Konica Minolta Magicolor 2430DL Review

Konica Minolta's Magicolor 2430DL is a small but fully-featured printer that would certainly accommodate a small workgroup, and it prints unexpectedly quickly, plus Konica Minolta is launching this device into photo territory, where no colour laser has ventured before: it stuck a PictBridge port into the front of the printer to enable you to plug in and print straight from a compatible digital camera. Konica Minolta lists the print rate of the Magicolor 2430DL at 20ppm (pages per minute) for black-and-white along with 5ppm for colour. Even though its 600dpi engine turns out prints that appear fine for a colour laser, it wouldn't hold a candle to high-quality inkjets - not really a surprise. You ought to see the PictBridge port as an extra convenience, not a sign of exceptional graphics caliber. Like all colour laser, the 2430DL's effectiveness is its mixture off full monochrome quality along with speedy, elementary color.Initially, we could hardly believe that the very small Konica Minolta Magicolor 2430DL was a colour laser printer. Konica Minolta hae managed to fit four toner cartridges as well as other essentials in to a package just 16 inches wide by 14 high and 19.5 deep by utilizing a four-pass design: four toner cartridges snuggle in to a spindle that rotates and delivers toner to the individual imaging drum, one colour at a time.

The 2430DL is small and cleanly made. It weighs 45 pounds with toners and drum installed and it has two strong handgrips on the sides that lets one person lift it. The USB-based PictBridge interface is embedded in the front close to the paper tray where it's simple and easy to connect your camera's cable. A compact, unadorned user interface rests atop the printer on a sloping edge, accordingly your fingers can touch the buttons easily. You can pull a handle in order to open the top part of the device to clear out paper jams or to replace the imaging drum or the toner cartridges. The drum slips into position upon pegs; you make use of the onboard menus to switch the toner cartridges.

Konica Minolta furnished the Magicolor 2430DL moderately but with plenty of features for you to support an individual or small workgroup. The buttons intended for navigating the Lcd menus are really clearly marked and easy to manage, nevertheless we suggest you print the first-rate menu chart, from the Special Pages menu, ahead of descending into the system servicing or network setup functions. Additionally, we wish the control panel's 2-line-by-16-character Liquid crystal display had been backlit.

The standard settings of the 2430DL don't contain a great deal of hardware. It includes a solitary, 200-sheet, legal-size paper tray and you may add a 500-sheet document feeder under the printer. The standard memory configuration is merely 32MB, sufficient for an individual printing regular documents though not to share on a network or to permit the PictBridge function. To print from a camera, Konica Minolta advises upgrading the memory with an additional 128MB or 256MB of Ram. The system can support up to 544MB.

Connecting the Magicolor 2430DL to a personal computer by means of the USB 2. interface is very simple. The 2430DL's Windows driver supplies useful options, such as n-up printing to minimize and print multiple pages onto one page; the means to print a watermark or an external file behind pages; and adjustments to contrast, brightness, saturation, and colour-matching. The duplex feature does not operate without the benefit of the optionally available backpack-style duplexer.

Via a digital camera linked to the PictBridge interface, the onboard Liquid crystal menus permit you print n-up as well as tweak sharpness and brightness. Although they do not support cropping or borderless printing, and plus you have got to select photos to print from the camera rather than from the printer's control panel. Simply because it hooks up to a camera does not indicate this printer is going to make frameworthy photos - however, no colour laser printer could.

Konica Minolta ships the Magicolor 2430DL together with starter toner cartridges specified to print only 1,500 pages. These should be replaced with the regular 4,500-page cartridges in future.

The Konica Minolta Magicolor 2430DL presented respectable rates of speed for its price range whilst its print quality pleased us overall. It made sharp, black text as nicely as any high-end workplace laser printer. Our test text prints appeared free of rough edges and uneven weighting and were comfortably legible all the way down to very small typeface sizes. Its poorest point, although well within tolerable bounds, was on grayscales, which printed excessively dark, sacrificed fine detail, and appeared to reduce the amount of tones available, giving the photos a flat or two-dimensional look and feel.

