Tag Archives: computing

Computer Software

Clean your Mac For Free with CCleaner For Mac OS X

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There are various utilities that we can find online that can help us keep our Mac clean but the result is that most companies want us to pay for the cleanup tools. A very popular and free utility across Windows platform called “CCleaner” has now been released for Mac. The utility is absolutely free and involves no cost at all helping users getting better performance and tune-up for their systems. The application is still under Beta Mode, a few days back  the company released the Beta V6, which indicates that the application is close to its actual release. The user interface lies simple and easy to use. The program would not go ahead and ask you to delete unused language files that are a part of the Mac OS to free up some space, this is done by major paid cleaning systems for the Mac. The software allows uninstalling applications easily without any hassle, this is useful for applications that have not been downloaded from the App Store and for users who find it cumbersome to delete the application manually. As a part of the latest release the major additions include the option to repair and verify disk permissions, wipe free space and more. An overview to all major benefits and improvements in found below.

CCleaner For Mac (Version 1.00.093 Beta 6)

  • Cookie Management
  • Repair and Verify Disk Permissions
  • Wipe Free Space
  • Crash Reporting
  • Cleanup for Safari Binary Cookies
  • Uninstall features automatically removes shortcuts from the dock
  • Improve Internet Cache Cleaning
  • Stability Fixes
  • Improved Detection of Application Versions

You can download a copy of the software from here : CCleaner of Mac

System Requirements include Mac OS X 10.5 or Higher.

Screen Shots :

Android Tablets

Kindle Fire and Barnes & Nobles Nook Tablets : Quick Comparison

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Kindle Fire and Barnes & Nobles Nook Tablets have been launched back to back. However, the competition between these Products does not seem to be tough at all.

Kindle Fire comes at a low cost of $199, Nook is priced slightly higher at $249.

Compare the Features and Specifications of both these Products and you will realize, it is worth spending 50 Dollars extra for buying the Nook.

A quick comparison of the Features and Specifications of both the Products is given below:

Features and
Specifications		 Amazon
Kindle Fire 		Barnes & Nobles
Nook
Screen Size 7”. IPS
1024 x 600		 7”. Vivid View IPS
1024 x 600
Processor 1GHz TI OMAP 4
Dual Core		 1GHz TI OMAP 4Dual Core
RAM 512MB 1GB
Internal Memory 8GB Total
~6GB for Amazon Content		 16GB Total
13GB for B&N Content2GB for System Apps
Available Memory ~2GB 1GB
Home Screen Button No Physical Button Has a Physical Button
OS Android
Gingerbread 2.3
Customized for Amazon		 Android
Gingerbread 2.3
Customized for B&N
SD Card Slot No
Storage on the Cloud with Amazon EC2 Technology		 YesSupports SD cards for up to 32GB Storage
Applications
Downloadable from		 Amazon AppStore Nook Apps
Dimensions (Size) 7.5 x 4.7 x .45” 8.1 x 5.0 x .48”
Streaming Services and
Applications		 Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, Amazon Cloud, Media Player, Amazon Prime, etc. Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, etc.
Document formats Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, DOC, DOCX ePub, PDF, LS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX
Media Playback Audible (Audible Enhanced AA, AAX), JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8 MP4, Flash, 3GP, 3G2 MKV, WEBM (Video Codecs: H.264, MPEG-4, H.263, VP8), JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3, MP4, AAC, AMR, WAV, OGG (Audio Codecs MP3, AAC, AMR, LPCM, OGG Vorbis)
Battery Backup
(With Wi-Fi Disabled)		 8 Hrs.
of Reading Time
or
7.5 Hrs. of Video Playback.		 11.5 Hrs.
of Reading Time
or
9 Hrs. of Video Playback.

