Advertising in the computer industry makes it vyer easy to know the giants: Dell, IBM, Apple, Sony, and HP.  But, in the gaming industry, just like the skateboarding industry, advertising is not prevalent for two main reasons: lack of funding and it’s just not cool to go mainstream.  In a market of underground or word-of-mouth, it is not easy to find a suitable gaming system with a reliable warranty service. 

Gaming systems are choc-full of high-performance components, such as dual-head 512MB video cards, Quad core duo processors, high-end motherboards with multiple cooling systems.  Basically, imagine a regular Dell computer and multiply the performance by 5 times and quantities of 4 for every part supplied.  So, the support for these systems are more important than a common computer because the maxed out components are more inclined to fail or need tweaking.

For gaming systems, Dell does make them in the XPS 720.  However, although we are big Dell fans, we immediately reject their gaming product line as several of their gaming machines bought for clients froze, crashed, or were slow, and needed to be recalled for refunds.  Alienware is another well-known gaming system.  We have had good results with them, but their compuer support system was very lax with replacements.  HP and Sony are also starting to produce gaming machines albeit it is not their specialty and we would wait awhile until we hear consistent performance results.

Our winner among the masses of gaming systems is Xi Computer Corp.  They have been consistently reviewed as the best gaming machine and highest performance machine by PC World and CNET.  Tests have shown that Xi is the fastest computer out there.  It may be used as a gaming system, but has also been touted as the higher performer for Autocad software, a demanding application that requires multiple layers of processing and rendering.  What really impressed us is their warranty support model.  Just last week at 4PM we called up Xi for replacing a failed motherboard.  We were on the phone for all of 3 minutes and after proving the RAM and hard drive are okay, they authorized a motherboard replacement.  In 4 minutes, we were emailed a form to fax over for us to authorize we will send back the failed motherboard or be charged for the new one they’re sending.  Hey, the motherboard costs almost $700 so they have to be sure they’re not sending a free part.  We faxed it back and got the new motherboard by 9AM the next morning!   Amazing!  No 3-5 business days - instant gratification indeed.  The new motherboard was replaced and the system works like a charm again.  For their performance and top warranty support, Xi is now our favorite high-end gaming machine.

We’ve put together a list of free software that you may use instead of paying big bucks for the typical software.  Why pay a thousand bucks for Photoshop when you can use a free software? 

Here is a list of free software along with their paid-for counterparts:

1. Gimp - The free version of Photoshop - it acts and looks just like the real thing.  You may use Plastic Bugs to make the interface look just like Photoshop.
2. Open Office - Forgo the big cost of Microsoft Office - use free versions of Word, Spreadsheet, Database, Presentations, and Equation Editor.
3. Ubuntu - Sick of Windows or Apple?  Go with the free version of Linux’ operating system.
4. AVG Free - Skip the annual renewals of regular anti-virus software by going with this free updated anti-virus software.
5. Zone Alarm - Set up this free firewall to block intruders.

You can save a lot of time and money by going with these free software packages.

As of late, spam has increased.  Advertisers and spammers have been more aggressive lately which means more junk coming to your company’s e-mail account.  How do you prevent spam if your company has its own email server?

Client software, such as Cloudmark, is good for personal e-mail accounts.  But, on the company end, the true way to combat spam is to install an anti-spam software on the server.  Then, the software will filter out the bad spammed e-mails before it reaches your email inbox.  This is the true way to avoid spam before it touches your computer.  The e-mail server essentially acts as the gatekeeper.  Keep in mind that the software isn’t as easy as installing it and you’re done.  You should have an e-mail administrator set this up correctly so it filters correctly according to your network. 

The top two company anti-spam software to check out are:  Symantec Premium Anti-Spam and GFI Essentials.

Why have multiple printers when you can share just one?  It is common nowadays to have more than one computer at home that you need to share the printer with.  Also, small office networks that have 5-10 computers will need to share 1 to a few printers.  What is the best way?

If you have only 2 computers, it is efficient enough to share the printer via one printer.  This may be done by right-clicking your printer within control panel.  And then selecting the sharing function.  Then, you will need to navigate to the shared printer from your other computer.  This will allow both computers to print to the same printer.  Keep in mind that when the other computer is printing, the printing processing will affect the main computer’s performance.  This is why another solution is necessary for more than 2 computers.

For more than 2 computers, a print server is necessary.  A print server is a device that allows the network to assign it an internal IP address (i.e. 192.168.1.101) to be dedicated as a shared printer.  Without a print server, there is instability where the computers will sometimes have difficulty connecting to the printer.  The print server allows stability and may be connected to by simply typing in the IP address.  An effective print server is the Airport Express which allows for wireless printing on the fast N technology wireless speed.   It also is compatible with both PCs and Macs.

