Cell, or mobile, phones have dramatically increased the world's interconnectivity over the past few decades. They are portable, relatively reliable, and now include many functions that have nothing to do with communication. Cell phones are usually easy to learn and understand but some users, especially the elderly, may have trouble understanding all of the things that cell phones are now capable of. To make this easier, the basic functions of modern cell phones are listed below with short descriptions for each. Calling Calling is rather straightforward on any phone whether Read More

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is a symmetric cipher defined in Federal Information Processing (FIPS) Standard Number 197 in 2001 as the federal government approved encryption algorithm. The NSA has approved 128-bit AES for use up to SECRET level and 192-bit AES for use up to TOP SECRET level. AES is based upon the Rijndael algorithm, which was invented by Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen. AES specifies three approved key lengths: 128-bits, 192-bits and 256-bits. Nicolas Courtois maintains an excellent web page on the current state of attacks on AES.   Read More

DDR3 SDRAM (Double Data Rate Three Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the third generation of DDR SDRAM. DDR3 SDRAM improves on DDR2 SDRAM in several significant ways: Higher bandwidth due to increased clock rate Reduced power consumption due to 90mm fabrication technology Pre-fetch buffer is doubled to 8 bits to further increase performance The voltage of DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs was lowered from 1.8V to 1.5V. This reduces power consumption and heat generation, as well as enabling more dense memory configurations for higher capacities. Standard DDR3 SDRAM DIMM's DDR3 SDRAM Read More

Modern Macs use the same underlying system architecture as Windows PCs. The only differences are in the ways Apple integrates these components and how they design the machine as a whole. This means that Macs can run Windows natively just as all PCs can and Apple actually touts this fact as one of its upsides. Install Windows without Erasing Mac OS X Apple has provided an official and built-in method of setting up Windows on a Mac while still keeping Mac OS X called Boot Camp. It no longer supports Read More

Apple TV is a device that is designed to stream video and other content from iTunes and directly through the iTunes store. An Apple iTunes account is required and the account must have sharing enabled. Local sources can also be used to stream to the Apple TV hardware via a computer running the Apple iTunes software. Once the Apple TV has been connected to iTunes locally or through the Internet, users can choose which media to stream to the TV. The Apple TV will receive and display or produce the Read More

In the age of HDTV, it is important to receive the best signals available to take advantage of the higher image quality that such display technology made possible. Pure Digital Television (PDTV) is the answer to this need. PDTV makes it possible to get direct feed from the video source and send it directly to the display without loss of quality or any need to filter the image. How does PDTV Work? The way that PDTV works is simple. A satellite, Cable, or alternative signal is captured directly from the Read More

One of the best modes of enjoying audio and visual recordings is through the DVD. It is common for you to pay for a compact disc at exorbitant prices you would hardly imagine. But it is sure that the quality of what you get is far more when compared to the price you pay. While facing the trouble posed by scratched DVDs seem frustrating, there is virtually no way in which scratches on your DVD can be guarded against. Scratches on your DVD should not signal an end to that Read More

The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) allows network management to communicate with different network components. Because of this, it is important for all network hardware to be equipped with an SNMP agent that allows for it to be communicated back to network management. Once the network is connected, the elements are able to send messages back to network management, and at the same time, network management can send messages to the elements for information. It is this constant back and forth between the network and all its elements that necessitates Read More

The MP4 file type is a multimedia format designed to store digital video and/or audio streams in addition to 2D and 3D imagery. A common task for end-users who have video or audio content stored in AVI (Audio Video Interleave) format is to convert AVI to MP4 for playback on mobile devices such as the iPod, iPad, or iPhone that require conversion to MP4. The file conversion can be accomplished using third party or online applications at no or low cost to the consumer. Convert AVI to MP4 Using Quick Read More

The DirectX SDK (DirectX Software Development Kit) is a set of development tools which comprises of all the DirectX software needed for a game developer to create DirectX based applications in VisualBasic.NET, C/C++, and C#. Some of the main components included in the DirectX SDK are: DirectX headers and libraries DirectX system components (runtimes) DirectX API (Application Programming Interface) Documentation Sample applications and source code Miscellaneous tools and other utilities Those who are new to DirectX SDK can start with the DirectX documentation pages to know more details about development Read More