Get help, advice and information on all your Communications issues. http://advice-and.info/Communications/ Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:55:14 GMT en DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is a telecommunication service that transforms an ordinary phone into a high-speed conduit for data, voice and video. The service is especially available for those who are close enough to a telephone company central office that offers the DSL services. A typical DSL connection allows subscriber to enjoy speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps downlink and 256Kbps. The actual speeds vary according to the proximity of the subscriber to the central office. In addition, DSL services are on at all times, meaning that subscribers dont have to dial each time to access the internet. There are some services that allow users to use the same line for voice and data. There are a variety of DSL technologies but their availability may depend on where one is located as well as individual bandwidth needs. Here are some of them. IDSL. This stands for ISDN Digital Subscribers line, and it is a form of DSL that uses ISDN provisioning and positioning, and can co-exist with the current analogue and ISDN servic es. This service is typically restricted to about 144Kbps upstream and downstream, though it may provide further reach as it not restricted by the same distant limitations. ADSL, which stands for Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. It employs two different transmission speeds, with the downstream speed being (from the provider to the subscriber) being much higher than the upstream speed (from the user to the corporate host). This service is capable of achieving downstream data rates of up to 8Mbps and upstream speeds of up to 1Mbps. VDSL. (Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line) the service promises speeds that are even loftier than those offered by ADSL , albeit on much shorter distances. RADSL. Stands for Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line, and it adjusts the data transmission rate to match the quality of the phone line. RADSL subscribers usually enjoy the best performance on their telephone lines and can have up to 7Mbps downstream and 1Mbps downstream. HDSLSDSL. (High Data Rate Digita http://advice-and.info/Communications/92782_What_Is_Dsl.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:32:57 GMT HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. It is a compact 19-pin plug and cable for connecting High-Definition video and multi-channel audio-capable as well as helping to speed the convergence of computer and consumer AV products. High Definition technology or HD has seen a rapid increase in consumer use especially with HDTVs, HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, HD camcorders and other HD components. HDMI was developed by Hitachi, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Philips, Thomson and Silicon Image who came together in a conglomerate effort to simplify the task of connecting and synchronizing available HD components for the user's benefit. HDMI is an uncompressed, all-digital signal audiovideo interface with 5 Gbps of available bandwidth. It contains 19 wires wrapped in a single cable that resembles a USB wire. The primary use of the HDMI wire is to transmit digital signals from a compatible digital audiovideo source such as a cable set top box, DVD player, AV receiver or satellite receiver to a compatible digital audio andor video monitor such as a high definition television. HDTV uses less than 12 of HDMI's available 5 Gbps bandwidth and thus HDMI has a lot of capacity to spare. In addition to carrying uncompressed video, HDMI carry 8-channels, of 192kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio. HDMI can also carry compressed audio formats such as Dolby or DTS. Benefits of HDMI over traditional analog connections HDMI transfers uncompressed all-digital audio and video and eliminates losses associated with analog quality meaning that the image quality will be of the highest degree. This is in fact its primary benefit since it is able to transmit both audio and video in one cable. It also prevents the losses caused by digital to analog conversions. The low cost of the HDMI is one of its biggest benefits since a single HDMI connection replaces 3 video connections for high definition video and 6 audio connections for high-resolution audio. The spare capacity of the HDMI can be used to incorporate http://advice-and.info/Communications/92779_What_Is_Hdmi.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:09:43 GMT PCMCIA stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an international standards body that was established to define, develop and promote the PC card. PCMCIA also stands for 'People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms,' a play-of-words humor coined because the original acronym and its meaning are difficult to say and remember. PCMCIA, which consists of some 100 companies and trade associations, publishes the standards for PC Card and ExpressCard that contains the physical, electrical and software specifications for each technology, including the 32-bit CardBus interface of the PC card standard. The group is also responsible for the Expresscard Compliance Program that ensures interoperability of Expresscard products with other products in the market. The current focus of PCMCIA is on mobile applications for modular peripherals in all platforms, improving user experience and creating awareness to expand the market for modular peripherals. The PC card (formerly called PCMCIA c ard) and its successor Expresscard are small, credit card-sized devices that were originally designed for memory expansion of laptops where ruggedness, low power, and small size were critical. The scope of the PC card was later expanded to include other devices, such as network cards, modems, hard disks and digital cameras. All PC cards use an identical 68 pin dual row connector and have the same rectangular shape and size - 85.6 by 54 millimeters - but vary in width, depending on the type of card. The original standard was defined for both 5 volt and 3.3 volt cards. PC cards are designed to be hot-swappable, i.e., inserting or removing a card is possible without rebooting the computer. Card Types Type I cards are up to 3.3 mm thick and use a 16-bit interface. These are mostly used for memory devices such as RAM, flash memory, one time programmable memory (OTP), and static RAM. Type II cards are up to 5.5 mm thick and use a 16-bit or 32-bit interface. These cards are often used for modem, net http://advice-and.info/Communications/92774_What_Is_Pcmcia.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:09:37 GMT "First off, let's define Mobile Broadband. What exactly is Mobile Broadband? It is the high-speed wireless service provided by Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, and At&t, that uses an Air Card, or Connection Card inserted into a computer or Mobile Router. The service is totally mobile and offers speeds up to 3Mbps in most mid sized and large cities in the USA. Traditional Cable & DSL services are ISPs bound to one location and are offered by companies like Comcast, Cox, Qwest, and so on. Monthly Costs: Cable & DSL services range from about 30 to 60 a month with a wide range of speeds available - from less than 1Mbps to over 5Mbps. Typically, DSL is a bit less expensive than Cable, but also usually offers slower speeds as well. Mobile Broadband is typically 59.99 a month. As you can see, on a pure cost basis, Cable & DSL are less expensive. Or are they? Not always. What if you are a person who travels for work or pleasure? If you need to connect on the road, and have to pay 10 or 20 per connecti on, you can easily spend quite a bit more than the cost of Mobile Broadband. This does not even consider the time and effort of finding the wifi hot spot in the first place. Additionally, many wifi hotspots are unsecure, so there is some risk involved. With the addition of a Mobile Router, you can create a wireless network that multiple computers can share. So, with one 59.99 Mobile Broadband plan, you can provide internet service for your house or a small office. The Bottom Line If you never travel, and don't want to access the internet anywhere except from your house, get Cable or DSL as you can save some money versus Mobile Broadband. However, if you want the flexibility of taking your service anywhere you go, and yet still want a fully functional home or office network, then Mobile Broadband with a Mobile Router will give you the most bang for the buck." http://advice-and.info/Communications/92763_Obile_Roadband__Able___-_Hich_Is_Etter.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:25:33 GMT "So, you just finished watching MTV's ""Pimp Your Ride"" and you need to add a little something different to make your car stand out from the crowd. What can you do? How about adding Mobile Internet to your vehicle. It is not as hard or expensive as you might think. Here is what is needed: Mobile Router: This is similar to a typical home router with one exception. It uses a Sprint Mobile Broadband Card to provide the internet, allowing you to use it anywhere, even in motion! It converts a Mobile Broadband Card into a Wi-Fi signal that up to 5 laptops can use at the same time. One of the best options for this would be the Kyocera KR1 Mobile Router. Why? It is the least expensive mobile router on the market at well under 200. Secondly, unlike most other mobile routers it comes standard with a Car Charger. Just plug it into the cigarette lighter and the unit is now powered up and ready to surf the internet, even while driving down the road at 75 MPH. Of course, that would be for the passengers to enjo y, not the driver! Mobile Broadband Service: This is the increasingly popular Mobile Internet service that Sprint, Verizon and others are now selling. For just 59.99 a month, Sprint offers unlimited internet access anywhere in the USA. For the same price, Verizon offers up to 5GB a month. These services can be used directly in a laptop for one user, or in this case, directly into the Mobile Router so that multiple users can tap into the same card at the same time. Laptop: This one is quite obvious, but there are two ways to connect the laptop to the Mobile Router. One is with an Ethernet cable, as the KR1 has 4 Ethernet ports in the back. The second and easier way would be to just connect through wi-fi. As long as the laptop has built-in wireless, as all newer laptops do, the laptop will find the wi-fi signal the Mobile Router is producing. Extras: If extra range is needed on your Mobile Internet set-up, or if the vehicle is often in remote areas there are two products that can greatly inc http://advice-and.info/Communications/92762_Mobile_Internet_For_Your_Vehicle.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:16:24 GMT DMA is Direct Memory Access. DMA is a system that allows memory to be controlled without passing through the CPU. Under most situations, the CPU handles the movement of memory for security and stability reasons. However, DMA can be enabled for certain operations, such as reading from a CD-ROM, so that the data read from the CD is not passed through the CPU but is instead pulled off of the CD and put directly into a memory location for use. Although DMA is not always used, it has its uses. When it is enabled, the process of DMA overrides the CPU for handling the memory. This helps to solve some errors that occur for items when they are transferred through the CPU. Such errors include audio and video that is being read off of a CD-ROM. Occasionally, errors occur which can cause audio to be scratchy or video to be distorted. Under situations such as these, DMA can be a useful system since it works around these errors by bypassing the CPU. About the Author:Kevin Lewis writes on topics such as DMA , Pentium and Celeron for The Tech FAQ. http://advice-and.info/Communications/92707_What_Is_Dma.