My PC friends probably think I am crazy, but the weight of the decision of why I purchased an Apple MacBook Pro fell on five key points of comparisons to other laptop computers.

Apple MacBook Pro vs. Netbook PCs

1. Ease of Use
2. Quality
3. Versatility
4. Form Factor
5. Value (Price divided by the first four points)

My notebook story begins with searching for a good quality, fast speed, good display screen, a comfortable track pad, good software, ease of use, long life battery, ability to do videos and pictures well, but low priced netbook or small laptop for mobile/portable/travel use. I quickly found that there is no such creature like this.

I stopped in over at Fry’s and started playing with the various new Windows 7 Netbooks from Acer and MSI. At first glance I wanted to really like these netbooks, but it was only a short lived infatuation. There were more than a few barriers to taking these netbooks from a foolish liking to an in-depth affection. For one, they were small. Now, that may be good in one aspect for portability, but for another aspect of screen size, it was very difficult to get comfortable with the small screen size. Those of us that are requiring reading glasses are sure to find these screens are much too small. Sure, the price was low at around $350.00, but look at what you are getting for that.

With these netbooks, this really is a case of getting what you pay for. Slow processor speeds, low memory, no dvd/cd drive, and a new operating system with Windows 7 that is all déjà vu. The Windows 7 operating system loaded on these netbooks feels like an upgraded version of Windows XP, with things moved around a bit and other things very difficult to find. Of course, this is the dominate format for these netbooks. Simple things like how to change the icon sizes on the desktop took me 10 minutes to find. And, that was after I spoke with the sales people, though that brings up the topic of the sales people may not have the best of training either. That’s another story. In any case, three of the sales people that I spoke with could not figure it out. It wasn’t located in the Windows 7 control panel area, as one would think. Finally I did what would be a right click with a mouse on the desktop, though I am not sure how I did it with the netbook trackpad, but I was able to change the default icon size to a smaller size.

Speaking of touchpads or trackpads, I have grown up on a mouse in the house for both PCs and Macs. So, this really was my first time investigating and comparing track pads. The trackpads on these netbooks and mini laptops seemed to be engineering afterthoughts. Actually, they lacked quality engineering and no consumer testing. The one that bugged the heck out of me the most was the trackpad on the MSI mini laptop. It felt like sandpaper on the tips of my fingers after playing with it for 10 minutes. Actually, I ended up pulling another customer over and asking him what he thought of the touchpad. His thoughts were exactly the same as mine. The trackpad had a very textured finish that was not comfortable to the touch. I can only imagine what it would be like after navigating with this trackpad for an hour or so. I would have to put Band-Aids on my fingers. Definitely not a very good touchy-feely experience.

So, I decide that maybe I needed to move up in price and screen size. I moved up to the mid range for laptops. However, there seemed to be a void in the size from the 8.9 inch – 11 inch version mini laptops to the 15 inch larger laptops. Price started going up significantly as I wanted a more powerful laptop that could do various types of mult-tasking, and still stay with a useful but compact size. Next thing I knew, I was up around the $700.00 price tag. But, still I had issues with trackpads, and the lack of ease of use.

So, I ventured over to the Mac table. Being an equal opportunity user of both Windows PCs and Macs and am well versed in both the PC and Mac land, having owned many versions of Windows PCs and an iMac G5 for a number of years. I have also had the opportunity to have hands on experience by having friends allowing me to play with their MacBooks for various applications. When I went over to the Mac table, it was a breath of heaven to feel and touch the new MacBooks.

My First Thoughts on the MacBook and MacBook Pro

The first thing that stood out to me was the ease of use. The trackpads are very very easy to use. Having a Multi-Touch Trackpad that is large, smooth, extremely powerful, two finger scroll capable, two finger pinch zoom capable, two finger rotate, and even two finger right click or secondary click capable with the full complement of right click commands available. Additional trackpad features include three finger swipe navigation to go forward or back in browser history, four finger swipe left to right to switch applications, or four finger swipe up down for exposing the open applications. You can even set the one finger to tap to click, dragging, drag lock, and secondary click to bottom left or bottom right corner. Track speed, double-click speed, and scrolling speed can all be individually adjusted to just the way you want them.

With this MacBook Trackpad, you will quickly find out that a person can go from using a mouse to very easily using the Multi-Touch Trackpad in no time flat.

Another aspect of the MacBook that makes it a joy to work with, is the ease of use of the Mac OS X Snow Leopard. While any new software will take time getting use to, the learning curve for the Mac OS X is very fast. I think part of the reason for this is the intuitiveness of how the things are laid out. Apple also has some very good quick training videos that are quite helpful. Take a look at some of the Mac tutorials on how to do things.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system is a pleasure to work with. It is very intuitive, which makes for a very easy transition to go from working with a Windows based machines to a Mac based operating systems. Of course, I am a bit biased in this area, since I have been using both Windows and Mac machines for quite some time. Never the less, some friends of mine who had been with Windows their whole lives, recently made the switch to Mac, and the operating system switch proved to be a very easy transition for them.

The high quality of the Apple MacBooks can not be overstated. Everything fits together like a form fitting glove. The opening of the screen display has just the right amount of hinge tightness. As I stated before, the trackpad is very smooth, and seems to just fit perfectly for your hands and fingers on the keyboard area. The keyboard has automatic backlighting, which in dim environments is great for quick reference. The MacBook Pro comes in a very sleek, 1.08 inches thin, aluminum unibody construction.

I bought the 13.3 inch MacBook Pro with the glossy widescreen display. This for me was the perfect fit for size and portability, but has plenty of desktop space with a screen of 1280-by-800 pixel resolution, made this one the ideal laptop solution for viewing documents, web sites, videos, and pictures.

