The Road Ahead

Writen by Carol Bremner

We live in an area that has begun to use Green
Bins for household waste. Our regular garbage
is picked up every other week and the only
weekly garbage collection is our green plastic
bins, to be filled with leftover food products
and other organic waste.

When the program first started, I was sure
we could never change our ways, but before
long, depositing bones and leftover food in
the bin became automatic.

Why am I telling you this? Because using the
computer will also become easy for you the
more you try. Sure, the learning curve is
steeper than remembering which container
to use for which type of garbage, but the
idea is the same. Every time you perform a
function or solve a problem on your computer,
it will be easier than the time before.

This week, I read a book written by Bill Gates
in 1996 titled 'The Road Ahead'. Gates said,
"Computers frighten almost everyone
(everyone but children), before they learn to
use them. When people spend more time with
computers, they understand them better.
You can start by playing computer games or
doing other simple things. Once you start
using them, I think you'll like them."

With the Internet, we can keep in touch with
old friends and make new ones; have virtual
experiences of flying an airplane, driving a
car, even dissecting a toad. Pilots and doctors
practice their work without worrying about
accidents. Every school can have a wonderful
library thanks to the Internet.

Gates saw then how much our world would
change because of computers. Banking and
shopping online, distance learning, the ability
to telecommute and work from home - all of
these grew as software became better and
more powerful.

Gates talked about his own futuristic house.
Anyone in the house wore an electronic pin that
told the house who and where you were. When
it got dark, the pin would turn on lights nearby
and turn them off when you went away. Music
would play near you and the phone ring nearby
only if the call was for you. A home control
console activated choices of lighting, music,
and temperature. That was in 1996, so who
knows what his home is like now!

The book ended with a cartoon showing a mutt
using a computer and saying "On the Internet,
nobody know's you're a dog." How true - on
the Internet, we are all on equal ground.

When in my 40's, the university library where I worked was computerized. The thought of using those machines at my age was so intimidating that I moved to another department. I transferred back a year later, determined to learn.

To my surprise, computers were easier to use than I imagined, and so enjoyable that I went back to school full-time.

(c) Carol Bremner 2003
cabremner@creativehomecomputing.com
projects - hints - products
www.creativehomecomputing.com

The Capacity Of Laptop Batteries Explained

Writen by Mansi Aggarwal

Laptop batteries are rated by, Voltage (V) and Milliamp-hours (mAh). Voltage is the rate at which energy is drawn from the battery and Milliamp-hours Represents the capacity of the battery. The Milliamp-hour rating Corresponds to the run time of the battery. A battery with a high Milliamp-hour rating has a relatively longer run time than a battery with a Low Milliamp-hour rating.

Batteries with different Milliamp-hours can be used on the same laptop provided the voltage rating is the same. The voltage rating has to match that of the original battery or as recommended by the computer manual. Using a battery with a different voltage setting can seriously damage the laptop. The power ratings of most compatible/replacment batteries are higher than the original manufacturers' batteries. This will not damage your laptop, in fact, it simply means that these batteries in many cases last longer than original manufacturers' batteries. Ask the experts like PowerUp on compatible replacement laptop batteries.

The run time of a laptop battery will vary on individual notebook computers, based on the applications being used (i.e. high graphics, games), the number of times something is saved or retrieved from the hard drive and/or CD Rom drive, the memory of notebook, and chemistry and capacity of the battery. A 'realistic' average run-time for a battery is 1.5 to 3 hours. Using devices like a wireless adapter on the laptop also drains the battery considerably.

The life of a battery under normal use is around 500 to 900 charge-discharge cycles. This is about one and a half to three years of battery life for the average user. As the rechargeable battery begins to fail, the running time of the battery begins to decline.

Mansi Aggarwal writes about Laptop Battery & AC Adapter Information.

Which Monitor Should You Buy

Writen by Logan Rokwild

Which Monitor Should You Buy?

The PC monitor market is undergoing a sea-change. In recent years, LCD monitors are slowly but surely replacing the traditional CRT monitors. Although they are much more expensive than their comparable CRT counterparts, their prices are slowly falling as demand rises and production costs go down.

This article presents a comparison of both types of monitors in order to help you make an informed choice.

Cathode Ray Tube or CRTCRT monitors use almost the same technology as television sets. In fact, some early CRT monitors were nothing but modified television screens.

The first and most important advantage of a CRT monitor is the cost. One can get a larger monitor, with better display quality, for less money than an LCD monitor. CRT monitors have been developed by the computer manufacturing industry over 20 years. By now, manufacturers have incurred all the major costs of manufacturing and development for CRT monitors.

The next advantage of a CRT monitor is its multi-sync capability. This means, that the electron gun inside the monitor can adjust itself to a range of resolutions and refresh rates. This capability is particularly useful in gaming, where you need to display multiple resolutions.

CRT monitors are the ideal choice for video applications as well due to their high refresh rates and good response rates.

Lastly, CRT monitors provide much greater color clarity than LCD monitors. It is possible to make numerous adjustments to the color, contrast and brightness. Hence CRT monitors are better equipped to show accurate document colors. This is of particular import to professionals in the printing and graphics businesses.

Liquid Crystal Display or LCD

The small size and light weight is the biggest advantage of an LCD monitor over a CRT monitor. Their thickness commonly ranges from 1 to 3 inches while a CRT monitor can be as much as 24 inches thick from front to back. This means that an LCD monitor is portable and can be easily moved around, or even hung on a wall.

LCD screens also produce less fatigue to the eyes as compared to CRT screens. CRT screens produce constant light and scan lines which strain the eyes of the user. The LCD monitors have lower intensity and a constant display of pixels on the screen whether on or off, and are less taxing on the eyes.

LCD monitors require a much lower amount of constant voltage in order to function than do CRT monitors.

However, LCD monitors, being new technology, are more expensive than CRT monitors. By way of example, a 19" CRT monitor can be purchased at almost half the cost of an LCD monitor. However, as demand for LCD monitors rises, production costs will fall and this will be reflected in reduced prices.

LCD screens have a fixed or native resolution. This means that they can display only a set maximum number of pixels and no more. This often results in blurred or unclear images.

In LCD monitors, when bright images are flashed against a dark background, a 'ghosting' of moving images can occur on the screen. This means that even when the monitor is turned off, slight after images can be seen on the display for a few seconds.

[ Submitted with ArticleSubmitter Pro - http://www.articles.com/article_submitter_pro.shtml ]

About The Author
Logan Rokwild writes about various topics. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, the bio remains, all hyper links remain intact and the rel="nofollow" tag isn't added to any links. Thank-You please visit http://www.jurgle.info and http://www.netcola.com for more computer resources.

Buy Ddr Computer Memory A Quick Guide

Writen by Helen Charleston

Buying DDR computer memory chips requires several considerations, including clock speed, clock frequency, transfer rate, storage space, electronic interface capabilities, on-die termination, prefetch buffers, off-chip drivers, latency, band width, and operating voltage, some of which rise or fall in effectiveness to the implementation of the other factors involved.

DDR, DDR2, and DDR3, are each significantly different from one another, so it depends on the particular operating system to be used and personal preference. In the end, variation in price based on model and storage capacity makes buying DDR computer memory chips a task necessitating some technical knowledge and understanding.

Below are various models of the DDR memory chip and the comparative prices. This will provide a clearer idea for those interested in buying DDR computer memory chips:

1. DDR PC2100, Memory Part #: 554cm-147 (128 MB/s): DDR 16X64-266MHz DDR266 PC2100 Compatible Memory. Sale: $29.95

2. DDR PC2100, Memory Part#: 512cm-165 (256 MB/s): DDR PC2100 266MHz ECC 184pin. Sale: $62.95.

3. DDR-ECC PC2100, Memory Part #: 513cm-167 (512 MB/s): DDR ECC PC2100 184pin 266MHz 2.5V Compatible Memory. Sale: $69.95.

4. DDR PC2100 EEC, Memory Part #: 539cm-539 (1GB): 1024MB/s DDR PC2100 266MHz ECC Non-Registered 184pin Memory Upgrade. Sale: $139.95.

As can be seen, when buying DDR computer memory chips, each one is noticeably different than the others and therefore has a contrastive price. Sales and discounts are usually available, especially online, and are also affected by the uniqueness of the item.

Buying DDR computer memory chips is important in enhancing computer system performance in one way or another. Still, some models work well in certain electronic systems and not in others, so it's just as important to know the system as it does the respective strengths and weaknesses of the DDR memory chips.

Visit our site for more information on quality cheap laptop memory.

Printers What Is The Difference

Writen by John Gibb

Something to consider, aside from initial purchase cost, is operation and maintenance costs. You can easily pickup an inkjet for $50, but take a look at the size of the ink cartridges. If it runs out every 100 pages, you're going to spend much more on ink in the first year, than if you had purchased a much better quality laser.

Image Quality

B&W text and simple graphics will look sharper on a laser printer. If you use a good quality inkjet paper though, most casual users will be hard pressed to notice the difference. On the other hand, a good photo inkjet printer will give a good color laser printer a run for it's money, in quality and cost. If you're going to print a lot of photos, your best choice would be an inkjet.

Duty Cycle

You'll see 'Duty Cycle' listed mostly on specs for laser printers. This refers to how much paper the printer is expected to be able to handle each month. This will be a factor for you if you are buying for a large office, or if you are publishing your own fliers on a regular basis. You'll have to ask yourself, "How much printing will I do each month?" Now that doesn't say your printer will break if it's rated at 30,000 and you print 30,050 one month. If you know though, that you will print 75,000 pages a month, don't buy a printer rated at 50,000.

