travel & technology

22nd June 2006, A family of desktop and laptop computers from Apple, introduced in 1984. When spelled Mac, short for Macintosh computer. It was the first computer to popularize the graphical user interface (GUI). The combination of Mac hardware and software has been exceptionally consistent over the years, providing an ease of use that Mac users have enjoyed.

The combination of Mac hardware and software has been exceptionally consistent over the years, providing an ease of use that Mac users have enjoyed. With a Windows emulator such as Virtual PC, Macs can also run Windows and DOS applications. Since the mid 1980s, it has been essentially a Mac vs. PC world for personal computers, with Linux-based PCs gaining ground after the millennium.

A manufacturer of desktop and laptop computers and the industry’s most fabled story. Founded in a garage by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and guided by Mike Mark Kula, Apple blazed the trails for the personal computer industry. Apple was formed on April fool’s Day in 1976. After introducing the Apple I at the Palo Alto Homebrew Computer Club, 10 retail stores were selling them by the end of the year.

In 1977, the Apple Read the rest of this entry »

Saving our planet is important, but that doesn’t mean you have to live in a tree and forgo your gadget pleasures. There are plenty of gadgets out there that will help you live a greener life and while most LCD televisions don’t come with a way to turn them off you can get devices to help combat that. Here are some of my favourite ones.

Cranking MP3 player.

With a 1GB capacity and a design that won’t win any red dot awards, the main USP for this new MP3 player is its green credentials. One minute’s worth of cranking will give you playback of 10 minutes – although there is USB charging too for when your arm gets tired. Including shipping, it’ll cost 55 euros, which is around 43 pounds, but consider what you’ll save on batteries.

Husqvarna solar powered automatic lawnmower.

It might set you back a cool 2000 pounds but working autonomously, the lawnmower will cut up to 2300 square metres of grass and can be programmed to come on at certain times or days of the week. Users can define the cutting area by laying a metal wire around the edge of Read the rest of this entry »

Between work and family I’m a very busy person. One of my most important functions as a family member is to do the grocery shopping and I admit, I am not perfect. I often forget what I need to pick up or lose my grocery list. Recently, I found a new product that would save me a lot of headaches, it’s called the SmartShopper.

This innovative invention enables the user to simplify everyday tasks. Imagine being able to say an item that you need to pick up from the store or an errand you need to run, and have a device that remembers it for you. The SmartShopper makes this possible using Nuance’s state of the art voice recognition technology. A computer chip is present which permits your spoken words to be stored. This high-tech gadget comes pre-programmed with a list of over 2,000 general grocery items and errands. The contraption displays the entries on the LCD screen and allows you to print the list using thermal paper.

This modern device versus old-fashioned conventional methods certainly makes me contemplate my current list making options. So again, SmartShopper can retain what Read the rest of this entry »

This coming month my parents will be celebrating their 50th anniversary and me and my brothers and sisters are planning a special event that can highlight their memorable day. Since my mom loves flowers and gardens my sister looked for a location where my parents can renew their vows at an outdoor setting. Our initial plan is to celebrate the special occasion in the backyard lot of my brother’s house since the lot area is big enough for the event. But when my sister discovered Michigan gardenswe decided together that it is a perfect place where we can have the renewal of vows of our parents. The castle setting that makes you think about the medieval era and the kings and queens is just a magical experience even for the guests. The scenery is just right and the impressive array of garden is enchanting. My parents will really love this place especially the garden view and the historical sites that it comprised. Michigan gardensalso has a wonderful staff that helps us every step of the way. They are all professionals and we are just grateful for their help in organizing this wonderful event for our parents. We are already excited for the actual event and since my parents do not know anything about the details of the celebration I am sure that they will be taken by surprise and will love the ideas that we did for their special day. Organizing an event is really hard if you do not know where to look but with an amazing setting nothing can go wrong.

I think a Computer Shutdown Day is an excellent idea. Speaking from personal experience there was a time when I was on my computer from the crack of dawn to midnight and beyond. It can take over your time and energy if you don’t discipline yourself. After too many days of using my computer into to the wee hours of the morning I had to re-examine my priorities. I lost a lot of sleep, accumulated a huge sleep debt and I was grumpy and irritable when I had to leave home. This was because I didn’t manage my time wisely when using the computer.

