CH IT News

Mac OS X Snow Leopard is a resilient operating system, but it isn't impenetrable. There are some things you should do to protect your Mac from bad things, like OS instability. Here’s a list of Mac do's and don'ts:

* Don't unplug your Mac when it's turned on: Very bad things can happen, such as having your operating system break.
* Don't use your Mac when lightning is near: Here's a simple life equation for you: Mac + lightning = dead Mac. Oh, and don't place much faith in inexpensive surge protectors. A good jolt of lightning will fry the surge protector right along with your computer as well as possibly frying your modem, printer, and anything else plugged into it. Some surge protectors can withstand most lightning strikes, but those warriors aren't the cheapies that you buy at your local computer emporium. Unplugging your Mac from the wall during electrical storms is safer and less expensive. (Don't forget to unplug your external modem, network hubs, printers, and other hardware that plugs into the wall, as well; lightning can fry them, too.)
* Don't jostle, bump, shake, kick, throw, dribble, or punt your Mac, especially while it's running. Your Mac contains a hard drive that spins at 4,200 revolutions per minute (rpm) or more. A jolt to a hard drive while it's reading or writing a file can cause the head to crash into the disk, which can render many — or all — files on it unrecoverable. Ouch!
* Don't forget to back up your data: If the stuff on your hard drive means anything to you, you must back it up. Not maybe, must. Even if your most important file is your last saved game of Call of Duty 2, you still need to realize how important it is to back up your files. Fortunately, Mac OS X Snow Leopard includes an awesome backup utility called Time Machine. (Unfortunately, you need either an external hard drive or an Apple Time Capsule device to take advantage of it.)
* Don't kiss your monitor while wearing stuff on your lips: For obvious reasons! Use a soft cloth and/or OmniCleanz display cleaning solution to clean your display.

Reff:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-care-for-your-mac-os-x-with-snow-leopard.html

A lot has happened during the past 18 years. The Cold War ended, mobile phones appeared, Diff'rent Strokes went off the air and Lara Croft became a sex symbol. Yet during this time the battle over which are better, PCs or Macs, continued to rage.

This hasn't been a mere argument, either. People from both camps became evangelical, created countless newsgroups and websites advocating their views - Mac Sucks is a typical one - and when Steve Jobs announced Microsoft would invest in Apple at 1997's MacWorld Expo, the crowd booed, hissed and some even turned their back on him.

For some people, computers aren't a tool - they're a religion.

Well, Icon has had enough from both sides. We've decided it's time to take a stand and pick a winner - and for those who will inevitably disagree with our conclusion, remember: violence is not the solution.

To critique both platforms we have used the following criteria: ease-of-use, software, performance, stability, style and design, and last, cost. We have awarded points out of 10 for each category and totalled them to find the winner.
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Because we have compared the platforms from a home user's perspective, we looked at the OS X (10.2) operating system for Apples and Windows XP Home Edition for PCs. We used a variety of computers for this feature but primarily focused on the 15- and 17-inch G4 iMacs and the Acer T300 desktop PC because we deemed them to be average, mid-range systems.

Ease-of-use

Macs have always been known for their ease of use but they've certainly lost their lead.

"Today the two interfaces are so close it's a toss-up what's easiest," says Dr Jakob Neilsen, one of the world's leading usability experts. "The PC has made huge progress from a crummy, substandard design that only a nerd could love to a decent user interface. In contrast, the Mac has made very little progress from a decent and restrained user interface to a decent and flashy user interface."

We'd have to agree. OS X initially seems easier to use, especially with its large "Dock" at the bottom of the screen that clearly shows some of the major applications available, but OS X can also be frustrating. For example, there's no specific place where you can always, without fail, find a specific application to load. It could be in the Dock, or in the Applications folder, or on the Desktop, whereas all Windows applications can be found from the Start menu, in addition to being found elsewhere.

Neilsen says Windows XP has another advantage, provided you have a flat-panel display: its ClearType technology that displays text more crisply.