The weight of the MacBook Pro 13 inch at 4.7 pounds is very manageable. It easily fits into a briefcase or backpack. I also suggest a carrying case to protect your MacBook. I decided to go with the Incase Nylon Sleeve Case for the Apple 13 inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro fits perfectly in this padded case and provides extra storage areas on both sides for accessories. The case and the MacBook Pro worked out perfectly for a recent vacation trip from California to Florida with several layovers. The case added the extra protection and allowed me to quickly place the MacBook in my carryon suitcase, and quickly remove it for airport security checks. The case also comes with a removable shoulder strap and is available in three colors, black, graphite, and mustard.

The MacBook Pro is such a pleasure to use for all aspects of computing. For example, when it comes to viewing video on the screen, it is second to none. The display is rich in color, bright, and vivid to look at. Movies are cool to watch and when it comes to catching up on your television shows like Flash Forward episodes, it is incredible to watch it on the MacBook. It’s as though watching it on the MacBook Pro is better than on the TV screen. The stereo sound quality from the computer is great too. The audio level has decibels of sound to spare. You can actually make the sound too loud for others in the room. Forget trying that with any other netbook.

With the built-in iSight camera and microphone, doing a Google Video Chat was simply amazing. The camera and built-in microphone worked great together. I was able to use the camera in both low light and regular lighting conditions. The chat session was perfect. There was no audio feedback and the person on the other end said the audio and video were perfect too.

The battery life is rated at 7 hours, but that is under somewhat controlled conditions. Apple quotes the following from their website:

Testing conducted by Apple in May 2009 using preproduction 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pro units. Battery life depends on configuration and use. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information. The wireless productivity test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing various websites and editing text in a word processing document with display brightness set to 50%.

I typically like my screen brighter than 50%, and was able to generally get about 5+ hours of battery usage on three battery cycles. However, I was playing videos, browsing the Internet through wireless connections, and searching for other wireless Internet connections during this time.

The charging plug is held in place with a super strong magnet, which if someone catches the cord will simply pull the connector off the MacBook without pulling the MacBook down to the floor. Definitely a great safety feature. the charger is very compact, and fits nice and flat inside one of the Incase pockets I bought for the MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro 13 inch that I purchased has the 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; which supports up to 8GB of memory, 250GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm hard drive, and 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW).

MacBook Pro Features

Left Side View of MacBook Pro 13 Inch Model

Connections and Expansion Ports

• MagSafe power port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
• Mini DisplayPort
• Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
• SD card slot
• Audio in/out
• Kensington lock slot

Communications

• Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible
• Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Audio

• Built-in stereo speakers
• Built-in omnidirectional microphone
• Combined optical digital output/headphone out (user-selectable analog audio line in)
• Supports Apple Stereo Headset with microphone

Read more about all the MacBook Pro features today.

By the way, if a person really wants to have their cake and eat it too, in the form of Windows 7 on their MacBook, there is another feature that lets a person load any operating system they wish. Boot Camp is a utility included with Apple Inc.’s Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard" and v10.6 "Snow Leopard" operating systems that assists users in installing Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or 7 on Intel-based Macintosh computers. Boot Camp guides users through non-destructive re-partitioning (including resizing of an existing HFS+ partition, if necessary) of their hard disk drive and using the Mac OS X Leopard disc to install Windows drivers. In addition to device drivers for the hardware, the disc includes an applet for the Windows control panel for selecting the boot operating system.

In addition to Boot Camp, there are other avenues that are also available such as, VMware Fusion 3 and Parallels Desktop that provide the means of loading Microsoft Windows and other non Windows operating systems such as Linux OS onto the MacBook computers. Both VMware Fusion 3 and Parallels Desktop are helpful software applications that allow folks to run Windows applications directly and concurrently on their MacBooks and quickly switch between the two.

VMware Fusion 3

Parallels Desktop

VirtualBox

There is also an open source software, VirtualBox, available from Sun. VirtualBox is an x86 virtualization software package, originally created by German software company Innotek, now developed by Sun Microsystems as part of its Sun xVM virtualization platform. It is installed on an existing host operating system; within this application, additional operating systems, each known as a Guest OS, can be loaded and run, each with its own virtual environment.

“Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, and OpenBSD.”

I have to say that the MacBook Pro is really a great all purpose laptop computer for business, school, and personal use. With ease of use, superb quality, immense versatility, and an awesome form factor, the value of this MacBook Pro computer is outstanding. You won’t want to leave home without it! Checkout the online Amazon Apple Store deals today.

Jim Warholic

Jim Warholic is President of Professional Web Services, Inc., an Internet Marketing Services firm specializing in B2B and B2C Internet marketing, SEO services, online advertising, and online branding strategies. Contact Professional Web Services today.

Microsoft Windows Live Writer Multi Platform Blog Writer & Blog Editor Review
Five Star Recommendation

Table of contents posting was done with Microsoft Windows Live Writer to Jim’s Blogger account. See some of the cool features and read about Windows Live Writer blog editor software review below.

Jim’s Online Table of Contents For Internet Review

This is my year end table of contents for Internet Jim. Actually this TOC goes back a couple of years. I figured it was about time to have a quick review of some of the postings at this website. I created this template using Microsoft Windows Live Writer beta addition. Windows Live Writer is a cross platform, free desktop blog editor that allows you to quickly add tables to your blog postings. You can quickly and easily switch between multiple servers and blog platforms such as: Blogger, Windows Live, WordPress, SharePoint, LiveJournal, TypePad, Community Server accounts, and others. A number of features include quickly adding images, videos, maps, and tables.

The advanced tables feature was exactly the main feature I was searching for online, when I happen to stumble onto the Microsoft Live Writer software table solution. Tables, like a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, are very useful when it comes to posting things in a logical order of columns and rows, with headings and descriptions included. Columns and rows can be quickly added and changed in size in a WYSISWYG, What You See Is What You Get, writing environment even if the cell, column, or row already has text or other information inside of it. Simply drag the columns or rows to increase their sizes and quickly set centering parameters for both the table and cells (horizontal and vertical parameters), and applying these horizontal and vertical parameters to entire columns and rows too.

