Show #46 - 09.09.2007
[Download Show #46 as MP3]
News
- Sony to Release Wii-Like PS2 System for Christmas
- AT&T Sells Parental Cell Phone Controls
- Called "Smart Limits"
- Extra feature, $4.99/line
- Call blocking, hour limits, texting limits, etc
- Also can block web sites from being browsable on the phone
- Apple Event Round Up (This past Weds.)
- Ringtones for the iPhone
- New iPod Nanos, with support for games, cover flow, and video
- 4GB & 8GB ($150/$200)
- New iPod Cla ssics
- 80 & 160GB ($250/$350)
- iPod Touch
- 8GB & 16GB ($300/$400)
- Phone-less iPhone
- Multi-Touch, WiFi b/g
- Safari Web Browser
- Also announced a new WiFi iTunes Store for the iTouch and on iPhones later this month
- And a $200 price drop on the 8GB iPhone, now $399
Software / Hardware / Power Web Picks
- Desktops
- Why pick a desktop over a laptop
- Prebuilt
- Advantages
- Usually come with a warranty of some kind
- No worry about making sure all the parts work
- Sold as a package with monitor at a discount
- Disadvantages
- Hard to upgrade
- Parts are usually sub-par
- Build Your Own
- Advantages
- Usually can end up with a faster PC
- Easier to upgrade overall
- You can tweak to your hearts content
- Disadvantages
- No warranty on the whole PC, warranty is on individual parts and has to be handled through the parts manufacture (more paperwork)
- There can be incompatibilities with different parts causing the system to not work optimally
- Laptops
- Why pick a laptop over a desktop
- Laptops are portable and take up less space, so for a college student they work great in dorm rooms
- They allow a student to be able to type their notes in class
- Disadvantages over Desktops
- They usually have smaller hard drives leading to smaller amounts of storage space, utilizing an external hard drive can cause more bulk
- They do not hold long charges, and need to be plugged in frequently. If your laptop goes dead and there is no plug around, then you are out of luck
- Save money on that new PC purchase
- Be realistic with your feature choices, are you really going to need the TV Tuner card on your laptop?
- What do you plan on doing with the computer
- Do plan on playing games?
- This means you will need a better video card and possibly a faster processor
- Do you plan on recording media onto it for editing
- This means you will need more RAM and a larger hard drive.
- Or you might need to invest in an external drive
- Is it going to be simply to write documents and surf the web?
- You can get by with the basics, nothing fancy and you will be fine
- If this is your primary use of a computer, then you might want to consider an appliance-like computer, like a MacBook
- How portable does it need to be
- Common rule in technology: the smaller you make the device, the more it costs
- If you do not need to carry it with you, buy/build a desktop
- Prices on PCs
- Desktop
- Normal
- Dell
- $349 - Non XPS
- $999 - XPS Non-Gaming
- HP
- $300
- Mac
- $1199 - iMac (20 inch)
- $1799 - iMac (24 inch)
- $2499 - Mac Pro
- Gaming
- Dell
- $1699 - XPS Gaming
- HP
- $799 - "High Performance"
- Laptop
- Normal
- Dell
- $549 - Low End
- $799 - Inspiron
- HP
- $499 - "Everyday computing"
- Mac
- $1099 - MacBook
- 13.1" Screens
- $1999 - MacBook Pro
- Faster Processors
- Bigger Screens (15"-17")
- Gaming
- Dell
- $1499 - XPS Laptop
- HP
- $2999 - "Extreme Multimedia"
Security & Privacy
- Desktop Security
- Laptop Security
Gamer's Corner
- Gaming PCs
- We know that almost any computer can play games, so
- What makes a computer a "gaming computer"
- Hardware
- Fast Processor
- Powerful video card, PCI-E over 256MB video ram, etc
- Fast RAM
- Dell
- HP
- Apple
- Toshiba
- Acer
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