Quantcast
Channel: Family First » hard drive
Viewing all 10 articles
Browse latest View live

Welcome to Video Card Drivers

0
0

It’s late at night, you’re trying to get that report out, and your system crashes. When you finally get it up and running again, you find you can’t find the driver disk for you video card, the one that has the neat options and accessories that madae you want to buy that card. But, if you visit today’s FamSite, you will not only be prepared for that inevitable BSOD, you will have the latest and greatest driver for your card.

The site is called Welcome to Video Card Drivers, and, as it’s name implies, it contains the programs and files for just about any video card on the market today. But in addition to the drivers, you can find benchmarking tools, utilities, and the latest information about video cards, what is hot, and what is not. The site is primarily user driven. For example today there are posts and photos of a new SuperMicro motherboard and the Maxtor 100GB hard drive.

So if you want to be prepared (like the Boy Scouts), then this is a site that you will want to visit and bookmark. Enjoy your stop here today, and be sure to share it with a friend.

http://www.videocarddrivers.com/


April Fool’s Day Freebies

0
0

Here it is, the one day of the year we can have fun. And after the latest virus fiasco, some fun may be in order. Today’s FamSite is one that can help everyone celebrate April Fools’ Day in style.

Here at the Free Site, you can find all kinds of jokes, pranks, and hijinks. Such as the one that makes your friends’ computer appear to format their hard drive, or the one that replaces your Windows 95/98 Start button with a phony one that doesn’t work. There are quite a few harmless and fun things to do here. Enjoy your stop here today.

http://www.thefreesite.com/aprilfools.htm

TECHtionary

0
0

Technology. It’s a fast-changing, challenging thing.
But many of us need to stay up with a few or many technologies. What do you do?
Well, it depends on how much you need to know. You might have to go to costly training (which your company pays for, if you’re lucky). Or, self-study may be sufficient.
But what if you just need an overview of a technology? What if your place of work is about to implement Voice Over IP telephony, and you just want an idea of how it works?


Or what if you are studying for your CCNA and want to know more about the all-important seven layers of networking?
Or, suppose you just want to know how a hard drive works?
Well, just take a look at today’s FamilyFirst site and learn just as much as you need to. It’s called TECHtionary. It’s a Flash-driven site that is LOADED with technical info, provided in the form of animated presentations! You’ll be blown away by all of the technologies that are clearly explained here.
For example, take the aforementioned Voice Over IP. Just how much do you want to know? If you’re just interested in learning the basics, watch their basic video (VOIP – Voice Over IP). If you’re administering an installation, you can get as technical as how to effectively firewall an installation, how to ensure quality of service, etc.
In other words, technologies can be explained in as simple or as complicated terms as you wish. But whatever you prefer, the slick, fast-loading Flash videos will make your learning experience a lot more fun! Enjoy.
http://www.techtionary.com

Exact Audio Copy

0
0

Today’s FamilyFirst site is for you Cd owners out there who would like to have their music securely and accurately converted to mp3, or other digital file formats.
I have used CDEX as a ripping tool, and it certainly works well. But today, I learned of EAC – Exact Audio Copy.
It’s an amazing product that will quickly make high-quality wav files of your music CD’s, then use lame.exe (a separate download) to convert them into mp3′s Now, you’re only a few copies and pastes away from listening to your favorite CD’s on your portable mp3 players!


It takes care of a lot of tasks as it creates mp3′s whose quality you choose. Personally, with lots of hard drive space, I go for high-end VBR, which means the compression rate varies from 128 to 320 kbps. That produces an mp3 with quality that is virtually indistinguishable from the original CD.
Additionally, it will query the freedb database to automatically get artist and album info and write the tags to your mp3 files. That means they will show up when you play them in iTunes, WMP, or whatever your preferred player.
Now, don’t get the idea that this is freeware! No, it will cost you to register. Are you ready for the price? It’s one post card. That’s right, this megacool ripper is Cardware!
So enjoy the site, read up on the program’s developer, and download your own copy and give it a shot.
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Tiger Direct

0
0

So, where do you buy your computer stuff online?
There are quite a few outfits out there that would love to have your business, that’s for sure. And many of them do very well at giving their customers what they’re looking for.
However, there’s only one that’s getting my endorsement.
Every time I have bought computer stuff online in the last five years, I have used the company that has never done me wrong. Tiger Direct.


I discovered them five years ago, when I found that they had the best price on laptop memory when I was upgrading from 128 to a whopping 384 meg. That was quite a bit of RAM for a guy on a tight budget in 2001!
Anyhow, I was shocked when the memory arrived via UPS TWO DAYS LATER! I had only paid for UPS ground shipping. I was impressed.
Six months later, I ordered a hard drive from them. The price was incredible. Two days later, it was on my doorstep.
Now they would never guarantee two day delivery on their most basic shipping rate. But the fact is that it’s my experience that ordered merchandise arrives two, or sometimes three days later. That’s impressive!
Not only that, but their prices are impressive. 19” flat panel monitors are still selling for better than $250 at my local Wal-Mart. I just got a SWEET 19” wide panel for less than 200 bucks, including shipping. And it looks real nice as I type this column.
So if you’re thinking about buying some hi-tech stuff online, I recommend the folks who have never done me wrong: Tiger Direct.
http://www.tigerdirect.com

ajaxWrite

0
0

Everybody needs a word processor. And there are some nice ones out there. Microsoft, in particular, is quite proud of Word, as can be evidenced by its price.
And there are free alternatives. I am a firm backer and happy user of OpenOffice.
But how would you like a free word processor that runs on Windows, Linux, or Mac O/S’s? Oh, and you access it by browsing to a website? Sound pretty cool?
Well, just check out today’s FamilyFirst site: ajaxWrite! Here’s what they have to say about themselves:


ajaxWrite has been designed to look like Microsoft Word, making it easy for anyone to start using it without needing to learn a new program. ajaxWrite also handles all the popular document formats so it’s easy to share your files and collaborate with your co-workers and friends. Once finished with your document, you can easily save your work right to your hard drive. This keeps you organized and works in the same way that you’re already accustomed to.
Of course, it DOES require Firefox. Surely you’re not still running IE, are you? If so, download a free copy of Firefox first from mozilla.com.
I have to tell you, this thing is impressive! It takes about six seconds to load up on my DSL connection. It’s fully featured, though not as busy as Word’s interface. You can easily insert tables, bulleted or numbered lists, colored fonts, and nearly all of the word processing features you’re used to.
It’s updated automatically, too. You always have the latest version for free! Bookmark the site, and always have a free word processor you can access anywhere in the world.
www.ajaxwrite.com

VMWare

0
0

So you just brought your hot new computer home from the store, and as you delete all of the crapware that came with it, and painstakingly take the fluff out of XP’s display so your machine will run at the fastest possible speed, you begin thinking of what your geek friends told you:
Try Linux! It’s free, it’s secure, it’s fast!
BUT, with Microsoft’s major hassles coming into play when it comes to reinstalling Windows, you’re reluctant to take the plunge and reformat your hard drive with Linux running your system.
Are you dead in the water? No, thanks to an incredible FREE product that is the subject of today’s FamilyFirst site.


The product is called VMWare. And the version of the software that my company spent hundreds of dollars for a couple of years ago is now available for free!
The way it works is that you install VMWare, then create a virtual machine. I just built one with Fedora Core 5 as the operating system. Put a bootable install disk in your CD-ROM, start the machine, and install your OS.
Once the system is installed, you have a fully operational machine running within your current one! Cool stuff.
Think about the possibilities: Surf the internet completely unaffected by spyware, viruses, or worms using Linux! Do you have a favorite old game that runs in expanded memory? Install DOS, turn expanded memory on, and play away! Install XP or Windows 2000, surf the web, then revert to a snapshot and blow away any spyware you might have picked up.
You’ll need a lot of memory. I would suggest at least a gig. More is better.
Download this amazing freeware and start running two OS’s on your box today!
http://www.vmware.com

Filter Music

0
0

There are still a lot of internet radio stations that the RIAA gestapo have not shut down. But how do you select and choose among them?
Well, you just might give today’s FamilyFirst site a try.
It’s called FilterMusic.
What makes them so special? Well check this out:


The stations they have listed are ALL 128k or better quality! That’s like listening to mp3′s right ofgf your hard drive.
And the list is updated daily, so no worries about dead links.
And of course, they are sorted by genre, so no matter if you’re into reggae, hip-hop, classic rock, industrial, you name it, you’ll find it here.
Enjoy!

http://www.filtermusic.net/index.php


CrashPlan: a Review

0
0

Everybody’s systems are prone to crash.
Regardless of whether you are running Windows, Linux, or Macintosh, any number of things beyond your control could cause your system to go belly-up.
That’s when you need a plan. Specifically, a CrashPlan.
CrashPlan offers a very affordable and innovative way for you to back up your data without having to worry about the specifics. And it will back up to CrashPlan’s server, PLUS you can also back up to any local machine running Windows, MAC, Linux, and even more operating systems.
That’s pretty impressive for anyone with a home network, or even just a connection to the internet.


Here’s how it works: you download a copy of CrashPlan, either the Standard version or the Pro.
Install it on your computer. If you are connected to the web, you are ready to back up to CrashPlan’s server (available at a modest fee). Another option is to install it on another computer and back up to it for free! All is handled through CrashPlan’s easy interface.
If you spring for the Pro version (a bargain at $60.00), then you can have automatic incremental backups running on a regular basis, so that even previous versions of edited documents can be available to you.
The files that are backed up are encrypted, so that you don’t need to worry about your personal stuff being compromised on another person’s computer.
Recovery is a snap. Just browse to the folder and/or file you want recovered, and click the Restore button. It’s back!
What impressed me is that the program knew what type of Linux was running, and installed itself correctly based on that. The differences between Fedora and Ubuntu were handled perfectly.
So download a trial copy of CrashPlan and free yourself from the worry about what will happen to your precious documents if your hard drive dies.
http://www.crashplan.com/

NIne Brain Habits You Didn’t Realize You Had

0
0

The human brain is an immensely complex organ.
Scientists have discovered many fascinating facts about it.
They know perhaps .01% of what there is to know about the brain.
But today’s FamilyFirst pick has put nine amazing facts together about the gelatinous collection of nerve cells.
The site is called NIne Brain Habits You Didn’t Realize You Had.


Here’s one of the fascinating facts:

Humans have basically three forms of memory: Sensory, Long-term and Short-term. Long-term memory is just like hard-drive space. Similarly, Short-term memory functions like a very small RAM. This Short-term memory is capable to hold only about five to nine (seven is an average) items at a time. Retrieving information longer than this will need you to either pack it together into seven units or store it in Long-term memory. Have you observed that the most phone numbers have only seven digits?

So don’t despair the next time you walk into aroom and forget why you went there. You just didn’t have room in your RAM for that tenth item!
http://www.mindcafe.org/9-brain-habits-you-did-not-realize-you-had

Viewing all 10 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images