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Computers and their accompanying printers were huge years ago. In the past toner reservoirs and toner cartridges were used instead of ink cartridges like those used now. It was difficult to fill a toner cartridge and it was very messy.

Toner cartridges were an improvement. Print wheels and ribbons were used in some printers. Computers are now more compact and the printers do more than just print in some cases. Printer cartridges now have self-contained reservoirs. Refilling some printer cartridges now is not as messy as adding toner was.

Printer cartridges are available in two types. Primarily Hewlett-Packard and Epson printers used the first type the Piezo Electric. An applied electric current is put to a small crystal causing it to expand approximately every five microseconds (20,000 per second).

The inkjet ink squirts out through the print heads very fast and very precisely because of this expansion. Because Piezo Electric has fewer print heads than bubble jet/thermal printers it can do more precise action and tends to last longer. Bubble jet cartridges heats the ink rapidly into a bubble and then squirts it through ink nozzles thousands of times per second.

Bubble jet printers are less noisy than the Piezo based printers. You can expect really high resolution color printing from it. Inkjet has ink squirted through the nozzles as they move over a variety of media, not mega pixel method. Various colored liquid ink is squirted at the paper to create an image. The page gets scanned by the print head horizontally by a motor assembly that rolls the paper vertically.

A strip of an image is printed and the paper moves toward the next step. It not only prints a strip across the page it also prints vertical rows of pixels in each pass for speed. There are a number of types of inkjet technology. Ink in small drops are squirted onto the paper through tiny nozzles in drop on demand (DOD).

It resembles turning a hose off and on 5,000 times a second. How much ink is dropped on the page and which nozzle fires and when is controlled by the driver software program. The ink may smudge after printing is one problem with inkjet technology. With the development of new ink compositions, this is progressing.

Ink is discharged onto the paper in the Thermal Technology of printing. This process has three stages. In stage one the squirt begins when the ink is heated to create a bubble. When the pressure is initiated the bubble breaks and

The resulting vacuum draws out the ink from the reservoir to replace what was ejected. Printers used to be costly because the print heads that would imprint the image on the paper was within the printer. Printers are cheap now but the expense comes when you need to buy cartridges.

You could almost conclude it would almost be worth it to buy a new printer instead of the cartridges because the price of the cartridges can be more than the cost of the most basic inkjet printers.

Though the current price of cartridges is expensive the complex technology they contain will end up being cheaper in the long run than it would be to continually replace printer heads.

Now print heads are contained within the cartridges themselves. It’s exciting because if you use the correct cartridges for your printer you could have it for a very long time. Color cartridges work the same way as black cartridges by squirting the ink through tiny nozzles onto the paper in horizontal strips while they move across the page.

There are three individual reservoirs in color cartridges, one is filled with cyan, the other with magenta, and the other with yellow ink. The quality of the image can be influenced by a lot of things. The quality of the paper can affect the image you get. The image you get can be affected by both brightness and absorption of the ink.

Brightness indicates the vividness of the print image and absorption is how effectively the paper absorbs the ink. When using an inkjet printer, it is best to use paper specifically designed for its use. The best possible image can be possible with the use of the proper paper.

Things that can affect your printing project are display properties settings and/or printer settings. You may want to leave your documents alone to dry for awhile depending on the paper you use and your printer. Most printers have an ink saver setting that puts out less ink which will allow documents to dry faster. You should have knowledge of how your printer operates.

To upgrade or not? That is the question. At least, since the release of the new Athlon 64 FX-57, that is the question I have been pondering. Even though the FX-55, (which I am currently running), was everything I had hoped it would be, is the new FX-57 that much better? Well let’s take a look.

The Athlon 64 FX-57 has an increased clock speed of 200 MHz bringing it to 2.8 GHz, up from the 2.6 GHz found in the FX-55. AMD didn’t stop there though, they added a few extras to improve performance.

The chip’s core is actually based on a revised K8 core code named San Diego (1 MB L2 cache), which bring’s the size of the chip’s die down to 90 nm from 130 nm. this is made possible by building the chip on AMD’s latest SOI (Silicon and Insulator) technology.

The FX-57 has an improved memory controller, making it more flexible in terms of allowing you to use different size DIMM’s on the same channel.

