Happy Holidays !!! to Everyone and a Prosperous New Year 2014 !!!
We thank you for your support and we do not forget !!!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Bluetooth And Apple
The internals of the original 20″ iMac G5. Many hardware components can be seen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The new Apple powerbook G4 are among the first
computers to offer Bluetooth technology 2.0+EDR.
The 2.0+EDR technology, which still backwards
compatible with 1.0, is up to three times faster
than previous versions, offering maximum data rate
transfers of up to 3 MBps. Being the first company
to certify a system with 2.0+EDR, Apple continues
to make great use of the Bluetooth technology.
Full support
In addition to the powerbook G4 portables, there
are other Bluetooth enabled computers available
from Apple, including the iBook, iMac G5, eMac,
and the Power Mac G5.
Making life easier
When you turn the Bluetooth feature on, your Mac
can easily perform a file transfer or even a
synchronization. From the Bluetooth selection
menu, you can choose to either send a file or
browse devices, quickly and easily. Or, you can
click the sync button in iSync to update your
cell phone or Palm OS handheld.
The Mac and GSM/GPRS mobile phone with Bluetooth
work to make each other more useful. By using
iSync, you can keep your phone updated without
having to type any info, as you can keep the
information in the more manageable address book
on your Mac instead.
You can also use your Bluetooth enabled Mac to
print documents and digital images to select a
printer that also supports the technology of
Bluetooth. Or, you can also use a headset to
talk to your friends during an iChat session.
Your Mac also has the ability to use Bluetooth
technology to communicate with your Palm OS
handheld. This way, you can perform a HotSync
operation without using any cables. You can also
send your business card or calendar events directly
to someone else’s handheld usingthe technology of
Bluetooth.
The implementation of Bluetooth by Apple is the
latest in a series of moves that have caused
great shift in the computer industry. Apple
established USB as the standard interface with
the launching of the first Mac back in 1998.
Since then, Apple established the 802.11 wireless
standard of networking with the launch of the
iBook and AirPort in 1999. During 2003, Apple
launched AirPort Extreme, which was based on
the new 802.11g high speed technology of wireless.
Now, Bluetooth helps to further strengthen the
dominant position of the Mac in wireless
communications, helping to preserve Apple’s
reputation for being the first to market with
innovative technology that integrates right into
the operating system.
Related articles
Bluetooth And Apple
Friday, March 29, 2013
Test Post from Bubble Chips 'n Computers
Test Post from Bubble Chips 'n Computers http://www.superwebcollider.com/bubblechipsncomputers
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Computer Speed Problems - How to Increase Your Computer Speed in Two Steps
Computer speed problems usually obsess a great many of PC users. Recently lots of readers write to me and ask for an accurate solution about fixing computer slow speed problems. I am here providing you with 2 simple tips to help you increase your computer speed quickly.
What kinds of computer speed problems are you encountering?
1. The computer startup takes you a long time to enter the whole system. Sometimes you have to wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes when you try to use the computer urgently. It is really a bad experience for each PC user.
2. The speed of computer running is deathly slow. Whatever you are going to do such as playing games, running applications, surfing the Internet or even opening office files, your computer keeps freezing and takes long time to respond you. You have to restart PC time and time again.
How to fix computer speed problems?
#1 Disable those useless startup programs to increase computer start speed. I believe you have installed many applications before. Do you know how many programs will be launched automatically at the windows startup? In fact, lots of executable files will run automatically when the system boost up. Just find them out and disable the such function. After removing startup applications, you will find your computer startup speed problem has been improved obviously.
#2 Many computer slow speed symptom and problems are related to system registry. When you try to install or uninstall programs, the registry of system would be changed and leave your PC invalid or empty registry entries. Too many invalid registry entries of course will slow your computer down. Furthermore, when you surf the Internet some suspicious website will slinkingly implant dangerous plug-ins into your computer. That is why you would feel the PC speed is extremely slow when you visit some webpage. Malicious registry is the destructor absolutely. Therefore, you had better scan and repair registry errors to increase your computer performance speed with some PC repair tools. Many PC errors repair tools would help you fix and rescue computer speed puzzle with just a few of clicks. Please remember that an important principle of keeping your computer run like a new one is -- don't be lazy to maintain it regularly.
If you still feel hard to fix computer speed problems. I sincerely suggest you download some registry repair tools to detect and fix PC registry errors for you. Because many PC repair tools is multifunctional and contains rescue methods I introduced above so that you do not need to repair your PC speed problems manually.
Do you desire to fix computer speed problems? I have a great solution here to help you increase your computer speed instantly. Just click here.
How to Conduct a Computer Speed Test
A brand new computer will not need a computer speed test because you are sure that it will run smoothly. As you use your computer you will come to notice that its performance gradually slows down. To make sure that your computer is performing as it was indicated in the package you need to perform a computer speed test.
There are different ways on how you can conduct computer speed test:
1. Look for a software that allows you to measure the speed of the computer's CPU. This will give you an idea on how well your computer is doing. The CPU speed test application will let you compare your computer's CPU score with other ratings internationally. If your computer's measurement is in Mhz then you need to upgrade your system. Your CPU should be running not less than 1 Ghz especially when you are going to install large programs such as games or web development or programming tools.
There are also other computer speed test applications that will indicate if your computer is doing well by the color. Like for instance if the color is green the computer is functioning as stated by the manufacturer. If the color is red it means that the computer is running faster more than what was indicated in the package. For the color yellow, it means that the computer is running a bit faster.
