Seagate’s new 8TB hard drive is for all you digital hoarders

via ars technica

Solid-state drives get most of the love from gadget sites these days—they're faster and cheaper than ever, and they're a great way to extend the life of an older computer. If you need to store more than a terabyte of data, however, you still need to turn to old fashioned spinning hard drives. To that end, Seagate yesterday announced an 8TB hard drive that's a full two terabytes larger than the largest drives on the market today.

The drive that's being announced is aimed at the enterprise market, so it's not something consumers will be able to get their hands on in the near-term—for now, the biggest drive available to most folks will be a mere 6TB in size. Once the 8TB begins shipping in bulk, though, we'd expect to see them available on sites like Newegg and Amazon, especially since they'll fit in current 3.5-inch drive bays.

Larger drives like this are commonly used to increase the capacity of network-attached storage devices without having to totally replace them. In consumer desktops, spinning hard drives continue to offer a cost-per-gigabyte ratio far superior to SSDs, useful if you need a lot of storage but don't need it to be particularly speedy. Modern chipsets will even allow you to use a smaller SSD as a cache to boost the speed of your computer without sacrificing storage capacity.

Seagate hasn't revealed pricing information for the drives yet, though we wouldn't expect them to be cheap—the 6TB drives that are already shipping cost around twice as much as 4TB drives and nearly four times as much as 2TB drives. Seagate is shipping the drives to "select customers" as of publication and they will be more widely available next quarter.

Samsung announces Galaxy Alpha—built with metal, but on a budget

via arstechnica

Samsung has officially announced its first metal phone in a very long time: the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Normally, Samsung goes all-out in the specs department and puts all the pieces in a plastic case—but the Galaxy Alpha is all about design over specs.

SPECS AT A GLANCE: SAMSUNG GALAXY ALPHA
SCREEN	1280×720 4.7" (312 PPI) AMOLED
OS	Android KitKat 4.4.4 with TouchWiz
CPU	Octa Core (Quad 1.8GHz + Quad 1.3GHz)
RAM	2GB
STORAGE	32GB, not expandable
NETWORKING	802.11b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
PORTS	Micro-USB 2.0, headphones
CAMERA	12MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera
SIZE	132.4mm × 65.5mm × 6.7mm
WEIGHT	115g
BATTERY	1860 mAh

The Galaxy Alpha is a 4.7-inch device that uses a metal frame, but it's not an undisputed new flagship and doesn't have top-tier specs. The screen resolution is 1280×720, which works out to 312 PPI, below the pixel density of most Android flagships (~430 PPI) but right in the iPhone 5S range (326 PPI).

Samsung's official blog lists the processor as either an "Octa Core (Quad 1.8GHz + Quad 1.3GHz)," which would be an Exynos processor, or a "Quad Core 2.5GHz" processor, which sounds like a Snapdragon processor (either an 801 or 805) that might land in the US version. The processor will be paired with 2GB of RAM, which again is not top-of-the-line for Android but should still make for a perfectly serviceable device.

Besides reducing the specs overall, Samsung dropped micro-USB 3.0, the microSD slot, and waterproofing. The one area it didn't skimp on is the storage; the phone comes with 32GB standard. It also has a fingerprint reader and heart rate monitor. No word yet on pricing.

At less than 7 mm thick, Samsung calls this "one of the slimmest Galaxy devices ever." The tradeoff for that slimness is that you get a battery that only clocks in at 1860 mAh—almost 1000 mAh less than the Galaxy S5. The battery life is definitely something that we'll take a look at when we have the device in hand, but with the smaller, lower-resolution screen, the phone still stands a good chance of having decent runtime. (Ballooning battery sizes are a recent trend in Android devices—the Galaxy S II survived with an 1800 mAh battery.)

With a metal frame and chamfered edges, Samsung says the Alpha sets "a new standard for Samsung Galaxy design." J.K. Shin, the CEO of Samsung Electronics, says, “The Galaxy Alpha was built and designed based on the specific desires of the consumer market.” In other words, Samsung is directly addressing the complaints about its usual materials choice. The back is still plastic, though, and it still has the golf ball texture from the Galaxy S5. The plastic back is removable, allowing the battery to be swapped out.

