There’s not all that much I can add to this wonderful article from Lifehacker regarding upgrading your RAM. I’ve not actually done that in a while so I’ll admit that I didn’t know you couldn’t mix different DDR types in the same machine. If you don’t know what that means, then this article is for you.
Someone has posted directions over on Instructables on how to build you own Internet. Check out this bit from The IT Crowd if you’re not already laughing.
For those of you thinking that you’ll be getting one of those fancy-schmancy HDTVs this holiday season, or those of you that already have one, did you know that using Windex or paper towels is a big honking no-no when it comes to cleaning them? For the skinny on how to clean these skinny TVs, check out this article from Digital Trends. (I’ll give you a hint: distilled water and isopropyl alcohol.)
Photo: CC blakespot
“Microsoft’s Mouse 2.0 project is an interesting look at the next step for pointing devices in five completely different versions of multitouch mice. One of the things I liked about the Mouse 2.0 news is that we put our cards on the table at a very early stage and asked what the public thought. Speak up, we’re listening.
“Dan Rosenfeld is a researcher who is at the center of the Mouse 2.0 project. I stopped by Dan’s office to see what he’s working on and if I could squeeze any more details out about how they work, how we’ll develop for them, and what we can expect. I’ll be stopping by again to look at some of the other Mouse 2.0 contenders soon so leave your questions in the comments.”
Click to embiggen. (via Gizmodo)
Does your digital camera use SD cards? Ever notice that if you purchase an SD card greater than 2GB that it’s labeled SDHC even though it looks physically the same? That HC means “high capacity” since the original SD specification limited their storage to 2GB. The trouble is, not all cameras and card readers will read SDHC cards. Be sure to check. More details can be found on the SD Association Web site.
I have about 2 terabytes of storage attached to my home computer. 1TB = 1,000 GB. 1,000 TB = 1 Petabyte (PB). If I win the lottery I think I’ll take some of it and play around by building a Backblaze Pod which contains 45 hard drives totaling 67 TB of storage per unit. That’s just just a little more than $118,000 for 1 Petabyte of storage. Of course, by the time I win the lottery, laptops will probably come with Petabyte hard drives built in. Backblaze has open-sourced the design and provide complete instructions on building such a device on their blog. They’re also the company I use for my online backups for just $5.00 per month.
(Reprinted from the NCompass Blog.)
Gigahertz, gigabytes, 32-bit, 64-bit, megahertz, megabytes, hard drives, solid-state drives, RAM, CD, DVD-R, DVD+R, Blu-Ray. Could purchasing a new a computer ever have been more confusing? Spend an hour with the Nebraska Library Commissions’ Michael Sauers and Diane Wells while they discuss what you need to consider when purchasing new computers for your library and your home. There will be ample Q&A time so be sure to bring your questions with you!
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Here’s a fun one, the Clicking Kitchen Grip. For those of us who just can’t let go of our mice, use these oven mitts and go make something to eat other than Cheetos and Mountain Dew. Here’s the link to the Gizmodo article. Unfortunately, I’ve never gotten the link to Bazar Design to work in the past few days.
I realize that in these lean times you’re probably holding on to that old computer equipment harder than ever before. However, just in case you’ve come into a great donation of some new hotness and are looking to score some cash for that old and busted, check out HP’s Consumer Buyback and Planet Partners Recycling Program. Just fill out the form, get a quote, send it in, and get your green. Warning: the program does only accept certain models of equipment. I tried sending back a six+ year old computer and it wasn’t on the list of accepted machines.