How to fix everything: the ultimate guide to fixing technology

How to fix everything: the ultimate guide to fixing technology

How to troubleshoot and fix your most common gadget issues

PCs, printers, smartphones, cameras, networks - your stuff will inevitably stop working. Here's how to troubleshoot and fix your most common tech issues.

We love our technology, but if there's one guarantee when it comes to PCs, phones, cameras and other gadgets – its that at some point in its lifespan you'll encounter a problem with it.

Your PC will crash, your camera will break, your network will fail, and your printer will chew up paper.

Before you spend valuable time and money waiting for tech support or paying for a professional technician, read our handy guide to basic repairs for your PC, home network, printer, digital camera, and smartphone.
How to fix your PC

Considering how many different software and hardware components need to work correctly for a modern PC to turn on, it's a small wonder that they work as well as they do.

We can't give you a cure for all of your computer ills, but we can provide a guide to getting out of the most common PC disasters.

Here are some useful strategies.

If your PC won't turn on
Try plugging it into a different outlet or power strip; if it's a laptop, try a different battery and power adaptor, if you have another one handy.

For desktops, make sure that all your internal plugs and cards are properly seated; graphics card, RAM, everything.

If none of this helps, it's probably a problem with your motherboard or power supply, and unless you've got spare parts handy, you're probably best off calling the manufacturer's tech support line.

If your PC turns on, but won't successfully boot into Windows
First, start booting up, and press F8 repeatedly during the boot process.

This may allow you to access a menu that lets you select different boot options with your keyboard, one of which is 'Safe Mode'.

Select Safe Mode, uninstall the last thing you installed, update all your drivers (if you need to download new ones, you may need to select the 'Safe Mode With Networking' option instead), and open up the System Restore app (Start Menu, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore) to roll back to an earlier point when your PC could successfully start up.

If you hear a series of beeps on startup, you might have a motherboard-level problem.

Safe Mode not working? Your hard drive might be failing.

Get your rescue drive or manufacturer recovery discs, boot up from it, and save whatever data you haven't backed up.

Then run your disk diagnostic app - you can always run Check Disk, which is built into Windows, by right-clicking your hard drive, selecting Properties, clicking the Tools tab and selecting Check now... under the 'Error Checking' tab.

There's no cure for bad sector - you'll have to replace the drive.

If you hear your PC emitting a set of beeps during the startup process, it's most likely your BIOS trying to tell you that you have a motherboard-level problem with your PC - your processor fan might be unplugged, for example, or your power supply might not be working.

The beep patterns aren't standard, so you'll have to get on a different PC and check out your BIOS manufacturer's website to figure out what's wrong.

Stop Microsoft Office Constantly Reinstalling

Stop Microsoft Office Constantly Reinstalling

QUESTION Microsoft Office Home and Student keeps trying to reinstall itself on my partner's Microsoft Windows Vista laptop. If she cancels the installation, nothing works correctly and she has to wait until it configures and installs itself again before being able to use it. How can we fix this? James Witt

HELPROOM ANSWER Back up anything of importance, pop in your Windows installation disc and reboot the laptop. The laptop will try to boot from disc, and an 'Install Windows' screen should appear. Click 'Install now'.

Follow the installation wizard until you get to the 'Where do you want to install Windows?' screen. Click 'Drive options (advanced)', then choose Format and click Ok. This will wipe your hard drive and remove corrupt installation files. Following this process, you can install Vista as normal.

If you're worried about having backed up everything of importance, you can choose to 'Repair Windows' from the 'Install Windows' screen rather than reinstall it. This will prompt Vista's diagnostics program to detect any problems you might be facing.

If it finds none, restore your computer to an earlier time using System Restore (you can find a walkthrough for using System Restore on our DVD under Troubleshooter).

Computer Networks Interview Questions

Computer Networks Interview Questions

1. What are 10Base2, 10Base5 and 10BaseT Ethernet LANs

10Base2—An Ethernet term meaning a maximum transfer rate of 10 Megabits per second that uses baseband signaling, with a contiguous cable segment length of 100
meters and a maximum of 2 segments.
10Base5—An Ethernet term meaning a maximum transfer rate of 10 Megabits per second that uses baseband signaling, with 5 continuous segments not exceeding 100
meters per segment.
10BaseT—An Ethernet term meaning a maximum transfer rate of 10 Megabits per second that uses baseband signaling and twisted pair cabling.

2. What is the difference between an unspecified passive open and a fully specified passive open

An unspecified passive open has the server waiting for a connection request from a client. A fully specified passive open has the server waiting for a connection from a
specific client.

3. Explain the function of Transmission Control Block
A TCB is a complex data structure that contains a considerable amount of information about each connection.

4. What is a Management Information Base (MIB)

A Management Information Base is part of every SNMP-managed device. Each SNMP agent has the MIB database that contains information about the device's status, its
performance, connections, and configuration. The MIB is queried by SNMP.

