Tips to Improve Photo Quality when Taking Pictures Using Your Phone

Posted by Guest on Feb 15, 2012 in Technology | 0 comments

Nowadays, it seems like everyone is getting hooked on taking images of anything and everything under the sun. A gamut of cameras are selling like hotcakes—SLRs, DSLRs, digital cameras, and even cell phones with built-in cameras in them. These gadgets help you to capture beautiful moments and upload them in social networking sites like Facebook, Tumblr and Flickr. If you are only using your phone’s camera to take pictures, you can still improve the quality of the images by applying the following:

1. Shoot with your subject under good light. You will be able to capture clearer images when your subject is well-lit.
2. Shoot as close as possible to your subject, but not too close to avoid distortions and focusing issues.
3. Make sure that your cell phone camera is stable and steady.
4. Spare some time editing the pictures later after you have taken all the pictures you want.
5. Keep your “mistakes”. These photos might look great on quality monitor.
6. Keep your hands off the digital zoom because it will decrease the quality of your shot.
7. Try experimenting with your phone’s white balance.
8. Capture as many pictures as possible and then experiment afterwards.
9. You may follow the rules of composition or break them.
10. Make sure your lens is clean.

A Primer on Solid State Drives

Posted by Guest on Feb 5, 2012 in Computer Hardware, Featured | 0 comments

In these modern ages, people who own desktop or laptop computers no longer want to wait for their devices to boot up in the same amount of time it takes to make a cup of brewed coffee, bake a batch of cookies or watch the grass turn brown. Starting the hard drive means to rev it up to retrieve your data. If you want your computer to get started faster, there is something for you. Solid state drives (SSDs) present the best solution for your problem.

An SSD is a data storage gadget which uses a solid state memory when containing data. It utilizes microchips to store data in a non-volatile memory chip. SSD is also more resistant to physical shocks, have lower access time, lower latency and are definitely silent. On the downside, SSD costs more per gigabyte.

Most SSDs have NAND-based flash memory that has the capacity to store data even without power. On the other hand, SSDs with volatile RAM (random access memory) also exist to provide faster access for situations that do not need data persistence after power is lost. Hybrid drives that combine the features of an SSD and HDD into one are also available to improve the performance of the files that are frequently accessed by the user.

Some users of the SSD claim that the experience can be likened to replacing an old car with a new one. Solid-state drives contains no moving parts so there is no need for you to wait for the dither of the drive heads to carry out commands or the disks to spin. SSDs consume less amount of power, making its battery life longer and the computers cooler.
Though the solid-state drives have existed for many decades already, these devices were not practical and affordable until 2008 when major companies such as Toshiba, Samsung, Intel, Corsair, OCZ and Kingston started selling SSDs for just $10 per gigabyte. Since then, prices have gone down, making the SSD more accessible and cheaper for everyone.

Because of this, the sales of solid-state drives have increased throughout the years. According to International Data Corporation analyst Jeffrey Janukowicz, the revenue went up by 150% last year and it is expected to double within the year. Intel, one of the leading companies selling SSDs, began creating the devices because the hard drives were not able to keep up with the increasing speeds of their computer processors.

It is about time to switch to a solid-state drive to make your life better and to take advantage of a faster boot time.

Helpful Tips When Choosing A Trust-Worthy Quality Assurance Software

Posted by Guest on Feb 3, 2012 in Software | 0 comments

To ensure that products or software apps are at par with the standards, quality assurance testing is important. These days, a number of quality assurance software applications have been developed to help manufacturers and software developers to check the quality of the products – may it be tangible items, applications or programs – with ease and in lesser time. But with the great array of software applications designed for quality assurance, finding the best can become a very confusing task. Of course, you wouldn’t want to just settle for anything. Therefore, conducting your own research and knowing the capabilities of the different qa software products available will help you in making a sound decision.

Whether you intend to use the software to test data management strategy or to identify bugs, you should know what it is capable of offering you. Pick one that will allow you to do various types of testing services for maximum benefits. You should also choose a qa software product that can offer you quality without the expensive cost.  It is also advised that you buy one from a company providing excellent technical support. This is important so that you can easily address issues (in case you encounter one) at a timely manner. With an efficient technical support team, you won’t have to worry in the event you encounter some issues with the software since you know a good and reliable support team is just a call away to help you.

