WorldCAD Access

Netbooks Prove Microsoft's Inability to Design

The netbook is keeping the computer hardware business humming, after ASUS invented the category 1.5 years go. It is remarkable that a company that specializes in assembling computers for others was able to come up with a winning formula after software monopolist Microsoft failed when it defined a similar, yet pointless device, the UMPC -- short for ultra mobile personal computer. What sunk the UMPC was (1) it's price and (2) its touchscreen orientation. You may recall an earlier reference design by Microsoft that also sunk for the same two reasons: the TabletPC. Knowing how Microsoft thinks, the initially high... Read more →

I'd Like to See: Monitor Partitioning

My dad wanted a new desktop computer last fall, so I bought him one, complete with a 23" LCD monitor running at 2048x1158 resolution. Then he decided it was too confusing to have a notebook and a desktop computer, and gave the brand new system to me. The monitor is almost too big. Open a Web browser, maximize its window, and there is lots of blank space on either side of the Web page. Which got me to thinking... How if the operating system could partition the monitor, just as hard drives are partitioned. For example, partition by 2/3 and... Read more →

Warning: The Source Overcharges

Today's email blast from The Source (the Canadian version of Circuit City) highlights gaming computers. The first item is the ACER ASPIRE AM5700-E5731A DESKTOP COMPUTER GAMING BUNDLE, which comes with a 7200rpm 640GB hard drive. Red all-caps text, however, screams that you can UPGRADE TO 1TB FOR $650. Surely 1TB of RAM, I thought. After all, these days 1TB drives are under $200 and some even around $100. I checked the specs for the ACER ASPIRE AM7720-E7730A DESKTOP COMPUTER GAMERS BUNDLE but no, the extra $650 was for an added 320GB worth of disk space. Works out to $2.03 per... Read more →

Merry Christmas to Ralph, from HP

I have railed against nVidia and their decision to remove several resolution settings from their drivers for HP notebook computers, which rendered my external 1440x900 monitor unusable. Today, the railing stops. One of the files in today's Vista update was a new nVidia driver. I decided to download it, since I had nothing to lose. After a few moments the screen collapsed to about a line a dozen pixels long. Oh, oh. Then it bounced back to 640x480 resolution. I knew that meant the driver was being installed. After a few moments, the notebook computer's screen was back to normal.... Read more →

Expanding Your Wired Network Beyond 4 Ports

Most people run a four-port, wireless router in their homes. This all-in-one device connects to your highspeed modem (cable or DSL), runs network cables to up to four computers or other network devices, and communicates with up to 128 wireless devices. Until recently, the standard 4-port wireless router was good enough for me, too. All four ports were in use. But then I bought the HP C6280 inkjet printer, which has an ethernet port. Naturally, I wanted to hook it up to the network. No ports left. (Later, I realized that I probably should have got the wireless model of... Read more →

Toshiba RTS Problem

I was readying an old Toshiba notebook computer for re-use after several years of dormancy. As it booted, it complained of an RTS problem. At first I thought the backup battery needing replacing. (All computers use a small battery to retain settings when the computer is off.) After some research, I found that it merely needs recharging, like this: 1. Fully charge the computer's battery (battery charge light turns green). 2. Turn on the computer, and then start Windows. 3. Leave the computer on for at least 6 hours. This forces the computer to recharge the RTS battery, and the... Read more →

Save Hundreds of $$$: Buy Refurbished

I've been saving hundreds of dollars over the last few years by buying refurbished electronics, instead of new. Refurbished units tend to look and act brand-new, and usually include all of the accessories found in the orignal packaging; tyically, only the packaging is differnt, usually simpler. They are labled "Refurbished" because they might have been repaired, or simply returned by a dissatisfied customer. I've gotten refurbished units through eBay or FutureShop.ca. There is one catch: refurbished units often carry a shorter warranty (such as 90 days instead of 1 year) or none at all. That's fine: in exchange for saving... Read more →

HP's Mini-Note Available in Canada

HP Canada continues to taunt Canadians by listing the Mini-Note computer on its hp.ca Web site, but won't sell it -- nor list an availability date. HP Canada's pre-sales support has been spectacularly unhelpful: -- When the Mini-Note was announced for the USA, I asked when it would be available in Canada. "We don't know that kind of information," was the response, paraphrased. A few days later, the five versions of the computer appeared on the Canadian Web site with no publicity -- but not for sale. -- When I asked why the Mini-Note could not be purchased direct from... Read more →

