Capacity, reliability, and performance are important for file servers or other machines where you’re storing large or important files. Disk drives are vulnerable to failure, though, and when they do fail, data written since the last backup is lost. Disks have limitations on how fast they can go, although disk speed is only a limitation for heavily loaded servers.

What is RAID?
You can get much greater capacities, avoid losing data from disk failure, and do all that at reasonable cost using a technology called Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID), invented at the University of California at Berkeley by D. A. Patterson, G. Gibson, and R. H. Katz. The industry also uses the phrase Redundant Array of Independent Disks, so you’ll probably see both. RAID uses conventional disks with specialized host adapters to change how data goes onto your disk.

What RAID Does
The idea behind RAID is to take the conventional disks in personal computers and gang them together in parallel. The resulting assembly gives you the low cost of disks manufactured in high volume plus good reliability and a multiplier on the performance of individual disks.

The host adapter (frequently called a controller in RAID systems) sits between one high-rate data stream (on the computer side) and several lower-rate streams (on the disk side). When the computer writes to the disk, the host adapter takes high-rate data and breaks it into multiple synchronized streams, one for each disk, in a process called striping. Reads by the computer cause the host adapter to take a data stream from each disk, multiplex the set of streams into one stream, and send that resulting stream on to the computer.

In the example shown below, the one high-speed stream splits into four separate disk data streams at one-fourth the rate of the combined stream.

There are six different levels of RAID functionality. The simplest RAID system, RAID level 0, merely stripes the data onto multiple disks for better performance. There is no overhead for redundant data storage and no protection against failure. The highest level is RAID 5, which provides both striping for performance and redundancy for failure protection.

RAID Level 0
RAID level 0 spreads the data stream across multiple disks. You can get a similar effect to that of RAID 0 by having multiple disks and can use features in Windows 2000 or Windows XP to simulate RAID in the operating system. Suppose your computer sends a sequence of data to a RAID 0 host adapter connected to two disks. The host adapter will interleave the data to the two drives, sending odd blocks to one drive and even blocks to the other.

Because the data volume and rate to any specific disk is a fraction of the aggregate, you get better capacity and performance from RAID 0 than from a single conventional disk. There is no error correction or redundant data written to the array, however, so RAID 0 cannot survive a disk failure. You would use RAID 0 only in situations where you needed the capacity or performance gain, but not the enhanced data reliability.

RAID Level 1
In the same way that RAID 0 focuses solely on capacity and performance with no concession to reliability, RAID 1 focuses on reliable data storage with no concession to capacity or performance. RAID 1, also called disk mirroring, uses disks in pairs with both disks of a pair storing the identical data. The redundant copy protects your data against hardware failures, but you’re still vulnerable to user error deleting important files.

Suppose your computer sends a sequence of data to the RAID 1 host adapter connected to two disks. The host adapter will write all the data to each of the two drives. The identical data is stored on both drives, so if one fails, the data is still available. The operation completes when both drives have written the data, so the write can take longer than for one disk alone because of delays for unsynchronized rotation and for I/O bus contention.

RAID 1 offers better reliability than RAID 0 or conventional disk setups, but does not increase performance.

RAID Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4
RAID 2 adds one or more disks to hold an error correction code with which lost data from a failed disk can be reconstructed. When your computer sends a sequence of data to a RAID 2 host adapter connected to two data disks and an ECC disk, the host adapter interleaves the data to the two data drives. Odd blocks go to one drive, and even to the other. The host adapter computes the error correction code for the data written to the data drives and writes it to the ECC drive.

RAID 3 is the same as RAID 2, except that it uses a simpler code — parity instead of ECC. RAID 3 has the same small-transfer performance limitations of RAID 2, but less storage overhead.

RAID 4 is nearly the same as RAID 3, but instead of striping across disks at the byte level, it operates at the sector level. This makes RAID 4 like RAID 2 except that it uses parity rather than ECC, and it interleaves sectors. RAID 4 therefore has good data reliability and storage efficiency, as do RAID 2 and 3, and retains fast writes for large data blocks.

RAID Level 5
RAID 5 is the same as RAID 4, except that instead of dedicating a single disk to storing parity, the parity data stream is striped across all the disks along with Suppose your computer sends a sequence of data to a RAID 5 host adapter connected to four disks. The host adapter interleaves the data to the drives, ensuring that no one drive ever holds two blocks of a group protected by a parity block.

