Computer, Gadgets and All Things Digital

If you are not like others who are crazy about Apple Ipad and Ipad 2,  the reigning champion in tablet PC  which commands about 80% of market share according to a recent market survey,  and  want to seek best alternatives to Ipad , here are  a list of Ipad competitors for the year 2011 you can take a glimpse of:

Motorola Xoom
The Xoom is the first tablet PC that runs on  Google’s Android Honecomb operating system.  Xoom tablet was first launched in the U.S. and sells for around  USD599.
The Motorola XOOM features a front  2-megapixel camera for video chats over Wi-Fi or via Google Talk, as well as a rear 5-megapixel camera that captures video in 720p HD. The 10.1-inch display offers its users  console-like gaming experience  on its 1280 x 800-pixel display, and it also boats some other features such as  a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer, and adaptive lighting for new types of applications.

Motorola Xoom

Other features include a 32 GB internal memory  you can expand via optional microSD cards , 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth for hands-free devices and stereo music streaming, access to personal and corporate e-mail or  push mail, HD 1080p video playback, HDMI output for connecting to a compatible HDTV or monitor, and a 3250 mAh battery for up to 10 hours of Wi-Fi internet browsing. One of the notable pros ,unlike Ipad,  the Xoom supports Adobe Flash for viewing flash streaming or flash website

Motorola XOOM Product Details and Specs

1. Next-generation tablet with 10.1-inch HD display, Android 3.0 platform, and ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi connectivity
2. Powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core mobile processor; support for Adobe Flash for viewing web sites, movies, games, and more
3. Front-facing 2-megapixel camera and microphone for video chats; rear 5-megapixel camera with LED flash for high-res stills and HD 720p video
4. 32 GB internal memory; HDMI output; microSD expansion (with software upgrade)
5. Up to 10 hours of video playback/Wi-Fi web browsing

Source : http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/US-EN/Consumer-Product-and-Services/Tablets/ci.MOTOROLA-XOOM-US-EN.overview

BlackBerry 4G PlayBook

A belated newcomer in tablet PC, BlackBerry has just launched its flagship BlackBerry Playbook running on its own operating system.

Despite many negative reviews from experts and users The Blackberry Playbook is undoubtedly a great entry for RIM – worthy of giving some of the other tablets a run for their money. RIM has lately been quite lagging behind in  keeping up with the tech of the day, however with the Playbook, they have ultimately moved up to the plate. As for The Playbook stands out in several areas – but the main feature is the Blackberry Bridge. Blackberry Bridge integrates your smartphone data plan  and that of Playbook data plan .With this feature you don’t need to spend  few extra dollars for a separate data plan.

BlackBerry 4G PlayBook

BlackBerry 4G PlayBook Key Technical Details and Specs

1. Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n network – For Internet capability on the go
2. Bluetooth – enable you to connect  the tablet with a Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry mobile phone for access to Push technology, e-mail, calendar, tasks, documents and more.
3. 7″ LCD Touchscreen Display – With 1024 x 600 resolution
4. Storage and Memory – 32GB Internal memory, 1GB RAM
5. Weight : 11 Ounces
6. Price : the entry model sells for around 450 dollars

Source : http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/

Samsung Galaxy 10.1 3G
Recently embroiled in a patent dispute with Apple, Samsung  has saw its flagship tablet PC Galaxy a reliable challenger to Ipad  dominance. After launching Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G , Samsung has just launched their predecessors Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 3G and. The Galaxy 10.1 tab sell for 699 dollars in the US. The galaxy 10.1 supports HSDPA/HSUPA networks for faster data speeds.

Samsung Galaxy 10.1 3G

Samsung Galaxy 10.1 3G Key features and specs:

1. 1 Ghz dual core processor to delivers faster access and improved performance
2. Wifi-enabled for easy access to the internet while on the go
3. Storage : 16/32/64 internal memory and additional memory card slot expandable to 32 Gb

Source : http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxys/

Dell Streak 7 4G

Dell has launched its newest variants of newest its tablet PC among its product lines: the Dell Streak 7. Streak 7 comes in two variant : Dell Streak 7 and Dell Streak 7 Wifi and sell for around 450 dollars. It comes with a 7 inch touch-screen display that supports the so-called Gorilla Glass Display for improved display, 1GHz Tegra dual core processor from NVDIA .