What can connect?

The last thing left to consider is, what machines will be connecting to this machine, and how? Will the printer be on a network? Will different operating systems access it? If you're going to be the only user, and you have one PC with XP running on it, you just have to make sure you have the right ports and that it has drivers for XP. If, on the other hand, you are part of a small Linux workgroup, you're going to be somewhat limited on your selection.

What's Emulation?

This is a feature that is mostly used for older programs. Say you have a printer that emulates an Epson FX80. That means it understands the commands used to communicate with an Epson FX80. Your program may require a certain printer to function properly. Some programs, especially in vertical markets like Real Estate and Insurance, make direct requests to the printers. Your printer must either be the right type of printer, or it must emulate that printer, in order to speak the language. If you have special software, other than off the shelf types like Word or Photoshop, be sure to check the program's printer requirements.

John Gibb manages http://www.computer-and-printer-reviews.com The site dedicated to computers and printers.

Abcs Of Dvd Drive Abbreviations

Writen by Jason Kohrs

The number of different formats available in DVD drives can be confusing to anyone in the market for one. The list is much longer, but to address a few of the common formats, we have DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM ,DVD+R DL and DVD±RW. Wow! This list of common formats is long enough, no wonder it's confusing!

What's with all the Formats?!

The reason for various recordable DVD formats is that no one group owns the technology and different groups have chosen to support one technology over another. There is no industrial standard for manufacturers to reference, so for the time being consumers will have a few choices.

The first thing to address is DVD itself, which stands for Digital Versatile Disc. Some may argue that the V stands for Video, but with the capability to store video, audio, and data files, Versatile is definitely the keyword.

Start with the Basics

A DVD-ROM drive is the only one we will address that does not record. ROM stands for Read Only Memory, and refers to the typical drive that can merely read DVDs, as well as CDs (all DVD drives can read CDs). The Lite-On LTD-163-DO-R has attributes representative of your typical DVD-ROM drive, and features a maximum DVD read speed of 16x and a maximum CD read speed of 48x.

Before getting into the different recordable formats, let's address the basics of what the R and RW stand for, regardless of whether there is a + or – in the middle. R stands for Recordable, which indicates that the disk may be recorded to only once. RW stands for ReWritable, which indicates that the disc may be recorded to more than once, and are generally rated for 1000 rewrites under good conditions.

The DVD-R/-RW format was developed by Pioneer, and was the first format compatible with stand alone DVD players. The group that promotes the technology calls itself the DVD Forum, which is "an international association of hardware manufacturers, software firms, content providers, and other users" with notable members such as Hitachi, Samsung, and Toshiba. The DVD-R/-RW format is based on CD-RW technology and uses a similar approach to burning discs.

The DVD+R/+RW format is a newer format, also based on CD-RW technology, and compatible with a large percentage of stand alone DVD players. The +R/+RW technology is not supported by the DVD Forum, and its main backing comes from a group called the DVD+RW Alliance. The Alliance "is a voluntary group of industry-leading personal computing manufacturers, optical storage and electronics manufacturers" with members such as Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sony, and Phillips Electronics.

The DVD-RAM format is based on PD-RW (Phase-Differential) drives, and actually uses a cartridge to hold the media (just like its PD-RW predecessor). Some DVD-RAM cartridges are double sided, making them ideal for companies to use as system backup, hence DVD-RAM is usually found only in commercial applications, and most end-users won't ever need to use or see this type of drive. The DVD-RAM standard is also supported by the DVD Forum just like the DVD-R/RW format. However, because of its use of a cartridge (limiting it's compatibility), and the scarcity and price of the media used, DVD-RAM is a distant third when compared to the DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/–RW technology.

The +R/+RW and –R/-RW formats are similar, and the main difference DVD+R technology has is the ability to record to multiple layers (with its new DVD+R DL format), where DVD-R can only record to one layer (not all +R drives are capable of dual layer burning, but no -R drives are). The Plextor PX-504U is an example of an external DVD+R/+RW drive capable of recording single layer discs in the +R/+RW format, but also able to read discs recorded by a DVD-R drive.

What is DVD±RW?

DVD±RW is not actually a separate format, but the designation given to drives capable of both –R/–RW and +R/+RW operation. This type of drive is typically called a "Dual Drive" (not to be confused with a "Double Layer" drive) since it can write to both the +R/+RW and –R/–RW formats. The Samsung TS-H552 is a DVD±RW drive capable of reading and writing every format discussed so far, and then some. It takes advantage of DVD+R DL (Double Layer) technology available with the +R format, allowing the appropriate media to store virtually double the 4.37 GB capacity of a typical single layer disc.

The other main thing to consider with DVD burners is selecting the correct media. Media for DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW media may all look the same, but they are slightly different in order to match the specific recording formats. The price of media for either format is generally the same, with RW media costing a good deal more than R media of either format. Double Layer media is even more expensive, and is the only way for an owner of DVD+R DL drive to take advantage of the tremendous capacity increase. As the amount of Double Layer drives increase in the market, the price of the DVD+R DL media is expected to fall with increased production of the media. DVD Burners (as these drive are often referred to) can be picky about the media supported, so be sure to choose your media wisely.

DVD in a Nutshell

DVD-ROM : Reads DVD discs

DVD+R : Writes to DVD+R media (will also typically write to CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD+RW : Writes to DVD+RW media (will also typically write to DVD+R, CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD+R DL : Writes to DVD+R DL (Double Layer) media (will also typically write to DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R and CD-RW media; many Double Layer drives are ALSO dual drives – that is, able to write to BOTH +R/RW and –R/RW media)

DVD-RAM : Writes to DVD-RAM cartridges (not in wide use on consumer market – mainly a business format; can also read PD-RW discs. Will not usually be able to write to any other format including CD-R or CD-RW)

DVD-R : Writes to DVD-R media (will also typically write to CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD-RW : Writes to DVD-RW media (will also typically write to DVD-R, CD-R and CD-RW media)

DVD±RW : Writes to DVD-RW and DVD+RW media (will also typically write to DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-R and CD-RW media; typically called "Dual Drives" since it can burn to two different DVD formats)

Final Words

This article took a look at the more common formats of DVD drives in order to shed some light on all the choices available. The differences between them all may be subtle, but the compatibility issues can be quite frustrating. The simple answer to anyone considering a drive is to forget about + and – by themselves, and shoot for universal compatibility with a good DVD±RW with DVD+R DL support.

http://www.geeks.com/pix/techtips.htm

Computer Cooling Hardware

Writen by Bradley James

PC cooling systems are one of the hottest - and coolest - computer hardware accessories avaliable. Most computers, however, still do not come with a cooling system more advanced than the typical heat sink and cpu fan. Some computers, however, are being sold with liquid cooling systems, such as the Apple G5 Power Mac. The dual processors undoubtedly put out a great deal of excess heat that a simple copper heat sink and fan alone can not properly dissipate. Intel is also getting into the new cooling trend, claiming that it's newest processors (of the Pentium 4 line) are approximately 20 degrees hotter than any chip currently produced by AMD (Advanced Micro Devices).

Although these new processors all but absolutely require high-end cooling systems, it may not be a bad idea to add an additional cooling system to your 1-3 year old system. Your heatsink and fan can probably handle the heat, but the additional cooling can't hurt. Here are some popular options if you are looking to add a new cooling system to your computer:

- Water cooling system. Several companies currently offer both external and internal liquid systems that can efficiently cool a wide range of processors, whether you have a P4, or a late AMD processor such as the K7 or K8. Some come with a nifty control panel that shows the processor temperature and speed of the fan.

- Memory cooling system. CPU's are not the only hardware component that becomes dangerously hot during prolonged computer usage. Your memory cards can also produce a large amount of heat. To combat this, there are memory heat spreaders avaliable to dissipate RAM heat. The aluminum bars attach to the RAM module, providing an outlet for the heat - working much like a CPU heatsink.

- Heavy-duty fan system. Fans are not at all out of the cooling picture. Replacing the ordinary manufactures fan with a custom model can be beneficial to your CPU's performance. There are many new fan-type cooling systems avaliable, including some that blow air powerfully around the heat sink, much a like a miniture jet engine.

There are quite a lot of options when it comes to properly cooling your PC. The process of setting up just the right cooling system for you can be fun and rewarding. Chances are fairly good that if your computer is less than 3 years old, it could benefit immensly from improved cooling and ventilation.

Looking to buy cooling equiptment? Try these companies (Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Zalman, Swiftech)

Bradley James is a senior editor at SciNet.cc, a website containing many helpful consumer electronics review articles. For more information on computer cooling technology, please visit our Computer Cooling Systems webpage.

Discount Printer Cartridges

Writen by Elizabeth Morgan

In today's world, traditional typewriters are more or less redundant and computers take care of all office requirements. Along with computers come printers so your work can be printed on paper. With printers, one needs ink to do the printing and this is where printer cartridges come into the picture.

Cartridges come in a range to suit every requirement and every type of printer. Be it a normal, slightly old fashioned dot matrix or the very latest for the inkjet or laser printers that are commonly used today. The advantage with inkjet cartridges is that they can be refilled. Check out your local outlets to find out which of them will give you the best discounts for your refilling requirements.