The host adapter inserts the new parity information in the data stream that it sends to the disks, mixing the parity information in with the original data. As long as there is at least one more disk than there are original data streams, the loss of a disk can take out only one data stream, and so parity is enough to regenerate the lost data.

Conclusion
RAID technology can be difficult to understand, especially for the beginner. Do go through the above tips to understand it so that you can make better purchase decisions when building your next computer system.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on building computers. Visit his website at http://www.build-your-own-computers.com for tips and tricks on assembling a PC, as well as buying good computer components.

Whenever there is a complaint about monitor contrast problem I will check on the flyback transformer ABL (automatic blanking limiter) circuit. Sometimes a weak picture tube might caused contrast problem. If the picture tube is good, I will go straight to the contrast circuit. The question is how do we find where the contrast circuit located? Simple, if you have a datasheet for the video pre- amplifier ic, definitely you can find the contrast pin. For LM1203N video pre-amp ic the contrast pin is located at pin 12. Replace this ic or trace from this circuit to find the cause of the contrast problem.

From experienced, usually capacitors shorted and resistor turned into high ohms were the caused of the problem. A video pre-amplifier can also be defective. To confirm whether is circuit or ic problem, just solder out the contrast pin and switch on the monitor. If the monitor display normal picture (contrast ok) then suspect the abl line circuit. If it remain the same (dim contrast) replace the video pre-amp will usually solve the problem.

The contrast signal came from one of the pin (leg) of a flyback transformer which we called it as abl pin. Many technicians have the difficulty to trace the abl pin because usually a flyback transformer consist of around 10 pins. Some pins are B+, GROUND, AFC, ABL, X-RAY PROTECT, VCC, to HOT, HEATER, horizontal centering and etc. But there is one and simple way that i’m gone to show you how to locate the abl pin. Use two analog multimeters set to x10kohm range. Connect it in series (+ probe to - probe) and measure the flyback transformer from anode (the red cap) to all of the pins under the flyback. You have to desolder all the pin or just remove the flyback from the mainboard in order to get an accurate reading.

If either one of the pin shows a diode reading that is the abl pin. The reason we use two multimeters is because the flyback circuit internally have couple of high voltage diodes connected in series. If you have a schematic diagram or any monitor or television troubleshooting book, you will see that the internal flyback diode are connected in series. By connecting two meters the ouput from the probe is around 24 VOLTS which is enough power to check the flyback internal diodes. After you have determined the abl pin, you can proceed to follow the line and find the bad components that cause the contrast problem.

Television or tv flyback transformer generally have the same design compare to monitor flyback. Whether it is a montblanc flyback transformer, rca, mitsubishi or sony flyback the checking usually is the same.

Jestine Yong is a electronic repairer and a writer. For more electronic repair information please visit his website at http://www.noahtec.com/electronic-repair-articles.htm

You’ve shot that wonderful video of your daughter’s birthday. Now, how can you get it into the computer to do some snazzy editing and perhaps produce a VCD or two? If the video is on that MiniDV or Hi8 tape, how can you possibly move it out of there into the computer? Seems tough. Well, let this article help you.

Analog or Digital?
The first thing you want to do is to determine if your video is in digital format (MiniDV, Digital8, MicroMV, Digital Tapeless, DVD) or analog format (8mm, Hi8, VHS-C). If it is in digital format, which is increasingly popular these days, you will need to transfer the video to the computer using a Firewire card. If it is in analog format, you will need an analog-to-digital conversion device to do the transfer.

Firewire Cards
A Firewire card is the channel through which video from your digital camcorder can enter your computer. A Firewire cable runs from your camcorder DV output port to your computer’s DV input port. Due to the extremely fast transfer speeds that Firewire achieves, the digital video will be transferred with almost zero loss in quality. Most computers do not come with Firewire cards - if you are lo
ing for one, I’d highly recommend the Belkin FireWire card which retails for less than $35 online.

If you want to find out what factors to consider when purchasing a quality Firewire card, you can check out my article on choosing the best Firewire card.

Analog-to-Digital Conversion Devices
An analog-to-digital conversion device converts video from analog format to digital format. These type of device is well suited for the following video editing scenarios:

• You have video shot by an analog camcorder and wish to convert it into a digital format.
• You have some old VHS tapes which are growing dusty and you wish to convert them into a digital format.