There are also other computer speed tools that can indicate errors on the computer. Then it will provide solutions that will address the problem reported. And you have the option to push through with the repair or not.
These tools are for free so you can download several of these and compare the results you obtained from each of the application. Make sure that you uninstall the programs after use unless you decide to keep it.
2. The second method to perform computer speed test is very simple and you do not need any tool. First restart your computer and time its start up. Then take note of it. Browse through the programs that you have installed in the computer. If you have programs that you are not using then remove it.
Then remove temporary files, cookies, check the registry for corrupt or damaged files and clear the Internet cache. This can be done by using the cleanup utilities in the Microsoft Windows. This will free up space on the hard disk and memory of the computer. Then scan the computer for virus infections. Make sure that the virus/es found are deleted immediately by configuring the settings of the antivirus program,
After doing so, restart the computer and time it again. Compare the number to the first one that you took. You will notice that the computer starts faster and programs are loading smoothly.
But if the computer is still taking time to start up then your best bet will be to reformat the computer. It is safer to let a computer technician do this job. Just make sure that you have installers for the programs that you are going to need.
Computer speed tests will also evaluate the computer's registry. Detecting registry errors will help the computer run faster because it will get rid of the complications occurring in the computer. The registry is where almost all important files are stored so it is important to maintain it in a good condition.
Tired of your slow computer and need a free computer speed test? Do you wish there was a way you could fix it today? You can by instantly fixing your corrupt registry. Go to www.Registry-Cleaners-Exposed.com to receive your free download and learn exactly why your computer is running slow.
Like to Know 3 Tips to Increase Computer Speed?
Many people deal with a slow computer and they don't know that there are ways to increase your computer speed. There are little known ways to help you do this and there are some that are just simple maintenance. Most people just want to get on their computers and use them. They forget about doing easy maintenance things that can increase your computer speed automatically.
There ear many things that your computer is geared to do automatically that can slow down your computer over time. When you want to speed up your computer, you can make some small changes. Here are three tips to increase computer speed:
1. First in your tips to increase computer speed - Reconfigure your Recycle Bin -- who would have thought? The recycle bin takes up a lot of space on your computer because it stores some of these deleted files. The recycle bin is set up to use a certain amount of space and you can change it to take up less.
How to fix: go to your recycle bin and right click on your mouse. This will bring up a box where you will click on Properties. When you see the global tab, slide the bar to about 3% instead of 12%. This will give you more room and make your computer more quickly. Note: You can set this at 1% and still be able to recover files that you deleted.
2. Second in your tips to increase computer speed - System Restore takes up space -- you can turn this program off to regain your computer speed. What this program does is let you restore your files and such when you have a change that you complete that your computer doesn't like. It only recovers files that you have in Windows so the best bet is to have it on in your main drive. By turning it off in your other drives you can speed up your system.
How to turn it off: Go to My Computer and right click on it. Next, choose the word Properties. Click on the tab that says System Restore. In the status column, click the drive you want to turn this off on -- usually it's the D drive. You can also click your C drive and change the settings for how much space it takes up. There is a default of 12% but you can change this to 2% and still have enough restore points if you need them.
3. Third in your tips to increase computer speed - Get rid of your temporary files and clean your registry with a registry cleaner-- By getting rid of these you increase your computer speed because you are not taking up much space now.
How to delete temporary files: First, go to your Tools menu in your Browser and click on Internet Options. Click on Delete Temporary Files to increase computer speed.
When your computer finishes this, go to your Browsing History and click Settings. Change your settings to 25% MB or less. This is another simple thing that will speed up your PC. Many people don't realize that cleaning up their registry will surely speed up your system. A registry cleaner will do the trick. There are plenty of reliable registry cleaners available. If you're not sure which registry cleaner to go in for, do a search on the Internet and you'll find plenty of reliable ones available.
So, follow these tips to increase computer speed and watch your computer increase speed!
If you would like to have a fast computer and error-free computer, Visit the site, Improving computer performance [http://registrycleaner.best-onlineproductsreview.com/] to find out he most effective, easiest, and cheapest way to fix and maintain your computer in the same time.
Computer Speed Anatomy - The Components That Are Crucial To Computer Speed
One of the primary concerns of people that purchase computers is computer speed. A better understanding of the factors that influence the speed that your computer can attain can help you make the best choice for your needs.
A typical computer system performs many activities and in all areas speed is a consideration but there are different kinds of speed. Some of the areas that should be considered are;
- General computation and management of data
- Video image presentation and frame rate (Frequency in which video frames are displayed on a monitor, typically described in frames-per-second (fps). Higher frame rates improve the appearance of video motion. Broadcast TV (full motion video) is 30 frames-per-second.)
- Internet communication (upload and download), sending and getting data
- Peripheral speed such as printer, scanner or other attached devices
This article will focus on the heart of all computer operations; general computation and management of data.
The architecture of this area of the computer can be described in this oversimplified diagram;
CPU RAM Memory Disk Drive
The brain of the computer is the CPU or Central Processing Unit. This component does all the manipulation, assessment and calculations of data. It does all the math, logical comparisons and arrangement of information. However, it is very limited in that it can only deal with a very small amount of information at a time.