While printing, ensure that the cartridge does not completely run out of ink as this can cause problems. All cartridges can sustain only a certain number of fillings. It is also advisable to buy some print head tape as a standby measure. Post-refilling, it is best to test the printing quality as per your printer instructions. Using the print head cleaning option will go a long way in ensuring the life of your cartridge.

How do you go about saving money on your cartridges? Look at the Internet for options. There are umpteen suppliers who will sell you cartridges at a discounted price. You have a choice of virgin, empty and non-virgin. Empty cartridges are those which haven't been filled with ink. They are also called 'empties' or sometimes, 'blanks'. Virgin cartridges are those that have been filled once and are now empty. Non-virgin ones have been refilled more than once. Some manufacturers have a minimum-order requirement so you may have to order 6 at a time. You could also get a 'recharger', with which you refill your own cartridges.

Printer Cartridges provides detailed information on Printer Cartridges, Discount Printer Cartridges, Inkjet Printer Cartridges, Buy Printer Ink Cartridges and more. Printer Cartridges is affiliated with Printer Ink Refills.

Custom Refurbished Laptops

Writen by Max Bellamy

Custom refurbished laptops are the repaired laptops, which are reassembled according to customer preferences. Custom refurbished laptops offer an opportunity to acquire the complete laptop solution at an affordable rate. Custom refurbished laptops also avoid the need of immediate upgrading, which is necessary for a standard laptop. Custom refurbished laptops offer the utilities of a new custom built laptop at the price of a used laptop.

The refurbishment does not stop with the correction of the errors. It is a systematic process to upgrade the machine to contemporary market standards. It involves comprehensive assessment to enhance the performance of the laptop. The remarketing services of the manufacturer include the option of custom built assembly for the refurbished laptop. Most of the manufacturers such as Fujitsu, Dell, Panasonic Toshiba, and IBM provide custom refurbishment.

Custom refurbishment permits the option to have preferences in the selection of features such as processor requirements, screen size, operating system, multimedia, graphics, main memory size, hard drive size, optical drive, communication features, other enhancements, Bluetooth and accessories. This helps to choose only the essential facilities required for the operation, which enhances the performance. If you are going for bulk purchases, custom refurbished laptops are the best since these combine functionality as well as price advantage.

Custom refurbished laptops can be ordered directly though the manufacturer?s site. Some retailers also provide custom refurbished laptops. The system specifications can be intimated through the custom laptop configuration form or other specified format of the dealer. The durability of the machine is assured with a minimum period warranty, which varies with the manufacturers. Additional price savings can be availed through discounts and promotional offers.

Refurbished Laptops provides detailed information on Refurbished Laptops, Cheap Refurbished Laptops, Dell Refurbished Laptops, IBM Refurbished Laptops and more. Refurbished Laptops is affiliated with Used Cheap Laptops.

Pc Or Mac A Big Decision For Your Business

Writen by Jeremy Maddock

When purchasing new desktop or laptop computers for your business, there are a few important decisions to be made. These include which exact features you want in a computer, as well as which manufacturer you wish to purchase from. The most fundamental decision of all, however, is whether your business should use a Windows-based PC, or a Macintosh.

The primary benefit of buying a Windows PC is the mainstream worldwide popularity of the Microsoft Windows operating system. For well over a decade now, these computers have been top-of-the-line in terms of software compatibility, with most application developers thinking about Windows first and Mac second. That's why, generally speaking, you'll find a lot more business-minded programs that work with PCs than with Macintosh machines.

In terms of speed and performance, however, Macs do have some definite advantages. In terms of graphical editing, video, and multimedia, for example, Apple's Mac OS computers are known to perform extremely well, often making more efficient use of memory and processing power. Macintoshes do have quite a number of profound strengths, but it's their low market share (about 10%) that can render them a less-than-perfect solution for those seeking flawless compatibility with mainstream business software.

Overall, the decision of Mac or PC rests solely on what functions you value most. It's a good idea to look at numerous models of both types to determine which machine is best for your company's unique purposes.

About the Author: Jeremy Maddock is a successful web-based freelance writer, who covers computer equipment and other business products.

A Guide To Ink

Writen by Josh Riverside

Printing, writing, drawing, and dyeing are a few activities that have one thing in common - ink. Ink is a dense liquid that is a combination of various ingredients. Ink enables us to show an image or text on a surface.

The invention of ink was a natural outcome of the invention of writing. Humans first used ink more than 40 centuries ago, and still use it today in a variety of applications. The first inks made were composed mainly of carbon. Soot from pine smoke or lampblack was suspended in vegetable oils, gum or honey. These combinations were popular with the Hebrew and Arabians. Reeds and brushes were the writing vehicles for this ink to parchment and other tablets. During medieval times, black ink made from carbon or iron gall became common. The year 2000 BC saw the Chinese and the Egyptians make solid ink in the form of sticks. These sticks were mixed with water when needed. In the seventeenth century, Europeans started making ink from a mixture of tannic acid with an iron salt (commonly known as ferrous sulfate). A slow chemical reaction between the acid and salt left permanent markings on paper. The need for an ink suitable for the printing press caused an oily, varnish-like ink to be invented. The mid-nineteenth century brought ammonia-based aniline dye technology, the precursor of modern ink. This ink came to be used on plastic, fabric and other substances. The mid-eighties saw the advent of environmentally friendly soy ink made from soy beans.

Writing by hand will exist as long as people do. Yet today, people use ink even beyond hand writing. With a computer in nearly every home and business, and a printer attached to each computer, special inks are used to generate computer output in various forms. Printing presses have also made great advances in the type of ink used to create brochures, magazines, and books.

Ink provides detailed information on Ink, Ink Cartridges, Printer Ink, Inkjet Ink and more. Ink is affiliated with Printer Ink Cartridges.

Automatic Cd Copiers

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

Automated CD copiers provide hands-free operation and are available as PC-connected or stand-alone models. They are equipped with a robot arm that can load and unload CDs. These CD copiers are actually a combination of many CD copiers - as many as 16. This allows a large number of CDs, from 100 to 1000, to be copied at a time. CDs that cannot be copied or have some problem are automatically rejected at the end of the process.

Traditional CD copiers are operated manually. The CD copier uses a burning software application that is installed on the computer. CD copiers can usually burn only one copy at a time. After one CD is copied, the user has to manually open the drive shutter (or press a button provided for that purpose) and replace it with another blank CD for copying. This makes copying CDs with a manual PC copier a slow process.

Automated CD copiers make the burning process much quicker. These have an input spindle and an output spindle. Blank CDs are placed in a stack on the input spindle. A robotic arm picks up blank CDs from the input spindle, one at a time, and sends them into the drive for copying. When the burning process is over, the CD is automatically placed onto the output spindle. This is a hands-free process, but it takes a long time to complete the process.

These automated CD copiers are ideal because the CD copier can be left running overnight or a weekend. A large number of CD or DVD discs can be stacked on the spindle, and the machine can be left to run until the job is complete. Some machines can also be networked, allowing multiple users to have access to the CD copiers.

These Automated CD copiers thus make the task of copying several CDs easier. It also brings precision and efficiency to the entire process.

CD Copiers provides detailed information on CD copiers, CD DVD copiers, CD copier software, CD copier downloads and more. CD Copiers is affiliated with Business Card CD Duplications.

Store Displays

Writen by Jimmy Sturo

Market research by advertising agencies has demonstrated that the vast majority of consumers pay very little attention to newspaper or television advertisements. Many people do not read newspaper or watch promotional ads, and this type of advertising in print or visual medias has little impact on their buying decisions. As a result, they are seldom exposed to the various products available on the market. This creates an urgent need for marketers of various products to reach customers in more effective ways. Store displays play a major role in this process. Since most people do is shop regularly, store displays have become a very effective advertising tool.

Store displays serve the dual task of adding a promotional element and providing a space to display products. Store displays are fixtures where commodities can be displayed. They work equally well in a large retail apparel chain stores, small gift shops, jewelry stores, boutiques, golf pro shops and bookstores.

Store displays have evolved from banners stating the name of a product and it's brand, to a complete style and image statement. The success of retailing depends to a large extent on systematic store displays. It is considered a vital investment, as it has long and short- term pay-offs for the retailer. Therefore, when new retail stores are set up, a lot of money and thought is spent in ensuring that the displays are attractive, sequential and capable of highlighting products. Many retailers have learned the hard way that displaying a shabby or poor quality displays does not pay off. In fact, what appears to be a cost savings upfront can turn into unexpected hassles when parts or expansion options aren't available or the original display manufacturer can't be located. Retail experts recommend purchasing displays that are easy to install, durable and easy to dismount.

Displays provides detailed information on Displays, Trade Show Displays, Display Cases, Magazine Rack Displays and more. Displays is affiliated with Industrial LCD Monitors.

A Guide To Pci Express

Writen by Gary Hendricks

A Lot More Bandwidth
First, to understand PCI Express, we need to know what it is capable of. Traditionally, most of our computers these days come equipped with PCI or AGP based graphics cards. Most of the latest PCs come decked with PCI Express enabled cards. Technologically, PCI Express allows graphics data to be transported at about 4 GB/s as opposed to 2 GB/s that the AGP 8X interface provides. That is twice the speed and hence twice the graphics horsepower we're talking about.

