| Bits Of Bytes |
| The burgeoning world of tech-jargon is a bewildering place, and it’s easy for newcomers to become confused. However, as computing nomenclature ebbs and flows, there’s one – or rather two - things we need to get straight. |
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| Intel SSD 310 40GB - A Sophisticated Nightmare |
| You can argue that Seagate was the first company to deliver a hybrid hard drive when it released the Momentus XT in 2010, but it was Intel that came up with the technology that allowed the home user to combine a hard drive with an SSD cache drive. |
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| Is Windows 8 Already In Deep Trouble? (Part 3) |
| From the inconsistent stance of the PC makers, it seems obvious that they’re on board with Windows 8, but not to the point of commercial suicide. Many of those who have many specifically business customers have shied away from a total endorsement, offering instead to keep the Windows 7 wheels turning for the time being. |
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| Is Windows 8 Already In Deep Trouble? (Part 2) |
| Microsoft is usually very keen to push its latest OS and will often frame its previous releases in negative ways as a means to encourage users to upgrade. However, that’s mostly for retail customers’ consumption; for business users it would rather that they be happier than no longer a customer of Microsoft. |
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| Is Windows 8 Already In Deep Trouble? (Part 1) |
| It’s an economic reality that those who rely on limited sources of income are vulnerable. That’s as true a statement for those who made buggy whips when the automobile appeared as it is for Microsoft, the world’s largest software house. |
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| Kingston SSDNow mS100 64GB - One Of The Cheapest SSDs Around |
| It didn't take us long to check the contents of the package that contained the Kingston SSDNow mS100, as it consisted of a tiny clamshell case, a tiny 'Getting started' leaflet with print that defied our eyesight and the bare OEM SSD drive. |
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| Linksys EA6500 Dual-Band AC Router - Impressive, But Ahead Of Its Time |
| Here we go again, a new wireless standard merry-go-round is in full swing. If you were around for the 802.11n multi-draft incompatibility debacle in the mid-2000s, then you’ll be rolling your eyes to hear, if you haven’t already, that all the networking companies are currently rolling out Draft 2 802.11ac kit. T |
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| Crucial Adrenaline 50GB - Undeniably A Fine Drive |
| Crucial has given serious thought to the Adrenaline cache drive and delivers a package that looks the absolute business. The outer sleeve contains two inner packs, with one containing the SSD and the other holding the kit. We know that because they're labelled 'SSD' and 'Kit'. |
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| How To Buy…A Media Streaming Device (Part 2) |
| The thing is that modern TV companies – terrestrial broadcasters as well cable and satellite providers – are aware that viewing habits have changed. People like to watch TV on their own terms. That means things like time-shifting and IPTV on-demand apps are increasingly common features in standard pieces of hardware that, not so long ago, would have just been glorified decoders. |
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| How To Buy…A Media Streaming Device (Part 1) |
| The digitisation of TV and increasing popularity of alternate delivery methods such as download stores and online streaming services like Lovefilm and Netflix has made data-driven entertainment more popular than ever before. |
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| Off The Shelf Or Self- Build? (Part 3) |
| The regular, non-extended warranty, however, is a different matter entirely. Normally, you get anywhere from 12 to 36 months of cover for free, ensuring that should your hardware fail for no obvious reason, you can get a quick repair and/or replacement from your supplier without having to pay anything extra. |
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| Off The Shelf Or Self- Build? (Part 2) |
| Using an online system builder is a great way to stop yourself running into problems, because hardware conflicts and incompatibilities should be taken into account for you by the experts building it, if not the system itself. |
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| Off The Shelf Or Self- Build? (Part 1) |
| Building your own PC is a fun experience, one that allows you to choose the components you want and really get to know your PC. Some would argue that everyone should try it at least once. |
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| WD My Net N900 Central 1TB - Humble Broadband Router |
| Western Digital can clearly see the writing on the hard disk wall, and so has now diversified into Wi-Fi routers, it seems. From the outside the My Net N900 Central is a rather unremarkable, and slightly larger than anticipated black plastic box. |
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| How To Buy…Network-Attached Storage (Part 2) |
| NAS devices contain a variety of technologies, none of which should be especially unfamiliar to any computer user. Look for Ethernet support (especially gigabit Ethernet) and on some models, Wi-Fi (although for reasons explained further on, don’t worry too much about that.) Software-wise, you may want to check for iTunes compatibility, a UPnP media server (a standard protocol for media streaming to devices and applications) and some ability to stream over the web too. |
