Geek-of-All

                                  An operating system is a program designed to run other programs on a computer. A computer’s operating system is its most important program. It is considered the backbone of a computer, managing both software and hardware resources. Operating systems are responsible for everything from the control and allocation of memory to recognizing input from external devices and transmitting output to computer displays. They also manage files on computer hard drives and control peripherals, like printers and scanners.                                          The operating system of a la...

  Dual core technology refers to two individual microprocessors on a single die cast chip. This is essentially two computer processing units (CPUs) in one. The advantage of a this type of chip is that tasks can be carried out in parallel streams, decreasing processing time. This is referred to as thread-level parallelism (TLP) .TLP is also possible on motherboards that can accommodate two separate CPU dies. When TLP is accomplished in a single CPU through dual core technology, it is called chip-level multiprocessing (CLM) . In CPUs with more than one core, each microprocessor generally has its own on-board cache, known as Level 1 (L1) cache. L1 cache significantly improves system performance, because it is much faster to access on-chip cache than to use random access memory (RAM). L1 cache is accessed at microprocessor speeds. Dual core chips also commonly feature secondary shared cache on the CPU, known as Level 2 (L2) cache. Motherboards may also have a cache...

A Long Term Evolution (LTE) network is a type of wireless communications network designed to provide broadband Internet and phone service to mobile phones and other types of devices. Voice calls on an LTE network are converted into small chunks of data, which eliminates the need for separate voice circuits. These types of networks are often marketed as "4G" and are capable of offering speeds that rival wired broadband services. They also offer increased capacity, which may help wireless carriers deal with the increasing amounts of data used by smart phones and other devices. Behind marketing terms like 3G and 4G are a variety of individual technologies that power wireless phone and data networks. Each technology can be grouped by generation. Analog phone systems were first generation, the earliest digital networks used second generation or 2G technology, and about a half dozen different base technologies and incremental upgrades make up the third gen...

MPEG stands for the Motion Picture Experts Group , part of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which creates and publishes standards for various areas of technology, respectively. MPEG standards address audio and video formats used online, in television broadcasts, and in DVD media. A number of MPEG standards are in current use, and more are sure to follow. Some well-known standards are explained briefly below. MPEG-1 : This first set of standards was developed for audio and video compression. Layer 3 is a codec within these standards, known simply as MP3, or the popular audio compression format for music. This video format was used to store movies on CDs, known as Video CD, or VCD. Quality is equal to that of a VHS tape, and compatibility playback on CD/DVD players is high. One drawback of this standard is that it only supports progressive footage, verses the inclusion of interlaced . ...

Double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory, or DDR SDRAM for short, is a type of computer memory used in Pentium III or higher computers. DDR RAM is the computer’s primary working memory, storing program instructions and data for use by the central processing unit (CPU) through the bus controller. DDR memory belongs to the dual in-line memory module (DIMM) architectural family and is a faster form of SDRAM. Each module of DDR memory has one notch on the connecting side and two notches on the side that attach to latches on the PC motherboard to hold it in place. DDR RAM can come in either single-sided or double-sided chip configurations. Desktop DDR has 184 pins, as compared to 168 pins on SDRAM. Laptop versions, called SO-DIMMs, contain 200 pins.                                  ...

The Internet is a worldwide network of unrelated computers that can only communicate successfully by agreeing to incorporate a set of rules or protocols. One of the most basic tenets of the Internet is the Internet Protocol (IP) address. An IP address refers to a unique number assigned to each computer on the Internet. The IP number is called an "address" because it serves the same purpose as a home address -- it allows each machine on the Internet to be located by a numerical scheme. A domain name, such as geekofall.blogspot.com , also maps to a numerical IP address. An IP address is analogous to a street address or telephone number in that it is used to uniquely identify an entity. Dotted Decimals : Your IP address at home will be different from the IP address at your work office. And that IP address will be different from the one you would have if you used the free wireless hotspot at a coffee shop or hotel. But they all have one thing in common: Th...

A Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is an electronic set of instructions that a Personal Computer (PC) uses to successfully start up. It is located on a chip on the motherboard inside of a computer and is designed to be protected from disk failure. While it can be updated, this should be done carefully to avoid damaging the computer or leaving it unable to start up. The Function of BIOS One of the main functions of the BIOS is to give instructions for the Power-On Self Test (POST). This self test ensures that the computer has all of the necessary parts and functionality needed to successfully start itself, such as use of memory and a keyboard and other components. If errors are detected during the test, the computer gives a code that reveals the problem. Error codes are typically presented as a series of beeps heard shortly after startup. The BIOS also works to give the computer basic information about how to interact with some critical components, such as hard dri...

Pixels are dots used to display an image on a screen or printed matter. The word is a blend of the words pic ture and el ement. Usually, the term refers to pixels in a digital context, but it is can be more generalized to refer to any smallest unit of an image. It is important to recognize that pixels are not a measure of size, though often the term is used as though they are.Think of it as a logical - rather than a physical - unit. The physical size of a pixel depends on how you've set the resolution for the display screen. If you've set the display to its maximum resolution, the physical size of a pixel will equal the physical size of the dot pitch (let's just call it the dot size) of the display. If, however, you've set the resolution to something less than the maximum resolution, a pixel will be larger than the physical size of the screen's dot (that is, a pixel will use more than one dot). A video monitor is made up of many millions of...