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:30:17 GMT A USB device is any peripheral hardware that connects and runs on a computer's Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface - a standardized socket that allows connection and disconnection of devices without having to reboot the computer. USB controls the peripheral devices in a masterslave relationship. The USB interface expands a computer's plug and play capabilities, as it allows a wide array of devices that have been specifically created for USB to be connected with the PC, either with or without device drivers installed. USB's standard design was accomplished by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), a consortium of leading computer and electronic companies that serves as the industry standards body. As a result of the standardization, third-party hardware is identical on all platforms and differs only in the required OS-specific software. The advantages from USB aside from expandability are lower production cost, auto-configuration, improved performance and reliable speed. The USB interface also provides power to peripherals without the need for a power adapter. Common USB devices include mice, keyboards, joysticks, webcams, game pads and other low-bandwidth devices. USB controllers Before USB 2.0, there are two competing Host Control Device implementations: the Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI) developed by Microsoft, Compaq and National Semiconductor, and the Universal Host Controller Interface (UHCI) made by Intel. The USB-IF mandated a unified implementation in USB Version 2.0, resulting in the Enhance Host Controller Interface (EHCI). Only EHCI supports hi-speed transfers of up to 480 Mbitsecond, while the original competing implementations were retained as companion or virtual host controllers for backward compatibility. The virtual host controllers support full speed (12 Mbitsecond) and low-speed (1.5 Mbitsecond) transfers. Device Classes Among the many defined device classes, ordinary users will most likely encounter the following: oAudio interface devices include speakers, mi http://advice-and.info/Communications/92705_What_Is_A_Usb_Device.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:16:00 GMT Design is one of the most important things that most people like to check for their mobiles. Design and style of Nokia 5320 xPressMusic is catch, to say the least. It has the power to enchant anyone out there. IT has GPRS, EDGE and 3G technology to provide the best efficiency in exploring the internet. Camera is another feature that provides a more than good result as it has 2-megapixel camera with 16001200 pixels which also comes with a flash light that makes it easy to use that where light may not be sufficient. In this phone, music will be the best thing as FM radio can also be used to listen to your favorite music. Nokia introduced a new music-enabled mobile phone as addition to its XpressMusic range. The new Nokia 5320 XpressMusic offers a range of affordable music and entertainment experiences with the most fresh, stylish designs on the market. Featuring a dynamic design with 3G social entertainment capabilities, the Nokia 5320 Music phone delivers exceptional music and web 2.0 access. With th e innovative new voice-controlled Say and Play feature, consumers can merely say the name of a favorite artist or song to automatically play it. Offering an array of additional features, the Nokia 5320 XpressMusic phone includes dedicated XpressMusic keys, a 3.5mm audio jack, up to 24 hours of playback time and an audio chip for hi-fi sound quality. The Nokia 5320 Music mobile phone offers extendable memory up to 8GB, HS-USB for fast music transfer and HSDPA for fast access to data. Superior audio quality with dedicated audio chip, fast and easy music downloads with HSDPA and USB 2.0, up to 8 GB external memory. IT uses Li-Ion 890 mAh battery that is stated to have a talk time up to 3hours. Please Purchase Online http:www.phoneandbeyond.com http://advice-and.info/Communications/92573_Stylish_Design_Mobile_The_Nokia_5320_Xpress_Music_Blue.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:03:58 GMT S-Video or Separate Video (also referred to as YS and erroneously as 'super video') is an analog video signal that transmits video data in two separate and distinct signals - one for color and the other for brightness. This procedure is a departure from the composite video concept where the entire set of information is transferred as a composite (all in one) package. S-Video works in 576i and 480i resolution. Basic S-Video Overview In S-Video, brightness (luminance) and color (modulated chrominance) subcarrier information is transmitted along separate synchronized signal-ground pairs. In composite videos, eliminating the crosstalk between higher frequency brightness component and color subcarrier is accomplished through luminous signals subjected to low pass filtering. With S-Video, the two signals are completely separated. By doing so, the need for damaging low pass filtering is essentially eliminated. This process also increases the bandwidth for the luminous data and substantially reduces problems a ssociated with color crosstalk. The infamous dot crawl (cross-luma) issue is also completely eliminated. Essentially, as S-Video leaves more data from the original video signal undisturbed, the viewers can enjoy a better image quality from their monitors than what is offered by conventional composite video. Considering S-Video's basic technique of separating the video and color components, it is sometimes viewed as a different type of the component video signal. However, the major difference between S-Video and higher component video format is that in S-Video, the color information is sent as a separate signal altogether. This would mean that the colors have to be encoded, which further implies that the devices in the implementation of this process not only need to be compatible with S-Video, but also color encoding compliant. Connectors Used with S-Video For S-Video signals, the common connectors required are the 4-pin mini-DIN connectors using a termination impedance of 75 ohm. Without this impedance http://advice-and.info/Communications/92492_What_Is_S-video.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:57:24 GMT High-Definition televisions and components have increased exponentially in popularity in recent years. Factors such as increased adoption by manufacturers and television networks and the drastic plummet in pricing have led consumers to embrace the technology with open arms. There is no need for a person to be an audio and video aficionado to be able to enjoy the beautiful resolution and clarity that high-definition technology offers. High-Definition technology is often referred to simply as "HD." Several High-Definition audio and video component manufacturers joined together in a conglomerate effort to simplify the task of connecting and synchronizing available HD components for the user's benefit. The large companies Hitachi, Sony, RCA, Panasonic, Philips, and Silicon Image pooled their resources in the form of research and development departments to create a simplified solution that will enable the average consumer to install and enjoy their HD components without having to obtain an advanced degree in e lectronics engineering. The result was HDMI, or High Definition Multimedia Interface. HDMI takes away the frustration that has historically existed for many consumers in attempting to successfully connect a home theater system. Where there was once the need for a tangled mess of dozens of wires, HDMI typically only requires one or two for a successful installation. The amount of connections needed will vary with the number of components being connected and the desired configuration, but there almost never a time when an HDMI installation will be anywhere nearly as complex as a standard home theater setup. HDMI also offers other advantages. HDMI connections allow for uncompressed audio and video to be transmitted freely between components, ensuring the greatest possible quality of video and sound. Additionally, the technology is quickly being embraced by movie production studios, television networks, and other entertainment companies making it become the undisputed standard for the current format. This leve http://advice-and.info/Communications/92402_What_Is_Hdmi.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:41:19 GMT There are many different websites where you can get the Xbox Live codes. Some of these web sites offer tons of free codes after you have played some of the other games offered on their website. At all of these web sites you will need to register and create a login name and a password to use anything on their site and be able to download the Xbox codes. However, some web sites will be much harder to receive the codes from than other sites, and may want to charge you a small fee for receiving them. Some of these sites have a long sign up process or will not give as many codes away as other sites. This is due to the popularity of the Xbox Live codes and the volume of people wanting them. Websites You Can Visit Some different websites that I have found are: Gaming Lagoon Box Deal Invision Free Site 1 Xbox Invision Free Site 2 Xbox free Zones Free Zone Rewards Team Box Forum Game Zone These sites give away a pretty good amount of codes and look like they have other games and thin gs to offer on their website. However, doing a web search will probably return a lot of other good sites. Game Site Offerings I have also found that on some of the game sites you can trade your codes or points with different players to get trial codes. At all of these sites there are different rules and regulations on how you can trade codes and how you can receive the codes. Make sure to read all the instructions and the rules before trying to get and use the trial codes you have signed up for. There is no point in going through the process of creating accounts and receiving activation codes only to find that they are of no use to you. Reading the instructions and following all the rules correctly will give a huge benefit. Xbox Trial Codes. When you purchase the Xbox you are given trial codes that come along with the game system. The codes that you received with your Xbox can definitely be used online, though you will not receive as many with the game as you could probably find online. These codes have http://advice-and.info/Communications/92400_Where_Can_I_Get_Xbox_Live_Free_Trial_Codes.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:34:49 GMT Mobile phone carriers commonly subsidize the costs of new cell phones. The customer pays 99 for a five hundred dollar phone and the carrier pays the rest of the cost. The customer signs a service contract where the customer agrees to stay with the service provider for a number of years. Over the lifetime of that contract, the mobile phone service provider makes enough profit to cover their initial subsidy on the purchase of the cell phone. To ensure that the customer uses the mobile phone on their network, many cell carriers will "lock" the cell phone so that it can only be used on their network. This lock is referred to as a Service Provider Lock (SPL), a network lock, or a subsidy lock. When your service contact expires and you want to switch cellular carriers, you may have to "unlock" your phone. If you purchase a used cell phone, you may also have to unlock that phone. Unlocking the mobile phone will allow you to use it on another carriers network. How to Unlock a Phone Techniques for unlocking a phone vary between phone models and between carriers. Ask Your Carrier for the Unlock Code Some carriers will tell your your unlock code. They may require your account to be paid up, your account to be a certain age, or your service contract to be expired. Other carriers will never tell you your unlock code under any circumstances. Sprint refuses to provide unlock codes to their customers T-Mobile will provide unlock codes to their customers after the subscription has been active for 90 days AT&TCingular CDMA phones are shipped unlocked AT&TCingular will provide unlocking codes for their GSM phones Once you have the unlock code, you can enter it on your phones keypad. Some providers are able to unlock phones remotely over the air. Calculate the Unlock Code Some providers use unlock codes which are calculated from the IMEI of the mobile telephone. For example, the unlock codes for some Nokia phones can be discovered using the online calculator at Nokia Free. LG Unlocking Calculator http://advice-and.info/Communications/92399_How_Do_I_Unlock_A_Phone.