The 2430DL did a reasonably decent job on colour graphics, printing fine details, though colours turned out too red and oversaturated, with blocky gradients creating rough transitions and shading. Bear in mind that even outstanding colour laser graphics prints would merit a mediocre score in the inkjet world.

Concept team which specialises in printer cartridges. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Theodore_D_Beach

Guide to Choose the Best Digital Photo Printer

The quality of image resulted by digital camera is influenced by its resolution, the higher resolution the better image will be resulted, but when you print your digital photo on paper, your photo print will not certainly as good as your digital photo. The quality of photo print is influenced by the quality of printer. So if you want to get high quality photo print, you can go to the digital photo development shops but it will break your pocket. So how can you print digital photo with high quality photo print without breaking your pocket? Just invest your money in the best digital photo printer.

Today there are many digital camera printers available on the market. They come with various brand names, features and prices which make it hard to determine the best digital photo printer that fits your need and budget. Below are simple tips that will guide you to determine the best digital photo printer that fits your needs.

- Consider what size your prints will likely be. In case you are pleased with printing 4x6 photos, after that you don't need to purchase a costly, large format printer. The majority of basic level printers can easily print on regular US letter paper size, plus if you don't intend to enlarge your photographs, it will be better for you to use a basic digital photo printer.

- Inkjet technology or Dye Sublimation technology? This query is the most important to be asked yourself prior to selecting the best digital photo printer. If you have plan to print both photos and text, the best choice is using printer with Inkjet technology. This kind of printer works by spreading tiny dots of ink through nozzles on printhead. But if you have plan to print only photo prints, the best choice is using printer with Dye sublimation technology. This kind of printer uses heat to transfer dye onto thicker paper for example photo printer paper, fabric or cards. But it is more expensive than the Inkjet technology and the result of photo print is also much better than the Inkjet technology.

- Estimate how much resolution you will need. The term of DPI (dots per inch) refer to the quantity of ink dots the printing machine makes use of per inch to form images or text. The higher the DPI, the sharper, clearer, more vivid and detail your photo print out. The standard to result high quality photo print for Inkjet printer is about 2,400 DPI and 300 DPI or less for a dye sublimation printer.

- Study printer reviews. Consumers who have purchased printers generally submit user reviews in tech sites. Research and analyze digital photo printer reviews, and even inquire of your mates related to their thoughts on the printer you want to choose.

- Notice distinct features. A lot of extra features are provided in the most recent digital photo printers, which will make you have plenty of choices to play around with. A number of printers possess memory card slots, therefore all you need to do is just place your digital camera's or even your cell phone's memory card within the printer's slot in order to be able to print photos. The existence of LCD screen will very help you edit the photos prior to printing. The PictBridge feature will enable you to directly print photo by connecting your camera straight to the printer through USB slot, and you don't have to upload the photo onto the computer prior to printing.

- Consider extra costs. if you want to conserve more money, you have to use your own digital photo printer. But if your ink cartridges run out, you will find the ink cartridges more expensive. Or when you need to print quality photo with special photo papers, you will spend much more money for those.

Ensure that the printer's ink cartridges plus photo printer paper will not cost higher and affordable. A few printing devices still work well with third-party ink cartridges, therefore it will be better to confirm whether the printing device you are hunting will work together with those.

If you want to know more about the large format Inkjet photo printer, you can use Canon PIXMA Pro9000. And if you want a medium size of Inkjet photo printer with high quality photo print, you can use Canon PIXMA photo printer iP4000.

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HP 1012 Toner Refill Kit Rainbow Pack - 4 Times the Load, 4 Times the Yield!

The HP 1012 LaserJet printer is one of the most popular laser printers used by offices and households. Due in part to its reliability, the demand for its replacement consumable is so high to actually surpass the volume supplied in the market. Users of the Q2612A toner cartridge often find it difficult to scout for a replacement at outlets once the loaded unit runs dry. A typical purchase pattern for the cartridge is in pairs so that a standby consumable is at hand to therefore avoid instances of print delays. This however only adds burden to regular laser printer users as one Q2612A toner cartridge carries an outlet price of $70 for its yield of 2,000 pages at 5% coverage.

