Benefits of a Glossy Laptop Screen

While traditional desktop computers afford users the option of installing a wide variety of monitors, your laptop computer displays its graphical user interface on its built-in screen, one whose size corresponds to that of the computer itself. Among the options you have when you purchase a laptop is the choice between a glossy or matte screen.

Glossy vs Matte Screens

When you order prints of photographs, you have the option to choose between glossy or matte finishing; in other words, photos that either have or lack sheen. Similarly, laptop screens can be either shiny, like the body of a car, or matte, like a piece of paper. If you're unsure as to whether a given laptop screen is glossy or matte, turn the computer off and look into the screen.

Image Depth

Just as is the case when you order glossy photographs, a glossy computer screen results in the images that display on your screen having greater depth, sometimes even appearing to be three-dimensional. Although you may be able to see them in slightly greater detail on a matte screen, the sheen of a glossy screen gives definition to different parts of images, making some appear to come out of the screen, while others appear to sink into it.

Color

Glossy screens make colors seem deeper, richer and more differentiated from one another. To understand why this is, think about a red delicious apple versus a piece of construction paper in the same color. The shiny, wax coating on the apple make it appear to be a brighter, more vivid color. Looking at an image or watching a video on a laptop screen results in an enhanced color experience compared to the same image or video on a matte screen.

Privacy

One complaint some users have about glossy laptop screens is that in certain situations --- bright rooms, for example --- the screen's sheen prevents them from seeing the image on it at all. If you have a glossy laptop screen, remedy this problem by pulling the screen closer to your face so that it comes slightly forward from vertical. This allows you to see your images without any problems.

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Repair the Lid Close Switch on a Toshiba Tecra A2 Laptop

Switch on a Tecra A2 laptop is the button that communicates when to turn off the screen when you close the laptop lid. A dirty close switch might get stuck inside the laptop and interrupt power supply from the inverter board. If your screen remains blank when the laptop is open, you might have a jammed close switch.

1). Use your index finger to press down on the close switch. Apply force to unstick a sticky close switch.

2). Dislodge dirt and debris with a pair of tweezers. Maneuver the tweezers around the close switch to remove buildup.

3). Spray the base of the close switch with compressed air. The burst of air may dislodge debris that couldn't be removed by tweezers.

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Farmville Tips and Tricks

Game developers Zynga bring you the most popular application on Facebook! Live the rural dream in FarmVille, where you grow delicious fruits and vegetables and raise adorable animals on your very own farm. Alongside your neighbors, plow, plant, and harvest fields with crops such as strawberries, eggplant and artichokes. Earn XP (experience points) and coins to expand your acreage or decorate your farm with trees, fences, ponds, or barns. Work faster with vehicles like tractors, harvesters, and seeders, and rear livestock such as cows, sheep, and pigs. The more you help your neighbors, the faster you’ll level up.

Planting Selective seeds get more coins:

Seed	Cost	Yield	XP gained	Harvests in days
Soya Beans	15	63	2	1
Grapes	85	270	2	1
Peppermint	50	150	1	1
Whisky Peat	280 (Free if you are growing the Green House)	680	3	1
Sun Poppy	175(You can even get it for free by harvesting neighbor’s Green house)	455	3	1
Strawberries	25	35	1	4 Hours
Eggplant	25	88	2	2

These are some of the plants which will gain more coins in a day’s time.

 

Useful Tips:

·        Fertilize all crops so that they will reap in less time also fertilize other’s fields to get fertilize all power.

·        Green House Seeds gain more coins, so do place a greenhouse in your fields and reap green house at no cost on other’s farm.

·        Yield Chicken coop and Animal Trough on other’s Farm to get 100 coins each for free. Also some mystery eggs and extra feed sometimes.

By using these seeds we can increase coins in leaps and bounds when the farm is big and the whole farm is sown with these seeds.  Farmville works better with Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers and in Windows 7 PC with a good Internet Connection. 

Keep in mind that there are times when it's not ideal to purchase seeds that yield the most profit.

For example: If you're going to be at work for 10 hours, it might not be a good idea to purchase seeds that harvest in four hours. It would be a better idea to purchase seeds that harvest in ten hours or twelve.