HP's Mini-Note 3122 Now in Canada

The hp.ca Web site today began listing the Mini-Note 3122 ultralight notebook computer. Price and initial configurations are the same as in USA. One problem: you can't buy it (yet). HP.ca lists the Web-only price, available only when purchasing it through hpshopping.ca. But the hp.ca page lacks the Buy Now or Add to Cart buttons, and hpshopping.ca doesn't know about it, either. Everything Old is New Again Suddenly I thought back to my first notebook computer with a color screen -- a diminutive unit from Daewoo model 7400S. I hauled it out of storage, and wondered about the dimensions. They... Read more →

Comparison Shopping for Laser Catridges

My old Lexmark laser printer used to come with huge toner cartridges that lasted about 1.5 years. Since I replaced it with an HP 1320 laser printer (love that duplex printing!), I've had to live with cartridges that last half as long. Today I comparison shopped for a new cartridge, and the price differences were eye-opening! The 1320 uses the '49A cartridge: FutureShop.ca -- $113 Staples.ca -- $88 LondonDrugs.ca -- $85 CorporateExpress.ca -- $84 BestBuy.ca -- not available But then I found a better money saver at CorporateExpress.ca: a two-pack of the '49X high-capacity cartridge for $303 ($151.50 each). Each... Read more →

The PalmPilot is Dead; Long Live the Mini PC

My two-year-old Palm TX is in perfect shape -- except for the serious misalignment of the digitizer. (I'll write more about the problem in another posting.) Yet, it is nearly dead. More accurately, the PalmPilot concept is nearly dead -- for me, and for most of the market. Business people would rather have the equivalent of a PalmPilot in their cell phones, and so the Treo and iPhone are popular. For me, the PalmPilot began to die following our family's once-in-a-lifetime trip together to New Zealand. Due to a syncing problem, I lost all the daily notes I took during... Read more →

#1 Reason to Hate Vista

...other than because of its excessively slow speed, of course. #1 Reason to Hate Vista: display problems. (I already know that Microsoft's astroturfing drones will announce self-righteously that device drivers aren't Microsoft's problem, and I would reply, I don't care, there is just one customer. Got problems with the Microsoft-written OS, and HP has to foot the support bill -- how'd HP and other manufacturers let themselves get suckered into that one?) Anyhow... My Vista-running HP notebook has nVidia graphics, and I can't count the number of problems I have with a second monitor attached. Here's a partial list: --... Read more →

Blue-Ray And Gamers

My son has an XBOX 360, got the external HD-DVD player from a workmate for cheap and was buying HD-DVD movies until last month, when the supply dried up. He's slightly ticked off at backing the wrong horse, and we were talking yesterday about how the Sony PS3 with its built-in Blu-Ray player is the exact same price (currently) as a stand-alone Blu-Ray player. With Microsoft continuing to believe that people will download movies, there is no Blu-Ray option for the XBOXers. Download movies? My son says Microsoft's online XBOX site has no movies worth downloading, partly because of our... Read more →

USB Power

I felt compelled to sort through my massive collection of cables. Dozens and dozens of cables collected over my 25 years in computers. I came across an odd one: USB plug at one end, mini power connector at the other. Hmm.. I wondered if... I plugged it into one of my computer's USB ports, and plugged the other into a portable CD player I still have. It worked! That solved the problem of listening to CDs while not taking up the computer's CD slot for more important tasks. I'm currently listening to "By Request," sort of a greatest hits collection... Read more →

Device Drive Rollback

The Vista varient of Windows is able to rollback device drivers. That means that if you install an updated driver for a graphics board or whatever, and if it screws up your system, then you can ask Vista to uninstall it and use the previous version. That happened to me yesterday. HP periodically offers updated drivers and other software for my TX1120 tablet-like notebook computer. Problem is, the updates they offer are offered with no explanation. I have no idea whether the update does me any good. There was an update for the nVidia graphics board. After I gave permission... Read more →

Upgrading a Notebook Computer, Part IV

My collection of hardware was coming together: -- keyboard, check. -- keyboard drawer, check. -- 19" LCD monitor, check. -- 1TB Firewire 800 external hard drive, nope. FutureShop was advertising the LeCie drive, but did not have them in stock anywhere. "Our shipments arrive Mondays and Thursdays," the salesperson told me. But I was running into another problem: cables. Or, more accurately, lots of cables to unplug each time I wanted to make my notebook computer with me. Then I recalled seeing an port replicator for my TX1000-series notebook computer laying abandoned on a shelf at Staples in Coquitlam. It... Read more →