Unlike the human brain, the memory or actual data being manipulated, for the most part, resides in a different part of the computer than the thinking part. The memory area is known as the RAM or Random Access Memory. The CPU has to talk to the memory all the time to get more data and write changed data. Getting data to and from the RAM takes time. Each RAM component has a manufactured speed at which it can be accessed.
Additionally, RAM has a limited size. In order to deal with larger volumes of data the RAM may not be big enough and the hard disk has to be accessed. Hard disk access is orders of magnitude slower than talking to RAM memory. This really slows things down a lot.
To complicate matters, for various electrical engineering reasons, the CPU can't talk directly to the memory. It has to communicate through a communications channel known as the front side bus. It's as if your brain would have to phone your memory any time it needed to remember anything.
Each of the parts has a speed limit associated with it. The CPU has a certain speed per data manipulation, the Front Side Bus has a speed at which it can talk to the memory, the memory has a speed at which it can be accessed and so does the hard drive. All of them add together to determine the time it takes to get things done.
Time needed for the computer to get data and work on it (in simplified terms) = CPU logic time + time to "travel" on the front side bus + RAM access time + time to talk to the hard drive (if necessary).
What counts the most
The factor that makes the most difference is RAM memory size. If it is big enough, the system will have to go the hard disk less often. This has the most dramatic impact on a computer's performance. It never pays to stint on the amount of memory that you purchase for your computer.
The minimum size that should be purchased for modern computers is rapidly approaching 2 Gigabytes.
CPU speed is next in importance. The speed of most CPUs provided in modern systems is enough for most everyday types of operations. Unless you are doing very intensive mathematical calculation, complex database lookups, encryption or intensive graphics such as computer aided design or modeling, you won't need the highest speed computer.
Bus speed is next. This will depend on the type of motherboard (main system board) that your computer manufacturer provides and basically can't be changed after the fact for the average user.
Disk speed is the last factor but it should be considered if you are doing intensive database operations.
In short, get lots of ram, buy a dual core CPU at a minimum and check the front side bus speed to get the speed you need.
David Freitag
The Computer Doc
To learn exactly how I help users get the most out of their computers and solve their problems visit http://www.ask-the-computer-doc.com where you will find everything you need about Computer Speed Anatomy and much more.
Discover The 3 Basic Fundamentals Of Computer Speed
So let's talk about the 3 basic fundamentals of computer speed those 3 basic fundamentals are connection hardware and software. These areas are all there really is to the slowing down of computer speed or more importantly the speeding up of your computer. Your computer speed stops and slows down when you have a bad connection or when you have slow or old or bad hardware or when you have software that is some how not optimized properly or that in not running properly or that just takes up too much of your computer memory reserves. So those are the 3 areas that are the fundamentals of computer speed.
They are where your speed comes from and they are where your speed falls apart. Looking at fundamentals and knowing these fundamentals make it easier for you to understand and just how to improve computer speed. This brings out one of the missing links and opens up one of the biggest problems when it comes to computer speed and that is most of the people addressing computer speed are only looking at one of these areas.
When I looked for the fundamental of computer speed using a research technique called the stable datum I found that there is really nothing else in a computer that you can repair other than hardware, software, or connection to the internet. So, those are the areas you want to start to look at when you want to improve computer speed.
This method makes it very easy to know what to do. Obviously the first thing to start with is hardware and unlike the others you really cannot tweek hardware that much. It can be done to some degree but really the way you would improve hardware is to get a more up-to-date or more efficient or faster piece of hardware. Sometime just a newer way of create a simple hardware tool will greatly improve you computer speed experience.
You can do things like get a better keyboard or a better mouse a bigger hard drive a more advanced mother board anything more improved so to speak. And as we all know things get improved at the speed of light on the internet. So that is pretty much all you can do with hardware.
Next thing we want to talk about here is software and software is a whole different thing because software is the brain of the computer. Software is what makes the computer do things. It is vital to have hardware but nothing very exciting happens until you fire up the software. We may as well start with the basic piece of software and that is Windows XP and all of the software pieces that go along with Windows XP. These are the items that you will need to be tweeking and this includes XP itself, Internet Explorer, & Microsoft Outlook. This also includes the way Windows XP load onto your computer during the start up process. Those are the first areas you will have to optimize to get any speed.
Now one of the things that make this seem more complex than it is there is always a dozen ways to do one simple thing on XP. Programmers do things one way hackers do it another way and a researcher like me I just try to find the safest and easiest way to the same end result. Just knowing the fastest way find or do a task on your computer can speed up your computing experience in a way you probably never thought of.
What you will find is that many of the default or out of the box ways that Windows XP does tasks can be changed in order to give you more speed and performance. Windows standard setting are often set very broad and general. When focused just a little you get tons more speed.
Now you can either do these adjustments yourself or you can buy software that makes the setting adjustments for you. I recommend you do both because some adjustments are way too simple to pay for and others are way too complex to risk doing yourself.
There is also the reverse of this when we are talking about software as a fundamental of computer speed. Some of the time your computer has software on it that needs to come off because it is the source of the loss in computer speed itself. This is where spyware removal software and anti virus software become valuable. You definitely want to take a look at this kind of software& improve the ones you have on your computer. A high price does not mean high quality either.
Connection is the next thing that we want to talk about. Connecting to the internet is how most of us do much of our work with our computer. So if you have terrible connection speed or if your service is not fast or if the modem you are using in not good. So you immediately see that you can do a lot to speed up your computing by change and improving the things that connect you to the internet.
