Many students have been coming to us for advice for different virus protection, flash drives, computer programs, external hard drives and other ideas on what to look for in a new computer.
A lot of people think they know a lot about computers, but deep down don't. I'm not trying to make fun of those people, but spending that much money on a computer that could die the day after your warranty is up is a scary thing. Hard drives are formatted to run and save computer programs. Flash drives are not, they are formatted to save things on, pretty much anything. If your hard drive on your computer does crash, it is cheaper for you to go to the store, spend between $40-150 on an internal hard drive and install it yourself. All you have to do it take the back panel off, unplug the hard drive and put the new one back in and install your operating system and any other programs.
If you want to buy a brand new computer, there are some things you want to consider. You want to look at is the hard drive itself. Make sure it is big enough for everything you want it to do. You also want to look at the RAM (memory), which is the speed of the computer. Windows XP needs about 512 mb to run, vista needs 3 GB, windows 7 needs 1 GB and MAC OS-X needs 2 GB, plus you may want addition RAM to make the computer faster. Another thing is look at is the processing speed. When you look at a new computer, there a lot of numbers that are available, but you want to look at is the GHz. I recommend anything above a 2.0 GHz. When you get below that, your computer will be slow to process the information sent to it such as loading more than one program or switching tabs on the internet and everything between.
For virus protection, why waste your money and buy something? You get viruses for free so why not get a free anti-virus. With many students coming to us saying that have problems with Norton, all those problems are true. Norton will slow down your computer because it has programs running in the background that takes a lot of memory or speed to run on your system. If you get any other anti-virus, that have a smaller version of it but it works just as good or better. Here, we suggest Antivir or AVG. Every program has its problems, but you will have to find one that works for you.
If you need any other tips on how to keep your computer running strong, no matter how old it is, stop into the STC and we'll tell you how to keep it running. We cannot do it for you or show you how to do it, but we can tell you how if you would like.
Apple gets more money with Verizon and Iphone
Everyone already knows that the new iPhone is coming to Verizon. Most people don't know how much of a money pit that phone can be. There are a ton of features on the phone, but the one that is important here is that Hotspot on the iPhone will costs $20 per month. What does this mean? You can get wireless internet (not personal wifi), for $20 per month from a personal computer that is releasing the internet signal, according to Gizmodo.com.
Welcome to the Cardinal Tech Weblog!
The purpose of this site is to provide students with:
- Easy access to helpful resources, tech reviews & how to's.
- News and updates related to the STC news, workshops and events.
Getting Started with VSpace
It's that time of year! We will be in full swing with the Fall 2010 Semester in less than 2 short weeks. Fall will bring us many new faces and questions. Many of those questions are always centered around accessing courses in VSpace, SVSU's learning management system, and its features.
With that in mind I would like to highlight some of the resources available to help you get started using VSpace.
A great place to start learning something new is with a quick video overview of the task. Below, Robert Long has created an easy to follow, "Introduction to VSpace" video, which is also available on the VSpace home page before you log in to the system for the first time.
A variety of VSpace tutorials are available in the VSpace Student-Zone.
For example, in the VSpace Student Zone, you will find video and pdf tutorials on My Workspace, VSpace Tests and Quizzes and Assignment Submission. Also available is a Quick Tip Cheat Sheet which overviews all of the common tools available in VSpace.
Finally, the Student Technology Center also has an Introduction to VSpace Tutorial on the Cardinal Tech Weblog.
Hopefully these resources will help you get off to a great start accessing your courses and uploading assignments in VSpace! But, if you do need extra help please feel free to stop in and see us in the Student Technology Center! We are located on the second floor of the Zahnow J. Melvin Library, and would love to have you stop by!
With that in mind I would like to highlight some of the resources available to help you get started using VSpace.
A great place to start learning something new is with a quick video overview of the task. Below, Robert Long has created an easy to follow, "Introduction to VSpace" video, which is also available on the VSpace home page before you log in to the system for the first time.
A variety of VSpace tutorials are available in the VSpace Student-Zone.
For example, in the VSpace Student Zone, you will find video and pdf tutorials on My Workspace, VSpace Tests and Quizzes and Assignment Submission. Also available is a Quick Tip Cheat Sheet which overviews all of the common tools available in VSpace.
Finally, the Student Technology Center also has an Introduction to VSpace Tutorial on the Cardinal Tech Weblog.
Hopefully these resources will help you get off to a great start accessing your courses and uploading assignments in VSpace! But, if you do need extra help please feel free to stop in and see us in the Student Technology Center! We are located on the second floor of the Zahnow J. Melvin Library, and would love to have you stop by!
Pac Man 30th Anniversary
Meet the Gurus Behind Insert Coin in this interview with creators, Marcin Wichary, Senior User Experience Designer, and Ryan Germick, Google Doodler, of the Pacman Google Doodle featured on the Google home page last Friday and Saturday (May 21-22,2010).
I STILL want an iPad
Yes, I'll admit it. The iPad may not have Flash, it doesn't have an SD card slot, but it is still amazing! You could focus on what you think it is missing, or you could embrace it for all that it does well! : )
Check out this review by Crunch Gear..
