Do you still remember the times when you used a floppy disk in order to save and transfer data from one computer to another? It was truly the epitome of a floppy disk. I think they got the idea from the cassette tapes and video tapes of the era. The floppy disk had its own cardboard holder, and kept filed in a wooden box so as to avoid bending it. Imagine bringing to school your whole thesis to hand over to your professor in a wooden box of floppy disks. However, since it can only store several Wordstar files (Microsoft Word was still non-existent then), it had to evolve to the 3.5 inch floppy disk, which wasn’t really floppy at all.

This floppy disk can now carry more files, with a bigger memory capacity. There is still the danger of bending it but because of its hard casing, the risk is considerably less. One thing I like about these storage disks is that it comes in different colors, from the basic red, yellow, and blue to the neon greens, pinks, and oranges. Unfortunately, if the computer doesn’t have a floppy disk drive, then you have a problem. I remember an incident wherein I used a floppy disk to transfer files. Little did I know that the floppy disk wasn’t formatted therefore when I used it, it prompted me to format it or not. I unknowingly formatted it, erasing all data that was stored in that floppy disk, including my backup copies as well…

I figured I can always use a blank compact disc to record my files. Unfortunately, I cannot revise my files that are copied from the CD as well as having problems looking for a computer with a compatible CD drive that can play original CDs and those rewritable as well.

So I stumble into this miniscule gadget that is the personification of the saying “Small but terrible!” With its small stature, it can easily save all needed files just through a quick USB attachment. No more formatting. No more problems with handling. I usually slip it into my purse, always handy whenever I need it.

A USB flash drive has definitely made my life easier. First manufactured by IBM, it is now introduced in various shapes, sizes, and storage capacities. It is quite accessible since most computers and gadgets at present have a USB port attached to it, thus the ease of using the USB flash drive. How can you beat being able to play a presentation just from the data contained in that flash drive? It is not only compatible with most operating systems, but improvements are constantly being made on its speed of transfer.

A flash drive can either be found by itself, as a stand alone USB flash drive, or incorporated in other products and gadgets which can not only store data but also music and pictures as well. The possibilities are definitely endless. From the age of the floppy disk to the present, the USB flash drive has a lot of expectations to live up to, especially in memory storage. And it is doing a fine job of it.

People want the best gadgets that they can have without having to spend too much on it. Oftentimes, the good stuffs are always the most expensive ones especially the branded ones. That is life and no one can change that. But there are a lot of stores that offer quality gadgets with a reasonable price alongside it. People on the budget try to look for things that can cater to their needs without spending too much on it.

Example, you want to buy a laptop that has relatively nice features and will be able to function properly. Branded laptops especially those that already have created a name for themselves tend to price their items higher. If you look and ask around, there are some laptops that can provide you the same functions you are looking for without costing a fortune.

Your look is over. There is a laptop that has Linux as its operating system and this is considered to be the world’s cheapest laptop. Bestlink’s Alpha 400 is forecasted to be a great hit among the people because of its relatively lower price when compared to the other laptops.

If you purchase this laptop which is a 1 GB model, it will cost you around $219. The price for the 2GB model is about $250. These prices can even get lower when you’ll be buying by the bulk like for the office or for school use which will cost you only $180.

The aforementioned laptop has a 128MB of RAM, your choice of having a 1 or 2GB flash storage and a 400MHz Xburst 32-bit CPU. It may not have a built in WiFi feature but the unit comes with a WiFi dongle so that would not be a problem. Aside from that, the laptop has a display of seven inches and has a resolution of 800 x 400. The Alpha 400 laptop can run on either Windows or Linux.

Other specifications include three USB ports and a 10/100MB Ethernet Interface as its broadband interface. The unit also has an earphone and mic jack. In addition, it has a standard keyboard and a mouse for its input devices. It supports an SD card rabbit for its external storage. Some of the network accesses it has are CDMA, WiFi and ADSL. GPRS can also one of the network accesses, but it is only optional. The dimension of the laptop is 21.2 x 14.2 x 3.3cm and weighs around 0.70 kg.