Adding pictures into the middle of a blog posting is easy. Place your cursor where you want the image to be included in the posting, and click add image and have the text wrap too. There are some other cool features for images that makes if fun to just play around with the look and feel of what you intend to post online.

For example, you can quickly rotate an image and add watermarks to pictures that are on your computer to begin with, as the source picture, before uploading the image online. Add custom margins, borders, drop shadow borders, photo paper looks, reflections, rounded corners, and solid borders to images. Text wrap right (as the walking penny above), text wrap left (as the image is on the right), inline images, and image centering as the free form image below are just a click away. Linking to an image source or other url is easy without having to know any html coding. Images can also be added from an online source location such as Picasa Albums, Photobucket, ImageShack, Flickr, and other image hosting websites just by selecting the url of the image and adding it to the image prompt. You can also quickly size the image to any image size you need with customizable pre-assigned thumbnail sizes.

Additionally there are some really cool, fascinating, and advanced features for image editing. Contrast and brightness are easy to slide adjust, once again in a WYSISWYG view. A very powerful, yet intuitive cropping feature is also available for your image. As I said before, you can rotate the image, but also the image can be quickly tilted in the posting itself. See below.

Free Form Image With Tilt and Reflection Advanced Effects Features

This cool free-form picture certainly adds another image reflection and a completely new dimension to what you can do with a free-form picture image. Note the optical illusion along the left and right side of the image which makes it look like the posting is tilted.

Before the posting is ever published on the Internet, Windows Live Writer has the option to display the post in a preview form of the template you are using on the Web. This feature will show the full affect of how it will look when it is published online. You can also edit the source html code too. You can post to your blog in draft mode or publish live. Once the blog posting is published online, then you can use Microsoft Windows Live Writer to do future edits directly from your computer desktop and then re-publish your posting to view it online live.

Of course, Windows Live Writer features include a real time spell checker, save as draft mode, automatically save drafts at a fully customizable set period of time (every one, two, or three minutes, or more), plus it also includes word count, characters counter (with and without spaces counts), and paragraphs counts too. Links, font sizes, font styles, colors, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, headings, block quotes, bullets, numbered lists, left align, center align, right align, and justified text is easy with a quick click from the icons at the top of the editor. Right click on the mouse to display most used features such as link building, alignment, numbering, and bullets. Auto linking is another feature. Simply type in the url address like http://wow.jimwarholic.com or predefine keyword hyperlinks and the software program turns it into a hyperlink for you. Sidebar can be switched off or on which will display recently posted and open drafts, along with insert hyperlinks, pictures, tables, maps, video, and add plug-ins too. Download the Windows Writer Beta now with new features.

Wow! I have to say, I really am quite impressed on what Microsoft Windows Live Writer Blog Editor can do. There are more features to this blog editor software program then meets the eye. With over a hundred add-on plug-ins available to download online, with more being added, Windows Live Writer is likely to become a very powerful and useful online/desktop software blog editor tool. And, did I tell you the best of all, Windows Live Writer is available free of charge.

Are you looking for the answers of how to get your business website found online? Are you looking for more customers from the Web today. Then, you are just a short click away to learning more about how professional Internet marketing services business solution that can propel your business on the Internet. Contact Professional Web Services now to have an online salesman that never gets tired and works for you 24×7. So, for your business website, just like the lucky internet penny above, he will walk miles for you.

Last week, my Internet marketing PC ABIT motherboard died.
Time for a new ASUS AMD Motherboard.

The prognosis was not good for the old PC computer system, but in the end I guess it means I am helping support the economy with some electronic equipment purchases. Check out what is involved in building a new computer at a bargain base price. The computer is build to higher end specs without going overboard in the price/performance ratio. The price was right, and considering that a number of hours was spent upfront, it saved time on the back end. Read more for the complete PC details.

I was in the middle of using my PC for doing some online copywriting and editing for a customer, when all of a sudden the screen went blank, all the computer LED lights on the DVD and CD drives, as well as the power LED started flashing, and the the system started beeping at the same beat as the LED flashings.

Why Get Serious About Building a Powerful PC Computer System?

This was a computer PC headache I did not need. At first I thought it was the power supply. I promptly tried a spare power supply, with no luck. It had the same symptoms. Then I unplugged all the peripheral devices while using the spare power supply, including the AGP video card, memory, DVD, CD, and floppy drive and even installed different memory; still the computer was beeping at me when turned on. Upon closer inspection, I found a small fan was frozen solid on the mother board’s Northbridge chip. These small fans, throughout all the computer systems in the field, are in my opinion problems waiting to happen. I have come round circle in my thinking on having these small internal fans. While fans do help cool things down, they are never-the-less moving parts, and all moving parts are destined to failure. Bearings seize, dirt accumulates, and then the fan stops turning and actually adds more heat due to thermal fan motor overheating and reduced air flow to the particular area.

The Old AMD Motherboard

This old ABIT NF7 mother board with an AMD Athlon XP processor took a nose dive because of the frozen fan situation. The fan was hot. Now, I don’t exactly have the time to trouble shoot this motherboard down to component level, and besides, this motherboard is over five years old, and that is considered computer old age in my book, especially when it comes to a PC. So, it was down to the local Frys store.

Software Compatibility Issues With New Computer Systems

In the back of my mind, I was thinking, while I have multiple backups for all the files, I was not looking forward to having to reload all the business programs from scratch. I had two options; either I buy a brand new computer, and spend countless hours getting the software just right, along with having to deal with Microsoft Vista OS interoperability with old software and driver compatibility issues, or spending the time building a new PC while still maintaining the same hard drives, same software, and the same Windows XP Professional operating system. Both choices had their pros and cons. Actually, there was a third option; buy a new Apple, but I was just down that road a few months ago.