The 5% industry coverage is not much because the rate applies only to a regular business letter. If the user is printing legal documents, coverage is pegged at 30% to 35% which considerably reduces expected yield as well. In this case, printed page count should have been 1,300 pages or 65% of the toner cartridge's capacity. And since the cost of a replacement OEM toner cartridge is so high, users normally turn to the aftermarket for their toner supply requirements.

The toner refill kit is probably the most popular aftermarket consumable not only due to its budget pricing but also in line with its print and yield performance that is similar with OEM toner. The Q2612A toner refill kit is available in a 4 pack (retailed for only $34.95) with each replacement bottle capable of producing yields of up to 2000 pages. This pulls down the cost of the replacement consumable to only $8.70 per cartridge load or a total printout yield of around 8,000 pages at 5% coverage.

The Q2612A 4pack toner refill kit not only includes 4 bottles of compatible toner but also comes with 4 sets of funnel caps; a pair of latex gloves and lint-free toner wipes; and an instruction sheet to acquaint the user on the step-by-step refill process. Since HP toner cartridges are not devised with a fill hole, users should secure separately a refill tool to access the cartridge toner chamber. No need to worry! Cartridge refills are practically easy and would take no more than 10 minutes to complete the process.

Budget-weary consumers ought to take advantage of the quality and cost benefits offered by the HP toner refill kit. Surely, quality toner marked with print performance and yield capacity expected only from the OEM toner can be derived at very affordable costs.

Jeric O. Tero supplies web content for Laser Tek Services, Inc. Looking for the highest quality printer consumables available at factory direct prices? Visit http://www.lasertekservices.com.

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Choosing a Professional Photo Printer to Get the Highest Quality Photo Print

Based on the majority of printer specialists within the computer industry, the progression associated with digital photo technology has made everybody can make high quality photo print very easy. We do not have to spend lots of cash for a printer to do so. Low-priced printers frequently have ability to print superb quality photos as printers which cost hundreds. The things that make difference between low-priced printing machines and expensive printing machines are features and speed. To print a high quality photo with high resolution image will need more high-priced printing machine, yet for typical photography requirements, the majority of moderate-priced or even low-priced printing machines will be okay.

When you plan to buy a photo printing machine, you will have to determine if you want to buy an inkjet photo printer, a dedicated photo printer, or even a professional photo printer.

The majority of inkjet photo printers today are able to print good quality pictures on paper, yet they are made plus developed to print pictures making use of millions of colours in which yield in exceptionally detailed photo printouts. Nevertheless, nowadays there exist special printers which concentrate on solely printing out photos on glossy photographic paper. They are the dedicated photo printers, they usually come with PictBridge feature which means the printers can be directly connected to any PictBridge DV camcorder or digital camera, so that printing photo can be done without having to upload the images on a computer anymore.

However, for printing the highest quality photo, the professional photo printer is the answer. There are available more affordable types which beginner photographers are able to use to print their photos, but a majority of expert photographers would rather spend a bit more in order to print high quality glossy photographs at bigger sizes.

Exactly what causes professional photo printing machines get noticed over the others? The main element distinction lies in two aspects, speed plus size. The majority of experts would rather have the professional photo printers which are able to print, at least, tabloid sized photos and of course the price will be getting higher.

If you want to know the example of a dedicated one, just look at the Canon PIXMA iP4000. And if you also want to know the example of a professional one, just look at the Canon PIXMA Pro9000.

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How to Test Solenoids - Paying Attention to Shorted Turns

Solenoids are mechanical actuators that are controlled by the application of a large current, through a coil. This applied current creates a magnetic field that exerts force on a metallic plunger, in order to create linear motion. The movement of the plunger can be used to pull a wire or cable, move a linkage arrangement, or to open and close a valve assembly.