A satellite T-1 connection is about the fastest but I prefer cable because it is not affected by weather. Cable is awesome because it is very stable and I have been using it for year now and it out performs most alternatives. DSL on the phone lines is your next best choice if cable is not available. Just try to get the fastest service you can.
Connection speed is also dependent on the software that is used to connect to the internet service that you use. We have found that you can do software adjustments to Windows that optimize the browser and the email usage of the connection services. Doing these simple adjustments can improve a service dramatically. My cable connection operates at almost satellite speeds.
So those are the fundamentals of computer speed and if you take advantage of our home study course these are the things we concentrate on improving. Having this knowledge gives you the direction you need to get real computer speed and even if you hire someone to speed up your computer now you know exactly what to tell them to do.
Thomas Jackson invites you to discover computer speed happiness using our freakin amazing online home study audio visual tutorials & software. [http://www.slowrunningcomputer.com]
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
How to Choose a Computer Power Supply
Choosing a computer power supply is easy, provided that you are not making the mistakes that other people are making. One of the most common mistakes people made when building their own computer is to neglect the importance of computer power supply. They tend to cut down their budget on computer power supply and get the cheapest one around. If you really care about your computer system, you have to put in some serious effort to choose the best power supply.
The computer power supply is the energy source for the whole computer system. Imagine that you are not eating well for every meal, do you think you can still function well for all your daily tasks?
Power Rating
While people are discussing about the gigabytes of storage, 64 bit processing capabilities and the heavy-duty 3D graphics card, the only thing that required the most attention, but is discussed least is the computer power supply. What they have not realized is that the more powerful a computer become, the more power it needs. If you are building a high-end gaming computer, chances are you may need a 600 - 650W power supply.
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
This refers to the lifespan of the power supply. It represents the average hours the power supply can perform before it fails. Most power supplies will have MTBF ratings of 100,000 hours or more.
Short Circuit Protection
When choosing a computer power supply, make sure that it is equipped with a short circuit protection feature. This is to prevent the computer parts from drawing excessive currents which might cause its internal chips to be burned.
Low Noise
The main reason for a power supply to be noisy is because of its inability to dissipate heat fast. The fan has to work extra hard to maintain the required temperature. When choosing a computer power supply, make sure that it comes with a big powerful 140mm fan or two 80mm fans to effectively dissipate the heat away.
Load Current (Maximum and Minimum values)
Each computer part requires different voltage and current to function. It is important that the power supply can support the various voltage levels and the current supplied.
Maximum load current - The maximum current that the computer part can accept for a particular voltage level
Minimum load current - The minimum current the computer part needs to be functional.
If the part is not getting the minimum load current from the power supply, chances are the power supply is spoiled.
Form Factor
Most of the power supplies in the market are of the ATX form factor. However if you are using a micro ATX computer case, you have to get a micro ATX power supply, else it won't be able to fit inside the case.
Conclusion
Power supply is definitely a computer part that you must pay attention to. When choosing a computer power supply, always get a power supply that has a higher power rating than what your system needs. In addition, unless you are willing to risk your computer to system jeopardizing power spikes and surges, do not ever scrimp on the power supply.
Damien Oh is an expert in building computer. His website http://www.build-gaming-computer-guide.com contains a lot of useful information and resources on building gaming computer, cheap computer, getting refurbished computer, building game server and many more. This article can also be found in http://www.build-gaming-computer-guide.com/choosing-a-computer-power-supply.html
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Payment Gateway and Accepting Credit Cards Online - The Best Solution for Your Business
An often overlooked and under analyzed segment of building your eCommerce business is the backend processing of your orders. Entrepreneurs invest lots of money and time into making sure their site design is just right, but often gloss right over their order processing systems. Invest a fractional of your time spent in making design tweaks into choosing the right payment gateway, merchant processor, and bank account, and you will save yourself a lot of money!
Payment Gateways
Quite simply, a payment gateway is the system used to transmit your customer's payment information from your secure website to your secure merchant processor. Think of it as the terminal that collects, encrypts, and securely transmits the data to your merchant account. There are many different services to choose from when picking your payment gateway, although, it is important to know that the gateway you choose must be compatible with your eCommerce solution. PLEASE be sure to get a list of the different gateways your eCommerce solution accepts, and contact each one to learn of their rates and service offerings.
According to a 2009 Internet Retailer report, the 3 most commonly used payment gateway providers by the top 500 eCommerce websites are:
- Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC. (113 of the Top 500)
- PayPal Inc. (75 of the Top 500)
- Cybersource Corp. (45 of the Top 500)
All-In-One (Payment Gateway and Merchant Processor)
PayPal (and other bundled solutions) offer an all-in-one service where you get the payment gateway and the merchant processor together. The advantage here is that you do not have to manage two separate accounts. Rates, however are usually on the higher end of the spectrum.
For example, one of PayPal's services boasts a flat rate (for national sales) based upon your sales volume. The more you sell, the less they charge you to process the transaction. The benefit here is that regardless of which credit card is used (MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or the dreaded American Express), or whether the card is qualified, you get charged the same flat rate. This is unique to PayPal and other all-in-on services.
