The motherboard is the most essential component in a personal computer. It is the piece of hardware that contains the computer’s micro-processing chip and everything attached to it is vital to making the computer run. The term “mainboard” is also sometimes used to refer to the motherboard . Motherboard Components The motherboard is the flat, rectangular piece of circuit board inside the computer’s case to which everything seems to connect to for one reason or another. It contains the following key components: A microprocessor “socket” that defines what kind of Read More

Frequency modulation is a type of modulation where the frequency of the carrier is varied in accordance with the modulating signal. The amplitude of the carrier remains constant. The information-bearing signal (the modulating signal) changes the instantaneous frequency of the carrier. Since the amplitude is kept constant, FM modulation is a low-noise process and provides a high quality modulation technique which is used for music and speech in hi-fidelity broadcasts. In addition to hi-fidelity radio transmission, FM techniques are used for other important consumer applications such as audio synthesis and Read More

A barcode scanner (which may also be referred to as a barcode reader) is a piece of electronic equipment that can read printed barcodes. Barcodes are used to manage and track a wide variety of items, ranging from grocery store items to cars to insects such as bees. A barcode scanner uses a lens, light source and photo conductor to translate optical impulses to electrical impulses. Main Types of Barcode Scanners Fixed Position: A fixed position barcode scanner is used by distributors and manufacturers. This type of barcode scanner can Read More

Biological computers are special types of microcomputers that are specifically designed to be used for medical applications. The biological computer is an implantable device that is mainly used for tasks like monitoring the body's activities or inducing therapeutic effects, all at the molecular or cellular level. The biological computer is made up of RNA (Ribonucleic Acid – an important part in the synthesis of protein from amino acids), DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid – nucleic acid molecule that contains the important genetic information that is used by the body for the construction Read More

AC3, or Dolby AC-3, is a lossy audio format created by Dolby Digital that is used in cinemas, television broadcasts, DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs, and game consoles. While AC3 was never designed to replace MP3 files, it has grown in popularity in the PC audio industry and is now recognized and supported by many media players and devices. However, AC3 is mostly used in audio/video recordings and is rarely separated from video files. How AC3 Works Because AC3 is a lossy audio format, it discards information when it is compressed. Although Read More

Molex connectors are pin and socket types of connectors that are found in a multitude of products. Their name stems from the Molex Products Company, the business that originally designed and helped standardize the type of connection in the 1950s and 1960s. Although they were originally designed for use in appliances, they are currently a standard in computer and automobile electronics. The Molex connectors of today are designed very simply. One piece of the two piece pin and socket design consists of metal pins while the other piece consists of Read More

Your calendar is probably so full of reminders like doctor’s visits, parties, meetings and birthdays that your friends, families and co-workers need to see it just to figure out where they “fit in your schedule”. Outlook makes it easy to share your calendar with family and friends! Go to your Calendar and in the Navigation Pane, click Share My Calendar. If it doesn’t appear, that means you aren’t using an Exchange server email account. If you are using a POP3 (Yahoo, MSN, etc.) or some other account, it won’t work. Read More

The total number of Unix commands is immense. No normal user or system administrator would ever need to know them all. The Unix commands available to you will vary based upon several factors: The version of Unix you are using (FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, OpenBSD, etc…) The Unix shell you are using (sh, csh, tcsh, ksh, bash, etc…) The packages installed on the system and the way the system is configured Your access level on the system This list of basic Unix commands will get you started using and Read More

Cryogenics is the branch of physics that deals with the production of extremely low temperatures – usually lower than -238 degrees Fahrenheit – and it specifically looks into how materials behave when they are exposed to such temperatures. The experiments performed by Sir Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday paved the way for this new field of physics. Popular literature, however, often mixes up cryogenics with cryonics or the use of cryogenics to preserve biological matter. Cryogenics, literally "cold production," is also a commonly used term when referring to a state Read More

802.11g is one of the standards used for high speed wireless networks, commonly known as Wifi. This standard was created by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in June of 2003 and uses a 2.4 to 2.5 gigahertz radio frequency to send and receive data from one device to another. There are several standards that are in use today for wireless communication, others include 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11n. The standard 802.11g is becoming quite popular during the last several years for its speed, quality of transmission and competitive Read More