If you are in either of the above scenarios, I highly recommend you get an analog-to-digital conversion device to help with the time consuming work. One product that I’ve had excellent experience with is the USB Instant DVD from ADS Technologies.

This is is a neat little device that has ports to allow analog video input from your analog camcorder or VCR. It outputs the converted digital video via a USB cable into your computer’s USB port. You will definitely want to check out my full review of USB Instant DVD.

Conclusion
Well, I hope this article has given you some insight into the process of capturing video into your computer. The main point is to always remember what video format you’re dealing with. If it’s digital, go with Firewire and if it’s analog, use an analog-to-digital video conversion device.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on digital videography. Visit his website at http://www.desktop-video-guide.com for tips and tricks on buying digital camcorders, as well as shooting and editing great videos.

A revolution in learning technology has taken place. Actually, it took place a few years ago, and I’m only just now catching up. The reason is that no one connected the dots for me, and I guess I’m a bit slow.

That’s the value added I’m giving you here today. I’m connecting the dots for you, in case you haven’t yet made the connection.

MP3 players have become huge business. The most popular of these, of course, is the IPOD, but you can find many other brands with lots of different features to select from.

They mainly get used for entertainment purposes - listening to music on the go, hearing podcasts by your favorite artists, and so forth.

But the real revolution for upwardly mobile people is in having portable education that you can take with you most anywhere.

I got, as a birthday gift, Creative’s MuVo TX FM. If you get this one, and if you have ears anything like mine, be prepared to spend another $10 to get a decent set of headphones, because the ones that come with it physically hurt my ears. Not permanently - just a bit of temporary pain. And since I’m not into avoidable pain, I went to my local Radio Shack and got their "Three-In-One" package - which includes 3 sets of headphones for, like I said, about $10.

OK - so having an MP3 player is "dot" number 1.

"Dot" number 2 is that you can find huge numbers of MP3 audio files for instruction on almost anything. And you can download these files to your computer. And from your computer, you can transfer these files to your MP3 player.

For example, from one of the membership sites I in which I participate, there is an mp3 file of an interview of Brian Keith Voiles, an acknowledged master copywriter. I’ve had that file on my computer for ages. Never got around to lisening to it.

Now it’s on my little MuVo and I’ve started listening while - well, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go to …

"Dot" number 3 is that you can get an adaptor (I got mine, again from Radio Shack) to let you play these audio files in your car over your stereo speakers.

Beautiful!

Now as I drive around doing errands, I can absorb in the convenience of my car, wihtout breaking any laws, information from copywriting experts or from self-help coaches, and more.

I spend a fair amount of time in the car, so this really increases my productivity.

But we’re not done yet…

"Dot" #4 - My little MuVo enables me to go to bed, and continue listening as I drift off into the Land of Nod … without disturbing my wife!

I can walk around the house, go work out, and all kinds of other sundry things - and continue learning.

Finally - the unit I bought also enables me to record ideas on the fly and play them back. I haven’t fully tested this yet, so I’m not sure about the audio quality - is it suitable for playing to you on my website? I’ll be experimenting and report back to you.

The MuVo that I got costs about $149 plus whatever tax and shipping applies. Add the new headphones (a must, I’m sad to say) and the car adaptor, and you’re looking at a total expenditure of about $180.

That may seem like a fair amount of money, but if you spend a lot of time doing mentally deadening things like driving around doing errands or working out while the gym plays the latest in so-called music so that you can’t think - well, this may be an incredible value.

I can recommend the MuVo (depsite the headphones), but shop around. Lots of folks vouch for the iPod. And others for something called Zen. You’ll find lots of options, including price. Something is bound to work for you.

And once you have it - watch out. You’re brain may just explode with the new wealth of information you’ll be painlessly absorbing.

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This article may be reprinted as long as you keep it intact, unchanged and include this resource box. Bal Simon will help you turn your ideas into money. Visit http://subscribe.wealthcountry.com/home.php. You can contact Bal at http://www.wealthcountry.com/contact.html

For the longest time, people would just walk into a computer store and buy a PC because that is what everyone else seemed to be using. With the success of the iPod people are beginning to take notice of Apple and their very eye catching products. Now there seems to be a choice, which computer is best for you? Mac or PC?

