No one is in charge of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and set standards for creating applications on it, but no governing body is in control. The Internet backbone, through which Internet traffic flows, is owned by private companies.

All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user’s local client machine. Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology.

An Internet user has access to a wide variety of services: electronic mail, file transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, breaking news, and much more.

The Internet consists primarily of a variety of access protocols. Many of these protocols feature programs that allow users to search for and retrieve material made available by the protocol.

——————————————————————————–

COMPONENTS OF THE INTERNET

——————————————————————————–

E-MAIL

Electronic mail, or e-mail, allows computer users locally and worldwide to exchange messages. Each user of e-mail has a mailbox address to which messages are sent. Messages sent through e-mail can arrive within a matter of seconds.

A powerful aspect of e-mail is the option to send electronic files to a person’s e-mail address. Non-ASCII files, known as binary files, may be attached to e-mail messages. These files are referred to as MIME attachments.MIME stands for Multimedia Internet Mail Extension, and was developed to help e-mail software handle a variety of file types. For example, a document created in Microsoft Word can be attached to an e-mail message and retrieved by the recipient with the appropriate e-mail program. Many e-mail programs, including Eudora, Netscape Messenger, and Microsoft Outlook, offer the ability to read files written in HTML, which is itself a MIME type.

TELNET

Telnet is a program that allows you to log into computers on the Internet and use online databases, library catalogs, chat services, and more. There are no graphics in Telnet sessions, just text. To Telnet to a computer, you must know its address. This can consist of words (locis.loc.gov) or numbers (140.147.254.3). Some services require you to connect to a specific port on the remote computer. In this case, type the port number after the Internet address. Example: telnet nri.reston.va.us 185.

Telnet is available on the World Wide Web. Probably the most common Web-based resources available through Telnet have been library catalogs, though most catalogs have since migrated to the Web. A link to a Telnet resource may look like any other link, but it will launch a Telnet session to make the connection. A Telnet program must be installed on your local computer and configured to your Web browser in order to work.

With the increasing popularity of the Web, Telnet has become less frequently used as a means of access to information on the Internet.

FTP

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is both a program and the method used to transfer files between computers. Anonymous FTP is an option that allows users to transfer files from thousands of host computers on the Internet to their personal computer account. FTP sites contain books, articles, software, games, images, sounds, multimedia, course work, data sets, and more.

If your computer is directly connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable, you can use one of several PC software programs, such as WS_FTP for Windows, to conduct a file transfer.

FTP transfers can be performed on the World Wide Web without the need for special software. In this case, the Web browser will suffice. Whenever you download software from a Web site to your local machine, you are using FTP. You can also retrieve FTP files via search engines such as FtpFind, located at /http://www.ftpfind.com/. This option is easiest because you do not need to know FTP program commands.

If you’re installing Linux as a guest operating system under VirtualBox, the chances are that you downloaded  the ISO file from the internet with the intention of burning it to DVD and booting it to begin the installation process. Still, there is another way. After creating a new virtual machine into which to install the operating system, select the virtual machine , press the config button and go to ‘CD/DVD-ROM’ section. Tick ‘Mount ‘ CD/DVD drive ‘ and select the ‘ISO image file’ radio button . Press the folder button to the right of this and the Virtual Disk Image Manager appears.

Next, press the Add button to add your ISO file to the list of registered images. A file dialog will appear . Just navigate to and select your ISO file, then click Open. You’ll now be returned to the Virtual Disk Manager. Click on the ISO file you just added and press the Select button. Click OK to dismiss the config window and then run the virtual machine as normal. It should now read the ISO file as if it were burned to a DVD.

http://www.virtualbox.org/

How to make sure you’re using a reputable seller

You can tell a lot by the look and feel of a website if you’re worried about its authenticity . It is professionally presented? Do all the links work properly? Is there a contact address and phone number? It can be worth calling any published phone numbers to check that its real, manned number. Feedback on review sites such as Pricerunner (www.pricerunner.co.uk) can also help, but beware of sites whose feedback is too good to be true.

Location, Location

Double check to make sure you are where you think you are, as spoof of phishing sites exists to harvest information. Never click on a link in an email or web page and then input your details. Switch on phishing warnings in your browser and security software. Bear in mind, too, that a ‘co.uk ‘ address doesn’t guarantee that a shop is located in UK.

Check site security

According to advice from the UK Cards Association, before submitting your card details, “your should ensure that the locked padlock or unbroken key symbol is showing in your browser. The beginning of the online retailer’s internet address will also change from ‘http’ to ‘https’, when a connection is secure”. The Internet Explorer 7 and above, the address bar should also turn green to indicate strong security.

Never Wire Money

Money transfer is often used by fraudsters to solicit payment for goods that are never delivered, as well as other scams. Never pay by money transfer of cheque; you have no comeback if things go wrong.

Keep An Online-Only Card

Keeping a card that’s purely used for online purchases makes it easier t spot any mysterious transactions. Consider setting a relatively low limit to curtail spending if tit is compromised.



