Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Optimizing Memory Card Performances

A memory card is an extension card, which can be inserted into a multitude of appliances like a computer, a digital camera, a personal digital assistant, a smart phone or an MP3 player. The memory card is used to extend the memory capacity of the host device.

Multiple integrated circuit devices that are interconnected using a circuit board substrate make a memory card. A memory card or a flash memory card is a solid-state electronic flash memory data storage device, which offers high re-record ability, power free storage (memory card is a non-volatile memory device with a compact housing which is in no need of power source to retain its memory contents) and enduring environmental limitations. Non-solid state memory cards that do not use flash memory are also available (also known as Mem-cards).

There are different types of memory cards available such as a Random Access Memory card (RAM), a Read-only Memory Card (ROM) and an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) card and a flash memory card.

A flash memory card represents first logic state of the binary state system storing charge on a floating gate and the second logic state of the binary state system is signified by the absence of stored charges.

A memory card can perform a write operation, a read operation and an erase operation. There are four major types of memory cards (based on their storage and specification) like compact flash, secure digital, memory stick and xD. Each one of the memory cards characteristically conforms to a specific form factor of the standard and has a unique connector, which conforms the electrical and mechanical interface of the cards to the respective standards.

In 1990s, a number of memory cards formats smaller than PC card came out (like Compact flash, smart media and miniature card) and also tiny embedded memory. With the invention of ultra small cards for cell phones, PDAs and Compact digital cameras, the previous generation of ‘compact cards’ were looking big. In industrial fields, even the vulnerable PC card memory cards manage to maintain a slot unlike in cell phone and PDA market.

Nowadays personal computers have built in slots for more than one memory card like memory stick, compact flash, SD, etc. to ensure compatibility.

There are two types of software available in memory card namely, memory card Data Recovery Software and Memory card File Recovery Software. Memory Card File recovery software is designed to recover images, movies, sound and other data files from all types of digital media and compatible with major memory card devices. The memory card filed recovery software does a deep scanning of the media at the lowest level to recover and retrieve the deleted photos. Memory Card File Recovery Software is fast and easy and does not require any scientific enterprise for the recovery process and this online recovery is a safe technique. Just insert the memory card into a USB card reader and run the memory card file recovery software to rescue it to a safer location.

Memory card Data Recovery Software recovers lost pictures, images, photos, audio and video files and folders from all memory card storage media – flash drive, multi media memory card, mobile communicator, mobile PC and hand held computers. This memory card data recovery software recovers data even when the media is corrupted or memory card is pulled out from their running device. In addition it recovers data even if Windows displays ‘drive not formatted’ message. It is the easiest and quickest software utility tool for any type of digital file folders to recover, retrieve, rescue, repair or restore the data.


Source : http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Optimizing-Memory-Card-Performances/422476

Advantages Of External Hard Drive

The computer component that holds data is a hard drive and an external hard drive is a hard drive that is outside the computer case in its own enclosure (also called hard drive cage). Every computer needs at least one hard drive to store its operating system, programs and user interpretation. It is usually internal but additional external hard drives have become indispensable.

An external hard drive has become indispensable because there are potential security threats to our computers like virus due to Internet access even after employing anti-virus programs and firewalls.

Apart from this, inadvertent corruption of sensitive documents and additional space required for multimedia storage are some of the problems and one single solution to all such problems is the external hard drive.

The external hard drive is enclosed in an enclosure outside the main computer and is slightly larger than the hard drive itself and sometimes has a cooling fan. The external hard drive is connected to the computer through a high-speed interface cable, which enables the external hard drive to communicate with the computer by means of interfaces like USB and Fire Wire.

An external hard drive is a very constructive piece of equipment in the sense that it allows the user to back up or store important information detached from the main internal hard drive, which could be affected by on-line or off-line activities. An external hard drive can hold sensitive documents, DVD images, disc images, large music files, movies and also a back up of the contents of the main internal hard drive safely and securely. When on line, external hard drive can even be left turned off.

An external hard drive has another advantage – it is portable and operates on plug and play basis. The external hard drive can be used as a storage device for any computer with a USB or Fire Wire capability.

