With devices getting ever more complicated, we’re ever more helpless when they go kaput. Fortuitously, most failures end up being software-related, so usually a patch can be downloaded from the internet and you’re on your merry way. Even so, occasionally issues are hardware design faults. Witness the XBOX 360 failure rate and how flooded the XBOX 360 support team have been in trying to handle the heat failures. When hardware breaks, you can only mail it back for repairs. Whatever you do, do not attempt to fix it by yourself as this will void your warranty.

Inescapably the first people to buy such electronic gadgets are essentially the guinea pigs. It’s invariably a smart move to resist the enticement of being among the first people to buy a cutting-edge gadget. The first in the queue will face higher prices, and experience more failures than people who wait.

If your new phone - or gaming console - or portable mp3 player - does produce an issue, look online and find if others have experienced the same failure as you, and what steps they took to fix it. You can often save yourself hours of working through the same methods of trial and error. Frequently other individuals have hunted down a specific phone number for Samsung help for instance.

These days there is an increasing demand from customers to use the internet on the go. Realising this need, T-Mobile is now offering a unique solution to those travelling by Virgin trains on the West Coast Main Line. The company will soon be offering on-train mobile broadband services using Wi-Fi hotspots to the commuters.

The West Coast Main Line operates between London and the southern part of Scotland. It crosses West Midlands and the Northwest, and manages to get more than 22 million passengers each year.

While the new service is free of cost for the First Class passengers, others will have to purchase hotspot passes from their Wi-Fi enabled devices. Those who are already customers of T-Mobile’s pay monthly package will also get free access to the pioneering service (click for info on free laptop mobile).

At first, the service will be available on the 52 Pendolino trains. Later, by mid-summer, it is expected to be made available on the 21 Super Voyager trains too.

Speaking about the service, Richard Warmsley, who is the Head of Internet and Entertainment at T-Mobile, UK, said that mobile broadband is fast gaining popularity, and T-Mobile is committed to fulfilling customers’ demands in this respect. With the new service, customers of any mobile network will be able to get access to the internet while travelling on the enabled trains, he said.

Nomad Digital, a renowned provider of data communication technology to the transportation sector, and T-mobile, have been leading in the provision of internet access to train passengers. Their partnership was earlier seen on the first ever train with internet connection on the London to Brighton route.

If the latest news flow from several countries is to go by, UK may soon find itself way behind other countries in 3g broadband development. Italy is now all set to join the league of countries with a super fast mobile broadband network.

Telecom Italia, in collaboration with the Sweden based Ericsson has been working on a 28 Mb mobile service and expects to launch the service in the next few months. Milan residents will be the first to experience the service this June. The rest of Italy will follow in the second part of this year.

The announcement follows similar news from Australia, with Telstra, the Australian telecommunication company declaring the commercial launch of a 21 Mb mobile broadband service for its business customers and a general release expected in April this year.

The Italian network is yet to announce the price of their service, but going by the steep price being charged for the Australian service, there is reason to believe that the Italians too will have to pay a little extra to avail the service.

Ericsson, which is employing its network expertise in the Italian network, is also at the forefront of the HSPA technology. The network will incorporate a novel technology, Multiple Input and Multiple Output, which makes data transmission reach much higher speeds by using multiple antenna branches. This allows for a greater download speed to the end user. In reality though, as any broadband user will tell you, the end user speeds hardly ever attain the theoretical maximum. This is usually because the actual speed is determined by various local factors like the weather, network traffic, and distance from the transmission tower.

Debating whether to get into Internet telephony? Do you have trouble understanding all the complicated technical terms? Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology is being tipped as the technology that will transform the way that calls are made in the future. VoIP digitises the sound of a human voice so that it can be routed through the Internet. You can now make VoIP in the UK calls that cost a tiny proportion of calls made through a standard line. It is revolutionizing the way that people talk to each other.

However, as frequently happens with new technologies, it is usually hard to make sense of what all the new terms and jargon involved mean. Consequently this article will try and explain the technical jargon that you will encounter. So let’s get started on technical terms

? Bit rate: This is the speed at which data moves across the Internet. The term can also be used as a measure of the speed of an Internet connection which is often quantified in kilobits or megabits per second.