Upgrading a Notebook Computer, Part III

If I was going to get me that "free" LCD monitor, I needed to get that DOS-era "German for Everyone" program running on Vista. I finally figured it out: I initially installed the software just like normal, but the first sign of trouble came when the old version of QuickTime (provided with the German CD) displayed an error message during the install, and then seemed to freeze. Running the German program showed just a black screen. I got a Vista-compatible version of QuickTime, installed that, but the German program would not work with it. I deduced that the problem was... Read more →

Upgrading a Notebook Computer, Part II

As I noted in the previous post, I gave up looking for a cordless, Bluetooth keyboard after learning that it cannot work at the same time as a Bluetooth mouse purchased separately. As I was mulling over my options, the FutureShop flyer came out, and there was the answer for much of the equipment I was looking for: -- the 1GB triple-interface LeCie hard drive was back, priced at $329. -- an Acer bundle with computer, 19" monitor, keyboard, and throw-away mouse for $429. My wife's computer needed replacing; I wanted the monitor and keyboard. It was perfect! Checking the... Read more →

Upgrading a Notebook Computer

I am in the market for a keyboard. I want to turn my Tx1120 notebook computer into a workstation, and so I am slowly adding the components: -- keyboard -- keyboard drawer (purchased from IKEA) -- 19" monitor (price is down to $170 currently) -- external 1TB hard drive with Firewire 800 interface -- Firewire 800 Express/34 card (ordered through eBay) (There is no need to upgrade the internals, for it already has 2GB RAM, 4GB "ReadyBoost", and 200GB hard drive.) I need an external keyboard, because the one on the notebook computer is hard on my hands: the throw... Read more →

Ban the USB!

I'm starting to investigate the drag that USB puts on computers. I first clued in when I read about the difference between external hard drives that use USB 2.0 or Firewire. USB is dreadful for external drives, because it puts the processing load on the host CPU; in contrast, FireWire offloads, and thus is more efficient. (That's one reason why FireWire drives cost a bit more.) Nearly all my external drives are FireWire. USB is fine for printers, because typically your computer's CPU has to do all the work in generating the bitmap data for the printer anyhow. But I... Read more →

LapLink Lives

In the late 1980s, LapLink was one of the must-have devices. In 1987, IBM turned the computing world on its head with the introduction of its PS/2 line of personal computers. These were designed to help IBM break free from the plunging prices of PC clone market, which it inadvertently created with its original PC personal computer. (The PC was made with off-the-shelf components, thus easily copyable.) The PS/2 contained some features that booted personal computers to new levels, but other features that fell flat. The one feature that was most irritating (and most quickly copied) was the 3.5" diskette.... Read more →

Four Notebook Repairs in Four Months

We can't live without notebook computers, but those delicate beasts take many more hits than a placid desktop computer. In our family, we've had to get four repairs in four months: 1. My son's Alienware wouldn't charge its batteries anymore. I won't tell the horror story of trying to deal with their staff, whose first language is not English. They first sent a replacement AC Adapter, charging him $28 (to be refunded if it didn't solve the problem and he returned it). It didn't solve the problem, so Alienware reluctantly agreed to look at the computer itself. He returned it,... Read more →

HP Fixes for Free, Part II

After a couple of weeks, my daughter's Compaq V2000-series notebook computer was UPS'ed back to us from HP's repair facility. Inside was the same worn notebook computer, which had most of its innards replaced: -- new motherboard. -- new heatsink. -- and new power supply. The enclosed sheet noted that HP was able to replicate the problem (melting of the AC adapter's power tip). On the one hand, my daughter was a little disappointed to not get a brand-new notebook computer; but only a little. She was relieved that the hard drive stayed intact, and that she didn't need to... Read more →

HP Fixes for Free, Part I

In an earlier post, I noted that I had to buy a replacement AC adapter for my daughter's Compaq notebook computer. HP Canada fleeced me out of just over $100 for something that should probably cost under $25. However, the same problem occurred as to the first one: the yellow plastic surrounding the tip that plugs into the notebook computer's connector began to melt. (My other daughter has an essentially identical Compaq notebook computer. It's a year older, but has not suffered this electrical problem.) In late September, I contacted HP support, who, after asking numerous questions, finally determined they... Read more →