The Solenoids Coil consists of multiple turns of enameled wire (sometimes call Magnet Wire). All coils have an Impedence (Z) at a nominated frequency; however this is normally not specified by the Manufacturer, so becomes unimportant for Functional Test purposes unless you are in a position to compare multiple Solenoids. An LCR Meter is generally used for this type of evaluation. Stay clear of Wheatstone Bridges, as these are pretty much a thing of the past. They are functional but don't provide the accuracy and convenience of Test equipment utilizing digital Metering.

The Solenoids Coil also has a Resistance associated with it (measured in Ohms). By taking this measurement you are looking for continuity of the windings, and confirming that the coil is not open.

During normal Solenoid operation: Kinetic energy (from electron flow through the Coil) causes the Solenoid to heat up. With the addition of an adverse operating environment (with excessive heat) the wires insulative enamel can become tacky, and break down. When this occurs adjacent turns of wire can short to each other, and the coil is said to have a 'Shorted Turn'. A Shorted Turn will cause an infinite current to pass through the Switching device and thus cause catastrophic failure. The Switching device can be Electro-Mechanical (a Relay) or Electronic (Transistor, MOSFET, IGBT or SCR).

To find a Shorted Turn can be extremely difficult, particularly if the Solenoids coil has hundreds of turns.

One very effective method is to apply a High Speed Pulse across the coil, and count the number of Rings that are produced. Normally a good coil will tend to try and sustain oscillations when the energy of the Pulse is removed. A Shorted Turn will absorb all of the applied Energy from the Pulse, and thus produce dampened oscillations, and a low ring count.

To Test the functionality of a Solenoid (out of circuit) I would suggest using the following procedure:

1. Confirm that the plunger freely moves inside the assembly. Inspect for dust debris, and other binding agents.

2. Using a DVM or Analog Meter: Measure the Resistance of the Coil. The resistance is dependant on the number of turns. I would normally expect to see less than 10 Ohms when high current driver circuits are being used at DC voltages; however I have seen some 115VAC Solenoids with coil resistances up to 400 Ohms.

3. Using a Shorted Turns Tester: Measure the Ring count from the coil. A good coil will respond with 2 rings (or greater).

4. Apply an appropriate working voltage to the Solenoid, and confirm consistent operation.

David Willcocks is an Electronics professional, and Technical writer. For more information on Automated Test Equipment please visit http://www.imagineATE.com.

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What Are Some Disadvantages of Buying a Computer With Linux?

Many times when people decide to use Linux as their main system, they think about buying a new computer with Linux installed on it versus having Windows on it. While this might seem like a good idea since that's the operating system you want to use, there are actually a number of disadvantages to doing this that you need to be aware of.

Many times Linux only systems are more expensive. The reason is that these computers are not ordered in bulk meaning the costs can't be as low as the more mass produced computers. Sometimes even the same hardware costs more with Linux than with Windows on it.

Another disadvantage is a limited selection. While you can buy more than a dozen Windows computers and install Linux yourself, you might only get one hardware set up that comes with Linux. Doing it on your own on a Windows system, gives you more choice.

If you get a Linux only system, you don't have the option of dual booting. This is a problem at times because you just lose out on the option if you every want to boot up in Windows to use certain software.

At times, you can get a refund on the cost that you paid to get Windows put on your system. This means you can't use the Windows side, but you will be able to save even more money on your computer.

This is not to say to use Windows over Linux. It's just that you can get a better deal if you install Linux yourself on the hardware. The one thing you need to make sure of is that you buy a computer that has hardware that is going to work with Linux. One tip is to use Wubi to help you install a Ubuntu to your system making dual booting very easy without all the technical hassles that you can face.

Sid enjoys writing about health and nutrition, and has a specific interest in cooking healthily. His interests include kitchen appliances like commercial toaster ovens.