Merchant Processors
The payment gateway transmits the encrypted billing data to your merchant processor who is then responsible for routing this data to the credit card network. The credit card network verifies that your customer's credit card is valid/has enough funds to cover the transaction, then notifies the payment gateway, which then communicates with your eCommerce solution. If the transaction is approved, then the merchant processor will transmit your settled orders to your bank account (sometimes this requires a manual process).
The merchant processor is the behind the scenes system that communicates with the payment gateway, your customers credit card network, and your bank account. This is a streamlined way to accept credit cards online. It's important to know whether your payment gateway, merchant processor, bank account, and eCommerce solution all work together. Please make sure your merchant processor interfaces with your payment gateway and your bank account!
What to Know
Payment Gateway's - when choosing a payment gateway verify and review the following:
- Gateway Setup Fee - many payment gateways will require an initial payment to configure your gateway.
- Monthly Gateway Fee - this is an ongoing fee for the privilege of using the payment gateway
- Per Transaction Fee - every transaction made gets charged a fee. This also includes; refunds, voids, and declines.
- Batch Fee - if you choose to settle up your transactions each day, then you will be charged this fee on a daily basis.
- API Integration - make sure your websites shopping cart can integrate with the gateway of choice.
When reviewing this data make sure that you understand all the fee's and requirements. Also remember that you can negotiate pretty much all these items (if you are processing a lot of orders). It's definitely worth a shot to call and try to get the best rate you can! For example, Authorize.net had a package for high volume sites where they charged $50 a month, but provided 2,000 free transactions plus.07 per transaction thereafter. Added up over time, you can save thousands of dollars per year!
Merchant Processors - when choosing a merchant processor verify and review the following:
- Setup Fee - same as above
- Monthly Fee - same as above
- Per Transaction Fee - same as above
- Contract - same as above
- Qualified Discount Rate - this is a very tricky fee to track. The Qualified rate is for specific credit cards, and credit card types.
- Non-Qualified Rate - understand which credit cards do not qualify as the discount rate so you can crunch the numbers. This fee can be as much as double your discount rate.
- Minimum Processing Fee - some merchant accounts will require a minimum monthly transaction threshold. If you don't meet this threshold, you are charged another fee.
- Order Refund/Chargeback Fee - when orders need to be refunded, or are charged backed, you are usually going to be charged another fee for this.
- International Fee- check the rates for customer orders outside of the United States to see if you are charged extra.
Services like PayPal charge a flat percentage of the transaction (usually around 2.9% depending on volume), plus the per transaction fee. Most merchant processors charge in the range of 2.2% - 2.65%.
There is often a debate which is the best solution for eCommerce credit card processing.
What do you recommend when it comes to payment gateways and merchant accounts?
Copyright (c) 2011 Mike Hawk
For more information about Mike, or to find out how your business can can benefit from accepting credit cards online or at a place of business visit Merchant Perfect at http://www.merchantperfect.com
VoIP Gateways
What is a VoIP gateway?
A VoIP gateway is a piece of Voice over Internet Protocol equipment that utilizes IP (Internet Protocol) communications technology to interface TDM networks (PSTN), traditional telephones and PBX systems with Ethernet based networks.
Gateways allow businesses to:
- IP enable an existing PBX system
- Connect traditional telephones to their VoIP phone system
- Send/receive calls through the PSTN using a VoIP phone system
There are additional uses for gateway,s but these are the primary ones.
How does a VoIP gateway work?
VoIP gateways basic function is to convert analog voice streams into digital voice packets for transport across a network and the Internet. Voice over IP gateways also perform the opposite of this function.
This means that gateways can also convert digital voice packets into analog voice streams for transport across the PSTN or for traditional telephones.
To do this, gateways use a combination of specialized voice codecs and VoIP protocols. The specific IP communications technology that is utilized is dependent upon the VoIP gateway used and other aspects of the complete set-up.
Why would you use a VoIP gateway?
There are three main reasons that you would want to use a Voice over Internet Protocol gateway:
- You want to utilize VoIP service with your existing PBX system
- You want to use your existing telephones with a new VoIP phone system
- You want to have the PSTN as a failover should your network or VoIP service goes down
In addition to these three main reasons, many businesses use a gateway to:
- Connect remote office telephones to their central office VoIP system
- Connect a branch office key system to a centralized VoIP system
For other gateway uses, consult a VoIP gateway manufacturer or certified supplier.
How much do gateways cost and where can you purchase one?
The prices for VoIP gateways vary greatly. Lower end configurations can be had for around $199, while higher end, more robust configurations can cost over $3,000 USD. Like a VoIP equipment, you get what you pay for, so make sure to set a reasonable for a brand like AudioCodes or Quintum.
Finding a place to purchase a VoIP gateway is pretty easy.
The two ways people to purchase an IP gateway are through a VoIP service provider (typically a SIP trunking provider) or through a VoIP equipment supplier (like VoIP Supply). If you opt to purchase your VoIP gateway through a VoIP equipment supplier, make sure it works with your desired VoIP service provider before pulling the trigger.
Garrett Smith is a VoIP industry expert, thought leader and current Director of Marketing and Business Development at VoIP Supply, the leading supplier of VoIP Systems and VoIP Gateways in North America since 2002.