? Broadband: This is a generic term for high speed Internet over cable or ADSL

? Ethernet: This is the standard that is used for most office networks as well as the networking system that is often found in PCs and routers

? SIP: This stands for Session protocol for creating modifying or terminating sessions It is the Internet protocol used by most VoIP services

? Softphone: A softphone is a computer application that is used to provide telephony functions. It is often used in conjunction with a headset

Our aim is by explaining and simplifying some of the jargon that surrounds the VoIP services this article should help clarify what VoIP is about and the elements that are involved. Find the service that is right for you. Join the VoIP revolution and start enjoying cheap calls and other cool services!

In my point of view gaming laptops have lost their once sustained specialist status. I can recollect when they were not so available. Even though they did not shift a great amount they still made the most in comparison to other types of laptop computer. They were the type of notebook computer everybody wanted but the one they just were unable to buy. They the the latest technology and just the best laptop computers. I think we all got thrilled about them but the large number of us would never buy laptop computers that were so pricey. The future for gaming laptops is now seen by the big manufacturers as a golden opportunity for themselves.

They are aware there is revenue to be had here. They could direct the market. It is a splendid chance for them to regain gross markup as the markup on average laptop computers are so tiny these days. Additionally they are aware they can induce prospects to buy laptop computers like these better than small resellers. I reckon smaller retailers are extremely concerned about this. With the money at their disposal they could easily get rid of smaller competition. Additionally prospects just appear to trust larger brands more.

The companies latest laptop computers are receiving a lot of praise as being the best laptop computers from the IT literature. I still anticipate that second tier system builders will gain some inspiration from this fact. I don’t believe buyers will prefer to have a similar configuration like everyone else in this form of sector. Being educated in the technology, these kinds of buyers are savvy to what specs to compare. In some situations the specs are far more important than the styling for particular types of consumers.

Obviously from the purchasers way of seeing things, its a good trend. I could imagine some price wars taking place in this niche later on. Who can predict what will take place. I am actually not that sure. New product introductions should uphold premium prices. Since the established brand companies have already begun marketing gaming laptop computers, I reckon we’ll have to be patient to witness what occurs.

Notebooks seem to be the current in thing this year. Taiwan, which is the prime manufacturing country of laptops is struggling with the demand at present. In fact if anything has hindered demand or shipments of laptops then its been shortages of parts. I think what makes it difficult is that the thing changes all the time.

With all the new progress in technology gaming laptops have capitalised a great amount in my opinion. These laptops are also increasing in value because of the difficult competition faced from value laptops. The speed of gaming laptops has greatly enhanced and its really a reasonable means of gaming. I also think that some gaming laptops look really good, with some slick, powerful features. Extreme gaming enthusiasts will always like their desktop gaming machines for performance and rightly so but it’s the versatility laptops give that makes people settle on frame rates. Gaming laptops will no doubt become thinner and more powerful in the coming years and it will be fascinating to see.

Although the market share is ruled by manufacturers selling via retail channels I think the direct model and custom built laptops will forever be around. Sometimes with larger companies the standard of the prime parts is not upto scratch. In a number of cases you can ask for all the primary parts you desire and this is best suited to gamers, professional and hardcore users. The vast number of laptop computers are specified for the moderate user which means you may not find what you’re looking for. Hardcore users require custom laptops because of this. Just like premade laptops there are a number of of manufacturers selling custom laptops all with a unique advantage or increase customer support. This could be a major enticer to a handfull of specialist groups.

I think numerous of people are anticipating the next wave of laptops. Except from what has already been spoken of Ultra mobile notebooks are another massive product seeing expansion this year. Clearly this will be something big in emerging nations. I really think that we are bound to see feather weigth 15″ laptops very quickly as well. This is a thing that can be done even now if we let go of performance. The way the market is developing I can tell gaming laptops will become thinner. New notebook computers are seen every year of so and I’m sure the next year already holds a lot of promise for us enthusiasts.

In my view Rizeon have the best laptops in relation to price and performance.