Even though the specs are just like any other ordinary computer or laptop, still the price is cheaper than others. Quality and affordable gadgets are always a hit.

This Modbook has the same functions that the MacBook has. It can be of use to artist students, mobile users and professionals. Because it is pen-based, there is no keyboard or mouse needed because you can directly paint, draw and sketch on the screen. Graphic applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter can be installed to create that perfect image you want. There is also a built in Global Positioning System or GPS that enables mapping, geo-tagging and navigating with just a click. As of now, the Modbook is the only handy Mac solution that has the GPS. Its GPS Module is based on the SiRFstar III Chipset that enabled improved capabilities for tracking especially in outdoor and urban settings.

This tablet is an integration of Apple’s MacBook and the technology of Wacom with its pen-enabled digitizer. With the newest technology in the pen, an individual can sketch and draw right away as soon as he feels like doing it. Because of the cutting edge technology in the pen itself, the strokes and the pressure applied while sketching or drawing is also modified. The pen adapts to whatever movement you do while drawing. Per second, the pen has about 133 position updates and it is accurate having about a 20x resolution for display. It also has about 512 pen pressure levels for the sensitivity exerted and it does not need any battery to function.

Aside from the high-end pen, each Modbook has a built-in iSight camera and an optical drive. The camera and the LCD panel is covered and protected by an Axiotron ForceGlass that gives extra strength for both the LCD panel and camera from scratches and aging. The ForceGlass has that coating for anti-reflection for the inward-facing side of the Modbook that makes an image look brighter. The outward-facing side was treated with acid to have that etched calibrated surface to achieve a paper-like writing feeling.

This tablet has a processing speed of more than 2GHz. It also has more than 1GB memory has that full-range Apple MacBook connectivity through the USB, Bluetooth, FireWire, Ethernet and AirPort.

The tablet’s shell and its display frame are made from an aircraft. Having a high quality of magnesium alloy in it makes the Modbook quite unique from the others. Another great thing about this is that it is resistant to scratches because of the triple layer metal plating. This means that nickel is covered with copper and then copper is covered and sealed with chrome that makes its outer covering very strong.

The Modbook released has that standard satin finish but those who want to avail of the mirror finish may have to wait until later this month.

If you’re saving up for that laptop you’ve always wanted, the MacBook Air is perhaps the best thing in today’s technology. Not only for being thin and portable, new innovations are added to this new member of the Macintosh Family.

The height of this Macintosh baby is about 0.4-1.94 cm, with width of about 32.5 cm, the depth is 22.7 cm and it weighs only around 1.36 kg.

It may have a widescreen LED which is 13.3 inch in size, but it weighs only about three pounds. Having a resolution of 1280-by-800, the images are rich in color and are full of life. The laptop is covered in 0.6 to 0.76 inch thick of anodized aluminum which gives its brilliant luster.

The keyboard may seem ordinary but there is a hidden surprise to it. The keyboard of this MacBook Air is illuminated with a backlight so that individuals can work under a low-light setting with a breeze. In order to adjust the brightness and visibility of the keys, there is a sensor built in the laptop.

More over, this MacBook Air is also power efficient because of its arsenic and mercury-free display. Because of its efficiency, the life battery can take five hours of internet surfing.

In addition, there is also a trackpad that can respond to multi-touch technology. This is the same principle that iPod and the iPhone have.

The RAM of this baby is 2GB with 80 GB hard drive that is able to store large amount of files. People also have the option of having an external USB MacBook Air SuperDrive for added file storage. In addition, there is the 1.6 or 1.8 GHz Intel 2 Duo processor that makes this laptop have an edge over the others.

Because wireless technology is booming, makers of this MacBook Air placed an 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. These are the fastest available in the market. Also, because of this wireless sphere, MacBook Air owners can also watch movies on it.

Other features include the DVI output, VGA output and the Composite output with a built-in iSight camera which makes chatting so much easier rather than bringing an external webcam.

With individuals always on the go, this laptop is the best for you. It has almost all the things and connections that you will need in your everyday life with some bonuses on the side. Because it is light-weight, there’s no more strain in carrying this on your shoulder so it’s easy to bring it along wherever you’re going.

