Mashed Articles

Writen by Jason Barrett

Flash your ATI video card BIOS.

You will need the following:

1. 1.44MB FDD (floppy)

2. FLASHROM utility copy

3. Compatible BIOS file for your video card. (search the manufactures website for bios details)

4. Required Drivers. (check manufactures website)

Alright now

First make an ATI BIOS flash boot disk.

-Bios flash operations for video must be performed in DOS.

-You will need a DOS boot disk, you can obtain one if you do not already ahve one at bootdisk.com, download there dr DOS image file after that run the .exe file that comes with it. Which will create a clean DOS boot disk. (if any problems folow instruction son the website)

-If you need other ways of obtaining a boot disk just post in a related thread.

Now that you have a DOS boot disk, copy the BIOS file you downloaded and the FLASHROM.exe file onto the disk.

Second
Make a backup of your ATI video card BIOS

Make a backup of your current video card BIOS before flashing the bios, incase of problems. (better safe than sorry)

-boot your computer with the boot flash-disk you had created in the first step.

-during the “A:\” prompt type “flashrom.exe -s 0 backup.rom” ENTER

-now the utlity FLASHROM will make a backup of your video’s bios onto the bios flash disk (called backup.rom)

-Just in case, if we have to go back to the original bios.

Third
Flash your ATI video card’s bios

-at the A:\ prompt type the following to flash your video bios

-”flashbios -p 0 (name of new bios file you downloaded including the extention) hit ENTER (no brackets around the name of your new bios file)

-Flashrom will overwrite your odl bios with your new bios.

-if any errors ocured do not restart; consult troubleshooting.

-if there is a pause in the procedure, for say the bios types do not match you may use a “-f” switch to force the operation (force if certian the bios suits your video card)

Forcing the BIOS flash type:

During the thrid section instead of typing -”flashbios -p 0 (name of new bios file you downloaded including the extention)

Type

-”flashrom -f -p 0 (name of new bios file you downloaded including the extention)

-If you had made it this far without any errors and everything seems to have gone correctly, than restart your system.

-monitor the post screen for the video card info

-double check that your procedure worked and your bios has worked correctly.

-also watch to see if your OS boots correctly

-plz keep in mind that your new bios may need new up to date drivers.

Hooray! Congrats! You have successfully changed your video card’s BIOS.

Jason Barrett
http://www.computing-forums.com

Writen by Steve Jones

As video projectors become more affordable then more people are using them both at work and at home. You might be thinking that projectors are all alike and the more you spend the better it will be. Well this is not strictly true. The more expensive projectors will be of a higher standard, but you might not experience any benefit if you do not choose the correct model. This is why we have written this article to try and guide you and help you choose the model most suited to you.

Before any purchase it is important to have a think about what you will be using it for and in what kind of environment. The business user will have very different requirements to someone wanting to set up a home cinema. Companies are now marketing hybrid projectors that claim to be able to be used for both home cinema and business. These two environments are very different though and will need projectors designed specifically to be able to handle these two very different uses. As you read the rest of the article you will begin to understand what you need to look out for when purchasing your video projector.

LCD or DLP

Both are excellent formats and which you choose will depend on your use. The business user will be more suited to an LCD projector due to the increased brightness. The home user on the other hand would be better to opt for a DLP projector as these will give a more cinematic experience.

Brightness

Think about the level of ambient light in the room where you will be using your projector. In the home cinema you will hopefully have control of the level of light so this will not be an issue. If you are using a room at home that has ambient light then you will need to opt for a brighter projector. In the business arena you are likely to be presenting in very bright rooms with standard office lighting and windows. A good projector for business use will need to have a high brightness level.

Brightness is measured in ANSI lumens. For home cinema you should be looking at projectors that have around 700 ANSI lumens brightness and for business projectors you will need between 1000 and 1500.

Color

The color, gray-scale performance, and video playback, are only really important to the home user as they will give more natural and detailed videos.