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:37:11 GMT DisplayPort is the new digital display interface standard. It has been recently approved (52006) by VESA and will be hitting the markets in 2008. For most computer users, the fairly big and bulky VGA port is familiar. While the VGA port has been extremely reliable and has delivered competent performance, the new standard the Display Port is considered to be quite an upgrade from traditional VGA ports and is on par with HDMI. The DisplayPort will be mainly manufactured by large computer makers to send video, as well as audio signals from the computer to a computer monitor or home theater system. The reason for the upgrade is to increase both video and audio performance and allow an easy connection from the computer directly to an entertainment center hookup. DisplayPort Specs The DisplayPort is about the size of a USB connector, it supports from 1 to 4 data pairs including video, audio, clock signals, etc at a transfer rate from 1.62 to 2.7 GBs per second. Video specs include a video path that su pports 6 to 16 bits per color channel. It also includes a Main Link that is bi-directional. Other specs include a maximum resolution of 1080p at 24bpp and the ability for full transmission of its signals even over a cable length of 3 meters (about 10 feet). However, there is signal degradation after a length of about 10 feet. It should be noted that while pass through of HDMI and DVI is allowed, the DisplayPort is not compatible with these formats. DisplayPort & Content Protection The DisplayPort version 1.0 has the ability to include optional content protection called DPCP (DisplayPort Content Protection). This copy protection standard was created by AMD and uses 128-bit AES encryption. It should also be noted that DPCP includes the ability to verify proximity of the receiver and transmitter independently. This feature can help prevent data being sent to distant, unauthorized users. Recently, DisplayPort has issued version 1.1. With this new version come a few upgrades, including support for HDMI's co http://advice-and.info/Communications/92396_What_Is_Displayport.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:06:16 GMT AVI to DVD conversion has become a fairly common type of file conversion these days. It has become fairly easy to burn a movie stored on your hard disk in AVI format to a disk so that you can watch it on a standard dvd player. But what is the difference between the two formats anyway? DVD DVD is an acronym for Digital Versatile Disc or more commonly Digital Video Disc. The DVD technology stores its data in a type of optical disc storage media and can be used to store movies, graphics, sounds and multimedia. It is bigger and faster than a CD. The native DVD video application format mainly stores its files as VOB files with a .vob extension. These are easily viewable on a DVD player but may not be readable on your computer depending on the kind of software you use. Also, VOB files tend to be rather heavy and hence not exactly portable especially if you want to email the files to your friends. AVI AVI is an acronym for Audio Video Interleave. It is a Microsoft technology named after Avi Cohen. AVI is a container format that can store both sound and motion as a .avi extension and supports multiple streaming. AVI conforms to the Microsoft Windows Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) specification. Converting AVI to DVD There are several sources of software on the internet for AVI to DVD conversion. Some freeware tools are also available for this work. So the first step in converting to DVD format is identifying the right software. Consider the ease of use of the software, its features and its price before buying the software. Do an online search and explore your options but make sure you get software that works for you. Make use of free trials in order to evaluate a certain piece of software before you buy it. Next comes the actual conversion. Most of the conversion software available have user friendly interfaces and follow the same basic conversion instructions: 1.Launch software - Install the conversion software into your computer. When the installation is complete, launch the conversion soft http://advice-and.info/Communications/92393_How_Can_I_Convert_Avi_To_Dvd.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:19:33 GMT To create a flyer, you need a topic (e.g., something youre selling or announcing), a little imagination and creativity, some relevant images to make the flyer interesting, flyer-creating software and a printer. The first thing you need to consider is the software youll use in creating the flyer. Adobe Pagemaker, Microsoft Publisher or CorelDraw are some of the common desktop publishing applications that you can use. If you dont have any of these publishing tools, you can use instead flyer-creating applications found online or even word processing applications such as Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Write. Determine the size of the flyer and orientation (portrait or landscape). The flyers dimensions are generally based on the type of information and images that is included. A flyer consume an entire page or a page maybe divided into columns or boxes to save on costs. Write an attention-grabbing blurb to catch the readers attention. This is important because once you fail to generate readers inte rest, the flyer will most likely head for the trash bin. Write also the rest of the information for the flyer. Be brief and concise, as readers are unlikely to have the luxury of time to read through blocks of text. Make sure to include enough information to convince the reader to buy the product, attend an event, or do whatever action you may want the reader to do. Add contact information for inquiries, and prices or promos if applicable. If youre using the entire page, place the blurb near the top of the page, using appropriate font, font size and color to get attention. With some creativity, place the images and the rest of the text on the page, making sure that the elements and their placements are easy on the eye and arent annoying. Use white spaces whenever possible to make a better impression. If youre making smaller flyers, downscale the settings for all elements to fit the columns or boxes. After completing the layout of one column, you can just copy all the elements and paste it on the oth http://advice-and.info/Communications/92282_How_To_Create_A_Flyer.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:22:58 GMT A password can be used to protect the contents of a Rar file, which is a compressed file format. The user-defined password is used to encrypt the file using a strong AES-128 standard encryption algorithm. Anyone trying to extract the contents of the Rar file needs to supply the correct password that was used for encryption. If the person fails to supply a password or types in a wrong password, they cannot extract the contents of the Rar file. It is important for the user to remember the password used to encrypt the file so that the same password can by rightly used to extract the contents of the file later. If a user forgets the password, there is almost no way of retrieving the contents of the Rar file. The encryption methodology used is so strong that even the author of the Rar utility cannot decrypt the file once it is password protected. Password protection can be applied at two levels. A default password can be specified at the very beginning before individual files are selected to be loaded into the archive. The File menu has a Set default password command through which this kind of a password can be set. This password controls all the files that are stored within the archive, and it has to be typed when the files are extracted later, either collectively or individually. On the other hand, the password can be set when the files are selected and added to the archive using the Archive name and parameters dialog box. This dialog box has an Advanced options tab through which a password can be set. Either a single password can be set for a collection of files or each file can be set with its own individual password by adding them one at a time. Passwords usually encrypt the data stored within the individual files. But there is also an option to encrypt the filenames themselves so that even the very contents of a Rar file are hidden from view, and without supplying the proper password one cannot even see what files are stored within the archive. Rar file passwords are a very effective w http://advice-and.info/Communications/92279_Rar_Password.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:26:50 GMT MSN uses the Windows Live ID which works on all Microsoft Passport Sites. 1.Login to the Passport network by visiting "https:accountservices.passport.net" and using your MSN ID 2.Go to the "Account Summary" page. 3.Under the heading "Password reset information", click "Change" next to "Password". 4.First check whether the e-mail address shown in the "Windows Live ID" field is correct. 5.Then type the old password in the box provided. 6.Enter a new password and confirm it again. 7.Click the "Make my password expire every 72 days" check box if you prefer to set your password to expire every 72 days, and then click "Save". To Reset your Password If you have forgotten your password, you need to reset it before you can sign in to Windows Live again. You can reset your password using one of the two methods shown below. To reset your password by requesting a password reset e-mail: 1.Click the "Forgot your password" link in the sign-in page on any Windows Live website or service. 2 .Enter your MSN ID and then type the characters shown in the Picture box, and click "Continue". 3.Select the "Send password reset instructions to me in e-mail" option. 4.Select the e-mail address where you want the password reset e-mail to be sent to from the list shown, and then click "Continue". 5.Click "OK" on the confirmation page. 6.When you receive the password reset e-mail, click the link in the e-mail to reset your password, and then follow the online instructions. To reset your password by providing location information and the answer to your secret question: 1.Click the "Forgot your password" link in the sign-in page on any Windows Live website or service. 2.Enter your MSN ID and then type the characters shown in the Picture box, and click "Continue". 3.Select the "Use my location information and secret answer to verify my identity" option. 4.In the "CountryRegion" list, select the name of your country or region, select your state, and then type your ZIP code or postal co http://advice-and.info/Communications/92273_How__Do_I_Change_My_Password.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:05:22 GMT What could be better than a cheap cell phone? A free cell phone! And what could be better than a free cell phone? A free cell phone with a rebate that actually pays you money! On this page we show listings of better than cheap cell phones. Choose a free cell phone or a better than free cell phone from a quality manufacturer with phone service from a nationally recognized cellular carrier. Just because a cell phone is the latest and hottest model out there doesn't mean it can't be free or inexpensive. Cheap doesn't mean low quality. At least not here. Take advantage of our wonderful offers and order you cheap or free cellular phone today. Do not hesitate. It's time to connect! Free Cell Phones PhoneCarrierBase PriceRebatesFinal Price Motorola KRZR-K1m Sold by: WireFly 49.9950.00Free 0.00 Motorola KRZR-K1 Cosmic Blue Sold by: SunCom 399.99399.99Free 0.00 Motorola i580 Sold by: LetsTalk 49.9949.99Free 0.00 Motorola W385 Sold by: WireFly 0.000 .00Free 0.00 HTC 8925-Tilt Sold by: WireFly 49.9950.00Free 0.00 HTC Touch Sold by: WireFly 99.99100.00Free 0.00 Samsung UpStage-M620 Sold by: WireFly 49.9950.00Free 0.00 Motorola RAZR-V3m Red Sold by: WireFly 0.000.00Free 0.00 Motorola RAZR2-V9 Sold by: LetsTalk 149.99149.99Free 0.00 LG Vu-CU920 Sold by: LetsTalk 99.9999.99Free 0.00 powered by PriceView... Better Than Free Cell Phones PhoneCarrierBase PriceRebatesFinal Price Motorola KRZR-K1m Sold by: LetsTalk 0.0050.00You get 50.00 BlackBerry Pearl-8100 Black Sold by: WireFly too low to advertisetoo low to advertisetoo low to advertise Motorola W315 Blue Sold by: LetsTalk 0.0050.00You get 50.00 HTC Dash Sold by: WireFly too low to advertisetoo low to advertisetoo low to advertise Motorola W385 Sold by: LetsTalk 0.0050.00You get 50.00 Samsung UpStage-M620 Sold by: LetsTalk 0.005 http://advice-and.info/Communications/92272_Cheap_Cell_Phones.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:35:41 GMT You may come across many organizations which have their private network and related IP address which is solely meant for the internal usage within the company. 