So for those who want to avail of this slimmest notebook, be prepared to pull out $ 1,799 out of your pocket to have one.

I am not really surprised that Windows Vista snagged the top spot. Really, I am not. After all, I have been ranting about Vista for the past few weeks now myself.

So, what according to PC World are the 15 biggest tech disappointments of the year? Here is a rundown:

15. Amazon Unboxed. Apparently, Amazon’s attempt to enter the fray of entertainment on demand resulted in something clunky and inconvenient.

14. WiMax. All deals are off. Sprint and Clearwire will not be pushing through with their plans to bring WiMax to a broader base in the US anymore.

13. Social networks. There are just too many of them out there already, and they all look the same.

12. Internet security. It simply does not exist.

11. Microsoft’s Zune. The self-proclaimed iPod killer can’t even get close to its prey.

10. Wireless networks. All the nice new mobile phones that came out in 2007 are beyond awesome. The same cannot be said, however, of the wireless networks that carry them.

09. Office 2007. Some people are still trying to figure out how macros work in older versions. And then Office 2007, with its notorious Ribbon, shows up.

08. Apple Leopard. Who would have thought that the makers of the iPhone and iTouch would have a bad hit here?

07. VoIP. It was simply a bad year for VoIP.

06. The broadband industry. The big broadband ISPs in the US interfere with P2P downloading, to which they certainly do not have the right.

05. The iPhone. Even a thing of beauty has its flaws.

04. Yahoo. Stuck behind Google and got in a fix for supplying information on dissidents to the Chinese government. For shame.

03. Facebook Beacon. Creepy in the way they get info about you behind your back.

02. The High-Def Format War. Blu-ray vs. HD DVD? Who cares?

01. Windows Vista. Enough said.

For those who are not in the know yet, Santa Rosa in computer parlance does not refer to any city, place, flower or person. Rather, it is the codename used by Intel to refer to its fourth generation of the Centrino platform.

There are actually two types of the Centrino platform that are referred to as the Santa Rosa. One is called Centrino Duo while the other is the Centrino Pro. What is the difference? Centrino Pro makes use of the enhanced security technology that Intel developed for its vPro platform marketing initiative while Centrino Duo does not.

What features make the Santa Rosa so far stand out among the chip offerings of Intel? In summary, according to this review by CNet.com, they are:

• A number of new Core 2 Duo processors. Well, not really so new, because they are still based on the architecture seen in the previous generation of the Centrino platform. What is new about the Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo processors is that the clock speeds can now run as fast as 2.4 GHz.
• A front-side bus that goes up to 800MHz. This means that the components making up the computer will be able to communicate nicely and more efficiently with each other.
• A new integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphic chip that has a larger VRAM allocation at 384 MB. This new graphic chip can support DirectX 10 and will really be helpful in running the resource-hungry Microsoft Vista.
• A new and faster wireless card that is able to support 802.11n networking. This, however, will require the purchase of a Draft-N wireless router.
• An optional dedicated memory cache that will allow for faster booting and loading time.
• A chipset designed for more efficient power management that is better at extending battery life for laptops.

What would these features mean to you as the possible end-user of a Santa Rosa machine? If you would look closely, the listed features of the Santa Rosa platform are good. However, they are not revolutionary; far from that, actually. The steps taken for the Santa Rosa platform to move forward were not that big.

What is the conclusion? If you are not really actively looking into buying a new laptop or desktop and if you are still happy with the way your machine performs for you, stick with your old machine. But if you are already considering replacing your machine long before you even got wind of Santa Rosa, then by all means, check it out.

Summer is in, so all the kids will be out from school and their parents will be kept busy thinking up ways to keep them occupied. For the grown-up kids at heart, they will also probably be in a summer state of mind.

The advent of summer can only mean a number of things: summer trips, whether to the beach, to camp, to Granny’s house, or even abroad; summer days spent outdoors hanging out with friends; or summer days indoors hosting serious gaming parties. If the case in question for you is the first item or the third item, you would surely need a laptop to augment the summer fun.