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Laptop LCD Inverter

All laptops are comprised of numerous parts, but the LCD inverter plays an especially important role. The inverter is one of several key parts within a laptop's display; it helps to illuminate the screen. If an inverter wasn't installed in your laptop, you wouldn't be able to see anything on the display.

Purpose

Normally, a notebook's screen will display windows and other user-controlled elements. But without a backlight, the viewing experience would be similar to looking at a film reel without a projector. The inverter allows for the laptop's display to be lit by providing power to the screen's backlight.

Location

The LCD inverter can usually be found inside some area of the laptop's display. For example, the MacBook's inverter can be found inside the display hinge, while other manufacturers place it along the side of the screen.

Appearance

Compared to the rest of the display, the inverter is a relatively small part. It's a rigid ribbon-like component one to two inches in length and plastic plugs -- which attach to the screen's own wires -- are set on each end.

Cost

As a sub-component of the display, inverters are fairly inexpensive. Since individual laptop components are usually stocked by third-party vendors, prices can vary greatly, depending on the laptop model or store.

Functionality

Within the portion of the display's hardware dedicated to providing power, the inverter converts DC current into AC current. This transition makes it possible for the display to be powered. The small size of most inverters is also beneficial, because it allows for laptops to feature high-quality displays without having to produce a larger chassis.

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What Does the Inverter Do on Laptops?

Electricity is delivered to your home as alternating current, but laptops and many other electronics use the simpler direct current. The power inverter on your laptop cord is responsible for switching current from alternating to direct.

Direct Current

Direct current (DC) electricity can be envisioned as flowing through conductive material in much the same way water does. The current moves through a circuit in one direction and at a constant voltage. This greater uniformity of current makes it ideal for powering laptops and other electronics.

Alternating Current

While DC power is effective and easily controlled over short distances, it quickly dissipates when sent too far. DC power supply would only be able to practically deliver electricity to homes within a one-mile radius of a power plant, so an alternative is necessary. Alternating current (AC) electricity, which oscillates quickly between positive and negative voltage as they make their way through a circuit, can travel for long distances without significant loss, which makes it far more suited for power transmission.

Inverters

Power inverters for laptops are usually large blocks found in the middle of the cord. These devices convert electricity from AC to DC so it can be safely used by the laptop. Each inverter generates electricity of a specific voltage intended for use with a specific computer, so they are not all interchangeable.

Energy Vampires

Some energy is necessarily lost inside the inverter during the converter process. While this is generally a small amount of electricity, power inverters continually convert electricity the entire time they are plugged in, regardless of whether your laptop is on or off. Devices like power inverters that constantly leach and waste energy when not in use are sometimes called energy vampires.

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Signs of a Laptop Overheating

Overheating a laptop can cause serious problems. Look out for the warning signs and you may be able to head off the problem before it becomes an issue. Sometimes overheating is caused by insufficient ventilation below the computer; elevating it or adding a cooling station can fix the problem.

Excess Heat

The first sign of a laptop overheating is an abnormal amount of heat coming from it, especially if it is in an area of poor ventilation, such as a couch, bed or on a flat lap with the user's knees closed. When a computer overheats, the keyboard will start to heat up, and the bottom will feel hot rather than warm to the touch.

No Fan or a Damaged Fan

Internal fans are responsible for cooling a laptop's processor. If these fans are blocked or inoperative, the laptop will begin to overheat. Hold your head close to the air vents -- usually located on the bottom -- and listen for the fan. If you hear nothing, or a grinding sound instead of a soft whirr, the fan may need replacing.

Slow Speed

As temperature sensors pick up the excess heat in the computer, the processor may cut power to itself. Alternatively, as the hard drive begins to fail, read/write speeds may slow down the computer. Impaired performance may be more noticeable when running high-performance programs such as graphics-heavy computer games and imaging software.

Sudden Shutdown

As the heat climbs in the laptop, you may experience hardware failures. These typically occur after the laptop has been on for some time, anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours. The monitor may turn black, the computer may have difficulty recovering from inactivity, or in some cases the computer can turn off altogether.

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The Best Ways to Save Laptop Batteries

 Modern laptop personal computers have processing technologies and powerful software applications that have become so advanced as to replicate the desktop PC experience. To maximize the mobile computing benefits that laptop PCs offer, users can keep in mind several measures to both conserve the capacity of their laptop battery, and extend the battery's life for as long as possible.

