All PC Tips

Nowadays digital cameras are replacing conventional film cameras. It is true that many people prefer to buy digital cameras then normal cameras. There are many reasons for this change. With digital cameras there is no need to keep the film safe. No need to wait to see the photos until the whole film roll is finished. No need to bring to a studio to print. The advantages of buying a digital camera are many. So many want to buy digital cameras.

But what are the different types of digital cameras? How much is its price? Which digital camera to choose? And many such questions are common while buying digital cameras.

Here are the buying tips for choosing a digital camera. The price ranges from $120 to $700. So based on your budget and your requirements you should choose the various features in a digital camera.

• Compared to digital cameras with CMOS sensors, digital cameras with CCD sensor is better. The CCD sensor cameras are smaller in size and produce a better quality.
• The resolution should be high. 640×480, 1024×768, 768×1280, 1024×2048 are some of the resolutions in digital cameras.
• The camera memory should also be high. If you need greater clarity the digital camera’s internal memory should be high. Generally 2, 8 or 16MB internal memory camera’s are available. So choose a higher one.
• See the interface of the digital camera to a computer. Both USB interface and Parallel ports are available. But a USB interface camera is better because of the speed and easy to use features.
• A camera with Viewfinder is good. Using this you can view the picture other than from the LCD.
• Optical zoom is most important. Even if it is expensive choose the camera with an optical zoom
• See if you can increase the camera’s memory. Compact Flash card, smart media or Memory sticks can be used to increase the camera’s memory. Never choose a camera in which you cannot change the camera’s memory.
• Usually in order to print the photos, you will have to first copy the photos from digital cameras to the computer and then print it from the computer. But there are cameras which can be directly connected to the printer to print. If printing photos are your main job then choose a camera that can directly connect to a printer
• Some digital cameras are capable of capturing short videos. If you need this feature then see if the camera has this feature.
• Choose the digital camera with a fast shutter speed. If you are buying a digital camera for use in your profession then you should have a camera with very high shutter speed.
• See if the camera is user friendly and easy to use. See if the buttons are easy to press.
• See if the camera is designed such that your fingers never come in between the flash or the lens. Choose a camera that is designed based onErgonomics.

DVD is the latest mass data storage device after floppy disk and CDs. The price of the DVD writer is also very affordable these days. Have you decided to buy a DVD writer? Then read the DVD writer buying tips below before making your choice.

The data and information we have in our computers are our treasure. That is the reason why we take all steps to secure this data. If the software installed in our computer gets corrupt or somehow doesn’t function properly we can always reinstall these software. But if our data such as documents, images, videos etc are lost then our hard work will be lost. We may even lose money in certain cases. Therefore we should take all steps to keep our data safe and secure.

To backup our information file we can use the Digital Audio Tape (DAT). To use this we need to buy the required driver. But this is very expensive. Ordinary people cannot afford this. Only big firms and companies use this type of tape drives to backup their data.

When backing up in a smaller scale CDs or DVDs. Using CD Writers we can copy data into CD R or CD RW disks. But in CDs you can only store upto 650MB or 700MB of data. So the CDs are losing their popularity these days.

In a DVD you can store upto 4.7GB of data. That is why DVDs have become popular. The price of DVD writers are also very affordable. So here are some buying tips for DVD Writers.

• You can categorize DVD writers into two. The internal DVD writer that is permanently fitted inside the computer or the external DVD writer that can be carried with your anywhere you go.
• DVD writers also have single layer DVD writer or Dual layer DVD writer. The DVDs useds in a single layer DVD drive can store upto 4.3GB. The DVDs in a dual layer DVD drive can store upto 8.5GB. The Single layer DVD drive is cheaper than the dual layer DVD drive.
• See if the DVD writer supports the Mt. Rainier standard. Because if it supports Mt. Rainier then you don’t require software such as In CD, Direct to Disk etc.
• DVD drive’s buffer memory should be high. At least 8MB buffer should be there.
• Check the DVD drive supports CDR, CDRW, DVDR, DVD+R, DVD RW, DVD +RW etc.
• The speed of the DVD writer should be fast. This will affect the reading and writing speed.
• If you buy an external DVD writer then you should have USB interface or Firewire interface.

It is very difficult to find an office without computers. Computers alone cannot help to make an efficient office. There are other computer related devices required in an office. For example the documents that you create using computers cannot be printed without a printer. Next, you need a scanner to scan documents, letters etc and bring to the computer. An
office also requires a photo copier to copy printed documents and letters to make additional copies. Finally to send out documents to outside world a FAX machine is required.

Consider that you need a printer, Scanner, Photocopier and a FAX machine. If you buy these machines separately you need to spend more money and these machines will occupy more office space.

MFD (Multi Function Device) integrates all these four functions into a singe device. Therefore you only buy a single machine and save money and space. There are many MFD brands such as HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, Samsung and Brother are available. The price of most of these MFDs are affordable.