5. What is anonymous FTP and why would you use it

Anonymous FTP enables users to connect to a host without using a valid login and password. Usually, anonymous FTP uses a login called anonymous or guest, with the
password usually requesting the user's ID for tracking purposes only. Anonymous FTP is used to enable a large number of users to access files on the host without having
to go to the trouble of setting up logins for them all. Anonymous FTP systems usually have strict controls over the areas an anonymous user can access.

6. What is a pseudo tty

A pseudo tty or false terminal enables external machines to connect through Telnet or rlogin. Without a pseudo tty, no connection can take place.

7. What is REX

What advantage does REX offer other similar utilities

8. What does the Mount protocol do

The Mount protocol returns a file handle and the name of the file system in which a requested file resides. The message is sent to the client from the server after reception
of a client's request.

9. What is External Data Representation

External Data Representation is a method of encoding data within an RPC message, used to ensure that the data is not system-dependent.

10. What is the Network Time Protocol ?

11. BOOTP helps a diskless workstation boot. How does it get a message to the network looking for its IP address and the location of its operating system boot files
BOOTP sends a UDP message with a subnetwork broadcast address and waits for a reply from a server that gives it the IP address. The same message might contain the
name of the machine that has the boot files on it. If the boot image location is not specified, the workstation sends another UDP message to query the server.

12. What is a DNS resource record

A resource record is an entry in a name server's database. There are several types of resource records used, including name-to-address resolution information. Resource
records are maintained as ASCII files.

13. What protocol is used by DNS name servers

DNS uses UDP for communication between servers. It is a better choice than TCP because of the improved speed a connectionless protocol offers. Of course,
transmission reliability suffers with UDP.

14. What is the difference between interior and exterior neighbor gateways

Interior gateways connect LANs of one organization, whereas exterior gateways connect the organization to the outside world.

15. What is the HELLO protocol used for

The HELLO protocol uses time instead of distance to determine optimal routing. It is an alternative to the Routing Information Protocol.

16. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the three types of routing tables

The three types of routing tables are fixed, dynamic, and fixed central. The fixed table must be manually modified every time there is a change. A dynamic table changes its information based on network traffic, reducing the amount of manual maintenance. A fixed central table lets a manager modify only one table, which is then read by other devices. The fixed central table reduces the need to update each machine's table, as with the fixed table. Usually a dynamic table causes the fewest problems for a network administrator, although the table's contents can change without the administrator being aware of the change.

17. What is a TCP connection table

18. What is source route

It is a sequence of IP addresses identifying the route a datagram must follow. A source route may optionally be included in an IP datagram header.

19. What is RIP (Routing Information Protocol)

It is a simple protocol used to exchange information between the routers.

20. What is SLIP (Serial Line Interface Protocol)

It is a very simple protocol used for transmission of IP datagrams across a serial line.

21. What is Proxy ARP

It is using a router to answer ARP requests. This will be done when the originating host believes that a destination is local, when in fact is lies beyond router.

22. What is OSPF

It is an Internet routing protocol that scales well, can route traffic along multiple paths, and uses knowledge of an Internet's topology to make accurate routing decisions.

23. What is Kerberos

It is an authentication service developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kerberos uses encryption to prevent intruders from discovering passwords and
gaining unauthorized access to files.

24. What is a Multi-homed Host

It is a host that has a multiple network interfaces and that requires multiple IP addresses is called as a Multi-homed
Host.

25. What is NVT (Network Virtual Terminal)

It is a set of rules defining a very simple virtual terminal interaction. The NVT is used in the start of a Telnet session.

26. What is Gateway-to-Gateway protocol

It is a protocol formerly used to exchange routing information between Internet core routers.

27. What is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)

It is a protocol used to advertise the set of networks that can be reached with in an autonomous system. BGP enables this information to be shared with the autonomous
system. This is newer than EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol).

28. What is autonomous system

It is a collection of routers under the control of a single administrative authority and that uses a common Interior Gateway Protocol.

29. What is EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol)

It is the protocol the routers in neighboring autonomous systems use to identify the set of networks that can be reached within or via each autonomous system.

30. What is IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol)

It is any routing protocol used within an autonomous system.

31. What is Mail Gateway

It is a system that performs a protocol translation between different electronic mail delivery protocols.

32. What is wide-mouth frog

Wide-mouth frog is the simplest known key distribution center (KDC) authentication protocol.

33. What are Digrams and Trigrams

The most common two letter combinations are called as digrams. e.g. th, in, er, re and an. The most common three letter combinations are called as trigrams. e.g. the, ing, and, and ion.

34. What is silly window syndrome

It is a problem that can ruin TCP performance. This problem occurs when data are passed to the sending TCP entity in large blocks, but an interactive application on the receiving side reads 1 byte at a time.