So is the FX-57 fast? It’s screaming fast, but is it an enough of an improvement to warrent an upgrade? Well that depends a little on you. If you have to have the latest and greatest then this is the processor for you.

With a $1000+ price tag, I would be willing to say that the Athlon 64 FX-57 is a little too pricey for most mainstream users or enthusiasts (myself included). Especially if you just dropped $800-$900 on an FX-55 just six months ago like I did.

One other factor to consider is the future direction of processors. With an industry shift to dual-core processors, such as the Athlon 64 X2, the Athlon 64 FX-57 may be AMD’s last installment in the single core processor market.

Now having said that, the FX-57 still out-performs (in terms of gaming) even the fastest dual-core processor such as the Athlon 64 X2 4800+. This is largely due to the fact that most games are not built to take advantage of a dual-core processor, not yet anyway.

So for the time being, the FX-57 will remain the fastest gaming processor on the market.

Now you can more easily access the Internet wherever mobile phone carriers offer high-speed data service coverage.

The JunxionBox enables multiple computing devices with Ethernet or Wi-Fi (like laptops, desktops, handhelds and remote computers) to connect with the web through your mobile phone service provider’s wireless PC Card modem.

You can also use the Junxion Box to share the Internet connection, files or printers among multiple devices.

Mobile work groups, landline back-up, event connectivity, vehicles, telemetry, home or business landline replacement…with Junxion, it’s easy to stay connected.

The JunxionBox (www.junxionbox.com) is a unique device that combines a cellular data card with a Wi-Fi router and runs on both 12 volts and 110 volts. This combination of features lets you establish a hotspot nearly anywhere you go and even while you’re on your way there.

THE BOX
The JunxionBox is pleasingly simple. It has one PCMCIA slot for your cellular data card, a connector for power (both 110 volt and cigarette lighter plugs are included), and two Ethernet ports (one for connecting directly to a computer, and another to connect to an Ethernet LAN). In addition, there are two LEDs, one power indicator, and one cellular connection status indicator.

Even that short list makes the box sound harder than it is. To use the unit, simply plug it in to a power outlet with an activated cellular data card installed. The power LED turns red, and then the connection light changes from blinking to solid green. At that point the unit is active and you’re good to go.

USAGE
The JunxionBox’s $500 - $700 price tag is overkill for a single-user environment where you could just as easily slide the air card into your laptop. But for corporate environments there are several uses that could easily justify the cost of the unit, even for a single-user connection.

Conventions and trade shows are natural targets for the JunxionBox, where the cost of a single dialup line for a three-day show is likely to cost more than the acquisition price of the JunxionBox. Not only would you get the better connection speed to the booth, but you can have multiple connections for the same price.

OTHER APPLICATIONS:

• VEHICLE

cars, trucks, RV’s mobile command units commercial service/fleet vehicles shuttles, carpool/vanpool transit (busses, trains, ferries) taxis/limos private/commercial vessels

• PORTABLE

landline data/voice service back-up mobile work teams events, trade shows, conferences visitor mobile hotspot incident response vacation

• FIXED

landline data/voice service back-up broadband alternative (w/3G service) dial-up alternative telemetry

• TEMPORARY

interim (waiting for landline) seasonal hotspots trial hotspots kiosks

I’m certain there are more uses that make sense for the JunxionBox, such as providing a backup Internet connection for critical environments like retail stores.

This category of device is still just beginning, and hot spots are likely to emerge wherever user demand and financial incentives exist.

For example, Google Inc. has setup JunxionBoxes in its shuttle buses so its employees can be productive while commuting from the parking lot to the office.

SERVICE
The box will accept any air card from any wireless service provider using any connectivity technology such as CDMA, UMTS, EDGE, etc. Travelers needing guaranteed connections can carry a variety of different cards with them and simply slide the appropriate card into the JunxionBox depending on their location and service area.

Most cellular carriers have unlimited data plans for $80 per month. These generally assume single device connections, so it’s possible that as this market matures, carriers will begin to offer premium plans that recognize multi-user cellular connections.

Next time you’re riding the commuter bus or train, check your laptop for a WiFi connection. You may be able to connect through a JunxionBox riding along with you on the same vehicle.