I’m going to say right off the top, my Personal Computer of choice is a Mac. This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t use a PC or that a Mac is right for everyone.

Firstly so we all understand, PC stands for Personal Computer. Is a Mac a Personal Computer? You bet, since most people refer to Windows based Computers as PC’s. We will use the term PC to describe a Windows based Personal Computer and we will use Mac to describe Apple’s OSX-Unix based Computer.

Whenever I help someone find the best computer for their needs, I like to ask a lot of questions.

Here are a few questions to consider.

1. What are you going to use the computer for?
2. Do you have a computer geek in the family that is going to help you with setup, questions and problems you may have, or do you want to be independent.
3. Are there any specific programs that you must be able to use, how important is software compatibility?
4. Are you the creative or business type?
5. How concerned are you about Security,Viruses and Spyware?
6. Will Design and Styling be part of your buying decision?
7. How important is Gaming to you?

How do these question help me determine which Computer System to recommend?

Lets start with Question 1.
What are you going to use the computer for?

It’s very important to first find out what this computer will be used for. Is it going to be for very basic uses such as Internet, email and Word Processing or will you be using it for a home business or for creative tasks like Graphics and Design. There is no cut and dry which is better here, in this case a basic user could go with Mac or PC, The business type may be leaning towards a PC, and the Graphics and Design person should start considering a Mac.

Question 2.
Do you have a computer geek in the family that is going to help you with setup, questions and problems you may have, or do you want to be independent?

This is an important question because if you have a Geek in the family, more then likely they prefer one system over the other, if you want their approval and support you may need to purchase the system that they use.

On the other hand, do you want to be self sufficient? If so then you have the freedom to choose the system that you like best. If you are not overly computer savvy the Mac offers the quickest learning curve with the least amount of technical understanding to be self sufficient.

Question 3.
Are there any specific programs that you must be able to use, how important is software compatibility?

Does your business require specific software programs for real-estate, database, design or education? Not all programs are cross-platform, meaning they may only run on PC or Mac but not both. This could greatly effect your purchasing decision. One note to make here is that a Mac can run a Virtual PC program that allows you to install Windows and Windows based programs. This allows you to run PC programs on a Mac but they will run at a reduced speed because of software emulation.

Question 4.
Are you the creative or business type?

A common perception is that PC’s are best for business and Mac’s are best for creativity. There is definitely some truth to this however both PC’s and Mac’s are capable of either. It may come back to compatibility if you are working closely with others.

Question 5.
How concerned are you about Security,Viruses and Spyware?

Viruses and Spyware are here to stay, but did you know the Viruses and Spyware that can bring your PC to its knees will not even slightly affect a Mac? This is due in part to the Mac’s Unix based operating system. The reason for this is Viruses and Spyware are programs for PC’s, PC programs will not run on a Mac. This doesn’t mean a Mac can’t get a virus but is much more unlikely since it would have to be written specifically for the Mac and it’s very robust Unix security.

Question 6.
Will Design and Styling be part of your buying decision?

Without question Apple makes some very stylish computers! This is prevalent when ever you watch a Movie or TV show. Mac’s are in almost every scene where a computer is scripted. Style isn’t just about looks, it’s also about making a product that is usable and simple yet full of features that you really need.

Question 7.
How important is Gaming to you?

Maybe you are purchasing your computer as a gaming machine. Hands down the PC would be the best choice for this. Make sure you balance all of your computer uses, you may not have as much time as you think to game with all of the other great programs available. You can always purchase a console game like the XBox 360 and destroy your friends from the comfort of your couch.

More to Consider… I wanted to mention some of the strong points to each system.

PC:

-Extensive selection of software and hardware to choose from.
-Very competitive pricing on hardware and software as a result of a multitude of companies selling PC’s and their related programs.
-Full compatability with virtually all accessories.

Mac:

-Very tight integration between hardware and software due to Apple designing both aspects.
-Extremely user friendly and stable. -Lots of Pre-installed software programs for todays digital lifestyle called iLife. iLife is a suite of fully integrated programs that make it easy to use digital cameras, digital video editing, audio and music.
-Mac users are the most product loyal customers in the industry, that’s got to say something!