Contrast

There is no point spending money on a high contrast video projector for business use or use in a room at home that has significant ambient light as your eyes will not notice the benefit. If you have a dedicated cinema room at home then it will be worth looking at projectors with contrast ratios of 400:1 or higher. If you are looking for a projector for business use then there is no point by one with a ratio of higher than 400:1

Portability

This will probably only be an issue for a business user. If you travel around a lot and take your projector with you then the more compact and light the better. It is possible to buy extremely light projectors.

The home user may not be concerned too much with size and weight, but it is worth considering how you will set your projector up at home. Will it be fixed to the ceiling or on a stand? If you have it on the ceiling you should look for a projector which comes with a remote control as this will make adjusting settings a lot easier.

We hope that this look at the differences with video projectors will help you make your decision.

Find more articles by Steve Jones at http://www.a1-lcdprojectors.com.

Writen by Shell Harris

Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) states, “noise cancelling is a method for preventing unwanted sound. Sound consists of vibrations in the air, which can be represented as a wave. If a speaker emits a sound whose wave has the same amplitude and the exact opposite polarity to the original sound, the waves cancel out and the result is no sound at all.”

While this seems rather technical here is a more simple explanation: sound waves are created by the noise cancelling headphones to counter and eliminate the unwanted sound waves outside of the headphones or speakers. A digital signal processor determines what sound wave is needed to cancel the outside sound wave and it produces that sound and amplifies it through the headphones.

This method differs from noise-reduction headphones which are designed to reduce the noise you hear by physically blocking the sound from reaching your eardrum. This is the same passive, unpowered method that is used by insulation or sound-absorbing ceiling tiles in your home.

Noise canceling headphones tend to work best for constant sounds like lawn mowers and appliances but they allow in intermittent sounds, such as conversation or a ringing phone, so you are not totally isolated. They are also known to be more comfortable than noise-reduction headphones since they are lighter weight and generally smaller in size than noise-reduction headphones.

Some of advantages of noise cancelling methods compared to noise-reduction methods are:
• They can be more effective at low frequencies
• They can be less bulky
• They can be selective in that they can block noise (e.g. from an engine) but not useful sounds (e.g. voices).

Some of disadvantages of noise cancelling methods compared to noise-reduction methods are:
• They consume power, usually supplied by batteries that must be replaced. If the batteries die the noise cancellation stops working; and if you are using the headphones to listen to music, in many models, the music stops as well.
• They may introduce additional noise, usually in the form of high-frequency hiss. Noise cancellation headphones attempt to block sound by sampling the outside sound and then producing an equal but opposite sound – sometimes the approximation of sound can be difficult.

Whatever method of noise reduction you choose, it can help prevent hearing loss. By using headphones when listening to music, you can hear the music at much lower volumes because you are not trying to drown out background sounds. And those around you won’t have to listen to your music; it can be contained in the headphones.

Lee Blue is an avid musician, composer, and home studio recording artist. He uses Extreme Isolation Noise Reduction Headphones (http://www.quietheadphones.com) in his recording studio as well as his office during work to block out distractions.

African governments need to have a supportive legal environment to eliminate barriers to meaningful use of computers in African schools.
Lack of infrastructure and adequate power supplies, limited Internet connectivity and education resources and the need for more awareness and policy support for education initiatives are all barriers to the meaningful use of computers in African schools.

“To ensure that the ICT industry flourishes and that local populations have access to technology, African governments must have a supportive legal environment in place and appropriate investments in this sector,” said Richard Kiplagat, Global Strategic Accounts Manager for Microsoft West, East, Central Africa & The Indian Ocean in an interview.

He said a national ICT strategy can be developed by identifying priority areas and the bodies responsible for the strategy implementation.

“In some cases, a new Ministry of ICT must be created to reinforce the government structure in these areas. ICT national strategies are most effective when drawn up in line with countries’ broader development and poverty reduction goals,” he said.

Kiplagat explained that Technology on its own was no guarantee of the desired result of fostering education, and there are a number of factors which limit the use of computers in African schools, however these can be overcome through government action and policies and public-private sector cooperation.

“Through public private partnership we aim to help address these issues where possible. For example, to help address the lack of ICT skills by teachers and in teacher training Microsoft operates the Partners in Learning program. Through ‘Train the trainer’ workshops, teachers receive ICT training they can in turn give to colleagues to spread the benefits of ICT through tailored curriculum developed by Microsoft,” explained Kiplagat.

