• It instantly doubles your desktop space with buying a larger monitor.
• You can work with two maximised windows at the same time.
• If you are working on a tool like Photoshop, which has lots of toolbars and panels, you could move the tools to the second monitor and have a large work area on your main monitor.
• If you need to compare two documents, you can open each of the documents in a different monitor.
• When browsing your picture library, you can view the thumbnails on one monitor, and use the second monitor to view the pictures full screen.
• If you need to stay on top of your e-mail while working, you can keep your inbox open on one monitor and work on the other.

These are just a few suggestion but actually how you use the dual monitors is only limited by your imagination. Now lets see how to set up the secondary monitor. Make sure that both your Laptop and the monitor are switched off. Connect the monitor to your Laptop by connecting it to the VGA or DVI connector, typically found on the rear of your laptop computer. Now switch on your laptop and the monitor. You will notice that initially, only one of the two monitors is activated. You can usually switch between the monitors by pressing the hotkeys in your laptop. Normally, it is a combination of the Fn key with another key with an image of a monitor on it (normally found on one of the function keys). To bring on the display on both the monitors you’ll need to adjust your display settings by following these steps:

1. Right-Click on an empty area on your desktop. On the context menu that pops-up click on Properties and on the resulting ‘Display Properties‘ window, go to the Settings tab.



2. Click the monitor icon labeled 2, and then select the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor checkbox.
3. If necessary, drag the monitor icons so that they are arranged in the same way as the monitors on your desk. Clicking on the Identify button will help you know which monitor is 1 and which monitor is 2.



4. If need be, change the resolution of your secondary monitor to the most appropriate settings. You change the resolution of both the monitors independently.
5. Click Apply. Windows XP will activate your new monitor.
6. Finaly, click OK.

Once your monitor is set up, you can use your mouse to grab the title bar of a window and drag it to your new display. Make sure that the window your are trying to drag is not maximised, in which case you will not be able to drag it. To be able to drag it, first double-click on the title bar and then drag it. It may take you a while to get used to working on dual monitors, but once you do, it will forever change the way you work with your computer. Be creative and experiment with the sizing of application windows and what information you can keep in constant view while doing multiple tasks.

Most people prefer to have a mouse in their laptop bag, as they are not very comfortable with the touch pad on their notebook computer. A regular sized mouse in your laptop bag feels awkward and the smaller ones, designed for portability, aren’t very convenient to handle.

Keeping this in mind a group of Korean designers have come up with inflatable computer mouse called Jelly Click.

‘Jelly click’ is a flat type portable mouse that can be inflated by blowing air into it and then it becomes a regular size mouse. When inflated the mouse feels like touching a soft jelly and hence the name. No matter how soft it might be, it would still be technically called a hardware :). After using it you can deflate it and fold it up.

I am waiting for the day when I can inflate my pocket sized computer to convert it into a full blown desktop PC.

Technorati Tags: Jelly Click,inflatable Mouse,foldable mouse

The Optimus Maximus, developed by Art. Lebedev Studio, is the world’s first keyboard where each key is a full color 45×45 pixel display capable of moving images. So the letters aren’t painted on the keys, they’re displayed. And they change according to context. For example, press the Caps Lock key, and the letters on the keys actually capitalize.

The fully configurable display is particularly useful when configured to work with specific programs. For example, when you are using Photoshop, you’ll get a paint bucket on one key, a brush on another and so on. Check out the image below.

Want to type in Russian? The keyboard will switch to show Cyrillic. The Configurator software allows for programming every button to reproduce a sequence of symbols and editing the image separately for each layout.

The ambient light sensor allows for having the display’s brightness automatically adjusted up or down depending on whether it’s getting dark or light. Additionally, you can adjust brightness manually. Automatic or manual control is available through the Optimus Configurator software. The keyboard has a slot for inserting SD card. All layouts are stored on the SD card to allow key images to change quickly.

You can watch a flash demo here.

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Microsoft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow ‘!’ appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as ‘IRQ holder for PCI steering’. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Microsoft the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer’s display.

Microsoft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to ‘yes’ to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card’s manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer’s performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer’s default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don’t do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message “Starting Windows” press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn’t work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

• Go to Start > Control Panel > System
• Under System Properties click on Hardware
• Click on Device Manager and go to Mice and other Pointing Devices
• Select your mouse that will be generally denoted as “PS/2 Compatible Mouse‘ or it can be a specific name if Windows XP recognizes the brand or model of the mouse that you are using. Double click on the mouse to open its properties.Select Advanced Settings tab under Properties

• The very first option, “Sample Rate” relates to how often the operating system determines the position of your mouse. If you want to increase the resolution of your mouse or increase the speed at which your mouse is tracked, you should increase this value. Increasing this value will make your mouse more sensitive and decreasing will make it less sensitive. Default value is 100.
• The third option, “Input Buffer Length” relates to the size of the input buffer that stores information about your mouse location. Increase this number if your mouse behaves erratically. Default value is 100.
• The last element is the “Fast Initialization” option. By default it is turned on in most cases. It basically increases or decreases the time it takes the OS to start up. If your mouse behaves erratically (moving in random directions or acting as though you have clicked buttons when you actually have not), clear this check box.

Knowing what these beeps mean can help a long way in identifying the problem. But unfortunately, these beeps codes are not standardised. So a beep code of a particular brand BIOS may mean something different than the same beep code of another brand. However, there are two popular BIOS vendors - AMI and Award and chances are pretty good that the BIOS in your computer is one of these. If it is not, please refer to the motherboard manufacturer’s or the BIOS vendor’s manual for details. To make things difficult, motherboard manufacturers may modify the beep codes to suit their convenience. So the meaning of the beep codes that I have listed here should be right for you but there is no guarantee. Here are some common beep codes and their meanings:

AMI BIOS (American Megatrends Inc.)