Shopping for a New PC – Intel vs AMD Processors And Computers

I first stopped by the rows of desktop computer systems being showcased at Frys, taking a close look at the various pre-configured Intel and AMD PC options from HP, Sony, Gateway, Acer, Lenovo, Compaq, and eMachines. While there are many good quality Intel and AMD pre-configured Microsoft Vista desktop computer systems available for the high end models, they are not exactly what I was looking for. I had other desktop PC ideas in mind. Cost for performance was a factor. Additionally it is important to note that most of the mid to low end desktop computers are built all nice on the outside, but are severely lacking quality engineering and options on the inside. When shopping for a new PC, I’m the kind of guy that looks on the inside of every computer I see on display. I get out my trusty Leatherman, with the phillips screwdriver, and take off the covers. I want to know what the power supply ratings are, how many extra slots are available, what type of cooling fans are used, extra internal USB ports on the mother board, extra SATA connectors for more hard drives, front panel audio ports, and how many memory slots are left open for later expansion.

Selecting the New ASUS M3N78-VM Motherboard

After taking a trip down the computer display side of the store, I then ventured over to the motherboard, hardware, and components section. Frys typically has some good packaged deals on sale for motherboards and boxed processors (includes processor, heatsink, and fan) and that day was a good Frys sales day. The sales guy asked if I wanted Intel or an AMD microprocessor. I mentioned It really didn’t matter to me which system, I was just looking for the best deal possible on the higher end computers and motherboards. He suggested the AMD processor based ASUS M3N78-VM Motherboard which includes a built in nVidia GeForce 8200-based chipset and also install the AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black, Quad Core 2.5GHZ processor for a solid performing computer. Additionally, the salesman mentioned that the AMD was really a “‘true’ quad-core processor” as compared to Intel’s processors. By-the-way, click on any of the main graphic images throughout this article for more information related to each specific computer hardware component.

PC Memory System Requirements

Of course, I needed new memory for the new motherboard which takes DDR2 instead of the slower DDR, plus there are different pin configurations on the new motherboards vs the old ones. I picked up two 2GB PC2-6400 800MHz Dual PAT memory sticks for a total of 4GB memory (DDR2 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400). It was the Patriot brand, P/N PDC22G6400ELK. I could have gone to the 1066MHz memory modules, but I felt that would have been overkill for my PC system requirements.

Patriot Extreme Performance (EP) Enhanced Latency line is engineered to provide PC enthusiasts and gamers enhanced memory performance without breaking the bank. Capable of operating at 800MHz with a latency of 5-5-5-12, it is equipped with Patriot’s own bladed heat shields to ensure system stability while running under extreme overclocking conditions. Available in 1GB to 4GB kits, these memory modules are capable of performing with the latest AMD, NVIDIA and Intel DDR2 platforms allowing users to speed up their system instantly. Ref. Patriot Memory

OS note: If you are using Windows XP 32 bit and Vista 32 bit edition operating system software, the maximum physical memory limits that are able to be accessed are somewhere around 3.37GB, not the 4GB that Microsoft states. “XP and Vista can only truly manage ~3GB of Physical RAM.” Reference: Memory Limits for Windows Releases (Windows). Windows XP 64-bit OS could theoretically address 128 GB of RAM. I should note, even though I have not tried this myself, there is a software switch setting for the Boot.ini file to increase the Physical Address Extension – PAE Memory and Windows. I think I would do more research into PAE before attempting it on an Intel computer. Microsoft states the following is required, “The PAE mode kernel requires an Intel Architecture processor, Pentium Pro or later, more than 4 GB of RAM, and Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003.” One other point when deciding if you are going to go with Windows Vista 32 bit or Vista 64-bit OS, is that there might not be drivers available for certain hardware and software needs. Check closely for software and hardware compatibility issues before taking the 64-bit OS plunge.

The Power Supply is a Computer’s Heart – Give it a Big Wattage One

One of the requirements that often gets overlooked in building a new computer or even buying a prefab one, is to have a good power supply installed. If the Motherboard is the soul of the computer, then the Power Supply is the heart of the PC. It keeps the current flowing and maintains the proper voltages throughout the motherboard, memory, and the peripheral devices. In my case, I also needed to update my 350 watt power supply. Since I tend to plug in a lot of items into my computer systems, I decided to go with a 700 watt power supply. By-the-way, there are a number of power supply calculators available online for calculating your particular power requirements. The model number of the power supply I bought is, ABS Tagan ITZ Series ITZ700 700W ATX12V / EPS12V. I don’t think this power supply is available any more. I believe the new Tagan Tg700-U88 Bz Series 700W Pc Power Supply that has replaced this one.

Selecting a Quality Computer Case. What Are The Requirements?

In my opinion, the case of my old computer was just fine. It has good fans, good air flow, and extra slots for other devices. Let’s be frank here; most people place their computers under their desk, out-of-sight and out-of-mind. It’s not like the case is a showcase for most users. If you want to showcase yours then go for it. Get wild with your system. There are all types of see-through, or psychedelic LED fans, front panel temperature monitors, or any colored case to your taste. For me, I already had a good quality case. So out came the old MOB and the old 350 Watt PS. Everything else remained. I have two hard drives, one floppy drive, one CD recorder, one DVD recorder, and a number of cooling fans in the case. I installed the new MOB with the built in nVidea GeForce 8200 video, new memory, and new 700 Watt power supply. I plugged the computer system in, pushed the power on button, and it came to life in the BIOS setup mode. This was a good sign. It is also interesting to note at this point about what type of hard drives I am using. The two hard drives, CD, and DVD drives are all IDE parallel type connectors. The ASUS mother board had one location for an IDE cable for a total of two drives. Having an IDE connector plug was an important feature I liked about the ASUS MOB.