Todays computers are becoming closer and closer in speed and what they can do, compatibility between PC and Mac is almost seamless. I recommend you go to a retail store and talk to a qualified sales rep and give both systems a test drive with an open mind. The right computer will reveal it’s-self to you…

Author-Michael Kaye
DigitizMe.info
http://www.digitizeme.info

Get you free Computer and Technology eBook:
http://www.digitizeme.info/free.html

Nothing is completely safe today. Adobe has recently released a patch for a security hole in different graphical software, so why should Bluetooth be safe?

… and Bluetooth isn’t safe off course!

Two researchers of the Tel Aviv University School of Electrical Engineering Systems say they have discovered a technique for taking control of Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. After you’ve established a connection with an other cell phone, the attacker can easily make calls with your phone. If there is a Bluetooth connection with a PC, the hacker can even transfer data between his Bluetooth device / cell phone and the hacked computer. Bluetooth can be very dangerous as you can see! Even when the handsets have security features switched on, your cell phone isn’t save at all!

Avishai Wool, senior lecturer and Yaniv Shaked, graduate student and both researchers of the Tel Aviv University School of Electrical Engineering Systems have published recently a paper about three methods for forcing a repeat of the pairing process, "Cracking the Bluetooth PIN" ( http://www.eng.tau.ac.il/~yash/shaked-wool-mobisys05/ ). In this paper, a passive attack is described, in which an attacker can find the PIN used during the pairing process. The eye-opening conclusion of these two researchers: "Our results show that using algebraic optimizations, the most common Bluetooth PIN can be cracked within less than 0.06-0.3 seconds. If two Bluetooth devices perform pairing in a hostile area, they are vulnerable to this attack."

A Belgian Master student is making a fresh attempt to keep a list with Bluetooth security links on http://student.vub.ac.be/~sijansse/2e%20lic/BT/welcome.html.

Ollie Whitehousen security researcher of @stake, a digital security consulting firm ( http://www.atstake.com ) has written in October 2003 a paper that "examines methods of assessing the security of Bluetooth devices in relation to the protocol’s design and implementation flaws" ( http://www.atstake.com/research/reports/acrobat/atstake_war_nibbling.pdf ).

In general, the most critical point is the ‘pairing’ - connection procedure of two Bluetooth devices. When a Bluetooth device asks you to re-enter the PIN number for re-pairing, once the two devices are re-connected, the hacker can now easily crack the PIN code.

Links:

- http://www.atstake.com/research/reports/acrobat/atstake_war_nibbling.pdf

- http://student.vub.ac.be/~sijansse/2e%20lic/BT/

- http://www.eng.tau.ac.il/~yash/shaked-wool-mobisys05/

For feedback on this article, please visit http://wallies.info/blog/item/145/index.html

Walter V. is a self-employed internet entrepreneur and founder-webmaster of several websites, including
wallies.info :: A snappy blog about snappy blue things :: blog | wiki | forum | links - http://wallies.info
mblo.gs :: A snappy moblog community - http://mblo.gs

Purchasing new computer hardware is a tedious and complicated process, especially with new developments and accessories being added on a daily basis. The computer hardware knowledge seems to be outdated every two days even to the professionals. Keeping your old computer updated every now and then would be great idea to avoid a major capital cost and would help you to keep abreast of technology with lesser effort. However, there are certain issues to be kept in mind while deciding on a upgrade.

The first step in upgrade is to decide upon a budget. Don’t get too fancied up by the “Y” kind of processor with “Z” amount of RAM and “Q” amount of hard disk space. The computers generally displayed in a showroom would have a lot of accessories and add-ons that you don’t really need, hence the fancy price tags. While buying or upgrading a computer, decide on your budget and work backwards. This can result in your getting a custom built computer. The effort would still be worth it since you will get a computer that you need within your budget.

Another very important factor is to keep abreast of latest developments in the hardware market. This could save you valuable money. For example, if you are buying a Pentium IV 2.8 GHZ processor today and know that AMD would be releasing a new compatible processor after 15 days, it would be worth waiting for the 15 days since price cuts would be inevitable in the competitive market.

Always try and buy a custom built computer. The design is generic and it would be very easy to upgrade in the future. Branded computers use proprietary technology rendering upgrades almost impossible.

Make sure you buy the computer components from a renowned and authorized dealer who has a good warranty replacement record. This would eliminate future headaches in case of component failures.

