In a previous post I told you why I was glad that I didn’t buy a new computer. Now you can see for yourself! Introducing the 2nd. Generation Intel Core i5 (Sandy Bridge) Processor. Awesome!
Update 2/4/2011: Intel has found a fatal flaw in the chip set that is used in the new Sandy Bridge processors. The flaw necessitates that the chip set (or motherboard) has to be replaced.
Please hold off a couple of months before buying the new second-generation i5 or i7 Sandy Bridge processors.
Professor Randy says:Don’t fret if you missed the first generation of Intel i3, i5, or i7 processors. Once you see the second generation Sandy Bridge line, you will remember the first generation no more!
As a computer technician I can’t tell you how many times I have been called by clients who have lost all of their data because they have neglected to back it up. There are various backup strategies available, but today I would like to tell you about one of the best: RAID (Redundant Array Of Independent Disks).
In particular we will discussaRAID 1 (or “Disk Mirroring”) array. The name may sound complicated but just follow along and you will find that it’s a snap!
What Is RAID 1?
Most computers have one hard drive (usually the C: drive) – the user puts his data on that drive and “end of story”. In a RAID 1 set up, you have two hard drives and these two drives “mirror” each other. When you write data to one drive, an exact duplicate is automatically written to the other drive. Like having an exact twin – how cool is that?
Since all of your data is duplicated on the second drive, if one drive fails you just calmly switch over to the other “mirrored” drive and all is good! You have an automatic backup taking place inside of your computer at all times.
If you set up RAID 1 the right way (hardware based not software based), you will love it! Be aware however that a virus, file change or file deletion on one drive will also affect the same data on the second drive. The two drives are twins “joined at the hip” so to speak.
In a future post I will tell you how to set up a hardware based RAID 1 array by using an inexpensive PCI add-on controller card.
Professor Randy says:Want to automatically backup your precious data? Put two drives into your computer and set them up to “mirror” each other in a RAID 1 array. Done!
In this post (way back in October of 2009) I listed ten “scary” things about Facebook. Now, over a year later I would like to list a few more. Facebook has evolved for sure and has improved it’s security in certain areas, but there are still major security/privacy issues that you should be aware of:
1)Facebook Places: Do you really want everyone on the Internet to know your present location (and profile)? Do you really want your friends on Facebook to tell everyone else on Facebook where you are at any given moment? Adjust Privacy Settings please!
2)Profile Postings: Do you really want everyone on the Internet to see all of the information, comments, photos, etc. that you share with friends? Are you sure you want to post things that can and will be seen forever even if you delete your Facebook account someday? Take control of who sees what by selecting who can see your information (Share).
3)Games and Apps: Do you really want your friends to know what games you are playing at all times? Do you really want games and apps to communicate with your friends to tell them what you are doing at the moment? There are settings that you can edit to avoid this (Privacy>Applications and Websites>Edit Your Settings).
4)Facebook Apps: Do you really want the developer of a Facebook app to be able to access your profile information? Do you trust this unknown “developer” with all of your profile information? Do you know that all Facebook apps are allowed to access your profile information? Disable app access please! (Privacy>Edit>Applications You Use>Turn Off Platform Apps & Turn Off Platform).
5)Your Friends: I hope that you always are on good terms with all of your friends because your Facebook friends have full access to your profile. Your friends can share your wall information without you even knowing about it. Your friends may be using apps that have access to their friend lists ( you!). Carefully take a look at your privacy settings! (Privacy>Info Accessible Through Your Friends).
Professor Randy says: I’m all for connecting socially through Facebook, but please lock Facebook down in order to make it safer. By taking control of Facebooks privacy and security flaws, you will be able to connect with your friends securely!
I’ve been wanting to buy a new computer for quite some time now. I’ve been dying to buy a computer with an Intel i3, i5, or i7 processor, BUT I’M SO GLAD THAT I DIDN’T!! Intel has just recently released their second generation of i3, i5, and i7 processors based on the Sandy Bridge design and these new processors literally “blow away” the first generation models.
As good as this is, there’s more: Intel is going to soon add new additions to the Sandy Bridge line and they will be even less expensive. How cool is that? I just saw this in Softpedia News:
According to ComputerBase (translate page from German to English), these new chips will arrive towards the end of the first half of 2011 and drop the price paid for an Sandy Bridge CPU to a rather low $64.
For this much money, consumers will be able to get the Pentium G620 chip that packs dual processing cores clocked at 2.6GHz, 3MB of Level 3 cache memory, as well as built-in graphics.