192.168.1.1 is an IP address that is ranged between the private addresses from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255. This private IP is very useful as you can use them a number of times in different networks. And this usage can be done all a time. Therefore there is no problem as such if two of you wish to use the same IP address on two different networks at the same time. But there are disadvantages as well. You will not be able to route these IP addresses. They can be only used through the internet connection with the assistance of the Network Address Translation (NAT). This 192.168.1.1. IP address is used as a default IP by some of the networking services like LinkSys. This router uses 192.168.1.1. as a default one. This is the reason they face certain difficulties which leads to various inconvenience of the users. The problem occurs when two different devices are using the same IP at the same network which is not an allowed application for this particular private IP. This means two devices in two different networks-possible; but two devices in the same network-not possible. This emerges as a major disadvantage when you have many users using the same IP in various computers. This is the reason the big companies with quite a number of employees can n not use this conveniently. Every time you add up a new user you will have to make sure that no one else is using the same one. So this is going to take a lot of time and calculations. This particular IP address can be incorporated by the manufacturer of the computer but this is not impossible to change it according to your convenience. This is generally used for the local networking purposes and there are many small organizations and individuals who are using this and reaping the best possible benefits. But make sure the usage of a particular IP from the range of 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255 http://advice-and.info/Communications/92229_Ip_Address_19216811.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:42:08 GMT The Sony Ericsson G700 uses touchscreen functionality for everyday organization contacts, calendar, notes, pictures and favorite websites are accessible by compact-touch, fingertip control or using stylus input. This UMTS phone features a 3.2 Megapixel camera, a 2.4 inch QVGA touchscreen with a transreflective display and 160MB user free memory with Memory Stick Micro for removable external storage. Sony Ericsson G700 Mobile Phone is all about simplicity and ease of use. Enjoy touchscreen text input, dedicated keys for messaging and the convenient Notes function. Sony Ericsson has come up with two new mobile phones namely G700 and G900. The G700 helps keep your contacts, calendars, notes, photos etc just a touch away. The G900 replicates all the functions of the G700 and also has an added 5.0 megapixel camera with touch auto focus.They offer the same features the only difference is that G700 offers a 3.2 megapixel camera whereas the G900 comes with a 5.0 megapixel camera. The G700 and G900 measure 106 x 49 x 13mm, weigh 99 grams and exhibit features like 2.4 touchscreen, one-touch organiser functions and touch control notes applications. These phones are equipped with a media player, mega bass, music tones, Bluetooth stereo, video viewing and streaming, 3D games, Opera web browser, polyphonic ringtones, speakerphone, video calling, vibrating alert, push email, exchange active sync, sound recorder, 160 MB Memory Stick Micro and text messaging. They claim to offer simplicity with intuitive application. The G700 and G900 offer UMTS 2100 and GSM GPRS connectivity. The G700 and G900 includes a battery, charger, USB cable, stereo portable handsfree, Media Manager software, Sony Ericsson PC Suite, 2 stylus and a user guide. The G700 will be dressed in silk bronze while the G900 will come in dark red and dark brown. With GSMGPRS they provide 12 hrs of talk time and 380 hours of stand by time while with UMTS it provides talk time of 4 hrs, 380 hours of stand by time and 2.5 hours of video call. Please Pur http://advice-and.info/Communications/92225_Just_Short_Of_A_Smart_Phone_The_Sony_Ericsson_G700.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:43:11 GMT A Molex connector is a lingo term used to refer to a type of connector used in microcomputers. The Molex connector was designed by Molex. Molex is a large electronic component manufacturing company founded in 1938. They mainly deal in the manufacture of plugs and sockets. NB The name Molex connector is used because Molex was one of the first companies to make this type of connector. This does not mean that there are no other companies making the connector. In practice, compatible connectors are available from myriad manufacturers such as AMP and Delphi, not just Molex. The name just stuck. The Molex connector has a very simple design. The connector has a nylon plug and receptacle; consisting of a two piece pin and socket connection to which four wires are attached. One piece of the two piece pin and socket design consists of metal pins while the other piece consists of metal sockets. The pins and the sockets on the ends of a Molex connector are held in place by nylon shells and aligned 5.088 mm apart in a sort of rectangular matrix depending on the application. These shells can be arranged to support anywhere from two to fifteen circuits. The wires consist of a yellow wire, two black wires and a red wire. The standard pin out is as shown below. COLOR FUNCTION Yellow 12 volts Black Ground Red 5 volts The connector is polarized and designed in a way that makes it difficult to plug it in incorrectly. The connector that provides power has female pins and a male housing while the connector that receives power has male pins and a female housing. The connectors are capable of up to 10 amperes. The function of the housing is to hold the terminals and protect them from shorting, dust, dirt, moisture, and electrical interference. The terminal pins on the other hand are what conduct the current. The Molex connector is used for power connections for a disk drive in a computer as well as for other computer components such as CD-ROMs, graphic cards etc. The Molex connectors bring DC power to the drive http://advice-and.info/Communications/92174_What_Are_Molex_Connectors.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:52:46 GMT Converting MP4 to MP3 is extremely simple to do and usually only requires a small application. MP3 is one of the world's most popular digital audio formats, due to its high sound quality and high compression rate that makes these files very small and easy to work with. Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image. MP4 is a digital format similar to MP3, however besides being able to encode and compress audio files, it is also used to encode and compress multimedia files that can contain video images, still photos, streaming audio and video and even subtitles. Why convert MP4 to MP3? The main reason users convert MP4 to MP3 is to extract audio files from MP4 to a more compatible and easier to user format. Please note, you can not extract video, still photos or other types of data from MP4 to MP3, only audio files. MP3 is an audio specific format and will not play video or other types of multimedia. Many times, files that are sold, streamed or downloaded off the Internet are not already in MP3 format. For instance, you might have bought a music video, but besides watching the video on your computer screen, you would like to take the song with you on your portable MP3 player. Unfortunately, most MP3 players do not support MP4 files. In order to play the music portion or soundtrack of the video on your portable MP3 player, you must first convert it from MP4 to the more compatible and easier to use MP3 format. Conversion Tools Converting MP4 to MP3 is extremely easy and only takes a few minutes at most to accomplish the task, in any case, you will need conversion software. Most conversion software available is either shareware which do provide a free trial period to test the software or are fee based commercial software. Most of the time these software applications are extremely easy to use and have easy to follow interfaces. Some of the more popular conversion tools are Xilsoft WMA MP3 Converter, Easy CD-DA Extractor by Poikosoft and River P http://advice-and.info/Communications/92173_How_Do_I_Convert_Mp4_To_Mp3.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:56:59 GMT DNS (Domain Name System), is the service which translates between Internet names and Internet addresses. Internet names are the names which we use to refer to hosts on the Internet, such as www.tech-faq.com and www.freebsd.org. Internet addresses are the numbers which routers use to move traffic across the Internet, such as 216.17.138.115 and 216.136.204.117. nslookup One of the best ways to understand DNS is to look at the DNS testing tool, nslookup. Let's start by doing a forward DNS lookup on www.freebsd.org: bash-2.05a nslookup www.freebsd.org Server: localhost.net Address: 127.0.0.1 Name: www.freebsd.org Address: 216.136.204.117 Next, let's do a reverse DNS lookup on 216.136.204.117: bash-2.05a nslookup 216.136.204.117 Server: localhost.net Address: 127.0.0.1 Name: www.freebsd.org Address: 216.136.204.117 DNS Record Types DNS records which map names to numbers are known as "A Records" or "Address Records". DNS records which map numbers to names are known as "PTR Records" or "Pointer Records". Two other types of useful records which are stored in DNS are MX (Mail eXchange) Records and NS (Name Server) Records. NS records show where the DNS servers are for a domain. Let's find IBM's name servers using nslookup: bash-2.05a nslookup Default Server: localhost.net Address: 127.0.0.1 > set typens > ibm.com Server: localhost.net Address: 127.0.0.1 Non-authoritative answer: ibm.com nameserver ns.watson.ibm.com ibm.com nameserver internet-server.zurich.ibm.com ibm.com nameserver ns.almaden.ibm.com ibm.com nameserver ns.austin.ibm.com Authoritative answers can be found from: ns.watson.ibm.com internet address 129.34.20.80 internet-server.zurich.ibm.com internet address 195.176.20.204 ns.almaden.ibm.com internet address 198.4.83.35 ns.austin.ibm.com internet address 192.35.232.34 > MX Records tell us where the e-mail servers are for a domain. This tells our mail http://advice-and.info/Communications/92170_What_Is_Dns.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:11:03 GMT There are two ways to change a Hotmail password. If the current password is known, it can be used to sign in and then change the password. But if the current password has been forgotten, then it has to be reset. Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image. Change the password: 1. Login to Hotmail with the existing password. 2. Click "Options" at the top corner of the page. 3. Under the category "Manage your account", click the "View and edit your personal information" link. 4. Next to Password, click "Change". 5. After furnishing the old password, type in a new password two times and then click "Save". Reset the password: A forgotten password cannot be recovered. It can only be reset. 1. On the Hotmail Login page, click the "Forogt your password?" link. 2. Type the email address and the alpha-numeric characters from the picture shown, and click "Continue". 3. Select one of the following two methods: Method I 1. Request password reset instructions to be sent to your alternate e-mail address. 1. Select "Send passwor d reset instructions to me by e-mail". 2. Select "Alternate e-mail" and click "Continue" and then "OK". 3. Open the alternate e-mail account, and then follow the instructions in the e-mail message sent from Hotmail. Method II 1. Answer a question to verify your identity 2. Click "Use my location information and secret answer to verify my identity". 3. Select your country or region, provide the answer to your secret question, and then click "Continue". 4. Type the new password two times, and then click "Continue". 5. If an alternate e-mail address has not already been set up, do one of the following: To set up an alternate e-mail address, enter the e-mail address two times, and then click "Continue". To skip setting up an alternate e-mail address, click "Skip". 6. To sign in to Hotmail, click "Sign in to Hotmail". http://advice-and.info/Communications/92169_How_Do_I_Change_My_Hotmail_Password.