What does this mean for game and content developers? Plenty. Given its speed, PCI Express will allow game developers to squeeze in more realistic content then ever imagined possible in a release. Video will never be the same again. If you can imagine yourself playing Half-Life 2 or Painkiller at the full graphics resolution and settings, then you can imagine what PCI Express can do.

Backward Compatible
PCI Express comes with a number of other benefits. One of the most important is its ability to be backward compatible with PCI. If you have an old PCI based motherboard, you should be able to use all your cards in a new PCI Express motherboard. That's great, because you certainly do not want to be buying PCI Express peripherals just because your motherboard has been upgraded to PCI Express.

Not Just For Video
Remember that PCI Express is not limited to graphics – although initially the implementation will mostly be seen in graphics boards. We're talking about sound cards, network cards and what have you all going the PCI Express way.

Conclusion
If you do intend to go the PCI Express highway, then you will want to first upgrade your motherboard to the latest PCI Express type. Then, from there, get a PCI Express graphics card. As time goes on, we should see more and more PCI Express cards – not just graphics cards – coming into the market. By then, you will be ready for them.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on building computers. Visit his website at Build-Your-Own-Computers.com for tips and tricks on assembling a PC, as well as buying good computer components.

How To Buy Computer Memory

Writen by Gary Hendricks

How do you know when to buy more memory for your computer? Or how much memory you'll need? If you can afford it, you should always buy as much memory as you can, since it boosts system performance.

But not all of us need 1 GB of RAM - most home users need only about 512 MB of RAM. Besides, computer memory is very expensive - a 512 MB piece of RAM costs about $50. This article will help you analyze when you need to buy memory and much memory is required in various scenarios.

When to Buy More Memory

Thinking back on my experience with building computers, there are usually five scenarios under which you'd buy memory for your computer:

• When upgrading your operating system
• When installing new applications
• When installing multimedia cards
• When adding computer peripherals
• When your hard disk starts 'chugging'

Let's look at these in turn.

When Upgrading Your Operating System

Each time I upgrade my operating system, I find that I need to buy more memory. Your operating system is a huge memory hogger. Windows XP , for example, requires at least 512 MB RAM to run smoothly (at least on my PC). Windows 2000 needs at least 256 MB RAM. Always check the operating system manufacturer's documentation carefully - they always tend to understate memory requirements.

When installing new applications: Business software like Microsoft Office, video editing applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and games like Half-Life 2 really need a LOT of memory. Some will refuse to run if they find your memory lacking. Other applications will run but will crawl like a snail. Newer software these days assume you have a huge amount of memory. Again, check the manufacturer's documentation carefully for memory requirements.

When Installing Multimedia Cards

Two types of cards come into mind - video cards and sound cards. Video cards have a built-in memory but they also consume main system RAM. Don't be fooled by that fancy video card that says it'll deliver fantastic 3D graphics performance. Video cards depend a lot on your main system RAM. Without sufficient memory, the video cards will still perform poorly even if they are the latest and greatest versions (the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro comes to mind).

When Adding Computer Peripherals

If you add a printer or scanner to your system, you should also consider buying more memory. Printers consume system memory particularly when printing huge files. Scanners consume memory when handling large image files.

When Your Hard Disk Starts 'Chugging'

In general, you can tell whether you should be buying more memory by listening to your hard drive. Yes, by listening to your hard drive. If it makes a long drawn 'chugging' noise whenever you copy or edit large files, you can be sure you need a memory upgrade.

You see, when your system is low on memory, it borrows space from your hard disk to make 'virtual memory'. This process is called 'paging' and it's very, very slow and irritating . Get that memory upgrade and avoid this problem at all costs!

How Much Memory Do You Need?

Depending on the type of software applications you are using, the amount of memory you need will differ. As a bare minimum, computers these days need at least 256 MB of RAM.

Refer to the list below to see how much memory you will need based on the type of software you use.

• Administrative: Word processing, email, spreadsheets, surfing the web, general gaming, not many applications open at once. Get 256 MB to 512 MB of memory.
• Executive/Professional: Word processing, email, spreadsheets, presentations, videos, photos, surfing the web, general gaming, several applications open at once. Get 512 MB to 1 GB of memory.
• Graphics Design/Software Development: 3D CAD software, enterprise programming suites, simulation or modeling software. Get 1 GB or more of memory.

Conclusion

This article has explored the various scenarios when a memory upgrade is necessary. Once you determine you need a memory upgrade, decide how much memory you want. Remember that your motherboard has a limited number of slots for memory, so check that whatever memory you buy can fit into those slots. Good luck and happy shopping!

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on building computers. Visit his website at http://www.build-your-own-computers.com for tips and tricks on assembling a PC, as well as buying good computer components.

Notebook Pcs Warranty Enhancements

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

If you're about to start recommending that your clients buy extended service plans for new notebook PCs, be sure to get a written statement detailing what's included and not included.

Unfortunately, PC vendors won't always tell you specifically what's not included. Sometimes, you'll only be able to surmise what's missing by comparing written warranty statements from different PC vendors.

Hazard Coverage

For example, most notebook PC vendors specifically exclude warranty claims arising from obvious neglect issues, such as spilling liquid on a notebook or dropping it. Other notebook PC vendors, for a hefty price, may cover such calamities under limited circumstances.

Also, consider whether your clients' end users will be traveling with their notebook PCs. Unlike their desktop PCs, which likely stay relatively stationary throughout their life cycle, notebooks go "on the road" a lot.

International Coverage

Some notebook PC vendors include international warranty coverage in the base price of the extended warranty. Others charge extra for this supplemental coverage. Regardless, if your clients' end users of notebook PCs travel abroad, be sure to ask about specifics.

Just as with a desktop PC, find out whether the notebook PC extended warranty is on-site, whether technicians come to your clients, or whether your clients will need to ship their notebooks back to a service depot for warranty work. Also, ask about promised response times and estimated turnaround times.

The Bottom Line about the Notebook PC

Make sure you have reviewed a price list of available notebook warranty upgrade options. Also, examine the related terms and conditions of what is and isn't covered under various warranty upgrade plans. Find out if the notebook PC warranty limits coverage under certain circumstances.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Business Computer Consulting . com. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg helps small business computer consulting firms get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for your free access to a one-hour audio training program on Small Business Computer Consulting Tips.

Video Card Purchases The More You Playthe More You Pay

Writen by Jason Busch

In case you haven't noticed, the high-end video cards are expensive with every release, and the same high-end video cards disappear from their pole position within 6 months or less due to another model replacing it. There are video card owners who feel betrayed after spending $700 on a graphics card, only to discover several months later the card can be purchased for half the amount. Are these consumers justified in being confused and at a loss for why their video card is outdated before their next birthday?

The New Marketing Of Video Cards

Video card manufacturers began to discover the Relentless Pursuit Of Speed as they competed with each other. At the time, 3dfx, nVidia, and ATI were the top competitors. They also realized consumers were not satisified with overclocking their motherboards and memory alone, and were now diving into another area which could be tweaked, modified, manipulated, and OC'ed to levels higher than what was recommended by the manufacturer: Video Cards! When the video card became a brand new area to tweak and boost, the race was on for the fastest, most powerful card ever.

Not so long after, came several different video card versions of the same graphics chip, each offering a slightly different modified model, at a slightly different price. For example, 3dfx came out with the Voodoo3. There was the Voodoo3 2000, Voodoo3 3000, and the Voodoo3 3500. Instead of the consumer spending time overclocking the card, there were now many different models offered for that particular need. In other words, the more you paid for the card, the more the performance. This seemed like a great deal initially. Why bother tweaking a card and voiding the warranty when you could spend a few bucks more for an "officially overclocked" card and retain the warranty.

Quicker Release Periods

As more models began to flood the market, we started to see the time periods between releases shorten. This is where the initial investment in the high-end cards began to take a severe dive and depreciate. High-end cards were being introduced every 6 months (and currently, they still are). Currently, we also have several "upgraded" cards. Adding more memory to a video card (which didn't they do it initially?), or adding other rendering features which will be in upcoming hyped games.

The Firmware Factor

Eventually, due to so many video graphics cards being named so close together, it was inevitable savvy users would begin to investigate just what the difference was between them. For example, the GeForce 5900. 5900 users found out if you tweaked it a little, you'd get a 5950 comparable model. And just as I'm writing this article, I picked up a XFX 6800 XTreme 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 which will be $95 after rebate. Apparently, this card can be overclocked successfully to 425-470MHz / 1150-1200MHz with basic air-cooled devices.

Why So Many Video Cards?

Well, this is a controversial question. The answer could be technology is changing and improving so fast it is simply impossible to market a video card which will last a significant amount of time with no competitor and without a price dive. Another answer could be manufacturers are purposely "pumping the brakes" on the manufacturing so that different cards are released relatively quickly, keeping prices high for short period of time, allowing for more purchases of top-performing video cards within a business fiscal year.

It's somewhat vague as to what the motives really are, but what we do know about the video card manufacturing business, regardless of the motives, is that it's ever-changing. nVidia and ATI are alone in the competition and each company wants to be the first one to come out with 1GB of on-board memory, and soon after, 1256MB of on-board memory. While we do have those high-end consumers who purchase the top-performing video cards who lose most of their investment only months later, we also have a larger segment of the graphics card consumer market who purchase the cards when the prices fall and rebates are offered. Observant PC users, which in my opinion are growing every time new and faster card is introduced, are beginning to notice the sudden price drops of high-end cards, and are waiting for the prices to fall before they make their purchase.