"It takes advantage of the fact that each 'pixel' on a flat panel is actually three smaller pixels for red, green and blue, and ClearType manages each of these sub-pixels separately. The effect is stunning and almost approximates the clarity of printed text," Neilson says. "Users can read text about 10 per cent faster after turning ClearType on. Since the two platforms are so similar, ClearType makes the difference to me."

However, ClearType has to be activated manually (it's buried deep within Control Panel/Appearance and Themes/Display/Appearance/Effects) and most PC users aren't aware it even exists - and without it we found the Mac easier to read.

Also, as Neilsen says, many Mac applications such as iPhoto are easier to use than their PC equivalents. As such, we have to call it a draw.

PC: 7/10 Apple: 7/10

Software

PCs certainly have more software than the Mac but what's important is whether the particular titles you want are available - and the Mac has most application areas well covered. With office software, for example, the Mac not only has a version of Microsoft Office called MacOffice but also AppleWorks, an office-like suite that comes free on iMacs. Internet applications such as web browsers, instant messaging and email are plentiful, as are utilities such as anti-virus packages.

An area in which Macs once excelled is graphics and video editing but PCs have largely caught up. In fact, Adobe recently decided to release the latest version of its Premiere video-editing software only on the PC.

However, games are a different matter. The Mac has a number of titles but it's nowhere near as well catered for as the PC. More niche areas, such as voice recognition, are limited on the Mac. The voice-recognition package Dragon NaturallySpeaking, for example, is available only on the PC.

As such, the PC wins when it comes to software availability.

PC: 9/10 Apple: 7/10

Performance

The question of which platform is the fastest has always been contentious. Last year, for example, Adobe claimed PCs were faster than Macs by running After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop operations on both a single-processor Dell 2.53GHz Pentium 4 and a 1.25GHz dual-processor Power Mac G4. Apple, however, argued that the problem was with those particular applications and that some tasks could perform faster on a Mac with different software.

This year Apple claimed its new Power Mac G5 (which uses a 64-bit processor codeveloped with IBM) was the world's fastest personal computer and outperformed 3GHz Dell machines using Pentium 4 and Xeon processors. Within hours, criticism surfaced that the benchmarks and testing procedure were slated against PCs.

For average home users, however, these arguments are largely academic because most don't make the most of the processor speed they already have.

"At the end of the day, applications are not catching up as fast as the hardware," says Andy Woo, a hardware analyst at Gartner. "Hardware, speed and power are not as critical anymore."

To play the devil's advocate, we ran a number of matching applications on both platforms, including Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Fireworks, Warcraft III, Microsoft Office, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and, for the most part, we couldn't tell the difference. That's not to say there wasn't any. The animation and graphic detail in the PC version of Harry Potter were slightly better while an operation in Fireworks (rotating a 472KB JPEG image) was noticeably faster on our test PCs. We ran the latter test on a Pentium 4 2.66GHz Acer T300 with 512MB RAM, a Pentium 4 1.7GHz Dell Dimension with 384MB RAM, a 1.8GHz Pentium 4-M BenQ laptop with 256MB RAM, and a 1GHz G4 iMac with 256MB RAM. The iMac was the slowest, taking 6.4 seconds, while the Dell, our slowest PC, took 2.4 seconds.

It should also be noted that even some Mac users acknowledge that the G4 processors are lagging behind Intel's. The Mac-oriented site Bare Feats, for example, has benchmarked both and shows the Pentium 4 is faster.

Since it's also easier to boost a PC's speed by upgrading the graphics card or processor, we've made it the winner in this category.

PC: 9/10 Apple: 8/10

Stability

Both XP and OS X crash less than previous versions but it's the latter that has the better reputation because it is based on the stable UNIX operating system. Most studies find this.