He added that Partners in Learning provide grants and reduced software licenses to schools and students. The program is already in place in 15 African countries and to date has trained 200,000 teachers and reached 21 million students, many of whom were able to discover and use ICTs for the first time.

In partnership with governments, local NGOS and development organizations, Microsoft has also aimed to establish programs to address these needs.
In terms of access to PCs, Microsoft worked with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to establish a local PC refurbishment center in Uganda to make available cheap, quality computers to small businesses. Computers are available for one third of the original price and loaded with full Microsoft Office software. More than 10,000 PCs will be made available in Uganda in 2009 through this refurbisher.

Kiplagat said to address the lack of access to electricity, in Mozambique Microsoft also worked with UNIDO to open in March 2008 the first solar-powered ICT Business Information Center. The Center provides access to ICT resources such as computers and the Internet, as well as training for micro, small and medium sized enterprises while relying solely on renewable energy technologies like solar power.

To ensure relevance of software, Microsoft maintains a language localization program to create its software in local languages, and has already created some in several languages across the continent with assistance from local communities. The local language program has enabled populations to have access to software in their own language. For example, Windows Vista and Office 2007 will be available soon in 12 African languages: Afrikaans, Amharic (Ethiopia), Hausa (Nigeria), Igbo (Nigeria), IsiXhosa (South Africa), IsiZulu (South Africa), Kiswahili (East Africa), Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Sesotho Sa Leboa (South Africa), Tswana (Botswana, SA), Wolof (Senegal, West Africa), and Yoruba (West Africa).

Kiplagat said “Microsoft was the lead partner in one of the five e-Schools consortiums, as part of a broader program implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and private sector partners Cisco, Intel, Smartboard, Computainer, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Mecer, Lexmark, UTI, MRCSA, Mindset, Multichoice Africa, WorldSpace and HNR technologies.

He explained that in the 8 countries allocated to the Microsoft consortium (Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Senegal, Mozambique, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Cameroon), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions were implemented in 25 pilot schools. Together with the other consortiums, it was hoped that the broad impact of a successful NEPAD eSchools initiative would be the application of ICT in Education in the estimated 600,000 schools across Africa.

He said the aim of the project was to enable African schools to participate in the global information society by connecting schools across the continent through a satellite network distributing educational content on a continual basis. Schools receive a computer lab, software, teacher training, networking and connectivity, as well as maintenance and IT support, which are supported by Microsoft in its consortium.”

By Kelly Kilpatrick – Guest article
According to news reports, Computer Aid International has donated 2000 computers to the Ministry of Education.

Education Minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa said the provision of quality education requires the application of information communication technology (ICT), especially computers.

The growth of ICT is helping facilitate educational opportunities that will promote economic development for the region and strengthen Zambia’s infrastructure. Programs such as these make it possible for Zambian students to experience a world outside their own and explore new horizons.

As part of the Fifth National Development Plan, the education ministry adopted the use of ICTs many levels to help facilitate education. The computers improve the quality of education for the students and increase equality and efficiency of the educational experience.

The computers were donated by British Charity Computer Aid International as part of their international efforts to bridge the digital divide. The group believes strongly that information technology skills are crucial to an individual’s success (and even survival) in the information age.

While this is another step in the right direction, we’ve still got a long way to go. According to the International Telecommunication Union, less than 1.5% of the population of Zambia owned a computer and just over 4% had Internet access. Compare that to Namibia or Zimbabwe where more than 10% of households have a computer and you see we still have much work to do.

It’s not just about having computers in the classroom. Our teachers still lack their own computer skills. Interestingly, it may be ICTs that help them strengthen their computer skills—through distance learning. ICTs can be used for teacher professional development without requiring they leave their classrooms.

And finally, we must continue to seek foreign investment for our ICT initiatives. Zambia currently still relies too heavily on public finding for its initiatives. Our government simply does not have the money to make the swift progress Zambia needs to increase its educational stamina.

By-line:
This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of high speed internet deals. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com