Technology Guides

LCD Monitors have become more popular just last year and now the 22-inch segment is the best buy. They are much less priced than 24-inch screens and usually, less than a $100 upgrade from a 19 or 20 inch screen. HP, ViewSonic, and Samsung all offer great looking packages in this size category.

The ViewSonic entry is surprisingly good looking except for the speakers which dull it down a bit. It has more of a bang for your buck coming in at a reasonable $319US. It is not offered in a physical store but you can buy it from a number of online retailers. The graphics, text, and DVD quality are all very good and it comes with analog and digital inputs. It has multiple adjustments and 5ms of response time and 700:1 contrast ratio.

HP offers a brilliant package with good looks and good features for a small premium over the ViewSonic at $330US. The surprising thing is there is a huge difference between the Canadian price and the American price. HP Canada offers the very same monitor for $450 but luckily I stumbled upon an even cheaper price offered by Office Depot at $400. The difference between the HP and Viewsonic is the text quality which goes to the ViewSonic but it makes up in contrast ratio (1000:1) and features. It looks like an HP product which is not surprsing because they are known for there aesthetics. The w2207 combines style and practicality with USB ports, pivoting panel, and EasyClip. Easy Clip is a feature on this monitor that will allow you to add different accessories alongside your monitor including a webcam, picture frame, and a flower vase.

Finally, Samsung has come out with the SyncMaster 2232GW. It’s a name you’d think you’d hear from an infomercial. It brings it’s ‘A’ game though with great graphics, text and DVD quality. It surpasses all the other monitors in terms of processing power with 3000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time but lacks in ergonomics with only tilt adjustment. It’s priced a bit higher versus the ViewSonic and HP with a pricetag of $360 US from Circuit City and it is not sold in Canada unless you want to ship it from Samsung.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Everybody is worried about losing there cell phone especially if it is expensive like mine. I have therefore been searching for a cheap and possibly free piece of software that can help me locate my phone quickly. I foundsome  shareware called Guardian v2.1 but when I searched it on Google, I was skeptical on its reliability and whether or not a virus would ensue. You can view the video below on it which shows good things about it from.
Another alternative that is only available to Windows Mobile Users or Sony Ericsson phones is called mGuard which is free and installs on your phone at a size of only 100kb (.jar file and preferably on phone memory instead of memory stick). I myself have this on my phone but it can get costly as they charge you a SMS message per time you shut your phone off to check if it still has the same SIM. If there isn’t the same SIM, it will realize that your phone has been stolen and now you can be on your way to tracking your stolen phone.

I found a loop hole though. Don’t shut it down and always charge it whilst the phone is on. Not much of a loop hole. It still does its job as unsuspecting robbers will not know this and will then find out too late. Go to Dexmobile and click on mGuard. You will first download it and then after installing, run it, and click settings. They will ask you for an unlock code which you will get after you register (to the right of the download button) and they will send you the unlock code. They also you send the download url to your email. To notify you of a SIM change you will need to enter a friends phone number, where a pre-set or customized message will be sent to if, heaven forbid your cell phone gets stolen. Keep your IMEI number handy or enter *#06# on your phone to get it. I haven’t had the time to really put it in its paces but I guess thats a good thing. They have wide array of contact options including email and phone number if you do have a problem.
Another solution is called Lost Mobile Tracking Solution by Micro Technologies located in Mumbai. It is a cheap one time solution at a cost of $8 but it is not supported on many phones including mine. I was ready to fork over the money because I love my phone and a little money will keep it protected. There are about 40 phones supported at the most.

Now if your cell phone is ever stolen, you’ll be able to find it if you use either of these technologies with your cell phone.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Many companies have been trying to copy and beat the iPhone but this is the first true competitor in my mind. Although the looks are not the best, the internal statistics blow away the iPhone any day. Due for release on November 4, 2007, Sprint is readying for a huge release that will determine whether it catches up to AT&T or stays behind them. So how does the HTC Touch stack up against the Apple iPhone?

Unlike Apple’s iPhone, the HTC Touch will be working on Sprints fastest network and it supports corporate email. A huge plus to this touch phone is the processor. So not only will it operate on a faster network which was a huge deal when the iPhone first came out, but it will also be fast when not using the network.

Also it has been released in Canada under Rogers and Bell Canada. My only worry is why would people buy it from Bell? It’s a business-like phone and business people travel to other countries making it immobile if it were under a CDMA network.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Do you use Flickr to share your photos online but find it difficult or not user friendly? While there are many alternatives to satisfy your needs, there is only one in my mind that can do the job well and efficiently. JAlbum is that software and website. It has the ability to host your albums on their server, customize the albums, and help you create the album. It is a very innovative website and has helped many people create dazzling photo albums and slideshows.