More Video Cards: More Consumer Options

While the high-end purchaser certainly takes the highest risk and is on the frontline whenever a new product is released, a larger population of consumers are taking less risks by purchasing video cards which are a few notches below the higher-performing cards. Surprisingly however, the performance hit is not as bad as one might think.

Conclusion

If you want to buy the latest, fastest card available, feel free to do so. I'm sure you'll have an exciting time with it. However, remember the probability that most of your PC games you currently own, probably won't even benefit from the latest card's technology. It's just too new. This is the single issue which video card users and potential buyers need to understand. Video cards are still being released ahead of the advanced applications that support it. Manufacturers and game engineers try to coincide the releases, but this usually happens for only a few games. Is buying a $700 video card worth playing your $50 PC game at all your "levels" maximized, when you'll probably finish the game in less than 3 weeks? Second, is buying a $700 video card worth it when in 6 months you'll have updated specs on the card as well as updated specs on the new games which are going to be...once again...released at about the same time as the fastest and greatest card?

It's something to think about. But is there an alternative?

Sure there is!

Because of the massive marketing of so many "new and improved" video cards hitting the retail shelves almost every other month, YOU have the power. Want a 6800XT? Just sit back for 6 months or even less and get it at half the price--maybe even less. Want that BFG GeForce 7900 GTX? Well, sit back and wait until around October of this year. The key to getting a great video card at a great price, is constantly buying the last generation. Several years ago you really couldn't do that because the cards were not as advanced. Yes, this is open for debate, but I think today's video cards are built better, built more reliable, and will be able to take on many new applications and games in the future without needing to upgrade every 6 months. We're currently seeing video cards increase in performance much faster than what the applications can even take advantage of. This can only benefit YOU as the consumer because buying an older generation video card can actually mean an upgrade for many years of enjoyment.

©2006 by Jason Busch (DigitalDingus)

Video Card Purchases: The More You Play...The More You Pay

A part of The DigitalDingus Guide To Computers & Hardware series.

Laptop Notebook Inexpensive Business Laptops

Writen by Dale L

Laptop Notebook – Your Portable Office

In much of today's business world, portability and mobility are the keys to success. Having a laptop notebook computer provides business men and women with portable computing capability, and these notebooks help them take their mobile business functionality to a new level.

Notebook Computers Provide Portability to Today's Workers

Advances in computer electronics have brought us to the point where we can take these mobile and portable notebook computers all over the world, conduct business from home with our notebooks, and even connect our laptops to a computer network in Los Angeles from a coffee shop in Atlanta. These notebooks have changed how we conduct business, and in order to keep up with these changes more and more professionals and companies are making the investment of notebooks for themselves and their mobile workforce.

For the small company or individual business owner, the investment needed to buy notebooks and move into the world of portability and mobility doesn't have to be enormous. Some companies, especially larger ones, will make the decision to invest big money in the top of the line notebook computer. Other companies will choose to make a lesser but equally valuable investment in discount or used laptops. As long as the laptop computers meet the mobile business needs, making the smaller investment in notebooks works out great for companies or individuals who are conducting mobile and portable business on a tighter budget.

Want to read more about Electronics? Visit electronicsme.net or electronicsme.com for the latest articles on televisions, digital still cameras, and notebook computers.

Electronicsme: Where electronics are made easy!

Written by the eme team

Electronicsme.net: Where electronics are made easy! The latest articles on televisions, laptops and digital cameras.

and

Electronicsme.com: Where electronics are made easy! The latest news, reviews and comparisons of electronics, photography, and computers.

Useful Accessories For Your Computer

Writen by Christian Tylor

When it comes to accessories for computers there are many things that fall under this category. Some of these accessories are necessary for your computer to work property, while others are just for pure enjoyment. You start with your fundamentals which are your keyboard, mouse and the basic software needed for your requirements. There are many types of software that is available for computers so you need to make sure that you are installing software that is compatible with your system.

A few of the more common accessories for computers would be printers, scanners, speakers, headsets and microphones. Speakers are essential if you want to enjoy all the benefits your computer has to offer, such as listening to great music while working or surfing the web. Microphones are the key to holding conversations with friends and family or recording messages on your computer. Headsets come in very handy when you don't want to disturb other members of the family while enjoying music and games on your computer.

If you are not completely satisfied with the sound system that is originally installed in your computer, then you can improve your sound system with audio cards that can be installed to make you feel like you are listening to a high powered stereo system. This is a great accessory for the music lover. There are even additionally speakers, bass and more you can purchase for your PC.

An accessory for computers that is growing rapidly in popularity is web cams. They can be used for a number of different reasons, everything from conference meetings to talking to your family. You can purchase webcams that produce either still or video pictures. If you travel a lot with your job, or for other reasons this is a great way to stay in touch with the loved ones waiting for you at home.

For those of you that would like a little more freedom with your computers, then the wireless mouse and keyboard would be for you. This allows you to be free from tangling wires and the freedom to move around. It produces a new and exciting way to use your computer.

Adding extra protection to your computer to help shield your hard drive is also a great idea in case the one that comes on your computer failed for some reason. Computers do crash sometimes and this can cause some serious problems especially for the person who keeps a lot of important information on their computers. When it comes to accessories for your computers this one can't be beat for saving you time and money.

Christian Tylor is a freelance publisher based in Atlanta, Georgia. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides computer and software resources at FreeNetPublishing.com

How Platespin Server Consolidation Works

Writen by Jennifer Hanson

It is no secret that servers can take up a lot of floor space, and power. As a result, they can sometimes seem inconvenient. One way to save space and power is to consolidate servers. Server consolidation is very important in order to ease some of the frustrations of overdue consolidation processes. Server consolidation projects can also be accelerated via automation and virtualization. Platespin server consolidation helps to accelerate consolidation projects, and reduce errors. This is done without actually having to have contact with the physical machines.

Platespin allows managers to measure and evaluate resource utilization in order to speed up capacity planning for consolidation projects. This is accomplished by remotely gathering information about the server. This information can be the server operating system, memory, CPU speed, the network, and memory. Platespin server consolidation works on Windows NT, 2000, and 2003 systems. The system works without the help of agents. Therefore, the need to manually deploy software is eliminated. The risk of missing certain agent dependencies is also eliminated in this case. Platespin is also very simple and lightweight, so it can start to collect data in almost one minute.

Platespin completely automates the physical to virtual migration of data. This allows the servers to be consolidated quickly and with more ease. There is a drag and drop interface that allows the user to convert machines running Windows or Linux into one fully functional virtual machine that is hosted on several types of servers. These servers include VMware GSX Server, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005, or simply a Platespin Flexible Image file.

Network configurations, CPU cycles disk space, and memory allocations can all be converted rather quickly. This ease allows users to right-size target servers as the conversion process is occurring. As a direct result, data centers are made able to increase the number of servers that are able to be consolidated. This further optimizes resource utilization rates.

Server consolidation may seem complicated, but the right program can make it quite simple. Platespin automates many processes and allows many different factors to be converted quickly. This means that the total time for consolidating servers is reduced.

Jennifer Hanson recommends you visit http://www.platespin.com/ for more information on server consolidation.

Sony Annouces Bluray Prices

Writen by Ron Swerdfiger

Word from the Sony camp emerged today about the pricing for its next-generation medium Blu-Ray, and the movies which will be made on it. Catalog titles, Sony announced, will sell for $17.95, which is approximately the price in which DVD's were sold at upon being released on the market several years back.

Also something to be noted is the fact that newly released movies which come straight from theaters will be sold at a premium price of $23.45. Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment explained. "The higher pricing structure for new releases is meant to accommodate the sell-through and rental markets." It is interesting to see this highly competitive pricing strategy by Sony and it seems like they will price themselves to directly compete with DVD and HD-DVD upon its release and rollout in the coming months. Another interesting thing will be to take note of the pricing announcement for HD-DVD, which should be coming soon.

Another thing which Sony is going to begin to rollout is that of the DVD/UMD bundle, which will eventually turn into the Blu-Ray/UMD bundle. Sony plans to charge about $28.95 for combos such as The Grudge, Resident Evil, Underworld, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Terminator. This is a great price considering a regular UMD would normally be sold for around $25 on its own. These will be released on March 28th. "A lot of people have DVD players and also have PSPs, and this way for one price they can get one movie and play it back on both formats," Feingold said explaining the move.

In terms of Blue-Ray integration Feingold said, "With the launch of Blu-ray, we're going to try to introduce the managed-copy concept, where if you buy Blu-ray you'll be able to get additional versions (of the same title) to use in your home." We'll have more news as it is released pertaining to the launch of Blu-Ray as well as its impact on the PlayStation 3 launch upcoming.

For more news, check out our Xbox 360 site or our Nintendo DS site.

Cheap Laptops For Cashstrapped College Students How To Find Cheap Top Quality Student Laptops

Writen by Titus Hoskins

Finding a cheap laptop for college is an easy task. Laptop prices have fallen steadily over the last couple of years as marketplace competition heats up and production costs come down. You can now get a laptop for under $400.

But you must proceed with caution -- as that old expression on ancient maps stated: Here There Be Monsters!

For you just don't want any old cheap laptop; you want a high quality machine that will offer good performance and won't go kapoots half way through the semester. You want a laptop that can accomplish all those student assignments and easily handle all those MP3 and movie downloads! In other words, the laptop you buy must be able to get the job done.

