Cultures

I forget where these people do this and I don't have this video anymore so I know people will say. "oh it's just a hoax yadda yadda yadda. But nah it is actually.

About two years ago I saw a video and it was like in Africa I think. But for people who have headaches, they cut off a finger to stop thinking about the pain of the headache.....

They cut finger OFF to stop thinking about the headache...so what do they do next to stop them from thinking about the pain of their finger?

Again for those who don't believe me that is totally fine but you must have heard of something like this. I respect all cultures but there are some strange things people do.

What have you heard about other cultures of countries who do things you don't feel right about?

Filabot: Going Green With 3D Printing

An Expansion of 3D Printers
Not too long ago the idea of having a 3D printer at home was non-existent, unless you were willing to ante up a good deal of money. Eventually the Replication Rapid-Prototyper or RepRap project took the scene and allowed a vast amount of new as well as old companies to create cheaper 3D printers to fill the smaller printer use demand. These new printers allowed a greater number of people to be able to bring their creations to life without the need of emptying their bank account. The one thing that hasn't got much cheaper; actually printing. This is where an extraordinary college kid is making another change.

The College Kid
Tyler McNaney is a college student who recently discovered the world of 3D printing. He learned about it while surfing the internet on a college break and stumbling upon a video on 3D printing. He spent a good deal of his time learning about it and eventually bought his own. Like many others he realized the high price of the plastic filament used to print the object, roughly $50 per kilogram. Unlike the others though, he was determined to create a machine that could manufacture the plastic filament with everyday plastics found at home. This would allow people to print at the price of throwing away those bottles or previously failed or undesired prints, free!

Filabot Kicked In
McNaney's desire lead him to design the Filabot, a miniature filament producing machine. Like many other ideas, McNaney did not have the much needed starting capital to begin general production of the Filabot. So he decided to put it on Kickstarter and raised more than three times the projected target of $10,000.

Specifically he earned $32,330 and needs to produce 67 units for his investors, which he is very close to if not finished with all of them. The Filabot is a fairly simple device to use. The machine starts of by grinding up the plastic inserted by the user. It then travels, by means of a screw, towards the extruder pipe. On the way the grinded up plastic is heated (not melted) to be extruded in an easier manner. The newly produced filament is wound up on a spool as it exits the pipe. Then you can use it as you wish. Fairly simple, right?

Filabot's Filament
You may wonder what type of plastic can be used or the type of filament that can be made? Well, the Filabot can produce ABS, PLA, HDPE, LDPE, NYLON, and PET. Sadly, if your 3D printer needs PVC you still need to buy it from a filament producing company, since it has the possibility of releasing toxic fumes during the Filabot's process. Otherwise, you can create any of the others by using the designated materials on Filabot's website such as bottles, old prints and even your childhood toy, Legos. Filabot displayed the melting temperature on the website as well. So go green and save your money and the environment.

Change or be passed
McNaney's invention could force filament producing businesses to either lower their price or expect a drastic decline in sales. It may also bring 3D printers to money-stripped houses, businesses or even schools. I know I wouldn't be worrying as much of the ongoing cost of having a printer when I can just reuse prints or save my recyclable plastic. Before you may have worried about bad, useless prints but now I'm sure many of you money conscious 3D printer users out there, will begin to experiment and print at will. Although McNaney is still in school, he is still pushing his business and wants to be able to begin mass producing Filabots in order to help finish off your desktop 3D printing operation. Until then you should start saving those unwanted designs as well as taking a few Legos here and there. Honestly, your kids won't be able to notice a few missing pieces here and there, hopefully.

Quinn Farhessi is a technologist, 3d-printing consultant and blogger
at 3dprinterhub.com

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What Does Disk Defragmenter Actually Do?

The disk defragmenter comes as part of your Windows software. It's hiding in the Start Menu under "Accessories" and "System Tools". The biggest question I get when people find it is "What does it do?" Below we'll talk about what the disk defragmenter does and why you should use it.

