November 2, 2007 at 11:37 am · Filed under Free, Software
These come in very handy for playing different formats of multimedia, conversion of many different formats such as DVD, AVI, MOV, WMV, and damn near anything else you can imagine.
These are not only my personal recommendations after years of trial and error, but I’ve also included recommendations by many others. This is an excellent list and I intend on updating it with newer items later. Please feel free to comment if you have any additions to the list.
See the entire article for links and descriptions.
* = My personal recommendation.
AutoGK* - DivX / XviD backup utility. Support for DVD, MPEG2 (such as DVB captures and transport streams), MPEG1 sources, along with AVI/DV sources.
DVDShrink* - Backup your DVD disks. You can use this software in conjunction with DVD burning software of your choice to make a backup copy of any DVD or create a DVD image.
GOMPlayer* - GOM Player supports most popular codecs (AVI, DAT, MPEG, DivX plus many more) with its own embedded codec system that you won’t have to look for appropriate codecs every time. It also supports FLV files (for example: saved YouTube videos) and does the best job of any FLV player I’ve found. It’s hard to find a good FLV player, because most have lots of issues and will not allow you to maximize/resize the video.
VirtualDub* - Video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP). It lacks the editing power of a general-purpose editor such as Adobe Premiere, but is streamlined for fast linear operations over video. It has batch-processing capabilities for processing large numbers of files and can be extended with third-party video filters. VirtualDub is mainly geared toward processing AVI files, although it can read (not write) MPEG-1 and also handle sets of BMP images.
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November 1, 2007 at 10:13 am · Filed under Debunk, Technology
You have seen those advertisements on television boasting amazing speed increases for dial-up Internet, or those saying that Cable or DSL is faster. What is the truth? Those claiming to increase dial-up speeds are nothing short of a lie. I’m going to explain the truth, facts and lies that you have been told about both dial-up and broadband.
LIE: The 56KBps modem
It is a 56Kbps modem and is capable of 56Kbps speeds, but dial-up connections are limited to 53Kbps due to a limit imposed on phone lines. A DSL connection uses the phone lines, but is not subject to the same limit. When you buy a 56Kbps modem, you are actually buying a modem which will connect you at 53Kbps or less.
Most actual ISP connections are between 36Kbps and 48Kbps according to what I saw in my time working for an internet service provider. It requires near ideal conditions to connect and transfer files at 53KBps.
At 48Kbps it would take you about 10-15 minutes to download a single three minute song. If you want to watch a YouTube video, you might as well click and go have lunch while the video loads. One of the major benefits of broadband is that the connections are so fast that you can watch streaming videos almost instantly with no interruption.
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October 30, 2007 at 9:37 am · Filed under Hardware
These are some smart guidelines for anyone interested in purchasing a new computer or upgrading. It is aimed towards the majority of the public and not enthusiasts.
Whether purchasing a new PC from Dell (or other vendor) or building a custom computer, you want to tailor the hardware to your own needs and requirements. Unless of course you have an unlimited budget and can afford the very best with all the bells and whistles.
Keep in mind that if you will only use the computer for browsing the web, checking email, resizing family photos or any other home activity that does not involve the latest games you don’t need an expensive computer. You would do very well with the most basic options provided by a manufacturer such as Dell. In which case, the most important factor would be choosing a warranty that fits your needs. Although, if you’re buying a computer with Windows Vista, I would recommend 2GB of RAM. At least make sure you don’t buy a computer with Vista that has less than 1GB of RAM.
Arguably the two most important performance factors in a computer are the processor and the memory (RAM), but that is not always true. It is very dependent on the applications that you use. Though for most home and office computers this is true. For multimedia applications and gaming, the most important hardware is your video card and RAM.
For multimedia editing or gaming, I recommend at least 2GB of RAM (or up to 4GB) and a video card which supports DirectX10 and has at least 512MB of memory.
Processors have come to the point that most are fast enough to keep up with the newest games on the market. As long as you have a dual or quad core processor. The “bottleneck” is typically elsewhere though. It will definitely be of benefit to you to purchase a faster processor, but I would suggest when you have a limited budget to spend your money elsewhere first (such as towards RAM).
When customizing a PC through Dell or other companies, you usually have two or three options for processors on one machine. If you upgrade to the next highest processor option, you probably won’t notice more than around a 5% performance difference unless you upgrade to additonal RAM first. This isn’t necessarily true from one system to the next though. One computer may have much slower available processor options than a higher priced PC.
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October 25, 2007 at 11:03 am · Filed under Deals, Hardware
If you’re not an enthusiast then you may have purchased your computer from a local shop. I would typically advise against this, unless you know your local computer store’s technicians have a background in information technology (as opposed to someone who only has an A+ certification).
If you’re buying a laptop, you should investigate prices directly with a vendor (such as Dell, Gateway, Hewlett Packard, etc) or at least with stores such as Best Buy or Office Max. Though most people will tell you not to. It’s best to go straight to the manufacturer. In any case, look around and investigate prices for new computers. You could save hundreds of dollars.
Don’t buy a computer from any store that sells furniture or primarily products not at all related to computer technology (such as Wal-Mart). Sure you may be able to buy brand name there, but you can do that directly from the manufacturer. If you go through another source you may have less options, there may be additional charges and you may not get all of the facts.
The custom built computers you buy from stores usually are made with the cheapest parts available. This is one reason I have a problem with local stores that deal in computers. That and the computers are built either by inexperienced “technicians” with no real professional credentials. Some employers do require a CompTIA A+ certification, but the A+ certification isn’t indicative of much.
Local shops don’t get the bulk deals that major vendors get. Instead, they purchase parts as cheap as they can find them to keep profits. This is also the case with brand name manufacturers, but you have a much better warranty to back up your purchase and more expertise was put into the configuration of the PC. It’s very hard for anyone to compete with the prices of brand name manufacturers.
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