You want a quality laptop that's relatively small and lightweight; yet sturdy and shock proof. You will need a laptop with a good comfortable keyboard for typing up all those assignments. You may have to purchase a tablet notebook if you need a laptop for a lot of note-taking in class.

If you're buying a used or refurbished laptop you should have it checked out by a Laptop Technician or if this is not practical, bring along a friend who knows computers or laptops -- there's a computer geek in every crowd.

Finding a top quality laptop at a bargain price may take some work on your part so here are some suggestions to make your job easier:

Try Your Friends and Neighbors

First, check around with your friends, neighbors and colleagues -- many may have good quality laptops to sell or even give you! Why? Many people constantly upgrade to the latest laptop technology -- Intel and AMD have just introduced laptops with Duo or Dual Core processors and many laptop enthusiasts are dishing their old perfectly good laptops for the newer faster sexier models. (Why does that sound so familiar!)

So check around, you may be able to purchase a good second hand laptop for next to nothing. Or in exchange for work (lawn mowing, yard work...) or services (baby sitting, shopping...) offered over the summer.

Try eBay

Perhaps, the cheapest high quality laptops can be found on eBay. But again, you must check out carefully both the product and the seller. Make sure you do your homework and thoroughly check out the laptops before you buy. Make sure you don't end up with a useless monster!

Try A Refurbished Laptop

You can save a bundle by buying a refurbished laptop directly from the major Laptop Manufacturers. These laptops offer very good quality at much cheaper prices. So check around for a refurbished laptop.

Try Online Bargain Stores Such as Buy.com

You may want to check out the many bargain online stores or super sites such as BestBuy.com, TigerDirect.com, Buy.com and the countless others. These stores may also offer refurbished laptops, but keep your eyes open for those monsters.

Try Amazon

Don't forget Amazon, they now sell new and used laptops at some very competitive prices. If you have any rich uncles or aunts (relatives) tell them you have an Amazon Wishlist... place a wish for a good laptop at the top. Hey, don't laugh - it happens!

Try Dell Coupons And Rebates

Recently, Dell, HP and a few other laptop makers have come out with $400 laptops after rebates or coupons. These are usually level entry laptops but may be perfectly fine for students.

Don't Forget To Haggle

If you're buying a laptop from a favorite vendor or store -- always ask for a discount or bargain. Many times haggling will get you a better price or some nice upgrades with a few extras thrown in. No harm in trying.

And Keep Those Eyes Open

Purchasing a good quality cheap student laptop can be done if you try some of the places listed above. If you're on a very strict budget, most college students are, you can save a lot money by shopping around and using the advice given here. Just keep in mind, as you open your purse or wallet to buy that bargain student laptop, keep your eyes peeled for any monsters that may be lurking around.

For more information on Buying Notebooks and Laptops at Bargain Prices Click Here: Cheap Laptops Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins Internet Marketing Tools This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

How To Properly Remanufacture Your Hp Q1338aq1339a Black Toner Cartridge In Just 53 Easy Steps

Writen by Joseph Mercado

Hewlett Packard's LaserJet 4200 and the LaserJet 4300 series of printers were first released in November of 2002. They were both designed to replace the now discontinued Hewlett Packard 4100 LaserJet printer.

Based on a new print engine, the 4200 and 4300 series have increased print speeds of 35 ppm (pages per minute) for the 4200 and 45 ppm (pages per minute) for the 4300 with an improved first page out time of less than 9 seconds.

Wow, that is pretty fast. At a starting cost of about $1,000 for the base model 4200 and $1,399 for the base model 4300. These new printers are priced at the same cost as the Hewlett Packard 4100 LaserJet printer.

There are differences in the molding of the cartridges which do prevent them from being interchangeable. One notable difference is in the design of the toner hopper.

The toner hopper on the HP 4300 is larger and holds 1,050 grams of toner for an estimated page yield of. This will approximately perform 18,000 pages @ 5% coverage.

The smaller toner hopper on the HP 4200 holds only 690 grams of toner and yields approximately 12,000 pages @ 5% coverage. Another notable difference is in the waste section. The waste hopper of the HP 4300 is larger to hold the extra waste produced by the higher fill weight.

The HP 4200 waste hopper also has a fin sticking up on the left side of the hopper that prevents the cartridge from fitting into the HP 4300 LaserJet printer.

Due to the fact that the 4200 and the 4300 both use the same print engine, the components that make up the cartridges are the same.

The cartridge chips located on the top right side of the waste hopper however, are in indeed different. A slight difference in programming prevents one chip from being used on both cartridges, so it's important to use the correct chip when remanufacturing the cartridge.

Though the chip is physically different than that of the HP 4100, the information that the chip contains is nearly the same.

A few additional items like First Installed Date and Last Date Used are one-stored chips. This information is displayed at the bottom of the Supplies Status Page.

Just like the HP 4100, 4200 and the 4300, all can be run with a spent chip or with no chip installed at all.

Several testing have shown that the chip can be run again in the printer that it was used in originally. Running the used chip causes a "Replace Cartridge" message and the loss of the toner low warning.

Usage of the chip in a machine other than the one it was previously running in will result in a "Non-HP Cartridge Detected" message and the loss of all the information on the Supplies Status Page.

While running the cartridge without the chip, it will result in a "10.10.00 Supplies Memory Error" when the cartridge is first installed.

After pressing the Select button a "Non-HP Cartridge Detected message will appear before the machine goes to ready. All the information stored in the chip will not be available and a "Warning" message is all you will find on the Supplies Status Page.

Here are you Step-by-Step "How-to-Remanufacture" the HP Q1338A/Q1339 Instructions:

Let's get straight to the point, no beating around the bush during this lecture.

First, you will need the necessary Tools & Supplies Required:

Tools & Supplies Required:

•Diagonal Cutters (tool)
•Phillips Head Screwdriver (tool)
•Small Flat Blade Screwdriver (tool)
•Dremel Tool with Cutting Bit (tool)
•Needle nose Pliers (tool)
•Padding Powder (supply)
•Soft Lint Free Cloth (supply)
•Anhydrous Isopropyl Alcohol (supply)
•Swabs (supply)
•Toner (supply)
•Drum (supply)
•Expanding Foam (supply)
•Doctor Blade (supply)
•Wiper Blade (supply)

Here you will also be provided with the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) information:

HP 4200:

•Part Number: Q1338A
•OEM Gram Load: 690 grams
•Yield @ 5% coverage: 12,000 pages / min:35
•Resolution: 300/600/1200dpi (dots per inch)

HP 4300:

•Part Number: Q1339A
•OEM Gram Load: 1025 grams
•Yield @ 5% coverage: 18,000 pages / min:45
•Resolution: 300/600/1200dpi (dots per inch)

Below are your 53 easy steps to know how to remanufacture your HP 4200/4300 LaserJet Q1338A/Q1339A toner cartridges.

Step #1:

•Place the cartridge on the worktable with the drum facing upward and the drum shutter arm towards you.

Step #2:

•Using a small flat blade screwdriver, release the clip that holds the drum shutter arm to the cartridge.

Step #3:

•Pull the shutter arm from the drum shutter and slide the shutter arm from its positioning post.

Note: Do not lose the tension spring that fits inside the drum shutter arm. Place the tension spring back into the shutter arm.

Step #4:

•Open the drum shutter exposing the drum. The drum shutter is keyed on the non-contact side of the cartridge. Slide the shutter bar back until the bar can be removed from the cartridge end cap.

Step #5:

•Pull the drum shutter bar from the cartridge contact end cap. Then you want to set the drum shutter aside.

Step #6:

•Next, remove the two screws holding the cartridge cap to the cartridge.

Step #7:

•Using a flat blade screwdriver, pry the contact end cap away from the toner hopper breaking the three plastic welds holding the end cap to the toner hopper. Afterwards, remove the end caps.

Step #8:

•Using diagonal cutters cut the three plastic welds flush with the contact end cap.

Step #9:

•Simply rotate the cartridge 180 degrees. Carefully remove the four screws holding the gear housing end cap.

Step #10:

•While holding the opposite end of the cartridge, remove the gear assembly end cap from the cartridge. Then you want to separate the two sections and set the toner hopper aside.

Step #11:

•Remove the screw holding the drum axle. Then remove the drum axle.

Step #12:

•Lift the drum by the small gear and pull the drum from the bearing hub.

Step #13:

•Remove the PCR from the PCR saddles.

Note: If you are going to reuse the PCR clean the roller using a lint free cloth and water.

Step #14:

•In order to remove the wiper blades; pull the OEM sealing foam material away from the wiper blade.

Note: The OEM sealing foam material is sticky and is not easily removed.

Step #15:

Note: This step is only for the HP 4300. Using a Dremel with a cutting bit cut away the retaining wall that prevents the wiper blade from being removed.

Step #16:

•Remove the two screws holding the wiper blade. Then remove the blade.

Step #17:

•Dump the waste from the hopper. Clean the hopper using dry compressed air or a vacuum.

Step #18:

•Apply padding powder to the new wiper blade and place the blade onto the waste hopper. Install the two screws that hold the blade in place.

Step #19:

•You will now need to seal the area around the wiper blade using expanding foam along the edge of the blade and in the square holes on the ends.

Step #20:

•Clean the PCR saddles using a swab and alcohol.

Step #21:

•At this point, you want to apply new conductive grease to the black contact saddle. Install the cleaned PCR.