Think of your hard drive as a nice, neat pile of papers on your desk. Now imagine what happens to that pile of paper as you add and remove various things during the day. For some the pile may stay more or less organized, but for a lot of people the pile grows and spreads into two piles and then three and so on. Eventually you have multiple stacks of stuff all over your desk. In the office we call it clutter or organized chaos. On your computer we call it fragmenting.

What happens to your hard drive over time is that the data spreads out much like the paper on your desk. You save new files and remove old ones or you edit existing ones. Every time you do this the data moves just slightly. This fragmenting causes your computer to slow down. It starts to take your hard drive a little longer to find things and eventually it becomes frustrating and slow.

Fragmenting happens to every hard drive, regardless of how big or small it is or how much you paid for it. It's easy to fix though. Your computer comes with a disk defragmenter in the Start Menu. Before you run it, make sure you won't need your computer for a while. I often start the defragmenter right before I go to bed. Make sure you turn off all unnecessary software and close all open files. If you're using a laptop make sure it's plugged in. Now run the defragmenter on the C: drive or the drive you use most often. If you haven't done this before or it's been a long time the process can take six or eight hours to complete.

So what is it doing during that time? Well it's moving all that data back into place. Don't worry, it's not pulling that important file out of Documents and hiding it on you. It's just simply moving the bits of data around on the hard drive so that things are organized again and easy to find. The same as you would do if you stacked all that paper on your desk back up. It may even throw some pieces of information out. You see as you save, edit and re-save a file it's is not saved in exactly the same spot on the hard drive every time. It's not anything you would notice, you're still saving in Documents in the same file folder as before. But the computer isn't so it may delete some of those copies that you don't need anymore.

Once the defragmenting is finished you might notice your hard drive makes less noise and files open up a little quicker than they did before. Depending on how much you use your computer you may run the defragmenter as much as once a week. If you're not a regular user you may get away with once a month.

The entire process can be scheduled. When you open the defragmenter it shows you the scheduling tool. Simply select a time of day when you're unlikely to be using your computer. Keep in mind that if you're using a laptop you shut down every night, you'll need to keep your laptop plugged in and on.

Running the defragmenter regularly is one way you can help keep your computer running smoothly. Don't forget to share this article with others you know that may need some help.

Offering computer workshops and seminars for individuals and businesses.
http://www.laurabungarz.ca/

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Should I Use Optical or HDMI Cables for Sound?

A common question from a number of our customers recently has been whether to use Optical or HDMI when connecting equipment such as DVD Players, Blu-Ray players and Digital Televisions to their receivers.

Most customers have their Blu-Ray players, Media Players and Consoles linked to their TV via HDMI, but it is also very common for us to see a single Optical Cable running back from the TV to the Receiver. This works - and by works I mean it does send a Digital Sound Output from the TV channels and other connected devices back to the Amplifier. But is this the best way for Audio to be sent to your Home Theatre System?

Horses for Courses

What is suitable for one person or situation might be unsuitable for another. Without trying to get too technical, there IS a difference between the performance capabilities of HDMI and Optical - but these will only matter if the equipment you are using also possesses these features.

Dolby True HD - An Audio Codec which delivers 100% lossless sound for movies or music designed for your high-definition home theatre.

DTS-HD - An Audio Codec for Blu-ray Disc format exclusively. DTS-HD Master Audio has steadily become the standard for Blu-ray lossless audio format.

The two audio formats listed above use Lossless Audio Compression, which basically means that the exact original sound source is recreated from the compressed data source being delivered from your Blu-Ray Player, Super Audio CD or Media Player as examples. To deliver these Audio Codecs, you cannot use an Optical Cable, as the Optical Bit-Rate limit is 1.5 Mbps, while HDMI will carry a lot more.

This is why you need to choose a HDMI cable to connect your equipment if you wish to gain the benefits of SACD, or Blu-Ray with Dolby True HD or DTS HD. You can only take advantage of DTS-HD or Dolby True HD if your receiver supports that codec.

What if my Amp doesn't have HDMI, only Optical?