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Lenovo T60 ThinkPad - The Power of Thinking

These new entries to the T series, LENOVO T60 Laptops bring to you a whole new level of durability, style and performance. Fitted with the new Intel Core Duo processor with speeds of up to 2.0 GHz, the new T60 also has an increased 1 GB memory which is much larger than the previous T40 and T43 models. Work and fun comes in one single pack thanks to the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Notebook.

T60 Lenovo also comes with an inbuilt finger print detection system. Logging in to the system was never so fast and secure, all thanks to this fingerprint system. The stock 100 GB hard disc is just sufficient to carry with you all your music and movies. There are Connectivity options galore for the Lenovo T60 Laptop. With inbuilt WIFI, Bluetooth and RJ45 gigabit LAN connectivity, the set up proves to be a great success for people who need connectivity on the go.

The design of the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 is very similar to the other members of the series. Combination of a sleek design with so many features is simple eye candy. Screen size again is good i.e. 15 inches TFT comes and with a crisper resolution. The picture quality is one of the best in its class. 3 USB 2.0 ports are included in it, so you can easily connect lots of peripheral devices.

Performance of inbuilt speaker is also decent. You do not need additional sound equipment to enjoy movies. The heating issues have also been tamed and are at a bare minimum. Apart from the slight heating on the upper left hand corner of the base piece, temperature is not a problem. Weighing just under 6.4 pounds, the laptop is easy to carry around to every place you go.

Apart from some design issues such as the placement of the battery pack and insufficient graphic memory for gamers, the ThinkPad T60 scores everywhere and for every user.

Thank you for stopping by to read my article on the Lenovo T60 laptop. I have a few other articles on my site about the Lenovo T60 Laptop and many other brands as well, hope to see you drop on by.

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Three Tips For Finding the Right Laptop Battery

If you own a laptop then you know how challenging it can be to find the right replacement battery. Many laptop batteries straight from the factory only work efficiently for a couple of years before you have to replace them, and since laptop batteries can be an expensive investment, you want to make sure that you get the right one the first time.

Even though finding the right laptop battery quickly can be a difficult task, here are three tips that should help make the process pain-free:

1) Locate the make and model of your laptop computer: The make and model of your laptop computer should be in plain sight on your computer. On many Dell laptops the make and model are listed near the power button. Many other models, including HP and Toshiba, have the make and model information near the power button or on the top of the computer.

2) Determine which cell size of battery you need: The cell size of a battery determines how much of a charge it holds once disconnected from a power source. Most laptops come standard with a 6 cell battery, but you can also get laptop batteries with 9 cells or 12 cells. You can determine which cell count you have currently by removing your battery from your laptop and reading the product information on the outside of it.

3) Decide how much you want to spend: Depending on your individual needs, you may or may not need to spend a lot of money on your replacement laptop battery. If you are a casual user, the chances that you need a high capacity battery that can hold a charge for an extended period are slim. Many casual users can get a replacement laptop battery from $50 - $70. If you are a power user, then you may find yourself wanting to spend anywhere from $80-$150 for a high capacity battery that has an extended life.

These three tips will help you begin your search for the perfect laptop battery for your laptop computer. By having the right information and knowing what you want to spend before you start your search, you can significantly decrease the time it takes to find a replacement battery for your laptop computer.

Find great laptop batteries for a variety of makes and models at http://www.buybatteries.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A._N._Flitter

An Overview of 3D Television

It appears that 2010 is to be the year which will unveil the phenomenon of three-dimensional television technology. The concept of three-dimensional theatrical movies has already been embraced by many and by 2010 the realm of three-dimensional technology will be broadened to home television screens.

To enable a realistic three-dimensional field one requires a three-dimensional display along with a special viewing device to project three-dimensional images on the screen. 3D television viewing will literally immerse the viewer in the projected images. Reviewers of 3D television assert that when viewing a football match on a three-dimensional television football players will literally appear to jump out of the screen.