Computer hardware is not hard to figure out, in case of doubt always consult a professional; it would be well worth the time and money instead of making a wrong purchase and not getting the required performance out of your computer. He would help fine tune your computer to give optimum performance.

After twelve years of owning desktop computers, I finally opted for a laptop so I would no longer be chained to my desk. After months of research and weighing various makes and models, I settled on the Dell Inspiron 600m Notebook Computer. This particular model has exceeded all of my expectations and at a price that is hundreds of dollars lower than many competing brands.

For several months I agonized over my next computer purchase. I knew I needed to be more mobile and only a notebook computer would permit me to take my "show on the road." Still, the decision making process was not easy as the number of different makes and models out there is mind boggling. Ultimately, I settled on a Dell in part because of previous good experience with the company as well as affordability of their product line.

The model I chose was the Inspiron 600m. As with almost everything that Dell builds, it is a "new" model; at least the 600m designation is. That is one of the confusing things about Dell and some other manufacturers: every month Dell introduces new models and you need a scorecard to compare one model with all the others. Fortunately, Dell’s website allows you to do just that.

Key features of the Inspiron 600m include:

Lightweight: Just over five pounds.

Mobile Centrino Technology is standard.

14.1 inch screen

Pentium M 725 Processor

24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive

256MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm Memory

Wireless Network Card

Extended Battery

Microsoft Windows XP Home Addition

WordPerfect Productivity Pack

I kept my computer fairly basic but I did opt for the latest version of Norton Security, a surge protected cable, a wirless router, and a wireless mouse. I selected the wireless mouse as I thought the keyboard’s mouse would be difficult to use. After two days I quit using the wireless mouse as I quickly got used to the built in one.

The screen is bright and the keyboard is solid. The mouse keys, however are noisy, almost clunky; you wonder if Dell could have used a quieter spring for each key.

The battery lasts at least four hours without recharging and when I do need to recharge I can go from nearly dead to fully charged in less than one hour.

For the price — I paid just over $1100. for everything including shipping and local taxes — the Dell cannot be beat. I haven’t had to call customer service yet, so I cannot comment on that although in years past your call would be routed to a technician in India. This model comes with a standard one year limited warranty; I avoided a later sales pitch over the phone to get a three year warranty. Their top of the line warranty sends a technician to your house to fix your computer, so it can be option for those of you who do not want to ship — and thereby lose the use of — your computer back to Dell for repairs.

You will find the Inspiron 600m to be adequate for standard business work. Check out their myriad of other models if you do plenty of graphic design or if you need a larger screen. I am happy with the 14.1 screen, but you may prefer their 17" model.

Matt Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: aviation, business, customer service, health, marketing, product review, sales, technology, and more. Please visit http://www.thearticlewriter.com to review his portfolio online.

Many people have different views and ideas about compatible toner cartridges. Other people simply know very little about compatible cartridges. As an exclusive user of compatible toner cartridges for fifteen years, I have found several things that are not true. I’d like to review five myths or misconceptions people may have about compatible laser toner cartridges. Let’s distinguish between fact and fiction.

Myth #1 Compatible Toner Cartridges are simply cheap cartridges.

It is true that a compatible toner cartridge is cheap in price. However, it is not a cheap quality toner cartridge. A compatible toner cartridge is a new toner cartridge manufactured by a third party. It is made from all new parts. It contains the exact toner required for your laser printer. Most companies give a one-year, one hundred percent money back guarantee on their compatible toner cartridges. You can normally purchase a compatible toner cartridge for about half of the cost of a new OEM toner cartridge.

Myth #2 Using a Compatible Toner Cartridge will void my printer warranty.

This is not true. In fact, congress passed a law to make it illegal for a manufacturer to force you to buy certain supplies. If allowed, this would lead to a monopoly, high prices and lack of competition. Below is a copy of the “Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act”. It’s your guarantee that your printer warranty will not be voided.

United States Code Annotated Title 15 Commerce and Trade Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties 15 Section 2302

“(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer’s using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name; except that the prohibition of this subsection be waived by the commission if:

1) The warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in connection with the warranted product, and

2) The Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest.”

Myth #3 A Compatible Toner Cartridge will damage my printer.

The truth is a toner cartridge can do very little to damage a laser printer. It is possible, but highly unlikely, for a toner cartridge to leak and cause streaking on your paper. However, a simple cleaning and replacement of the toner cartridge will resolve the problem.