Background

According to PC Magazine, a typical laptop battery will enable the PC to run at full power for a few hours. In most cases, after about 18 to 24 months, laptop users will notice a steady degradation in the performance of the battery, and that the battery will run the PC for less and less time after each recharge. This is because lithium ion batteries have a limited number of charge cycles -- meaning a limited number of times they can be taken from a full charge to a full discharge -- before they aren't able to hold power on their own.

Charging

Users who leave their laptop plugged into a power outlet with the battery inserted into the laptop for long periods of time are likely accelerating the battery's decline in performance. This is because the battery only rarely has an opportunity to discharge and it loses its charge capacity. If the laptop must be plugged in to an outlet, one solution to save battery life is to pull the battery out of the laptop and use it only when the laptop is unplugged. According to PC Magazine, every 30 days or so (or every 30 charges), users should do a full battery discharge -- which means charging the battery to its full capacity, then using the computer until the battery is completely drained, and fully charging again.

Overheating

One of the easiest ways to damage a laptop battery and quickly degrade its performance is to cause the laptop to overheat, or to use an alternating current (AC) power adapter that has the incorrect voltage. Users should take care to verify their adapter matches the AC outlet voltage. In addition, users can help prevent overheating by using a cooling pad when the laptop is in their lap, or to place the laptop on a pillow or blanket that can block cooling fans and cause the laptop to heat up.

Conserving Battery

Users can also take steps to conserve their battery between charges. Among the most effective steps are disabling Bluetooth and wireless connectivity (when it's not needed) and reducing the screen brightness. In addition, users can change their laptop's power management settings and reduce the amount of time the laptop stays on with no activity before going into "sleep" mode. Disconnecting unneeded accessories from the laptop and cleaning a battery's metal contacts with alcohol are two other ways to save battery power.

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Turn on Number Lock on a Laptop

Eliminating the separate number pad is one of the changes most manufacturers make to save space in a laptop computer case. This allows the keys on the laptop keyboard to be large enough for most people to operate comfortably. The number pad didn't disappear completely though. It has been integrated with the standard keyboard with some of the keys doing double duty.

1). Locate the "FN" key on the keyboard. In most cases, it is between the "Ctrl" key and the "Windows" key on the lower-left side of the keyboard.

2). Look for the "NumLock" label or the icon resembling a calculator on the numbered function keys at the top of the keyboard. Most manufacturers use the "F11" key for this purpose. The "F4" and "End" keys are also used. Consult your user's manual if there is no clear marking for this function.

3). Depress and hold the "FN" key. Depress and release the labeled function key. Release the "FN" key. The indicator light for "NumLock" should turn on at this point. Repeat this procedure to turn the number lock off when you are finished.

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Kensington Lock Instructions

The Kensington Security Slot is a small locking mechanism used on devices, such as laptops, computer monitors and video game consoles. The Kensington lock then connects to this slot to lock the device securely to a desk or other solid surface to prevent theft. The locks use either combinations or keys for a convenient way to protect your expensive equipment. While not unbreakable, securing your valuables with a Kensington lock can save it from an opportunistic thief.

1). Secure the security wire of the Kensington lock to a large, solid surface. This can be a desk, bedpost or any similar heavy object that is not likely to get stolen. Wrap the security wire around the object and slide the lock end through the loop end of the wire.

2). Set the lock to the unlocked position. To do this, either insert the key and turn it to the unlocked position, or enter the correct combination into the combo pad.

3). Insert the Kensington lock into the Kensington Security Slot on your device.

4). Set the lock to the locked position by turning and removing the key, or slide the combination keys so that the correct combination is not entered.

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Restore Function on an HP Laptop not working

What Happens When You Lose the PC Restore Function on an HP Laptop?

Hewlett Packard laptops come with several tools for backing up and restoring information, including the ability to completely restore the entire system to its factory settings. If these functions are lost, users must access the default Windows tools for restoration or use other third-party software.

Cause

The primary "C" drive of an HP laptop comes with a built-in partition labeled "HP Recovery." This partition stores all the information required for the HP restoration functions. Removing, renaming or tampering with the drive causes these tools to become unavailable.