As PC’s get smaller and laptop computers increase in power the line between them gets blurred unless you take a look at the extreme sides of the spectrum. Desktop PC’s are getting streamlined and thin and laptops, particularly for gaming and desktop replacements are getting larger and more powerful. I think its getting to the point where the performance of laptop computers is able to compete with desktops. The price gap is also not as big as it used to be either. Notebook PC’s have declined considerably in price and this makes them a more appealing alternative as they have the added versatility of being wireless and mobile. No need to keep them set up in any particular room as with desktops. There is also a level of personal ownership with laptops as they are not usually something shared with others. Desktop computers generally tend to be household purchases for all members of a household.

The video chip is one of the most important parts to think about when purchasing a gaming laptop. Two options are available in this area. Nvidia and ATI are the two major companies in the graphics market. ATi were left trailing once AMD aquired them and this has allowed Nvidia to be the current market leader. This technology is changing every year and Nvidia seem to be in the driving seat at the moment.

When purchasing a gaming laptop the cpu, memory and gpu are the most important components one should think about. You need a cpu with a minimum speed of 2GHz and it should have two processing cores. Minimum requirements for RAM are 2GB if running Windows Vista but try to get 3GB or even 4GB if you have a 64bit OS.

To play games you need to have a dedicated viedo card. Usually you get 256MB dedicated graphics memory. A mid to high end gpu should play all current and future games without any slow down. For hardcore game players get only the top of the range gpu’s.

With the future of notebook computers looking exciting it seems we will only see more and more devices coming out over the next few years which will come in all shapes and sizes. The gaming laptop market seems to be making good progress towards closing the performance gaps making laptops a good choice for power users whilst the budget, umpc market is hotting up with a number of devices set to make their debuts very soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if the we see gaming laptops the size of the umpc’s in the next couple of years.

Homeland Security - Protecting our Borders and Ports through
Biometric, RFID, Sensor and Surveillance Technology

Homeland Security Focused on Addressing Illegal Immigration and
Terrorism through Stronger Borders and Ports

By Ann-Marie Fleming, www.BorderandPortSecurity.com ,
www.HomelandDefenseStocks.com November 2005

Securing our ports and borders has become a major focus of
Homeland Security, in particular since the events of 9/11.
President Bush has made addressing problems with illegal
immigration, terrorist activities, and illegal smuggling of
weapons and drugs a high level priority of border and port
security. In October, the President signed the Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations Act for 2006, which allocates
$30.8 billion in discretionary funding for the 2006 fiscal year.
The bill apportions $7.5 billion towards illegal immigration and
gives $139 million towards the improvement of border technology
and intelligence capabilities to include cameras and sensors
among others.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stated before the
US. Senate Judiciary Committee, “President Bush has placed
ever-increasing importance on border security and has devoted
significant resources to this challenge. The President believes
- and I agree - that illegal immigration threatens our
communities and our national security. The ability of
undocumented individuals to enter our country represents an
obvious homeland security threat. Flagrant violation of our
borders undercuts the rule of law, undermines our security, and
imposes particular economic strains on our border communities.
When we do not control our borders, we also risk entry into the
U.S. of terrorists or others wishing to do us harm.”

RFID Biometric Convergence:

A key initiative towards the achievement of secure borders and
ports to ensure the facilitation of lawful travel and trade, an
accurate immigration system and the overall protection of
visitors and citizens is the U.S. Visit program. Under this
program, foreign visitors are required to have their index
fingers scanned as well as a digital photograph taken for travel
document identification matching purposes. According to the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US-VISIT entry procedures
are currently in place at 115 airports, 15 seaports and in the
secondary inspection areas of the 50 busiest land ports of
entry. Exit procedures are operating at 12 airports and two
seaports with procedures to be deployed to the remaining land
ports of entry by December 31, 2005.

Under the Visa Waiver Program, 27 nation’s such as Australia,
Austria, Norway, Belgium, Japan, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany and many more countries, had to meet a congressional
mandate that required, as a first stage in the multi-stage
border and port security strategy, for passports to have the
digital photographs in passports by October 26, 2005. The next
step according to DHS is a policy requiring these countries to
produce ‘e-passports’, which entails an RFID chip that can store
biographic information, a digital photograph and other biometric
details to be integrated into passports by October 26, 2006.

This technology, under the U.S. Visit Program, allows for faster
and more secure identification of illegal activity, and provides
for more efficient border and port travel for visitors to the
United States, while increasing the ability to share information
among federal, state, local and foreign agencies.