Discount Gateway Laptops - How to Find Cheap Gateway Laptops
Finding cheap gateway laptops (also called discount) today is not as hard as you think, You just have to know where to looking for them and what to look for. Gateway will not tell customers about this secret, as they want you to buy unnecessary expensive laptops. A discount gateway laptop will save you thousands of dollars, keeping some extra cash in your pocket. Discount gateway laptops all have the same updated and new gadgets and software that brand new laptops have and come out with. You will not be able to tell the difference between your discount gateway laptop and those laptops that cost thousands of dollars. This article provides information on finding and a link to where you can buy high quality cheap gateway laptops.
The key is to buy refurbished gateway laptops
If you don't know what a refurbished gateway laptop is, I'll get to the point and tell you what exactly it is and why you'll come out a winner buying a refurbished gateway laptop. Refurbished gateway laptops are laptops that have been repaired, cleaned, and restored back to its original state. Most refurbished gateway laptops are actually brand new laptops that needed to be repaired, and once restored it is put back up for sale, for a much lower cost than the original price! Now you might wonder "OK if everything is fixed, why they can't sell at the original price?" Well the answer simply is that companies can not resale it at the original price because that would be an illegal and unethical thing for the company to do. So when you buy a refurbished gateway laptop, you are practically buying a brand new laptop for a much lower price!
How are refurbished gateway laptops reconditioned
Every laptop being refurbished must go through and pass a mandatory thorough examination. The laptop will be repaired, rid of any defects and fully restored. Gateway or an professional company will repackage the laptop. The laptop is now back to a "brand new" state as any new laptop! Now in order for the companies to sell the laptop, the laptop must be sold at a lower price. Your cheap gateway laptop will have the same full warranty as any new laptop will have. The refurbished gateway laptop can do anything these over-priced expensive laptops can do.
Now you know what you should look for when searching for discount gateway laptops. If you is wondering where to begin finding cheap gateway laptops, a start would be at the end of this article you will find a link that leads to a site for finding discount gateway laptops. You can also search the Internet for cheap gateway laptops, even though you may have to search through the clutter of expensive laptops companies may try to shove in your face. If you have a nearby computer store they may also sell discount gateway laptops.
Find great deals for discount / cheap gateway laptops
Five Important Considerations You Need To Make When Selecting An SMS Gateway
Our discussion starts at the point where you are venturing in search of an SMS gateway for the sending of SMS (Short Message Service texts). This is something you could be doing either on your own initiative (the objective being to use the gateway in sending your own texts), or as part of a job assignment. Now, as you venture out in search of a SMS gateway, you will discover that there is actually a wide variety of gateways you can choose from. Yet, as a reasonable person, if you select one gateway over the others, you need reasons for opting to do so; which is why you need some criteria, through which you can consider and ultimately make a good choice of a gateway. We now venture to look at five considerations, which would make good criteria for the selection of a gateway. These are actually factors you have to take into consideration, when selecting an SMS gateway - to avoid making a choice you will end up regretting:
1. Reliability: you come to realize that when you send a text message through a given SMS-gateway, you effectively entrust the said gateway with the delivery of the SMS. You also come to realize that there are actually some gateways that are so unreliable that sending texts through them is actually an act of faith (as the messages may end up being delivered or undelivered). Those are certainly not the types of gateways you need, hence the need for you to assess the various SMS-gateways you consider making use of carefully, with respect to their reliability. You may also consider checking their reviews in this respect, though it is also worth noting that there is no gateway which is a hundred percent reliable, meaning that each is bound to have some negative reviews. But those which seem to only have bitter negative reviews, and absolutely no positive reviews, may be worth avoiding.
2. Speed: there are other gateways which do, indeed, deliver texts send through them - but which take ages before doing so. Such a gateway would be undesirable, especially keeping in mind that by the very nature of their contents, some text messages need to be delivered promptly.
3. User-friendliness: there are some SMS-gateways which are so complex that it takes an Einstein to operate them properly. You certainly shouldn't select one such gateway, especially if this gateway selection is something you are doing in your official capacity, and where some of the people who may be tasked with the sending of texts through it may be 'laymen users.'
4. Cost: there are some gateways you can use for free, and then there are others that charge very substantial sums of money for their services. If you have to pay to use an SMS-gateway, ensure that you get good value for your money.
5. Security: some texts (actually most texts) are confidential in nature. You want to make use of a gateway which ensures that the text moves from the sender directly to the recipient, without opportunity for interception. You also need to avoid making use of a gateway which comes with the risk of texts ending up being delivered to the wrong people! All this is stuff you can find out, by reading the reviews of a gateway, before starting to make use of it.
The SMS gateway is a very important component required for services like the email to SMS gateway, as per the author.
Types of VoIP Gateways
VoIP gateways are a type of VoIP equipment that uses VoIP technology to convert analog voice streams to digital voice packets. Voice over IP gateways interface TDM networks (PSTN), traditional telephones and PBX systems with Ethernet based networks.
This allows companies to IP enable a legacy PBX system, connect existing telephones to a new VoIP system and or make calls through the PSTN using a VoIP phone system.
To accomplish these functions there exists a variety of different VoIP gateways.
Analog Voice over Internet Protocol Gateways
Analog VoIP gateways come in two different configurations, FXS and FXO.
- FXS Gateways - FXS (Foreign eXchange Station) gateways are primarily used to connect traditional telephones to a VoIP system. With an FXS gateway the traditional telephones plug into the FXS ports, while the gateway's Ethernet port connects it to the network (which the VoIP system is also connected to).