Comparing The Different Types of Hard Drives – IDE PATA vs SATA

A note about the hard drives. Most motherboard manufacturers are not installing the wider IDE PATA plugs anymore. I am sure this is a way of saving space and money for items that will not be used that much in the future. I selected Cable-Select mode for the two IDE hard drives I was using. There was also a MOB standard floppy disk drive (FDD) signal connector for the ribbon cable type floppy drives. Note, most pre-configured computers generally do not even have the FDD connectors on the MOB, nor do manufacturers even supply a floppy disk drive unit with the PC. If you want to have a floppy disk drive on new computers today, you would need to purchase an external or internal USB 2.0 Floppy Disk Drive unit. When was the last time you used a floppy disk? Now, with the old IDE hard drives attached to the new MOB, this allowed me to power up the new computer, but I was now missing a number of new software drivers that I needed to get installed from the DVD install disk for the ASUS motherboard. Additionally, because I was not sure what I was going to do about hooking up the old PATA CD and PATA DVD to the motherboard, I picked up a $32.00 DVD writer unit that had the new SATA, Serial ATA connectors. The majority of computers being sold today are using the faster speed SATA connectors. They are also much smaller. The ASUS mother board has 5 SATA connectors on the inside and also an external SATA connector. These internal SATAs can be configured for RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 0+1, and JBOD configurations through the onboard controller. RAID, Redundant Array of Independent Disks is a technology that employs the simultaneous use of two or more hard disk drives to achieve greater levels of performance, reliability, and/or larger data volume sizes. JBOD stands for Just a Bunch Of Disks (Just a Box Of Drives).

How to Install the Software Drivers Properly

It was now time to install the rest of the drivers. I plopped in the ASUS DVD driver and utility disk and started installing the drivers one at a time. I should point out that at this time, the computer kept telling me after each reboot required after every driver installation, because of the major changes that took place with the hardware, Microsoft Windows XP software was requiring activation again, and was informing me that I needed to re-register within the next three days or else. But, since I did not have the driver installed for the Ethernet controller yet, thus did not have Internet hookup, I had to ignore the Microsoft message at this time. Besides, I needed to install all the drivers and get a solid computer system before re-registering the Microsoft software. Talk about a real pain. Everything must be done in the proper order, even to the point of not allowing Windows XP software to automatically search and install the new hardware drivers itself. You need to close out the windows as they pop up. I finally got through all the drivers that needed to be installed but I still did not have my old CD and DVD recorders hooked up. I remembered that I had a few extra Maxtor IDE Ultra ATA133 PCI cards available. These cards provide extra IDE slots to install more hard drives or other IDE devices. I installed one of these cards in one of the PCI slots on the MOB and hooked up the CD and the DVD to it in cable-select mode. I used one IDE PATA cable attached to both the CD and DVD (primary and secondary). I needed to download Windows XP software drivers for this card. It took me awhile to find the driver source online for these addon IDE cards. If you need the software drivers, click the link to download the zip file for the WinXP, WIN2000, WIN2004, Win9x-Me, and NT4 operating systems for the Maxtor IDE Ultra ATA133 Drivers. To load the driver for this card I needed to allow Windows XP “Found New Hardware” wizard handle the assignment. I browsed to the correct location where the driver was located on the hard drive and the system automatically installed it. Once this was installed, I rebooted and now all my hard drives, CD, and DVD drives were displayed in My Computer.

Once I got everything installed, there really was no need to keep the new SATA DVD disk recorder unit. I returned it back to the store. I could have gotten around the need of having to use the SATA DVD recorder/player in the first place by using the existing parallel IDE DVD as a secondary hookup on the main IDE cable of the mother board.

Tying Up Computer Loose Ends

There were a few other items that needed to be taken care of. First off, I have a 24 inch Gateway Widescreen Monitor, model FPD2485W TFT LCD Monitor that I am using on this computer. The Gateway Widescreen Monitor comes with a driver and software to auto-rotate the screen when rotating the screen from Landscape mode to Portrait mode and back again. The software drivers appeared to be conflicting between the Gateway EzTune software and the nVidia software. It took some playing, trial-and-error, and downloading of the new EzTune software from www.gateway.com to get this functioning properly again. I had to completely remove the old EzTune software before installing the newest version of the EzTune software. I also stopped using the nVidia software within the preferences area from loading on boot up. By-the-way, the Gateway Monitor is a great monitor for all types of usage and applications for video, television hook ups (includes multiple types of video inputs), and computer high resolution activities. The native resolution is 1900 by 1200 pixels. You can have two full Web pages side by side. Having multiple programs open at the same time with this monitor, allows you to quickly go from one program to the other just by clicking the window behind or off to the side of the other ones. The Gateway Monitor has VGA input, DVI-D Digital input, S-Video input, composite video in jack, two component video jacks, and four USB 2.0 plugs are available; 2 USBs on the left side and 2 USBs are located on the back bottom surface of the monitor (“USB in” “B” type connector cable on one end is required from the PC to the monitor to use these extra USB 2.0 ports). There is an optional powered by the monitor, speaker bar with microphone and headphone plugs, and left and right auxiliary input jacks available too.

More High Definition Video Talk About the ASUS M3N78-VM Motherboard

The ASUS M3N78-VM also provides VGA, DVI-D Digital, and HDMI which is High-Definition Multimedia Interface output ports. The manual says that it can actually drive two monitors with dual-VGA output. “If you connect 2 monitors to both VGA and DVID / HDMI out ports, each controller can drive same or different display contents to different resolutions and refresh rates.” However the manual also notes, “Due to the chipset limitation, simultaneous output for DVI and HDMI is not supported.” And one more note for those interested in BLU-RAY Disc DVD players, the manual states, “To play HD DVD or BLU-Ray Disc, ensure to use an HDCP compliant monitor.”

Re-activating Microsoft Windows XP Pro and Microsoft Office

Now was the time, after the majority of the work was completed on the new PC, I then allowed Microsoft Windows XP to automatically activate the XP Pro software which I had previously loaded on my old computer system, that is now on my new computer via the old hard drive. I also had to re-activate Microsoft Office 2003 software too. The re-activation process took place through the online Internet connection. It’s important to note that technically and legally speaking, each Microsoft Operating System license and Microsoft Office software license is tied to one PC only. That is why, when a major change takes place to a computer, such as a new motherboard, the software automatically senses this major system change and requires re-activation. Minor system changes to a PC, such as adding a new USB device, does not typically trigger the automatic Microsoft Windows OS re-activation process.

