and notebook computer is the display. Different technologies and techniques is being used to produce display screens that are very lightweight. Normally Notebook computers come with a built in keyboard and a touchpad, for input. An external keyboard or mouse may also be used instead of the built in components. Notebook computers normally have a LCD and use a different memory module from that of a desktop computer. The features of the screens vary from notebook to notebook. Most display screens for notebook computers have a VGA resolution which is 640x480 pixels with 16 or 256 colors. Notebook computers or laptops are designed in such a way that they are capable of performing the same tasks as those of desktop computer. Generally notebook computers have the same components that are used in desktop computers, but components used in laptop are smaller and well optimized for mobility and efficient use of power. One of the drawbacks of laptop or notebook computers is that they are less powerful then desktop computers of the same price. Notebook computers with very powerful specifications may cost a lot.