The on-die GPU is based on a cut-down version of the Intel HD 2000 graphics unit, that doesn’t feature Quick Sync support, and is clocked at 850MHz (up to 1100MHz thanks to turbo).
Right above the Pentium G620 comes the G840 that operates at 2.8GHz, and the 2.9GHz clocked G850, the first one being priced at $75 while the latter will be available for $85.
These three Pentium chips have a TDP of 65W, Intel also releasing a more energy efficient model, dubbed the G620T, which has an estimated power draw of just 35W, a 2.2GHz core frequency, and a $70 price tag.
All of the Pentium chips come without Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost support, AES and AVX being also left out of the picture.
In addition, Intel will introduce two new Core parts, the Core i5 2405S and the Core i3 2105, the SKUs being really similar to the already available 2400S and 2100.
Together with these Sandy Bridge-based processors, Intel is set to launch new LGA 1155 chipsets, including the much-anticipated Z68that allows for CPU overclocking while the integrated graphics is being used.
Update 2/4/2011: Intel has found a fatal flaw in the chip set that is used in the new Sandy Bridge processors. The flaw necessitates that the chip set (or motherboard) has to be replaced.
Please hold off a couple of months before buying the new second-generation i5 or i7 Sandy Bridge processors.
Professor Randy says:Don’t fret if you missed the first generation of Intel i3, i5, or i7 processors. Once you see the second generation Sandy Bridge line, you will remember the first generation no more!
As a computer technician I must be familiar with the various Windows Operating Systems. Basically I need to know Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 , like “the back of my hand”.
The other day I decided to install Windows 7 Home Premium on my Toshiba laptop which was already running Windows Vista Home Premium. I wanted to have both Operating Systems on this same laptop computer.
I first thought about setting this up as a dual-boot system (both Operating Systems on the same Hard Drive and then choose which one I want to use at startup). But I decided against this because I didn’t want to waste time by booting and then rebooting every time I wanted to switch Operating Systems.
The better, easier way I decided was to install and run Windows 7 using virtualization software. This incredible software allows Windows 7 (or any OS) to run as a “guest” OS within the “host” OS (which in my case was Vista Home Premium). In other words, Windows 7 runs “on top of” or “within” the Vista OS but it thinks that it’s actually running all by itself on its own machine! How incredibly cool is that?
I downloaded and installed the free VirtualBox from Sun Microsystems, installed Windows 7 into its own “little Windows 7 world” (virtual machine), and now I have two Operating Systems running side by side in their own environments and can access either one with just a click of the mouse! How awesome is that!
Professor Randy says:Don’t waste time and be hassled with a dual-boot system. Install any OS by using virtualization software and flip-flop between Operating Systems with just a click of the mouse!
The tech world never sleeps! So that you may keep up with it, I give you some of the latest information. Simply follow the link of your choice and you will be there!
In this previous post I explained how I teach the major hardware components of a computer. Today I would like to tell you how I teach/explain computer software. At times I must compare the two in order to get the point across:
1) Hardware is a physical device (CPU, Hard Drive, Power Supply, RAM, etc.). You can touch and feel hardware. Hardware is, well, hard!
2) Software is not a physical device. You can’t touch it, you can’t feel it, it’s simply instructions and data in the form of “code” (files written in programming languages).
3) Hardware carries out orders, software gives the orders. Software is a program that tells the computer what to do and how to do it! Software gives instructions to the hardware.
4) Ask yourself the following question: What do I want to do on my computer today? Whatever you want to do, you must use the appropriate software for the task.
5) Hardware is already in your machine but you have to “go out and get” (download) software. Once you do go out and get it, you have to get it inside of your computer (install it). Once installed, your computer can now run it, execute it, use it to tell the computer what to do.
6) Instructions go from the software to the hardware as the aforementioned “code” (computer language written by humans, understood by computers). The computer obeys the instructions and carries them out! How cool is that?
7) Please get good software (well written)! If you use “buggy” (bad code, poorly written) software, you will be sending bad instructions to the computer and something “not good” is bound to happen. There is a lot of great free software “out there”, but there is also a lot of bad stuff too.
In a future post I will tell you the software that I use (95% of it is free), and I will give you my all time favorites. See you then!
Professor Randy says:You don’t necessarily have to understand hardware and software, but when you do, it increases your computing enjoyment. That’s why I like to teach it to people!!