Hard drives are available in two basic formats: SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) and IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics). IDE drives use a 40-pin connection and are cheaper and SATA hard drives are faster and transfer data at six times the speed of IDE external hard drive.

An external hard drive is basically composed of the Platters, the Spindles and Spindle Motor, the Read/Write Head and the Head Actuator.

The Platters are the actual discs inside the external drive that store the magnetized data. Platters made of glass or ceramic are used because they are thinner and are more heat resistant. Generally, the external hard drives have at least two platters and the larger the storage capacity of the hard drive the more the platters. The Spindle Motor is built right into the Spindle and spins the Platter at a constant set rate ranging from 3600 to 7200 rpm. The Read/Write Head reads and writes the data to the Platter. There is necessarily one head per platter side and each head is attached to a single actuator shaft. Only one of the heads is active at a time reading or writing the data. All the heads are attached to a single head actuator, which moves the head around the Platters. The platters spindle, spindle motor, head actuator and the read or write head are all contained in a chamber called the Hard Disc Assembly (HDA)

We can even buy several hard drives and barter them in and out of the same enclosures, using one for work, one for back up, and one for multi media and song and so on and thus there are boundless reasons to use an external hard drive.


Source : http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Advantages-of-External-Hard-Drive/422477

Physical Security Of Your Computer System

You’ve paid a lot of money for your computer system and the majority of your business documents and information is kept on your computer. Wouldn’t it be wise to take physical security measures to protect your system and the data that is on it?

If you are a SOHO business owner that has a system in the home with critical information on it, care should be taken to make sure that the system is password protected. If the computer is used for other than business, then you may want to consider getting a separate system so that you’ll have a system for business and a system for the family so data won’t be destroyed.

However, if you cannot afford a new system at this time then make sure that files are password protected for certain documents so that information cannot be changed or compromised. It’s good to constantly back up your system weekly based on the volume of business that you conduct.

Laptops have become the rage of all computer users. They are small, portable and convenient to use. You can take laptops anywhere (coffee shop, library, and restaurant) and do business while accessing the local Wi-Fi spot to get on the Internet.

Extra care should be taken when you are carrying your laptop. Before you leave home, put your laptop in the trunk, away from the trunk latch so that it isn’t visible. That way, if you have your window down, no one can reach in and steal it when you make a stop.

When you are in a public place, you should always be in close proximity of your laptop. Not unless you really know people in the place that you are in, take your laptop to the restroom with you. It’s better to be safe than sorry and have all of your hard work and information disappear!

If you make a stop to the grocery store, DON’T leave your laptop on the front seat! People have been known to smash windows and steal laptops. Put your laptop in the trunk! Most cars come with alarm systems so if someone tries to break in, the alarm will alert the owner.

Use common sense in physically protecting your computer systems.


Source : http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Physical-Security-of-Your-Computer-System/422615

What To Do With Free Reverse Cell Phone Number Search Directories

It's really a bother when you pick up the phone only to have the other end of the line hang up on you. It actually happens once in a while, and it's something that you can easily forget about in seconds. But to be subjected to it frequently is another story. This is where free reverse cell phone number search directories come in.

The pain that "hangers-up" do is such that people become more than willing to exert effort in hunting them down. The hunt begins with sorting through a free reverse phone number lookup, which allows you to learn a number of basic information. It can help you learn where the phone number is located, determine if it is a cell phone or a landline phone number, and find out what carrier operates the number in question. Following after reverse phone number lookup services for landline owners, the reverse cell number lookup services also permits users to look up a person's cell phone number by simply keying in their name.

You can find people by entering their numbers into a search engine. However, the problem with this method is that not all people have numbers that are publicly obtainable. Should you have access to private, unlisted or cell phone numbers, you must need a more powerful tool. And even when you get access to data that's not available to the public, the only information you're bound to get is only the person's name.

If you find out that the number is a landline phone number, all you have to do is to load a free reverse phone directory that is available for free on the Internet. The most leading choices are YellowPages.com search directory, the White Pages.com free phone lookup directories and Anywho.com telephone lookup directory & PhoneNumber.com free phone search directory.