Step #22:

•Apply padding powder to the drum. Slide the drive gear into the bearing hub.

Step #23:

•Install the contact end plate.

Note: Make sure the contact plate sits flush with the end of the waste hopper.

Step #24:

•Install the screw that holds the contact plate in position.

Step #25:

•Place the waste hopper aside in a protected area out of the light.

Step #26:

•Remove the mag roller drive gear housing from the end of the toner hopper. Then remove he mag roller drive.

Step #27:

•Remove the screw that holds the mag roller end plate.

Step #28:

•Using needle nose pliers, simply remove the hinge pin from the mag roller end plate.

Step #29:

•Remove the mag roller tension spring.

Step #30:

•Pull the mag roller end plate from the toner hopper.

Note: Do not lose the bearing that sits inside the mag roller end plate.

Step #31:

•Lift the free end of the mag roller sliding the roller out of the mag roller end plate on the opposite side of the toner hopper.

Note: Do not lose the bearing that sits inside the mag roller end plate.

Step #32:

•Remove the mag roller bearings from the each end of the roller. Clean the mag roller using dry compressed air or vacuum, then using a lint free cloth and a mag roller cleaner. Clean the mag roller bearings and use a lint free cloth.

Step #33:

•Remove the two screws holding the doctor blade.

Step #34:

•Lift the plastic scrapers and mylar shims off each end of the doctor blade.

Step #35:

•Lift the doctor blade from the toner hopper. If you plan on using the doctor blade again, clean the doctor blade using dry compressed air or a vacuum, then using a lint free cloth and alcohol.

Step #36:

•Dump the old toner out of the toner hopper. Using dry compressed air or a vacuum, clean out the hopper.

Step #37:

•Fill the toner hopper with the correct amount of toner depending on the cartridge type you are building.

Step #38:

•Place the new or cleaned doctor blade onto the toner hopper. Place the mylar shims and the plastic scrapers on each end of the doctor blade. Install the two screws holding the blade in place.

Step #39:

•Slide the black mag roller bearing onto the contact end and the white bearing onto the drive gear end of the mag roller. Slide the mag roller contact hub into the mag roller bearing plate on the toner hopper.

Step #40:

•Align the mag roller bearing end plate to the toner hopper and slide the end plate onto the toner hopper.

Step #41:

•Install the mag roller tension spring and the screw into the mag roller bearing end plate.

Step #42:

•Install the hinge pin into the mag roller bearing plate.

Step #43: •Slide the mag roller drive onto the mag roller.

Note: Make sure the two injection molding points on the mag roller drive gear face outward.

Step #44:

•Place the mag roller drive gear housing onto the end of the mag roller, making sure the keyed end of the magnet fits into the gear housing.

Step #45:

•Using a 3/32-drill bit, drill a hole next to the toner sensing contact on the cartridge contact end cap.

Step #46:

•Join the toner hopper and waste hopper together. Place the cartridge gear housing end cap onto the side of the cartridge. Install the four screws that hold the end cap in place.

Step #47:

•Place the contact end cap onto the end of the cartridge. Install the two screws that hold the end cap in place.

Step #48:

•You will now need to lock the contact end cap in place. To do this, drill a 1/16 hole through the contact end cap and through the toner sensor bar positioning post. The hole needs to be drilled approximately 1/8 from the end of the toner hopper and 1/8 from the end of the sloped section on the contact end cap.

Step #49:

•Now, install a 1/16 spring pin into the hole drilled in the bottom of the contact end cap.

Step #50:

•Install the keyed end of the drum shutter bar into the gear housing end cap.

Step #51:

•Install the non-keyed end of the drum shutter bar into the contact end cap.

Step #52:

•Slide the drum shutter arm onto the positioning post. Push the drum shutter arm into the drum shutter. Gently, slide and open the shutter to engage the tension spring.

Step #53a:

•We are almost done. Place one probe of an Ohmmeter on the toner sensor contact and place the other probe into the hole that was drilled next to the contact. Locate the sensor bar that comes out from the toner hopper through the hole drilled in the end cap, making sure you have a low resistance connection.

Note: If the contact is not made between the sensor bar and the contact on the end plate, this will result in an error "54.1 Remove Sealing Tape" or if contact is lost during usage, a premature toner low can occur.

Step #53b:

•Test the cartridge.

Congratulations, you have successfully completed the process on how to remanufacture your own HP 4200/4300 series LaserJet toner cartridges.

Good luck and complete each cartridge as if it were your last. This information is provided to you for both educational use and to improve your knowledge in the technical area within the remanufacturing industry.

In description of, Joseph Mercado is known as The Internet Marketing Tyrant. He specializes in current studies on ink cartridges and how they connect within the consumable industry.

http://www.inksecrets.com

Does High Definition Mean Short Distance

Writen by Cameron Postelwait

Liberty, Justice, and High Def For All

The conversation subject of high definition is no longer segregated to the dark smokey rooms of the cultural elite, the same rooms where gas price conspiracies, global domination rituals, and secret handshakes are created. No friends, high definition is now available to bond and free, to all races and creeds, to rich and, well, semi-rich.

Pick Your Poison

HDMI and DVI are the two digital interfaces that are quickly becoming the prefered vessels of High Definition. Just as a quick recap...

DVI: Short for Digital Video Interface, came into fruition to convert analog signals into video signals to accomodate both analog and digital monitors. DVI-A is an analog signal, DVI-D is a digital signal, and DVI-I is an integrated analog and digital solution. This quickly became a popular interface because the integrity of the signal remains true through any transmission, unlike its analog grandfather, who loses little bits of data here and there because of too many treks through the snow as a kid.

HDMI: Short for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, this digital interface is perfectly suited for the consumer electronics market. It supports uncompressed high definition video plus multi-channel audio in a single cable, simplifying the install process for you and me. It does all this with a smaller connector than its DVI cousin.

Length Limits

Both DVI and HDMI signals begin to degrade in quality when sent over copper wire after about 5 meters. Although sometimes a well-made copper HDMI or DVI cable can send the signal further than that without corruptions visible by the naked eye, you will often encounter specks and glitter in the display, plus a host of other possible problems if the voltage level isn't preserved and stable.

Below is some basic information about what is available for DVI Extension and HDMI extension.

Extension

So, you've sold the farm to buy your HDTV display and source boxes, but the picture has more specks and sparkles than tinkerbell. If its because of long runs of DVI or HDMI cables, there are solutions. Gefen, a leader in the industry, manufacturers perhaps the most respected and prolific digital extenders for both home and professional A/V.

There are two basic ways to extend HDMI and DVI. Extend over a CAT5 cable, or just get a booster (similar in many ways to a repeater).

Cat5 Extension

This style of digital video extension uses two little boxes: a receiver and a sender. By "little", I mean a few inches by a few inches, by a few more inches. The sender sits near your source (such as a computer, a set-top box, a DVD player). An included cable connects your DVI or HDMI source to the sender. The sender sits near your video source and sends the signal long distances over a tidy and economic Cat5 cable. The receiver sits near the display and receives the signal that has travelled over long distances unscathed from video corruption. The receiver feeds the perfect image (with the resolution also preserved) to your display via your DVI or HDMI cable. The Cat5 Extension option is very attractive because Cat5 cables are very inexpensive and are neater than the fat (no matter how phat) video cables. I highly recommend Gefen products for their industrial strength, aesthetic attraction, and reliability in important video extension projects.

Boosters and Repeaters

Although not entirely identical, boosters and repeaters accomplish the same job and in a similar manner. Boosters and repeaters only require one box to sit at the end of a long run of DVI or HDMI cable. The unit simply corrects any signal corruption that has occurred over long runs of copper cable. This option is most appealing to those who already bought a long run of DVI or HDMI cable. Boosters and repeaters are also good for chaining multiple runs of cable together.

Cameron Postelwait works in business development at Sewell Direct.

What To Do When System Hangs

Writen by Ravi Chamria

One of the thing windows is infamous for , is system handling. Everyone has had a run in with the Antarctic PC ( A frozen system) one time, or another. The problem is that this is one of the most complicated problems to solve. Almost anything can make a system stop responding- faulty hardware, software, drivers, etc., and with the sheer amount of hardware and software loaded on PCs today, it virtually impossible to prevent. However, if this happens too often, then you know you have a problem at hand.

The first thing you need to make sure of is that all devices are installed properly, with up-to-date drivers. Open the system Properties Device manager , and check the yellow exclamatory marks. These signify improperly installed devices. Reinstall the drivers for that device, or just remove it and check if the system has stopped hanging.

Check your system for a virus. Make sure that your anti-virus definitions are up to date, and use the through scan option to scan your system regularly.

Certain badly written programs can be memory hogs, and refuse to release the memory they had used. This leads to more and more memory being used, until the system is unstable and crashes. Update your Os and with all the Latest patches. Also, upgrade all applications and get all the available patches.

Ravi chamria is a webmaster, for more computer related articles please visit at Computers-and-Technology

New Directions For Removable Usb Mass Storage

Writen by Larry H

Recent developments in USB mass storage are truly remarkable. The technology is convenient and powerful, but corporate executives are losing sleep not knowing how much intellectual property is lost or stolen through portable mass storage on the gigabyte scale. However, with the proper controls in place, the USB mass storage protocol can be harnessed for beneficial security uses. On-board capabilities of strong cryptography and authentication appearing on some devices today are the prime ingredients for a new direction in the evolution of USB mass storage; portable identity management and secure storage.

