Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Question Asked: Will More RAM Make My Computer Faster?

Not necessarily.  While it will help in some ways, overall speed isn’t necessarily one of them.

It may seem that your computer is faster, because programs will open faster when you click on them, and you’ll be able to run more programs at the same time, but the overall speed of the computer won’t have improved.

Adding RAM will prolong the time you can use your computer, without having to shut down applications, or reboot the machine.  It will not make the processor speed of your machine run any faster.

If you’re running into situations where the computer won’t open any more applications, or it had applications that crash and shut themselves down, adding more RAM will likely solve that issue.

However, more RAM shouldn’t be seen as a cure-all for any computer speed ailments. If the PC is older than a few years, it’s probably time to upgrade to a new machine.  Computers are relatively cheap enough now that people can afford to upgrade every few years.  The downside of doing so, is that all your data from your old PC will need to be copied over, which can be a daunting task.    That’s why I personally keep all my important data on an external hard drive (many of them, actually), so I can easily just connect it to a new computer, and have it all handy.

Comments 0 Nov 3rd, 2008
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Question Asked: How Does BlueTooth Work?

BlueTooth, for those that don’t know, is a relatively new technology (the last few years, anyway), that allows two electronic devices to talk to one another, over a wireless connection.  Generally, BlueTooth is a cell phone and headset pairing.  However, it can also be a keyboard and computer, a computer and a mouse, an iPod and a pair of headphones. There are plenty of BlueTooth devices out there these days.

The technology is routed in  a sort of radio wave with varying frequencies.  The two BlueTooth devices are “paired” together, and can then communicate.  The pairing process is pretty simple, and is more or less means you’re making each device agree to talk to the other, and vice versa.

There are great details (greatly in depth, that is, not like “Wow! Great!”) on the BlueTooth website: BlueTooth.com

Where does the name BlueTooth come from?  It gets its name from Harald Bluetooth, who was the king of Denmark in the late 900s. Under his rule, he achieved many important triumphs, including uniting Denmark and Norway and introducing Christianity. Bluetooth is named after this king to show the importance of bringing together different devices and communicating with one another.

Comments 1 Oct 6th, 2008
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Question Asked: Is Tivo Really Worth It?

Having previously named Tivo as the greatest invention of the 20th century, personally, I’d say yes.

Many people think that Tivo’s just a way to digitally record TV shows, like a new-age VCR.  While that’s true, that’s only part of what Tivo does for you.

Tivo changes the way you watch television, and you’ll never be able to survive without it.  My wife and I have two Tivo s, and have been faithful subscribers for around four or five years now.

People may claim to have a “Tivo “, when in reality they’re referring to a DVR from either DirecTV or Comcast.  This is not a Tivo, by any means.  When my wife and I got our first HD television, we made the mistake of getting a Comcast HD DVR.  After having Tivo for three years, the Comcast DVR just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t nearly as good, or featureful.  I disconnected the Comcast HD DVR after four days, and returned it to Comcast that weekend.  When asked why I was returning it, I cited “It’s not a Tivo .”

A few months later, we purchased the Tivo HD Series 3, and haven’t looked back yet.  Not only is the Series 3 Tivo the only THX certified DVR on the planet, but in conjunction with the wireless adapter you can transfer HD shows to your computer, and never run out of space (assuming you’ve got space on your computer, of course.)  Can you do that with a Comcast DVR? No.

Not only will Tivo let you record shows when you tell it to, but it’ll also automatically record shows for you if you’ve set a season pass, and the time/day has changed.  I don’t know about you, but I very rarely go and check TV Guide to see if my favorite show’s been moved.  With Tivo , you don’t have to.  It just knows.

Hate commercials? Who doesn’t.  Got a Tivo ? Problem solved.  If you’re watching a live show, simply pause the Tivo for 15 minutes at the start of your one hour program (or 6 and a half minutes for your half hour show.)  Then you’ll be able to zip through commercials throughout the entire program, and it’ll end “on time”, so you can move onto the next show.  Once you’ve had a Tivo for a while, you’ll be able to perfect this commercial skipping.  That alone is worth the monthly fee.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first.  I had gotten an old Sony Tivo (the original series) years and years ago, as a promotion from a company that I worked for.  I wasn’t sold on the idea, so I sold the Tivo on eBay.

Years later, when visiting some of my wife’s family down in New York City, I experienced Tivo first hand, as they had one in their home.  Upon returning home, I ordered one that night.  Once you’ve tried it, you need to have it.  It’s a life changing experience.

I’ve been asked if Tivo is “worth it”, and I answer a resounding “yes.”  While people may not like that they’ve got to pay a fee to use the service, and argue that they can get the box from the “cable company” for less, what they don’t realize is, that it’s not that much less on a monthly basis.

Let’s assume you get the standard Tivo , single tuner, non HD.  Tivo generally gives these away with a service subscription of one or two years.  A two year contract will cost you roughly $12.95 a month.  If you were to get the box from Comcast, for example, your costs would be $50 to have them come out and install it for you, and then roughly $7.95 per month, plus taxes.

That’s $145.40 for the first year of service, compared to Tivo ’s $155.40.  Is Tivo worth $10 more per year? Yes.  The service is far superior to any DVR on the market, despite what you hear on the DirecTV commercial.

Seeing really is believing though, if you have an inkling to get a Tivo, but aren’t 100% sure, go try one.  Surely someone you know owns one.  If not, most Best Buy stores have a working demo of the HD version in their stores.

If you’re considering going with the one from Comcast or DirecTV, just because it’s “easier”, think twice.  If you look up reviews of those boxes from people who own them, you’ll find that the majority of them are negative reviews.  While Tivo, on the other hand, are glowingly positive in most cases.

If you’re in the Boston area, I’ll gladly demo my HD (and non-HD) Tivo setup for you. As long as you promise not to rob me.

Comments 0 Aug 18th, 2008
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