Parts of a Fiber Optic Cable

In the early 1980s fiber-optic cables connected most of the major cities in North America. Today fiber-optic cables circle the globe caring voice, video and data signals over these glass fibers. There are many different types of fiber-optic cables dedicated to many different applications, but they all share the same common configuration.

Core

The very center of the fiber-optic cable is a thin piece of glass that provides the path that the light signals follow. This part of a fiber-optic cable is called the core. The core is very small in diameter. Both single-mode and multimode fibers (cores) are 125 microns outside diameter. To put this in perspective, a micron is one 1 millionth of a meter, or 125 microns, and is equal to 0.005 inch.

Cladding

The core is covered or surrounded by optical material. This part of the fiber-optic cable is called the "cladding." Typically the cladding is also made of extremely pure glass just like the core, although there are variations that use plastic. The cladding's job is to surround the core and reflect light signals back into the core. As light signals travel through the core they do not always travel in the direct line but may angle off in many different directions.

Buffer Coating

Surrounding the cladding (which in turn surrounds the core) is the next part of the fiber-optic cable and it is called the buffer coating. The buffer coating does not perform any electrical functions. Its job is to protect the cladding covered core from damage or moisture. Typically the buffer coating is composed of plastic.

Jacket

The outer jacket is the last part of the fiber-optic cable. Sometimes called the outer sheath, this jacket is composed of very tough polyurethane and protects the interior components of the fiber-optic cable. Some fiber-optic cables have an additional part or layer between the outer jacket and the buffer called the Aramid (Kevlar) strength member.

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Coaxial Cable Types

Coaxial cables are cables that consist of two conductors that share an axis. The inner conductor is usually a straight wire; the outer conductor is the wire's shield, which is usually a braided wire or a metal ribbon. It is used primarily for radio and television signal transference. The combination of the center conducting wire and the outer conducting shield keeps other cable noise out and the signal in.

Types

Different types of coaxial cable rated by the U.S. government are designated by the letters RG and then a number. RG stands for "radio grade" and are from when the Army used most of its coaxial cable for radio transmission. The numbers were chosen arbitrarily. The most common RG designations are RG-6, RG-8, RG-11, RG-58, and RG-59. The main difference between them is the impedance. RG-8 and RG-58 have a 50-ohm impedance, while RG-6, RG-11, and RG-59 are 75 ohms.

Impedance

Coaxial cable comes in many different types of impedance. Impedance is the resistance the cable puts on the signal flow. So, 50-ohm coaxial cable is used primarily in radio transmitters because its low resistance is able to handle the high transmitter power. Fifty-ohm cable replaced the 60-ohm version that was used for the same thing in the mid-20th century. Televisions use 75-ohm cables to carry video and audiosignals.

Shield Contruction

The outer conductor, or the shield, of the coaxial cable is constructed in different ways. Flexible, or braided, coaxial cable is a cable that has an outer conductor made from a braided wire shield. One of the drawbacks to this kind of cable is that if the braid isn't weaved tightly enough, a small amount of high-frequency energy can radiate and cause the signal to bleed over into other wiring. Semigrid coaxial cable has a solid tubular outer conductor that contains all the RF energy. Ribbon coaxial cable is the construction of many tiny coaxial cables each wrapped in a foil shield.

Connectors

The right coaxial cable means nothing if they have the wrong connectors. Different connectors work better at different frequencies. Ultra high frequency (UHF) connectors were the standard used before World War II and have a frequency range of 0-300 megahertz (MHz). N connectors, developed after WW II, are the oldest of the high-performance coax connectors and have a frequency range of zero to 11 gigahertz (GHz). A BNC connector has a much narrower frequency range, zero to 4 GHz, than the N connector. The TNC connector is the improved version of the BNC with a frequency range of zero to 11 GHz.

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Types of Cat5e Cables

The group of cables surrounding your computer or workstation is most likely composed of category cables, or Cat cables. These cables have various data transmitting capacities, ranging from the minimal traffic to the bandwidth-intensive amount of 100 GbE. Learn to differentiate one from the other so that you can do some minor troubleshooting when you have connection issues.

Identify the Cable

Category 5 cables, nicknamed Cat5, are cable types designed to carry data from one computer center to another. To check what specific type of cable you have in your hands, look at the printed siding, which will indicate the type of category to which your cable is compliant. Category cables have various data transmission limits, starting from 10 MbE (megabit Ethernet) to 1000 GbE (gigabit Ethernet). Category 5 cables deal with the 10 to 1000 MbE range. Cat5 cables are also differentiated by the type of material used to make them, such as the PVC type (emits poisonous smoke while burning) or PLENUM type (more expensive but safer type).