Dell Streak 7 4G

Dell Streak 7 10.1 3G Key features and specs:

1. 1GHz dual-core processor NVIDIA Tegra 2
2. Display:  7-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixels)
3. 5 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front-end camera
4. Attractive user interface
5. Supports  Adobe Flash
6. Up to 4 hours of video playback, up to 72 hours (3 days) of standby time
7. Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches ; 13.4 ounces

Source : http://www.dell.com/us/p/mobile-streak-7/pd

Cisco Cius

Cisco which is known as a leading network device manufacturer has also launched its own tablet PC , Cisco Cius.. Weighing only 1.15 lbs or 0.5 kilograms this portable device is quite light weight, for a tablet that rich is such features HD video streaming, multi-party conferencing, email, messaging, browsing, and Cisco well known services such as Quad Cisco, WebEx and AnyConnect Security VPN Client. Cisco Cius also has  the ability to produce, edit and contents locally stored or those stored in the internet (cloud-based applications).

Cisco Cius

Cisco Cius Key features and specs:

1. Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0
2. HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for video communication
3. Virtual desktop client that allows you to access to cloud-based applications
4. Android operating system,
5. Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Presence, IM and integrated, one-click access to WebEx Meeting Center
6. Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) powered wireless communications device, compatible with a Cisco Unified Wireless LAN infrastructure
7. 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
8. HD media station supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, and more.

Source : http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11156/index.html
With the above rich features Cisco Cius is definitely one of the best alternatives to Ipad

HP TouchPad

HP will officially roll out TouchPad tablet PC  in mid 2011. Although not yet become publicly available the TouchPad has won some positive reviews from some users who have got a hold of the tablet in advance. A Reviewer from Amazon touted it as the best alternative to Ipad 2.  The Touch Pad has a 9.7 inch screen display and with advanced features such as accelerometer, Multitouch, and Gyroscope sensor. The device is running on HP WebOS 3.0 operating system and is powered by 1.2 GHz Scorpion dual core processor and Qualcomm APQ8060.

HP TouchPad

HP Touch Pad Key Features and Specs:

1. 9.7” (1024×768) Touch Screen Display; 1.6lbs; 13.6mm thick
2. HP webOS Mobile Operating System; Dual Core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor; 1 GB RAM
3. 16GB/32GB Storage; Wireless 802.11bgn; Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR; Flash support
4. 1.3 MP Front-facing Camera – video chatting capability; HP Beats Audio Technology

Source : http://www.palm.com/us/products/pads/touchpad/index.html

Sony Ericsson has just launched Sony Ericsson W8,  the first Walkman phone running on Google’s Android  2.1 platform. Walkman, once the dominant player in portable music player has saw its appeals tumbling over the past few years and lost its prestige to  newcomers and hugely successful Iphone and Ipod from Apple in north America  yet apparently still has substantial fans in Asia and Europe.

Sony Ericsson W8 Android Walkman Phone

This latest Walkman phone features a user interface that can be adjusted for one-touch access to a user’s favorite applications, a feature found  in Xperia mini series. Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones W8 also enables its users to access playlists and the Walkman player in a single touch . The phone also comes equipped with a stereo headset MH410.

Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones W8 comes with 3-inch screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, video recorder functions, and 3.5 mm headphone jack. In contrast to non-music cell phone , W8 is equipped with features and UI design Walkman Walkman like widgets on the homepage..The 3-inch touchscreen of this  Android music player and  smartphone enables you to enjoy a perfect combination of entertainment and ease-of-use. The W8 is Wifi-enabled and features the virtual QWERTY touchscreen keyboard. Just like any other Android phones you can enjoy free  services provided by Google such as  Google Maps and GPS.