Homeland security technology expert Brian Ruttenbur, Equity
Research Analyst, Morgan Keegan & Co. explains, “What really
pushes countries and government officials to move are mandates
with deadlines and funding attached to those. The US Visit has
really pushed that along in enforcing the requirements set forth
in the program in terms of biometric authentication, and
governments have found the funding for those types of issues.”

Sense Holdings, a provider of biometric and micro-sensor
identification systems that target the homeland security market,
sees the convergence of RFID and biometric technology as an
effective security solution. The Company’s CEO, Dore Perler
explains, “The use of RFID and biometric technologies is almost
a perfect fit in the development of an easy to use intuitive
security system. As a layered approach, the RFID requires little
or no action from the end user, leaving only the biometric
component. Essentially this doubles the security of the system
without requiring any additional effort from the end user.
Incorporating multiple RFID triggers facilities notification to
the end user that they are not authorized prior to using the
biometric or approaching the system terminal, thus minimizing
the wear and tear on the biometric while correspondingly
allowing the process to proceed faster for those authorized.”

Domestic and International Opportunity:

“The biometric side of the business is going to grow extremely
fast all because of the enhanced border and visa security act
that was passed in 2002 by Congress, which is forcing every
country in the entire world to go with biometric sensors and
biometric travel documents. I see the EU Visitor Information
System and UK e-borders spurring into multiple programs and
there is going to be biometrics on every travel documents in
five to ten years down the road and that’s going to be National
ID Cards, Visas, and Passports all with biometrics. The U.S.
will be one of the last nations of the first world countries, to
adopt a biometrics national id card,” describes Ruttenbur.

Two key the goals for the integration of biometric and RFID
technology in terms of border and port security entails both
accuracy as well as efficiency to help facilitate faster border
crossing with an increased level of security. “The competitive
advantage of implementing a technology based solution, such as
RFID, biometrics, or a combination, comes not from the
technology itself, but from the improvements to business
processes that would be impossible without the devices. We are
very excited about the future of RFID integration with
biometrics and as a stand alone technology. Issues that have
plagued industry are now able to be resolved with the
incorporation of wireless LANs, RFID, and biometrics. Sense is
positioning itself and developing new product lines to address
these long time burdens,” states Perler.

Surveillance Systems:

The tragic events that took place in London with the bombings
within a major transit system have placed a growing sense of
urgency on the need for effective surveillance technology. As
Ruttenbur discusses, “I think that the next step to see across
the borders will be camera systems getting rolled out. We have
seen a number of announcements from the New York Transit
Authority, the New Jersey Transit authority that they are
starting to implement camera systems that monitor the platforms,
trains, buses etc.”

According to Corby Lawrence, Director of Business Development
for SYColeman, a division of L-3 Communications, “The roll-out
of such camera systems must be planned, built, and implemented
with a major focus on real-world operational effectiveness.
Simply installing huge volumes of cameras and sensors and
displaying the information on dozens of CCTVs exceeds the human
capacity to detect threat activities within an area of concern.”

L-3 Communications has addressed this global problem with its
PRAETORIAN surveillance software. Created by Sarnoff
Laboratories and recently purchased and commercialized by L-3,
PRAETORIAN is the industry’s only surveillance system capable of
integrating multiple cameras and sensors into a single, 3D
“game-like” display, permitting fly-through abilities. “With
PRAETORIAN, operators can finally have full situational
awareness, even in complex security environments such as borders
and ports,” stated Lawrence.

As the war on terrorism across the globe expands, and public and
private “homeland security” and related funding increases, the
demand for surveillance is anticipated to continue its growth.
Law Enforcement Associates (LEA) is working to take advantage of
the intensified need for surveillance technology through the
Company’s Under Vehicle Inspection System. As described by the
Company, the Under Vehicle Inspection System views the underside
of vehicles entering and exiting secure areas/facilities for
explosive devices and contraband. It is deployed on military
bases, oil refineries, ports, United Nations and NATO Locations,
embassies, nuclear facilities, and government installations.
Paul Feldman, LEA’s CEO, reveals, “Providing the needed security
at border entry points and ports is a very tasking job. Our
borders are vast and are difficult to fully monitor. The amount
of freight that comes into our seaports is staggering. LEA has
proven that their security products can play be an important
part of the “overall security” plan to help in border and port
security.”

