Hardware

Several times this past year, we have had readers write in asking if it could be possible to convert VHS tapes to DVD. I don't want you to get your hopes up too high, because what I'm going to tell you will not work for Copyrighted Videos. Most of ... those are protected with a copy protection scheme called MicroVision and cannot be re-recorded to DVD or even another VHS tape. If you want a DVD of those videos you will just have to go to your favorite DVD/Tape Movie store and buy it. But if you want to make a DVD of Uncle Henry's birthday party or the vacation to beat all vacations, read on. ... (view more)

The hard drive is a highly sensitive and complicated device that most of us tend to take for granted. Just what it is and -- how it works -- is the subject of this second article on computer hardware [read part 1 here]. If you were to remove the ... sealed cover on the drive, what you would see is a number of platters attached to a fairly thick shaft that contains a type of motor known as a servo motor. The servo motor has the characteristic of being easily controlled and stable when considering the speed of rotation. The platters are spun by the motor at a rate of speed designated by the ... (view more)

I suppose it's time to roll up my sleeves and try to 'expose' the inner workings of the scary little box that's humming away on your desk. It's called a Personal Computer, no matter who designed and/or built it. It may have a name associated with it ... such as Macintosh (or Mac), Dell, IBM, Gateway, or any of a myriad of names depending where you live and what you decided to buy. No matter what name is associated, all desktop Personal Computers (or PCs) have a few basic components that are common. Laptop systems have the same array of components but they are usually not accessible like in a ... (view more)

There has been a lot of talk (and print) devoted to what is termed 'Super Computing'. The evolving of a PC from a slow running (but reliable) platform into a system that runs circles around the old PC-1. Anyone remember those? IBM was responsible ... for unleashing the original PC on the unsuspecting business world back in the late '70s, early '80s. PC-1 was the very first PC and by today's standards, it is slow! 10 MHz processor speeds, a maximum of 64 KB memory, no hard drive, and a pair of 5.25, 360 KB diskette drives with a monochrome screen. It ran PC-DOS and a fairly wide array of ... (view more)

When Vyomesh Joshi, senior vice president of the Hewlett-Packard printing division, took to the stage during H.P.'s quarterly "coffee talk" and spoke to the thousands employed at the company, he knew that his speech would be cause for celebration. ... Joshi reported that Hewlett-Packard was experiencing significant increases in revenue, profit and market shares. He then addressed a personal experience that he believed could potentially jeopardize the future success of the company. He announced that one of his daughters informed him that she no longer required a printer, because it is much too ... (view more)

It seems that Apple is planning to give the iMac a new look. Recent reports reveal that Apple execs have called on the company's award-winning Design Chief Jonathan Ive to rework the Mac into a sleeker design. A slim pair of Core 2 Duo-based models ... is expected to be produced by Ive and his team. (Source: appleinsider.com ) The redesign reports are quite exciting for iMac fans. The most recent aesthetic overhaul occurred nearly three years ago in August of 2004, when Apple replaced its "sunflower" iMac G4 with the portrait-style iMac G5. (Source: appleinsider.com ) Speculators expect the ... (view more)

Right now, the cheapest way to watch Blu-Ray movies is with the $500 20 GB model of the PlayStation 3 (the 60 GB model is a hundred dollars more). Standalone players currently cost twice that much. However, PS3s have been hard to find. Plus, older ... consumers who aren't as tech-savvy may not understand exactly how the PS3 works -- or they may be gun-shy about purchasing a video game unit just to play movies. Whatever the case may be, Sony plans to rectify those problems by releasing a cheaper standalone Blu-Ray player this summer. At $599, the new "BDP-S300" Blu-Ray model won't be cheaper than ... (view more)

Last year, both Sony and Dell were almost as hot under the collar as the laptop batteries both were responsible for shipping. Although Sony was primarily to blame -- it manufactured the batteries, which were prone to overheating -- retailer Dell ... also accepted part of the guilt. Now IBM and Lenovo are at the heart of a recent recall, which has 205,000 notebook batteries affected. Like the Sony culprits, Lenovo is recalling lithium-ion batteries. The technology is used worldwide in IBM's very popular ThinkPad laptop, a device that appeals to many corporate users because of its ThinkVantage ... (view more)

It's a fact: a clean install of Windows is *always* preferable to upgrading a new version over top of a previous Windows installation. Why is this so? The answer is three words: The Windows Registry. For example: when you install and uninstall ... programs to a Windows PC, things get added to the Registry -- the 'heart' of the Windows Operating System. The Registry is a complex database that keeps track of installed programs, program preferences, user data, operating system settings, and the like. However, over time, some programs may not install or uninstall properly, and the Registry becomes ... (view more)

Is Microsoft getting the message? For those of you that haven't heard, there is an annual event known as CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. CES is the place where every electronics geek in the world would love to be because everything ... new in the world of electronics for the year is showcased. Typical items found at CES includes computers, coffee pots, TV's, tooth brushes (yes, even those), the latest gadgets, toys, software, and more. This year, CES 2007 invited Bill Gates to be the Keynote speaker. He addressed a crowd of about 15,000 attendees and got the shock of his life. ... (view more)