Choosing the Best Online Backup Services For You

Posted by Guest on Jan 25, 2012 in Featured, Online Backup Services | 0 comments

The importance of backing up your files can never be stressed enough. But, as they say, one can never be too careful. Even though you regularly create back-ups for your laptop or computer, wouldn’t you feel a lot secured if you get online backup services? Having a backup online would mean that your files will be kept safe even if your physical backup gets corrupted or unexpectedly fails. But with a great number of companies offering backup services online, how do you find the best? This is certainly a hard question to answer but it doesn’t mean you should burden yourself with the selection process. By paying attention to certain points, deciding which internet backup services to get will become much easier and less daunting.

Scheduled or Continuous Backup?

Backup services online are offered in two methods – scheduled and continuous backup. With scheduled backup, you will have full control over what should be backed up and when it should be done. Continuous backup, meanwhile, means you can choose individual files that should be monitored constantly and backed up every time changes are made.

Data Protection

Know what kind of data protection is employed by the backup services you wish to get. Encrypted backups ensure that the information stored will be fully secured. This means that you don’t have to worry about your files or information getting stolen, especially if it contains sensitive company information.

Monthly Rate

Cost of online back up services vary greatly depending on the company in which you choose to acquire the service. Monthly rate can range from as low as $4 up to $10, depending on the features being offered by the backup service company online.

Reliability Of Hard Drives vs Flash Drives

Posted by Guest on Jan 13, 2012 in Computer Storage, Featured | 0 comments

Various types of storage devices have been developed and are now widely sold in the market; two of the most popularly used include the hard drives and flash drives. But which is the best when it comes to reliability? Other people prefer using hard drives, but there are also those you have already turn to the more portable flash drives. Let’s have a closer look on the reliability offered by both the flash and hard drives to help you choose the one that will best satisfy your computer storage needs.

Let’s begin with the HDD. Compared to hard disk drives produced 25 years ago, the ones created today are far more reliable. However, they remain as the weakest component of the computer system. Even though HDDs these days are now capable of storing more data, their bigger storage capacity does not automatically translates to enhanced reliability. Good news is that, there are now plenty of ways to prevent the unexpected loss of precious data from your hard disk drive, this can be done by regularly backing up your computer. There are basically three factors that directly affect a hard drive’s reliability  — vibration, overclocking and temperature.

Temperature plays a very big role in boosting the reliability of your hard disk drive. Knowing that, it is very important that you keep your computer well-ventilated and dust-free. You should also ensure that the computer fan is working properly to avoid heat from building up inside the CPU casing like you learned in phlebotomy training classes. Periodically dust off the insides of your CPU to encourage proper airflow. Vibration can also affect an HDD’s reliability. This is especially true in laptops. As much as possible, you should not subject your laptop from too much external vibration. This can add more stress on the hard drive’s protection system and might eventually cause it to crash. Those who like overclocking their processor, meanwhile, should know that they are generating more heat than ever inside their CPU enclosure when they do so. Therefore, proper ventilation must be maintained when you overclock your computer’s processor. Knowing that you have to make sure that computer fans and vents are always clear of dust.
Flash drives, on the other hand, are the preferred storage device of those who are always on the go. Instead of bringing the entire laptop, you can just save the file or document you need on the flash drive and just plug it on any available USB hub.

Flash drives are made to be rewritable and removable. They weigh less than an ounce so they are very light to carry. Last September, 256 GB flash drives have been introduced. Plans of 2 TB flash drives are currently on the works. This storage device is known to have longer shelf-life and can allow up to 100,000 write and erase cycles depending on the memory chip used. In terms of reliability, cases of faulty flash drives have been increasing as of late. Reasons for flash drive malfunction vary from misuse to poorly manufactured units. Moreover, flash drives can only sustain limited write and erase cycles compared to hard disk drives. They are also a common tool used to spread computer viruses, mainly because most flashdrives do not come with a write-protect mechanism.

In conclusion, both storage devices – the hard disk drives and flash drives – have their own strengths and weaknesses. In terms of reliability, they both have their high and low points. Whatever type of storage device you choose to use, it is critical that you pick one that will be able to fully satisfy your computer storage needs.