What helped me get back on track was turning my computer off and staying off for an entire weekend, starting Friday. I found that I could focus on other things and I got a lot of things done that weekend, not mention proper sleep. I got rid of my sleep debt as well. On that Friday I got most of my housework done and rediscovered a few DVDs that I hadn’t watched in a long time. After the first day it was quite easy to forget about the computer. I took a trip to the bookstore and Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to decide what type of computer to purchase next. Each brand and each model has its pros and cons and all can pretty much get the job done. It’s up to you to analyze your needs and find the perfect computer companion. Here are three different computers that work with three different occupations.

HP Pavilion Tablet PC Notebook
This computer is a lightweight laptop with a durable swivel monitor that you can turn around to show presentations to clients or lay flat to sign documents. This PC tablet has handwriting recognition software which means that the computer can receive and interpret your handwriting. Per Wikipedia, handwriting recognition works in two ways; the image of the text may be sensed off-line from a piece of paper by optical character recognition or sensed online by a pen based computer screen surface. This new technology is fabulous and comes in handy for professions like mortgage lending. Mortgage lenders are always signing documents and faxing them to customers and banks. Now lenders can work more efficiently out of their offices when they’re meeting with agents and title companies and prospecting new clients. This computer also has a unique security Read the rest of this entry »

The Apple Mac is now synonymous with beauty, elegance and a synergy with anybogy’s home or office environment. It’s been a long road for it’s CEO, Steve Jobs, who’s had to transform the Company over a short space of 10 years.

It’s begun with the release of the iMac and the Blue and White G3, both of which featured new processors and radical design changes that took them away from the norm of computing in a beige box. Funky colors, novel case designs and cutting edge add-ons gave the mac a leading edge when it came to computers. Pricing structures changed as much as connectivity features, all of which lead to a stupendous rise in sales. Coupled with the iPod, Apple Computer Inc looked set to revolutionize the computer industry, just like it did back in 1984.

In it’s continued rise to power, Apple has changed a number of things in their design, supply and ability to please the consumer. The latest change is just as amazing and has, for some made Apple Macs a household name. The use of Intel Core Duo chips in their latest line of iMacs Read the rest of this entry »

A decade or two ago, computers weren’t such a big part of our lives. Sure, some of us may have used them at work, and a few had them at home, but life was not computer centric. We actually had to go to the store to make a purchase, head over to the bank to do a monetary transaction or head over to an agency’s office in order to file an application or request information. Today that’s all changed.

With the convenience, ease and speed computers offer, we can effectively do all sorts of transactions using a computer. The Internet adds a whole other dimension to computer transactions because it links us together; we are no longer just a local society in terms of interaction because we can network with others across the globe in a matter of seconds, and this is all due to computers.

WAYS COMPUTERS BENEFIT SOCIETY

*Convenience. Who doesn’t love being able to shop, bank, take classes, pay bills or do most anything from the comforts of home? Computers offer a high degree of convenience because you can do business or personal transactions at any hour of the day from any place having a networked connection.

*Speed. Need Read the rest of this entry »

Make your office the extension of your home by getting these office gadgets to accessorize your workplace. Complement your modern design office furniture with fun office gadgets such as usb lights and pens, wireless optical mouse and novelty mugs. With its extraordinary designs and functionality, it would definitely grab everyone’s attention and would even make them buy one. These are tiny precious things that could appear small and yet powerful – probably one of the best things you could get for yourself as a reward for working hard. You shouldn’t just shop for other people, add yourself on top of your list too.

Among all these amazing toys and significant gadgets, do you know that stress balls are also considered as one of the most popular office gadgets? In fact, you’d probably find one lying on the desk of most people. Whenever you’re feeling stressed at work or you just want to release some tension, you could use all your strength squeezing it and be saved from venting out your anger on someone. Choose among the variety of office gadgets you want to adorn your desk with or pick something that is based on your interest. Make Read the rest of this entry »

ipod Shuffle: The cost effective gadget

The new iPod shuffle is a much more cost-effective gadget. It heavily relies on the use of an “autofill” feature that comes in the iTunes. The iTunes can select songs of their choice at random from the user’s music library or from the specific playlist.

Users can copy songs and tracks of their choice as many as it fit into iPod shuffle’s memory. It is worth mentioning that users of the phone can hold up to 240 songs in the 1 GB model. The manufacturer of the gadget estimate, the whole process would take at most four minutes per song and 128 kbit/s AAC encoding.

It is not that the latest gadget is the best in the market. The Apple iPod Shuffle is incapable of playing Apple Lossless and AIFF audio files due to its lower processing power. Some features of the iTunes has been added in the iPod shuffle .

One prominent feature that is being added is the ability to reduce the bit rate of songs to 128 kbit/s AAC. The good thing about the whole affair is that the conversion is done automatically. The Read the rest of this entry »