Here are the PC technical specifications on what I installed.

M3N78-VM Work Smartly! AMD® AM2+ Quad-Core CPU/AM2 CPU Support NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Chipset Hybrid SLI Support HyperTransport 3.0 and PCIe 2.0 Ready HDMI/Full HD Support Smooth Blu-ray / HD DVD Playback Multi Displays Support DX10 Support Instant Internet Access with Express Gate™ Supports AMD Socket AM2+/AM2 for Phenom/ Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron / AM2+ This motherboard supports AMD AMD® Socket AM2+ multi-core processors with unique L3 cache and delivers better overclocking capabilities with less power consumption. It features dual-channel DDR2 1066 memory support and accelerates data transfer rate up to 5200MT/s via HyperTransport™ 3.0 based system bus. AMD Socket AM2 Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64/ Sempron Support This motherboard supports AMD® Socket AM2 single-core Athlon™ 64 / Sempron™ and dual-core Athlon™ 64 X2 / Athlon™ 64 FX processors with 2MB / 1MB / 512KB L2 cache based on 64-bit architecture. It features 2000 / 1600 MT/s HyperTransport™-based system bus, dual-channel un-buffered DDR2 800 memory support, and AMD® Cool ‘n’ Quiet™ Technology. HyperTransport 3.0 Support Provides 2.6 times more bandwidth than HT1.0 that radically improves system efficiency for a smoother, faster computing environment. Dual channel DDR2 1066 Support DDR2 1066 memory provides great performance for 3D graphics and other memory demanding applications on next generation memory technology. AMD Cool ´n´ Quiet! Technology M3N78-EMH HDMI supports AMD Cool ´n´ Quiet! Technology, which monitors system operation and automatically adjusts CPU voltage and frequency for a cool and quiet environment. NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8200 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 offers the latest support of Hybrid SLI Technology, DirectX10 graphics features, HD video playback with HDMI/DVI output. It also supports HyperTransport™ 3.0 interface, PCI Express™ 2.0 bus architecture, Serial ATA 3 Gb/s devices and is optimized with AMD’s latest AM2+ and multi-core CPUs to provide excellent system performance. ASUS Express Gate Surf the Internet in 5-second-boot time without entering Windows With a fast bootup speed of only 5 seconds, the ASUS Express Gate offers an optional Linux OS bootup that allows you to enjoy instant access to commonly used functions like accessing the Internet, VoIP, and Web emailing without entering the OS. * File downloading and uploading on USB drives only ** The actual boot time is subject to hardware configurations and product models Hybrid SLI Support Hybrid SLI™ technology is a unique hybrid multi-GPU technology. It includes two primary features: GeForce Boost and HybridPower™. GeForce Boost turbo-charges performance of discrete graphics cards when combined with the motherboard GPUs. HybridPower™ unleashes graphics performance for demanding 3D applications and enables low-power operation for everyday computing needs. * GeForce®(R) Boost and HybridPower™ are on select GeForce®(R) GPUs. Visit www.nvidia.com/hybridsli for more information. NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD Technology PureVideo HD technology is the core of a complete Blu-ray or HD DVD movie solution, featuring hardware acceleration, post-processing, HDCP circuitry, and integration with leading HD movie software players. HDMI Support Enjoy Full HD 1080p Multimedia Home-Theater Entertainment High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a set of digital video standards that delivers multi-channel audio and uncompressed digital video for full HD 1080p visuals through a single cable. Supporting HDCP copy protection such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs, HDMI provides you with the highest-quality home theater experience. Serial ATA 3Gb/s This motherboard supports next-generation SATA hard drives based on the new SATA 3Gb/s storage specification, allowing RAID 0, RAID 1,RAID 0+1,RAID 5 and JBOD configurations for five SATA connectors. PCIe 2.0 support This motherboard supports the latest PCIe 2.0 devices for double speed and bandwidth which enhances system performance. Dual VGA output This motherboard supports Dual-VGA output (RGB & HDMI/DVI). HDMI/DVI interface is compliant with HDCP. ASUS EZ Flash2 With ASUS EZ Flash, you can update BIOS before entering operating system. No more DOS-based flash utility and bootable diskette required. ASUS CrashFree BIOS3 The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 allows users to restore corrupted BIOS data from a USB flash disk containing the BIOS file. This utility saves users the cost and hassle of buying a replacement BIOS chip. ASUS Q-Fan ASUS Q-Fan technology intelligently adjusts CPU fan speeds according to system loading to ensure quiet, cool and efficient operation. AI NET2 Diagnose LAN connection before entering OS! AI NET2 remotely detects cable connection the second you turn on the system, and any faulty connections are reported back up to 100 meters at 1 meter accuracy. MyLogo2 Personalize your system with customizable boot logo You can convert your favorite photo into a 256-color boot logo for a more colorful and vivid image on your screen. GreenASUS The motherboard and its packaging comply with the European Union´s Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). This is in line with the ASUS vision of creating environment-friendly and recyclable products and packaging to safeguard consumers´ health while minimizing the impact on the environment. The product (electrical , electronic equipment, Mercury-containing button cell battery) should not be placed in municipal waste. Check local regulations for disposal of electronic products. * All specifications are subject to change without notice. Please check with your supplier for exact offers. Products may not be available in all markets. * PCB color and bundled software versions are subject to change without notice. * Brand and product names mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.