In PC Magazine's 2003 Service and Reliability Survey, for example, Mac OS X crashed less for users than Windows XP (as well as other Windows versions), while ConsumerReports.org's 2003 survey showed that Apples crashed less than PCs from other companies (although Dell came a close second). A survey last year by the Australian Consumers Association (ACA) had similar results. "Apple stood out for reliability with 86 per cent of owners reporting no repairs in the past 12 months," says Jessica Ross, editor of Computer Choice, an ACA publication, "but, mind you, Dell came in at 83 per cent and IBM at 82."

Macs are also more secure than PCs because most viruses are created for PCs. "Whereas there are tens of thousands of viruses for the PC platform, there are only hundreds of viruses for the Mac," says Paul Ducklin, head of technology at the anti-virus firm Sophos. However, Ducklin says virus writers may target Macs more as they increase in popularity, and that macro viruses, which work through Microsoft Office, work on both platforms.

We acknowledge Macs aren't perfect - one of our test iMacs crashed on the second day - but Apple still wins this category.

PC: 6/10 Apple: 9/10

Style and design

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but there's no doubt more attention was put into the iMac's design than into any desktop PC.

First, the iMac is extremely compact - the main unit is encased in a small base that also supports the flat screen via a chrome arm that allows you to raise, tilt and rotate the screen more easily than any monitor we've seen. The arm is also strong enough to act as a handle.

Apple also intended the iMac to be thought of more as an appliance than a computer. Its all-in-one design makes it easier to set up and instead of looking like a box with slots and protruding buttons, the dome-shaped base has a smooth front with the optical drive merely an outline. Until you press the keyboard's eject button you almost wouldn't notice it.

Last - and, admittedly, this is subjective - we believe the iMac looks more elegant than any desktop PC we've seen.

PC: 4/10 Apple: 9/10

Cost

Macs have a reputation for being expensive but this isn't necessarily so. For operating systems alone they're actually cheaper - OS X 10.2 costs $229 while Windows XP Home is $463. Comparing the cost of full desktop systems is harder, but if you're buying a brand-name PC you probably won't pay less. For example, the new 15-inch iMac (which was just announced at the time of writing) is $2299 while an Acer T300 with a 15-in LCD monitor and similar specs (that is, 256MB RAM and an 80GB hard-drive) is $2420.

There are, however, exceptions. For example, you can buy a Dell Dimension with roughly the same specs for several hundred dollars less (this is because Dell sells directly to consumers rather than through retail outlets).

Another option is to buy a "no-name" PC from a local store, although the support and overall quality is sometimes not as good.

As such, the PC won this category, albeit by a small margin.

PC: 9/10 Apple: 8/10

And the winner is ...

The Mac - but not by much. We've given it a score of 48 out of 60, while the PC received 45.

The Mac won primarily because of its design and if it had kept its lead in usability, the margin would have been greater. Also, its performance suffered slightly but this is likely to be remedied by the new G5 processors. However, we do believe PCs are better suited for games and running specific software titles.

Reff:http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/10/1065676145670.html?oneclick=true

For many years you have paid a premium for lightness and portability in a laptop, the less they hurt your shoulder the more they were going to damage your wallet.

However recently thanks to improved technology allowing processors to run faster but not overheat, small no longer always equate to expensive. Admittedly the first 3 laptops reviewed : the Toshiba Protege R500, Sony VAIO TZ150 and Apple MacBook Air are all going to cost you over US$2000 mark. However the Averatec is priced well under US$1500 and the innovative Asus Eee PC will set you back less than US$500! So now is an exciting time to be buying a truly ultraportable laptop!

Toshiba Portege R500
Toshiba Protege R500
Toshiba Portege R500
NEW Laptop/Notebook AC Adapter/Battery Charger Power Supply Cord for Toshiba Portege M405 r500-106 Satellite M55-S135 M55-S325 A55-S306 A55-S1064 R15-S829 R20 R25 R25-S3503 U205-S5002 NEW Laptop/Notebook AC Adapter/Battery Charger Power Supply Cord for Toshiba Portege M405 r500-106 Satellite M55-S135 M55-S325 A55-S306 A55-S1064 R15-S829 R20 R25 R25-S3503 U205-S5002
Amazon Price: $2.21
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Amazon Price: $9.88
Toshiba Protege R500

This laptop manages to fit a full sized keyboard with a 12.1-inch screen and a native resolution of 1,280x800 and that's a matt screen too. This well-known brand doesn't come cheap but Toshiba's reputation is well deserved for reliable, well-engineered laptops.