While the specs aren't at the crazy stratospheric levels that Samsung devices usually attain, the company is promising "same powerful hardware and features users expect from a flagship." If it can keep the performance up, Samsung may have a device that matches up well with the iPhone 6 rumors. As with the Galaxy Gear, Samsung is all about preparedness these days—if a competing device is rumored, Samsung wants to build a rival first.

According to the press release, the Alpha will launch "at the beginning of September." On September 3, Samsung will hold an event that we expect to focus on the Note 4—but perhaps the Alpha will make an appearance, too.

Computer Tune-Up from Friendly Computers

Everyone has seen the hoarding programs on TV. Did you know that after a relatively short period of time your computer starts looking very similar to the homes with “stuff” piled everywhere? Just as the home filled with useless material is difficult to navigate, your computer loses performance with the accumulated junk. A quick “tune up” can improve performance and help you avoid experiencing problems when you need your computer the most. 

There are several ways your computer accumulates “junk.” Each time a website is visited, images from the site must be downloaded to your computer. The next time the same site is visited, it loads very quickly because all the images downloaded the first time are kept in an area referred to as a “cache”. The cache can become very large after a few months. 

 Another area that causes clutter is programs being installed and removed from your computer. As programs are installed then, at a later time removed, all information used for the installation is not removed from your computer. This is not an accident. The providers of the program hope that ultimately you will realize you need the program and perform installation a second time. When that happens, the provider wants to be sure that you “stick” the second time so they reinstall all the configuration/setting information you used the first time. 

 Having a good anti-virus properly installed, configured and set to run when the computer is powered up is essential. Computers infected by viruses run slower than normal and do not function properly. Tuning up the system, checking for viruses, updating virus software, and setting the software to run regularly will keep your system from causing you problems.

Having a “computer checkup” every 6 months or so is ideal not only to keep it running quickly and smoothly, but to also avoid other costly repairs. Heat is the cause of more computer failures than almost any other issue. The processor or Central Processing Unit (CPU) for your computer is “permanently” connected to the Motherboard. Since the processor produces significant heat, a chunk of metal is mounted on the top of the processor and is equipped with a fan to circulate air and enhance cooling. Even if your home is the most clean home in town, after a few months the “Heat Sink” or chunk of metal becomes almost totally plugged with dust and dirt. This is a result of pulling air into the computer case from the room where it resides to cool it. Inevitably, that air will contain dust particles. To enhance the cooling effect for the processor, Thermal Paste is applied to the processor in the area where it connects to the Heat Sink. This heat conducting material should be removed and reapplied periodically. 

 If you want to enjoy a long and trouble free operation of your computer, either bring it to our location or schedule a call today. The following tasks will be completed: 

• Review logs and ensure that updates and virus protection are functioning 
• Disconnect everything from the computer to allow taking it outside and blowing out dust with canned air 
• Remove processor then remove and reapply thermal paste 
• Scan, clear and defragment registry 
• Empty browser cache 
• Delete temporary files 
• Defrag hard drives 
• Check network connections 
• Check configuration and update schedules for antivirus and spyware protection systems 
• Verify internet security and firewall integrity 
• Evaluate internet connection performance 
• Ensure Wireless Security (if applicable) 
• Perform software updates 
• Evaluate each system’s general performance 
• Perform a quick scan to ensure that infections are not present 
• Look at backup log to confirm that events are occurring as scheduled
• Check backup logs Neglecting the maintenance of a computer is like ignoring maintenance for your vehicle.  
It will operate as expected for a while then numerous problems will seem to have developed at the same time. At Friendly Computers, we try very hard to “live up” to our name and accomplish that objective by “looking out” for our customers. Visit our website to schedule online today or give us a call 281-554-5500…or simply bring your computer to us for a “routine checkup” today. You will be glad you did.

FriendlyComputers.com

Data Recovery

Is your hard drive “clicking” or running slow? Friendly Computers: 281-554-5500

Have you lost access to precious photographs or important documents on your computer?

OVER 22,500 CLEAR LAKE AREA COMPUTERS, LAPTOPS AND NETWORKS REPAIRED!!

Friendly Computers provides in-house data recovery of hard drive failures.  With our advanced diagnostic and recovery tools, we can recover data from laptops, PCs, servers, digital cameras, and even cell phones. We can also transfer your data from an old system to a new system.