In my fifteen years of using compatible toner cartridges, I only had one instance where the toner cartridge did not meet my high expectations. I called the company and they sent me a new cartridge the next day. I learned from this experience that it is very important to purchase your toner cartridges from reputable toner companies. How many companies have sent you a brand new replacement product the next day without any hassles?

Myth #4 Compatible Toner Cartridges produce poor quality print.

One of my initial fears in purchasing a compatible toner cartridge was that the print quality wouldn’t be as good. When I used my first compatible toner cartridge, it produced exceptionally good quality. I thought it wouldn’t last. I was wrong. In fact, I printed more pages from that cartridge than I did from my original. After extensive research, I found that many toner cartridges are not completely filled with toner when you purchase them. I happened to have purchased a cartridge from a company that had completely filled the cartridge. Hence, I got more pages.

In fairness to the major printer companies, I want to clarify one thing. I used OEM toner cartridges for several years. I always printed the number of pages that the manufacturer advertised. There was no deception in their advertising. Some simply did not fill their toner cartridges to capacity.

Myth #5 All Compatible Toner Cartridges are the same.

The truth is all compatible toner cartridges are not created equal. This is why you must purchase your cartridges from a reliable and reputable company. These companies test their compatible toner cartridges to insure quality and quantity of print. You can visit our website to learn ten things you should know about purchasing a compatible toner cartridge online.

If you want to cut your printing budget in half and continue to get high quality print, do yourself a favor. Find a reputable online toner merchant and order your compatible toner cartridge today.

Larry Andrew has owned and operated his own educational consulting business for over twenty years. He has extensive experience in teaching, computers and software. He is the publisher of http://www.compatible-toner-cartridge-guide.com.

Selecting motherboard is really simple. As name suggests "Motherboard" acts as a protective mother of CPU, RAM and other add on cards since these components stand firmly on motherboard.

Number of devices have been integrated on motherboard over a period of time. Now a days motherboard with onboard features is more popular in Branded PCs. Onboard integrated peripherals are offered by many branded PC manufacturers to provide you latest technology if you buy a system from a big computer manufacturer recently.

It is recommended to select motherboard with maximum number of ports preferably with 2 serial, 1 parallel and 4 USB ports. Most of the recent devices have USB port. Also check the upgradation options such as memory support and number of available PCI slots etc.

Technology changes so rapidly that manufacturers add the new features such as serial ATA, USB 2.0 and RAID on the motherboard to stay ahead of the competition. Many manufacturers even provides FM radio on the motherboard to survive in the race making it fully entertainment machine.

Important Motherboard Tips:

1) Do the survey by reading the reviews on motherboards and then look for either same motherboard or compare it with it’s competitors product in the market.

2) Don’t buy the costliest motherboard if you are not going to use additional features. Always check cost to benefit ratio and make the selection just by assessing the utility value.

3) If you are dedicated gamer or fan of overclocking, verify whether the space around CPU is spacious enough for you to install a larger heat sink-fan combination for cooling. Go for motherboard, which has the facility to overclock FSB in steps of 1 MHz and core voltage adjustment.

4) Confirm that chipset on the motherboard is compatible with the speed of the processor and speed of FSB. It is very important to check the compatibility to improve the system performance.

5) Select feature rich motherboard for future up gradation. Also ensure that it has enough PCI and memory slots for future expansion.

6) If planning for expensive motherboard go for the motherboard with onboard video chipset and an AGP slot. Don’t forget to check whether AGP slot supports latest transfer rate.

7) Also see whether motherboard has onboard sound and integrated Ethernet.

8) Check the type of memory that supports motherboard.

9) DDR RAM is the most popular option today. Most motherboards have at least two slots. But expensive motherboards have 4 slots. The total amount RAM you can install is also dependent on the motherboard chipset.

10) The smooth transfer of data without errors is the most important function of the chipset. This function of the chipset decides overall performance of the system. That is why the maximum speed a processor that the chipset supports is very important. In case of future upgrades you will need to change only the processor. This will save your time and money.

Krishna Pai is a webmaster and a writer. Get Computer Tutorials, reviews, Hardware & Software Tips, How to guides at http://www.cheapest-computer-hardware-software.com/

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