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:44:07 GMT UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is one of the two main transport protocols utilized in IP networks. The UDP protocol exists on the Transport Layer of the OSI Model. The UDP protocol is an unreliable connectionless protocol. When we say that UDP is unreliable, we mean that UDP does not provide mechanisms for error detection and error correction between the source and the destination. Because of this, UDP utilized bandwidth more efficiently than TCP. Applications which utilize UDP and which require reliable transport must provide their own error detection and correction mechanisms. By connectionless, we mean that a network node can communicate with another network node using UDP without first negotiating any kind of handshaking or creating a connection. Because of this, UDP is very efficient for protocols that send small amounts of data at irregular intervals. These properties of UDP are in contrast to TCP, which is connection-oriented and provides end-to-end reliability. Higher layer protocols which utiliz e UDP include DNS, BOOTP, DHCP, SNMP, and RADIUS. Diagram of the UDP Header UDP Header Format ----------------- 0 7 8 15 16 23 24 31 -------------------------------- Source Destination Port Port -------------------------------- Length Checksum -------------------------------- data octets ... ----------------------------------- http://advice-and.info/Communications/92096_Udp.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:25:44 GMT Working with Parts A tutorial that shows working with Solidworks parts Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image. SolidWorks allows you to view 3d parts from all different angles. There are infinite ways to view an object, but engineers usually only concern themselves with 4 main views. You can see these views in the above picture of the green link. The main views are Side, Front, Top, and Isometric... Working with Assemblies A tutorial that shows how to work with assemblies Start SolidWorks and goto file->open. Find "press.SLDASM" in the toggle press folder and click open....... Solving Problems A tutorial that shows how to solve problems using SolidWorks If your assembly has pins that should be located in specific locations.....Place them using the move component tool and FIX them in place Concentric Mate your links to the fixed pins.... Planar Joints A tutorial that tells about Planar Joints There are three types of Planar Joints: Pin Joint, Pin-in-Slot, and Sliding. Solidworks will allow us to study these joints in a way that a simple drawing or schematic would not allow. We will be able to actively move the joints and see the limitations of each joint type..... Dimensioning Parts A tutorial that tells how to provide dimensions to parts created Like all CAD programs, SolidWorks allows you to dimension the parts you create. Parts do not have to be dimensioned, but when you are making accurate drawings or are interested in mating parts, dimensions are extremely important...... Modifying Parts A tutorial that how to modify parts created The steps in this tutorial are similar to the steps in the dimensioning tutorial. The more you understand solidworks the more you realize that even the most complex parts are made and changed in a similar fashion to the steps in these tutorials....... Drawing a bracket from scratch A tutorial that shows how to create a simple bracket from scratch The purpose of this t http://advice-and.info/Communications/92095_Solidworks_Tutorial.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:43:16 GMT In computer networking, a routing table is an electronic table or database type object that is stored in a router or a networked computer. The routing table stores the routes (and details related with those routes) and network destinations. The routing table contains the topology of the immediate network. The primary goal of routing protocols and static routes is to construct the routing tables. Using a routing table can be seen as using a map in package delivery. Whenever one networked node needs to send data to another networked node, it needs to know where to send it. Whenever a node cannot connect directly to its destination node, it needs to find another way to send the data packets. Whenever a node does not know where to send the data packets, it sends an IP packet to a gateway in the Local network. Since it is a complex task to route the data packets to the correct destination, a network gateway needs to keep track of the destination. A Routing Table is the method in which this data is stored, simila r to a map. It is a database which keeps track of the network paths and provides this information to the node requesting the data. In hop-by-hop routing, each routing table lists the addresses reachable destinations and the address of the next device along the path to that destination (the next hop). Assuming that the routing tables are consistent, the simple algorithm of relaying packets to their destination's next hop is adequate to transmit the data to any node in the network. Hop-by-hop is the elementary characteristic of the IP Layer. The three types of entries in a routing table: Network Route: A route (or a path) to a specific node on the local network or the Internet. Host Route: A route to a specific network destination (Network ID and Host ID). Host routes enable intelligent routing assessments to be made for sending the network data packets. Host routes are also used to create custom routes to control and optimize specific types of network traffic. Default Route: A route which is used http://advice-and.info/Communications/92094_Routing_Tables.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:09:53 GMT The Nokia 6120 Classic mobile phone is the latest in a long line of compact and high quality technological devices from the Finnish telecoms giant. The Nokia 6120 has a 2-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom flash and panorama mode for taking high quality photographs and a secondary camera for video calling. The Classic Nokia 6120 also serves up 2nd generation 3G (HSOPA) EDGE HSCSD and GPRS meaning surfing the web and downloading becomes a real breeze. Packed into a compact phone the 6120 also comes with a MP3 player FM radio office applications and more. Classic Nokia styled phone Capture high quality images with the 2 megapixel camera with built in flash and panorama mode. A secondary camera for video callingHave fun recording and playing videos. Take your tunes anywhere with the integrated MP3 playerSurf the web and download music and videos quicklyJava enables high quality gaming Memory. The Nokia 6120 Classic features a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, flash and panorama mode, and a second ary camera for video calling. Nokia 6120 Classic Press Release The compact Nokia 6120 classic phone makes these tasks faster and easier by utilizing HSDPA, an evolutionary technology offering downloads up to 10 times faster than over usual WCDMA networks. Giving the Nokia 6120 even more functionality for busy lives, the new phone features two cameras a 2 megapixel camera with 4-times digital zoom, flash and panorama mode for taking high-quality photographs as well as a second camera in the front that adds a personal touch to calls by making use of the video call feature. In many countries, 3G technology has offered consumers an enhanced mobile experience with faster browsing, streaming, music downloads and email and Internet access. The new Nokia HSDPA technology makes these applications, and many others, more accessible. Please Purchase Online http:www.phoneandbeyond.com http://advice-and.info/Communications/92061_Compact_And_High_Quality_Technological__Nokia_6120_Classic_Mobile.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:51:16 GMT If you drive even somewhat regularly, it is likely that you are as sick of high gas prices as the rest of us are. However, there is very little that any of us can do to directly affect the price of gas, so we are forced to turn our attention to doing whatever we can to limit the amount of gas that we use. You may or may not be aware that there are very easy methods for increasing the gas mileage you get in your car, van, truck or sport utility vehicle. In fact, many of the ways that you can help your vehicles gas mileage are through simple maintenance that you should be performing on your vehicle anyway! It is unfortunate that many who are attempting to escape high gas prices have turned to costly products that claim they can help your vehicle get more gas mileage. Of course, it makes little sense to spend money in order to save money, particularly when these products are largely unproven to begin with. That is why when you are trying to dramatically increase your vehicles gas mileage, it is better to stick to the more reliable, more basic methods instead. These methods definitely include performing the regular maintenance that your car requires already. Most drivers are fairly diligent about getting oil changes regularly for their vehicle. After all, regular oil changes are among the most fundamental (and cheap) ways to maintain your vehicles performance and condition. Many people do not know, however, that regular oil changes also help to limit fuel consumption! That means that you will save money in the end, even if you have to spend money to perform an oil change or have one done for you. Also, while youre at it, make sure that your car is running on the appropriate grade of oil. This can reduce your fuel consumption by one or two percent. One of the better ways to easily increase your cars gas mileage is also one of the easiest. The next time you pull up to a gas station or car wash that has an air pump, check the air pressure in your tires and add air, if necessary. At many gas http://advice-and.info/Communications/92010_Save_Gas_Through_Simple_Maintenances.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:21:44 GMT Sony Ericsson made its presence felt at the Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona by unveiling their new touchscreen series, the Sony Ericsson G900 and G700 .The G700 (pictured) is a personal organiser in-your-pocket keeps your contacts, calendars, notes, pictures and favourite Web sites all in one place. The G900 has all the functions of the Sony Ericsson G700 with the added features of a new 5.0 megapixel Touch Auto Focus camera, touch photo album and editor, for those looking for a one-touch media experience combined with their organiser. The G700 will launch in Silk Bronze and the G900 will launch in Dark Red and Dark Brown. Sony Ericsson is delivering touchscreen and innovative organiser capabilities to a wide audience without compromising on the size or shape of the phone.These phones are ideal for users that are only interested in making their lives simpler. The phone has the typical Sony Ericsson candybar look and dimensions of 4.2 x 1.9 x 0.5 inches (106 x 49 x 13 mm) and weighs 3.5 oz ( 99 g). In contrast to its older brother G900, the device has more of a fashion design. All edges are rounded and the back lid is ribbed, which adds a pleasant stability feeling while using it. We liked the colors used as well C the one seen here is in dark and light brown. They feature the same 2.4 262K with QVGA TFT touchscreen display with QVGA resolution. One of which is the Sony Ericsson G700 cell phone which puts focus on organization just like their cybershot series focuses on images. The Sony Ericsson G700 GSM phone has a 2.4-inch display and a 3.2-megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom. It has one-touch organizer functions and a very simple touch-screen user-interface which makes navigation a cakewalk Please Purchase Online http:www.phoneandbeyond.com http://advice-and.info/Communications/91964_Tft_Touch_Screen_Mobile_The_Sony_Ericsson_G700.html Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:35:15 GMT We have animated icons, funny icons, naughty icons, and pretty much any other emoticon you can think of. These icons are useful for MSN, MSN Messenger, Hotmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other online systems. Why do we like icons so much? Not just because they're free, but they express something we cannot get out in words. Icons are fun, just like emoticons. When you meet people online, they won't hear the tone of your voice or see your eyes when you smile. That is where the smilies and icons can come in. Give your words something more. Add these free icons to your sites, blogs, messages and wherever you write something online. Leave a lasting impression with a picture others won't forget. Choose from our extensive selection of over twenty-five thousand free icons. Free Icon Collections Abstracts Access Adobe CS2 Aibo Alert Navigation Animals Apples Armed Arrows Artistic Astros Awards and Commencements Baby Icons Banners Bart Batman Beach Beatles Bedrock Bells Bomb Bonus Smilies Book Document Bootup Boys Building Structure Bulbs Business Finance Calculators Cameras Caps Carts Checkout Cd Childrens Icons Christmas Clocks Coffer Time Comic Comic 2 Comic 3 Comic 4 Comic 5 Comical World Cup Communicate Computer Related Computers Crosses Cubical Date Time Develop Construct Disks Disney Email Ettiquette Europian Excel Exit Faces Feeds File Folder Flinstones Folders Free Stylish Friends Frontpage Fruits Funny Galactic Games Geography Internet Geometric Girls Global Graphs Greenish Greensville Guitar Hifi Holiday Occasion Hwgb Ipods Letters Line Free Mac Emoticons Mail Marketing Media Medicine Mightymouse Misc 1 Misc 2 Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Mob http://advice-and.info/Communications/91909_Free_Icons.