We are in the Clear Lake Center at I-45 and Nasa Pkwy in the same center as Burlington Coat Factory in Webster. 

Our state-of-the-art facility includes eight technologically advanced workstations designed to efficiently and effectively diagnose and repair a wide variety of computer hardware and software issues.  Each station is equipped with multiple proprietary tools and equipment.  In addition, all of our technicians are equipped with the same advanced tools to perform efficient and effective onsite service in your home or office.

Call today at 281-554-5500 or visit www.friendlycomputers.com/southhouston to schedule an appointment.

Proudly serving the Southeast Houston/Clear Lake area including Friendswood, Alvin, Pearland, Kemah, Webster, Seabrook, League City, and surrounding areas.

Technology at your fingertips

By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28

Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

AVG 2014 Version now available! We can install it for you!

On Wednesday, AVG released the 2014 versions of its antivirus and Internet security programs. Available for immediate download, the programs range from the no-cost AVG AntiVirus FREE 2014 to higher-end paid software such as AVG Premium Security 2014 and AVG PC TuneUp 2014.

The most notable new addition is PrivacyFix, an online privacy tool offered by PrivacyChoice (which AVG acquired in May). Branching out from its Web-only beginnings, PrivacyFix is now offered via Android and iOS apps as well.

PrivacyFix analyzes your account settings and alerts you of possible intrusions on your privacy. For major sites like Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn, it points out privacy settings or features that could impact you. It lists the settings, gives you some details about them, and when you click to fix a particular one, it takes you directly to that site's settings page. The Crowd Control function is updated to help you analyze your large list of Facebook friends and weed out those who’ve fallen off your real-life list of friends. If anyone objects, you can blame the software.

For thousands of other sites, PrivacyFix analyzes the tracking and privacy policies and alerts you of potential issues, like sharing your data with third-party organizations. A notable improvement here is that PrivacyFix will now notify you of sites that have had known data breaches.

Another new feature available in all the AVG editions is File Shredder. File Shredder lets you destroy files completely so they aren't recoverable by thieves or those who might inherit your PC in the future. In the premium AVG editions, Data Safe lets you encrypt sensitive files in virtual drives to protect against prying eyes or data thieves.

AVG also updated its mobile antivirus app. It now supports camera tracking, taking a photo of anyone who seems to be messing with your phone. It also adds SIM card protection, so a thief can’t replace your SIM and take over your device.

The paid PC Tuneup utility is offered as trial-ware in the free products. Among its updates, it now looks for duplicate files on your PC, helping free up disk space and reduce clutter. Additionally, the live optimization functionality includes better application definitions to enhance system speed.

AVG is keeping up with the times with its iOS and Android apps and its new raft of privacy settings. While you’ll enjoy the most benefits in its paid products, the free antivirus and security product is a well-regarded package as well.

Written by:

Eric Geier@eric_geier

Original Article Link: Here

By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

Next version of Android will be called KitKat!

ANDROID

• google

Google surprises Android users with Kit Kat

Florence Ion@Ohthatflo

• Sep 3, 2013 10:47 AM
• print

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's a robot-shaped Kit Kat bar, and Google's head of Android and Chrome, Sundar Pichai, has confirmed in a Google+ post that the next version of Android will be dubbed Android 4.4 Kit Kat.

Pichai posted a photo of the official Kit Kat-shaped Android guy on the Google lawn, adding that he "can’t wait to release the next version of the platform that is as sweet as the candy bar that’s one of our team’s favorites."

Google buried the official announcement on the new name inside a clever marketingcampaign illustrating a "sweet new treat," along with the news that Android had just recently passed 1 billion device activations. The page depicts a timeline that carousels through the different versions of Android, including the new Android 4.4 Kit Kat. You can also enter in the code from any specially marked Kit Kat wrapped onto the site to check and see if you've won a Nexus 7 or Google Play store credit.

This is the first time that Google has partnered up with a company to name its operating system. Many Android faithful were expecting that the company with stick with a dessert like Key Lime Pie for the next iteration of Android, but Google may have made a smarter move by sticking with a well-known global brand name. There are no details on when the new operating system will surface or what it will feature, but today's announcement will likely kickstart the rumor mill.

Original Article:http://www.techhive.com/article/2048054/google-surprises-android-users-with-kit-kat.html

By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.