Of course to enter three-dimensional land one still needs to possess a three-dimensional-capable high definition television. The question whether three-dimensional television technology will infiltrate our living rooms lies in the extent of popularity of 3D television and whether individuals will be ready to invest in a three-dimensional-capable high-definition television sets to enjoy three-dimensional broadcasting content.

Being totally immersed in a football match or feeling as if you are in the middle of an ice-hockey match may has its appeal to some, however in spite of the innovative features that three-dimensional television provides some critics are still skeptical whether 3D home viewing will be a success.

To experience three-dimensional television viewers would need to watch television wearing 3D glasses. In addition limited space in typical American living rooms will detract from the enjoyment of watching three-dimensional films. Another voiced concern was the lack of social atmosphere when watching three-dimensional television.

One must also consider the probable side-effects of prolonged 3D television viewing. Optical experts assert that three-dimensional pictures will surely aggravate eyestrain problems in several individuals as well as fan the flames of migraine in people who only suffer from the occasional headache.

Most technological manufacturers showcased their latest three-dimensional capable television sets at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2009. These include Sony, Philips, Samsung and LG among several others. Surprisingly the new television technology soon to hit the United States markets is not expected to deviate considerably from the prices of high definition televisions currently on the market.

The evolution of television has progressed from black and white screens to colour television, from standard picture quality to high definition television and now the shift moves on to 3D television. It all remains to be seen whether three-dimensional television will make a smooth transition to home viewing.

Maureen Cutajar http://maureencutajar.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maureen_Cutajar

How to Prevent Losing Your Photos, Music and Games When Your Hard Drive Decides to Die!

Nearly every home has a computer. And on that computer nine times out of ten you will find photos, music or games.

Imagine if your hard drive suddenly died and the data was lost and could not be recovered! Precious photos, large music collections, games with saved levels gone forever!

During my time as a technician I have had customers ask countless times, "Please save my photos" or "I won't lose my music will I?" The majority of the time they can be recovered, but why take the risk.

Making a backup of your data is a good habit to get in to and is easy to do.

You can choose to make your backups several different ways.

DVD. If you already have a cd/dvd burner in your computer all you need are some good quality DVD's or CD's and some software and you can start building a collection of photos or your favorite music. There are lots of suitable programs available to make backup copies.

Removable USB hard drive. These are becoming more popular as sizes increase and price drops. Make sure that the size, in gigabytes, is large enough to handle all the data you have now and for future backups. But remember, if a 300 GB drive full of data fails you have lost a LOT.

Internal hard drive. By adding a second hard drive to your computer you can store a copy of your data on it, but remember that it is prone to failure as well.

I recommend that you use DVD's. Organize the backups so that all your music is on one and photo's on another etc. Always keep the disc in a case and store them in a safe place.

It's also a good idea to copy game discs as well. PS3, XBOX, WII games are quite expensive so it pays to have a backup in case the originals are damaged.

If you are not backing up your games, photos or music then you should start now, it could save a lot of heartache in the future.

If you would like to learn how to make Backup Copies of Video Games CLICK HERE!

Mark Geoghegan Has worked in computer sales and repair for three years and enjoys robotics, sci fi, fishing and golf.

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Do the "How to Get iPad Free" Sites Really Work?

Now, I will be honest right from the start, I am an anti-Apple, PC fanboy from way back. I prefer PC to Mac and I own a Zune, not an iPod. When the iPad came out I, naturally, looked at it with an abundance of skepticism. However, I went to Best Buy to see if they had a demo unit so I could at least see what all the hype was about. I was surprised to see that they had THREE demo units set up! So I started playing around with one and I found it to be extremely useful, easy to type with, incredibly intuitive, and after looking through some of the apps, I discovered that I would actually get a lot of use out of it. So, needless to say, now I want one!

So, I've begun a quest, if you will, to get an iPad for as little money as possible. As with any new product launch, there are a lot of offers and ads out there for "How to get iPad Free" or "Free iPad!" Sometimes it's not a bad deal, but it's still not really "free." Most of the sites will give you an iPad, but you have to buy magazine subscriptions, discount cards to restaurants, etc. Usually upwards of 7 - 10 "offers" is the quota before you get the iPad. So, to answer the question in the title above, yes, the "How to get iPad Free" sites do work, just not quite as well as the ads would have us believe.

