10 Awesome Websites You Have to Visit! Part 2
9. online bingo @ OnlineBingo.com
Its been a while since I last posted in this series but I decided to continue it after finding this. I started this series for those times on a lazy Sunday afternoon when you're browsing the internet and you find there is nothing to do. These 10 websites are a good place to start off exploring sites which you've probably never been to before. This is a pretty cool website you can visit when you're bored. the basic idea is you play the normal bingo you know and love online and instead of the regular balls which bingo uses, this one uses a random number generator. Don't worry though, the concept is still exactly the same as before so it should be pretty easy to get started. There's also heaps of other games to play and a couple of free ones for practice. Like the website on the last part it usually does cost a small amount of money but there is an offer to get US$10 for free when you sign up. This is one of those websites you visit when you think you have 'run out' of things to do on the internet - seems impossible but it does happen!
Websites like these have been increasing in popularity for ages and the awesome thing is that its free to start off, plus there's the potential to win prizes. I did manage to find a coupon code to give you another free $5 which should work. Just enter BONUS5 at the checkout page. So this is an awesome way to get started in a couple of online games which give you a chance to win money.
These sort of games not your piece of cake? Check out the next part where I'll show you another awesome flash game website which doesn't cost anything.
Upcoming Technology in Computers: Video Cards
Besides the CPU, the most exciting part of the computer is the video card, right? Well, today I've decided to talk about the latest developments in the world of video cards and which companies are releasing what.
You can already see in the article on my website that I have talked about how the roles of the CPU and GPU are slowly fusing together, at least that's how big companies like AMD see it. This essentially means you will see an increasing trend of built-in graphics becoming more powerful and more common in everyday computers. Rather than being reserved for those on a tight budget, integrated graphics are slowly becoming more mainstream as you can see with Intel's HD 3000 graphics which are present in many of the latest laptops including Apple's Macbooks.
For those of us who have a need for even more power, dedicated graphics cards have not been forgotten. Dedicated graphics cards remain popular in the desktop world and it is only fitting that AMD and NVidia have been pumping out ever more powerful cards. This is especially useful since many applications such as Adobe's Creative Suite are making more and more use of the graphics card to take over complex tasks like 3D manipulation so as to reduce the load on the CPU. The justification for this being that the graphics card often sits unused in a computer until the user decides to play a game so a large amount of processing power is just sitting idle while the CPU is working at 100%.
So anyway, on to the exciting products. AMD has very recently unveiled the HD7970 aka the fastest single chip graphics card on the planet. NVidia on the other hand is working on the GTX780 which it claims will be even faster than the AMD card. Both the cards are absolute beasts and claim to be around twice as fast as the previous generation's flagship cards.
The new cards are manufactured using a 28nm process instead of the 40nm the previous generation was built on which means the chips will run faster with little difference in temperature to the previous generation and they will support DirectX 11.1 built to optimise the features of DirectX 11 for more speed. These changes of course won't be reserved for the $1000 video cards and will eventually trickle down into the mid range cards for those of us who aren't rich. Essentially, the next generation of video cards should give you a card which runs almost twice as fast and maybe even cooler than the equivalent card in the previous generation so it is definitely worth the wait. The new cards should arrive in stores around April of this year.
Windows Developer Preview Apps
Here is a quick overview of some of the apps included in the developer build of Windows. Most have pretty good concepts but need a bit more work to make them useful. Overall, it gives you an idea of how the OS works and the power of the system.
More pictures will come soon as I discover new features
Windows 8 Developer Preview Pictures
So the new developer build of Windows looks pretty cool. It is pretty similar to what you've been reading in the news lately. There are a few bugs for example, after leaving it on for a while, the screen goes black and the computer freezes. It also sometimes randomly crashes while in any app so it isn't something you want to use permanently. Overall, its a pretty good idea but needs a few improvements. There are a few preinstalled apps which I still have to look at and I'll make another post with more information on that stuff. For now, enjoy the slideshow!
UPDATE: Another small flaw is how difficult it is to access the shutdown button. It is hidden away in the most difficult to find spot. It probably should be located somewhere on the home screen
UPDATE: Here is the download link if you want to install it yourself. I used virtualbox to install it but beware that it will probably run a lot slower than what it should
SSDs: Should you or Shouldn’t you?
With more and more manufacturers updating their products to include SSDs you might be wondering if it is time to make the move.
SSD stands for solid state disk. It is essentially the same as a hard drive except instead of using magnetic storage and moving parts, it uses flash memory which has no moving parts. Less moving parts means less mechanical components to fail as well as significantly faster read and write speeds. This makes SSDs highly shock proof since there is nothing mechanical to break inside. Although SSDs have been out for quite a while, for the most part they have been eye-wateringly expensive and, depending on how you look at it, they still can be. The reason for the high price is that flash memory is quite expensive but is slowly becoming cheaper. This is why RAM is coming in large quantities on computers now. 5 years ago it would have cost a lot of money to have 12GB of RAM, today it is considerably less and fast becoming the norm. As time goes on, capacities such as 128GB and 256GB will come down in price which should allow SSDs to replace the hard drive.