35. What is region

When hierarchical routing is used, the routers are divided into what we call regions, with each router knowing all the details about how to route packets to destinations within its own region, but knowing nothing about the internal structure of other regions.

36. What is multicast routing

Sending a message to a group is called multicasting, and its routing algorithm is called multicast routing.

37. What is traffic shaping

One of the main causes of congestion is that traffic is often busy. If hosts could be made to transmit at a uniform rate, congestion would be less common. Another open loop
method to help manage congestion is forcing the packet to be transmitted at a more predictable rate. This is called traffic shaping.

38. What is packet filter

Packet filter is a standard router equipped with some extra functionality. The extra functionality allows every incoming or outgoing packet to be inspected. Packets meeting
some criterion are forwarded normally. Those that fail the test are dropped.

39. What is virtual path

Along any transmission path from a given source to a given destination, a group of virtual circuits can be grouped together into what is called path.

40. What is virtual channel

Virtual channel is normally a connection from one source to one destination, although multicast connections are also permitted. The other name for virtual channel is virtual circuit.

41. What is logical link control

One of two sublayers of the data link layer of OSI reference model, as defined by the IEEE 802 standard. This sublayer is responsible for maintaining the link between computers when they are sending data across the physical network connection.

42. Why should you care about the OSI Reference Model

It provides a framework for discussing network operations and design.

43. What is the difference between routable and non- routable protocols

Routable protocols can work with a router and can be used to build large networks. Non-Routable protocols are designed to work on small, local networks and cannot be used with a router

44. What is MAU

In token Ring , hub is called Multistation Access Unit(MAU).

45. Explain 5-4-3 rule

In a Ethernet network, between any two points on the network, there can be no more than five network segments or four repeaters, and of those five segments only three of segments can be populated.

46. What is the difference between TFTP and FTP application layer protocols

The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) allows a local host to obtain files from a remote host but does not provide reliability or security. It uses the fundamental packet delivery services offered by UDP. The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standard mechanism provided by TCP / IP for copying a file from one host to another. It uses the services offered by TCP and so is reliable and secure. It establishes two connections (virtual circuits) between the hosts, one for data transfer and another for control information.

47. What is the range of addresses in the classes of internet addresses

Class A 0.0.0.0 - 127.255.255.255
Class B 128.0.0.0 - 191.255.255.255
Class C 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255
Class D 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
Class E 240.0.0.0 - 247.255.255.255

48. What is the minimum and maximum length of the header in the TCP segment and IP datagram

The header should have a minimum length of 20 bytes and can have a maximum length of 60 bytes.

49. What is difference between ARP and RARP

The address resolution protocol (ARP) is used to associate the 32 bit IP address with the 48 bit physical address, used by a host or a router to find the physical address of another host on its network by sending a ARP query packet that includes the IP address of the receiver. The reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) allows a host to discover its Internet address when it knows only its physical address.

50. What is ICMP

ICMP is Internet Control Message Protocol, a network layer protocol of the TCP/IP suite used by hosts and gateways to send notification of datagram problems back to the sender. It uses the echo test / reply to test whether a destination is reachable and responding. It also handles both control and error messages.

51. What are the data units at different layers of the TCP / IP protocol suite

The data unit created at the application layer is called a message, at the transport layer the data unit created is called either a segment or an user datagram, at the network layer the data unit created is called the datagram, at the data link layer the datagram is encapsulated in to a frame and finally transmitted as signals along the transmission media.

52. What is Project 802

It is a project started by IEEE to set standards that enable intercommunication between equipment from a variety of manufacturers. It is a way for specifying functions of the physical layer, the data link layer and to some extent the network layer to allow for interconnectivity of major LAN protocols.
It consists of the following: 802.1 is an internetworking standard for compatibility of different LANs and MANs across protocols. 802.2 Logical link control (LLC) is the upper sublayer of the data link layer which is non-architecture-specific, that is remains the same for all IEEE-defined LANs. Media access control (MAC) is the lower sublayer of the data link layer that contains some distinct modules each carrying proprietary information specific to the LAN product
being used. The modules are Ethernet LAN (802.3), Token ring LAN (802.4), Token bus LAN (802.5). 802.6 is distributed queue dual bus (DQDB) designed to be used in MANs.

53. What is Bandwidth

Every line has an upper limit and a lower limit on the frequency of signals it can carry. This limited range is called the bandwidth.

54. Difference between bit rate and baud rate.

Bit rate is the number of bits transmitted during one second whereas baud rate refers to the number of signal units per second that are required to represent
those bits. baud rate = bit rate / N
where N is no-of-bits represented by each signal shift.

55. What is MAC address

The address for a device as it is identified at the Media Access Control (MAC) layer in the network architecture. MAC address is usually stored in ROM on the network adapter card and is unique.

56. What is attenuation

The degeneration of a signal over distance on a network cable is called attenuation.

