India and Pakistan Archive Launched on the BBC

The BBC have launched an online archive...check it out ...http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/trial/open/about.shtml

Digital Radio On Your Mobile

I started using this feed about six weeks ago and i think its something everyone who listens to the radio should look into
ok,so many mobiles have fm transmitters that allow you to listen to the popular stations like radio 1, however, if you are like me and like to listen to those that are digital based stations like five live extra,then this site is worth checking out. It is compatible with most phones and pda's - the only catch is that you need to have a data plan. If you dont, you are looking at about five minutes of streaming taking up roughly 3mbs of download.

Check it out at www.Radiofeeds.Co.Uk/pda
published via mobile

Paying for a virus checker?

Recently Norton announced that there was a major hole in one of its Norton products and informed all users to complete an automatic update immediately. A “nasty bug” residing in two ActiveX controls used in Norton’s PC software could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on another user’s machine. A lot us started to pay for full-recommended virus checkers because that was the only way we would get peace of mind. Most companies allow you to have 30 days free use and then make you subscribe. I have found that all this does is cause you issues and slow your computer down.

Update issues and slow processing have made using my machine a nightmare. In my case, Norton would make my machine hang whilst it was updating or warning me that my live status was out of date or that my subscription had finished.

Over a year ago I turned to non commercial products such as AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/). Allows you to have a spy ware checker and a virus checker, all for no charge. Okay, they do not have any technical support team that you can phone or ask for help, but hey, which support company has never told you to reboot or reinstall? We are all pretty clued up and can work most problems out or know someone who can help.

I can only stress how easy this product is to use. If you have a constant internet connection, it will update as your machine automatically and you will not be bothered by alerts etc. It is takes up little space and does not take over the machines memory allocation and therefore, your machine won’t be fighting the process hoggers like Norton.

This virus checker combined with a firewall such as zone alarm – once again free (http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/home.jsp) for about 30 days and then limited but sufficient functionality. If security experts are recommending these products and reviews, show them blocking more virus’s than most commercial products –why should we pay.

Verdict: Highly recommended

Do i need a SSD based laptop?

Answer.com says

solid state disk

A disk drive that uses memory chips instead of rotating platters for data storage. Used in battery-powered handheld devices as well as desktop computers and servers, solid state disks (SSDs) are faster than regular disks because there is zero latency (there is no read/write head to move). They are also more rugged than hard disks and offer greater protection in hostile environments.


Non-Volatile and Volatile

Most solid state disks use non-volatile flash memory; however, some use volatile DRAM or SRAM chips that are backed up by a built-in disk drive or UPS in case of power failure. Also called an "electronic disk," a solid state disk emulates the sector format of a disk drive and is generally a plug-for-plug replacement for it. As memory has gotten less expensive, the storage capacity of solid state devices has increased tremendously.

So do i need one?

I went through some similar questions when I was looking at buying a Sony UMPC. The main advantages I found were that if you are going to require a portable device that is going to be knocked about, then yes it is worth the extra money.

You can drop a laptop and the screen may smash...but at least, you will know the SSD is still in one piece and working. Other advantages include a performance increase over standard hard drives for intensive tasks and as it takes less power to function - in theory your battery should last longer too.

Read/Write capabilities used to be an issue, however, I no longer think this is the case and it should not be an issue when purchasing.

The cost will come down soon, as there are many UMPCs such as Sony's UX range and the Samsung Q1 that already have SSD within them. Samsung have also built a drive that is ipod compatible - so it shows where the market is going.

In the short term - if you take a new vista machine with a standard drive and one with ssd - there will not be too much difference when it comes to performance. However, as you do updates and add software, a standard drive will slow down (depending on how many times you defrag etc), where as an ssd based machine should stay at the same performance speed.

Gun Shaped Laptop Battery....

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