Category 5e for 10 MbE

The Cat5e cables for 10 MbE speed is the entry-level category cable used for data connections that are not that heavy in traffic. For home or small business use, these 10 MbE cables are used to connect one computer to another, or even as replacement for standard telephone wires. This is the most affordable type of Category 5e cable and is best suited for light to medium data traffic use.

Category 5e for 100-1000 MbE

Category 5e cables for speeds of 100 to 1000 MbE are used to connect a computer to a router or to another much larger computer. This type of cable is sometimes called a patch cable and is capable of handling much heavier data traffic than the 10 MbE variety. Cat5e cables also come in LS0H type or the low-smoke, zero-halogen variety is used in public buildings.

Cat5 vs. Cat5e

Category 5 cables are the older versions of the Cat5e. Cat5 cables are only capable of handling up to 100 Mbps data connections, as opposed to the 1000 MbE capacity of Cat5e's. Cat5 cables are up to 100 MHz in operation, while Cat5e can reach up to 350 MHz. Cat6 cables reach the 500 MHz mark quite easily. The materials that make up a Cat5e cable are often times more compliant to safety and fire standards, such as the LS0H type.

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Difference Between Cat5e & Cat6e Cable

Cat5 and cat6 cables are used for computer network cabling, most commonly for Ethernet cabling. The "e," as in "cat5e," stands for "enhanced." Cat6 cable reduces interference between the conductors and is rated for higher transmission speeds and bandwidth than cat5 cable. There are specifications for cat 5, cat5e and cat6, but the next level would be cat6a, even though cat6e is being sold as an enhanced cat6 cable with higher speeds than plain cat6.

Performance

Cat5 cable has been widely used since 100 megabits per second (Mbps) networks became common in the 1990s. With higher network speeds going up to 1000 Mbps, or gigabit Ethernet, cat5e was introduced to address this speed requirement. Gigabit Ethernet represents the limit of the cat5 specification, so cat6 was introduced to handle still higher speeds. It is certified up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). There is no specification for cat6e, but suppliers are offering such cables as non-standard enhanced cat6 cables.

Separation of Pairs

The key limiting factor for cat5 cable speed is the interference between the four pairs of conductors. Cat 6 cable has a longitudinal separation that runs the length of the cable and isolates the four pairs in separate chambers. To further enhance transmission performance, cat6 cables may have larger #23 conductors instead the #24 conductors present in cat5 cables. The result is that the cat6 cable has far lower levels of internal interference and can handle higher speeds, since the signal-to-noise ratio is higher.

Connectors

Connectors for cat5 and cat5e cables are identical, but those for cat6 have subtle differences. All are the RJ45-type of connector and will fit into RJ45-type sockets. Pin assignments are also identical for all three cable types and for cable sold as cat6e. Connectors for cat6 cables have slightly larger holes where the individual wires enter the connector to accommodate the slightly larger conductor size. More importantly, the conducting connector material and the details of the conductor arrangement are designed to enhance transmission to match the characteristics of the cable.

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IEEE Standard Wiring Colors

IEEE does not specify wiring colors; this is done by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). However, IEEE standards must be followed for electronics and electrical design using wires following TIA color codes. Furthermore, IEEE has color-coded its electronics design books based on the type of equipment, called the IEEE "Color Books."

Default Color

According to "LAN Wiring" by James Trulove, "the most common color for nonplenum coax cable is black. Most of the nonplenum cable that is used for LAN wiring will have a black synthetic rubber or PVC outer jacket with white markings." The white markings then specify the wiring type and the standards that the wiring meets, such as IEEE or EIA standards.

Four-Pair Wiring Colors

The Telecommunications Industry Association has issued standard TIA 568A and 568B that define a standard color code for wiring. Each color combination for a wire pair identifies the type of wire. "Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide" by Michael Meyers says "manufacturers color-code each wire within a piece of a four-pair UTP to assist in properly matching the ends. Each pair of wires consists of a solid-colored white and a striped wire: blue/blue-white, orange/orange-white, brown/brown-white, and green/green-white." Wiring can be color-coded based on the connection speed and end connector in accordance with TIA 568A and 568B in addition to meeting IEEE design standards. According to "Planning for the Fiber Distributed Data Interface" by William E. Burr, "the connector used for terminating the shielded twisted pair at the outlet is that specified by ANSI / IEEE 802.5 (token ring)."