MFDs are also called ‘All-in-One’ device. Printing, Scannig, Photocopying and Faxing all in one device. Most people now do not use FAX and therefore
there are many MFD models without FAX.

Buying tips for MFD (Multi Function Device)

1. As mentioned above all MFDs can Print, Scan and Photocopy. Some MFDs can additional send FAX.
2. Generally all MFDs are Inkjet printers. This is because, Inkjet printers are cheap. But the inkjet cartridges are very expensive and hence the maintenance cost becomes very high. Therefore there are new models of MFD which uses laser printers. The maintenance and printing cost in laser printers are lower and the printing quality is high.
3. Some MFDs have the email feature. So just like FAXing a document, you can also scan a document and email it to an email address using the MFD. Lexmark calls this feature as ‘Scan-to-mail’ where as HP calls it as ‘Digital Sending’.
4. Some MFDs have the ability to directly scan, print and photocopy without the need to connect to a computer. This is also referred to as ‘Direct USB printing & Scanning’.
5. Some MFDs have the ability to photocopy and print both sides of the paper.
6. MFDs can be connected to the network and shared. So many computers in the same network can scan, print, FAX, email or photocopy using the same MFD.
7. Some MFDs can do Multi Tasking. Most of the MFDs can scan, photocopy or print, but cannot do two or more tasks at the same time. But some models have multi tasking so while you are faxing a document you can also send email or start printing at the same time.

Today computers have become a necessity in every home. More and more
middle income households are now owning a computer now. That is why there
are many different branded PCs at different prices. It has become a tough
decision to choose the right computer. If you do not know the different
components in the computer and their functions, it becomes even more
difficult to choose. In this article let us see the various components in
a computer to help you in your choosing the right computer for you.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Most of the computers have Pentium Processors. Pentium processors are very
popular CPUs. Pentium Processors are manufactured by Intel.

Other than Pentium, Intel also manufactures Celeron processors. AMD
manufactures Athlon processors.

If you want to save money then go for Celeron processors. If you want
higher performance then choose Pentium processors.

Pentium processors come in 2.6 GHz, 2.8 GHz, 3.0 GHz and above while
Celeron processors come in 950 MHz to 2.80 MHz speed.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

There are many types of RAM namely DDR and SDRAM. The type of RAM you
choose depends on the motherboard you choose and what your motherboard
supports.

Get a RAM as big as possible. 256MB of RAM is the minimum RAM required for
a decent computer. But it is recommended that you go for atleast 512MB RAM
or even higher if possible.

Motherboard

Intel, Asus and Mercury are some of the motherboard brands. Generally
computer buyers overlook on motherboards. This is wrong. A good quality
motherboard will provide an efficient and faster computer.

The Chipset of a motherboard is very important. Intel’s 845 and 915G
chipsets can take in Pentium processors. Likewise nVidia’s nForce 4SLI
chipset takes AMD’s Athelon 64 and Athelon 64 FX processors.

Hard Disk

Harddisks with 7200RPM speed are available. Harddisks with 40GB, 80GB,
120GB storage capacity are available. 80GB harddisk capacity is suitable
for home as well as office use.

HardDisks come in two types of interfaces. EIDE or SATA among which SATA
interface is better.

Graphics Card

Graphics card is integrated inside the motherboard. Unlike before the
graphics card and the motherboard are now integrated. Intel’s Extreme
Graphics, Graphics Media Accelerator 900 are popular. If you go for nVidia
motherboard then Riva TNT2 graphics card is better.

Sound Card

Like graphics card, sound cards are also integrated in the motherboard.
Many motherboards come with Ac97 Audio cards.

CD Drives

Until 2004 the sale of CDROM drives was good. All computers came with 48x
or 52x CD drives.

But sales of CD Writers took over CDROM drives in late 2004. From 2005 it
is DVD writers and the combo drives that can handle both CDs and DVDs. So
choose either combo drives that can read and write CDs and read DVDs or go
for DVD Writers.

Monitor

15″ and 17″ monitors are very popular. The CRT monitors occupy more space
on the table and consume more power. Where as the flat LCD panel monitors
occupy less space and consume less power. So choose a LCD monitor

KeyBoard

A simple keyboard is usually sufficient. You may also try multimedia
keyboards or Internet keyboards. But most computer users usually do not
use these additional short cut keys provided in these new keyboards.

Membrane keys or mechanical type keys are available. Of these Mechanical
keys are more durable.

Mouse

Optical mouse is better than the ordinary mouse. The ball inside the ordinary mouse tends to gather dust and therefore the optical mouse is better to use.

Others

If you are an audio buff then you can buy good speakers, earphone and head set.

Try to get integrated network interface card and modem if you will be using networking or dialup internet.