Sensor Technology:

The focus on sensor technology with applications in border and
port security is increasing. Ruttenbur anticipates growth in
sensor programs for cargo screening, which are just starting to
emerge, as well as rollouts in the next several months for
additional sensor programs that entail body scanners first in
airports, then in other locations.

Sense Holdings is currently developing explosives sensor
technology based on Micro Electro-Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) with
plans on integrating this technology with biometric
identification. “As the needs for Homeland Security escalate and
become more complicated, there is a growing demand for
innovative detection technology to ensure and enable security on
a variety of levels. Along with developing technology that can
accurately identify explosives and harmful material, the use of
this technology must also be secured. The integration of
biometric identification with effective explosives detection
ensures that the activities are monitored, tracked and that the
technology is only being used by authorized personnel, while at
the same time helping to facilitate secure communication of
sensor activity,” describes Perler.

Law Enforcement Associates has entered the detection market with
their explosives detection kit, the EDK123, which according to
the Company provides a fast, reliable field test for detection
of trace nitrates that are found in 85% of all explosives,
including TNT, Dynamite, Sentex, RDX and ammonium nitrates. It
is currently being used by our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Global Security:

As the United States works towards an actionable security plan
to protect our borders and ports, it is becoming clear that
homeland security is more accurately defined as Global Security.
With the continuation of worldwide terrorist activity, it is
clear that security can no longer be understood and evaluated in
a domestic context alone. With a global perspective on security
and the potential threats that we face, innovative and effective
technology can be more clearly identified to address the needs
for securing travel and trade. This quest points towards an
industry that will continue to grow; one that will be here for
the long run as it continues to evolve to meet the diverse
challenges that global security demands.

Ann-Marie Fleming Ann-Marie Fleming completed her MBA in the
United States, where she attended Webster University. She also
holds an Honors B.A from the University of Toronto. She has over
fifteen years of experience within the financial industry to
include retail banking and brokerage, investment banking, and
mortgage brokerage within the United States and Canada, with a
firm background in corporate research.

Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp,
www.HomelandDefenseStocks.com/Companies/HomelandDefense/Disclaime
r.asp

What is Science!?

First of all, Science! is not the same as science. Science! is the study and knowledge of all things scientific, quasiscientific, or pseudoscientific. Anything that is obscure, incoherent, or improbable is made clear by the purveyor of Science! (also known as the Scientist!). The Scientist! has access to knowledge that even scientists do not have access to. They are truly the masters of all that is True and Scientific!

There are 3 characteristics of the practitioner of Science!

1. They always work alone. Scientists usually have teams of other scientists and technicians working with them. The Scientist!, on the other hand, works alone, in their own, small, often home-built, laboratory. The laboratory will be filled with various whirring, clicking, blinking, or bubbling pieces of lab equipment which appear to have no purpose since the Scientist! never touches them.
2. They work fast. In real science, scientists develop theories, test their theories, and then modify or abandon the theories as the evidence evolves. The process often takes years, if not a lifetime. In Science! the Scientist! gets his or her answer in a matter of days (or hours, or weeks, or minutes, depending on what timeframe is most dramatic). Usually, the Scientist! gets a bright idea, runs to the lab to test the theory, and then comes back with an unexpected, but clearly genius, answer to the mystery/problem/question in record time.
3. They are always right. Everyone else is always wrong. In real science, peer review is a critical part of the scientific process. In Science! peer review is not only unessecary, but is detrimental. Mainstream scientists never accept what the Scientist! has to say until events prove them to be soundly (and often, fatally) wrong.

Television, movies, and literature are full of practitioners of Science! One of the best example is the Professor in the TV Series “Gilligan’s Isle.” Does anyone know what he was a professor of? That’s right! He was a Professor of Science! The professor understood everything from primative cultures, to weather phenomena, to electromechanics, to astronomy. A master of Science!, he could do almost anything (except patch a hole in a boat).