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| How To Buy…Network Attached Storage (Part 1) |
| Network-attached storage (NAS), however, can offer you an alternative to the cycle of frustration. NAS devices attach to a network, acting as a stand-alone file server. They give you a place to store large files and run the software you need to stream those files direct to your PC or smart device on demand. |
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| Troubleshooting And Benchmarking A New PC (Part 2) |
| It might sound unlikely, but the biggest bottleneck of any modern PC is quite likely to be the hard drive. Processors are getting quicker and quicker, but hard drives are getting bigger and bigger. Games and applications are becoming huge, and hard drives are expected to shift more data in and out of RAM than ever before at quicker speeds. |
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| Troubleshooting And Benchmarking A New PC (Part 1) |
| Benchmarking and troubleshooting are both complicated, nuanced procedures that can’t really be given a full explanation -the easiest way to learn is by doing. However, we can point you in the right direction and help you get started with the basics. |
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| Expert Computing Advice – January 2013 (Part 2) |
| How do I stop the Windows 8 Messaging app from putting notifications on my screen. I want to use the old Windows Messenger client, but I now get duplicate messages in the form of pop-ups from the built-in app. |
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| Buying Guide: Ultra-Quiet Upgrades (Part 2) |
| If you don’t want to change your graphics card, instead consider adding a quieter fan. The Arctic Cooling Accelero Extreme GTX Pro ($50, tinyurl.com/bL8sne4) is a quiet cooler for nVidia GTX graphics cards, while the Gelid Solutions Icy Vision Rev 2 ($48, tinyurl.com/boxcr7s) works well with a range of AMD and nVidia cards. |
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| Buying Guide: Ultra-Quiet Upgrades (Part 1) |
| PCs require maintenance to keep them performing at an optimum level. Over time, parts wear out, screws work their way loose, and dust accumulates inside the case. A noticeable side effect is increased noise. When new, your PC may have been a monument to mechanical efficiency and whisper-quiet operation; a few short years later, it likely sounds more like a diesel generator. |
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| Not Bad For A Monkey (Part 2) |
| As we’ve hinted, it’s graphics tasks that the new minis struggle more to impress. In Cinebench’s OpenGL test, based on the cross-platform API widely used in games and graphics-oriented apps, the entry-level model rendered at 18.6 frames per second, up from 12 frames per second with last year’s basic mini and its Intel HD 3000. |
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| Choosing The Right Components (Part 4) |
| Network capabilities are an essential feature of any current-generation PC, but that’s not to say you need a wireless card. Motherboards usually contain on-board network controllers (often gigabit Ethernet), but using an Ethernet connection means you may have to trail cables around the house or office to reach the router or modem. |
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| Choosing The Right Components (Part 3) |
| You have two choices when it comes to storage: cheap, high-capacity mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs) or fast, low-power, solid-state drives (SSDs). If you’re building a workstation, you can pick up a 1TB HDD for a relatively low price, which should be more than enough space to last the lifetime of the system. |
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| Choosing The Right Components (Part 2) |
| The processor is a good place to start when you’re selecting components for your PC. Not only does it determine what type of motherboard you buy (and thus impact the rest of the system), it determines the overall speed and power of your machine. |
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| Choosing The Right Components (Part 1) |
| Building your own PC is no mean feat. Whether you’re selecting and assembling the components with your own two hands, choosing them from an online system-building wizard, or even looking at an off-the-shelf system to customise, you’ll have to decide what components you want inside it. |
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| All About Battery Life (Part 3) |
| The conventional thinking is that the battery is an object in the device that you can easily identify and, if the manufacturer agrees, even replace yourself. However, that’s far from what a team at Rice University have been developing using traditional battery chemistry. |
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| Brits Snap Up Mips To Bag Bits For System On Chips |
| Imagination Technologies, the FTSE 250 company formerly known as VideoLogic that licenses architectures for graphics processing units (GPU), has agreed a deal to buy the operating assets of MIPS, a US company which designs central processing units (CPU) used in devices like Blu-ray players, games consoles and network routers. |
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| How To Buy…A Wireless Router (Part 2) |
| Without getting too deeply into the nuts and bolts of wireless standards, you should also cast an eye over the bandwidth support of a router. Wireless N can run on two different bandwidths - 2.4GHz or 5GHz – both of which have their own strengths and weaknesses. You can get single-band wireless N routers, but dual-band devices support both, giving better performance and speed because of it. |
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