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:48:53 GMT Apple today introduced the new iPhone 3G, combining all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. Apple phone includes the new App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. Additional features available with the iPhone 2.0 software include the ability to do real-time mapping and track your progress with GPS technology, mass move and delete multiple email messages, search for contacts, access a new scientific calculator, turn on parental control restrictions for specified content, save images directly from a web page or email them to your iPhone and easily transfer them back to your photo library on your Mac or PC. iPhone 3G takes advantage of MobileMe, a new Internet service that push es email, contacts, and calendars from an online cloud to native applications on iPhone, iPod touch, Macs and PCs. With MobileMe email, messages are pushed instantly to iPhone, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads, and push keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes made on one device are automatically updated on other devices. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone. iPhone 3G delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 2G networks and 5 hours using 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback. Please Purchase Online http:www.phoneandbeyond.com http://advice-and.info/Communications/91842_Multi_Special_Modern_Mobile_Apple_Iphone_3g.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:06:19 GMT If you are one of the many drivers who is looking anywhere for answers in relation to the extremely high gas prices, look no further. There are many simple ways for you to reduce the amount of gas you use without spending any additional money, or making difficult changes. It is really quite easy to maximize your car, van, truck or sport utility vehicles gas mileage, and as mentioned, you will not have to spend a fortune to do so! It is important to know that you do not have to spend money on expensive products that claim to increase your gas mileage or decrease your fuel consumption. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has tested many such products, and has yet to find one that causes a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency for any vehicle. Therefore, it simply does not make sense to spend extra money (gas is expensive enough as it is) for a product that may only have a negligible effect on your gas mileage, if it has any effect at all. Many of the alternative methods for increasing fuel consum ption are as easy as turning a knob or two! For instance, you can save a lot of gas by not using the air conditioner in your car. If you have ever paid attention to how your cars engine sounds when you drive, you have probably noticed before that when your cars air conditioner is on, the engine is a lot louder. At the same time, your vehicle will not accelerate as readily when press down with your foot on the gas. These are all in result to the cars air conditioner being on. In addition to decreased engine performance, running your vehicles air conditioner also causes your vehicle to use more gas. That is why, unless it is absolutely necessary, you should try to leave your vehicles air conditioner off whenever possible. After all, if you are like so many other drivers today, you are probably not interested in using any more gas than you absolutely have to. More fuel consumption leads to buying more gas, which leads to you not having as much money as you would like! There are alternatives http://advice-and.info/Communications/91780_How_To_Save_Gas_And_Lower_Fuel_Consumption.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:22:45 GMT Sony Ericsson will announce the new F305 gaming phone with PlayStation-like buttons. The phone will come in Polar White shown here or Mystic Black. But get ready to squint while you play on its 2-inch TFT display. Complementing the gaming-related features, Sony Ericsson also included in the F305: a 2 inch TFT display with 262K colors and 176 x 220 pixels, quad-band GSM connectivity (850 900 1800 1900 MHz) with EDGE, PlayNow, Bluetooth, Music player, FM radio, a 2.0 Megapixel camera, Web capabilities and expandable memory. Sony Ericsson memory is a bit limited though at only 10 megabytes. Your music can then be transfered via a USB connection. You can stream your music wireless in stereo, as the phone features the Bluetooth A2DP profile. You can also have a listen to the radio with the built-in FM radio, and recognize the music playing with TrackID. The display on the front of this Polar White or Mystic Black phone is a 2-inch large TFT display with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels, and up to 262.1 44 colours. The F305 measures a good 96 x 47 x 14.6 millimetres, and weighs in at just 97.5 grams, making it a bit heavier than it actually looks. F305 will be out in selected markets in Q3 this year. Sony Ericsson F305 measures a good 96 x 47 x 14.6 millimetres, and weighs in at just 97.5 grams, making it a bit heavier than it actually looks. F305 will be out in selected markets in Q3 this year. We expect the price tag to be relatively low, considering this is a lowmid-end phone. The F305 allows users to control games with the flick of a wrist or the swing of an arm with its motion gaming functionality. If you want to play a regular game, play them the way you are familiar with using F305s dedicated gaming keys. Sony Ericsson F305 is preloaded with 3 motion games such as Bowling, Bass fishing and Jockey. You can even play the Sims on this phone. All of that gaming action can be enjoyed on the F305's 2", 262k color 176x220 pixel TFT display, with audio support coming from a pair of high-power stere http://advice-and.info/Communications/91662_Quad_Band_Features_About_Sony_Ericsson.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:45:51 GMT SMS, which stands for Short Messaging Service, is a communication protocol wherein short text messages can be sent between two mobile phones supporting this feature. SMS has now gradually expanded, and now refers to any device that supports this feature, which includes but is not limited to, landline phones, cordless devices, web servers, etc. Even text messages sent nowadays without using this protocol have come to be referred to as SMS. Usually, mobile telephony providers charge a small per message fee for SMS. There are however, ways to bypass this fee as discussed below. Changing Mobile Plans All service providers have a plan for a fixed monthly rental after the payment of which you can send free SMS. This is by far the easiest method for sending free SMS. Changing the SMSC Number Your mobile phone uses a SMSC (Short Messaging System Center) number to know where to send an SMS which then forwards your SMS to your defined number. This is also called a Short Message System Server (SMSS). There are a va riety of these servers worldwide which have been set up independently and then can be used to send free SMS. These numbers ca be obtained on the internet, and are updated regularly as new servers come up or older ones no longer remain free. Two websites are given under http:www.funsms.netfreesmscentersworldwide.htm http:www.cellular.co.zasmsclists.htm You will need to go to your SMS settings, the method for getting to which is different for different phones. You will see an option for a message center number, which is already filled with a number as per your telephone service provider. Change this number with any of the numbers found above. Make sure you copy the number already saved somewhere since you might need to revert in case of problems. Also, since these free SMS servers frequently go down, you will need to update this number regularly with a new number from the mentioned websites. Sending Free SMS over the Web There are a variety of websites available which can send free SMS for http://advice-and.info/Communications/91614_How_Can_I_Send_Free_Sms.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:48:10 GMT Simple Network Management Protocol, or SNMP as it is more popularly known, is defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and is an internet protocol method. It is part of the application layer of the TCPIP system. It consists of protocols for network management. It forms a key component of network management systems and is used in monitoring device functionality, alerting administrators to conditions that warrant their attention. This protocol works by varying a set of pre defined variables which are indicators of the health of the network and the attached devices. These variables can then be evaluated by other applications which can signal a red flag depending on the values. Automatic Network Management In a very large network, it can be difficult to monitor each and every workstation and node for errors or discrepancies. SNMP is used for this purpose and can monitor servers, printers, workstations, bridges, routers, and hubs. It can be used to monitor essential services as well, such as Win dows Internet Name Service (WINS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). SNMP works over a network to share information between various SNMP monitoring agents. It shares information pertaining to monitored devices and the network status. Thus, using SNMP monitoring services, you can effectively keep a check on network performance, detect network faults, audit network usage or inappropriate access and even configure remote drivers and devices. Services SNMP can monitor the following services on a Windows host: Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Internet Information Services (IIS) Local Area Network Manager (LAN Manager) Routing and Remote Access Internet Authentication Service (IAS) System Monitor counters related to TCPIP such as ICMP, Network Interface, IP, UDP, TCP, DHCP and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) In the above services, SNMP can retrieve status information and can also configure or set objects to which it has readwrite http://advice-and.info/Communications/91612_Snmp.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:50:43 GMT A color model in computer terms is a list of numbers which can be used to uniquely identify colors. CMYK, which stands for Cyan Magenta Yellow and Key or Black, is a color model which is used in digital printing. It has now been accepted to refer to the whole printing process. CMYK is sometimes called a subtractive color model since it gives colors by absorbing or subtracting certain wavelengths from white light. It achieves very high quality of printing by setting screen angles for various colors, which is the angle at which the wavelengths for these colors is absorbed. These angles are varied according to the number of colors needed. In stark contrast to other color models as discussed below, CMYK is a color on white print format. RGB This stands for Red Green Black. It is a form of additive color model which works by combination of different wavelengths from white light. In this form, black is the default background, and different colors are combined to form new colors. Opposing this, in CMYK, the default background is white, and colors are added to form black. Since this can lead to high ink costs for dark colors, black ink is added to replace the mixing of all primary colors to produce black. The comparison of the printing quality between CMYK and RGB can not be done, since they both work in very different ways. Their inter-conversion is done using color management systems. This conversion is, however, not exact. CMYK has only four shades of colors. The way it forms other color shades is called halftoning, and is discussed below. Halftoning This is a way for the CMYK color model to produce a continuous range of colors using only the three primary color shades. In this method, a pattern is established which while printing, appears to give a different color. For example, printing a pattern of separated magenta colors with white dots left in between when looked at by the naked eye gives the appearance of light pink. Similarly, patterns can be established for different amounts of different color http://advice-and.info/Communications/91610_Cmyk.