If  you ever were the unlucky recipient of a data recovery job, you surely begged the question: “Why does data recovery cost so much?”  There were also probably a few expletives in that question as well.  Is it the labor time?  Well, partially.

The bulk of the cost is due to the expensive facilities and machinery.  The facility itself has to be a dust-free, Clean 100 Lab room.  Picture “bubble boy” but much larger and cleaner.  Any dust, debris, or bacteria can kill a hard drive when opened.  So, the air, temperature, and ventilation are constantly monitored for the health of the hard drives.  This is an expensive piece of the equation. 

The other piece of the equation is the machinery cost.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on these robotic armed equipment that handle the drives and parts instead of human hands.  The human finger, by nature, is not as precise and accurate as machinery.  The machinery does most of the heavy moving and replacing.

The last piece of the pie that you’re paying for with data recovery is part replacements.  Whether the head, spindle motor, or arm of the drive fails, the exact same part needs to be ordered.  This means the part needs to have the same model number, manufacturing date, and other identifiers to be the right match.  These parts are usually in overseas markets and requires part and shipping costs for acquiring.

So, hopefully you’ll have a backup of your files the next time your hard drive fails.  It will save you thousands in data recovery service.

Installing laptop RAM is typically an easy process.  It is usually unscrewing 2 screws on the bottom of your laptop and voila, stick in your RAM.  You’ll need to install your RAM into the slots at a 45 degree angle and ensure it slides right in.  Any scratching or shoving in can cause the RAM to stop working.

Other times, installing RAM is much more difficult to install and entails removing the keyboard to install the modules.  If this is the case, you’ll need to first find out from your manufacturer or manual how to remove the keyboard, and then install the RAM.  Remember to first check out what kind of RAM you need (i.e. DDR, PC2700, etc), to ensure your upgraded RAM is compatible.  Also, make sure you do not go over the capacity your computer can accept.

Overall, increasing the RAM is the best way to increase the speed of your computer in a cost-effective manner.  If you don’t feel comfortable installing RAM yourself, you should enlist a hardware technician for this job.

There are many ways to remotely access your computer, but only a few ways are user-friendly.  This applies to wanting to access your home or office computer when you are somewhere else.  This is helpful if you are on vacation or not feeling well enough to go into work.  This allows you to always have your computer at your fingertips even if you are not physically present.

Here are a few ways to remotely access your computer:

1. Get a free account with GoToMyPC.  Yes, it’s free and all you have to do is install the software on your remote computer and another computer.
2. If one of the computers are set up via a static IP address, you may have a computer repair tech set up a permanent connection for you via Windows Remote Access Connection.
3. Have a network technician set up a VPN setup via Windows or a firewall for you.  This is the most secure remote access connection.

What do you do if you cannot email multiple photos from your mac?  Is it your Internet Service Provider or E-mail provider that’s causing the problem? 

Your email provider (i.e. gmail, AOL, Earthlink) only allows up to app. 4MB capacity per e-mail sent.  So, more than 6-8 pictures can max out this capacity quickly and will prevent you from e-mailing at all. 

There are three ways to get past this issue:

1. Compress the pictures and email more of them
2. Share them through kodak.com
3. Or more practically, use iPhoto for building your photo library; subscribe to .mac for storage and email purposes; and then share/email your iPhoto event to your recipient.

Don’t make emailing photos a hassle.  Follow the pain-free solutions above to emailing pics easily.

What do you do if your laptop key falls off?  Well, it doesn’t really fall off - most likely, someone ripped it off or you just mistakenly dropped water or some other liquid on it.  What are your next steps?

You can attempt to re-attach the key which is only possible as a permanent fix on select laptops.  Most laptops make it almost impossible to re-attach and, at best, is a 2-week flimsey fix.  For most laptops, you will need to replace the keyboard.  The keyboards may be purchased from the manufacturer and most of them are a 4-screw removal job for replacing.  Some entail more screw removing, lifting, and prodding, and may be better for a technical support rep to assist.

With more software installed, and more memory-intensive applications, your computer might not have the same burst of speed it had when initially purchased.  How can you speed up your computer?  Below are the ways, from conservative to most aggressive, that you may take to increase your computer’s speed:

1. Remove unnecessary programs and files to increase space.  More space allows your computer to be faster.
2. Remove any unneeded startup programs.  This will remove any lag time by getting rid of background applications.
3. Increase the RAM (memory).
4. Back up your files and reinstall Windows.  Every computer can use a good reinstall every couple of years to make it feel like new again. 
5. Replace the hard drive with a 7200 RPM speedy one.
6. Ditch it for a new one!