57. What is cladding

A layer of a glass surrounding the center fiber of glass inside a fiber-optic cable.

58. What is RAID

A method for providing fault tolerance by using multiple hard disk drives.

59. What is NETBIOS and NETBEUI
NETBIOS is a programming interface that allows I/O requests to be sent to and received from a remote computer and it hides the networking hardware from applications. NETBEUI is NetBIOS extended user interface. A transport protocol designed by microsoft and IBM for the use on small subnets.

60. What is redirector

Redirector is software that intercepts file or prints I/O requests and translates them into network requests. This comes under presentation layer.

61. What is Beaconing

The process that allows a network to self-repair networks problems. The stations on the network notify the other stations on the ring when they are not receiving the transmissions. Beaconing is used in Token ring and FDDI networks.

62. What is terminal emulation, in which layer it comes

Telnet is also called as terminal emulation. It belongs to application layer.

63. What is frame relay, in which layer it comes

Frame relay is a packet switching technology. It will operate in the data link layer.

64. What do you meant by "triple X" in Networks

The function of PAD (Packet Assembler Disassembler) is described in a document known as X.3. The standard protocol has been defined between the terminal and the PAD, called X.28; another standard protocol exists between hte PAD and the network, called X.29. Together, these three recommendations are often called "triple X"

65. What is SAP

Series of interface points that allow other computers to communicate with the other layers of network protocol stack.

66. What is subnet

A generic term for section of a large networks usually separated by a bridge or router.

67. What is Brouter

Hybrid devices that combine the features of both bridges and routers.

68. How Gateway is different from Routers

A gateway operates at the upper levels of the OSI model and translates information between two completely different network architectures or data formats.

69. What are the different type of networking / internetworking devices

Repeater: Also called a regenerator, it is an electronic device that operates only at physical layer. It receives the signal in the network before it becomes weak, regenerates the original bit pattern and puts the refreshed copy back in to the link.
Bridges: These operate both in the physical and data link layers of LANs of same type. They divide a larger network in to smaller segments. They contain logic that allow them to keep the traffic for each segment separate and thus are repeaters that relay a frame only the side of the segment containing the intended recipent and control congestion.
Routers: They relay packets among multiple interconnected networks (i.e. LANs of different type). They operate in the physical, data link and network layers. They contain software that enable them to determine which of the several possible paths is the best for a particular transmission. Gateways:
They relay packets among networks that have different protocols (e.g. between a LAN and a WAN). They accept a packet formatted for one protocol and convert it to a packet formatted for another protocol before forwarding it. They operate in all seven layers of the OSI model.

70. What is mesh network

A network in which there are multiple network links between computers to provide multiple paths for data to travel.

71. What is passive topology

When the computers on the network simply listen and receive the signal, they are referred to as passive because they don’t amplify the signal in any way. Example for passive topology - linear bus.

72. What are the important topologies for networks

BUS topology:
In this each computer is directly connected to primary network cable in a single line. Advantages:
Inexpensive, easy to install, simple to understand, easy to extend. STAR topology:
In this all computers are connected using a central hub.

Advantages:

Can be inexpensive, easy to install and reconfigure and easy to trouble shoot physical problems. RING topology:
In this all computers are connected in loop.
Advantages:
All computers have equal access to network media, installation can be simple, and signal does not degrade as much as in other topologies because each computer
regenerates it.

73. What are major types of networks and explain

Server-based network
Peer-to-peer network
Peer-to-peer network, computers can act as both servers sharing resources and as clients using the resources. Server-based networks provide centralized control of network resources and rely on server computers to provide security and network administration

74. What is Protocol Data Unit

The data unit in the LLC level is called the protocol data unit (PDU). The PDU contains of four fields a destination service access point (DSAP), a source service access point (SSAP), a control field and an information field. DSAP, SSAP are addresses used by the LLC to identify the protocol stacks on the receiving and sending machines that are generating and using the data. The control field specifies whether the PDU frame is a information frame (I frame) or a supervisory frame (S - frame) or a unnumbered frame (U - frame).

75. What is difference between baseband and broadband transmission

In a baseband transmission, the entire bandwidth of the cable is consumed by a single signal. In broadband transmission, signals are sent on multiple frequencies, allowing multiple signals to be sent simultaneously.

76. What are the possible ways of data exchange

(i) Simplex (ii) Half-duplex (iii) Full-duplex.

77. What are the types of Transmission media

Signals are usually transmitted over some transmission media that are broadly classified in to two categories. Guided Media:
These are those that provide a conduit from one device to another that include twisted-pair, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and is contained by the physical limits of the medium. Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic that accept and transport signals in the form of electrical current. Optical fiber is a glass or plastic cable that accepts and transports signals in the form of light. Unguided Media:
This is the wireless media that transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor. Signals are broadcast either through air. This is done through radio communication, satellite communication and cellular telephony.