A computer cookie, also referred to as an "HTTP cookie," is a small text file that contains a unique ID tag, placed on the user's computer by a website. In this file, various information can be stored, from pages visited on the site, to information voluntarily given to the site. These tiny files provide practical benefits to both users and website operators, and generally make surfing the net a smoother experience than it otherwise would be. Nevertheless, privacy advocates tend to be wary of them, since many users are unaware of exactly what information is collected, and how the information may be used or shared. Types of Cookies There are two types of computer cookies: temporary and permanent. Temporary cookies , also called session cookies, are stored for a short time and then removed as soon as the browser is closed. Permanent cookies , also called persistent cookies, are stored for a long time on the user's hard drive and, if deleted, will be ...

Most computer users are familiar with Universal Serial Bus (USB), which has become the most commonly used way to connect peripheral devices to a computer. Your mouse, printer, digital camera, scanner, and other devices probably all connect to your computer via a USB port. Many memory storage devices, such as portable hard drives, flash drives, and memory card readers, also connect to a computer via USB. USB connectors make it possible to connect a device to your computer using USB. A long cable is used to connect the device to your computer. Usually, the connectors on each end of the cable are quite different, making it necessary to know which of them goes to your computer and which gets plugged into the device. The standard USB connector you’re most familiar with is USB Type-A. Even as we’ve moved from USB 1 to USB 2 and on to modern USB 3 devices, that connector has stayed the same. It’s as massive as ever, and it only plugs in one way (which is obviously nev...

A bitmap is one of many types of file formats for images stored in a computerized form. It carries the extension .BMP . Computers use bits of 1 and 0 to store data. A bitmap is literally a map of bits that form a particular picture when rendered to a display like a computer monitor . To understand how a bitmap image displays, it’s important to understand the computer display screen. The display is made up of rows and columns of tiny blocks, or pixels . In a bitmap image, each pixel is assigned at least one bit to indicate whether the pixel should reflect the background color, the foreground color, or some other color. In the case of a page of black and white text, let’s consider a single letter. The many pixels that make up that letter only require one bit of data each. Either the pixel will be black or white: 1 or 0. When a bitmap displays a colored image, such as a lake scene, there are several shades of gradation in colors and lighting. In this case, each pix...

Codec stands for Co der- Dec oder (some say Co mpressor- Dec ompressor) and is used to describe anything which turns data into another form for storage or transmission, then changes it back for use. In traditional broadcasting, a codec is a physical device which turns analog video and audio data into digital form to be sent out over the air. It is also capable of turning received digital information back into an analog format. In computers, a codec is used as a way of compressing video, images and audio to a more manageable size. The majority use a lossy(Not all the data can be recovered from the file when decompressed) method of compression, but some are lossless. Lossless codecs, such as MSU or Huffyuv, reproduce the original video exactly, with no subsequent loss if the video is re-encoded. The more common lossy codecs lose varying degrees of information, but can save substantial amounts of space. A lossy codec may be transformative, predictive, or a comb...

A proxy server is a computer that sits between a client and a server to intercept requests. There are several uses of a proxy server, but the most common is to speed network traffic by caching pages or files that are requested often. By doing so, the server can deliver the request quickly, only polling the server when required. In this way, it not only speeds up network traffic, but also relieves server load. Major Internet hubs and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) employ dozens of proxy servers. Filtering or censorship is another use for a proxy server. A company that provides Internet connectivity to its employees might configure such a server to block requests for certain websites. It can also filter content based on configurable criteria to help enforce acceptable use policies. If a proxy server does not require a Web browser to be configured to use the proxy, it’s called a transparent proxy. Otherwise, the Web browser must point to the proxy in order to ...

Computers are widespread, with a great many things being computerized, including things that we don't normally think of as being computerized. These computers, large and small, doing jobs tiny and massive, run on varying complexities of codes. One such code is QR Code. Given the lack of imagination of the folks who name computer codes, it is perhaps no surprise that the term stands for nothing more interesting than Quick Response Code. Such code can be found today running thousands of different things, from cars to camera phones. Despite its many uses, QR Code is a plain old matrix code. It is confined to two dimensions, so you can't see a real picture of it. QR Code was manufactured with the intent of decoding it at very high speeds, so the third dimension wasn't deemed necessary. It is also a relatively new code, having been created in 1994, in Japan. That country, by the way, still sees its most prevalent use, although much of what it powers is expor...

A hotspot is any public area where computers that have been fitted with wireless network technology can gain access to the Internet. The computer accomplishes this by contacting a nearby wireless network with its internal NIC (Network Interface Card). The NIC seeks out the radio waves generated by wireless networks. When it detects a signal strong enough, it asks permission to log on to the network. Though this access is often free, other times the wireless network requires registration and a small fee before it will grant the computer access. Many cafés now feature a wireless network environment or hotspot, so that customers can sit leisurely, sip coffee and work on their laptops with full Internet access. Establishments that offer hotspots are referred to as being wired , somewhat of a misnomer since the technology is wireless. Ad A network that generates a hotspot basically consists of a wireless router and modem. The RF, or radio frequency, waves used by a w...