For years the football manager series has dominated the sports management genre with its classy mix of on-pitch realism and detailed tactical features. The Championship Manager franchise has often been considered a  poor man’s football manager, but this year, that’s all changed thanks to CM2010’s array of fresh new ideas that have revitalized the series and made it a genuine alternative to it’s flashier rival.

The most striking addition to CM2010’s arsenal is its new 3D match engine. Players move with fluid, lifelike movements, while varied stadium sizes and a raft of excellent, expandable tactical and statistical tabs ensure that the match day experience is both visually  impressive and strategically flexible. The on-pitch action does lack the consistent realism of Football Manager 2009 , with the flow of play sometimes looking a little robotic, but there are still plenty of satisfying passages of play to enjoy.

A few strange incidents aside- such as players clearing the ball into touch for no reason or occasionally bouncing off each other like dodgems – action is slick and exciting (especially in highlights mode) with defensive midfielders harassing players, star strikes unleashing blistering shots and players jostling during set pieces.

Goalkeepers now rush off their lines in one-on-one situations and leap through crowds of players to claim crosses, though rather bizarrely they also appear to parry shots several inches  in front of their limbs.

Championship Manager 2010 is bursting with new features and  innovations. An excellent set-piece creator allows you to construct free-kick routines and watch them in real time, while the ability to monitor training sessions enables you to view your squad performing drills and mastering your tactics during practice matches.

Scouting has also been revamped. Finding star players no longer involves  simply trawling through a comprehensive player database, as you must know scout players several times before working out their abilities. The more times before working out their abilities. The more times you scout someone, the more accurately you can gauge their stats. You can also set up global scouting networks to track down new talent.

Dabbling in the transfer market requires more in-depth negotiations and haggling than in previous Championship  Manager games, but it’s forgiving enough to allow you to bolster your squad with a few key additions . Sadly there are virtually no press, fan, player or board –interaction features, and navigation is still a problem.

Championship Manager 2010 is an excellent choice for those looking for a more forgiving and accessible management experience , while its exciting new features ensures that it’s  winnable footie coach friendly.

Championship Manager 2010 (PC)

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.

]]> http://chip.revivalx.com/2009/12/22/542/feed/ 0 http://chip.revivalx.com/2009/12/21/choosing-a-pc-system/ http://chip.revivalx.com/2009/12/21/choosing-a-pc-system/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:25:06 +0000 admin http://chip.revivalx.com/?p=536

1. The size and shape of a PC is more important than it used to be. A mini PC costs more and is less upgradable, but takes up less desk space. If you want a media centre PC, get one that fits in with other electronic equipment in your living room.
2. If you are interested in games , upgrade to a decent graphics card. Budget cards with the Radeon HD 4650 graphics processor will cope with this year’s games, but to play next year’s just as smoothly  ( and enjoy gorgeous graphics today) it’s worth upgrading to a more card such as Radeon HD 4830. More powerful cards can be fifted into the standard PCI-Express x16 slot, so you can always upgrade later if you have one on your motherboard. SLI and Crossfire systems, with multiple graphics cards, are rarely worth the bother or expense.
3. All modern PCs come with dual-core processors, and so are capable of taking on tough tasks. The only exceptions are nettops, see 9. Anyone who regularly undertakes tough tasks, like video editing and encoding, should seriously consider a quad core processor.
4. There are plenty of reasons to upgrade the memory or hard disk. If you’ll be using your PC for gaming, video-editing or other demanding tasks then you’ll want both 4gb of RAM and a bigger hard disk, 1TB should more than suffice.
5. A quality sound system will enhance all manner of PC activities . To hear the surround soundtrack of a DVD at its best, you’ll need a 5.1 systems. I f you’re not interested in games or DVD’s , go far a stereo pair with a subwoofer to boost the bass. If you want to listen to music or want better-quality sound, you’ll need a dedicated sound card.
6. All PCs now with widscreen monitors. As well as being ideal for watching movies, they feel more natural for working on panoramic photos or expansive spreadsheets. A 19in widescreen LCD is now considered basic and has a resolution of 1440x 900 pixels. Larger 20in and 22in LCDs are available from around rm550 and have a higher resolution of 1680×1050. This makes them better bets for people who are looking to work with complex applications. Decide if you want a glossy display or not. Glossy displays improve contrast and make images look brighter , but they reflect overhead lights and sunlight easily , which can be annoying.
7. The standard connectors can be improved with extra USB ports, to which most PC gadgets attach, and a FireWire port for gadgets such as digital video cameras. Look for a memory card reader if you have a digital camera and make sure your camera’s memory card is supported.
8. Windows Vista Home Premium is preinstalled on most new PCs. Any extra software bundled should be assessed critically. It may be that you’ll never use it. However, you may find a PC that includes software you’d otherwise have paid for, so you’ll save lots of money by having it preloaded.
9. I f you only undertake basic tasks then consider a nettop. These low-cost, low-price PCs are ideal for day –to-day computing tasks like web surfing and office application. They use similar components to netbooks and so are very power efficient as well. Some netbooks have optical drives for burning and playing DVDs and CDs. However, the more compact models do not have space for such drives.