So here is my advice. If you have a couple of hundred dollars to spend on offers and you don't mind having your inbox inundated with advertisement e-mails from the 10 or more companies you signed up with for the offers, I say go for it! It will work, you will get an iPad, and your net investment is going to be half or less than what you would pay for the iPad in the store. It's not a bad gig, really, it's just not what most people think it is. I would recommend using a throw away e-mail address, however, so your main box isn't flooded with ads.

Now comes the question, "Well what if I don't have any money to invest in it?" Not to worry, you too can have a chance at a free iPad, it's just not a sure thing. There are a LOT of companies out there doing drawings and contests to get people to come to their sites. These contests are typically free and do not require any purchase. Most only require your name and e-mail address, which is what they use to get your "opt-in" approval to receive advertisement e-mails from them.

This really is very little to invest considering you could get an iPad out of the deal and, if you don't like the ads, you can just unsubscribe, usually with a couple of mouse clicks. I know Zagg is having a weekly drawing for one and @TravianContests over at Twitter is having a drawing for one as well. If you take a look around out there on the internet you can find some legitimate contests out there. Just beware those contests that require you to buy something in order to be entered into the drawing. If they want you to buy something and then you receive a free iPad, that's OK. Similarly, if they don't require a purchase, but you can enter into a free drawing, that's OK too. However, if they ask you to buy something for a CHANCE to win, I would be cautious.

If anyone wants to know more about where to find things like this that actually work, or if you want to see what you're getting into before you sign up for something, just shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment on my blog. I'd be happy to pass on my experiences and look into offers for you. Also, if anyone has a site that worked really well for them, feel free to pass it on to me. Just send me an e-mail or comment on the blog!

Remember, How to get iPad Free sites... do they work? Yes, but just make sure you read all of the fine print before you commit.:)

Matt Lee offers helpful and often witty insight into all things nerdy and/or geeky. He is a social networker and blogger who loves to share interesting information he finds on the web through his social media adventures. He has a newsletter which you can sign up for at http://www.MGL2Blogger.com. His contact information is also listed there should you wish to comment on this article.

For more information about the topic of this article, you can check out Matt's blog post about the Travian contest here: http://www.mgl2blogger.com/post/607368192/travian-is-giving-away-an-ipad

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Why Use Multiple Threads?

In many situations, having more than one thread running in a program is beneficial. Here's a more in-depth look at why this can be good.

Better Interaction with the User

If only one thread was available, a program would be able to do only one thing at a time. In the word processor example, how nice it was to be able to open a second document while the first document was being formatted and queued to the printer. In some older word processors, when the user printed a document, he or she had to wait while the document was prepared for printing and sent to the printer. More modern word processors exploit multiple threads to do these two things at the same time. In a one-processor system, this is actually simulated by the operating system rapidly switching back and forth between two tasks, allowing for better user interaction.

From the perspective of a microprocessor, even the fastest typist takes a tremendous amount of time between keystrokes. In these large gaps of time, the processor can be utilized for other tasks. If one thread is always waiting to give a quick response to a user's actions, such as clicking the mouse or pressing a key, while other threads are off doing other work, the user will perceive better response from the system.

Simulation of Simultaneous Activities

Threads in Java appear to run concurrently, even when only one physical processor exists. The processor runs each thread for a short time and switches among the threads to simulate simultaneous execution. This makes it seem as if each thread has its own processor, creating a virtual multiple processor system. By exploiting this feature, you can make it appear as if multiple tasks are occurring simultaneously when, in fact, each is running for only a brief time before the context is switched to the next thread.

Exploitation of Multiple Processors

In some machines, several real microprocessors are present. If the underlying operating system and the implementation of the JavaVM exploit the use of more than one processor, multithreaded Java programs can achieve true simultaneous thread execution. A Java program would not have to be modified because it already uses threads as if they were running on different processors simultaneously. It would just be able to run even faster.