Key Architectural Features of AMD Phenom™ X4 Quad-Core Processors

The industry’s first true Quad core x86 processor True quad-core designed from the ground up for better communication between cores. BENEFIT : Cores can communicate on die rather than on package for better performance AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture Helps improve system performance and efficiency by directly connecting the memory controller and I/O to the CPU. Designed to enable simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing Integrated DDR2 Memory Controller BENEFITS : Increases application performance by reducing memory latency Scales memory bandwidth and performance to match compute needs HyperTransport™ Technology provides up to 16.0GB/s peak bandwidth per processor—reducing I/O bottlenecks Up to 33.1GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus) AMD Balanced Smart Cache Shared L3 cache In addition to the 512K L2 cache per core, up to 2MB of L3 cache shared by up to 4 cores. BENEFIT : Shortened access times to highly accessed data for better performance. AMD Wide Floating Point Accelerator 128-bit floating point unit (FPU) High performance (128bit internal data path) floating point unit per core. BENEFIT : Larger data paths for quicker floating point calculations and better performance. HyperTransport™ technology One 16-bit link up to 4000MT/s Up to 8.0 GB/s HyperTransport™ I/O bandwidth; Up to 16.0GB/s in HyperTransport Generation 3.0 mode Up to 33.1GB/s total delivered processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport bus + memory bus) BENEFIT : Quick access times to system resources for better performance. Integrated DDR2 DRAM Controller with AMD Memory Optimizer Technology A high-bandwidth, low-latency integrated DDR2 memory controller Supports PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066); PC2-6400 (DDR2-800), PC2-5300 (DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered DIMMs Support for 64-bit DDR2 SDRAM memory Up to 17.1GB/s memory bandwidth BENEFIT : Quick access to system memory for better performance. AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) With Rapid Virtualization Indexing Silicon feature-set enhancements designed to improve the performance, reliability, and security of existing and future virtualization environments by allowing virtualized applications with direct and rapid access to their allocated memory. BENEFIT : Helps virtualization software to run more securely and efficiently enabling a better experience when dealing with virtual systems AMD Cool’n'Quiet™ 2.0 technology Enhanced power management features which automatically and instantaneously adjusts performance states and features based on processor performance requirements For quieter operation and reduced power requirements BENEFIT : Enables platform designs providing less heat and noise efficient performance and energy usage. AMD CoolCore™ Technology Reduces processor energy consumption by turning off unused parts of the processor. For example, the memory controller can turn off the write logic when reading from memory, helping reduce system power. Works automatically without the need for drivers or BIOS enablement. Power can be switched on or off within a single clock cycle, saving energy without comprimised performance. BENEFIT: Helps users get more efficient performance by dynamically activating or turning off parts of the processor. Dual Dynamic Power Management™ Enables more granular power management capabilities to reduce processor energy consumption. Separate power planes for cores and memory controller, for optimum power consumption and performance, creating more opportunities for power savings within the cores and memory controller. BENEFIT Helps improve platform efficiency by providing on demand memory performance while still allowing for decreased system power consumption Learn more about AMD Phenom™ processors

Custom Built PC – Summary, Cost, and Conclusions

I am very impressed with this PC setup. There are many good things to say about this computer, the motherboard, and the AMD Phenom Processor. I will tell you that when I have multiple windows open, multiple programs running, online video playing, a USB television tuner playing and even a backup program running in the background, I never experience jumpy sound, or video that doesn’t sync with the audio. It is very smooth and a seemingly fast PC machine. I know there are overclockers out there that might be interested in maximizing the speed, especially the online gamers. But for me, the speeds are fine right out of the box. Believe it or not, I built this thing for $400.00. That included one rebate of $25.00 for the memory.

Another point is the fact that this AMD computer operates at much lower temperatures compared to that of the Intel processors. After doing some research online, I discovered that AMD processors typically operate at a lower temperature than their Intel counterparts. The ASUS utility disk provided a cool software monitoring program for temperatures, voltages, and fan speeds. The CPU typically is at 42°C (110°F) and the Motherboard operates at 34°C (94°F). That’s even cooler than my Apple iMac G5.

Now I can get back to my Internet marketing work. This was a little bit more of an Internet detour than I was planning. I knew at some point in time that I was going to have to upgrade my computer system. It’s just that it came sooner than expected.

Always expect the unexpected when doing work online. Get your business discovered today with Internet marketing services from Professional Web Services.

By now everyone has heard about Microsoft making a huge carte blanche public statement about the over 235 patents being infringed upon by the open-source operating system Linux.

Linux has made huge inroads, particularly in the computer server market place, where the handling of online data and websites can be very effectively performed by a computer running Linux OS. Whereas, with users of Microsoft server software having to pay hundreds of dollars for software licenses has caused many of the large companies to start using the free Linux operating systems in the market place. Imagine hundreds or thousands of computers that a corporation does not have to pay the licensing fee for each computer license. The savings is substantial for these companies. But, the loss for Microsoft is equally huge when figured out over the entire globe and the millions of computers that will not have the Microsoft licenses tied to them.

So, what does Microsoft do? They have their legal department play a marketing ploy and try to scare the world into stop using Linux. Big business becomes a big game and Microsoft is no small player when it comes to playing this game. I find it extremely interesting that Microsoft can get upset with Apple Ads that poke fun at the comparisons between Windows Vista and Apple OS X and then go out and play the patent infringement gambit, without bringing a lawsuit against anyone. First off, anyone can make a blanket statement that says, “your company or institution may be infringing on 235 patents.” But, it is another thing to bring a lawsuit against a company with specifics of what patents are being infringed upon. Microsoft to this date has not filed a lawsuit. So, are they testing the waters?

In my estimation, Microsoft is worried about the impact that Linux and other open source programs such as Open Office by Sun Microsystems, Inc. are starting to have around the globe. It was just last year that the French parliament said good bye to Microsoft and “will start using desktops and and servers running Linux, Mozilla’s Firefox Web browser, and OpenOffice.org, a free open source alternative to Microsoft’s Office software.” See Newsfactor article. Additionally, as the open-source community builds on the designs of others, Linux comes in a number of flavors, and is becoming easier to use and install. See article on Ubuntu Linux Free and Easy Install OS.