- FXO Gateways - FXO (Foreign eXchange Station) gateways are primarily used to connect a VoIP system to POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines. With an FXO gateway the POTS lines plug into the FXO ports, while the gateway's Ethernet port connects it to the network (which the VoIP system is also connected to).
Analog IP gateways can be found in a number of configurations, from 4 ports to 48 ports. There are even combo analog VoIP gateways that feature both FXS and FXO ports.
Digital VoIP Gateways
Digital Voice over IP gateways come in four different configurations, T1, E1, J1 and BRI.
- T1 Gateways - T1 Gateways are used primarily in North America.
- E1 Gateways - E1 Gateways are used in Europe and most other parts of the world (except North America and Japan).
- J1 Gateways - J1 gateways are used in Japan.
- BRI Gateways - BRI gateways are used with ISDN service.
Digital IP gateways can be found in a number of channel configurations, from a single channel to 32 channels. Digital IP gateways usually ship in combo T1/E1 or T1/E1/J1 configurations.
If you're looking for more information, feel free to browse the other articles on this site about the topic or feel free to contact me directly.
Garrett Smith is a VoIP industry expert, thought leader and current Director of Marketing and Business Development at VoIP Supply, the leading supplier of VoIP Systems and VoIP Gateways in North America since 2002.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Guide to Buying Hard Drives
Apart from being one of the most essential parts of your computer, hard drive storage is constantly updating, in terms of both capacity of disk space and in physical size. When it comes time to upgrade your disk storage, there are a number of factors for you to take into account. Once you've made basic decisions about size, connectivity, speed and data transfer rate, and whether you want an internal drive or external, you can search through Myshopping.com.au to find the most suitable brand, and model, and compare the prices of different vendors.
How A Hard Drive Works
Your hard drive has a number of magnetized platters connected to a spindle. The spindle spins the platters at a very fast speed while a series of read/write heads scan over them both looking for and writing information. This information is transferred via a cable system, or through a wireless connection to a hard disk controller, which in most systems is built into the motherboard, or in some systems installed as an add-in card. The information that comes from your hard drive through its controller is then made available to the components of your computer. The effectiveness of your hard drive (its performance) depends on how much of its capacity remains unused, how well organised the data is (known as fragmentation) and its data transfer rate, which in turn is dependent on its connection type and the drive's spin rate.
Internal Hard Drives
Most computers from, the most basic home models up to the most powerful servers, have an internally installed hard drive. Technology today ensures that they are all generally fast, reliable, and offer dependable storage ability. Most modern computers have installation slots and cabling to enable you to install additional hard drive. This allows you to increase your storage capacity without giving up your existing hard drive.
Internal Hard Drives
External Hard Drives
These drives are essentially the same drives as ones installed inside computers, but cased inside a protective, portable case. This is a good solution for people who work remotely and need to transport large amounts of data. If an external hard drive is your choice, make sure your computer is compatible with the interface that the hard drive uses. An add-in card, such as a FireWire card can help to increase your computer's capabilities. You can compare different brands of external hard drives simply at Myshopping.com.au and search on the connection type, or other specifications.
External Hard drives
Laptop Hard Drives
There have been many advances in miniaturization of hardware components for laptop computing, and hard drive technology is not left out of this loop. Laptop hard drives function in exactly the same way as internal hard drives on other computers, only they are designed to provide maximum storage and efficiency in the smallest possible package. For added flexibility, some laptop computers come with removable hard drives that can be easily installed and removed. However, before you buy a hard drive for your portable computer, check that the hard drive's specifications will meet the standards of your computer, as many laptop hard drives are proprietary, and are not compatible with other brands and models.
Laptop Hard Drives
Size
Your hard drive stores your operating system, its programs (games and applications), your working data, and your digital music and movies. Most new computer purchases have a minimum of 80 GB of hard disk space; many have considerably more. Hard drive space is one of those things, once you have it, you'll find ways to fill it soon enough. There is no real rule of thumb, but consider the cost per gigabyte of storage as a way to guide your purchase. If you work with large files, such as music, video and graphics, it pays to have a big storage space for your work. It may pay you to have two hard drives, one that houses all your programs and applications, and another for storing your work and projects.
You may want to compare the price of say a 160GB drive against two separate 80 GB drives. If one drive fails all is not lost. Today's hard drives however, are fairly robust pieces of equipment and providing they are not abuse, will serve you well for a long period of time.
Interface
One key distinguishing factor between hard drives is the way in which they connect to your computer. There are a number of basic types of connection schemes used with hard drives. Each connection type has a range of differences in performance.
IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS)
This is by the most common connection methods. Because the hard drive controller is on the drive itself rather than on the motherboard, it helps to keep costs down. There different IDE standards available. Mostly, you will want to purchase the fastest possible standard that your computer can support. Most computers will support a standard that is faster than what the computer currently supports, so you can buy a faster drive, and update your computer at a later time. The different IDE standards, in order from most basic to fastest, are:
ATA (Basic). Supports up to two hard drives and features a 16-bit interface, handling transfer speeds up to 8.3 MB per second.
ATA-2 or EIDE (Enhanced IDE). Supports transfer speeds up to 13.3 MB per second.
ATA-3. A minor upgrade to ATA-2 and offers transfer speeds up to 16.6 MB per second.
Ultra-ATA (Ultra-DMA, ATA-33 or DMA-33). Dramatic speed improvements, with transfer rates up to 33 MB per second.