Optical Cable connections will still transmit Dolby Digital Sound, and, especially since a great deal of installations we have done for our customers over the years are for "Out-Of-The-Box" all in one Home Theatre Systems, they still deliver a more than reasonable Surround Sound result which many people are more than happy with.

However in saying that, there are also many people who can really tell the difference which lossless audio provides over its compressed alternative, and this is why you would need to choose HDMI over Optical when deciding how to connect your Home Theatre System.

The way we see it, and the way we try to explain to our customers is - if your Amp has HDMI, then the best connection to use is HDMI. If your Amp does not have HDMI it might not be worth the expense (to most) to upgrade your whole system, as Optical Cables will still give you a great experience.

It is also true that (so far) soundtracks using Dolby True HD or DTS-HD don't exist in free to air broadcast, Foxtel, Cable or satellite TV. You won't compromise any sound quality connecting your DVD Recorder or Player, Overseas Satellite Dish, or Foxtel Cable box to your receiver with an optical (or coax) cable.

There are other benefits which come by using HDMI too...

The latest HDMI standard, v1.4, adds another useful feature - ARC, or "Audio Return Channel". This basically means that the HDMI cable coming from your Home Theatre System can not only send the Audio and Video Signal to the TV, but it also sends the TV Audio back to the receiver across the same cable. Read our earlier post on ARC here. This eliminates the need for using an Optical Cable from the TV back to the Amplifier for hearing the TV channels through your speakers.

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Visit our Articles & Features section of our website to learn about Digital TV technology topics such as Refresh Rate, HDMI Cables, differences between LCD and LED technology, 3D Technology and much more.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 - An Awesome Notebook With Intel Core I7 Processors, NVIDIA Graphics, and More

If you are interested in a good laptop that can handle high-performance multimedia and graphics, then look no further than the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500. This laptop offers processing power and graphics that can handle intensive applications. It's an average sized model with a 15.6-inch display. You can use it as a desktop replacement or a mobile companion. The battery life is approximately three hours.

It's easy to type on the keyboard, thanks to the backlit chiclet keys. Each key features a curve at its lower edge. This makes typing feel smooth and comfortable. The keyboard also features a separate number pad and unique distribution of the FN functions. The touchpad also has an intelligent design. It's optimized for windows 8 and features easy tap, zoom, rotate, and scroll functions.

One of the things you will notice about this notebook is its durable build. Whether open or closed, this notebook is nice and sturdy. The finish is design to repel fingerprints and smudges. The workmanship, overall, is excellent.

This laptop comes with a 3rd generation i7 Intel Core processor. This type of processing power is equivalent to that of desktops. You can count on the processor to be powerful enough to handle all of your needs, no matter how demanding the tasks are.

As for the memory, the IdeaPad Y500 can handle anywhere from 8 GB to 16 GB. You can choose how much RAM you need when you customize your order. Having plenty of memory is important with laptops. Basically, the higher the amount of memory you have, the faster the system will run. Applications will load more quickly and games won't lag as much.

Speaking of games, you can go with a NVIDIA GeForce video card (2 GB). This video card will be able to handle 3D graphics. You can put all of your favorite games on high settings. With an ordinary laptop, you would have to compromise on the game settings in order to run everything. This isn't the case with the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500.

Since this model has a 1 TB hard drive (5400 rpm), you'll be able to store all of the files, documents, songs, movies, etc... you want. If you would like a solid state drive, all you have to do is add the 16 GB SSD model to your order.

When it comes down to it, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 is a must-have laptop that you can use for any purpose you want: school, entertainment, communication, work, or general computer tasks. Since it can handle multi-tasking easily, you can use it for multiple purposes if you want. It also offers flexibility, since there are so many configuration options for you to choose from.

Did you know that if you order Lenovo laptops online, you can get exclusive discounts that aren't available anywhere else? Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 discounts will help you save a great deal on your order. There are plenty of savings options available - you just need to know where to look!

To find out more about this computer along with coupons and discounts to make your purchase less heavy on the wallet, visit George's website - http://www.gripbuy.com/Electronics/lenovo.html

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