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:41:43 GMT A browser is a program you use for surfing the internet. There are many browsers available on the internet market today, the most popular being Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer. The way to rate a browser out of the above as the best browser to use is discussed below. Criteria There are several properties people look for in a browser. Since the properties may be unequally important to the next person, they are listed below and dealt with separately for each of the three browsers mentioned above. Features Browsing Speed Usability Memory Usage Features All three browsers support tabbed browsing and plugins in the form of add-ins and widgets. Some other features common in all the browsers are built in search options with pre-defined search engines, pop-up blockers, RSS Feeds reader and saving of multiple bookmarks at the same time. Each browser has its own unique features however, and these are as follows Firefox Support for themes, anti-phishing, integrated download manager with resume functionality and spell checker for text boxes. It is also the only browser to be available for Windows, Linux and Mac. Internet Explorer Anti-phishing, single button clicks for adding a page to the favorites list, saves the open tabs for use the next time while closing and thumbnails for tabs. Opera - Theme support in the form of skins, integrated download manager with resume and pause functionality, saves tabs for use the next time while closing and tab thumbnails. It is also the only browser to have an integrated bit torrent client. Browsing Speed A pre-determined test set was prepared for testing the three browsers. This consists of rendering CSS, loading DIVs and TABLEs, testing scripts and java, loading images and caching capability. In these tests, Opera emerged the clear winner, with speeds much greater than any other browser. Internet Explorer was a clear second, while Firefox emerged last with the slowest browsing speeds of all. Internet explorer, however, was the slowest in processing script http://advice-and.info/Communications/91608_Which_Is_The_Best_Browser.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:40:42 GMT An IP address is the unique 12 digit number sequence used to identify you over the internet. Every addressing system needs to adhere to some rules so that unique identification can be made easier. As defined by the IEEE committee, an IP address must inform the internet as to what workstation it is part of and which particular node it is of. An IP address class is a series of five different ranges, an IP of which tells the internet how big the network is. The five different classes are Class A 1.0.0.0 127.255.255.255 Class B 128.0.0.0 191.255.255.255 Class C 192.0.0.0 223.255.255.255 Class D 224.0.0.0 239.255.255.255 Class E 240.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 Classes A, B and C identify workstations, switches, routers and other devices. Classes D and E identify special computers. For identification of classes, the first four numbers are sufficient. Once we find out which class the IP is from, it is easy to determine the network ID and the node ID. The classes are an estimation o f network size. Class A is for very big networks, class B is medium sized network and class C is for very small networks. Network ID and Node ID The very existence of classes is to supply these two pieces of information. An IP address tells us which network it is a part of (Network ID) and the individual computer it is of the network (Node ID). A host ID is a single term used to combine these two ID concepts. Depending on which class the IP address is from, the host ID corresponds to a different sequence of numbers. For class A, the last 9 numbers are the host ID numbers. For class B, the last 6 numbers are host ID numbers. For class C, only the last 3 numbers are host ID numbers. As you can now see, the greater the number class, the more the number of networks possible for that class, and the lesser the number of nodes in that class. For example, only 128 networks are possible for class A, though nine numbers are available for node and network IDs, implying a very large number of computers. Thi http://advice-and.info/Communications/91605_Ip_Address_Classes.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:00:47 GMT MSN is an ISP (Internet Service Provider) which is owned and operated by Microsoft Corporation. In addition, Microsoft uses the MSN brand on a number of web sites which they operate. The way to change your MSN password is to change your Microsoft Passport password. Changing your Microsoft Passport password will change your MSN password, Hotmail password and MSN Messenger password. Steps to Change Your Microsoft MSN Password Login to Microsoft Passport Go to the Microsoft Passport Network: Account Services Home page Select the Credentials menu Select Change your password Enter your old MSN password Enter your new password Enter your new password again Press Enter an alternate e-mail address, if you have one Enter your alternate e-mail address again, if you entered it above Press Press MSN for Dummies MSN, Microsoft's online network, is designed to provide everything you could possibly want in a home portal. Doug Lowe's book, M SN For Dummies, discusses the plethora of features to keep you coming back to MSN again and again... Get the basics with an overview of MSN's features and an overview of connecting to the Web with MSN Internet Access. Dive into personal communications features, including free e-mail, web communities, online chat, newsgroups, and instant messaging. Explore the fun side of MSN with games, shopping services, and vacation planning. Dig deep into MSN's most useful online services: MSNBC, Encarta, Investor, and CarPoint. Build your own home page. Take a close look at security issues concerning children on the web. http://advice-and.info/Communications/91604_Change_Msn_Password.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:10:33 GMT If you are thinking about buying your new mobile through the phone classifieds, free classifieds or free ads in papers or online then there are certain factors you need to take into consideration. Therefore, if you see a phone that you like at a price far less than in the shop it is still a good idea to try it out and see whether it is what you want. Certainly, checking the same phone out in your local mobile phone store will offer you the chance to feel and see if the one you have selected is the right mobile for you. When it comes to deciding which the right mobile phone is for you this can prove to be somewhat of a challenge. This is because you have a wide selection of makes and models to choose from. Along with the more well recognized models produced by companies such as Motorola, Nokia and Samsung there are plenty of other companies now offer mobile phones at extremely competitive prices. However, before you actually go out and make that all-important purchase it is crucial that you do as much research before hand. Certainly, you could go to your local store and see what they have available, but going online will save you not only time but money as well. Today there are many advertisements online for mobiles and all the accessories that you can get to go with them. When it comes to deciding, which phone it is you want to purchase the first thing you need to decide is what if any additional features it is you want to have. Certainly the main features that many people are looking for in theirs is not only can they use it to make calls and for doing text messages. However, many now would like one of the latest camera phones that are available. Moreover, if they are constantly on the move then a phone, which comes with blue tooth technology, is extremely essential as well. What in fact you should be doing is choosing a mobile with the features that you really need, rather than wasting money on ones that you do not need. For example if you already have an MP3 player why go out and spend money o http://advice-and.info/Communications/91592_Communication_Classifieds.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:35:06 GMT Blackberry Bold 9000 come with a 2 MP camera and video recording, you can capture and share the imags and videos . It has 128 MB flash memory,1 GB storage memory and 624 MHz processor. Dimensions are 114 x 66 x 14 mm and Weight is 133 g. It supports GPRS, EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and USB. Also supports SMS, MMS, Email & Instant Messaging. BalckBerry 9000 comes with an integrated organizer, it can help you stay on top of your day The 3G enabled BlackBerry 9000 sports the biggest and brightest display of any other BlackBerry to date. Key features include a 2.0 megapixel camera, GPS, Wifi, media player with improved stereo speakers, super fast 624MHz processer, MicroSD slot and "push"attachment. With the release of the Blackberry 9000, Blackberry has mad the move from a brand that benefited utilitarian needs to one that has the design and features of many high-class cell phones. The 3G connection makes sure that your download and multimedia steaming speeds lightning quick.The 480 by 3 20 resolution screen is a definite increase over the 8000 models. Images and text are now extremely sharp and legible even in direct sunlight. The new user interface gives all the icons you know and love a clean edge without changing the initial theme of the pictures. The newly designed keyboard ha a great tactile feel that respond to your touch making for an intuitive typing experience. The trackball brings back the familiar easy to use navigation of scrolling through the menu by using your finger. With the Bold the trackball gets improved lighting that will surely light your path. Other great features include a slot for MicroSD cards, wi-fi, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Please Purchase Online http:www.phoneandbeyond.com http://advice-and.info/Communications/91549_Smart_Phone_The_Blackberry_Bold_9000.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:03:14 GMT Evolution of email friendly mobile phones has reached some new heights & mobile email technology has jumped a notch higher with the coming of the revolutionary, enigmatic path breaking earth shattering launch of iPhone. Although both have almost same functionalities they are some difference between the two that make them unique in their arena. Its official the Smart Phone wars have begun & every provider is with the same objective of being the number one iPhone. But one thing is for sure the users cant be fooled around since they are now very informative about all the latest development so it wouldnt happen by simply copying the features or functionality of other or existing iPhone but it would require them to bring innovative features in their products to be the next big iPhone in the market. Blackberry has an amazing texting feature called the Sure Type which make it easier for the user to type on its phone, since each key is shared for two letters & has an intelligent programming installed to check the correct spelling. There has been an initial excitement that is taking on the blackberry in its home turf is not get any simpler since the iPhone has already captured 28 of the U.S market. But the main obstacles that an iPhone faces are the software development. Since the I.T department has heavily invested on all major Blackberries & RIM servers. Even the all new Blackberry 8700g considered at point of time as the most satisfactory smart phone because of its amazing features like the all-in-one phone, contact & email tool which made life simpler since users didnt had to remain dependent anymore on their computer or a PDA. But soon with the introduction of the apple iPhone all other smart phones got eclipsed with its many features like multi-media capabilities, user friendly & brilliant features. The iPhone features are so simple & easy to use that the moment you start using it you would fall in love with it. If we look into the setup & data synchronization of both the phone are relatively simple. http://advice-and.info/Communications/91531_Iphone__Versus_Blackberry.