The development and adoption of removable USB mass storage is truly remarkable. Never before has it been so easy to move gigabytes of information around on a portable device that is small enough to clip onto a key chain. These pocket size devices are known as a jump drive, thumb drive, flash drive, USB drive or USB flash drive. These devices have large capacities and they can copy data at lightning speed. It's hard to buy a USB flash drive these days with less than 128MB of storage and some devices can achieve data rates greater than 20MB per second. The technology is so convenient and powerful that we wonder how we could have lived without it. It's unthinkable to use floppy disks for the amount of data that we need to carry around today. While the capacity of a CD-RW might be sufficient the procedure of inserting and "burning" simply can't compete with the ease of plugging a flash drive into the USB port.

To deal with this issue, some organizations have disabled USB ports through the BIOS, while others have gone to the more extreme measure of filling the USB connectors with a thick epoxy adhesive. While this solves the problem it also prevents any beneficial uses of USB mass storage to be garnered. But what other functions are there for USB mass storage devices? Besides moving large amounts of data around at lightning speed what else could we be missing by banning their use? Surprisingly, there are very compelling advances to be gained in the security industry by properly harnessing the power and protocol of USB mass storage.

USB mass storage devices are evolving and we are starting to see many new features and behaviors that were never conceived when the USB mass storage specification was written. For example, many devices today offer encrypted storage so that if you lose your device, the information on it remains safe. Some flash drives even have fingerprint sensors and processors built in so that biometric authentication of the owner is required before the storage can be accessed. These are examples of some security driven extensions to the basic functionality of mass storage. The on-board capabilities of strong cryptography and authentication that we see on some of the more advanced devices are the prime ingredients for a new direction in the evolution of USB mass storage. That direction is Portable Security Devices that offer identity management and secure storage.

Digital identities take many forms. They can be simple credentials such as usernames and passwords, or more complex forms such as PKI based X509 certificates or claims based assertions in SAML tokens. To be really useful in today's identity infrastructures an identity device must be more than a secure store of static credentials. It must also be able to generate cryptographic keys, perform digital signature operations, parse request messages and emit security tokens in standard formats. Furthermore, it must bind identity operations to an authenticated user and be able to enforce security policies that have been defined by security officers.

One doesn't normally associate these operations with USB storage. In fact, digital identity functions are very different from mass storage, but that doesn't mean that they cannot exist on the same device, just as digital cameras now exist on cell phones. Despite the differences there are significant benefits to putting digital identity functions on a USB mass storage device.

The obvious question that comes to mind is why is it not just a simple matter of creating a composite device? After all, digital identity devices already exist in other form factors such as smart cards and yes, USB key fobs. These could easily be integrated into the same physical package with relative ease to produce a combined mass storage/digital identity device. The answer is that the benefits that we gain go beyond the convenience of having a multi-functional device and are attributable to using the USB mass storage protocol itself.

The USB mass storage interface itself has a number of desirable properties. First it is ubiquitous. Practically every PC and operating system in use today supports it natively and there are no device drivers or software to install in order to use a USB flash drive. This is what makes them so portable and interchangeable. It doesn't matter which vendor or brand of USB memory stick you have, as long as the device implements the specification it will work.

Portability has been the Achilles' heel of smart cards and USB tokens. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to carry a smart card around without lugging a reader, device drivers and proprietary middleware? Without all of that the smart card just won't work. In fact the situation is worse than that. Even when you have deployed a smart card solution with all of the required components and middleware, you'll probably find that the solution won't work with another brand of smart card without swapping in new middleware components.

The U.S. Government has addressed these interoperability challenges by developing GSC-IS (Government Smart Card Interoperability Specification) so that they can deploy smart cards to federal employees without being tied to one smart card or middleware provider. Despite these and other enormous efforts on standards and interoperability, smart cards have suffered from the lack of widespread adoption of a common specification.

The widespread native support and high bandwidth of the USB mass storage interface enables a digital identity device to be truly portable and accept high level application messages through a protocol that is as simple as reading and writing to a file. Work in developing open specifications to exploit this new direction has already begun. In partnerships with key device manufacturers, Microsoft is currently developing a specification called PSTS (Portable Security Token Service), which will enable file system based communication to USB devices that can be used as portable credential carriers and generators of SAML tokens in response to WS-Trust requests.

This is part of a digital identity metasystem that will enhance privacy and security of digital identity transactions on the web. WS-Trust, along with other WS-* specifications are already submitted to OASIS for standardization. With the adoption of InfoCard in new Microsoft operating systems and popular browsers, it will be possible for you to roam to any machine, say at an Internet café, and perform a digital identity transaction using your USB digital identity device.

There are still challenges to be addressed to make this direction a reality. Device manufacturers need to design for portability. The installation of drivers and middleware to assist in some of the digital identity computation is not an option. The device itself must be able to process high level messages, perform cryptographic operations and handle user authentication internally, otherwise portability will be lost. The development and adoption of standards must continue relentlessly otherwise we will fail to achieve interoperability. Finally, the industry must be assured that these new devices are secure. The same types of security validations that are being applied to smart cards and other security modules will be needed.

Now that we have seen the new digital identity direction of USB mass storage devices and what it could mean for portability and interoperability, organizations should rethink their decisions to disable USB mass storage. There are good solutions appearing on the market that can control the use of USB mass storage without disabling them completely. For example, many offerings allow you to prevent any unwanted devices from being used except those that are issued or approved by the corporation, and you can even monitor the files that move on and off a device.

Digital identities play a key role in many security applications from single sign-on, to PKI, to the emerging systems of federated identity. By keeping USB mass storage enabled, corporations can leverage the new breed of USB mass storage based digital identity devices to enhance and simplify their deployments of digital identity security solutions.

New Portable Security Devices will not only offer biometric and password two-factor authentication for portable secure storage, but will securely carry and assert digital identities, and be the hardware token for such security applications as remote access, PKI, and single sign-on. . Driverless USB secure flash drives will be transformed into the next revolutionary hardware device for portable security.

From my research on this topic I have come across the Stealth MXP that I purchased from MXI Security and has surpassed my expectations.

Cd Silkscreen Printers

Writen by Jimmy Sturo

CD silkscreen printers are ideal for printing large quantities of discs, because they make CD mass production more cost-effective. It's a great investment for companies who need to produce full-color discs fast (such as software companies).

CD silkscreen printers apply ink to a silk or nylon screen and then penetrate areas of the screen that are not blocked by the stencil. The printer uses a lot of stencils in order to apply multiple colors in a single print. It is the same type of printer used for regular replicated discs. With CD silkscreen printers, you can do all kinds of color combinations imaginable - from PMS colors to four-color process and even metallic. There are far more color options in CD silk screen printing technology than in thermal or label printing. The result are high-quality, attractive CD prints done very fast.

If you need to print at least 500 CDs at one time, then you should definitely invest in a CD silkscreen printer, or at least sign up with a silkscreen CD printing company. You typically have to pay a one-time setup fee, and they take care of the rest. You can get huge discounts if you print 1,000 CDs or more, and if you order regularly. If you need to add dates, control numbers, serial numbers, etc., expect to pay some extra. If you need to print higher quantities, you should sign up for pantone matching services to get the most control available when you print your artwork.

If you only need to print low quantities of CDs (less than 100, for example), it might be better to go with thermal printing instead. CD silkscreen printing only becomes cost-effective when you need to print in bulk; otherwise, the cost per unit goes up.

CD Printers provides detailed information on CD Printers, CD Label Printers, CD Cover Printers, CD Ink Jet Printers and more. CD Printers is affiliated with CD Replication Companies.

Installing Wireless Access Points

Writen by Eric Meyer

Installing Multiple Wireless Access Points

1. Install one wireless Access Point to test range

2. Assign each wireless access point a unique IP address

3. Each wireless access point will have the Same SSID

4. All wireless access points will have the same encryption key

5. Point wireless antennas towards the center of the network

1. Finding your Wireless Range – Wireless access points will have a range of about 75-100ft inside, and outside (depending on your wireless antenna) miles. If you live in an older brick home your wireless signal range can be greatly reduced.. To find your wireless signal range and signal strength you will need to install one wireless access point in the middle of your work area and measure the signal. You can use a program called netstumbler to help you with this task. Once you have achived the necessary wireless signal overlap then you will be able to roam through out your work or business. Your wireless adapter software will choose the access point with the strongest signal but this will be transparent to the user

2. Unique IP -Next you will want to assign all your AP's with a unique IP address not a dynamic IP address. Do not use the same IP adderess for each AP.

3. Configure AP's – Configuring two or three wireleess access point is not very hard but when you have to configure more than that it can become time consuming. Thus some wireless routers will come with software that will allow you to configure one access point which will then configure all of your other access point for you.

4. Same SSID – Use the same SSID for each access point on your network. This will give you the ability to roam with out having to choose each network when you move.

5. Encryption /AuthenticationWireless Antennas – Choose which type of antenna you will need. Try to purchase directional antennas instead of using the default omni-directional antennas. Directional antennas will funnel your wireless signal towards your operational areas.

7. Placement – Try not to place your AP by outer walls. If you need to place your AP buy outside walls then try to use a reflector. This will help your signal stay inside your house as much as possible.

Join the most popular wireless networking newsletter on the internet at http://www.wirelessninja.com . Get the inside scoop on wireless communication for the home and work place.