Do Other Things While Waiting for Slow I/O Operations

Input and Output (I/O) operations to and from a hard disk or especially across a network are relatively slow when compared to the speed of code execution in the processor. As a result, read/write operations may block for quite a while, waiting to complete.

In the java.io package, the class InputStream has a method, read(), that blocks until a byte is read from the stream or until an IOException is thrown. The thread that executes this method cannot do anything else while awaiting the arrival of another byte on the stream. If multiple threads have been created, the other threads can perform other activities while the one thread is blocked, waiting for input.

By dividing the work between two threads, the GUI event-handling thread is free to handle other user-generated events. In particular, you might want another button, labeled Cancel Request, that would signal the worker thread to cancel the interaction with the server. If you had not used a worker thread to perform the interaction with the server, but simply had the GUI event thread do the work, the interruption activity triggered by the Cancel Request button would not be possible.

Simplify Object Modeling

Object-oriented analysis of a system before it is built can lead to a design requiring some of the objects to have a thread running within them. This kind of object can be thought of as active, as opposed to passive. A passive object changes its internal state only when one of its methods is invoked. An active object may change its internal state autonomously.

As an example, consider building a digital clock graphical component that displays the current system time in hours and minutes. Every 60 seconds, the minutes (and possibly the hours) displayed on this component will have to change. The simplest design is to have a thread running inside the clock component and dedicated to updating the digits when necessary. Otherwise, an external thread would have to continually check whether it is time to update a digit, in addition to performing its other duties. What if that external thread had to read data from an InputStream, and it was blocked, waiting for a byte for longer than a minute? Here, exploiting the benefits of multithreaded programming simplifies the solution.

This article is written by jammy chen and firstly published in Jammy java blog, you can also access the author blog http://www.javarmi.com/ to get more information.

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Alpha Testing and Beta Testing

Before any software product can be released it must be tested. Typically a formal test strategy is planned and executed on the software before it can be considered for release. Often after the formal phases of testing have been completed, additional testing is performed called Alpha and Beta testing.

Alpha testing is done before the software is made available to the general public. Typically, the developers will perform the Alpha testing using white box testing techniques. Subsequent black box and grey box techniques will be carried out afterwards. The focus is on simulating real users by using these techniques and carrying out tasks and operations that a typical user might perform. Normally, the actual Alpha testing itself will be carried out in a lab type environment and not in the usual workplaces. Once these techniques have been satisfactorily completed, the Alpha testing is considered to be complete.

The next phase of testing is known as Beta testing. Unlike Alpha testing, people outside of the company are included to perform the testing. As the aim is to perform a sanity check before the products release, there may be defects found during this stage, so the distribution of the software is limited to a selection of users outside of the company. Typically, outsourced testing companies are used as their feedback is independent and from a different perspective than that of the software development company employees. The feedback can be used to fix defects that were missed, assist in preparing support teams for expected issues or in some cases even enforce last minute changes to functionality.

In some cases, the Beta version of software will be made available to the general public. This can give vital 'real-world' information for software/systems that rely on acceptable performance and load to function correctly.

The types of techniques used during a public Beta test are typically restricted to Black box techniques. This is due to the fact that the general public does not have inside knowledge of the software code under test, and secondly the aim of the Beta test is often to gain a sanity check, and also to retrieve future customer feedback from how the product will be used in the real world.

Various sectors of the public are often eager to take part in Beta testing, as it can give them the opportunity to see and use products before their public release. Many companies use this phase of testing to assist with marketing their product. For example, Beta versions of a software application get people using the product and talking about it which (if the application is any good) builds hype and pre-orders before its public release.

http://www.testing4success.com is a professional software testing company providing highly cost-effective outsource software testing services to companies around the globe. We can provide QA - Quality Assurance services to supplement your existing project, or provide dedicated outsource software testing for entire projects, all delivered on-time and with outstanding results.

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