78. What is point-to-point protocol

A communications protocol used to connect computers to remote networking services including Internet service providers.

79. What are the two types of transmission technology available

(i) Broadcast and (ii) point-to-point

80. Difference between the communication and transmission.

Transmission is a physical movement of information and concern issues like bit polarity, synchronization, clock etc. Communication means the meaning full exchange of information between two communication media.

Comparison of the New Web browsers

Comparison of the New Web browsers

They are brand new and we've tested. Choose your next web browser.

Put on your waxed yellow and your boots! This week we take you off. In the open sea! But not on board any boat ... As for the race to which we invite you we invite you on board, the browser technology for surfing Internet. They are called Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera or Safari. Think you know them, but they have just released a new version, or preparing to do so. And are already available at the prototype stage.


We do not doubt for a moment that you are sensitive to their large and small innovations. As you have always been, to the point that within a few years, many of you have even decided to change their habits by adopting a different browser. Thus, in December 2004, according to Net Applications survey, there were over 91% using Internet Explorer and only 4% to prefer Firefox. In February 2009, the situation has completely changed. There are more than 67% of you who use Internet Explorer, and nearly 22% have adopted Firefox. And there are now more than 8% to surf with Safari, Apple's browser.

Complementary functions

What justifies these changes normal? First, the ability of some browsers to display faster than other web pages. And, and importantly, their ability to display these pages. To do this, they must be able to interpret the technologies to which languages (JavaScript, HTML, etc..) Web development - we return to this point at the end of this file. But that's not all. A change in the browser is also justified because of its ergonomics are more or less successful. It includes, among other things, the possibilities of customization offered.

For example, Firefox has always distinguished by accepting a number of extensions (also called add-on or plug-in), that add additional functions to make everything and anything from one of its windows. Take a look at the site addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/, which includes all the add-on to Firefox. The idea is so good that Microsoft has endorsed suggesting also for some time, gallery extension, on www.ieaddons.com/en/.

However, for the three other browsers that accept them, but to a lesser extent, this type of add-ons, a little research on the Internet via a search engine is required (Google, Yahoo ...).

A race off, with the right wing

Ease of use is not to be outdone, rival publishers and ingenuity of today to beautify their browsers, while still making them more functional. We must recognize that the challenge is rather successful for each. For example, whereas Internet Explorer has fun cutting the web into slices, Safari offers you the flick. You will understand how in the following pages. And you will see, it's very useful.

But all this does not make you forget that a browser is still primarily a tool for surfing the Internet ... No need to board a trimaran, as modern and comfortable it is, if not available the right wing, capable of propelling you calmly in your courses to the sea!

Internet Explorer 8 : Key ingenuity and more


At first glance, the eighth version of the Microsoft browser offers nothing exotic. But if the interface remains effectively unchanged, we find the use, Internet Explorer 8 still reserve some good surprises. And this is real news.

More stable, Internet Explorer no longer crashes when a Web page is no longer responding. And, in case of sudden closure, it is able to restart, restore all open windows before this unfortunate incident. Then, it is more secure thanks to its SmartScreen filter that checks innocuous sites we visit. But that's not all ...

The Slices of Web in your favorites

Microsoft calls this the "Web Slices". But what's the point? For example, you send EBay an item and would like to follow the evolution of its price.

But how, without being connected to the site? When you pass the mouse over the product, a small green logo arises. Click above to create a new button in the task pane of Internet Explorer Favorites. Wherever you surfing now, clicking on this button displays a little window with the photo and all relevant information relating to the desired object. And when this change, the button flashes. Practice!

Of course, if EBay is today one of the first sites to use Web Slices, we can bet that others will soon get started.

Accelerator to go to the essentials

Accelerator? For iron faster? Not at all! Accelerators are part of the context menu of Web pages. That appears when you right-click a word or select a link. Accelerators allow you to quickly exploit the information you find on the Web in your software or online services preferred. For example, you are looking for a nice restaurant for tonight? You were well advised to go to Betty ... But where is the trendy new bistro? Select with the mouse the address found on the Internet, clicking on the button that has just come, and then click Locate with Live Search ... And now you stand on a map. Use another accelerator address to send this email, share it on Facebook ... hence Click Search other accelerators to see what you can do now without leaving a Web page!

Tabs with high color

On Google, you are looking for information about the latest U2 album. You open a link in a new tab. Look! Internet Explorer colors that tab such as the Google page. At a glance, and you see all the Web pages linked together. But be careful not to move a tab, because then it does more ...

Private navigation without trace

You do not want Internet Explorer keeps trace (history, cookies ...) of sites visited. Enable personal navigation. The filtering InPrivate "allows you to him, to prevent the sites you visit to forward - when you click on a banner advertisement, for example - information about you to another.