25-Pair Wiring Colors

There is also a 25-pair color code for cables. "Residential Network Cabling" by BICSI says "the ring colors are blue, orange, green, brown and slate. The ring color identifies the position of the pair within the group of five tip possibilities." The color code for wires, in combination with rings, allows up to 25 unique pairings without duplication.

IEEE Color Books

IEEE Color Books are identified by different color dust jackets. For example, "The Electrical Systems Design & Specification Handbook for Industrial Facilities" by Steven Marrano and Craig DiLouie states "IEEE standard 141 (is) 'Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution for Industrial Plants, 'The Red Book'; IEEE Standard 142 'Recommended Practices for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems,' (is) 'The Green Book'". These IEEE Color Books include recommended practices on wiring layout and connections. The IEEE Color Books provide IEEE recommendations how connectors must be identified and wiring must be labeled. The recommendations in the IEEE Color Books are also shared with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

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How to Use Secondary IP Addresses With HSRP

Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) is a Cisco proprietary protocol that takes two different devices and makes them into one. Configurations make the interfaces appear as if they are all part of one big "virtual router" with the same default gateway. The configuration provides for redundancy in the case of a failed link, failed port or total switch failure.

1). Decide how many groups that you need. The first group is the primary Internet protocol (IP) on the interface. Any additional IPs are secondary entries and each IP has its own group. This group includes the range of IPs that the hosts will also fall under. The first IP of the range is for the standby IP of the "virtual router" and is passed back and forth between the two switches. The next two IPs are for the interface on each router that will participating in the group. All other IPs in the range belongs to the hosts that are connected to the switch.

2). Identify what IPs you will be using for each group. Dividing (subnetting) IPs to ensure that there is not an IP conflict takes time and math skills. Waiting until the last minute to assign IPs for the maintenance can put you in a crunch for time. Plan on one subnet per group to keep the hosts on their own local area network (LAN). Hosts need one IP address each so be sure to include the three IPs to cover your two interfaces and the virtual router ID. Allocation for the interface is needed to ensure you are not short on host addresses.

3). Configure the new group under the existing interfaces.

Group numbers 0-255 can be used and each interface will support up to 15 different groups. The Group numbers that are used do not have to be in any certain order. You can jump around and skip numbers in between or follow contiguous number schemes but no there is no benefit either way. The rule of only 16 groups applies on a per interface basis and you must reuse the same group numbers on the next interface.

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Transfer All Data From HDD to HDD

Computer technology, including the acronyms and jargon that go with it, can confuse most people. Computer technicians used to joke that a PCMCIA card stood for people can't memorize computer industry acronyms. HDD is a bit simpler, as it stands for hard disk drive, as opposed to floppy disk drives or FDDs. Moving data between hard drives is less complicated than remembering the acronyms, though.

1). Find all of your files. Right-click on the "Start" menu and choose "Open Windows Explorer." Right-click on the hard drive and choose "Copy." If this is your Windows operating system hard drive, the files will be copied but you will not be able to run the operating system from the second drive.

2). Move the data to the second hard drive. If the drive is attached to the same computer, you can get to it by selecting the drive in Windows Explorer. If you need to move to another hard drive on another computer, insert a DVD or flash drive, right-click on the attached hard drive or DVD or flash drive and choose "Paste."

3). Put the flash drive or DVD in the second computer if moving to a hard drive on another computer. Select all the files in the DVD or flash drive. Right-click on the files and click "Copy," then select the new hard drive and click "Paste."

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Deleting the Master Boot Record on a Partition

The Master Boot Record, or MBR, is a small program that runs each time your computer starts up. Sometimes, this program malfunctions and you may need to remove it. Often the best approach is to format the hard disk to remove all remnants of the malfunctioning software. This will remove every software and partition so you will be able to reinstall everything from scratch.

1). Back up all data on your hard disk. You can transfer all files to a portable hard drive. Plug it in and drag all items you want to save into the portable hard drive's folder on the desktop.

2). Restart the computer. Press F12 to access the BIOS setup menu. Change the startup disk so that the computer will start up from a CD next time you start the computer. Look for the "Boot Disk" menu options, hit enter and choose "CD-ROM."