Laptops, Reviews

Toshiba Satellite C Series C600-P4012 Laptop (With HD LED Display)

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Toshiba-C600-P4012

 

PROS :

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) for this Notebook is given below. The Windows Experience Index is a broad benchmark to check how well Hardware Components run Windows 7 :
*Processor : 5.8 out of 7.9
*RAM : 5.8 out of 7.9 (almost standard on all 4GB configurations)
*Graphics with Aero : 3.6 out of 7.9
*Gaming/3D Graphics : 3.3 out of 7.9
*Disk Transfer Rate : 5.8 out of 7.9 (almost standard on all current HDD configurations)

The Windows Experience Index of this Toshiba Notebook puts to shame the performance of any Netbook on the Market, considering this Unit is priced at a level equivalent to a Netbook with an External DVD Writer. Its Processor Performance WEI is also just 10% lower than that of a Second Generation i3 Processor based Notebook.

Overall performance for day-to-day and office productivity applications is Excellent.

The Battery Run-Time after 3 Charge/Discharge Cycles for DVD Playback is 2.5 Hours. Will be slightly higher for standard non-multimedia applications.

The On-Screen Quick-Launch Keys and Synaptics Touchpad are very convenient.

Storage Capacity is Huge at 500GB.

The Intel GL40 chipset is approx. 4 years old but is very stable.

CONS :

1. The Notebook has only 2 USB Ports which is 1 short of competing models. You have to connect a USB Hub if you need more USB Ports. You also have to pay ~Rs.10,000/- more to get a single USB 3 – Superspeed Port based Notebook.

2. The inbuilt Webcam has a VGA resolution whereas other expensive Competitors offer a 1.3 Mega Pixel Webcam.

3. The onboard LAN Port is 10/100 Mbps, some of the more expensive Notebooks offer a Gigabit 10/100/1000 Mbps Port instead.

4. There is no HDMI output Port for connectivity to LCD TVs.

5. More Expensive Notebooks also come with Windows 7 and Device Drivers pre-installed, which is highly recommended.

CONCLUSION :

A Notebook with Outstanding Value and Performance. Will recommend this Model to anyone wanting to purchase a Notebook/ Netbook in a budget of Rs.20,000/- for running Day-to-Day and Office Productivity Applications.

Also strongly recommend upgrading the System RAM to 4GB from 2GB for faster performance(will cost under Rs.1000/-), purchasing a Genuine Windows 7 Home Basic/Premium 64 Bit Operating System with Media (~Rs.4000/- and ~Rs.5000/- respectively) and an Internet Security Application (Kaspersky Internet Security 2011/2012 ~500/-).

 

Laptops, Reviews

Acer Aspire AS5755 Notebook : Review

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21 Good Reasons to Buy the Acer Aspire AS5755 Notebook and a Quick Review of its 7 Negatives

Highly Recommended Notebook for those looking for a Feature Rich Notebook which Bulldozes Competition.

Highly Recommended Notebook vis-a-vis Competing Notebooks with 15% /- Pricing.

This Notebook is equipped with Latest Features, which CANNOT be upgraded later. Most of these Features are “Not Available” on Competing Notebooks at equivalent Prices from other Brands.

Some Good Reasons to buy this Notebook are:

  1. Inbuilt USB 3.0 (10 times faster than USB 2.0). Very Useful Feature for Super Fast Backups on External USB Hard Disks. Not Available on most competing Notebooks.
  2. HD (1.3 MP) Web Camera vs. VGA Web Camera on most competitive Products. Not Available on most competing Notebooks.
  3. Dolby Advanced Audio (Version 2) with Virtual Surround Sound. Not Available on most competing Notebooks.
  4. Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mbps) LAN Port vs. Megabit (10/100 Mbps) LAN Port on most competitive Products. Useful for Users on Enterprise LANs.
  5. HDMI Port for connectivity to LCD TVs. Not Available on Toshiba Notebooks.
  6. Battery with 30-40% Higher Back-Up vs. Competing Notebooks.
  7. 3 USB Ports (Total) vs. 2 USB Ports (Total) on Toshiba Notebooks.
  8. Combo Audio Jack for connecting Headsets with a Single Connector.
  9. Large and Comfortable 15.6″ Display. (However, it is not Anti-Glare. Most Competing Notebooks also have Displays with Glare/ Reflection).
  10. Full Size well spaced Keyboard with separate Numeric Key Pad (similar to Keyboards on Desktop PCs)
  11. Huge Storage Capacity of 500 GB.
  12. Genuine Windows 7 Home Basic 64Bit OS & MS-Office 2010 Starter Software
  13. Easy-to-Use Factory Recovery DVDs & Driver DVD Creation Software from Acer.
  14. Easy-to-Use Backup Management Software from Acer.
  15. Bluetooth Suite and Basic Games from Acer.
  16. Decent Carry Case/ Backpack
  17. Glossy and Impressive Top Cover and Keyboard and Palm Rest Base
  18. Better and Impressive Build Quality vs. other Acer Models like AS5750 & AS5750G.
  19. Promotional Offer of TATA Photon USB Modem @ Rs.750/- with 1GB/Month Free Data Usage for 5 months (optional).
  20. Windows Experience Index.

Upgraded to 4GB DDR3 RAM. Highly Recommended for All Users for Faster Performance.

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) for this Notebook is given below. The Windows Experience Index is a broad benchmark to check how well Hardware Components run.

Windows 7 :

  • Processor : 6.5 out of 7.9 (This is 12.1% Higher than Toshiba Notebooks with a Pentium Dual Core Processor – 2.3 GHz)
  • RAM : 5.9 out of 7.9 (5.8-5.9 is standard on all 4GB configurations not withstanding the Processor & Motherboard Chipset. The WEI on RAM is lower with 2GB RAM)
  • Graphics with Aero : 3.6 out of 7.9 (63.9% Higher than Notebooks with an Intel GL40 Chipset)
  • Gaming/3D Graphics : 3.3 out of 7.9 (39.4% Higher than Notebooks with an Intel GL40 Chipset)
  • Disk Transfer Rate : 5.9 out of 7.9 (5.8-5.9 is standard on almost all current Hard Disk configurations)

The Overall Performance of this Notebook for Day-to-Day and Office Productivity Applications is Excellent.

This review has been written just after a few Hours of usage and is not a detailed review of the Negatives of the Notebook. However, some of my observations are:

  1. The Keyboard of this Notebook is different from conventional Notebook and Desktop Keyboards and the spaced Keys may take some time for the User to get used to.
  2. The “Enter” Key of this Notebook is smaller and different from Standard Keyboards and will take some time for the User to get used to.
  3. The Touchpad Left & Right Buttons appear to be Fragile. The Touchpad Buttons on Toshiba Satellite C600 series and HP-Compaq Notebooks are much Better.
  4. Since the Display is large enough to watch Videos/ Movies from a distance, the Maximum Speaker Output/Volume could have been Higher.
  5. The Display has to be adjusted by moving it Up/Down (Tilting) to get a good Viewing Angle for watching Pictures/ Videos/ Movies.
  6. The Display does not have a Wide Viewing Angle for multiple people watching Pictures/ Videos/ Movies. Although this can be considered Good for User Privacy in Non-Multimedia Applications.
  7. The Aero Glass Effects of Windows 7 cannot be used on this Notebook because of the Home Basic edition of Windows 7. It would have been better if Acer would have pre-installed Windows 7 Home Premium instead (even if it would have cost marginally higher).

CONCLUSION :

A Notebook with Outstanding Value, Features and Performance. Will recommend this Model to anyone wanting to purchase a Notebook in a budget of Rs.30,000/- for running Day-to-Day and Office Productivity Applications.

Also strongly recommend upgrading the System RAM from 2GB to 4GB for Faster Performance (will cost under Rs.1000/-) and an Internet Security Application (Kaspersky Internet Security 2012-Single User approx. Rs.500/-).