Effects

Without the recovery drive in working order, users cannot access the HP Recovery Manager during startup or use it to restore the system to its original state. The HP backup tools accessed from the recovery manager will also be inaccessible.

Options

Even without the built-in HP tools, Windows has several options for restoring the system. The System Restore feature rolls the system back to a previous time, and the Windows Backup/Restore tool allows users to retrieve data. Using the Windows installation disc, users can perform a reinstallation of the operating system to completely reset the computer.

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Repair an HP Laptop Power Jack

 The majority of problems with DC power jacks on HP laptop models stem directly from a crack forming between the power jack's positive pin and the motherboard. A good way to determine that this is the problem you are experiencing with your HP laptop is to see if it operates solely on the battery when you plug the AC power adapter into a working electrical outlet. This problem with the power jack eventually results in a dead battery that won't recharge, and a laptop that is not getting any power.

Here are the sptes:

1). Slide your electrostatic discharge wrist strap onto your wrist.

2). Open the link provided in the "Resources" section below. Identify your HP laptop model in the list and click on it. Click on "Manuals," then click on "Maintenance and Service Guide." Click on "Removal and Replacement Procedures."

3). Follow the disassembly instructions and take your laptop apart to gain access to the defective power jack.

4). Lift the motherboard up and out of your laptop and set it aside.

5). Apply soldering iron to the three contacts of the power jack to heat up the existing solder on the contacts.

6). Remove the solder from the power jack contacts using the desoldering pump.

7). Shake the jack left and right until it separates from the motherboard.

8). Solder the contacts on the replacement jack and then coat the motherboard's jack terminals with solder as well.

9). Lay the replacement jack where the original jack was positioned. Apply solder to the jack pins and the jack, then put the motherboard back where you removed it from.

10). Reverse the instructions you used to disassemble your laptop earlier, and work in this order to restore all of your laptop's components to their original positions.

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Use a Laptop IR As a Remote Reader

 The IrDA protocol, created by the Infrared Data Association, specifies how two devices can communicate using a line-of-sight, infrared connection over short distances. Many laptops include an IrDA-capable hardware transceiver in their factory configurations. IrDA transceivers are typically located in the front edge of the laptop. You can configure the infrared (IR) port on your laptop so that it becomes capable of wireless communication with cellular phones, PDAs and other mobile devices.

1). Log in to the computer as a user with Administrator privileges. Click "Start," then "Run." Type "hdwwiz.cpl" into the text box in the "Run" window, then press "Enter." The Hardware Wizard will come up.

2). Click "Next," then "Yes, I have already connected the hardware," then "Next." Click "Add a new hardware device," then "Next."

3). Click "Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)," then "Next." Click on "Infrared devices" within the "Hardware types" section. Click the device on your computer in the "Infrared device" section of the wizard's window. Click "Next." The IrDA port will be recognized by, and usable from, Windows at that point.

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Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 Vapor

Introduction:

According to Steam, over 94% of the computer users using Steam are running Windows 7 with DirectX 11 video cards.  In fact as of the January Steam Hardware and Software Survey the most popular video card is still the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 which is a DirectX 8 part with a 5.77% market share and the 9800 with a 5.55% market share. NVIDIA and AMD both say that most people upgrade their video cards in a 3 year upgrade cycle.

Sapphire is a manufacturer of video cards based upon AMD chips like the Barts and the Cayman. They were one of the first to launch a HD 6870 in October of 2010 and have released a second series of cards this month.  This series is a custom set of PCBs using things like Sapphire’s Vapor-X cooling and different configurations of display options (Flex). Today’s review is on the Sapphire RADEON HD 6870 Vapor-X edition card. It is a reference card in terms of clock speed but the cooler keeps the card running cooler.