3). Insert a Windows or Mac installation disk, press "ESC" and restart the computer.

4). Delete all existing partitions if you want to have all hard disk space in one batch. Delete the partition that contains the Master Boot Record or create new partitions using the formatting software on the installation disks. Follow the installation software's instructions during the formatting process.

5). Choose NTFS format mode for the partitions as it is a faster and more secure form of formatting.

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Animal Trough in Farmville

Animal Trough is a place where we feed animals in Farmville. Once we fill the trough with animal feed it attracts one of a number of typically available animals which you can be adopted for our farm.Once an animal is adopted, Feed Trough will need to get filled up again in order to attract another farm animal.

Animal trough can be purchased from market in Buildings under Animals Tab. 

 

 If you do not choose to place it when we get a gift from a friend or just as an update we can later go into Gift Box for placement later. Once we click on the Animal Trough and choose “Look Inside” we’ll see this window.

Next we need to get the Animal Trough filled which will take 20 units of Animal Feed to top off the Trough. We can acquire Animal Feed in one of two ways—you can buy it by clicking on the “Buy Feed” button which costs 1Farm Cash for one unit of Animal Feed. If you click on the “Ask For Feed” you’ll be prompted to put a notice up on your FaceBook feed asking for more Animal Feed. You can also acquire more Animal Feed through feed posts.

We can get Animal Feed in other way as well-

When our neighbors visit our farm, they can click on our Animal Trough to give one unit of Animal Feed or, if you visit them, you can click on their Animal Trough and gift them a unit of Animal Feed. When we fill our neighbor's Animal trough at times we will get two more units of animal feed as bonus. 

The Animal Feed Trough window shows visually how full the Trough is, and has six mug shots of the animals known to be nearby that may wander onto your farm. Animals will drop out of the rotation eventually and new animals inserted, so the six won’t stay the exact same for long.

The visual state of the Animal Trough changes as it fills up with Animal Feed:

Once the Animal Trough is filled with Animal Feed you’ll get a notice: 

Sometime in the next day or so an animal will stop by and enter the Animal Trough. You’ll be able to tell by the fact that the light above the building entrance is green, the doors are closed, and the feed has been drained. If you visit the Animal Trough in time, you will be successful in adopting the animal for your farm and will have an option to share one with your neighbors.

All of your Animal Feed will be used up and you’ll need to fill your Animal Trough back up again to get another animal. However, if you wait too long, more than a couple of days, the animal will go away. You’ll see the following window instead:

By losing the animal you’ll only lose 2 units of Animal Feed, so you’ll have 18 units instead. The mug shot board in the Animal Trough will reflect which animals you’ve adopted and which still remain to be adopted.

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Reset the Waste Ink on a Canon Printer

The Canon ink counter tool estimates your remaining ink usage, and should be reset each time you replace your ink cartridge. This tells your Canon software that the ink cartridges are full, so it can properly estimate the remaining ink levels. Since the ink counter is an estimate, you may have some ink remaining even when the ink counter says your cartridge is full. By resetting the ink cartridge, you can avoid wasted ink, and squeeze every last drop out of the expensive ink cartridge.

1). Click the Windows 7 "Start" button, and type "devices and printers."

2). Click "Devices and Printers" in the search results to open the "Devices and Printers" window.

3). Right-click your Canon printer in the section labeled "Printers and Faxes," and select "Printer preferences."

4). Click the "Maintenance" tab of the "Printing Preferences" window.

5). Click "Ink Counter Reset."

6). Check the ink cartridges you wish to reset, such as "Black" or "Color." You may have multiple color tanks corresponding to different colors.

7). Click "Execute" to reset the checked ink cartridges.

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Dispose of Printer Toner

 If you own a laser printer or copier, you will have to change the toner cartridge. But you cannot simply throw the old toner cartridge away with the trash. Those toner cartridges contain materials that are potentially hazardous, so keeping them out of landfills is important. Fortunately there are recycling programs in place to help you get rid of old toner cartridges without threatening the environment.

1). Remove the new toner cartridge from the box and look for a return shipping label. Many toner cartridges come with prepaid shipping labels customers can use to recycle their old toners.

2). Log onto the website of the printer manufacturer if there is no return label in the box. Search for the word "Recycling" on the website to find information about any toner recycling programs the printer manufacturer has in place.