The world is getting tired of being charged for every new round of software upgrades from Microsoft. People are retaliating against the stranglehold that Microsoft has had across the global computer world. Computer hardware has dropped like a rock in pricing over the years, but Microsoft still charges about the same prices or more for software and operating systems. Unlike Apple, where they have one software operating system, Microsoft has at least seven Vista software titles to choose from. Now, I know that every company is entitled to recoup their research and development costs, and no one should be able to dictate what will be charged to the end users, but Microsoft may have pushed the button a little too hard with the world.

It would not surprise me to find out that Microsoft actually was the one who copied the open-source software into their OS. Sometimes the ones that cry the loudest are actually the ones that are guilty of patent infringement. Part of this latest round of patent infringement claims come from a license agreement between Novell Suse Linux and Microsoft. Now, Microsoft is trying to flex it’s new muscles and try to claim that anyone distributing another version of Linux is guilty of patent infringement. However, in other articles online, there is something quite interesting in the open-source license called the GNU General Public License. Some are saying that Microsoft might have actually hurt themselves by entering into the agreement with Novell. Apparently, the license may have opened the door for protection to everyone, distributing any version of Linux or other open-source softwares.

If, pursuant to or in connection with a single transaction or arrangement, you convey, or propagate by procuring conveyance of, a covered work, and grant a patent license providing freedom to use, propagate, modify or convey a specific copy of the covered work to any of the parties receiving the covered work, then the patent license you grant is automatically extended to all recipients of the covered work and works based on it.

See story: Moglen: SUSE Vouchers Have No Expiration Date! (Unlike MS’s Patent Bullying)

Time will tell what will happen on a larger scale. However, as a consumer, I get to vote. I can choose to try downloading open-source software and try it out. The Internet has made it easy to try out new software programs. I think open-source softwares are great and provide a means for new derivative works that build on the foundation of others. Firefox and Ubuntu Linux are but a few of the new software programs available for Windows OS and other operating systems.

Jim the Web climber and Internet marketer.

Microsoft Must Really Be Getting Worried About Linux

With the story coming out this week, about how Microsoft is claiming patent infringements against open-source software programs such as Linux and Open Office by Sun Microsystems, Inc. I happen to discover a new Linux called Ubuntu through one of the news articles online. More about Microsoft later.

A couple of years ago, I had an extra computer lying around that I decided to make it dual boot between Windows 2000 and Red Hat Linux. The install with Red Hat was through several install CDs, along with a documentation CD, and three source code CDs. It was somewhat of a time consuming job. Then, trying to get the Red Hat Updates to function was even more troublesome, (never did figure it out.)

When I came upon the Ubuntu Linux OS, I thought I would give this a try, especially after I read about some of the easy to use features associated with Ubuntu Linux such as a good graphical interface and numerous free software associated with it.

With Ubuntu Desktop Edition you can surf the web, read email, create documents and spreadsheets, edit images and much more. Ubuntu has a fast and easy graphical installer right on the Desktop CD. On a typical computer the installation should take you less than 25 minutes.

There are two main versions of the software. There is a desktop version and a server version of the software. The website is very informative about how to download, burn a CD image, verify the integrity of the CD, and finally installing of the software on a computer. In addition to being able to download the software from numerous websites from around the globe, you can request several free CDs, or buy them from one of their world-wide distributors. The download is relatively small in size for an OS, and actually fits on one CD. With high-speed Internet, it did not take very long to download. However, if you are on a dial-up, or have a slow connection, it might be good to order the free disk.

Once the software was downloaded and a CD was burnt, installation went very smoothly and incredibly fast. There were a number of immediate updates that the software recommended, which was automatically performed with a click of the mouse. Automatic updates are what we have all gotten used to with all the Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X software operating systems. But until seeing the ease at which Ubuntu performed the update function, which had been nonexistent or difficult with other Linux systems, has made Ubuntu Linux a really good alternative to Microsoft Windows OS. Once the OS software was installed, it was a simple matter to download, and load programs from a list of hundreds if not thousands of other open-source programs and applications online.

By-the-way, I now have a triple-boot system. One that has Windows 2000, Red Hat Linux, and now, Ubuntu Linux system.

Take a look at the minimum computer hardware installation requirements. Note: For older computers with even less memory or hard drive space and with slower processors, Xubuntu is a steam-lined version of Ubuntu. Xubuntu is also available for free. Both Xubuntu and Ubuntu come with lots of pre-loaded software including office applications and Web browsing software. Download Xubuntu here.

For something that is free and easy to use, I would say it is well worth the small amount of time to load Linux Ubuntu or Xubuntu OS on that spare older computer. You might be surprised what you can do with it. As always, have fun.

Jim the online marketer.

Wow, Could This Really Happen?

It was reported by the New York Post that Microsoft had asked Yahoo! to enter formal negotiations for an acquisition which could be worth $50 billion.

Microsoft sees in Yahoo! the potential to leapfrog it’s development efforts in the area of search and online advertising revenue generation. Yahoo! meanwhile has suffered with lower earnings.

Microsoft and Yahoo! are both having greater difficulty competing against Google for the online advertising dollars spent. With Google being used by more searchers than any other search engine, Google has consistently increased their advertising revenue, while Microsoft and Yahoo! have both struggled to lure the kind of advertising dollars that shareholders would like.

The recent acquisition of DoubleClick by Google may be the straw that broke the camels back. DoubleClick was a company that specialized in online advertisements. Now that Google has bought DoubleClick, Microsoft is scratching their head, trying to figure out what is the next step they should take to improve their online presence.

Would a merger of Microsoft and Yahoo! be good for the consumer? I’m not sure on this one. With Microsoft making the bulk of their money on the selling of software and operating systems, and also heavily spending in the development of their own search technology and online advertising, it is likely that we would see a merging of technologies between Microsoft and Yahoo! Search, and also the online advertising systems.

The merging of Microsoft and Yahoo! might be good for the online advertisers. By reducing the number of main search portals down from Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft to just Google and Microsoft, online advertisers could get more bang for their buck.

Is this deal worth $50 billion to Microsoft?

Time will tell.

Jim

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