ATA-66. A version of ATA that doubles transfer rates up to 66 MB per second.
ATA-100. An upgrade to the ATA standard supporting transfer rates up to 100 MB per second.
ATA-133. Found mostly in AMD-based systems (not supported by Intel), with transfer rates up to 133 MB per second.
SCSI (SMALL COMPUTER SYSTEM INTERFACE)
This is the hard drive interface standard used by many high-end PCs, networks and servers, and Apple Macintosh computers, except for the earliest Macs and the newer iMacs. While some systems support SCSI controllers on their motherboards, most feature a SCSI controller add-in card. SCSI drives are usually faster and more reliable, and the SCSI interface supports the connection of many more drives than IDE. While SCSI drives come in many different standards, many of them are not compatible with one another. So it's important be know that your computer supports the drive you plan to install. The different SCSI connections are:
SCSI-1. A basic connection using a 25-pin connector, supporting transfer rates up to 4 MB per second.
SCSI-2. Uses a 50-pin connector and supports multiple devices with a transfer rate of 4MB per second.
Wide SCSI. These drives have a wider cable and a 68-pin connection that supports 16-bit data transfers.
Fast SCSI. Uses an 8-bit bus but transfers data at 10 MB Per second.
Fast Wide SCSI. Doubles both the bus (16-bit) and the data transfer rate (20 MB per second).
Ultra SCSI or Ultra Wide SCSI. Uses an 8-bit bus and transfers data at 20 MB per second.
SCSI-3. Features a 16-bit bus and transfers data at 40 MB per second.
Ultra2 SCSI. Uses an 8-bit bus and transfer data at a rate of 40 MB per second.
Wide Ultra2 SCSI. Uses a 16-bit bus and supports data transfer rates of 80 MB per second.
FIREWIRE (IEEE 1394)
The FireWire standard is becoming popular in portable hard drives because it can be connected and removed without having to reboot the computer. It supports data transfer rates of 50 MB per second, which means it is ideal for video, audio and multimedia applications. FireWire requires a dedicated add-in card and the hard drives in use require an external power source, but the interface can support up to 63 devices simultaneously.
USB 1.1 (UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS)
Pretty much all computers today include USB ports on their motherboards. (On older model, you can install an add-in card.) USB controllers can be used to connect external hard drives, and can support as many as 127 devices simultaneously either through USB port hubs or linked in a daisy chain fashion. USB controllers do delivery power to devices connected to them, but many hard drives still use an external power source. USB is limited by its data transfer speed, the maximum rate being about at 1.5 MB per second.
USB 2.0 (HI-SPEED USB)
A more recently introduced and far better connection standard that offers backward compatibility and data transfer rates of up to 60 MB per second. USB 1.1 system can use a USB 2.0 device; it will need a USB 2.0 controller card to achieve the higher transfer rates.
FIBRE CHANNEL
Fibre Cabling is mainly used for high-bandwidth network servers and workstations, providing very fast data transfer rates (up to 106MB per second), and connection at long cabled distances, although it is expensive and you need to install a special interface card.
Spin rate
Data transfer rate is crucial to how well your computer performs for you. Apart from the connection types above, the performance of your hard drive depends on its spin rate, measured in RPM. Higher RPM generally means faster data transfer rate. The lowest spin speed that is acceptable in computing today is 5400 RPM. The common standard at present is 7200 RPM. But higher speeds are available in SCSI drives, and it is one area of computer system technology that is constantly being developed.
A larger capacity hard drive will not necessarily make your system function any faster unless you are low on available disk space with your existing drive. But a drive with Ultra ATA/100 or ATA/133 and a 7200 RPM spin rate will pretty much guarantee an improved hard drive performance.
Other considerations
CACHE
Cache (pronounces 'cash') is additional temporary memory that acts as a buffer between the system and the drive. Frequently accessed data is stored in the cache for quick access. Cache sizes vary from 512 KB up to 16 MB on some SCSI drives. The larger cache you have on your drive, the faster your drive will transfer data. If you are working with large files, such as video, images and audio files, it pays to have the largest cache you can get (8MB or more).
SEEK TIME
The data on your disk is stored in tracks and sectors and when you instruct your hard drive controller to retrieve some data, it goes looking. The seek time is a measure of how long it takes the hard drive to find a specific track on a disk. Seek times can vary slightly from disk to disk and a drive with a faster seek time will always perform better.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TRANSFER RATES
These two rates tell how fast a drive actually reads the data and passes it along to the system. Internal Transfer Rate refers to the time it takes for a drives heads to read data from the platter and pass it to the drive's cache. The External Transfer Rate (sometimes called the Transfer Rate or the Burst Transfer Rate) is a measure of the time it takes to send the data from the cache all the way to the computer's memory. Naturally faster transfer rates provide better performance.
S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology)
This is a nice built-in feature in some hard drives that can help alert you to a potential hardware problem. Your computer's BIOS must support this in order for the SMART function it to work, however the drive itself will still work in a system without it.
Buying and installing a hard drive has some technical aspects that you need to take into account. Use Myshopping.com.au to compare different hard drive makes and specifications to find the drive that will work best for your needs and computer. You can compare prices and service offers from different vendors.
Andrew Gates for comparison online shopping service MyShopping.com.au. MyShopping.com.au helps you compare the different hard drives from different brands in terms of specifications and accessories. You can also compare prices from hundreds of different brands and vendors
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