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:39:00 GMT In this MicroStation Tips & Tricks article (http:AxiomInt.com), one of Axiom's MicroStation gurus, Rick Sewell, shows you how to create a CSV file (from a design file) that contains all of the level symbology of that design file, neatly laid out. In later articles, Rick will show you what you can do with it. - Editor The excitement of MicroStation V8 There are many things that can be done in V8 that you just couldn't do in V7. Many of the old restrictions have gone out the window. The standards for jobs are changing to utilize these new and expanded features in V8. You just can't get away with 63 levels anymore. The levels now need names - not just little names like "Wiring", but big ugly names like "Electric Waypoint Parallel Street". Now don't get me wrong, having unlimited levels is not a bad thing. And not only do you get more levels with MicroStation V8 - you get more information about the levels. But here's what I've seen happen in the field. There's this project you started. You stopped halfway through to get onto a more urgent project. Years later - yes years, I have seen it - you get back to that old job, except now you have to upgrade that old project to meet the new V8 standards. There are several things that come up as big, time-consuming issues when you're tasked with upgrading design files to match new V8 standards. There is no way I can show you the whole process in one "How to" article. Nonetheless... Part 1: Creating a CSV file of your levels What is a "CSV" file anyway? CSV stands for "Comma Separated Values". CSV indicates a file type that stores tabular data. MicroStation V8's Level Manager has the ability to create CSV files that contain all of the symbology of the levels in that file, all neatly laid out. Step 0 is having a design file that contains the correct levels and symbology. There's no way around it. You have to set your level symbology once so that you can create a CSV template out of it. Then: 1. Load MicroStation and open the one design file tha http://advice-and.info/Communications/91517_Microstation_Tips__Tricks_From_Axiom.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:15:27 GMT A name is the identifier of your computer on the network. A hostname is the DNS name of a computer on a network. Hostnames can be used for locating computers on the network. For the computer to contact another computer by using a hostname, the hostname will either appear in the DNS server or in the hosts file. In a fully qualified domain name, such as computer1.server.tech-faq.com, the hostname portion of the FQDN is computer1. The server.tech-faq.com is known as the suffix. Together, the hostname (computer1) and the suffix (server.tech-faq.com) reference a single specific resource on a TCPIP network. The suffix is important for hostnames as it allows two identical hostnames to exist on the network without conflict. For example, computer1.server.tech-faq.com can exist on the same network with computer1.workstation.tech-faq.com. The suffix is used to differentiate between the two names. Characteristics of Hostnames Hostname are used in virtually all TCPIP environments. The following provides details o f a hostname: A hostname is an alias that an administrator assigns to a computer to identify an IP host. The hostname is a maximum 255 character string. A single hostname can be assigned to a host. Name resolution methods, such as the hosts file or DNS, can have multiple hostnames which will map to the IP address of the same host. For example, the host server.tech-faq.com could have entries in DNS for both server.tech-faq.com and www.tech-faq.com. Either name will resolve to the IP address of server.tech-faq.com. It is possible for one hostname to resolve to more than one IP address. For example, three identical web servers are all identified in DNS with the name www.tech-faq.com. When a client attempts to connect to www.tech-faq.com through a web browser, three IP addresses are returned from the DNS query. A hostname can be used in place of an IP address when using the ping utility or other TCPIP utilities. To be of value for name resolution, a hostname and its corresponding IP add http://advice-and.info/Communications/91514_Hostname.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:43:44 GMT Evolution Data Optimized, also known as Evolution Data Only or EVDO (EV-DO) is a type of broadband data transfer standard designed for cellular networks. It was adopted primarily by Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network providers as one of the major components of the CDMA2000 standards family. EVDO is currently the primary competitor for HSDPA, or High-Speed Downlink Packet Access. Like HSDPA, EVDO is a third generation cellular technology (3G) which can be used to download various bits of data, voice, and television shows from the cellular network to an EVDO device. EVDO in the United States is currently offered by Sprint, Alltel, and Verizon Wireless providers. One of the limitations of transmitting and receiving mobile data is the lack of bandwidth. EVDO technology was created to overcome this limitation and deliver large amounts of data to and from mobile devices. It should be noted that CDMA is a technology that allows multiple devices to transmit wireless on the same frequency. For this proce ss to work, each devices is assigned a specific signature, once a signature is assigned, CDMA modifies the original signal with the new, modified signature to allow transmission on the same frequency with other devices. EVDO was originally developed in 1999 as a method to allow download speeds in excess of 2 Megabits per second. Since then, it has gone on to include downlink speeds of 3.1 Megabits per second with its first revision and uplink speeds of as much as 1.8 Megabits per second. While its speeds are impressive for cellular downlink networks, its real world performance is actually a bit lower than the theoretical numbers listed above. The Future Of Evdo There are currently two new revisions planned for EVDO, aptly named Rev. B and Rev. C. EVDO Rev. B is the next form of the technology to hit the market, and will feature enhanced speeds for both downloading and uploading in addition to longer talk times and less interference than previous revisions. The downlink rate is expected to reach http://advice-and.info/Communications/91512_Evdo.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:02:31 GMT A DIMM is a Dual Inline Memory Module. A DIMM is a small circuit board designed to hold a set of RAM chips. A DIMM has a 64-bit data bus, which allows DIMM's to be connected one at a time to a CPU with a 64-bit data bus. DIMM Sizes DIMM's are available in several different physical sizes. Contact Count Usage 72 SODIMM 144 SODIMM 168 SDRAM 184 DDR SDRAM 240 DDR2 SDRAM DIMM contacts are single sided, which means that a DIMM with 72 contacts will have 36 contacts on each side. DIMM Types DIMM modules are sold according to clock speed (MHz), bus speed (mega-transfers per second), and transfer rate (megabytes per second. Standard SDR SDRAM DIMM's DIMM Module Chip Type Clock Speed Bus Speed Transfer Rate PC66 10ns 66 66 533 PC100 8ns 100 100 800 PC133 7.57ns 133 133 1,066 Standard DDR SDRAM DIMM's DIMM Module Chip Type Clock Speed Bus Speed Transfer Rate PC1600 DDR200 100 200 1,600 PC2100 DDR266 133 266 2,133 PC2400 DDR300 150 300 2,400 PC2700 DDR333 166 333 2,667 PC3000 DDR366 183 366 2,933 PC3200 DDR400 200 400 3,200 PC3500 DDR433 216 433 3,466 PC3700 DDR466 233 466 3,733 PC4000 DDR500 250 500 4,000 PC4300 DDR533 266 533 4,266 Standard DDR2 SDRAM DIMM's DIMM Module Chip Type Clock Speed Bus Speed Transfer Rate PC2-3200 DDR2-400 200 400 3,200 PC2-4300 DDR2-533 266 533 4,266 PC2-5400 DDR2-667 333 667 5,333 PC2-6400 DDR2-800 400 800 6,400 168 Contact DIMM's The earliest DIMM's were of the 168 contact variety. These DIMM's have come in a variety of configurations. It is possible to determine the configuration of the DIMM by examining the placement of notches on the bottom of the DIMM. DIMM Notch Key One Position Meaning 1 Reserved 2 Buffered 3 Unbuffered DIMM Notch Key Two Position Meaning 1 5.0V 2 3.3V 3 Reserved http://advice-and.info/Communications/91506_Dimm.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:39:01 GMT WMV (Windows Media Video) is a generic name for video encoding solutions developed by Microsoft. The format is a part of the Windows Media framework that also includes formats like Windows Media Audio (WMA), Advanced Systems Format (ASF) and High Definition Photo (HDP). WMV files use the Microsoft container format and represent Microsoft's own version of MPEG-4 (Part 2) video encoding technology. First introduced in 1999, the WMV format now competes with other codecs such as DivX and RealVideo as a means of distributing video content on the World Wide Web. Microsoft introduced subsequent versions of the codec in the years 2001 and 2003. WMV files are played by the built-in player in Windows - Windows Media Player (version 7 upwards) - and most third party video players such as the VLC Media Player, BSPlayer, MPlayer and WinAMP. The .wmv extension usually describes files in ASF format that use Windows Media Video codecs. As for the audio codecs, they're usually versions of Windows Media Audio or the Sipro ACELP.net audio codec. The extension is sometimes shortened to .wm. Although it's usually packed into the ASF container format, the WMV file can also be converted to AVI, using the WMV9 video compression manager codec implementation. Main features The main features of Windows Media Video are: Data delivery over a wide variety of network protocols Suitable for local playback Advanced multimedia capabilities: o Extensible media types o Component download o Scalable media types o Stream prioritization as defined by the author o Support for multiple languages o Document and content management http://advice-and.info/Communications/91478_Wmv_Files.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:37:19 GMT ECC memory is Error-Correcting Code memory. All RAM will experience occasional errors due to factors such as: Cosmic rays Alpha particles RF interference Power fluctuations Static electricity discharges Faulty components Improper system timing ECC memory is capable of detecting and correcting some of these errors. ECC memory will correct a single failed bit in a 64-bit memory block. If multiple bits within one 64-bit memory block fail, ECC memory will detect the errors but will be unable to correct them. ECC memory is highly recommended for server-class systems. It is optional for gaming systems. ECC Requirements To use ECC memory: The system must have all ECC memory - no mixing and matching ECC memory must be supported by the motherboard ECC checking must be enabled in the system BIOS About the Author:Timothy Drake writes on topics such as ECC Memory , RAM and DRAM for The Tech FAQ. http://advice-and.info/Communications/91477_Ecc_Memory.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:21:50 GMT MTTR stands for Mean Time To Repair. MTTR is the amount of time between when something breaks and when it has been repaired and is fully functional again. If an Ethernet card in your workstation breaks and it takes 3 hours to purchase and install a new card, the MTTR for the workstation is three hours. The ethernet card is still broken, and probably will never be repaired. The MTTR for the ethernet card is forever. MTTR includes: Time spent troubleshooting the error Time spent resolving the error Time spent waiting for the error to be resolved MTTR represents the amount of time that the device was unable to provide service. MTTR numbers are calculated for each component and service. If a redundant server fails, that server may have a MTTR of two days, but the service will not be interrupted and will therefore not have an MTTR. Reducing MTTR Reducing MTTR for a system can be an important step in improving uptime and service levels. Troubleshooting time can be greatly reduced by steps such as: Documenting systems Implementing change mangement Documenting standard operating procedures Time spent waiting can be reduced by methods such as: Keeping equipment spares on-hand Negotiating sparing agreements with equipment vendors Maintaining an accurate on-call list for critical maintenance personnel http://advice-and.info/Communications/91472_Mttr.html Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:57:05 GMT