Science! has evolved over time. In the 50’s and 60’s, the Scientist! was a non-specialist (and usually male). Science! gave him mastery over every possible field of study (much like the professor in “Gilligan’s Isle”). In modern times, the Scientist! is more likely to be a specialist, to acknowledge that, in the real world, most scientists are specialists. What they get wrong, however, undermines the one thing they tried to get right. For example, in the TV show Stargate SG-1. The character of Sam Carter is a Scientist! specializing in physics, while Daniel Jackson is a Scientist! specializing in archaeology. They both (especially Sam) have the attributes of the Scientist!, however. 1) They work alone, 2) they solve the mysteries of the universe in a few hours or days, and 3) most of the other scientists (when they show up with a theory) are wrong.

Another example of a modern Scientist! is the protagonist, Robert Langdon, in The DaVinci Code. Although Langdon deviates slightly from the typical Scientist! (the typical Scientist! is alone in his beliefs, but Langdon actually has the support of many of his peers), in other ways he is the same. He manages to solve the great mystery in the course of an evening, and there is never, at any time, a question that he may actually be WRONG in his beliefs.

And so, this is Science!. It is a product of movies, television, and literature, and it is real, in the sense that perception is reality. People think that all real science is done by lone geniuses who try to buck the system that keeps them down. If you ask most people, they will probably say that we would have flying cars and robots by now if it weren’t for the scientific community hobbling the handful of geniuses in their midst. It is this mindset that has led to the proliferation of pseudoscience, and theories such as Intelligent Design. The best defense against the growing misconception of what science is and what scientists do, is education. We need to teach our children, and our adults, that Hollywood is Hollywood, and that a Hollywood Scientist! has as much basis in reality as a Hollywood action hero.

Terry Connors is a Gen-X family guy with 2 step-kids and a loving wife. He frequently blogs about current events, especially if there is a scientific angle to the news items. You can read more of his writings at: Another Stupid News Blog - http://news.virtualdominion.net.

All work is copyright, Terry Connors 2005

If you were interested in learning linux, one of the main reasons was learning how to work using Linux Shell environment. That is the Command Line Interface ( CLI).

How Did I know?. It happened to me, and the most asked Question is how to access the Command line in Linux.

The trick is let Linux starts with the Linux shell is simple, If done during the installation.

After the installation is over, there might be a way which is Very complex and not intended for beginners or intermediate Linux users.

The good thing is that you can access the Linux Shell whether Your systems starts up with the GUI ( graphic user interface ) Or the Command line Interface ( CLI). I will
Explain this later in this article.

Depending on the preference of a users, some prefer their Linux operating system to start with GUI, and others want it to Start up with the Command Line Interface.

If you need your computer to startup linux with the command line, you need to decide during the installation.

During the installation process, you will be prompted to choose
the options on starting your linux with the command line Interface, or the GUI (Graphic User Interface).

All what you do is click inside a circle that corresponds to the Command or the GUI, depending on which you prefer.

If after installation you found out that you ended up with an Option you don’t want, Command line interface or GUI, you Don’t have to go through a reinstall or delete of
Your Linux Operating System.

Here is the solution:

Some users are under the impression that, if you installed GUI, you can’t access the command line.

Others think, if they have the option of the Command Line Interface, you can’t access the GUI.

The above two notions are wrong. It doesn’t matter what king Of installation option you have, you can always access both ( CLI and GUI) on you Linux Computer.

Here is how you do it:

1-If you are presented with the command line after Linux boots, And after you login and end up at the command line prompt, you Type:

STARTX

The above command start up the GUI from the command line, and Get you in the Graphic GUI environment of Linux.

2-If you Linux computer start up with the GUI, and you are Taken to the desktop environment, there is a way to access the Linux command line.

From your desktop, you can go trough the startup menu and choose the ” TERMINAL”, and this will let you access the Command line. You will end you with a windows with the
Command prompt from within the desktop.

In summary, accessing the command line interface or the GUI Can both be done on your Linux computer, wether your system is Setup to start with the Shell interface or the GUI.

Thank,
George Chamoun
04-25-06

Finally! A Quick and Easy instructional guide by George Chamoun that shows you how to install RedHat Linux operating system on your Windows XP computer without spending outrageous fees for computer technical support. Click the link ==>http://www.dualbootguide.com

George Chamoun