VOIP Phone Services Are Becoming More Popular Every Day. But Do They Work?

A VOIP phone is actually the acronym for Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol). What this means is that the phone will function over the internet and is assigned a IP address, rather than the traditional analog system that many companies and people still use on a daily basis.

These VOIP phone systems are quickly becoming more and more popular, advertised on TV and more you may be curious as to what they are. The phones are all assigned a IP address and generally function over a existing high speed internet connection. If you do not have high speed internet and are still using dial up this type of system may not be suitable for your household or business.

VOIP phone systems are relatively easy to setup as you can plug in to your existing internet connection and some very simple steps have a phone system up and operational. They use Ethernet connections instead of analog phone lines, Ethernet is the same type of connection that your computer uses which is a RJ-45 type connector and jack. In most cases you will not have to run anything on your PC to be able to use the VOIP phone, however there are some programs out there that will help you manage them. Giving you the ability to have multiple extensions for your line and in some cases up to 100 handsets that are ready to be used.

The biggest advantage to using a VOIP phone is the cost, it is very cheap compared to analog services and unlimited long distance is almost always included. Calling outside the United States is also a lot cheaper than using standard phone services. When you purchase the system you will sometimes own a set of IP addresses that are used exclusively for your phones, giving you a lot of flexibility to setting up and you can even put computers on these IP addresses at no extra cost, if you do this however you will have to contact your provider to make sure that the IP you are going to set the PC up on will be configured for Data and not Voice.

Your VOIP system will be managed by a server that is owned by the service provider and you have a lot of flexible features that you would otherwise not with a analog system, for example you can create backups and more of your voice mails and other and other items so that your data will not be lost. You can also setup filters with some providers so that you will be able to send certain phone numbers that call you to different voice mails. This can be a very good feature if you are running a business from your home, giving you the ability to send the wife or husband and kids to one voice mail setup and any other phone calls to a more professional setup and sounding recording.

These systems will give business owners as well as others some great options for setting up their phone systems, and it can also be a great way to help cut down costs as well. Especially since you can run 100 phone handsets from one internet connection. In cost comparison if you had 100 analog phone lines without extensions this could quickly run you into thousands of dollars a month for phone service. Keep in mind however that if you have a slow internet connection or older infrastructure for your network there can be complications as to the quality of your voice services. You may even have to revamp you infrastructure to meet the needs of your new VOIP service, but with the ultimately lower costs you will quickly make up for the loss.

Federal Communications Commission
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
http://www.fcc.gov/

Federal Communications Commission
Voice-Over-Internet Protocol
http://www.fcc.gov/

IS CPU or Hard Drive Speed More Important when Purchasing Your Next PC?

CPU speed or Hard Drive speed? Which one is actually more important for your PC to function faster? Maybe give you a better gaming experience? The truth is, both of these components are vital to system performance. Hopefully in this article I can help solve this myths about these 2 components.

The CPU
There are actually many factors that with the CPu which can affect speeds, speed for a PC is measured in Gigahertz, and before that megahertz. What this means is that if you have a 1Mhz CPU the processor can complete one million CPU cycles in one second. Now this does not necessarily mean that a 2Mhz processor is going to be twice as fast as the 1Mhz, this will be dependent on how muck work the CPU will be able to accomplish in one clock cycle. If the 1Mhz processor has been designed to accomplish more tasks in its cycle than the 2Mhz, then it could easily be faster. Also if you have a 3.0Ghz single core processor versus a 2.2Ghz DUAL core process the Dual core will be much faster because it has been designed for the to cores to operate simultaneously therefore completing more clock cycles than the single core processor.

What does the "Cache" do?
Here is another stat in the CPU that you need to pay close attention to, it is called "Cache" the cache is to give the CPU the ability to access information that has been used recently in a fast and efficient manner. The cache can significantly effect the speed of your PC, a good cache size needs to be at least 2MB and no lower. There are some out there as large as 12MB but for everyday PC use, internet and maybe some gaming this will be overkill as the mainstream software sector has not quite caught up to the hardware as of yet.

FSB or Front Side Bus
The FSB is what connects the CPU to the actual memory system, the FSB will operate at a speed that is a certain percentage of what the CPU clock speed is functioning at, therefore the faster the FSB will let memory through or data transfer then the faster the overall operation of your CPU
The Front Side Bus (FS is the connection between the CPU and system memory.

RAM or Random Access Memory
RAM is used by the system to store information until the computer is restarted, or you lose power and is accessed via the FSB. The speed of which your RAM operates needs to be high so that the FSB can be fully utilized so that you will be able to access the bits of data as efficiently as possible. Also you need to look at the size of your RAM, if you are running Windows XP 2GB will suffice, but no more than 4GB, after 4GB it will not recognize anymore. On Vista 4GB will be a good amount to operate smoothly. Some Vista O/S types (business, personal) will recognize different amounts of memory. You will need to look at the box to determine how much yours will recognize.

Hard Drive Speed
The speed of your Hard drive is generally measured by RPM - Revolutions Per Minute. This is how many times that the hard drive spins, if it spins faster then the system will be able to read the data that is stored on the hard drive faster, slower you get the opposite effect slowing your PC down. However if you have a Hard Drive with a speed of 12,500RPM but a processor that is to slow to process the data coming off of it then you are really wasting your money purchasing a new Hard Drive. Most of the more common Hard Drives function at a speed around 7200RPM. This is a good solid speed and should be fast enough for the next couple of years of upgrades unless we have a major technological break through. A quick and easy way to check the speed of your hard drive if you are unsure of what it is, Right Click on your My Computer icon then click on Properties, then click on the hardware tab and it will show you the details. For Vista users you will need to go to Start, Right Click on Computer then click on Performance on the bottom left hand side. If your score is rated anything over a 3.0 you will have a hard drive over 7200RPM.

Microsoft Corportation
Different ways to determine CPU speed in Windows XP
Microsoft Support

Link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2364366/windows_vista_tips_disable_the_user.html?cat=15

With anyone that has Windows Vista one of the first things that they noticed with their shiny new operating system is that anytime you try to make a change, install a program or even remove software it pops up a window that lets you know that "A Program needs your permission to continue". For some people this is a fascinating tool that can show you when something is trying to make changes to your PC, however if you are more of a advanced user it can be very annoying. The User Account Control pop up was designed to according to Microsoft, "User Account Control (UAC) is a new security component in Windows Vista. UAC enables users to perform common tasks as non-administrators, called standard users in Windows Vista, and as administrators without having to switch users, log off, or use Run As.". What this means is that this feature is now giving us the ability to make changes inside of our operating system even without logging off and back on as the admin assigned to the PC. This can be a fantastic tool and is built in such a way to help keep illicit programs from accessing you PC. Much like a Mac with its similar feature, this will in turn help to keep down the number of viruses and malware that installs itself on your PC.

Disabling the UAC
If you are someone who feels comfortable around their computer, maybe even enough so to turn off the UAC the following are the steps to complete this task. Keep in mind that if you do this, and Microsoft does not recommend it, that illicit programs that you may not want could indeed install themselves on your computer without tour knowledge. After you have disabled the UAC, make sure that you frequently scan your PC for viruses and keep your virus programs up to date. If you are frequent visitor to gaming sites or forums with a lot of pop ups then I would make sure to clean you computer a little more often then usual.

Step 1
Click Start > On the right hand side click Control Panel

Step 2
Once that you are in the Control Panel area, click on User Accounts and Family Safety.

Step 3
Once you are in the User Accounts and Family Safety window, click User Accounts.

Step 4
Okay now once you have entered the User Accounts tasks window, click on the Turn User Account Control on or off it will be the bottom option and have a shield beside it.

Step 5
If your UAC is currently on, the User Account Control message will pop up. Click Continue this will be the last time you see it.

Step 6
Un-check the option that says "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer" and then click on OK.

Step 7
Save any documents you have open and restart your computer.

Congratulations! You have now successfully turned off User Account Control. If there is any point in which you would like to turn it back on simply follow these steps again, just re-check the box in Step 7.

User Requested Tip
If you would like to submit a techie question for us to answer then send a email to blog@tigersharkcomputers.com and we will complete your question and post on the site!

If the solution does not work for you, leave a comment and explain so that we may help you.

If you are wanting to use your BlackBerry Storm as a MP3 player while at work, running or sitting around the house. Then follow these simple steps to enjoy your music!

To shuffle the songs on your BlackBerry Storm:

Step 1
From the Home Screen or Main menu click on the Media application button. It has a CD, music note and picture on the icon.

Step 2
Click on Music, it is the far left button on the bottom of your screen.

Step 3
Shuffle all songs by clicking on Shuffle Songs on the bottom (see pic).

To shuffle all the songs of a category:
Click a song.
Press the Menu key.
Click Shuffle.

To stop shuffling songs simply press the Menu key then click Shuffle.

Link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2359320/juon_the_grudge_wii_video_game_review_pg2_pg2.html?cat=19

Have you ever want to be part of the grudge? With this new video game you to be part of the movie, with its scary haunted house feel the Grudge really tries to take advantage of them Wii. The story of The Grudge focuses on the cursed Yamada family,
each individual character is played out through different episodes, starting with the daughter of the family chasing her dog into a empty warehouse. The other family members start by traveling to haunted hospitals, a freaky fashion school and a set of abandoned apartments.

The game will start you off with real live footage set to a dreary tone. Controlling the different characters can be difficult and feels like you are waving a flashlight with a mind of its own all over the place. The controls are very difficult as you try to move your character through the game, you move very slowly through out and it almost feels like you are standing on turtles at times. Actual game play can be fun you will dive into closets and fight in close quarters with big monsters and even some strange cats. But the controls are very difficult and trying to swing the unresponsive Wii remote in the direction of the arrows can be scarier than the game itself. At one point in the game I had to start a entire episode of because of the Wii remote being so unresponsive to the game.

FeelPlus while trying to celebrate The Grudges 10th anniversary failed and just stumbled in the dark, the graphics remind me of a N64 games while you have polygons hanging out. The sound featured in this game is deplorable and very disappointing, at times I thought I was playing doom. The playability as stated above is very difficult in part to steer with the Wii remote, it is like trying to put a key in a car door while staggering drunk. Unfortunately the scare factor is limited as the controls, sound and graphics or so second rate, this is not a game that I would recommend or play again, the game had true potential to really creep people out but failed at every corner.
Hopefully FeelPlus will redeem themselves in the future with a new Grudge game. Either by finding themselves a new console to place their games on or trying to work the kinks out of the controls. Of course it may just be more cost effective to throw the entire game out and try out

something new. Like golf or fishing...