Review: Blackberry OS 6 on Bold 9700
Pros
- Feels faster than OS 5
- Better UI
- Social Feeds is awesome
- Improved Camera application
- Less Loading Times
- New Browser
Cons
- The new home screen works better on a touch screen
- Uses too much application memory
Review
After hearing that the new OS for Blackberry was out, I really wanted to try it out but unfortunately it hadn't come out on the Bold 9700. After a few months wait, a carrier in the US released it for their customers and I found a way to download and install the new OS regardless of what carrier you have. This is especially useful for those in Australia where OS 6 will probably never be released to the Bold 9700. Continue reading after the break.
Build A Computer for Under A$600
Ever wanted to try and build your own computer or you just needed a new computer but couldn't afford one. Well, here are the specs for a well rounded system which has decent speed, the latest processor and is perfect for normal everyday use. With Intel HD graphics you can do a bit of video and photo editing but no games at this price. Of course, the motherboard is compatible with a video card so if you want to add a video card on later, it is possible. So not only is this system cheap, it is flexible and pretty powerful. All for under A$600.
All of the parts I have chosen are good quality and like I stated in the previous post, I have gone with a reputable case manufacturer. The other components are made by trusted brands. One potential downside is that to get it this cheap, I have had to use Linux instead of Windows. It is pretty good if you give it a go and it is free but some people absolutely must have Windows in which case the whole computer will cost another $150-250 extra depending on the version.
So if you are on a tight budget but are looking for a computer which will last you 2-3 years (depending on how much you hate having outdated components) and has a bit of flexibility for future upgrades, then consider a build like this.
Depending on the store you buy the parts from, you can also bargain and get it for even less. Try StaticIce to see if you are getting the best deal on your parts.
| Motherboard: Intel BOXDH55PJ H55 lGA1156 | $ 89.00 |
| Case/PSU: Thermaltake Soprano RS 201 with 430W PSU | $ 69.00 |
| CPU: Intel Core i3-550 3.2GHz using integrated graphics | $ 139.00 |
| RAM: Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) kit DDR3 1333MHz | $ 47.00 |
| HDD: Seagate 3.5" SATA 500GB 7200rpm | $ 39.00 |
| Optical: LG DVD Burner SATA | $ 22.00 |
| OS: Ubuntu 10.10 | $ - |
| Keyboard and mouse: Logitech MK120 Desktop | $ 18.00 |
| Monitor: LG 20.1" E2040T-PN LED 5ms DVI Slim Monitor | $ 136.00 |
| TOTAL | $ 559.00 |
| Motherboard: Intel BOXDH55PJ H55 lGA1156 | $ 89.00 |
| Case/PSU: Thermaltake Soprano RS 201 with 430W PSU | $ 69.00 |
| CPU: Intel Core i3-550 3.2GHz using integrated graphics | $ 139.00 |
| RAM: Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) kit DDR3 1333MHz | $ 47.00 |
| HDD: Seagate 3.5" SATA 500GB 7200rpm | $ 39.00 |
| Optical: LG DVD Burner SATA | $ 22.00 |
| OS: Ubuntu 10.10 | $ - |
| Keyboard and mouse: Logitech MK120 Desktop | $ 18.00 |
| Monitor: LG 20.1" E2040T-PN LED 5ms DVI Slim Monitor | $ 136.00 |
| TOTAL | $ 559.00 |
Welcome to Build Your Own Computer Blog
You may be wondering why I have done the name change. Well, as most of you would have noticed, the URL of this blog is www.buildyourown-computer.com/blog . This is because my website also shares the same domain name as this blog. The original plan was to have the website and blog integrated into one. Well, the fact that there were no links from my blog to my website and most people who visited my blog had no idea about my website and vice versa, I decided to integrate everything into one. This blog is now part of the Build Your Own Computer Website and as you will notice, the navigation bar at the top has changed to be exactly the same as my websites. The blogs topic will still be exactly the same so nothing has changed apart from the name.
Sony’s Tokyo Event: New PSP, Playstation Suite for Android
Sony is currently holding an event in Tokyo which, if rumors hold true, could be the unveiling of the new PSP 2.
You can follow the event live here
Sony has announced Playstation Suite which allows you to play Playstation games through a PSP emulator and access Playstation content on Android devices. It is supposed to be available by the end of this year.
A new PSP repalcement has been announced with lots of social features. It has two analog sticks and a high resolution touch screen. (Photo from engadget)
The PSP features a 5 inch OLED screen with 960x544 resolution (About 4x the current PSP resolution). It has both 3G and WiFi and uses a new type of game media which looks kind of like a DS cartridge. (photo from engadget)
The device also features touchpads on both the front and the back and it still looks similar to the current PSP although maybe a bit bigger due to the larger screen. It also has social features to add more interaction to games. So far, game demos of Little Big Planet, Killzone!, Resistance and Uncharted have been shown and from the pictures, they look pretty amazing! That's probably thanks to the quad core processor. (photo from engadget)
This PSP looks like it has a lot of awesome capabilities. Guess we are just going to have to wait until Sony releases it to see how it is.
Name Change
I decided to change the name on my blog to something more catchy to attract new visitors to my blog and to confuse people.
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