Safari 4 : a beta version


Is it because of its unpredictable success - for the record, Safari is now the third most used browser by Internet - Apple has decided to tweak, including Windows? Anyway, Safari 4 beta is proving to be a new year: very fast, stable, pleasant to use.

An interface adapted to the operating system

With this new version, Apple offers a browser that finally, in terms of ergonomics, fits perfectly not only for Mac OS X, but also to XP and Vista. Beta 4 and adopted the colors and buttons used in all software developed for Windows. This may sound ridiculous, but still takes away the impression that Safari gave the impression of being a Mac as it stuck in Windows.

His favorite sites at a glance

A new practice! Clicking the second button in the toolbar displays in the form of mosaic, at six, twelve or twenty-four sites you've visited most often. If you want some appear all the time, simply click on the Edit button, then pick the sites in question.

If, however, you want to delete the procedure is equally simple. Instead of clicking on the pin, you click the little X next to.

A highly visual history

If you're familiar with the interface of iTunes media player, you do not feel at home with Firefox! Apple has since resumed its principle of presentation of album one behind the other for consulting the history of visited Web pages. So you can browse through them, reducing the number of pages viewed by refining your search: Simply type one or more keywords into the search box in the upper right.

You also notice that Safari search these keywords not only in the title and address of the pages of your history, but also in their content. And that's really convenient!

Restart in case of improved crash

You are currently working on. You have a dozen browser windows open. Suddenly, your computer crashes! We've all been there one day and nothing is more detectable. Like Firefox or Internet Explorer, Safari is now able to reopen, all alone, all your browser windows unfortunately lost. You just need to pull down the menu History, Reopen all windows from the previous session.

Google Chrome 2 beta : back to basics


No revolution in sight for this young Internet browser will soon be compatible with Mac OS X and Linux. Google has preferred to focus on performance and announces 25% gain in speed compared to the previous version ... very fast! That is not to say that this beta version of Chrome 2 is totally devoid of news. But these are mainly to catch the face of competition with respect to basic functions such as managing the mouse wheel or the tabs. With this new version, Google Chrome seems therefore enter the age of maturity.

To enjoy now, is simple: you must download it.

History from the start

This is the first thing it shows for you: The History of the Web pages you visit most often. Practice for quick access to their favorite sites. But pity that this patchwork of only nine sites can be customized as proposed by one of Google's competitors, Safari.

The browser window closed

All browsers now offer a private browsing mode in order not to leave traces of its passage on some sites. Here is where Google is that it allows you to browse in confidence in one of its windows while browsing normally in others. To open a space for private browsing, simply pull down the Tools menu, New browser window closed. Not stupid!

Tabs that slide. Finally!

A little more handling can not refuse. Google's browser finally aligned on its competitors by allowing her to have tabs as you want. Catch them with the mouse, drag them ... That's it.

Windows side by side at a glance

A small tip is emerging. Drag a tab on the edge right at mid-height of the browser window, release it ... and here is your two pages displayed side by side on your desktop:

A AutoComplete forms

It's new in Google Chrome! The AutoComplete forms finally appeared. And it's still practice. By choosing what you usually type in forms on the Internet, Google Chrome may then suggest, early in the seizure of a field, complete for you.

Full screen to take in his eyes

Another basic feature missing in this browser: display full-screen Web pages. Press the F11 key to activate it. Again press the same button to display the site in a window, or move the mouse pointer on top of the screen and click on the link that appears

Firefox 3.1 beta 3 : ready for the Web of the future


It is a profound work that has been done on the new version of the most serious challenger to Internet Explorer. Do not expect any in a range of new features and a disruption of the inter face. In contrast, Firefox 3.1 browser looks like a stable and fast.

Its JavaScript engine, which allows software to run online, shows a significant performance gain. Moreover, memory consumption browser has been revised downwards. And he is already able to take you to sites using the Web technologies of tomorrow. A site that will integrate more and more videos, music, geolocation systems, software ... made using new standards for development. But frustration grabs you because you hope that Firefox 3.1 brings all the same news more visible? Do not worry, we've found some ...

Personal navigation to surf stealth

You do not want other users of your computer can see the history of your Internet browsing? Most browsers now seem to take seriously the privacy of Internet users ... Firefox did not cut and offers also a private browsing mode. It is activated through the Tools menu. But beware, all open windows then disappear to make way for a new one which will not keep track of web pages you visit. Thus, once completed private browsing, simply close the window to reappear all the others ... You can then resume normal activity.

Selective cleaning

If you do not choose to use personal navigation, Firefox offers another way to erase your tracks without losing all your browsing history. Pull down the Tools menu, Delete recent history ... A window appears allowing you to remove any trace of your last two, four hours, or the whole day. And you can even make the sorting! Choose, for example, to erase everything except the list of your downloads. It's a great idea.