Sony Ericsson W8 Specifications

Bellow are key specs of  W8 Walkman Phone

Screen
- 320 x 480 pixels (HVGA)
- 16,777,216 color TFT
Memory
- Phone memory up to 128MB
- MicroSD™ support (up to 16 GB)

Networks
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
- UMTS/HSPA 900/2100
- UMTS/HSPA 850/1900/2100
Available colours
- azure – Orange – Red

Possible limited market availability.
Sizes
- 99.0 x 54.0 x 15.0 mm
- 3.9 x 2.1 x 0.6 inches
Weight
- 104.0 gr
- 3.7 oz
Walkman ™ Sony Ericsson W8 will be available in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam starting from the second quarter of 2011

Image Source : http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/products/phoneportfolio/specification/w8-walkman

If want to move  or copy multiple files or folders in Windows 7  you need first of all  select multiple files or folders in the explorer window using  the Shift or Ctrl on the keyboard then move or copy them, but what if there is something wrong with  the keyboard or the keyboard  is out of order, what should you do?
Don’t worry, because in Windows 7 you can use check boxes as an alternative to get around this.

Follow the bellow steps :

• Click the Organize button which is above the windows explorer. Then on the menu that appears, select Folder and Search Options.
• In the Folder Options window that appears, move to the View tab. Check “usse check boxes”  as shown in bellow picture:

• Click the OK button.

With this settings , if you want to select several files in windows explorer, you don’t need to use the Shift or Ctrl. You can just put the check box beside the files you want to select

Nikon has just launched its newest digital camera single-lens reflex (DSLR) D5100, one of the  hottest electronics  items sells like crazy at Amazon.com. One distinctive feature that makes Nikon D5100 stand out among the crowd is its ability to take pictures in dark room without light. Nikon D5100 is embed in  it  night vision mode.

Nikon D5100 Digital Camera

Like any other latest digital SLR camera, Nikon D5100 comes  with attractive features including a 16.2 mega pixel sensor, LCD screen that can play, and record video in 1080p high definition format. Another amazing feature is of Nikon D5100 is the so-called mode of high-dynamic-range imaging (HDR), which allows you  to take two pictures and combine them to get the best results.

Integrating the most up-to-date Nikon D-SLR technologies like 16.2MP DX-format CMOS sensor in addition to EXPEED 2 image processing engine, the D5100 offers exceptional picture quality. Its CMOS sensor comes with a astonishingly wide ISO range (ISO 100 to 6400) with minimized disturbance that allows you to take pictures at a lot quicker shutter speeds and capture moments and subjects with significantly less blur.

The D5100 produces remarkably high-quality movie performance because of its full High definition ability whilst the newest in full-time auto-focus takes the guess work out of tracking your subjects while in motion.

The Nikon D5100 makes use of the fast Expeed 2 image processor similar to the D7000. This allows for additional video options including full 1080p HD at 24, 25, and 30 fps, overall faster processing of pictures and videos, as well as the capability to maintain rapid continuous speed shooting for numerous frames

Nikon D5100 Technical Details, Specs and Price

• 3-inch, 921,000-dot Super-Density horizontal type Vari-Angle LCD Monitor
• In-camera Special Effects Mode
• In-camera HDR (High Dynamic Range)
• Stunning Full 1080p HD Movies with Full Time Autofocus
• High Resolution 16.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor
• Click Here for more Nikon D5100 technical spesifications

Nikon D5100 Price: the D5100 sells for about USD 796 in the US, quite pricey yet from what I heard  it’s well worth the price

You have just accidentally deleted important emails and want to get the deleted emails back and you may ask the following questions. How to retrieve sent emails?  or how to recover deleted email? or Can I retrieve deleted emails. Well, the answer is it depends, you can not retrieve email from web-based free email services if you don’t access them via email clients such as Outlook, Windows Mail or Outlook Express , so if you ask the questions “how to retrieve deleted emails from Hotmail?” or “how to retrieve deleted emails from Gmail?” the answer is a resounding No, if, as stated  above, you directly access your email from your browser and not via email clients unless otherwise you simply want to move your email from trash or deleted folder to the inbox you can simply do that by  just dragging and dropping your email messages to your Inbox.

You can however recover deleted Yahoo emails from Trash Folder maximum 24 hours after deletion by using this form :
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/classic/basics/basics-01.html (For Yahoo Mail Classic users )
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/mail_restore_free.html (For New Yahoo Mail users)

What is email client?
Email client is software program that enables you to read , compose and send email from your desktop computer rather than accessing the email service directly via browser. The most popular email clients for Windows computers are arguably Outlook and Outlook Express.
By using email clients you can save time and bandwidth and save your emails in your hard disk ,just in case you accidentally delete your  email messages.

