Author: S!ick

There are various formats for memory cards. SD memory cards can have capacities up to 2 GB. I use them in my computers, portable digital assistants, cameras, and telephones.

—————————————–

I knew the day would come when I would need to seriously consider “the next format”…that day always comes. I have a tablet PC that would not read 1 GB SD cards…until I updated the BIOS. When necessary, I had been using USB card readers to access memory cards (that my computers would not).

At ShowStoppers (at CES), Kingston gave to me an 8 GB SDHC card. I have found that my readers don’t work with SDHC cards. Time to go shopping…

The SD High-Capacity (SDHC) cards go up to 32GB, and:
“SDHC-enabled products accommodate SDHC memory cards and are backward compatible with SD memory cards. Data on SDHC cards is protected even if inserted in an incompatible device. SDHC cards also work in standard SD slots with a firmware upgrade.”

———————————————–

Beyond SDHC, SDXC (eXtended Capacity) memory cards are coming: up to 2 terabytes (TB) of storage per card…that could be 100 HD movies per card.

I was thinking about allowing myself to “fall in love” with blu-ray. But now…

There was a question about how to restore files in Windows…

============================

If the file is in the Recycle Bin, it can be easily restored from there:
open the Recycle Bin…
select the file(s) to restore…
restore the file(s)…
and, when you are done, close the Recycle Bin window.

I found a (Windows 2000) description at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows2000/en/advanced/help/recycle_bin.htm

————————————————

If you have the Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate versions of Windows Vista you can try to restore a previous version…or shadow copy…of the file.

“Previous versions are either backup copies—copies of files and folders that you back up by using the Back Up Files wizard, or shadow copies—copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point….

“Right-click the file or folder, and then click Restore previous versions…”

———————————————-

If the file was “deleted” from the hard drive, you can consider software that will try to help you recover the file. There’s a lot of these products available…at the moment, I don’t have any that I can recommend over others.

Joyce called the radio show and we discussed the availability of Windows XP…

Some computer manufacturers might allow you to purchase a computer, and then purchase a version of Windows XP for that computer.

For lifecycle information on Microsoft products, see their Support Lifecycle Index page, and the Support Lifecycle Index.

On June 30, Microsoft stopped distributing Windows XP…but you might be able to get it from stores and “system builders” (until January 2009).

(I have been informed that Systemax, Seneca Data, and Cheap Guys Computers are “system builders”…)

——————————————–

There are reports that Windows XP Professional could be available (from “OEMs”) until May (and July) 2009. As of (2008) December 22, I have not been able to locate that information on microsoft.com.

In an attempt to take care, and extend the life, of my notebook computers…I ALWAYS use coolers and/or a lapdesk. (A lapdesk is a tray that sits on your lap, and a notebook computer is placed on it. Strong, sturdy ones are best.)

There are many manufacturers of these types of units…shop around. Here are a couple I feel that are worth noting…

———————————————————–

Targus seems to have the widest selection of them.

The Targus Chill Mat for Mac has “optimally positioned dual fans deliver a cool-down right where the most heat is generated…two quietly powerful fans direct targeted cooling to Mac notebook hotspots…” (I found it’s also available at Walmart.)

The Targus Notebook Chill Mat has an on/off switch.

Since power from USB ports can vary, I prefer units like the Targus Notebook Chill Hub (AWE01US). It includes an AC adapter to power the USB 2.0 ports.

————————————————————

You can adjust the height of Belkin’s Laptop Cooling Lounge.

The Laptop Cooling Hub can accomodate 17-inch laptops. I found it to cost $49.99 from Belkin, $22.99 from Costco, and $19.98 from Walmart.

What I consider to be better than nothing, is Belkin’s Laptop CoolStrip: it lifts your laptop so more air can circulate under it.

vCards are electronic business cards They can be used by Personal Information Managers, e-mail applications, web browsers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other computer programs. A vCard can contain more than a printed business card. Not only names, addresses, telephone numbers, graphics/pictures, and website addresses…but also audio, geographic and time zone information, and can support multiple languages.

You can create a vCard at http://www.vicintl.com/vcf/

—————————————————–

The next generation, if you will, are hCards…HTML vCards…for use on webpages.

The template at http://tantek.com/microformats/hcard-creator.html allows for:
name
company
street
city/state/zip code
phone
url (website address)
and a photo url (web/internet address).

The template at http://microformats.org/code/hcard/creator has more options:
given name
middle name
family name
organization
street
city
state/province
postal (zip) code
country name
phone
email
url (website address)
photo url (web/internet address)
AOL Instant Messenger screenname
Yahoo! Instant Messenger screenname
Jabber screenname
and allows for tags.