Visit The JunxionBox Website

Discuss The JunxionBox On The PDA and Mobile Today Forum

Other then keeping your HDD free of viruses, spyware, and ad-ware at all times, there are other methods for speeding up system speed which you may like to employ. One of these is overclocking. Overclocking is a method of increasing your system speed by increasing the frequency at which your CPU operates at. If this interests you, please refer to our guide on overclocking.

Other methods of keeping your computer up to speed include:

-Running defrags/scandisks on your PC once to twice a month

-Upgrading your RAM by installing faster, or more memory

-Formatting at least once a year
Running a defrag is easy. You can find this windows tool in programs—>accessories—>system tools. You can also find scandisk on this same menu. Running defrags/scandisks will help to improve your hard drive read/write time. Scandisk and Defragmentation work to fix corrupted files on your PC. These files become corrupted when you restart your computer by using the reset button, or by being careless with your hard drive (like not bolting it properly to your case or removing it constantly).

You could also use a tool called a Registry Fixer. Sometimes, especially if you have been infected recently with a virus, spy-ware, or ad-ware, these programs work to fix your registry and repair certain errors. This is more for an advanced user, however, as some of these programs can be difficult to grasp.

There are also several registry tweaks programmers have produced which improve startup and shutdown times by skipping some uneeded parts of processes. These are also recommended for advanced users as they can sometimes result in a hardware or software error, although such incompatibilities would likely be rare. If however they do cause a problem, post your problem on our forums and we will try to help.

CD ROMS - If you’re adding or removing an internal cd-rom, dvd-rom, or just about any internal ROM that has an opening CD door, read on. Almost all IDE devices such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc. including burners and dvd burners are all installed or removed in the same fashion. If you’re removing your rom, first remove the scrues from both sides of the rom. Make sure both sides are removed or you won’t be able to get the device out. Once the scrues are off, unplug the drive; both the IDE ribbon cable that goes to your mainboard and your power cable. You may also have another wire running from your cd-rom to your sound card. This wire enables sound to play from your rom drive to your sound card, so when you play a cd on your drive you can hear it. Yank all cables running to the drive, then remove it. Simple.

To add a drive, first you must mount the drive in the correct position and remove the IDE bracket on the front of the case. An IDE bracket is just a simple piece of plastic on the front of your case. When removed, your drive can then be accesible from your case’s front. Remove one such plastic bracket by simply pulling at it and it will come loose, then mount your drive inside the case with the door facing frontwards. Now, your drive will not stay in that position unless you mount it with some scrues, so do so to both sides of the drive. Then, connect an IDE ribbon cable to one side of the ROM. The other side of the cable should run to the secondary IDE slot on your motherboard. If you’re not sure which is which, the primary is the one that runs to your master (primary) hard drive, and the secondary runs to your rom drives. You can connect up to two rom drives on one cable, as it will have one end that connects to your board, one end that connects to a drive, and a middle connector for another drive. Run a power cable to the drive as well. As for connecting a sound cable - it can be done, but it really is not required. Should you need to listen to music from your cd player, you’re better off just copying the music to your hard drive, then listening to it. This will cut down on your used system resources, and for slower PCs skipping will be eliminated.

Hard drives - Hard drives are a little more complicated. First off, you have to know what you want to do with the hard drive. By this, I mean either you want it set to either SLAVE or MASTER. If you want to boot from the hard drive (load windows or whatever other OS off it) then you want it to be your master. If you already have a master, and you want to use this as extra space, set this hdd to slave. This setting change requires a jumper on the back of the hard drive to be moved. It may sound hard, but it’s easy. These jumper configurations can be found on the back of the hdd; most have a small label which states which way is which. After setting the jumper, take the IDE cable that runs to your primary hard drive. This is the long, usually grey cable that runs from a slot on your motherboard to your primary hard drive. If you are putting your new hdd in as a slave, this cable should have a second connector on it not being used. Connect this to the new slave hard drive, but don’t disconnect the cable from your other HDD.

If you’re putting a new drive in as master, then you need to take the cable running right to your old HDD, detach it, and connect it to the new master HDD. In both cases, you will need to connect a power cable to the HDD. This runs from your power supply, and you should have a few extra not being used. Connect one connector to the 4 pronged connector on the hard drive.

Once the hard drive is all connected, make sure it is fastened to the chasis on both sides of the case. This can be done by removing the case, then bolting the hard drive on one side and then the other. This is important - if you only bolt one side of the HDD, it can lead to corruption of files on the HDD.

