Specialized Computing Blog

The new Apple iPad has gotten a ton of hype leading up to the release of it. Is it as good as the company claims? Will it really bring about the death of laptops, as many believe? Here are eight of its notable features, to help you decide for yourself:

#1) Long-lasting battery

The company says the average lifespan for the battery is about ten hours. However, many people say it’s really longer than that. Some claim you can get it to go eleven hours or more.

This will save you a lot of money if you use mobile devices often. This enables you to watch five two-hour long movies before needing a replacement.

#2) Speakers

The quality of the sound is pretty good, even when turned up loud. Many were worrying the sound clarity would be subpar like a lot of mobile devices, but this really isn’t the case.

It’s not as crystal clear as a quality television. However, when considering the size of the iPad, it’s pretty decent.

#3) Screen width

The screen is 9.5 inches wide, which is quite large when compared with other mobile machines. While it’s obviously not as big as a laptop, 9.5 inches is easily big enough that you won’t have to strain you eyes when watching the screen contents.

It’s even sufficient for more than one person to comfortably view it at the same time. So if you have friends that want to see a movie, you are in luck.

#4) Cool temperature

If you are familiar with Apple laptops, you probably dread holding them on your lap for a long time. As the system heats up, they tend to become extremely warm, which makes holding them very uncomfortable. However, the iPad stays cool even after hours of use.

#5) Third party applications

The iPad can use third party applications without needing the use of modifications. In other words, it’s more adaptable than many expected.

#6) Storage space

Even the least expensive iPads contain sixteen gigs of room. This is more than anticipated.

#7) Tiny size

It’s very easy to carry around, weighing in at one and a half pounds. So you can easily carry it in your pocket without it being a burden.

#8) Built-in dictionary

The iBooks application has a dictionary that provides fast explanations of words when browsing the net. And it’s also capable of finding specific words within e-Books, which is a rather advanced feature.

The bottom line is, the iPad does have some neat features and it’s shaping up well. It may not be time to throw out your other mobile devices yet, but that time just moved a few steps closer.

The use of Smartphones is on the rise. And unfortunately a lot of businesses are paying no attention to this increase.

Recently, a leading research company stated that in 3-4 years, mobile users will be greater in number than laptops or computers. While mobile users obviously encompass more than just Smartphones, this outlines the importance of making your site mobile ready.

The reality is, you can’t target Smartphone browsers like regular internet users. Since the screens are smaller than laptops, you have to make your website smaller to accommodate them. If you don’t, the smaller screen will force the mobile users to constantly scroll up or down to view anything.

Most people will not be willing to do this, and will simply click away. Therefore, not having a smaller version of your site can cost you sales.

Should you have two different pages for this? You could do this option, but then you would have to get two separate pages ranking in the search engines. This is almost impossible, so is not really an option.

Another method is to have a clickable link on your main page that goes to your mobile page. However, this is going to reduce conversions because a certain percentage of people are not going to click through.

Therefore, the best strategy is to utilize user agent detection. This is a system that finds out what browser the visitor is using, and adjusts the webpage accordingly.

This means the site will automatically change the dimensions of the webpage based on the browser of the visitor. This is when your ability to target Smartphone users will really take off.

What about your page content?

Now that you know how to change your dimensions, you have to have quality content. The main thing needed is simplicity. This is how to target mobile users successfully. Here are three ways to make it more simple:

#1) Have the same navigation on every page

This is important, because if there is different navigation the user will become frustrated and leave.

#2) Put the navigation lower on the page

When it’s at the top, it often forces Smartphone users to have to toggle down to view the page. This is very annoying and a guaranteed way to lower your sales.

#3) Limit the use of graphics

This is another way to improve the simplicity. You probably want to avoid one of those annoying introductory flash pages that pops up before the main page.

So the most important things to keep Smartphone users in mind is to have different dimensions for mobile devices and keep your pages simple. Catering to this growing market is a smart move.