Noma Pocket Power Charger

Before leaving on my last trip to Europe, I found at Canadian Tire a battery recharger by Noma. It's available in 3500mAHr or 2000mAHr versions, and comes with about sixteen different power tips for cell phones and generic devices, as well as normal and mini USB plugs. Many of today's electronic devices can be recharged through their USB connector, including my GPS, Palm, and one digital camera. I decided on the 2000mAhr recharger, because it was cheaper ($35 instead of $55) and smaller -- little fatter than an iPod Nano. It has 4 LED status lights that show how much... Read more →

HP Batteries Overpriced 2.7x

One of the first things I get for a new notebook computer is a long-duration battery. Usually, notebooks ship with a wimpy battery that doesn't have adequate staying power. But there always was a suspicion that notebook computer batteries are overpriced. How can a battery possibly cost $200? With the giant Sony recall of its batteries, we found the truth. Working the numbers, we found that it was costing Sony about $25 to (1) take back a battery; (2) dispose of it; (3) produce a replacement battery; and (4) send it to the customer. When I got HP's Tx1220 convertable... Read more →

Logitech Bluetooth Mouse

I got one of Logitech's Bluetooth mice this week, after a reader pointed out that Logitech already makes them. A Bluetooth mouse made sense to me, because it would free up a USB port (my notebook computer has Bluetooth built in, so no Bluetooth adapter is needed.) But I wonder if Bluetooth mice are not very popular. Here's why: -- Logitech has only two models, and one of them is gray and a style that's a couple of years old (no sideways movement of the roller wheel). Just a small Bluetooth logo gives it away. The other is a brilliant... Read more →

ioGear PowerLine

Imagine hardware that works immediately when you plug it in. Imagine not needing to install any drivers. Imagine world peace. Impossible? ioGear's PowerLine network extender is just that. It solves the problem of how to wire your house for networking without having to run wires through walls or down corridors. The Powerline carton contains two small black boxes that you plug into the nearest wall outlet, typically near where a wired network connection is needed. Plug the network cable (two are included in the box) between the Powerline device and your computer or router. It starts to work What about... Read more →

Walgreens Fights HP with Green

Walgreens charges $10 to refill inkjet cartridges, something HP hates, because most of HP's corporate profits come from convincing the public that it needs to buy overpriced, overpackaged, original cartridges. The American drugstore chain "is pushing the [refill] program as a low-cost, more eco-friendly alternative to purchasing new cartridges," reports Chloe Albanesius of PC Magazine. Walgreens photofinishing general merchandising manager John Sugrue says, "And people feel good about keeping printer cartridges out of landfills." Smack you, HP. Read more →

HP TX 1220: It's a Blue Christmas Tree

I recall in my Grade 8 Electricity shop class the wizened teacher holding up a red LED diode, and me being impressed that sending electricity the "wrong" way could create light yet didn't heat up like a normal light bulb. Yesterday, I heard that a new Mercedes has a couple hundred LEDs, and that LED lighting could/should replace kerosene lamps for millions in Africa. My new TX 1220 convertible notebook computer is nearly like that Mercedes. Last week I counted 20 LEDs on it. Almost all are blue, with a pair of blue/orange combos. Here's where they are used: 3... Read more →

Elimination of the Power Brick

More and more devices are powered or recharged through USB connectors. (Fer example, I now use a single powered USB hub to recharge a camera, PalmPilot, and GPS unit -- eliminating two power bricks.) Hard drives that are powered just through their USB connector have been available for a year, and now LG has released external DVD burners that are also just powered by the USB cable. The trick is getting the power and current requirements down to the 5v provided by the USB spec. I could see inkjet printers being powered by USB, but never laser printers. Another alternative... Read more →

Wii WinsBecauase It's Cheaper

USA Today reports: Sony dropped the price on its PlayStation 3 in July — from $599 to $499 for its 60-gigabyte model — and got a bump in sales, but Nintendo's Wii continued to dominate by posting its largest monthly sales figure of 2007. There's one reason Wii is winning in the battle of sales among console game machines: price. A large part of the market is bound to be teenagers on allowance. They're going to buy what they can afford (paying less for the console means more $$$ for extra games) or what their parents will buy for them.... Read more →

HP tx1220Convertable Laptop

FutureShop this week has a sale on all notebook computers, includng $300 off the HP tx1220 convertable notebook computer that I had been eyeing for the last few months. Last night, over dinner, we agreed that my youngest daughter pays me for my two-year-old notebook, and I get the tx1220. "Convertable" notebook means it operates as a notebook computer, but also as a TabletPC. The lid with the LCD has a rotateable hinge; when twisted about and closed, the LCD display's orientation automatically switches to portrait. A stylus is included, and slides into a round slot on the side. The... Read more →