The new version works better for Vista and allows for password protected albums for when you want to publish them to the internet and you don’t want prying eyes viewing your precious photos. Already included is many advanced functions for advanced users as well as for novices. This includes an FTP Client, template based galleries, and plugable image filters.
To start your own gallery and share it with the world, or just the ones you love, go to JAlbum and sign up. Then download the software and drag and drop pictures into the JAlbum software. Customization is next with various skins, viewability, and many advanced features to further make your gallery/slideshow yours.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Update: As of today or sometime slightly before, you can now be exclusive guests to Cairo’s alpha software. If you go to their homepage, you will see a sign up sheet for potential testers who preferably have previous testing experience.
Cairo is a new type of Windows Shell alternative that will be released as a free standing application. There is no word yet on when it will be released but we can all hope it will be sooner than later. Many, including me at first, don’t have a clue what a Windows Shell Alternative is; but let me dumb it down for you. When you install a WSA, it replaces explorer.exe. Explorer.exe displays the icons, folders, start menu, and taskbar but Windows has made it possible to change it in numerous ways only if you are good at computers or if you’ve downloaded something like Cairo.

I was told about this revolutionary piece of “software” by a friend and I decided to do some of my own research. So far though, Cairo’s official website is the only place with reliable information.
Even with an official website it isn’t sufficient enough to write a full article so this is just an article in development. There are 9 features on Cairo that are either new or improvements on Windows’ version. Some of them are:

• A start bar with easy access to all your files and applications.
• Slick and Stable, you never hear those words together
• Multi-Desktop lets you easily organize your workload by desktop
• Dynamic Desktop enables you to browse files and folders right there
• Make virtual file stacks to easily locate files with File & Application Grouping
• Launch applications that are more frequently used and hide the ones you don’t with LaunchCairo
• Preview files and folders such as documents, music, and images with File Explorer
• Configure Cairo just the way you like it by adding and removing features with Cairo’s unique plugin system

Popularity: 13% [?]

All the major phone manufacturers are all abuzz about creating an iPhone killer much like the digital music industry was trying to create an iPod killer. Now Microsoft might have finally succeeded at doing that with the new generation Zune as it’s currently hard to find in many US retailers. But that’s not the story for today. Today I am here to report on the Blackberry 9000 which is supposed to be an iPhone killer.

RIM is one of the only big name brands yet to come out with some sort of response to Apple’s iPhone. Now that is all about to change. Jim Balsille, co-CEO of RIM, and the most publicized out of the RIM top shots, has slowly been changing the direction of the company to a more consumerist market rather than the business one. With the huge success of the Blackberry Pearl, it only makes sense that they make this step to produce a product to match and beat the iPhone.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Silverthorne is Intel’s first crack at making a brand new processor aimed at ultramobile PCs except for those small cell phones like the iPhone. Intel is not only working on this processor, but an update to it’s upcoming Penryn family using a 45nm notebook processor, plus Montevina, a sub-notebook processor with 40% smaller components. Intel will make its integrated Wi-Fi/WiMax chip set available as an option with Montevina-based notebooks. As always, Intel is looking to shake up the industry and as usual, it will go off with a bang.

Around June 2008, Intel will release a new platform, Menlow, that will use Silverthorne and another chip set, Poulsbo. Using their new technology of a 45nm chip, which is being drooled at by other chip makers such as ATI/AMD, they will hopefully drill a new market wide open between the cell phone and notebook industries. Currently there are more than 15 designs in Intel’s arsenal with 2 in production by Christmas and 4 by the second half of 2008. The image above is the HTC Shift which will use Intel’s Ultra Mobile PC chip (UMP) also in development and should be released later next year.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Don’t have a laptop but still want the option to carry around multiple applications and Operating Systems? That’s where MojoPac comes in. It’s a free application that you can download onto your PC and then onto a USB, iPod, or mp3 player. It’s a remarkable application as you can then put applications such as Word, MSN, Firefox, and Photoshop and then move them along where you go and insert it into a new computer or laptop and launch those applications on the new computer.

Not only can you put applications, but you can put Operating Systems such as XP, Mac, or Linux plus you can put games such as Halo 2 and still run it on a new computer at the same performance. The drawback though is Vista is not available for transferring or being a host PC which limits my possibility for transferring but RingCube Technologies, the maker of MojoPac, is working on producing a Vista MojoPac.

Popularity: 4% [?]