Bellow are three scenarios with different circumstances get back deleted emails:

Scenario A: You are using Outlook to access free email services such as Gmail,

Samsung Series 9, a razor-thin notebook introduced to the press a short while ago. Its lightness and slimness put it at loggerheads with  Mac Book Air , the reigning champion and Lenovo ThinkPad T420s.

Picture Samsung S Series 9

Samsung boasts the Series 9 is  the slimmest and the lightest notebook computer on the planet. Samsung Series 9 weighs in at just  1.31 kilograms and is 16.6 millimeters thick – at its thickest point. With this particular type of lightness and slimness, people can not help but compare it with the Mac Book Air, Apple flagship notebook.

Samsung  Series 9’s body is made from Duralumin, a substance used in aircraft fuselage because of  the durability and lightweight. The notebook is available in matte black.Its astonishing look particularly when taking a look at it from the side reminds one of  an Italian-made super car curvy arches.

The 13.3-inch, 1366×768 SuperBright Plus screen features a brightness level of up to 400nit. “Nit” is a n indicator for the intensity of visible light coming of  an LCD screen. Other laptop computers typically deliver only around 250 to 300 nits. Whilst the additional brightness is helpful for working outdoors, it can damage our eyes when we work in a dim light environment. Yet, don’t worry, the Series 9 features a responsive sensor which will identify if we are working under the sunlight or inside the room – and can lower the nits automatically. Furthermore, the auto light sensor can even automatically switch on the keyboard backlighting.

Just like most full power notebooks these days, the Series 9 is powered by an Intel Sandy Bridge. The S 9 Series  features 4GB of RAM and a 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD). Samsung has also integrated its Fast Start technology to speed up the boot up and shutdown processes. The laptop  just needs three seconds to wake up from the sleep mode. Furthermore,  Samsung has incorporated a whole new feature inside the notebook battery . The battery charger will automatically cease charging if the battery is around 80 % full.

Enough is the pros What are the cons? Just like the battery inside the Mac Book Air , the one in the Series 9 is not user replaceable. You need to be cautious  to take good care of  the battery in order to preserve the battery lifespan . Secondly, the lid may only be opened up around 120 degrees, while a ThinkPad can lie totally flat from the upper edge of the screen to the lower edge of the notebook.

There exists an air flow grill in the bottom of the notebook, so it’s not recommended to take the Series 9 to your bed to do the computing task – except you are pretty sure the flow of the air is not clogged by your bed cover or blanket.

Samsung S Series 9 Product Features

• Intel Core i5 Processor 2467M
  4 GB DDR3 RAM
  128GB, SSD (mSATA)
  13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, Intel HD Graphics 3000
  Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
  Processor, Memory, and Motherboard
• Hardware Platform: PC
  Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Core Duo
  Number of Processors: 2
  RAM: 4 MB
  RAM Type: SODIMM
  Hard Drive
• Size: 128 GB
  Type: Serial ATA
  Cases and Expandability
• Size (LWH): 12.9 inches, 8.9 inches, 0.62 inches
  Weight: 2.88 pounds

Click here for more tech specs in details

The Series 9 sells for  US$988, pretty costly for average users , however   if you want  a robust yet slight  Windows notebook, you should really look at this Samsung Series 9.

This is a follow up to the previous posts on best free firewall for Windows and Comodo firewall review . To complement a list of firewall shareware for Windows  here is a list of best free Linux firewall in my personal opinion:

IPTABLES

Iptables may perhaps one of the most widely used and the most popular  user space application program that  integrates packet filtering, Network Address Translation, ,network address translation (NAT) and Port Address Translation (PAT).
Bellow are the main key features of Iptables:

• Stateful packet inspection, meaning the firewall monitors every connection passing through it and in certain instances can view the contents of data flows to anticipate the next action of certain protocols. It is an essential feature in the support of active FTP and DNS, as well as many other network services.
• Filtering packets based on a MAC address and the values of the flags in the TCP header. This can be helpful in preventing attacks using