However, if the number belongs to a cell phone unit, don't fret. While it used to be difficult to search a person through his or her cell phone number alone, the recent emergence of reverse phone number lookup services offers easy ways of obtaining an address with only a phone number to go by. It is making the once-complicated task of finding cell phone owners easier.

Then again, there are no free reverse cell phone search services available. Although they may require you to pay them, the few reliable, reverse phone number lookup directories are the ones that people can trust. They are able to deliver without fault, can provide accurate information, and offer services that are guaranteed. They are those people who give you your money back should you be dissatisfied with their services.

So if you are more than willing to further your search by using these paid services, be sure to go for the accurate and dependable reverse cell phone tracking providers so you wouldn't be wasting time and money. By going for the reliable ones, you will be sure of getting authentic information other than the sum of a cell phone number.


Source : http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/What-To-Do-With-Free-Reverse-Cell-Phone-Number-Search-Directories/422722

Difference Between The Internet And The World Wide Web

Many people get confused by the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web. The early internet development was carried out largely by the Department of Defence in the USA, while the World Wide Web (WWW) was invented by Englishman Tim Berners-Lee some 20 years later.

They are different entities, and the way to explain the difference is to take the telephone as an analogy. If your computer is the analogue of your telephone set, then your IP address is your telephone number, specific to your telephone, the World Wide Web consists of all file addresses that can publicly be connected to each other (e.g. equiv. to conversations that you have by telephone) and the internet is the means by which they are connected – the telephone cables and wireless connections.

Thus, the web consists of all the files, that can be text, images, videos and so on that can be accessed by means of hyperlinks from one IP address to the specific file location on another IP address, and passed between IP addresses using the internet.

Although the World Wide Web started in 1990, we can trace the roots of the Internet to as early as the 1950s to 1960s. It was actually started after the Russians launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, and the American military became afraid of the conquest of space by the Russians. They became conscious of the need for swift computer communication round the world in the interest of defence.

It was in 1962 that the DARPA or Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency was formed, and in 1969 the first internet officially went live, referred to as the ARPANET. It was the idea of a man who is aptly called the father of the internet, J.C.R. Licklider. His idea, that he called the Galactic Network, is considered to be the seed of the Internet.

Who knew back then that internet business would flourish as it did? Aside from Licklider, Vinton Gray Cerf is considered to be one of the forefathers of the Internet. Cerf developed the TCP/IP protocols needed for the transfer of packetized files, and in doing that, he played a key role in the development of the internet.

The first long distance connection was also developed in the 1960s, by MIT researcher Lawrence G. Roberts and Thomas Merrill in 1965. They connected the TX-2 computer from Massachusetts to a Q-32 computer in California. However, the phone lines during that time could not handle internet technology and it was some time before such technology was commonplace.

Many familiar names can be thrown into the pot, one of which is Al Gore. Many people mistake him as the inventor of the Internet. While it is not true, he actively promoted it, making him a key player in its growth. Al Gore popularized the term "information superhighway" which was coined back in 1974 by Nam June Paik.

While the Internet grew over the decades, it was only in the 1990s that the World Wide Web provided the resource by which ordinary people could have easy access to the internet. Home computers were common by then, but internet access was still in its infancy.

It was in 1993 that the first known web browser, Mosaic, was released. The radio media took 38 years for them to have 50 million users or listeners. The television took 13 years while the Internet only needed 5 years to achieve the same volume of usage. Much of that had to do with reduced costs, of course, but it was a significant achievement nevertheless.

A little known fact is that only about a third of internet communication is in English, the most common of the other two thirds being in Chinese and Spanish. North America has the largest continental concentration at 70%. On the other hand, the country with highest percentage of Internet users is Sweden at 75%. Another interesting fact about the Internet business is the number of pages or indices there are today. According to Google, their index now contains over 8 billion pages and it is still growing rapidly each day.


Source : http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Difference-between-the-Internet-and-the-World-Wide-Web/423017