Nikon releases NEF RAW codec for Windows Vista
March 15, 2007 by Jason
Section: Hardware
Vista x86 32 Bit Or x64 64 Bit?
March 08, 2007 by Jason
One of the more common questions I hear about Vista is which bit version of Windows Vista should one get. Do we go with x86 32 bit edition or x64 64 bit edition? I’m going to try to clear that question up as best as I can and explain the pros and cons of each choice.
First we must understand a little background on what x64 is. X64 is the 64 bit extension technology that AMD invented (AMD64) to seamlessly migrate the 32 bit x86 (as in 286, 386, 486 compatible microprocessors) world into a 64 bit era. Intel in partnership with HP had refused to extend the ancient x86 platform and had already committed to its all new pure 64 bit IA-64 Itanium architecture. Read More»
Turn on auditing to monitor account attacks
March 08, 2007 by Jason
There is no doubt that all of the security features in Windows Vista will help keep your computer secure. However, these features become less valuable when they are not turned on by default. One feature, known as user account auditing, is not turned on by default. With this feature is turned off, anyone with physical access or remote access to through a hole in your firewall (such an opening for Remote Desktop) can use a brute force attack against your user account for as long as they want without getting noticed at all. How? The default audit security policy is configured to not log any account logon events, successful or failed.
This allows an attacker to try to hack your accounts for as long as it takes to break in. There are a few ways to protect against this that I am going to go over in my next article about the Account Lockout policy. But first, it is important to turn on this account auditing so that you can see who may be trying to break into your accounts. After you have adjusted the auditing security policy, you will be able to see any account attacks including the account that they tried to logon with and where the request came from. Read More»
How Good Is Your Graphics Card?
March 05, 2007 by Jason
Overclock.net have produced a list that ranks graphics cards by performance. Although traditionally only gamers used to care about facts like this, it might be worthwhile checking out where your card ranks if you are thinking about upgrading to Vista. I was quite happy to see that my X1900XT sneaked into the top 10 at number 9, although I’ve flashed it to a X1900XTX which is at position number 7.
The top 10 graphics cards are: Read More»
How to use Your Apple iPod as a Hard Disk
March 05, 2007 by Jason
To use your iPod as a drive, hard drive or flash drive, depends on your iPod, to store and transfer data files on check this steps below.
To put music files on your iPod, use iTunes. Keep in mind that you can’t see the songs that iTunes copies to your iPod in the “Finder” or “My Computer”.
Using your iPod as a drive:
1. Connect your iPod to a computer.
2. Open iTunes.(if it doesn’t open itself)
3. Click the iPod icon in the Source pane.
4. Click the Summary tab.
5. For most iPod models (excluding iPod shuffle): Select “Enable disk use” or “Manually manage songs and playlists”. Either of them will allow you to use iPod as a drive. If you choose “Manually manage songs and playlists”, iTunes won’t automatically update iPod with the iTunes library. If you want iTunes to automatically update your iPod, choose “Enable disk use”. Read More»
Modem to Router to PC
March 04, 2007 by Jason
You really want the router between your PC and the broadband modem, not the modem between the router and the PC.
If your PC lacks an Ethernet port, there are two ways to add one. The first is a USB-to-Ethernet adapter. Belkin, Linksys, D-Link, and other companies all make such adapters. The second option is to add a PCI Ethernet card. You have loads of choices here; D-Link and Linksys, among others, make these cards.
The first option is much easier to set up; the second option involves opening up your PC case and installing a PCI card but will offer somewhat better performance.
Dell Considers Buying Rival Acer
March 03, 2007 by Jason
Michael Dell could prove that “Dell 2.0″ is more than a marketing throwaway by buying rival Acer, according to a leading Wall Street analyst. Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi today laid out a plan for Dell to revive its fortunes by purchasing Acer – a relatively cheap target with a $4bn market cap.
Such a move would give Dell broader access to Asian and European customers, a stronger notebook line and a massive indirect sales channel. Of course, Dell would have to give up on everything it holds dear by swallowing its pride along with Acer. Dell 1.0 rose to the top of the computer kingdom via the lean, mean “Direct Model.” Read More»
Speed up your PC – Fit a 10,000 RPM system drive
March 01, 2007 by Jason
Power uses go to great lengths to tweak their systems in order to experience improved performance but I’m here to tell you that all the registry tweaks and killing unnecessary services won’t beat fitting a 10,000 RPM drive and loading your OS onto it.
I’m a huge fan of fitting as much RAM into your PC as you can afford (up to the 4GB limit if you are running 32-bit Windows) but once your maxed out on RAM it can be tricky to find effective ways to boost performance. Read More»
Build your own Vista PC on the cheap
March 01, 2007 by Jason
Weblog J2s site has put together a hardware list capable of running Vista in all its Aero glory for just over $500.
This setup should run Vista and pretty much any regular application you need (it won’t necessarily be ready to do anything but light gaming, but hey – we’re not all gamers). All you need to do is put it together. Luckily, we’ve covered almost every step of building a PC here at pctipsbox, from installing your motherboard, CPU and RAM to your hard drives, PCI cards, and power supply. Read More»
How To Unlock Your Phone
February 28, 2007 by Jason
Now that the Copyright Office has given a green light to unlock your GSM or iDen phone, you can save money on a new phone – provided you can find it unlocked, or unlock it yourself. Depending on your phone, you might be able to do that by punching in a code, by buying a cable, or by sending it to a professional unlocking service. This applies to Cingular, T-Mobile and Nextel phones; Sprint, Verizon and Alltel subscribers are out of luck, for reasons I’ll explain below.
If you’ve had a T-Mobile phone for 90 days, or you’ve run out of time on a Cingular contract, you can get an unlocking code just by calling your carrier. Tell your carrier’s customer service representative that you’re traveling abroad and want to use a foreign carrier’s SIM card. If they don’t give you the code, stick by your guns and ask for a manager. Read More»
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