$7 Billion Loss on Xboxes

The stories of the Xbox 360 failure rate, thought to be in the range of 1-in-6 to 1-in-3 units, is getting much press. Microsoft has now lost $7 billion on the Xbox and the 360. I am beginning to wonder if Microsoft applied its software philosophy to this chunk of hardware: don't worry about shipping a good product, just ship something, and we'll worry about fixing it later -- should anyone squawk. In the meantime, we tell everyone how great it is, and trust that they believe us. (Irony flashback: When the Xbox 360 was first introduced, Microsoft extolled its... Read more →

Canon DK1000i Desk Calculator

The best calculator I ever had (other than the HP-41CV in the early 1980s, naturally) was one built into my first PC keyboard (circa 1991). I could never lose it, and it had a special key that fed the result of the calculation to the current app. Eventually, though, it stopped working. I like having a biggish-size desk calculator for quick calculations. I prefer it over the calculator function built into Windows, or using my Palm TX's calculator For a while I used a printing desktop calculator from Texas Instruments, but it was a awful: its rubber keys often failed... Read more →

Keep Those Drives Running

Google owns lots of hard drives, and has found they are more reliable (don't break down as often) when the drives are kept running warm. A place that repairs hard drives finds that the worst time is summertime -- not because of the heat, but because of voltage fluctuations created by power-hungry air conditioners kicking in. Hard drives are delicate creatures, crafted to very fine tolerances. It seems, then that the best thing is to keep them running all the time. Sure, operating systems have power-saving options for turning off the drives after 5 minutes, an hour, or whatever. But... Read more →

Read Those Specs

Once in a while I click on banner ads. Today it was one from Lenovo, the Chinese manufacturer of Thinkpad-brand notebook computers that used to be from IBM. The ad linked to a Web page offering two identical looking sytems, but one priced $450 more than the other. I began to read the specs for both, and did a double-take: in some cases, the cheaper system had better specs, such as: * Windows XP Pro (more expensive system is stuck with Vista Business). * 120GB hard drive (just 100GB on the more epensive system). * A/B/G/N wireless protocols (just A/B/G... Read more →

Portable Drives

I needed an external hard drive for my notebook computer, and bought a 250GB unit for just over $100. But it was a pain, what with its long USB cable and larger power supply cable crowding for room behind my notebook computer. Last week, I clued in to "portable hard drives." I have never before understood their point: small capacity, large price. Then I came across a notation that explained their purpose: - small form factor - no power cable (power provided through the USB cable) The relatively low capacity is simply a function of the small size. The local... Read more →

LED-backlit LCD Monitors

My (thin) LCD monitor consumes about half as much power as my former CRT (big bulky) monitor. I figure the new LCD monitor will pay for itself in power savings after eight years. A bunch of the power consumed by LCD monitors is for the fluorescent backlighting, without which you would see zilch -- except in bright sunlight. (Early notebook computer used LCD screens with no backlighting -- very dim they were!) The next development in LCD screens is LED backlighting -- the same sort of lighting technology that's become popular for Christmas lights, long-lasting flashlights, and solar-powered garden lights.... Read more →

4GB SD Cards: Probably Won't Work in Your Device

Memory cards have limits, something that surprised me when I first learn of the problem. The SD memory card's specification limits it to 2GB. The original Sony MemoryStick was limited to 128MB! With memory prices crashing, and memory demands increasing, the bodies behind these standards had to up the limits. That's why there is a confusing array of MemoryStick models from Sony: Duo, M2, and so on. And that's why I recommend to friends they not buy Sony digital cameras. On the SD side, the standards body came up with SDHC (secure digital high capacity), which allows for 4GB and... Read more →

We-Already-Knew-That Dept.:UMPC Not Ready

PC World is quoting the president of Acer that UMPCs are not technologically feasible at this time. "The technology available today is still not in our opinion what the customer needs," says Gianfranco Lanci. He thinks that it might take two years for technology to be ready for UMPCs, because it is lacking in these areas: 1. Battery life of a couple hours needs to be 12 hours. 2. Wireless 3G service charges are too expensive. 3. Graphics need to be as good as on notebook computers. Microsoft and Intel may think that "ultra mobile personal computers" are keen, but... Read more →