1 Beep: RAM Failure
2 Beeps: Parity Circuit Failure
3 Beeps: Base 64K RAM Failure
4 Beeps: System Timer Failure
5 Beeps: Processor Failure
6 Beeps: Keyboard controller or gate A20 failure
7 Beeps: Virtual mode exception error
8 Beeps: Display memory read/write failure
9 Beeps: BIOS’ ROM checksum failure
10 Beeps: CMOS shutdown register read/write error
11 Beeps: Cache memory error
Continuous Beeps: Video/Memory problem
Other Beeps: Check Motherboard manual

Award BIOS

Award has the least number of documented beep codes. They prefer to display an error message on the screen. Beep codes are used only if the BIOS can’t access the display subsystem.

One long beep: Memory problem
One long and two short beeps: Video error
One long and three short beeps: Video error
Continuous beeps: Video/memory problem
Other beeps: Check the motherboard manual

• When traveling, make sure you keep your belongings in sight at all times. This may sound too elementary, but the fact is this is the reason for most people losing their laptops.
• Similarly, while going for conferences and meetings, keep your laptop in view at all times. If you do have to leave it, ask a colleague/friend to watch it for you.
• Always keep a good laptop lock in your laptop case. If ever you have to leave your laptop alone, you can lock it up to your table or any such stuff. But remember that a lock is only a lock and can be picked or the chain cut.
• If you have to leave your laptop in your car, keep it in the boot or keep it covered - even covering it with a newspaper will serve the purpose.
• Do not use flashy cases to carry your laptop - make it as inconspicuous as you possibly can.

None of the above are fool-proof methods. So here are a few things you can do to give you some peace if ever you find that your laptop has been stolen or lost.

• Make sure that you have an external backup device and get into the habit of taking regular backups of important data.
• Consider storing your sensitive data in a pen drive. Needless to say, ensure that you keep your pen drive safe.( No tips for that !!)
• Most leading manufacturer let you register the laptop with them. This will help in recovery if a stolen laptop is returned for servicing or repair.
• There are tracking softwares available like ComputracePlus or zTrace which can help you track your stolen laptop as soon as they are connected to the internet. The software operates in stealth mode, sending information using which help police or security agencies to track down the location from where the laptop was used.

I have only listed some of the basic precautions for the safety of your laptop. At the system level there are more things you can do to ensure the security of your information stored in your laptop. We will discuss that some other time.

This is exactly how North Otago’s(New Zealand) newest television station 45 South is transmitting its signal from its studio to the top of Cape Wanbrow, in a bid to keep costs down.

Ken Jones designed the wok transmitter in his spare time last year when he wanted to provide wireless broadband to his Ardgowan home. Along with friend Murray Bobbette they worked out mathematical equations to prove the curved metal face of a wok would have the same effect as a small satellite dish.

When the television station 45 South (UHF channel 41) started up in September last year, Mr Jones thought the same technique could be applied. So he substituted a $10 Chinese cooking pan for a $20,000 satellite dish on behalf of his New Zealand television station.

“The $20,000 for a commercial link was just money we didn’t have, so we bought several woks from The Warehouse instead which was convenient and cheap,” he said.

Mr Jones said one pan was providing Oamaru with the signal at present and there was no need to provide another pan for some time.I am reminded of the times when Doordarshan first launched in our area more than 24 years ago and how a little aluminium cloth hanger sometimes worked better than the original antenna.

Source: nzherald

Here are a few tips:

• Always choose the Draft mode to print if you don’t need the best of quality.
• If color is not important to you, choose Grayscale Printing.
• Always use the Print Preview function before you actually print something especially when you are printing from a web site. Some web pages are just too wide to fit into your paper. Even, if the web page has a printer friendly version, it is a good idea to see the preview because it can help you choose which pages to print as quite often we just need some selected pages.
• If you are printing a web page and you are only interested in the text, then instead of printing the whole page, you can just select the portion of text you are interested in and choose Selection under Page Range.
• If you are in the habit of switching your printer on and off from the main power instead of the switch on the printer, then you are doing wrong. When you switch off the main power, you are bypassing the normal shut-down process, preventing the heads from parking properly.This can dry the printhead out or cause it to clog. Always use your printer’s own power switch to turn it off.
• If you don’t use your printer regularly, atleast print a page once a week to keep the cartridges fresh. Otherwise, the print cartridge may dry out of disuse.

The Zink system can be embedded in any device. It is also more environmental friendly, the company says. Ninety-five percent of ink cartridges never get recycled. The first two products based on the new system will likely be a standalone printer and a camera with a built-in printer.

The trick is the paper. In conventional printers, print heads squirt ink in a meticulous pattern onto a sheet of paper, and the ink gets affixed through heat or other means.

In Zink’s system, images are created when a heated printer head comes into contact with a sheet of specialized paper. The paper–which is actually a polymer but feels like ordinary photo paper–contains three crystalline layers. The layers are clear until heated. When heated, the material de-crystallizes and changes colors: One of the crystalline layers turns yellow, the middle one goes magenta and the final one turns blue. Images are created through a mosaic of magenta, yellow and blue pixels activated in the various layers.

The layers are activated at varying temperatures and require different cooking times. To create a yellow pixel, for instance, the printer head has to be at the highest temperature, but only has to touch the paper for a brief period, explained CTO Steve Herchen. Blue requires low temperature but a long contact time. Thus, when the printer head comes in contact with the paper, only one color is created for a particular pixel.

When the paper cools, the material doesn’t revert to its crystalline state, but remains amorphous. Thus, the color pixels remain. The paper is also recyclable. The first printers using Zink’s technology will only produce 2 x 3 inch photographs, but other sizes may be produced in the future.