Computer Tips and Tricks

You may have seen this on your laptop and it refers to a small port on the side generally that you can connect some high speed devices to such as a video camera or a hard disk. This is a firewire connection. Here is an explanation from Yahoo Answers from Nayiaf A:

FireWire, originally created by Apple and later standardized as IEEE-1394, actually preceded USB and had similar goals. The difference is that IEEE-1394 was originally intended for devices working with lots more data — things like camcorders, DVD players and digital audio equipment. IEEE-1394 and USB share a number of characteristics and differ in some important ways. Here’s a summary:
* Like USB, IEEE-1394 is a serial bus that uses twisted-pair wiring to move data around.
* However, while USB is limited to 12 megabits per second, IEEE-1394 currently handles up to 400 megabits per second.
* USB can handle 127 devices per bus, while IEEE-1394 handles 63.
* Both USB and IEEE-1394 support the concept of a isochronous device — a device that needs a certain amount of bandwidth for streaming data. This mode is perfect for streaming audio and video data.
* Both USB and IEEE-1394 allow you to plug and unplug devices at any time.

The designers of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) had several particular goals in mind when they created the USB standard:
* Low implementation cost, so that USB could be used in cheap peripherals like mice and game controllers
* Low cabling cost
* Lots of devices on the bus
* Good speed characteristics for things like printers
The idea was to create a system that would replace all of the different ports on computers (parallel ports, serial ports, special mouse and keyboard ports, etc.) with a single standard. USB achieved all of these goals very effectively, and there will come a day in the not-too-distant future when computers will have nothing but a set of USB connectors on the back.
Most digital video cameras have an IEEE-1394 plug. When you attach a camcorder to a computer using IEEE-1394, the connection is amazing. With the right software the computer and the camera communicate, and the computer can download all of the scenes on the tape automatically and with perfect digital clarity. As prices fall, home video production will become trivial!

You can improve performance with this site:
http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template2/index.html

I have used this for occasions to improve reception for customers that have their routers too far away or have interference affecting them. If you print off the windsurfer card onto card stock, and then glue tin foil on it, cut in the slots and tape it together, you would be surprised how much it will improve. Just remember to direct the parabolic antenna towards where you are. If you get stuck, you can view the systm video that shows it step by step on episode 45 at http://revision3.com/systm/surfer/.
Cool thing is they are basically free.

Technorati Tags: antenna, free antenna, reception, wireless

http://live.pirillo.com - I’ve talked before about OpenDNS. It’s an excellent free program that will speed up your online experience. However, there are many other features that allow you to enhance your browsing and network management.

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Technorati Tags: dns, domain, help, homenetwork, network, networking, opendns, pirillo, proxy, shortcut, tech, typo, video, whitelist

Having Wireless troubles? Check out these tips to fix or improve your wireless performance

Wi-Fi troubleshooting checklist

Using the tips outlined above, your wireless network’s range and speed should increase dramatically. But that doesn’t mean your network will be completely without hiccups. Here are 10 steps to try if you’ve got a dead or weak connection:

• Make sure that the cable or DSL modem and your router are connected and that everything’s powered up.
• Restart the router and PC to renew DHCP licenses.
• Call your Internet service provider to see if it’s doing maintenance or repairs to its network.
• Got the latest firmware and client software? Get it.
• Try to connect to the Net with a LAN cable. If that works, there’s something wrong with the wireless portion.
• Interference from cordless phones, baby monitors or even a powerful nearby network can knock your network out. Try a different channel.
• Slow connections can occur when too many clients are connected or someone is a data hog. If you notice a sudden slowdown, scout around on your network to see if somebody might be watching videos or otherwise hogging bandwidth. You could ask that person to cool it while other users are connected, or try quality-of-service (QOS) software such as JDSoft Bandwidth Manager, which lets you monitor network traffic and prioritize data flow across it.
• Getting “IP conflict” error messages? Consider using static IP addresses.
• If all else fails, it’s easy to reset the router to its factory configuration and start all over again.
• Think you’re done? Not yet. Before you forget it all, draw a map of the network with all the details scribbled in — log-in names, passwords, IDs, static addresses and so on. Even if it’s not completely up to date the next time you have a problem, the map will help you figure out what’s what — that is, if you remember where you put it.

If things are moving slowly on your computer, JiWire Inc.’s freeWi-Fi Security Test might figure out why. After interrogating your system, it displays your encryption type, signal strength and channel you’re using, plus any obvious security holes you have.

These tips came from Computerworld article written by Brian Nadel.

If you still can’t take care of the wireless problems, contact us though the site here or over at MyPCNetwork.com

Technorati Tags: wireless network networking wifi wi-fi troubleshooting

In Vista, Use this feature on the networking side to switch to a “Private” network to enable sharing. This is something listed over at PCMag. See below…

There are two types of wireless networks known to Vista: public and private. Public networks are less secure, so the OS disables discovery of other devices when connected to one. But by default, Vista makes your network public. Go private instead, enabling a much more comprehensive view of the network behind your router using a new protocol called Link Layer Topology Discovery. In the Network and Sharing Center, click Customize under the picture of your network at top. Switch to Private and click Next. While you’re optimizing things, note the various sharing options listed; it’s easy to give all of your PCs access to your printer here.

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Go to the Start button and click Run then type “cmd” and click “OK”

That will bring up a new window and inside that window type:

ipconfig

Now look for the IP address of the network interface you are using.

If you want to get the IP address of your machine as known on the Internet, go to a website:

http://whatsmyipaddress.com

That will list the IP address and the location that ISP is going out to the world on.

Technorati Tags: networking ip address, windows ip address