Computer-aided design programs, also known as CAD programs, are computer software programs that allow you to use the computer in order to design anything imaginable. CAD programs are generally marketed towards a specific type of design, whether that is bridge design, boat design, automechanics, architecture, or a wide variety of other types of CAD designs. In this article, we will go over how CAD works and several prime examples of CAD software. What is Computer Aided Design Computer-aided Design, or CAD, is an example of software that allows the user Read More

A thermoelectric generator is a solid-state device that works similar to solar panels but converts heat, rather than sunlight, directly into electricity. A thermoelectric generator is usually made of bismuth telluride semiconductor junctions that are only several millimeters thick. This differs drastically from the bimetallic junctions that were previously used, which were much thicker. Thermoelectric generators generally do not have any moving parts, except for a fan, and can be used in a wide variety of applications to generate electricity. How Thermoelectric Generators Work In a thermoelectric generator, heat is Read More

Bluetooth is a wireless communication protocol that allows multiple devices to communicate with each other and share files when they are in range. While Bluetooth is a rather new technology, it has quickly become a feature that the vast majority of wireless devices support and can be used with laptops, cell phones, PDAs, Bluetooth-enabled desktops, cameras, video game consoles, printers, fax machines, GPS receivers, and other fixed and mobile wireless devices. Bluetooth is an open wireless standard and uses short-wave radio transmissions to communicate with nearby devices, allowing for fast Read More

ISA Server Planning Overview When planning your ISA Server installation, there are a number of factors that you need to consider and others that you need to determine: How network topology needs to be configured to incorporate ISA Server. The size of the network. How you are going to achieve Internet connectivity. The needs and requirements of users. Active Directory integration requirements. The different ISA Server installation options. Is ISA Server going to be as a standalone server or an array? ISA Server array considerations (if applicable). The ISA Server Read More

Preview: Purple Theme Navigation System.   Step one: Open a new document. For this tutorial, I am just going to use a 800×140 px (Width, Height) document with a white background. First create a new layer set called Button, Layer > New > Layer Set. Then in a new layer draw a #7E00FF colored rectangle, size 160×25 px.   Step two: With your step one layer add the following layer styles:   Step three: Make another layer and draw a white rectangle on the left side with a little space Read More

Windows programs which don’t have a dedicated version for Mac OS X cannot be ran on Mac directly, but they can be ran with the help of a special tool. There are two basic ways to run Windows programs on a Mac. One is emulation, and another is virtualization. Emulation Emulation refers to simulating the basic portions of the Windows environment necessary to run some Windows programs on a non-Windows system. The most well known emulator is WINE, which is a humorous acronym for “WINE Is Not an Emulator”. While Read More

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is a set of ANSI standards for connecting devices to computer systems. The vast majority of SCSI devices are data storage devices. Standard SCSI is a parallel technology, but many serial SCSI variants exist, including FireWire and Fibre Channel. SCSI is generally considered a higher-end alternative to IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics). A single IDE controller can control two drives. A single SCI controller can control 8 or 16 drives. In addition, SCSI usually offers greater cable length and higher length than IDE. SCSI Standards SCSI Read More

The System Idle Process on computers running the Microsoft Windows Operating System (OS) typically displays when it is using more than 90% of the computer’s CPU. This confuses many users as they believe that there is an OS error or more drastically that the computer is infected with malware. In reality, the System Idle Process is designed to perform house keeping functions on the computer when the CPU is not tasked with any significant work. What Does the System Idle Process Do? The System Idle Process is a special task Read More

Many people want all of their pictures to have perfect quality but rely solely on the camera to make it happen. Others understand that it is not the camera but the photographer that makes pictures great but do not know how to do so. This article will explore several aspects of quality picture-taking that the majority of photographers-in-training ignore while expecting their camera to do all of the hard work. Get A Good Camera The first thing to do in order to take good pictures is to purchase a good Read More

Information Foraging is one of the theories used in developing content on the Internet that deals with how a regular user looks for information over the internet. Information foraging theory stems from the foraging theory used to model animal behavior when looking for food. The aim of this model is to make the search for information in the Internet much more user friendly. The Foraging Theory The foraging theory was first proposed by ecologists and anthropologists during the 70s to explain foraging behavior and strategies by animals. It was proposed Read More