So you need to check your IP address, for whatever reason. Maybe you’re playing an online game with a friend, or you need to access your PC remotely. Whatever the reason, there are a number of different ways you can check your IP address.

One of the easiest ways is to run an “ipconfig” command in dos prompt. You can access a DOS prompt from windows by hitting start, then run, and typing cmd in the run box. A MS-DOS dialog box will appear. Try typing “ipconfig” in this window.

This will come back with the IP of your computer. However, if you are running a home network or an office network, this will only give you your local IP. This is the IP that has been assigned to you by your router or hub. If you want to check your external IP (which is the one used to connect to your computer or local network) then you need to access your router settings, usually accessed by typing 192.168.1.1 into your browser (or whatever local IP your router has been assigned. Usually, 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.0 will be your default gateway IP. “Default gateway IP” meaning your router, as your router is used as your gateway for accessing the Internet).

After you’ve brought up your router information page (and logged in, which is sometimes required), look for a status page, and your “WAN IP.” This IP is the IP assigned to your router as your external IP for your incoming traffic.

Now, should you need to check your external IP and you can’t access your router, you could use an IP checker on the Internet. A simple Google or Yahoo search for “IP checker” will give you a list of sites that use an easy script to tell you your IP. There is also certain programs in Windows that will give you this result. Try looking around.

This is the first step to servicing, upgrading or removing PC hardware from your PC. Refer to my other articles on adding, upgading or removing just about any piece of hardware.

First things first, get that case off your PC. This is usually done by removing the screws on the back. Don’t remove the ones near your power supply! This will cause your power supply to fall out. Simply remove the screws along the side that seem to be holding the case to the frame. Usually, this is about 6-9 screws. This will remove both sides. If you are aiming on only removing one side (sometimes this is best, as you only need to service one side) then remove the three screws holding the one side on. (For clone PCs. For IBM/Compaqs, refer below). After you’ve got the screws off either the one side, or both sides, simply slide the sides off towards the front side (the side where the power button is).

If you’ve got an IBM or Compaq, you will need to remove all the screws holding the case onto the back, and then employ one or both methods. Some IBM PCs require you to “yank” the case off. Don’t be rough - just remove the screws, then hold the PC in both hands and pull the case towards you, in the direction facing the front. Some of these can be quite annoying to get loose. The other method is using push tabs - some PC cases have these, so if you are having trouble, look for these puppies.

For Video cards - Most PC video cards these days are AGP. But you COULD be working with PCI, or PCI express. If you’re not sure which you have (more then 75% of the time it will be AGP) consult your motherboard manual. If your video card is AGP, you should see a slot smaller then the other slots on your board, and it will be a different color. You can likely also tell your video card if it has a GPU (a processor with a fan on top of it) or a video card company printed on it like Nvidia or Geforce.

To take out your video card in order to switch it for a newer one, or if it simply is not working, remove the screw first that holds it to the case. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE CARD UNTIL YOU HAVE UNSCREWED IT. You will damage, maybe even destroy your card, and you may damage your AGP, PCI or PCI express slot as well. Your board may then have a simple switch that holds the socket down. Flick this switch up. After the scrue is removed, and the switch is flicked up, pull the card away from the board. Pull it on one side first so when it comes out it comes out on a slant, kind of like a car reversing. It should come out quite easily. To put in a new card, make sure the card you’re putting in is properly lined up in the slot, then press the card into the slot. If it dosen’t seem to be going in, you may be putting it in the wrong way. The pathways on the one side of the card should be the side that goes into the motherboard slot (these pathways looking like small lines going up one side of the card). Once the card sinks in with almost a click (like RAM), flick the switch down and scrue the card into the place you unscrued it. Start up your PC, make sure the card is working, then put your case back on.

Sound card - Sound cards are pretty easy, and the method for these can be used for any other card, such as network cards and the like (assuming they are all PCI. PCI are the black slots on your board). For installing/removing a PCI card, just unscrue it from the board, pull it out, then put the new one in, and scrue it in. Pretty easy. If you are having troubles, make sure the lines running up one side of the card is the side going into the slot. If you still have troubles, try turning the card around (but still make sure the pathways are facing the slot).