Why is that, you may ask. If you’re going on a summer trip, you ought to bring your laptop with you so you could still communicate with your family and friends, whether through email, IM, voice chat, Myspace, Facebook and whatnot. Pictures taken during your trip are a must-share on a personal blog.

However, if you are just staying home, you can use your laptop to entertain yourself this summer. You can start by making your PC your very own home theater system, to play your music and your videos. Or you could simply log into an MMORPG like World of Warcraft, Guild Wars or Final Fantasy XI and spend your summer days beating up monsters. Better yet, you could organize a group of people to play with you over a network. That’s loads of fun.

The question is: what kind of laptop will best serve you this summer? You can easily search the Internet for the answer.

One all-purpose laptop that comes highly recommended is the HP Pavilion dv6500t. This laptop, with its shiny black-and-silver casing, is pretty without being showy. At 6.2 pounds, you can carry it anywhere without much difficulty. You might find yourself wishing that this baby’s screen is wider than 15.4 inches (diagonal), but the portability makes up for the screen size. Performance-wise, it isn’t bad at all. Its 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor, teamed up with a 2GB memory and a 120GB hard drive ensures that you will get your work done on this laptop quickly and happily. Battery life lasts approximately four hours. The one bad thing about this laptop, however, is that you may want to change from the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 from this laptop and upgrade the graphic card if you want to have some real gaming fun.

PC World ranks the HP Pavilion dv6500t as its number one all-around laptop to date, while CNet.com has given it a score of 6.9 out of 10. It is definitely worth looking at.

Top 5 must have accessories for your notebook

Today many people carry notebook computers. They are convenient and easy to use. With this ever growing trend come all the accessories that may go with a notebook. Whether you are looking for accessories for yourself or thinking about buying a gift for someone, there are some must have accessories for today’s sophisticated notebook user. The top five notebook accessories are:

Speakers

People often use their notebook for more than just work. When sitting in a hotel with nothing to watch on television or waiting in the airport during a layover, the entertainment value of a notebook is priceless. Having speakers that will attach to your notebook when needed will allow you to play music or watch DVD’s while you wait. Some really cool speakers you might consider are the Sony SRS-T77. Coming in at around $60.00, these speakers are small but powerful. They fold up to be about the size of a CD jewel case. You can find them at Amazon.

Notebook Carrying Case

A carrying case is definitely a must have for those on the go with their notebook computer. For those who are simply looking to have a lightweight protective case, a simple briefcase style is ideal. For the overnight traveler, there is the backpack carrying case. The space allows you to pack for an overnight trip while keeping your notebook safe and secure. This is small enough to be a carry on piece of luggage so you don’t have to worry about checking your bag. When you have a lot of luggage though, the rolling bags are ideal. These allow you to roll your case behind you without having to do any heavy lifting. You can find various cases at Amazon, PCMall and reviews at CNET.

External Hard Drive

For those who use their notebook as a peripheral device for traveling or getting out of the office, an external hard drive is ideal for transferring data between each computer. It is also a great security measure to backup documents in case there is an issue with your desk top or notebook computer and you need to recover documents. External hard drives can be found at CNET, Superwarehouse and Geeks.

GPS Receiver

Do you travel frequently and sometimes get lost? Are you one of those people who do not like to ask for directions? A GPS receiver could be the perfect solution. This handy device will allow someone to get directions to any destination so you never get lost again nor will you have to stop to ask directions. This can be a really great time saver. GPS receivers for the notebook can be found at CNET, Amazon and BestBuy.

Web Cam

For keeping up to date with friends and family, a web cam is a great accessory. You can use it for work or play, to video conference with those who are not with you. Creative Labs has made quality web cams for desk top computers and their Creative WebCam Notebook at approximately $50.00 is a must have accessory. It can be found at Circut City and OfficeMax.

A notebook computer is an incredibly useful tool to have for both business and personal needs. Accessories for the notebook will enhance the efficiency of the computer to allow you to expand its uses. Investing in these top five accessories for the notebook will ensure you have the perfect tool for home and business use.