The best computer you can buy...?

People always ask what are the 3 best computers you can buy? Here are the top 3 and why they are the top.

3. ACER

Acer is on this list because they make a large portion of the market for computers, meaning more money for research in better computers. And although quality may not be as good as the number one on the list, your price that you pay is more than cheaper and still pretty decent quality.

2. Dell

The reason I chose Dell as number 2 is because of Price, quality, and availability. First, their prices are phenomenal. Although you may have to pay higher prices online, you still have a huge discount offered on the pre-built ones. The quality of these machines are amazing. I have owned one for 7 years now and it still has not gone out on me. I liked them so much I bought a laptop from them too for my work/school. The availibilty is also amazing becuase they will have a computer from the simple user all the way up the extreme gamer, and you can get one in a store or make one yourself online.


1. Alienware


Alienware is the king of kings when it comes to computers. This company only deals with higher end computers and gaming type systems. If you own one of these systems you are awed by most of the gamer community out there. The best quality you will find, but not the best prices. If you have extra money and want a computer that can keep up for the next 10 years, then an Alienware is you.


The pictures were from the corporate websites and here are their links for purchasing questions.

3. Acer
2. Dell
1. Alienware

Technology has come a far way...

I was sitting down with my grandmother this thanksgiving and were were talking about the past in general. When she said something in particular though, it caught my attention and I had to write about it. Back in the early 50s she said there was a museum exhibit that her middle school went to that contained a range, dishwasher, and microwave all in one kitchen. They called this place a "Kitchen of the Future". This made me laugh and think, you, whoever is reading this, is using a computer, which didn't even exist until 20 years ago. Think of your life w/out computers? I would be out of a job!
I also wonder what it will be like after a few decades. Will we actually have virtual reality, flying cars, and a world modeled after "back to the future"? Comment me and let me know your thoughts.

More to add to my geek-i-ness..

If I wasn't set in computer knowledge yet, I just got a chance to learn a whole lot more. I just received an internship with a software development firm out in Benton, KY. This will enable me to build on experiences there, in the real world and not in the the classroom, and use what I learned to further succeed in my classes and prepare for the work-force whenever I graduate from the university. I decided to post this because I would like to add to the credibility of my comments and posts on this page.

Plasma VS. LCD

There is a battle going on right now for which television to buy... PLASMA or LCD

Here i'm going to give you a short overview from plasmatvbuyingguide.com of each of them and try to tell you which type of television would work best for you:

plasma technology has the better picture quality in normal to low room lighting conditions and are better in 4 out of 5 picture quality categories. Plasma technology will almost without exception triumph during night time viewing. LCD televisions are great for sunroom/breakfast room type environments. Also, LCD monitors are generally better for public display such as airport signage and retail store signage due to the bright room light environment.


Fast Moving Video Playback

Plasma displays get the nod here because of their excellent performance with fast-moving images and high contrast levels. There are still some 2^nd tier manufacturers whose plasma product displays some phosphor lag, a dragging from brights to darks.

While the "response time" of LCD TVs has markedly improved in the last couple of years, they still suffer from a slight "trailer" effect, where the individual pixels are just slightly out of step with the image on the screen. During fast moving sports scenes, the most discerning eyes can detect this slight motion response lag.

Longevity:

LCD manufacturers claim that their displays last, on average, 50,000 to 65,000 hours. In fact, an LCD TV will last as long as its backlight does - and those bulbs can sometimes be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCD monitor. However, one nasty little known fact about LCD technology is that as the backlight ages it can change colors slightly (think of florescent office lighting). When this occurs the white balance of the entire LCD will be thrown for a loop and the user will need to re-calibrate, or worse, try to replace the backlighting or ditch the unit altogether. Some of the early purchasers of larger LCD screens will be learning this tidbit in a couple of years. One thing that I’ve found in this industry, it is not easy to find out whether the backlighting on LCDs can be replaced. Manufacturers are either hesitant to discuss the topic, or they just don’t know.

Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. Many manufacturers state a new half life of 60,000 hours. While I am skeptical of this spec, I do believe strides have been made to nearly even the playing field with LCD. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to grow dimmer with use.

All in all, and in an overview of this quick sample of the ongoing fight here's what I would suggest:

The gamer who has the need for size and great picture resolution: Plasma
The gamer who doesn't need size but wants something that will look great: LCD
The person who only needs one in their dorm room to watch off of and wont be used alot: LCD
The middle-aged person who wants that main television to go somewhere in the house: Plasma

Email me at any time to find out any further information about this topic, because I know I didn't cover everything but would love to help you decide your next purchase.

picture from www.allcomputerservices.net

Geek Squad. Just words of Caution...