Features:

·        900MHz Engine Clock each card

·        1GB GDDR5 memory each card

·        1050MHz Memory Clock (GDDR5)

·        134.4GB/second memory bandwidth (maximum)

·        2 TeraFLOPs compute power each card

·        TeraScale 2 Unified Processing Architecture

·        1120 Stream Processors each card

·        VC-1

·        MPEG-1 (SD and HD)

·        Enhanced Video Quality Features

·        Advanced post-processing and scaling

·        Dynamic contrast enhancement and color correction

·        DXVA 1.0 and 2.0 support

·        AMD HD3D technology

·        Stereoscopic 3D display/glasses support

·        Blu-ray 3D support

·        Stereoscopic 3D gaming

·        3rd party Stereoscopic 3D middleware software support

·        AMD CrossfireX multi-GPU technology

·        DisplayPort 1.2

·        Maximum resolution 2560x1600 per display

·        21.6Gbps bandwidth

·        High bit-rate audio

Sapphire’s new card is based upon AMD’s Barts XT chip which was announced last year in October as the replacement for the HD 5770 and 5830. This chip has 1120 SPs which is split into 14 SIMD arrays with 16 SPs per SIMD Each SIMD can do five instructions per clock with four simple and one medium  instructions supported. This brings a total of 1120.

The HD 6870 has 1.7 billion transistors and is manufactured on TSMC’s 40nm fabrication process. AMD’s chip has 56 texture units, 32 ROPs (Outputted Pixels), and 128 Z/Stencil units. AMD says this card can do 2 TeraFLOPs of computing power which is equivalent to last year’s HD 5870.  AMD’s goal with the Barts chip was to deliver near the same performance as last year’s chip for a lower price.

Eyefinity is AMD’s trademarked term for their multi-display technology. With the launch of the HD 5 series last year every video card was capable of 3-display Surround gaming.  This compares favorably with NVIDIA’s solution which requires two video cards running in SLI mode to run 3 monitors. AMD’s solution allows up to six monitors on their Eyefinity Edition cards. With the launch of the HD 6 series AMD has updated their cards with DisplayPort 1.2 connections, allowing daisy chaining of monitors with MST hubs. In the meantime the HD 6870 can connect up to five monitors at once.

DirectX 11 is rapidly becoming the standard for video games being released today. With features such as hardware tessellation, Shader Model 5.0, Compute Shaders and Multi-threading, DirectX 11 really shines in games that support it like HAWX2. HAWX2 uses hardware tessellation to show off detailed terrain including mountains with crevasses and trees, to the tune of 1.5 million polygons just in the terrain alone.  Without tessellation and displacement mapping the terrain is a lot less detailed. Other games such as Aliens Versus Predator also use tessellation to good effect.

Setup and Performance:

Test System

·        ASUS P6X58D Premium motherboard

·        Intel i7 980X CPU

·        24GB Kingston DDR3-1866MHz memory

·        Thermaltake SpinQ CPU cooler

·        Sapphire RADEON HD 6870 Vapor-X video card running Catalyst 11.1 900MHz core/1050MHz memory

·        Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate Edition

·        Thermaltake ToughPower XT 850 PSU

Tests

·        Uningine Heaven benchmark 1920x1200 8x FSAA 16x AF benchmark

·        Just Cause 2  1920x1200 8x FSAA 16x AF benchmark

·        Aliens Versus Predator 1920x1200 8x FSAA 16x AF Custom FRAPS walkthrough

·        Dirt2 1920x1200 8x FSAA 16x AF benchmark

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Use a Keyboard to Wake a Computer From Hibernation

Laptop hibernation helps conserve energy when you'll be away from your computer for some time. In Hibernate mode, your computer writes an image of whatever you're doing onto a file on the hard drive before shutting down almost completely. While it may take longer to boot up than when your computer is in Standby mode, Hibernate is ideal for when you'll be away from your machine for long periods of time but want to save your settings.

Follow the below steps:

1). Click "Start" and then choose "Control Panel." Change the Control Panel so that it is in "Classic View" by clicking the button on the left side panel.

2). Select "Power Options" in the Control Panel. At the top of the Power Options window, you'll see tabs. Select the one that reads "Hibernation." Click the box beside "Enable Hibernation" so that a green check mark appears.

3). Click on "Power Schemes," found at the top of the window. Set your hibernation settings by choosing how long your laptop will remain dormant before hibernation begins. Set by changing the "System Hibernates" settings for both when the laptop is plugged into a power source and when it is operating on battery power. Click "Apply" and close the window.

4). Allow your computer to remain dormant for the amount of time that you've set in order to initiate hibernation. This allows you to walk away from your computer without shutting down or losing any work.

5). Press any button on your keyboard to wake your computer. On most models, this is sufficient and your computer will boot up automatically and return you to what you were working on. If pressing any key doesn't work, press the power button on your computer and hibernation should end.

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