When it is time to shop for a new car there are many things to take into consideration. One of the biggest decisions is whether you should choose car leasing or car buying. There are many fundamental differences between the two.
To help make your decision easier the following is a list of those differences:
- At the end of the car loan term you will own a car if you opted to buy. At the end of the car lease term you return the car to the dealer and are left with nothing.
- A car loan term is usually four to six years. A car lease term is typically two to four years.
- Monthly car loan payments are generally higher than car leasing payments. This is because you are only really only paying for the car’s depreciation during the car lease term plus interest, taxes and service fees.
- Most car leases limit the amount of mileage you can put on the vehicle. If you plan on traveling a great deal you will have to consider negotiating a higher mileage limit. This will mean slightly higher monthly payments. If you exceed the limit you will be required to pay a charge of between 10 to 15 cents per mile. If you choose to buy the vehicle this is not an issue.
- When leasing a car there are limits to the amount of wear you can cause to the vehicle. Excessive wear will result in extra charges. If you buy you can do what ever you want to your car.
- If you terminate a car lease before the term is over there usually is a charge. In the case of car buying if you buy out the remainder before the car loan term is up you are usually charged a fee as well.
- The up front costs of car leasing include first month’s auto lease payments, a refundable deposit, a capitalized cost reduction( similar to a down payment), taxes and service fees. The up front costs of car buying include a down payment, taxes, registration and other service fees.
- At the end of the car lease term you have to pay any charges for excess wear and mileage then you can either walk away or buy out the car. When you reach the end of the car loan term you have no further payments and you walk away with your car.
Consider all these differences before coming to a decision on whether to buy or lease your next vehicle. Your choice will effect quite a lot over the loan or lease term including your monthly auto loan payments as well as what you can do to your vehicle to a certain extent. If you know what your long term goals are it will allow you to select the right option for your next car.
For more information you can visit http://www.findacarlive.com.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Holiday Rentals And Vacation Homes in Rome
All roads lead to Rome, and not without serious reasons. No travelogue is complete without a chapter on Rome. The city that has been the epicenter of renaissance, capital of world’s one of the largest empires, home to Julius Caesar and is the traveler’s ultimate destination. And Rome vacation rentals are the easiest way to know the true spirit of Rome.
If you plan to visit Rome or other numerous attractions of Italy, you will find a lot of pre-planned package options. But these holiday/travel packages may not always be the best/cheapest of the options. With a little research and a little planning, you can save a lot of money of yours without compromising on the quality aspect. A little search in the internet will give a lot of cheaper eating, lodging and transportation options in Italy.
Atypical to any major travel destination, Rome has a plethora of options as far as lodging is concerned. Lodging options spanning the entire budget range is scattered all over Rome. Vacation rentals, rental homes, luxurious hotels, resorts, bed and breakfast, rental flats- you think it and Rome has it. Based on your budget and holiday interest, you have the option of choosing among a plethora of lodging options like vacation rentals, hotels, resorts and apartment rentals.
Vacation rental is the process of renting out fully furnished flat or house temporarily to tourists. While in hotels or resorts which charge per person per day, vacation rentals or rental flats have a set price for an entire holiday period, sometimes with a limitation on the maximum number of guests allowed.
Rome vacation rentals have some inherent advantages over hotels and resorts. First and foremost, you save money; a lot of money if you are traveling with your family or with a group. In some cases, if you choose Rome Vacation rentals, the quantum of savings is as much as 60%. Use that money to treat yourself and your family or friends some extra, quality time at some authentic Italian restaurant.
Apart from the price factor, Rome vacation rentals give you the authentic, down to earth feeling of being in Rome. Rome is indeed about the magnificent colosseum, the Vatican City, the Bocca della Verita and many more. But, Rome is also about getting to know the spirit of Rome, its people, its culture, its ethos. A hotel, or a resort, inspite of best efforts offers an artificial atmosphere and do not match Rome vacation rentals. Rome vacation rentals and rental apartments is probably the best way of exploring and enjoying the true self of Rome.
Rome vacation rentals also offer you the chance to be different from the hoards of tourists flocking to Rome. While a hotel are mundane, Rome vacation rentals represent individuality. Rome vacation rental also offers you the feeling of staying at a home away from home.
What is more satisfying than having a cup of herbal tea at your home after a day of exploring Rome and its rich heritage? If your answer is, nothing, then Rome vacation rental is what you are looking for. Each Italy appartment rental listing on Vacation Rental Listing includes detailed descriptions and pictures.
If you plan to visit Rome or other numerous attractions of Italy, you will find a lot of pre-planned package options. But these holiday/travel packages may not always be the best/cheapest of the options. With a little research and a little planning, you can save a lot of money of yours without compromising on the quality aspect. A little search in the internet will give a lot of cheaper eating, lodging and transportation options in Italy.
Atypical to any major travel destination, Rome has a plethora of options as far as lodging is concerned. Lodging options spanning the entire budget range is scattered all over Rome. Vacation rentals, rental homes, luxurious hotels, resorts, bed and breakfast, rental flats- you think it and Rome has it. Based on your budget and holiday interest, you have the option of choosing among a plethora of lodging options like vacation rentals, hotels, resorts and apartment rentals.
Vacation rental is the process of renting out fully furnished flat or house temporarily to tourists. While in hotels or resorts which charge per person per day, vacation rentals or rental flats have a set price for an entire holiday period, sometimes with a limitation on the maximum number of guests allowed.
Rome vacation rentals have some inherent advantages over hotels and resorts. First and foremost, you save money; a lot of money if you are traveling with your family or with a group. In some cases, if you choose Rome Vacation rentals, the quantum of savings is as much as 60%. Use that money to treat yourself and your family or friends some extra, quality time at some authentic Italian restaurant.
Apart from the price factor, Rome vacation rentals give you the authentic, down to earth feeling of being in Rome. Rome is indeed about the magnificent colosseum, the Vatican City, the Bocca della Verita and many more. But, Rome is also about getting to know the spirit of Rome, its people, its culture, its ethos. A hotel, or a resort, inspite of best efforts offers an artificial atmosphere and do not match Rome vacation rentals. Rome vacation rentals and rental apartments is probably the best way of exploring and enjoying the true self of Rome.
Rome vacation rentals also offer you the chance to be different from the hoards of tourists flocking to Rome. While a hotel are mundane, Rome vacation rentals represent individuality. Rome vacation rental also offers you the feeling of staying at a home away from home.
What is more satisfying than having a cup of herbal tea at your home after a day of exploring Rome and its rich heritage? If your answer is, nothing, then Rome vacation rental is what you are looking for. Each Italy appartment rental listing on Vacation Rental Listing includes detailed descriptions and pictures.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
THE FUTURE OF CAMERAS
Basically a digital camera is a deice use to capture pictures without the use of films. Unlike the conventional camera, the digital camera does not rely on mechanical and chemical processes. It has a built in computer and records the images it captures in an electronic form. Having and operating one does not even require the use of electricity.
Since the images that a digital camera captures is in electronic form, it is a language recognized by computers. This language is called pixels, tiny colored dots represented by ones and zeros that make up the picture that you just took. Just like any conventional cameras, a digital camera is furnished with a series of lenses that focus the light and creates the image that you want to capture. The difference here is then; a conventional camera focuses its light on a film while a digital camera focuses the light into a semiconductor device that electronically records the light. Remember the built in computer, it comes in here and breaks this information to digital data resulting to all the features of the digital camera.
Another feature of the digital camera is that it has a sensor that converts light into electrical charges. A charge coupled device or CCD is an image sensor that is found in a digital camera. While other low-end digital camera use complementary metal oxide semiconductor or CMOS as an image device, it can still become better and more famous in the future but most engineers are do not believe that it can replace the CCD for higher-end digital cameras.
A collection of tiny diodes, the CCD gathers electrons when they are struck by photons or the light particles. Each diode or photosite is sensitive to light, meaning that the brighter the light, the number of the electrons gathering will be larger
The price of a digital camera nowadays have been depreciating, one of the main reasons of this is because of the introduction of CMOS image sensors, this is because CMOS sensors are less expensive and are easier to manufacture than CCD sensors. A CCD and CMOS sensor works the same way at first, by converting the light electrical charges into photosites. Simply putting it, is to think that a digital camera works in such a way as thinking that the millions of tiny solar cells, each of which forms a part of the whole image. Both CCD and CMOS do this task using different methods.
When shopping for the best digital camera, take note of these key features.
Image quality. Check the resolution of the camera. The higher the resolution, the more thou will be able to enlarge your picture without the grainy or the out-of-focus effect that we all want to avoid.
Lens. Choose a digital camera with better digital zoom. The digital zoom of the camera will enable you take the pixels from the image sensor and incorporate them to make an image.
Power. Always opt for rechargeable batteries, they can always come in handy, plus you don’t waste as much money on the disposable ones.
Options. So you can brag to your friends how good a photographer or artist you are. Or choose the one that gives options that best cater to your lifestyle, so you won’t ever whine how you never get the right pictures.
Memory. If you’re a photo freak, be sure that you have enough memory in your camera to take all the wacky, freaky, funny and just about any photo you can. Think 512MB if you’re a photo junkie and takes pictures of just about anything.
Computer Interface. Always make sure that it is compatible with your PC, laptop, palmtop or whatever your local picture printer software is, you don’t want to go running around the whole state or the country looking for a computer that’s compatible with your digital camera, wont you?!
Physical. If you are going to be bringing it everywhere, choose a handy and portable digital camera. This way, it won’t always feel as heavy and bulky as those cameras that you see professional photographers are always dragging on their neck. Don’t they ever get tired of that?!
These are just the basic things you have to look for in a digital camera when you buy one. A digital camera is so great that it is quickly replacing all conventional cameras in the market, with all its technology and portability, truly the digital camera is the future of cameras.
Since the images that a digital camera captures is in electronic form, it is a language recognized by computers. This language is called pixels, tiny colored dots represented by ones and zeros that make up the picture that you just took. Just like any conventional cameras, a digital camera is furnished with a series of lenses that focus the light and creates the image that you want to capture. The difference here is then; a conventional camera focuses its light on a film while a digital camera focuses the light into a semiconductor device that electronically records the light. Remember the built in computer, it comes in here and breaks this information to digital data resulting to all the features of the digital camera.
Another feature of the digital camera is that it has a sensor that converts light into electrical charges. A charge coupled device or CCD is an image sensor that is found in a digital camera. While other low-end digital camera use complementary metal oxide semiconductor or CMOS as an image device, it can still become better and more famous in the future but most engineers are do not believe that it can replace the CCD for higher-end digital cameras.
A collection of tiny diodes, the CCD gathers electrons when they are struck by photons or the light particles. Each diode or photosite is sensitive to light, meaning that the brighter the light, the number of the electrons gathering will be larger
The price of a digital camera nowadays have been depreciating, one of the main reasons of this is because of the introduction of CMOS image sensors, this is because CMOS sensors are less expensive and are easier to manufacture than CCD sensors. A CCD and CMOS sensor works the same way at first, by converting the light electrical charges into photosites. Simply putting it, is to think that a digital camera works in such a way as thinking that the millions of tiny solar cells, each of which forms a part of the whole image. Both CCD and CMOS do this task using different methods.
When shopping for the best digital camera, take note of these key features.
Image quality. Check the resolution of the camera. The higher the resolution, the more thou will be able to enlarge your picture without the grainy or the out-of-focus effect that we all want to avoid.
Lens. Choose a digital camera with better digital zoom. The digital zoom of the camera will enable you take the pixels from the image sensor and incorporate them to make an image.
Power. Always opt for rechargeable batteries, they can always come in handy, plus you don’t waste as much money on the disposable ones.
Options. So you can brag to your friends how good a photographer or artist you are. Or choose the one that gives options that best cater to your lifestyle, so you won’t ever whine how you never get the right pictures.
Memory. If you’re a photo freak, be sure that you have enough memory in your camera to take all the wacky, freaky, funny and just about any photo you can. Think 512MB if you’re a photo junkie and takes pictures of just about anything.
Computer Interface. Always make sure that it is compatible with your PC, laptop, palmtop or whatever your local picture printer software is, you don’t want to go running around the whole state or the country looking for a computer that’s compatible with your digital camera, wont you?!
Physical. If you are going to be bringing it everywhere, choose a handy and portable digital camera. This way, it won’t always feel as heavy and bulky as those cameras that you see professional photographers are always dragging on their neck. Don’t they ever get tired of that?!
These are just the basic things you have to look for in a digital camera when you buy one. A digital camera is so great that it is quickly replacing all conventional cameras in the market, with all its technology and portability, truly the digital camera is the future of cameras.
Friday, November 10, 2006
10 Worst Autos Of The Year
Earlier, The Truth About Cars (TTAC) conducted a survey having its faithful and candid readers as respondents. The survey is all about tracking the Ten Worst Automobile Today (TWAT) from all the vehicles available in the United States within this year. The polls and tallying are closed. Further, the winners are yet to be unraveled. The winners of the 2006 TTAC Ten Worst Automobile Today awards are the following:
On the tenth place is Chevrolet Aveo. The automaker claims that said car is the lowest [new] car in America however; the contents of the vehicle may vary. In the United States and Canada, Aveo is available in both 5-door and 4-door models. Chevrolet Aveo sedan debuted in January this year at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. Lincoln Mark LT landed on the ninth place. According to TTAC's voters, the car is an unholy degradation of the world-famous Lincoln Mark nomenclature. In addition, it is said that the Mark LT is a rolling testament to Dearborn's short-term, suicidal reliance on bean-counted engineering.
Saab 9-7x entered in the eighth place of the TWAT. Voters say that the car is nothing more than a Chevy Trailblazer with the ignition key between the seats. Subaru B9 Tribeca, a crossover SUV, settled on the seventh place. Some enthusiasts are saying Subaru should not have bothered building an SUV.
On the sixth place is Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which is said to be a wrong wheel-drive engineering joke from the late '80's. Next on the line is the Hummer H2. The latter, according to some, is so heavy that IRS will give the purchaser a tax break because you just bought a piece of commercial farm equipment. They further added that it looks like a school bus from behind and a morbidly obese Cherokee from every other angle.
The fourth placer is Chrysler Aspen. Simon and Garfunkel said, "Every way you look at this you lose." Some of the comments to this car are: It's ugly. It's thirsty. It's slow. It's badly built. It's cramped. It's expensive. Landing on the third place is Buick Rendezvous, which is based on a 1997 minivan.
Jeep Compass landed on the second place. Jeep auto parts that include round headlights and a 7-slot grill made Compass repulsive to TTAC enthusiasts.
Finally, the worst among the worst belong to General Motors. GM Minivans Talk emerged as the TTAC's accolade as the worst vehicles currently for sale in America. Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac SV6, Buick Terraza, and Relay that boasts its Saturn auto body parts fall short of pleasing aficionados.
On the tenth place is Chevrolet Aveo. The automaker claims that said car is the lowest [new] car in America however; the contents of the vehicle may vary. In the United States and Canada, Aveo is available in both 5-door and 4-door models. Chevrolet Aveo sedan debuted in January this year at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. Lincoln Mark LT landed on the ninth place. According to TTAC's voters, the car is an unholy degradation of the world-famous Lincoln Mark nomenclature. In addition, it is said that the Mark LT is a rolling testament to Dearborn's short-term, suicidal reliance on bean-counted engineering.
Saab 9-7x entered in the eighth place of the TWAT. Voters say that the car is nothing more than a Chevy Trailblazer with the ignition key between the seats. Subaru B9 Tribeca, a crossover SUV, settled on the seventh place. Some enthusiasts are saying Subaru should not have bothered building an SUV.
On the sixth place is Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which is said to be a wrong wheel-drive engineering joke from the late '80's. Next on the line is the Hummer H2. The latter, according to some, is so heavy that IRS will give the purchaser a tax break because you just bought a piece of commercial farm equipment. They further added that it looks like a school bus from behind and a morbidly obese Cherokee from every other angle.
The fourth placer is Chrysler Aspen. Simon and Garfunkel said, "Every way you look at this you lose." Some of the comments to this car are: It's ugly. It's thirsty. It's slow. It's badly built. It's cramped. It's expensive. Landing on the third place is Buick Rendezvous, which is based on a 1997 minivan.
Jeep Compass landed on the second place. Jeep auto parts that include round headlights and a 7-slot grill made Compass repulsive to TTAC enthusiasts.
Finally, the worst among the worst belong to General Motors. GM Minivans Talk emerged as the TTAC's accolade as the worst vehicles currently for sale in America. Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac SV6, Buick Terraza, and Relay that boasts its Saturn auto body parts fall short of pleasing aficionados.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Brief History of Blogs
So where did all these blogs come from? How did they get from an underground geek toy to a mainstream tool that has revolutionized politics, journalism, marketing and the media?
I always find that when I learn about a new technology or way of doing something online, the geeks have already been there (and I say the word ‘geek’ with complete affection – I’m one too!). Before business became inseparable from the computer, email or the internet, the academics and tinkerers were there first, kicking the tires and playing with the technology. Blogging was no exception.
Many of the earliest internet geeks wrote online journals detailing interesting links and points of view. As this was before programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver, everything was done by hand - and that was a huge hassle. Each time you updated the site, you ran the risk of breaking links inside the website and leaving your readers stranded with the dreaded ‘page not found’ error. Eventually, the computer programmers and web designers became fed up with all of this manual work and created their own software to automate the process of updating their journal websites. Thus the weblog was born.
In 1999, a website called Blogger (http://www.blogger.com/) launched, offering free blogs to anybody and everybody that wanted them. Blogger provided the blog tool for free as well as the hosting space to host a blog. Millions of people from all over the world logged on and start creating their own weblogs.
The largest conversation in the world had begun. Blogs have changed the way academics do research, journalists write, families connect and politicians fundraise. It was only a matter of time before businesses woke up and realized the power of blogging for marketing online.
Blogging provides a way for companies and customers to meet on common ground to talk about what excites them and makes them tick. It also allows them to closely track where and under what circumstances their products are being talked about online.
Today, blogging continues to grow at a swift pace with more than 400,000 posts added per day and 12,000 new blogs being created every day. Millions of people look to blogs for a good laugh, a great idea, a fantastic tip or an instant analysis. The blogosphere doubles in size every 5 months, allowing anyone, anywhere, in any language, to make their mark in the world to share their ideas, passion and products.
‘Blog’ was the word of the year for 2004 according to Merriam-Webster, the famous dictionary publisher. The year 2004 marked a turning point for blogs as a sought after media format. Now it was seen as a venue for gathering large audiences of devoted readers who used blogs to supplement, compliment and fact-check their nightly news.
My favorite milestone for blogging was when 'Blogs' appeared as a category on the Jeopardy game show. I'll take blogging for one thousand, Alex!
Andy Wibbels is a blogging evangelist and creator of the Easy Bake Weblogs seminar that has helped hundreds of small businesses all over the world leverage blogs and RSS news feeds to increase profits and save time. You can download his free special report on business and blogs at http://easybakeweblogs.com/
I always find that when I learn about a new technology or way of doing something online, the geeks have already been there (and I say the word ‘geek’ with complete affection – I’m one too!). Before business became inseparable from the computer, email or the internet, the academics and tinkerers were there first, kicking the tires and playing with the technology. Blogging was no exception.
Many of the earliest internet geeks wrote online journals detailing interesting links and points of view. As this was before programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver, everything was done by hand - and that was a huge hassle. Each time you updated the site, you ran the risk of breaking links inside the website and leaving your readers stranded with the dreaded ‘page not found’ error. Eventually, the computer programmers and web designers became fed up with all of this manual work and created their own software to automate the process of updating their journal websites. Thus the weblog was born.
In 1999, a website called Blogger (http://www.blogger.com/) launched, offering free blogs to anybody and everybody that wanted them. Blogger provided the blog tool for free as well as the hosting space to host a blog. Millions of people from all over the world logged on and start creating their own weblogs.
The largest conversation in the world had begun. Blogs have changed the way academics do research, journalists write, families connect and politicians fundraise. It was only a matter of time before businesses woke up and realized the power of blogging for marketing online.
Blogging provides a way for companies and customers to meet on common ground to talk about what excites them and makes them tick. It also allows them to closely track where and under what circumstances their products are being talked about online.
Today, blogging continues to grow at a swift pace with more than 400,000 posts added per day and 12,000 new blogs being created every day. Millions of people look to blogs for a good laugh, a great idea, a fantastic tip or an instant analysis. The blogosphere doubles in size every 5 months, allowing anyone, anywhere, in any language, to make their mark in the world to share their ideas, passion and products.
‘Blog’ was the word of the year for 2004 according to Merriam-Webster, the famous dictionary publisher. The year 2004 marked a turning point for blogs as a sought after media format. Now it was seen as a venue for gathering large audiences of devoted readers who used blogs to supplement, compliment and fact-check their nightly news.
My favorite milestone for blogging was when 'Blogs' appeared as a category on the Jeopardy game show. I'll take blogging for one thousand, Alex!
Andy Wibbels is a blogging evangelist and creator of the Easy Bake Weblogs seminar that has helped hundreds of small businesses all over the world leverage blogs and RSS news feeds to increase profits and save time. You can download his free special report on business and blogs at http://easybakeweblogs.com/
Friday, April 01, 2005
Young Driver Car Insurance
Andrew Bowen
It has become increasingly difficult to get young driver car insurance in the UK. The reason behind this is because the statistics for young drivers having a car accident are not very good. By definition, young drivers have very little experience of driving and thus have a greater chance of having a bump in their vehicle. Car insurance companies are obviously in business to make money and are understandably reluctant to insure such drivers. In most cases, companies will either offer a policy at a very high premium or refuse to insure the person altogether.
However, there are ways to lower your premium. First of all you should purchase a car that has a low insurance group number. Insurance group numbers range from 1 - 20. Generally speaking the higher the number the higher your premium is likely to be. This is because cars with high insurance group numbers usually have bigger engines, are more expensive and go faster. A low insurance group vehicle will lower the premium for a young driver policy. Young drivers should also be encouraged to take an advanced driving test. Some companies look favourably on drivers who take this test as they are seen as more responsible and more careful about their driving. Finally, opting for third party fire and theft or third party only cover also lowers your quote. If you have purchased a vehicle that does not cost very much money then you should seriously consider whether or not you need a fully comprehensive policy.
Getting cheaper quotes for young drivers can still be tricky. However, http://www.acceptdirect.co.uk have a special option that is aimed at this particular market and can save you a lot of money on your insurance quote.
Copyright (c) 2004 Accept Direct Limited http://www.acceptdirect.co.uk
It has become increasingly difficult to get young driver car insurance in the UK. The reason behind this is because the statistics for young drivers having a car accident are not very good. By definition, young drivers have very little experience of driving and thus have a greater chance of having a bump in their vehicle. Car insurance companies are obviously in business to make money and are understandably reluctant to insure such drivers. In most cases, companies will either offer a policy at a very high premium or refuse to insure the person altogether.
However, there are ways to lower your premium. First of all you should purchase a car that has a low insurance group number. Insurance group numbers range from 1 - 20. Generally speaking the higher the number the higher your premium is likely to be. This is because cars with high insurance group numbers usually have bigger engines, are more expensive and go faster. A low insurance group vehicle will lower the premium for a young driver policy. Young drivers should also be encouraged to take an advanced driving test. Some companies look favourably on drivers who take this test as they are seen as more responsible and more careful about their driving. Finally, opting for third party fire and theft or third party only cover also lowers your quote. If you have purchased a vehicle that does not cost very much money then you should seriously consider whether or not you need a fully comprehensive policy.
Getting cheaper quotes for young drivers can still be tricky. However, http://www.acceptdirect.co.uk have a special option that is aimed at this particular market and can save you a lot of money on your insurance quote.
Copyright (c) 2004 Accept Direct Limited http://www.acceptdirect.co.uk
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Power down
Hello everyone. Sorry for not posting for a few days. Unfortunately my computer at home isn't working. I suspect that it's the power supply at the back and that it might need to be changed. A person's going to come and look at it today in about an hour. Should be up and running by tomorrow or day after. The worst part is that I'm on after-exam holidays and that I'm really bored without my computer. Just reading some books, watching the TV and just sitting around. I was just sitting down to a game of Age Of Empires 2 after almost a year and after about 20 or so minutes the computer shuts off without a fuss and I'm left staring at a black screen. Still staring.
In better news my readership is growing, at least when compared to when I first started. I must be doing somehting right this time. Maybe I'm posting a bit more varied or that I've signed up to a number of things like the Blogs for Firefox blogroll and link2blogs. Also I've got loads of referrals from other blogs. Just see the referrer list on the left. Anyway, I'm just happy. For those of you who are returning visitors I've changed my profile somewhat to reflect the "changing me". Hope it gets a better picture of me across.
I'm on a public computer right now. I'll be back once my computer's back up again. See you all then. Bye.
In better news my readership is growing, at least when compared to when I first started. I must be doing somehting right this time. Maybe I'm posting a bit more varied or that I've signed up to a number of things like the Blogs for Firefox blogroll and link2blogs. Also I've got loads of referrals from other blogs. Just see the referrer list on the left. Anyway, I'm just happy. For those of you who are returning visitors I've changed my profile somewhat to reflect the "changing me". Hope it gets a better picture of me across.
I'm on a public computer right now. I'll be back once my computer's back up again. See you all then. Bye.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Storage space
Iomega recently launched a USB powered external 40GB hard drive which apparently weighs only 99gms. This little piece of information got me thinking. External hard drives in various sizes and capacities have been around for quite a while now. Though normal computer users like me find little use for them, I'm sure that there are people to whom these hard drives are indispensible.
But for ordinary, not-so-tech-savvy computer users, the preferred means of externally storing and backing up data is of course re-writable CDs and more recently DVDs. Once upon a time when CD writers cost a king's ransom Iomega ruled the external storage world would there mighty ZIP drives (remember those heavy squarish ZIP drives?). Unfortunately Iomegas ZIP drives were almost killed off by the appearance of much cheaper, smaller and lighter rewritable CDs. And now with blank DVDs becoming common, the CDs days are probably numbered.
But what happens in the not so far future when the DVDs currently ample storage capacity of almost 5 GB becomes obselete. Well there appear to be two feasable alternatives. Thy're both types of DVDs the first one is called the Blu-Ray DVD. This uses a blue coloured laser to read data. This format will supposedly allow upto 50GB of data to be stored per disc. That's ten times the capacity of a standard DVD today. The Blu-Ray format is being supported a large number of comanies like Sony, Hitachi, Phillips and LG. Phillips has also come out with a Blu-Ray DVD drive which is expected to become public later this year. Then there is the HD-DVD which is being pushed by companies like Toshiba, NEC and a number of film production companies. But this has a smaller capacity, only 30GB.
So should we start throwing out our drives? No not yet. It'll still be some time before these formats become standard. And only one of them will win. To find out more visit the HD-DVD, Blu-RAy and Blu-Ray Association websites
But for ordinary, not-so-tech-savvy computer users, the preferred means of externally storing and backing up data is of course re-writable CDs and more recently DVDs. Once upon a time when CD writers cost a king's ransom Iomega ruled the external storage world would there mighty ZIP drives (remember those heavy squarish ZIP drives?). Unfortunately Iomegas ZIP drives were almost killed off by the appearance of much cheaper, smaller and lighter rewritable CDs. And now with blank DVDs becoming common, the CDs days are probably numbered.
But what happens in the not so far future when the DVDs currently ample storage capacity of almost 5 GB becomes obselete. Well there appear to be two feasable alternatives. Thy're both types of DVDs the first one is called the Blu-Ray DVD. This uses a blue coloured laser to read data. This format will supposedly allow upto 50GB of data to be stored per disc. That's ten times the capacity of a standard DVD today. The Blu-Ray format is being supported a large number of comanies like Sony, Hitachi, Phillips and LG. Phillips has also come out with a Blu-Ray DVD drive which is expected to become public later this year. Then there is the HD-DVD which is being pushed by companies like Toshiba, NEC and a number of film production companies. But this has a smaller capacity, only 30GB.
So should we start throwing out our drives? No not yet. It'll still be some time before these formats become standard. And only one of them will win. To find out more visit the HD-DVD, Blu-RAy and Blu-Ray Association websites
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