A search in the multi-page views

Very easy to find a recently visited Web site! Simply type in the address bar, one or more words that will be searched in the title and address of all the Web pages listed in the History of Firefox. All you have to click the right link.

Tab window switching

You used to change the order of your browser tabs by dragging the mouse. Now, choose the same window where you want them placed. Enter a tab, move it to another window of Firefox, and place it where you want. Or drop it on the desktop for it to appear in a new browser window. So convenient that one wonders how it was before!

Videos played back without additional software

Able to watch videos in their browser without having to install third party software or plug-in. Admittedly, these are all on the developers of sites that will satisfy this novelty that will prevent them from using technology fee, as the Flash format used among others in sharing sites Video (YouTube, etc.).

Opera 10 Preview : still in the race


This Norwegian Internet browser has often been ahead of its competitors in terms of functions. Moreover, many of them have inspired Microsoft and the community of developers of Firefox, among others.

Still, Opera is far from being the most used browser. But this does not prevent them to follow his sweet way. And even to propose new features that are found nowhere else yet.

The latest version of Opera is not completed and remains to this day.

An improved display

With this new version, Opera fine-tunes its presentation. Emphasis was placed on the quality of text display, especially the Web and vector fonts.

For the record, the fonts are planned to be extended to infinity without distortion, or staircase effect.

A turbo in the engine

This is a very good idea to assume that everyone does not have an Internet connection or broadband good! Hence the presence of a small button with a timer at the bottom left corner of the Opera, on which you can click to activate the compression of web pages before they pass on your computer. Lighter, your pages load much faster. Besides the clock, Opera also shows the compression ratio of your pages. Side of the coin, all the same: if the loading of pages is undeniably faster, the quality of the images and photographs contained in particular is being deteriorated. Inevitably, they are compressed! So if you have no problem with speed, you will pass you by this office, however well thought out.

An integrated spell checker

Warning! There it was still only a preliminary version of Opera 10. Let us be indulgent to the fact that for the moment, his new spell checker does not correct the English.

Automatic updates

The Opera fans will appreciate, while others are probably wondering why it did not already exist ... This new version automatically detects updates and install them without asking for permission. It's even more convenient ...

HTML in your mail

Opera, this is not just a browser. It is also a message that can replace your usual software.

Except that, unlike the messaging software to the version of Opera 9, it was not possible to compose messages in HTML format. In other words, colorful messages, adopting a policy or another, using a letterhead, etc.. With the 10 version of Opera is now possible. Simply check the box Use HTML Formatting and then left free to creativity

The browsers test to test


As good to use these five browsers? Compatibility with Web technologies, speed ... Safari tops!

Request that there is to a browser if it is to be fast? In other words display as soon as possible web pages. Because there's nothing more annoying than having to wait ... We have evaluated the velocity of the five browsers with Peacekeeper, the new tool offered by Futuremark, a company specializing in performance testing software. You can do this yourself online test and verify the results we have obtained, by visiting the site Futuremark.com.


We evaluated five browsers on the same computer without running other software at the same time, or even touching the keyboard and mouse ... and without bias!

Safari 4, champion of speed

And it was that ... elbow to elbow with 2 Google Chrome, the beta of Safari 4 came out top! This is not surprising since both browsers use the same rendering engine. Internet Explorer 8, it is completely dropped. According Peacekeeper is 61% slower than Apple's browser. Opera is the surprise of this test, since it ranks third in front of Firefox. But these two browsers are respectively 21% and 33% less efficient than Safari.

Safari 4 and Opera 10, tied for display

We then submitted the browser Acid3 test. A test you can also try visiting the site acid3.acidtests.org. It submits the rendering engine browsers a series of tests to verify their ability to support standard Web technologies, and thus to correctly display the pages. Result? Only two of the five browsers fare with flying colors! Safari 4, which has already distinguished by its speed, and this time Opera 10, which is definitely a good surprise.

Note, however, it has been a hair for Google Chrome 2 join the winning combination, but the words "Link-test failed" on the results page of the test, we made several times, suggests a small problem. Surprisingly, Firefox 3.1 encounters hardship and password correctly that 93% of the Acid3 test.

As for Internet Explorer, it is again dropped with only 20% of successful tests and the appearance of the word "failed Linktest"

To each his own browser ...

The two sets of tests that we have submitted new versions of five major browsers now, Safari 4 is therefore the first of the class. But if we add the criterion of usability, perhaps you prefer to use another one. Because even in the drafting of Micro Hebdo, opinions differ! And anyway, whatever your preference, you will continue to occasionally use Internet Explorer to visit Web sites using ActiveX technology of Microsoft.


Source : techarena

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)

What Is UEFI?
The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification defines a new model for the interface between operating systems and platform firmware. The interface consists of data tables that contain platform-related information, plus boot and runtime service calls that are available to the operating system and its loader. Together, these provide a standard, modern environment for booting an operating system and running pre-boot applications.