Shorewall
One of the methods to secure a Linux  network   is using a packet filter in which  Netfilter is injected into the Linux kernel. Netfilter configuration is done using iptables. Taking advantage of the collaboration of various filters with iptables, a GNU + Linux sys admin can create a simple to complicated firewall system Shorewall was developed to facilitate the Netfilter configuration for iptables easy use since configuring  a firewall is not an easy job especially for Linux beginners. It  is essentially  an extension of the iptables for easy use. To configure the firewall you simply define the rules in some Shorewall configuration files in / etc / shorewall. Click here to download Shorewall/

IPCOP

IPCop is a Linux distribution featuring  simple-to-manage firewall application based on PC hardware. This distribution was originally developed by the team that developed the SmoothWall Linux firewall . It is very simple to manage  and is user friendly yet  reliable for the advanced users.
Bellow are several key features of IPcop:

• Can easily be managed via  web access
• IPCop can use a DHCP IP address from the  ISP that you  are subscribing to
• Can be configured to act as a DHCP server for easy configuration of internal network
• Have the ability to work  as a DNS caching proxy, this is very useful to help speed up Domain Name query
• Can detect intrusion and  attacks from within internal network
• Ipcop comes with three pre-configured security levels

IPCop can be downloaded here

UFW – Uncomplicated Firewall

Uncomplicated Firewall (ufw) is a firewall which is built to be simple to work with. It runs on the command line interface which includes a few basic commands, and uses iptables for settings.
GUI for Uncomplicated Firewall (Gufw) is, as the name suggests, a graphical interface for UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall). It’s been intended for Ubuntu.
Gufw is created to be a simple, easy-to-use, approach to maintain an Ubuntu firewall. It facilitates typical jobs for instance enabling or blocking pre-configured, typical P2P, or individual ports.

Download Link : http://linux.softpedia.com/downloadTag/Uncomplicated+FireWall

Those are the best free Linux firewall I have tested out myself. The above list does not end here and may include others because there are so many Linux Firewall out there. Among them are Firestarter5, Guardog, Susefirewall etc.

Reference :

• http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch14_:_Linux_Firewalls_Using_iptables
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iptables

This post is a follow up to my previous article on best free firewall for Windows.  Since I have  been a staunch fan of Zone Alarm Firewall ever since I was aware of how important it was to protect your computer against any unsolicited intruders  aside from anti virus I only started giving this application a try only few months ago . I have read many positive reviews about Comodo Firewall on the internet and forums  of which I am a member and thought I would share my own experience using Comodo Firewall which has now transformed into Comodo Internet Security. I hope my very own personal experience will be useful for those searching for Comodo Firewall review.

Comodo Firewall or precisely Comodo Internet Security is a computer security application incorporating firewall, anti virus and the so-called Defense+ , an additional   customizable defense system.  What makes this application stand out among its peers is its cloud-based security protection, meaning users’ experience in dealing with particular threats is shared with another. Its firewall acts as a gateway to filter out outgoing and incoming traffics to protect you against hackers and spyware. You may use the program separately , I mean, you can install either  firewall or the anti virus as a stand alone application.  Comodo Internet security is free to use yet if you want the highest possible security protection you may purchase a pro version at around 29 dollars a year. This yearly subscription for pro users is accompanied by 24 hour support from its developer, a support not granted to free users.

Easy Installation

When I first  run a free version of this security software on my Sony Vaio laptop, my first impression was that this was this is one of the  light weight firewall and anti virus  I have ever installed . Its is in interface is very user-friendly and to install it you need to only follow  a series of simple installation wizard. You need to remove any installed anti virus, firewall and disable Windows firewall  from your computer before installing Comodo Internet Security to avoid any mess up though. After you’re done installing the software the Comodo will then perform a virus scan of you computer. Typically it only takes few minutes to complete depending on your computer specifications.

Firewall

As in its similar programs Comodo Firewall can be configured automatically using three security levels. Custom level allows the program to prompt the user what to do when a new application wants to access the internet, Block All menu is to block all internet access to programs not yet configured for access, Allow All permits access to any program without controls. You can also use custom configuration to manage what applications and ports that can pass through the firewall. This feature is only for advanced users only.  One notable feature not found in many firewall is its ability to create stealth ports, rendering hidden listening port installed by spyware useless.

Anti Virus

You can find standard Anti virus interface found in other anti virus program such as scheduled scan and quarantine items caught by anti virus. In addition Comodo Internet Security incorporates the so-called Defense+, another layer of protection to manage your application, folder and files inside your computer. Using Comodo Defense+ you can  such as manage access to allow or disallow modifications of particular applications and folders and modification of your computer registry. I suppose this advanced feature can not be found on other free  internet applications.