Price point: an expensive laptop where you are paying for the convenience and lightness. Main Competitors: Sony VAIO, Fujistsu Lifebooks

Aimed at: the corporate/business market which requires a big name brand, excellent support and backup and can afford to pay for it.
The Good:
* 12-inch display but lighter than some 11-inch notebooks.
* Avoids the annoying ultraportable trick of eliminating important keys, squeezing in separate page-up and page-down keys
* Better performance than the Sony VAIO
* A fingerprint reader
* Excellent battery life of 5 hours under standard conditions.
* Standard 3 year mail-in warranty.

The Bad:
* Lack of mobile broadband antenna EV-DO
* Only a SD card slot not a multifunction card reader
* No WebCam
* Only quicklaunch buttons are brightness mode and a button for launching Toshiba's proprietary help utility.

Toshiba Portege R500 At a glance:
Processor 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600
Memory 1GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive 120GB 5,400rpm
Chipset Intel 965 Graphics Mobile Intel Express 950GM (integrated)
Operating system Windows Vista Premium
Dimensions (WDH) 11.1 x 8.5 x .77 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 12.1 inches

System weight / Weight with AC adapter [pounds] 2.4/3.1 pounds
Sony VAIO TZ150
Sony VAIO
Sony VAIO VPC-EB42FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Widescreen Entertainment Laptop (Black) Sony VAIO VPC-EB42FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Widescreen Entertainment Laptop (Black)
Amazon Price: $675.00
List Price: $729.99
Sony VAIO VGP-AMC7 Neoprene Case for FW series (Black) Sony VAIO VGP-AMC7 Neoprene Case for FW series (Black)
Amazon Price: $24.95
List Price: $24.99
Sony Vaio TZ150

A beautiful design which gives even the style icons at Apple a run for their money. Just manages to beat the Toshiba R500 on battery life and size. The 11.1-inch laptop combines an ultrathin, LED-backlit display and even with an optical drive, this system is amazingly only about an inch thick. However the Toshiba does weigh slightly less. With a native resolution of 1,366x768 the text is small and hard to see, but that's the trade-off for such a small screen. The screen is matt which is a nice change for the currently popular shiny screens.

Like the Toshiba R500 the Sony is aimed for: the corporate/business market which requires a big name brand, excellent support and backup and can afford to pay for it.

Adding a solid state drive will push the price over $3000. Unless you are prepared to pay for a lot for the design aesthetic the Toshiba is probably a better deal.

Sony's standard one-year warranty can be extended a number of ways at extra cost to include up to 4 years on-site and accidental damage protection
The good:
* Extremely slim and light with a stunning good looks.
* Almost impossibly slim, the body of the Sony VAIO TZ measures just less than an inch thick. Adding the standard battery raises the rear of the laptop slightly, to 1.17 inches thick, but this is still one of the smallest laptops you're find.
* Fantastic battery life at over 5 hours.
* Includes integrated WWAN with EV-DO for web surfing via hot-spots.
* Includes an integrated DVD burner.
* Includes an integrated Webcam.
* Includes a Firewire port.

The bad:
* Slow performance the slower processor 1GB memory and slower disk are not helped by the bloat ware which clutters the hard drive
* Only 2 USB ports.