3). Enter your return address, contact information and other requested information into the form on the website to create the return shipping label. Place that label aside while you pack the old toner into the box.

4). Place the used toner cartridge in the plastic bag that contained the new cartridge. Secure the ends of the plastic bag with packing tape to prevent leaks in transit.

5). Put the used toner cartridge into the box and tape the box shut with packing tape. Contact the shipping carrier to schedule a pickup of the box for recycling.

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Comparison of Cartridge Toners

Though toner costs more in the short term than an ink cartridge, in the long run money is saved. Compared to ink, toner is cheaper. But how do you determine the best toner for you? There are a few different things to keep in mind when comparing toners that will help you make the best decision when it comes time to open your wallet and buy.

1). Find out if your printer uses liquid, powdered or laser toner. Only compare toners from the kind that your computer uses. Comparing liquid and laser toner will get you nowhere, because they are for completely different uses and different printers.

2). Identify the cartridge yield, sometimes called the cartridge life. This number is sometimes printed on the toner packaging, but if not you can find it on the manufacturer's website. This will tell you how many pages you can expect to print from one toner cartridge. Compare this number across all the toners that you are thinking of buying.

3). Divide the number of pages in the cartridge yield by the cost of the toner itself. This will give you a cost per page. This number should be compared across all toners before buying because that will determine the true cost of the toner.

4). Compare shelf life of the toners. Some toners are only good for 12 to 18 months before their printing power is compromised. If you generally order toner in bulk, this may mean that you won't be able to use all of the toner before it expires.

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Format a Protected Disk

 

If you have forgotten your password to the disk and want to wipe it clean, work around the protection by using your Windows registry. The Windows registry logs all of the protection on disks and can also turn them off for editing and formatting.

1). Restart your computer and hold down the "F8" key. This will take you into Windows "Advanced Boot Options." Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate to the "Safe Mode" option and then press the "Enter" button.

2). Click the "Start" button and then click the "Search" bar on the menu. Type "regedit" into the "Search" box and press the "Enter" button.

3). Follow this path in the registry from the icons on the left side of the window that appears: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies."

4). Click the "WriteProtect" key in the "StorageDevicePolicies" section. Change the value to "0" in the "WriteProtect" key. Click the "OK" button to save this and then restart your computer. Insert your disk into the computer's optical drive or USB port.

5). Select the "Computer" option and then right-click on your now unprotected disk. Click the "Manage" icon in the menu and click the "Disk Management" option in the next menu. Right-click on the unprotected disk and choose the "Format" option. Click the "OK" button and then select the "OK" button again. Wait for the system to prompt you when the formatting process is completed, and close the window to finish.

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Problems Installing GeForce 8400

GeForce 8400 is a high-performance video card used for video games and multi-media applications. It features 512MB of video memory, full DirectX 10 support, SLI technology and dual DVI outputs. The GeForce 8400 is also compatible with Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems. However, when installing the GeForce 8400, like any video card, problems can occur with compatibility and other factors.

Motherboard Incompatibility

Video cards come with a few different slot types. This includes PCI, AGP and PCI-Express. The GeForce 8400 uses PCI-Express technology specifically. If your motherboard is outdated, or does not contain a PCI-Express slot, the GeForce 8400 will not work. So before purchasing a video card it is important to refer to your motherboard specifications to check for compatibility.

Output Problems

The GeForce 8400 features dual DVI outputs for monitor and TV connections. In order for a proper connection your TV or monitor it should also have a DVI input. However, if your monitor or TV does not have a DVI output, adapters can solve this problem. In most cases, the adapters you would need to solve this problem are either DVI to VGA or DVI to HDMI.

Outdated or Incorrect Drivers

Up-to-date drivers are necessary for the GeForce 8400 to run properly. If your drivers are out of date, or designated for an incorrect operating system the card will not function properly. In order to download the latest drivers for your operating system you will want to visit Nvidia's website. When downloading the drivers you will need to input your operating system and video card model.

Resolution Problems

Once the drivers are up-to-date, video settings may need to be adjusted. This includes resolution, aspect ratios and more. To adjust your settings accordingly, right click anywhere on your desktop and select "Personalize". Next, select "Display settings." Now make sure that your GeForce 8400 appears in your display settings. Finally, you can adjust your resolution and aspect ratio using the sliders on the display settings window.