Computers For Seniors For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Wolfenstein is the latest resurrection of the series, with plenty of occult powers, energy weapons and a few survival horror elements thrown in. You as US military agent BJ Blackowiz, sent to investigate a secret Nazi weapons  which taps into power of a sinister alternative dimension through a barrier called the Veil . Soon, you learn to use Veil powers yourself to find secret doors, slow time, cast a shield and boost your attacks.

The game looks good, with atmospheric locations. It attempts to create the impression of an open world, but there’s only a little freedom as you move from one resistance group  to the next. Crossing Isenstadt is initially a little tedious, then it becomes a real drain on your ammo with endless vicious firefights.

As you explore each of the mission maps, you can uncover hidden areas, intelligence, gold and spooky tomes that boost your mystical abilities; only completists will bother to take the time archive 100 per cent scores for each mission’s hidden objects. Gold is required to buy weapon upgrades, but we got through the game easily by focusing on conventional weapons and a few mystic powers in preference  to the fancier plasma guns.

Wolfenstein doesn’t  feel like a modern game. The boss levels are very old-fashioned, with powerful foes who move in a fixed pattern until you shoot out pillars energy beams or magical items to destroy them.

While some missions are little more than straightforward Nazi blasting, others are more tense. The laughter of invisible assassins in an abandoned hospital will haunt us for months. It’s not deep, but sinister enemies and plenty gore make Wolfenstein a real blast.

Wolfenstein

Intel has unveiled Light Peak, a new connectivity standard that uses fibre optics to transmit data between devices.Fibre optic data transfer has been around in networking and storage devices for some time, but Light Peak is more than just another networking interface.Dadi Perlmutter, head of Intel’s Architecture Group, said the new technology can be used for storage, video and audio transmission . This data can be passed down a single cable at speeds of up to 10Gbit/s at ranges of up to 100m.

We’ve seen something similar from Matrox- the Extio, which is used for thin clients-but Intel is suggesting that Light Peak will be more versatile and could lead to fewer connections on ultra-thin laptops, which should mean fewer design limitations.Sony is ready to back the technology, with Ryosuke Akahane, vice president of the Vaio business group , saying . “Sony is excited about potential for Light Peak technology that Intel has been developing , and believe it could enable a new generation of high speed device connectivity.”

It’s unclear when Intel expects to start making this technology widely available, but we don’t expect to see it for at least a few years as the hardware is in a very premature state at present.

No one is in charge of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and set standards for creating applications on it, but no governing body is in control. The Internet backbone, through which Internet traffic flows, is owned by private companies.

All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user’s local client machine. Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology.

An Internet user has access to a wide variety of services: electronic mail, file transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, breaking news, and much more.

The Internet consists primarily of a variety of access protocols. Many of these protocols feature programs that allow users to search for and retrieve material made available by the protocol.

——————————————————————————–

COMPONENTS OF THE INTERNET

——————————————————————————–

WORLD WIDE WEB

The World Wide Web (abbreviated as the Web or WWW) is a system of Internet servers that supports hypertext to access several Internet protocols on a single interface. Almost every protocol type available on the Internet is accessible on the Web. This includes e-mail, FTP, Telnet, and Usenet News. In addition to these, the World Wide Web has its own protocol: HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. These protocols will be explained later in this document.

The World Wide Web provides a single interface for accessing all these protocols. This creates a convenient and user-friendly environment. It is no longer necessary to be conversant in these protocols within separate, command-level environments. The Web gathers together these protocols into a single system. Because of this feature, and because of the Web’s ability to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the Web is the fastest-growing component of the Internet.

The operation of the Web relies primarily on hypertext as its means of information retrieval. HyperText is a document containing words that connect to other documents. These words are called links and are selectable by the user. A single hypertext document can contain links to many documents. In the context of the Web, words or graphics may serve as links to other documents, images, video, and sound. Links may or may not follow a logical path, as each connection is programmed by the creator of the source document. Overall, the Web contains a complex virtual web of connections among a vast number of documents, graphics, videos, and sounds.

Producing hypertext for the Web is accomplished by creating documents with a language called HyperText Markup Language, or HTML. With HTML, tags are placed within the text to accomplish document formatting, visual features such as font size, italics and bold, and the creation of hypertext links. Graphics and multimedia may also be incorporated into an HTML document. HTML is an evolving language, with new tags being added as each upgrade of the language is developed and released. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), led by Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, coordinates the efforts of standardizing HTML. The W3C now calls the language XHTML and considers it to be an application of the XML language standard.

The World Wide Web consists of files, called pages or home pages, containing links to documents and resources throughout the Internet.

The Web provides a vast array of experiences including multimedia presentations, real-time collaboration, interactive pages, radio and television broadcasts, and the automatic “push” of information to a client computer. Programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic, Cold Fusion and XML are extending the capabilities of the Web. A growing amount of information on the Web is served dynamically from content stored in databases. The Web is therefore not a fixed entity, but one that is in a constant state of development and flux.

For more complete information about the World Wide Web, see Understanding The World Wide Web.

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

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.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

Troubleshooting and Maintaining Your PC All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers))