configurazione Hardware/Software
in questa pagina troverai delle utili indicazioni su come
configurare un computer allo stato dell'arte attuale.
System: Purchasing ———————————
Purchasing new or upgrading current hardware can get very
complicated. Fortunately, a number of companies have been busy
building Web sites which can help ease your next purchase.
Below is our recommendation for a hardware configuration which
would allow you to maintain your hardware for at least 2 to 3
years before upgrading:
Hardware Recommendation - PC
- Intel Pentium III 500MHz
- 128 Mb RAM
- Window 2000 (NT for advanced users)
- 50x CD-ROM
- 12 Gb Hard disk
- 128 bit graphics accelerator w/ 4 Mb VRAM
- AGP graphic bus
- 128 bit digital audio, Wave Table MIDI
- Iomega Zip drive (standard)
Hardware Recommendation - Macintosh
- Power Macintosh (500MHz)
- 128Mb RAM (standard)
- Macintosh OS 8.1 (standard)
- 50x CD-ROM (standard)
- 12 Gb Hard disk
- Iomega Zip drive (standard)
- 128 bit digital audio (standard)
The following site will give you a good foundation as you
explore purchasing tips on the Internet.
Computers.Com - Computers.Com
is one of the family of CNET sites that is excellent for computer
and peripheral hardware reviews.
Computer Shopper
- Computer Shopper from Ziff-Davis Inc. provides computer hardware
and software news, reviews, and advice. Note: Be sure to check
out the link to the 1998 Buying Guide on the menu on the left
of the screen.
Ziff-Davis
NetBuyer - NetBuyer also from Ziff-Davis Inc., interactively
helps you identify the hardware you need and where you can purchase
it. Especially handy are product feature and price comparisons.
Check out this site!
Maven BusinessWeek
Computer Buying Guide - Whether you're a computer novice
or a seasoned cybernaut, the Computer Buying Guide can help find
the best system for you.
The Software Buying Guide
- This site allows you to compare Windows programs head-to-head.
This service is very helpful when evaluating software.
System: Maintenance Tips
———————————
Keeping your system running smoothly can be difficult unless
you have the right tools and make your computer's maintenance
a high priority. Disaster can strike when you least expect it
(and usually strikes right when you need that certain file for
work!). Here are several ways to improve the life span of your
computer:
Extended Warranty - If you are not a technically savvy
person you may want to look into an extended service contract.
This can be arranged with your computer vendor, and it is usually
cheaper when made at the time of purchase. However, if you purchased
a computer by mail-order or in a computer mega-store and don't
have a service agreement, contact a local computer dealer: Chances
are, you can purchase a service agreement through them.
Surge Suppressor or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
- Purchasing a good power supply or UPS system can keep the
computer on long enough to save your files and store backups
when there is a power loss. Surge Suppressors, which can cost
from $15-$70, protect the computer from a sharp increase in voltage,
but do not protect the system from a power loss. A UPS system
costing, $100-$1000, can prevent data loss during a power outage,
brown out, or surge. During a brown out, the UPS will boost the
voltage inline required to keep the computer operating at optimal
performance. During the power outage, the UPS can provide several
hours of backup, although the time varies depending on the size
of the UPS unit. Protect your data from time critical power outages.
Virus Protection - How do you prepare for a virus attack?
Moreover, how do you recover from a virus attack? Recovery
can be very costly, in man hours and software expense. The virus
can enter from a number of sources: diskettes, CD-ROMs, telecommunications,
or the Internet. To protect your valuable computer system, invest
$30-$70 in anti-virus protection software and make sure to keep
it updated. Purchasing anti-virus software now protects from
several days of equipment failure and data loss which can quickly
mount to thousands of dollars in lost time.
Perform Routine Maintenance - The most important function
performed as a part of a regular maintenance program is to back
up your system software. Even more important is to create a schedule
for backups. Schedule system software backups on at least a monthly
basis and data backups on a daily basis. Note: System software
can change every time a new application is added or upgraded.
The second most important maintenance function is to defragment
your hard disk. During regular usage the computer is placing
bits and pieces of your files all over the hard drive. The more
files stored in a non-contiguous fashion, the greater risk of
a hard disk failure and slow disk access. Defragmenting your
hard disk will place files into contiguous blocks (stored in
the same place) and improve access time. A disk defragmenting
system tool is now built into Windows 95. There are a number
of products on the market to help ensure your system is well
maintained.
System: Performance Tips
———————————
Keeping your system up-to-date and performing at its best
could be a daunting task if it weren't for an abundance of helpful
sites on the Internet like the ones below:
Windows
Tips
and Tricks - This site offers tips and tricks for improving
system performance for Window 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT.
It also has some goodies to improve Netscape Communications.
System Optimization -
This site contains many helpful hints about how to get every
ounce of performance from your new Pentium or even old 486. There's
info on benchmarks, chipsets, CPU, graphic cards -- all effectively
presented and logically linked.
Shortcuts
and Time Savers - This site presents some clear-cut ways
to save some time.
Windows
95 -- Tips and Tweaks - This site offers excellent power
user tips, advice on desktop customization, interface enhancements,
Internet setup and performance, technical info, and other Internet
resources.
PC
Week's NT User Support Sites - A table listing Windows NT
support sites.
Macintosh
Apple Computer - Apple
Computer's corporate Web site.
Apple
software updates - Apple's official source for the latest
system updates and patches.
Complete
Conflict Compendium - An extremely useful site that provides
access to an extensive database of known Macintosh software conflicts
and solutions. Most impressive is the ability to search not only
by software name, OS version, or Mac model, but also by symptom!
MacFixIt - Compendium
of up-to-date Macintosh errors, bugs, and fixes.
MacInTouch - This
site is maintained by Ric Ford, a regular MacWEEK columnist.
Though not comprehensive, it provides excellent up-to-date information
and industry insider tips and forecasts.
Internet: Search Tools
———————————
There are a number of sites that offer extremely powerful
and efficient methods for searching the vast and rapidly growing
contents of the World Wide Web. Because these "search engines"
rely on a variety of underlying technologies, each can yield
very different results. Some sites are more user friendly, such
as Excite, which is smart enough to understand and search on
concepts, while some sites such as HotBot provide more thorough
documentation of the entire Web. When searching the World Wide
Web remember to try several different engines. Some are even
kind enough to link you to other search sites.
You should also note that many sites provide a variety of
other helpful resources such as content categories, reviews,
maps, or telephone and Email directories.
Internet: Search Techniques
———————————
While the capabilities and search syntax can differ from site
to site, there are still a number of simple rules to follow to
get the most meaningful results, or "hits," out of
your Web searches.
Be as specific as possible - Unlike a card catalog
search where it is useful to look for broad categories to be
inclusive, computer-driven searches will yield the best results
when looking for exact matches. If you were interested in a particular
golf club, for example, search on "Big Bertha" as opposed
to "golf equipment."
Use quotes to join words into a phrase - A search for
a series of words such as "health," "reform,"
"issues" will yield hits for documents containing any
of the individual words. A more successful search would include
all three terms within one set of quotes: The engine would look
only for the phrase "health reform issues."
Use capitalization to force exact matches - Most search
engines will return hits for words of varying case if the user
enters the search terms in lower case. Using capitals will force
the engine to find exact matches for the entered text. Thus a
search for "green" would result in hits for "green"
and "Green," while a search for "gReen" would
not find the others.
Use wildcards for variants or alternate spellings -
Most search engines will recognize an asterisk, "*",
as wildcard or place holder for undefined characters in a search
word. To use the previous example, a search for "green*"
would yield hits for "Green," "Greene," and
"greens." It is also helpful to use wildcards to include
alternate spelling in your search such as using "alumin*m"
to find references to both "aluminum" and "aluminium."
Boolean operators (+), (-), AND, AND NOT, OR, &, ~,
| - To further narrow the results of your searches you can
also use Boolean operators to include or exclude terms. For example,
"imaging AND cardiac AND NOT x-ray*." Note that most
engines prefer operators in all capitals and that "NOT"
must always be preceded by "AND", so "imaging
AND cardiac NOT x-ray*" would result in a syntax error.
Watch your spelling - As good as they are, most search
engines cannot read your mind, so the only sure source of valid
results is valid input.
These tips should help you get the most from your searches.
Also remember to always check the accompanying Help section for
a particular search site to help you exploit its individual capabilities.
Internet: Next Generation
Browsers ——————
This year you'll begin to see a major shift in the way information
is delivered over the World Wide Web. Traditionally "browsers,"
the tools we use to access information over the World Wide Web,
such as Netscape's Navagator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer,
have been limited to displaying static pages of text and graphics
that have been "pulled" from a remote server as the
result of a user's request. The latest products from these two
companies, Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer 4.0, incorporate
a variety of new Internet technologies that promise to dramatically
enhance the way we experience the Web. Chief among these developments
are:
A facility for "push" media - The latest
browsers incorporate the ability to receive broadcast or "pushed"
content that can be constantly updated. Instead of having to
go out and look for information, users can now have the information
they want come and find them. Currently there are a handful of
companies such as PointCast that offer special software for this
purpose. With the latest browsers, users can select or subscribe
to "channels" that will constantly update information
based on the user's preferences, as varied as research breakthroughs
or stock quotes.
Site mapping - Even if your favorite sites have not
implemented "push" technology, another new feature
can automatically track the structure of selected Web sites.
Now, instead of having to regularly visit a site to check for
updates, the browser can keep an eye on it for you and let you
know when the content changes.
Support for Dynamic HTML - Dynamic HTML, an extension
of the current code used to develop the majority of all Web content,
can be executed locally by the browser to provide rapid updates
and transitions. Traditional interactivity on Web sites is relatively
slow because updates require information to be passed from the
browser to a remote server that could be anywhere on the planet
and back again.
An integrated approach to communications - Both Communicator
and Internet Explorer 4.0 provide enhanced Email capabilities
and tools for creating Web content. Both products also allow
much greater control over the appearance of Web-based content,
seamlessly integrating Web access and file storage with the user's
desktop environment.
Below are links that will let you access the software that
takes advantage of the latest Web technologies.
Netscape
Communications - This site describes the features of Netscape's
latest products and provides examples of the new technologies
in action.
Microsoft Corporation
- This link provides a description of Internet Explorer 4.0's
features and benefits.
PointCast - Here you
can download the free PointCast viewer and see what "push"
content is all about. It also functions as a nice screen-saver.
System: Resources ———————————
PC Webopædia
- PC Webopædia is the #1 online encyclopedia and search
engine dedicated to computer technology. It's packed with terms,
definitions, and related articles.
ZD
Net Tech Locator - CZD Net Tech Locator is an excellent source
to find Web sites for computer companies and products.
CNET's Download.Com
- CNET's Download.Com is a great resource for freeware, shareware,
bug fixes, system patches and other useful freely downloadable
software. The "Drivers" section provides centralized
access to the latest system updates for many popular computers
and peripherals. The "Browser" section lets you download
the latest web browsers and useful plug-ins and enhancements.
AOL
Modem Strings - Here is an excellent site that maintains
the current modem strings for AOL connections.
System: CD Storage ———————————
There are several new versions of the familiar Compact Disc
data storage format you may be hearing about recently. These
new formats include CD-RW, DVD, DVD-Video, DVD-RAM, and DVD+RW.
We’ll describe each of them briefly for you below.
CD-RW - CD-RW, or CD Rewritable, is a Compact Disc
drive and disc media format that allows data to be stored and
rewritten thousands of times. Unlike conventional CDs which can
hold up to 650MB (megabytes) of data, CD-RW discs can only hold
493MB of data because of their special DirectCD formatting. CD-RW
drives, while highly flexible, are also relative slow writing
at only 2X speed (twice initial CD-ROM speed) and reading at
6X speed as compared to current CD-ROM drive standards of 18X
to 20X speed. CD-RW discs can only be used in new "multiread"
drives or new DVD-ROM drives (described below) although they
can also use the now common write-once CD-R disc media which
can be read by almost any CD-ROM drive. CD-RW drives can be found
for between $400 and $600. CD-RW media costs about $20/disc compared
to about $5/disc for CD-R media.
DVD - DVD variously stands for Digital Versatile Disc
or Digital Video Disc and typically is used to describe the new
DVD-ROM standard. Although the same size as a standard Compact
Disc, DVD-ROM discs hold a minimum of 4.7GB (gigabytes) and up
to 17GB, depending on the format used. DVD-ROM drives are especially
useful because they are also capable of reading conventional
CD-ROMs and CD-RW discs. Because of their enormous storage capacity,
DVD-ROM discs can hold the digital data for a feature length
movie at cinema quality. For this reason, many believe they will
eventually replace VHS tapes.
DVD-Video - A specialized use of the DVD-ROM format,
DVD-Video is used primarily for DVD Players attached to home
TVs. Using the MPEG-2 industry standard for compressed digital
video, DVD-Video discs can deliver high resolution feature-length
movies. The DVD-Video standard also includes a Content Scrambling
System (CSS) to prevent unauthorized copying of the contents.
DVD-RAM, DVD+RW - DVD-RAM and DVD+RW are two competing
formats for rewritable DVD storage. The DVD-RAM standard being
drafted by the DVD Consortium supports 2.6GB per disc side, while
a splinter group of manufacturers led by Philips, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard
have proposed the DVD+RW format, which supports 3GB per disc
side. The two formats are mutually incompatible and there is
much speculation that introducing both formats to the public
would result in a battle similar to that seen with the VHS versus
Betamax consumer videotape format.
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