Sony VAIO TZ10 At a Glance:
Processor 1.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage U7500
Memory 1GB, 533MHz DDR2
Hard drive 250GB 4,200rpm
Chipset Intel 945GMS Graphics Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (integrated)
Operating System Windows Vista Premium
Dimensions (WDH) 10.9x7.8x0.8 inches (1.2 inches in rear)
Screen size (diagonal) 11.1 inches

System weight / Weight with AC adapter (in pounds) 2.7/3.3 pounds
Mac Air
MacBook Air
Apple MacBook Air MC505LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop Apple MacBook Air MC505LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop
Amazon Price: Too low to display
List Price: $999.00
Apple MacBook Air MC503LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop Apple MacBook Air MC503LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop
Amazon Price: Too low to display
List Price: $1,299.00
MacBook Air

Although not the as light as the Toshiba R500 the Air it still easily breaks new ground for small laptops.

Mimicking the 13-inch silhouette of the current MacBook line, it's only 0.76 inch thick at its thickest part, and Apple calls it the "world's thinnest notebook".

The MacBook Air is certainly a sexy, stylish, thin laptop. It does however come at a substantial price and costs significantly more than the MacBook Pro's which offer more connectivity and speed for less money, though with more weight.

The innovative touch pad gesture controls will win some fans as will the ability to wirelessly "borrow" optical drives attached to nearby desktops. Alterntaively you can purchase the USB-powered superdrive at an additional US$99.

While the MacBook Air's configuration is inferior to those found on the cheaper MacBook, they compare more favorably when you look at other ultraportables. . Both the Toshiba Portege R500 and Sony VAIO TZ150 cost hundreds more than the MacBook Air and feature slower CPUs and half the RAM as the Air.

One thing to be aware of though is that the custom battery is not replaceable by the user, which means if you want longer than the approximately 5 hours of battery life carrying a spare is not an option.

The MacBook Air is covered by a standard 1 year parts and labor warranty.
The Good Points
* Includes integrated webcam and mike,
* LED backlit display that responds to room brightness.
* Full size backlite keyboard

The Bad Points:
* Lack of connectivity is the biggest negative - only 1 USB no firewire FireWire, Ethernet, or mobile broadband
* No media card reader
* No optical drive

MacBook Air At a Glance
Processor 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 2GB, 667MHz DDR2
Hard drive 80GB 4,200rpm Graphics Intel GMA X3100 (integrated)
Operating System Apple Mac OS X Leopard
Dimensions (WDH) 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.9 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 13.3 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter 3.0 / 3.4 pounds

Averatec 1579
AVERATEC 13.3 NOTEBOOK INTEL PENTIUM DUAL CORE 3GB 250GB EXTERNAL DVDRW 802 AVERATEC 13.3 NOTEBOOK INTEL PENTIUM DUAL CORE 3GB 250GB EXTERNAL DVDRW 802
Amazon Price: $599.99
ENGLISH US INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD STICKERS WITH YELLOW LETTERING TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND FOR DESKTOP, LAPTOP AND NOTEBOOK ENGLISH US INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD STICKERS WITH YELLOW LETTERING TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND FOR DESKTOP, LAPTOP AND NOTEBOOK
Amazon Price: $1.99
Averatec 1579

A good value for money option for those who don't want to spend the top dollars for the Sony Vaio or Toshiba Protege models. Although costs approximately 25% less than the premium machines the Averatec supplies a robust 11.1-inch ultraportable with good performance, great battery life and solid construction.

At 1.5-inches the Averatec is noticeably thicker than other laptops reviewed but still manages to weight in at 3.4 pounds - just proving yet again than the less weight the more dollars it's going to cost!

The 11.1-inch wide-screen display features a 1,366x768 native resolution, which offers a decent balance of screen real estate and readability

Averatec includes an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty with the system.
The Good:

* Reasonable performance in a tidy package at an competitive price.
* DVD burner included
* Mini FireWire jack and an ExpressCard slot included

The Bad:

* Somewhat cramped keyboard.
* No media control button
* No webcam

Averatec 1579 at a Glance

Processor 1.06GHz Intel Core Duo Ultra Low Voltage U2400

Memory 1GB, 667MHz DDR2

Hard drive 120GB 5,400rpm

Chipset Intel 945 Graphics Intel Mobile Express 945GM

Operating system Windows Vista Premium

Dimensions (WDH) 10.5 x 8.1 x 1.5 inches Screen size (diagonal) 11.1 inches System weight / Weight with AC adapter [pounds] 3.4 / 4.2 pounds
Asus Eee PC
Asus Eee PC
ASUS Eee PC 1015PED-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black) ASUS Eee PC 1015PED-PU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black)
Amazon Price: Too low to display
List Price: $379.99
ASUS Eee PC 1001PXD-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black) ASUS Eee PC 1001PXD-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black)
Amazon Price: $249.99
ASUS G73SW-BST6 i7-2630QM 8GB RAM 750GB G73JW ASUS G73SW-BST6 i7-2630QM 8GB RAM 750GB G73JW
Current Bid: $1500.00
ASUS Eee Slate EP121-1A010M 12.1-Inch Tablet 64/4GB ASUS Eee Slate EP121-1A010M 12.1-Inch Tablet 64/4GB
Current Bid: $1345.00
AC Adapter Charger Asus Eee PC 1005HA 1005HA_GG 1005HAB AC Adapter Charger Asus Eee PC 1005HA 1005HA_GG 1005HAB
Current Bid: $19.99
AC adapter Charger Power Cord ASUS Eee PC 1005HA 1008HA AC adapter Charger Power Cord ASUS Eee PC 1005HA 1008HA
Current Bid: $8.25
ASUS G73SW-A1 17.3" Core i7-2630QM/8GB/1TB Blu-ray G73 ASUS G73SW-A1 17.3" Core i7-2630QM/8GB/1TB Blu-ray G73
Current Bid: $1749.00
ASUS Core i7-2630QM G73SW-A1 17.3" i7-2630 w/ SSHD G73 ASUS Core i7-2630QM G73SW-A1 17.3" i7-2630 w/ SSHD G73
Current Bid: $1749.00
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Asus Eee PC

Starting from under US$200 there has been a sudden rush to the market of these tiny laptops may look and sound like a toy but they aren't. Netbooks are a new option for many people who want to save money and wonder if they should buy a netbook

Instead they are realistic entry point for those who until now couldn't afford a PC, never mind a laptop. Or a child or student who needs a small portable model they can carry everyday without fearing it being stolen or a bad back from the weight. Or a backpacker who wants something light and robust to travel with.

In particular the price includes bundled software for web browsing, FireFox, and office productivity, OpenOffice, so there is absolutely no need to spend more money getting up and running with basic word-processing, spread-sheeting, presentation and web applications. Also included are a generic media player, an instant messaging client that works with popular IM systems, and some preinstalled games.

However the operating system is Linux not Windows so some software won't run at all such as such as iTunes or Photoshop.

The Eee PC has a just 7" screen which obviously means some compromises on keyboard size, particularly for the non-letter keys, but at 2 pounds its great to carry around. The Eee PC's competitors may well be pocket PC's and mobile phones with keyboards, and compared to these the Eee PC's keyboard is a whole lot more functional.

Asus offers a 1 year parts and labor warranty.
The good:
* Small, light, and inexpensive;
* Solid-state hard drive is fast and efficient;
* Well-thought-out preinstalled software package.
* 3USB ports, a VGA out, and standard headphone and mic jacks
* SD card slot. allows you to expand the hard-drive capacity.
* 3.5 hour battery life.

The bad:
* Cramped keyboard;
* Little hard drive space;
* Low screen resolution.
* No optical drive or firewire port

Asus Eee PC at a Glance
Processor 900MHz Intel Mobile CPU
Memory 512MB RAM
Hard drive 4GB SSD
Chipset/Graphics Intel 910
Operating System Linux (customized by Asus)
Dimensions (WDH) 8.8 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
Screen size (diagonal) 7.0 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter [pounds] 2.0/2.4 pounds

Reff:http://hubpages.com/hub/Light-Notebooks---Review-of-5-Lightest-Laptops-