How is UEFI related to EFI?
UEFI is the successor to EFI. Intel contributed EFI 1.10 (the final version of EFI) as the starting point for UEFI specifications. Enhancements are managed by the UEFI Forum. Intel retains copyright to the EFI 1.10 specification.

How does UEFI relate to BIOS?
UEFI works to standardize two primary functions of the PC Basic Input/Output System (BIOS): firmware-to-OS interface and platform initialization.The UEFI Specification Working Group (USWG) creates the UEFI specification, describing a firmware-to-OS interface analogous to BIOS software interrupts and the BIOS data area (BDA).The Platform Initialization Working Group (PIWG) specifications are intended to promote interoperability between firmware components provided by different entities, such as silicon vendors and firmware vendors.

What does UEFI change about BIOS?
The BIOS used by PC/AT compatible systems is based on the x86, 16-bit, real-mode architecture. UEFI is not specific to any processor architecture, so it can perform the same function as BIOS while evolving with new technologies. The current UEFI specification allows operating systems to boot using modern modes and calling conventions.The UEFI ForumThe ForumThe Unified EFI Forum is a collaborative, non-profit corporation formed to promote and manage the UEFI specifications. The establishment and evolution of UEFI is being driven by contributions and support from member companies. Interested parties are invited to join.

What does the UEFI Forum produce?
–UEFI Specifications
–Platform Initialization (PI) Specifications
–Self Certification Tests (SCT)

For More InformationFor InformationPlease visit www.uefi.orgfor more information on UEFI, current specifications, and membership options.

How Much Text is in a Kilobyte or Megabyte?

A bit is the most basic unit of information. At their most fundamental level, most modern computers operate on binary bits which means that they can have two states, usually specified as a 0 or 1. Long strings of these bits can be used to represent most types of information including text, pictures and music.

Most modern computers are binary systems and therefore, they are particularly well suited to working with bits. Pure binary information, however, is of little use to humans. The binary number 11000101110 is equivalent to 1582; it is obvious that we are much more suited to working with digits and text instead of ones and zeros.

To help make computers more like our language-based way of thinking, groups of bits are joined into bytes. One byte is comprised of 8 bits. A set of 8 bits was chosen because this provides 256 total possibilities which is sufficient for specifying letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation and other extended characters. This very sentence, for example is composed of 125 bytes because there are 125 letters, digits, spaces and punctuation marks. Keep in mind that we are discussing pure text; some word processing programs, include other sorts of formatting data, and therefore the filesizes will be greater than the number of characters in the file.

It is estimated that a kilobyte can accommodate about 1/2 of a typewritten page. Therefore, one full page requires about 2 kilobytes. The chart below illustrates the number of bytes in common terms such as kilobyte and megabyte and how much text could be stored:

Name	Number of bytes	Amount of text
kilobyte (kB)	210 or 1,024	1/2 page
megabyte (mB)	220 or 1,048,576	500 pages or 1 thick book
gigabyte (gB)	230 or 1,073,741,824	500,000 pages or 1,000 thick books
terabyte (tB)	240 or 1,099,511,627,776	1,000,000 thick books
petabyte	250 or 1,125,899,906,842,624	180 Libraries of Congress
exabyte	260 or 1,152,921,504,606,846,976	180 thousand Libraries of Congress
zettabyte	270 or 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424	180 million Libraries of Congress
yottabyte	280 or 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176	180 billion Libraries of Congress

The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is said to be the world's largest library with over 28 million volumes. The numbers listed in the chart above are based on the assumption that the average book has 200 pages.

Most Compact Discs (CD) can hold approximately 750 megabytes (mB) which is roughly equivalent to 375,000 pages of text! DVDs can store 4.7 gigabytes (gB) or 2.3 million pages. The next generation of optical media, Blu-Ray discs, can hold an astonishing 27 gigabytes or 13.5 million pages which is roughly equivalent to the text contained in 67,500 books!

Data Measurement Chart
Data Measurement	Size
Bit	Single Binary Digit (1 or 0)
Byte	8 bits
Kilobyte (KB)	1,024 Bytes	or »	8192 bits
Megabyte (MB)	1,024 Kilobytes	or »	1048576 Bytes	8388608 Bits
Gigabyte (GB)	1,024 Megabytes	or »	1048576 KB	1073741824 Bytes	8589934592 Bits
Terabyte (TB)	1,024 Gigabytes	or »	1048576 MB	1073741824 KB	1099511627776 Bytes	8796093022208 Bits
Petabyte (PB)	1,024 Terabytes	or »	1048576 GB	1073741824 MB	1099511627776 KB	1125899906842624 Bytes	9007199254740992 Bits
Exabyte (EB)	1,024 Petabytes	or »	1048576 TB	1073741824 GB	1099511627776 MB	1125899906842624 KB	11522921504606846976 Bytes	9223372036854775808 Bits