Today, there are more forms of memory than you can shake a stick at. Technically, memory can be anything used to store data, but today it is most commonly referred to as quickly accessed forms of storage. Just think about how slow your computer would be if it had to access the hard drive every time it needed to process a command. For this very reason, the computer selects a temporary memory device to store all of the commonly used commands so they can be pulled back up quickly. The different types of quick-pull memory include flash memory and various types of random access memory and read only memory. Let’s take a look at these different types of memory and see what sets them apart from each other.

Read Only Memory

ROM is a type of memory where information has been pre-recorded and is only available to be read. There is a slight variation, called PROM, or programmable read only memory, which is a set of memory devices, like a read only CD, that can be programmed, but then never changed. Once the memory is on the device and the session is closed, the memory cannot be added to or changed.

Random Access Memory

While read only memory can be accessed in a certain order, like a cassette tape, random access memory can be accessed from any point at any time, as long as you know the exact location of the cell the memory is stored in. Most of a computers’ quick access memory is stored in RAM, but there is an issue when the computer looses power; the memory is erased.

Flash Memory

Finally, the most notable type of memory today is flash memory. This memory comes in the form of flash drives, also known as thumb drives, and even the cards you insert into your digital camera. Flash memory is considered non-volatile, which means that it can be electronically erased and reprogrammed when deemed necessary. Today, each flash drive can be erased in pieces and parts, whereas, five years ago, if you wanted to erase a portion of data on the flash drive, the entire drive had to be wiped clean.

Flash memory is also more cost-effective than any other type of memory produced today. There are currently developments being tested in hopes of making hard drives only from flash memory. The reason this is the wave of the future, there are no moving parts in flash memory. No moving parts mean that there will be far fewer failures with the memory.

Conclusion

There are numerous types of memory. Each type has a certain purpose for which it was made. Computer memory is a basic storage device, just like your brain. The only difference between your memory and a computer’s memory is the way in which the information is recovered and the space available to store information. The next time you try to do something on an electronic device, see if you can identify what type of memory is being used.

Which came first, hardware or software? This is a rather difficult question, seeing as how hardware doesn’t do much of anything without having software installed on it, and software can’t do what it is programmed to do without the hardware to host it. So, what exactly is the difference between hardware and software, and why are their functions so different?

Hardware

Hardware is defined as a device with the task of storing and running installed software. The hardware is the physical piece of machinery, such as the hard-drive, mouse and keyboard, video and graphics cards. These devices serve as the host system for the software. Hardware is changed far less often than software.

The reason it is called “hardware” is because the physical device in not readily created, modified or erased on the CPU. These devices are hard put and usually consist of wiring and solder to hold them in place. Everything about the name speaks to what the devices are like; hard wired, hard to make, hard to install and hard coded with instruction. The easiest way to think of hardware, is that it is the part of the computer that you can physically touch.

Software

On the completely opposite hand, software is the program aspect of the computer. It cannot be physically touched and is easily created, wiped out and replaced in an instant. Software is the programming that allows you to perform the specific task you need to complete.

Software holds the collection of instructions that enables users to issue a set of commands and have the computer respond with a certain result. Programs are examples of software, like PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Skype, and even your Internet. Basically, anything that you can point and click at on your screen is tied to some type of software.

Hardware and Software Must Work Together

It is only when hardware and software come together, that things begin to happen. Without either of the two, you have an expensive paperweight or a group of coding that cannot live up to its purpose because there is no host to help display the outputs. Software makes it possible for hardware to work and the user to interact with the software. For example, it is software that runs the mouse programming, which allows the mouse hardware to click on and interact with the software on the computer.

Software developers cannot show off their skills and talents without the hardware developers keeping up with the latest and greatest improvements. It is an ever-changing reality that pulls one behind the other. Hardware becomes useless if it out-paces software and vice versa. Only until the two entities start working together, can any lasting improvements be made and advancements can be covered in leaps and bounds. So, in the world of which came first, it doesn’t matter since one is completely useless without the other.

Next week, we’ll look at the different types of memory your computer uses…