A DVD decoder is a software that decodes the encoding found on DVDs. While all DVDs are encoded, not all DVDs are encoded in the same way. Because of this, users must often locate a DVD decoder that matches a specific DVD brand or media player. A DVD decoder is responsible for decoding a DVD’s copyright protection, which makes it more difficult to copy DVD files, translate data on a DVD into digital files that the computer can understand, and make those digital files compatible with the media player. For Read More

Virtual reality refers to any computer simulation that can mimick real life by displaying sound, 3D images, and other sensory perceptions. Virtual reality systems can often respond to hand and other body movements by the user in order to provide a realistic environment. Virtual reality systems are constantly being upgraded and outfitted with new technologies that improve the quality and control of the virtual reality system. While virtual reality is already available in many forms by a wide range of individuals and organizations, there are still many misconceptions about virtual Read More

FRS (Family Radio Service) is an unlicensed service. FRS (Family Radio Service) consists of 14 UHF channels on FM. FRS Channel 1 is unofficially used as a common call channel. FRS (Family Radio Service) shares channels 1 through 7 with GMRS, and many FRS radios are also GMRS radios. The maximum allowable power for a FRS (Family Radio Service) radio is .5 watts. GMRS radios are allowed to transmit on the channels they share with FRS at 5 watts, ten times the power of FRS radios. Unlike GMRS, repeaters are Read More

One of the big burdens that goes with owning a printer is when the ink jets get clogged. This typically happens when the printer sits for a long time and isn’t used. To prevent an inkjet from getting clogged, use it about once a week, even if it means just printing a photo or a text document. So long as the ink is being run through the cartridge, it won’t have time to clog up the inkjet. However, should the inkjets get clogged, unclogging it doesn’t take long. To begin Read More

If you surf the web or watch media on your computer, you have probably come across the WMV file. WMV stands for Windows Media Video and while it was originally designed for streaming video from websites, it is also used for music videos and full length motion pictures. WMV, a Microsoft product plays with Windows Media Player. The current WMV version is WMV9. WMV files can play in Windows Media Player along with VLC, Winamp and DivX players as well. While WMV files are usually high quality, their compression rate Read More

Although it has been significantly easier to add and remove new printers on the Windows Operating System (OS) since Windows XP’s release, PC users still encounter Error 1068. This error also states that a dependency service or group failed to start, which may include the print spooler. When this error occurs, the user has to manually restart the computer’s print spooler in order to correct the problem. The print spooler program is used to transfer the data for the document/image to be printed to the user’s or network’s printer memory. Read More

TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) is part of a draft standard from the IEEE 802.11i working group. TKIP utilizes the RC4 stream cipher with 128-bit keys for encryption and 64-bit keys for authentication. TKIP is an enhancement to WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) security. TKIP enhances WEP by adding a per-packet key mixing function to de-correlate the public initialization vectors (IVs) from weak keys. TKIP also enhances WEP by adding a rekeying mechanism to provide fresh encryption and integrity keys. This makes TKIP protected networks more resistant to cryptanalytic attacks involving Read More

What are Alpha Particles? An alpha particle is a type of ionizing radiation that is exerted from radioactive materials. Alpha particles consist of two neutrons, two protons, and no electrons, giving it a net positive charge. This positive charge allows the alpha particles to leave their nucleus and bombard any nearby items with radiation. Alpha particles have a high mass, which makes them the most destructive form of radiation compared to others such as gamma particles and beta particles, which are much lighter. Where Do Alpha Particles Come From? Alpha Read More

An InterLATA or long distance call refers to a telephone call made between two separate LATAs. LATA (Local Access and Transport Area) is a term used to describe the area that a local telephone company manages. Markets, rather than geographical areas, define LATAs. Therefore, LATAs can cross over state borders and use multiple area codes. An InterLATA requires IXC (Inter-eXchange Carrier) use, which is a company setup to handle long distance calls. How InterLATA Works InterLATA consists of various equipment and companies that transfer calls across two or more LATAs. Read More

Google has evolved from a simple textual search engine to a multimedia search engine. These days, Google not only gives you web pages in its result but also displays images, videos, documents, etc from multiple sources. Google’s capability of indexing and searching images over the Internet is staggering. The Internet houses billions of images, and new images are uploaded every minute. Digging into this enormous pool and picking the right image needed by the user needs lot of hard work. For the same reason, Google created Advanced Image Search. This Read More