One conspicuous con of this software is that you need to be careful in managing frequent pop-ups alerting potential threats, you will be accustomed to this learning curve  as you use in a short time period though. Overall its pros far outweigh it cons, after all, there is nothing that comes the easy way.

Conclusion:

Comodo Firewall (Comodo Internet Security ) offers a complete security by managing malicious programs trying to gain access to your computer and protect you against any attempted access to the internet from programs inside your computer. It constantly monitors your computer, on which ports  connections are made and notifies you of  internet access by installed  programs. A complete solution for a “free firewall” and free anti virus. As I have stated above if you need extra security measures then you may want to buy a full license. Click here to  download Comodo Internet Security.

Hope you find my Comodo firewall review and its accompanying  antivirus helpful

What is Cloud Computing ?

Cloud Computing is an internet-based computer network, where a resource, software and applications are shared to be utilized by other computers connecting to it. Why is this concept referred to as cloud computing ? It is because the internet  is often visualized  as a big cloud consisting of  a large network  of computers connected to each other . In essence cloud computing can be defined as a set of computers connected together sharing applications stored on the internet-based server.

Cloud computing can be regarded  as an extension of virtualization technology. Corporation  can place applications or computer programs on the internet  (not on their internal network).  An example of cloud computing are Google Docs and Google Spreadsheets which are free for use by individuals but incur  fees if  used for commercial use.

Advantages of Cloud Computing

Save Hardware Cost.

Companies can cut down on hardware investment because by using cloud computing they do not have to purchase additional server, peripherals and other network gear.

Backup & Recover With Ease

Servers that run inside a virtual machine can be stored in one  image file  containing  the entire system configuration and settings. In case a  server crashes, you don’t have to  scratch from beginning  to perform  reinstallation and reconfiguration. Simply take a copy of the saved image, restore data from last backup and the server will  be back up and running again. You can save time, effort and resources.

Easy To Deploy

Virtual servers can be cloned as much as possible and can be run on another machine without having to change configuration hence reducing the workload of IT staff and expedite  the process.

Save on Energy Bills

using cloud computing technology will be spared the need to  maintain room temperature room to cool down server therefore  reduce cost of electricity usage

Reduced Space.

The fewer the number of servers the lesser space to store the network equipment i the server is placed on a shared  server or  data center.

Easier Maintenance and  Management

Fewer number of servers will automatically reduce the time and cost to manage server.

Hardware standardization.

Hardware virtualization  in cloud computing involves emulation and encapsulation so that the process of introduction and removal of a particular  hardware can be carried out with ease.

Easier to replace and upgrade.

Replacing or upgrading a server specification can be easier to execute using cloud computing. If the parent server is overloaded and specifications are not sufficient anymore, we can easily upgrade the specification or move a virtual machine to another, more powerful server

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing requires  a stable  internet connection, when there is no reliable  internet connection you  can not expect to get the most of it. This can particularly be a hindrance for those living in remote areas without access to a reliable connection.

Of the most prominent  disadvantages of cloud computing is when a data center  crashes all the virtual machines will be affected. This can be prevented by backing up your data on a regular basis and using the so-called fail over or clustering though.

Another worst scenario is that  if a parent server becomes a target in a hacking attack then the intruders will most likely be able to gain access to virtual servers using data stored on the parent server.

Those are the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing you should take into account  before jumping on the virtualization and cloud computing wagon.

If you run dual boot computer or  run another  operating system such as Linux  or previous Windows such XP or Vista aside from Windows 7 on your computer you will be prompted  to chose which operating system to run at startup . If you do not take any action during this time your computer will then run the default operating system. How to find out what is  the default OS on your computer? see the following instruction

Set default operating system in Windows 7:

• Type System in the Start Menu> Search programs and files, then the menu shown above, select the System link.
• After the System window appears, click Advanced System Settings link on the left panel see bellow picture:

• In the System Properties window, in of Startup and Recovery, click on the Settings button.

• When Startup and Recovery dialog box emerges, select the operating system that will serve as the default operating system. Then click the OK button.