Good-by, Power Supply

I noted earlier that many portable electronic devices can be recharged through the computer USB ports. For travelers like myself, this is a boon, because it solves two problems: * Worrying about 220v adapters and voltage converters when travelling outside of North America. * Lugging along a power supply (aka brick) for every electronic device. (USB ports provide 5v DC at 0.5W -- sufficient to recharge a typical 3.7V, 1000mW battery in about 2 hours. The device's battery isn't too concerned about the voltage it gets, and acts as the voltage regulator to the rest of the device's electronics.) For... Read more →

A Smile for Samsung

2.5 years ago, I bought a Samsung 17" LCD monitor for the now outrageous price of $599. Last week, it stopped working. It appears that the backlighting broke down, since I can see the image on the screen only faintly on one side. I found the warranty: 3 years long. That meant it was still covered! I dug through my filing cabinet, and found the original receipt. Warranty coverage began by calling Samsung Canada's tollfree number. I only had to press three buttons: 1 (English), 3 (Computer-related parts), and 1 (Monitors). I barely had time to even think of drumming... Read more →

Why I Despise Updates

In order to have a graphics board that worked with my new 22" widescreen monitor, I had installed one of my son's spare graphics boards, one of the nVidia GeForce models, because it supports custom resolutions, such as the oddball 1680x1050 the new monitor employs. I used the driver included with the graphics board, which I figured was a couple of years old. I checked, and nVidia had one that was just two months young. I figured, what the hay. Unfortunately, it took over an hour for me to digest the hay. Remove and Reboot Before installing the new driver,... Read more →

In Praise of the USB Key

Over the last couple of years, I've been given several USB keys. In all cases, a software company used it to provide a collection of press releases and other marketing material. In the past, this job was done by diskettes and CDs. The 1.44MB diskettes could be erased and reused; the CDs were throwaways. At first, I didn't find the USB keys (aka thumbdrives) useful. I did use them in limited fashion as backup devices. For instance, when I go on a trip, I copy my most important files onto a thumbdrive, in case the house burns down while I... Read more →

My New 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor, Part V

Update on ProView Tech Support It's now been more than a week, and still no response from ProView's tech support. I suppose I am not surprised, because when I visited their Web site, it didn't list the model I purchased. How high-tech is that? (As well, the driver CD didn't have a driver specific to this PL2225AFW model; I used an equivalent driver meant for their 19" widescreen monitor. As long as the resolution and aspect ratio are the same, the screen size does not matter.) Update on the Too-short VGA Cable I solved the problem of the too-short VGA... Read more →

My New 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor, Part IV

In addition to Google Earth looking beautiful, the new LCD screen has power benefits. Saving Power I recently got another batter backup unit for my office, and installed the interface software. One piece of information it reports is the current load by the system. With the old CRT monitor, the total load was 61%; with the new monitor, the load drops to 48%. In practical terms, this means the battery backup will last about 25% longer when the power goes out. And we've been having a lot of winter storms on the West Coast. Another benefit is saving money. I... Read more →

My New 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor, Part III

I made the announcement at suppertime: "This evening, I go to buy my Christmas present!" When I explained what it was, quite frankly I was surprised at the lack of reaction from my wife. Making (and Returning) the Purchase When my daughter and I entered FutureShop, we noticed that there were boxes of my desired monitor within easy reach. Unnoticed by usually vigilant salesmen, I grabbed a carton, headed for the exit to pay, and was relieved the sleepy male cashier only half-heartedly asked if I want the extended warranty. (My credit card gives an extra year warranty free.) Exalted,... Read more →

My New 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor, Part II

I told my kids not to buy me anything for Christmas, because my present was going to be a new LCD monitor. FutureShop last week had some on sale, so I bopped into the store to look at them. The Pre-Sales Legwork The look of monitors is important to me, because I look at one 8-16 hours a day. In the store, I found that the cheapest of the over-20-inchers was also the best looking: the ProView Pl225AFW for CDN$369 (about US$325). It's a 22" widescreen LCD with hidden stereo speakers (I'll probably never use 'em), two VGA connectors, and... Read more →

My New 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor, Part I

This week, I replaced my 8-year-old, $1200, 17" CRT monitor with a brand-new, $350, 22" widescreen LCD monitor. I'm very happy with it. The History When I bought the ViewSonic MB90 monitor eight years ago, it had so many features I figured it was the optimal product, though pricey. It included four USB ports, microphone and stereo speakers, mic and speaker jacks, and a woofer in the base. But... - the USB ports were v1.1, and don't support today's faster USB v2 peripherals. - the ports were located around the back, which made them inconvenient for plugging devices in and... Read more →