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Diagnose a Graphics Card Problem

Blank screens, display monitor flickering, squealing noises, incorrect text and monitor display sizes are all signs that require your graphics card settings to be adjusted. Thankfully, you can resolve many of these issues without having to dismantle your computer. By checking the connections and altering the refresh rate and resolution settings, your graphics card diagnosis will lead you to a fast and clearer visual repair.

1). Check the connections from the graphics card and video cable and verify that each one is securely attached if a blank or black screen is displayed. If your computer monitor does not work correctly, go to the next step.

2). Replace cables that have bent or damaged pins in the connector. If your computer monitor does not work correctly, go to the next step.

3). Change your display resolution if the text or monitor display size is incorrect. Click the "Start" button, click the "Control Panel" and then click "Adjust screen resolution" under "Appearance and Personalization."

4). Click the "Resolution" drop-down list and then move the slider to the "Recommended" resolution size for your monitor. Click "Apply." If your computer monitor does not work correctly, go to the next step.

5). Change your refresh rate if the display flickers. Click the "Start" button, click "Control Panel," and then click "Appearance and Personalization."

6). Click "Personalization," click "Display Settings," and then click "Advanced Settings."

7). Click the "Monitor" tab and then check the "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display" if it is not already checked.

8). Click the pull-down list under "Screen refresh rate" and select a new refresh rate. Click "Apply" within 15 seconds after your display illustrates the new changes otherwise the changes will not take affect. If your computer monitor does not work correctly, go to the next step.

9). Visit the graphics card manufacturer's website and update the driver for the graphics card.

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Enable ATI Theater Mode

ATI Theater Mode is especially useful if your personal computer contains video files that cannot be played on your DVD player. For example, you may have home movies on your personal computer and no way to watch them on your TV. Theater mode is an effective way to send videos to your TV with minimal hassle.

1). Right-click the desktop. A context menu will appear.

2). Select "Catalyst Control Center" from the context menu. Catalyst Control Center will load.

3). Select the "Graphics Settings" tab.

4). Click "Avivo Video" in the left-hand column. A sub-menu will then expand.

5). Click "Theater Mode" in the sub-menu. This will cause "Theater Mode" to be displayed in the main menu.

6). Select "in Theater Mode (full screen)" in the "Select Theater Mode Overlay" setting.

7). Select "Match the source video" in the "Theater Mode Settings" section.

8). Play your video, which will now be displayed on your television.

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Ways to Save Printer Ink

When you purchase a printer for your computer, the price you pay for the device itself is only a fraction of the cost you incur over the life of the device. From time to time, you must replace your printer's ink cartridges. Lessen your ink consumption by developing wise printing habits.

Print Quality

Most printers have the option of printing documents and pictures at various quality levels -- and the lower the print quality, the less ink the printer uses. Except for "final draft" items you need to turn in to a supervisor or instructor at work or school, get into the habit of printing documents at low quality to save on ink.

Page Count

When you print a document, your computer will prompt you to enter the pages of the document you want to print. Look through your document before printing to verify that you need all its pages -- and if you don't, adjust the page range to reflect what you do need. If you print a receipt from a website, for example, the entire document may take up four pages, even though your receipt itself appears entirely within the second page.

Color vs. Black and White

On the whole, color cartridges are more expensive than black and white ones -- and, since color documents print using a combination of ink hues -- these cartridges run out faster with regular use. Even if a document appears in color on your screen, your computer gives you the option to print it in black and white. Unless printing in color is essential to the purpose for which you use your document.

Mobile Documents

With the advent of "smartphone" devices such as the Android, BlackBerry and iPhone, the necessity to print out certain documents at all has lessened. From receipts to emails to -- in some instances -- airline boarding passes, it's possible to pull up full-length documents using the email or Internet feature on your handheld device. This saves not only on ink, but also on paper.

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Print Black & White on Canon MX850

 Multi-function and all-in-one printers such as the Canon Pixma MX850 have a lot of settings and capabilities. Printing in black and white, or grayscale, is easy to switch to depending on each print. Printing in grayscale can be useful if you want to print out draft copies of a document or photograph, or alternatively if you want to have black and white prints for aesthetic reasons.

1). Click "Start" then your username.

2). Browse through your computer until you reach the file you want to print.

3). Double-click it and then click "File" followed by "Print."

4). Make sure the Canon Pixma MX850 is selected in the print dialog box. Click "Preferences." Click "Grayscale Printing" and then "OK."

5). Click "Print" to print in black and white with your Canon Pixma MX850 printer.

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