Have you been to Best Buy within the last few years and bought your laptop or computer there? Well they probably asked for that extended warranty with the Geek Squad in store. Now you ask yourself that question, like any other person does, should you buy that 2 years of protection? My answer is if it's solely from geek squad then NO.

Being a techie and having jobs repairing and maintaining electronic equipment I have the same knowledge capabilities as one of their workers, I actually took the test they take to apply and scored perfect, while most dont even pass their first try. These people are a joke and I don't know how they get hired at these pavilions or offices. I believe, in my total opinion, that they hired these kids to try and tell non-tech-savvy people to pay more money into Best Buy. I walked in there a little bit ago to an un-disclosed store and tried to explain to them a problem I was having with my ipod. A 100% software problem that would be completly covered by the 2 year extended warranty I purchased along with it. Low and behold the worker told me to go back home and try precedures like reinstalling itunes or restarting the ipod. After telling him I tried all that and that I actually know what I am doing with computers, he chuckled and replied " That's what everyone thinks, and that's why we're still in business". So after a day of coming back I still had the same problem. He had given me a refurbished ipod to test and make sure it wasn't my computer. I ran through everything and it turned out that a line of ipods had gone bad and were getting recalled. I went back to the store with a printed article from ipod stating this. He wanted to give me another one from the same line! I fought with the manager and finally got myself a new ipod like I HAD PAID FOR. This is just one simple story of why to second guess that friendly tech guy in your store. Go to your nerdy friends, they won't screw you over.

picture from www.wannabesporty.com

Torrents

What is a Torrent?
A torrent is a kind of file sharing(similar to limewire) that people use to download the same file from multiple locations to increase speed. Instead of only downloading one song off an album why not download the whole thing? Want to watch that movie that's still in theaters? You can use torrents. Or how about that Microsoft Powerpoint that you need for class? Same thing. Here's the steps:

Step 1. Download a torrent downloader
you can use one like utorrent to do the actual downloading. the setup is easy and all you have to do is pick where you want your files to download to.

Step 2. Find a torrent
Go to anywhere like ThePirateBay to find a torrent to download download. You can use it like google.

Step 3. Find one with seeders and start downloading away!
A seeder is someone with the file that you download from, and a leecher will be the person getting the file (you). As long as the person has some seeds, you can download, and the more the better.

Your new laptop

So whenever one of my friends comes and and talks to me asking me what new computer they should buy, I always have two outcomes. See which one better fits you and that will save people like me time answering questions like this.

1. You are the person who only uses the computer/laptop for facebook, and writing those papers for class.
In this case all you need is a basic computer, and in my preference a laptop, because you will not need much performance. If you're at best buy or wherever else you buy your tech stuff you won't need the top end items that salesmen sometimes try and sell you. The only thing that should really be important is the HARD DRIVE space. The bigger the better, so you can save more documents, music, etc. More than 2 gigs of memory is overkill. same with the speed of the processor, maybe a 2 gig procoessor, and even if you want, a duo core (which means there are two processors working, so you will experience less slowdowns while listening to music and writing that paper). A Dell would probably work best, because it will last more than two years, and the pricing of their laptops are phenominal.

2. You want to do some gaming, video editing, or anything else that will take alot of performance.
Here everything will matter. If you are going to be doing gaming or video editing a nice video card will do, probably the latest GeForce card. The memory will also need to be improved also, so you wont experience lag. Hard Drive space for all those video or music files are essential. Processor speed is also crucial, and should probably look at a quad core processor. Also a computer would be your better bet, since the cost of these needed items are extremely pricy inside a laptop. The best of the best you could buy would probably be an Alienware, along with a Dell X-series.

I hope this helps next time you are in need of a new computer and the salesman tries to sell you the $,3000 top of the art touch screen.

The Iphone

To say the Iphone is just like any other phone is to be totally wrong. The first quality that sets it away from the rest is the ability to touch the screen and not have to push any buttons whatsoever. From there you can play your ipod, browse the internet, or use one of the many applications that you can download from the apps store off of itunes. You could do all of this too on a network (3G), that is as fast as your cable connection in your house. To find the next century of phones go to the Website.