Category: General Articles

Gaming Laptop Review – Gateway P-7808U FX

Gateway, Inc. is noted for its innovations that helped shape the technology industry. The company pioneered the ‘built to order’ production system and direct sales model which allowed it to sell computers at low costs. Gateway is also noted as the first computer company to sell its products online (in 1996).

Founded in 1985, the company grew into one of America’s best-known brands and during the 1990s consistently appeared on the Fortune 500 list. By 2000, however, the company saw its finances take a drastic turn as it slipped out of Fortune’s list. In October 2007, Gateway was acquired by Taiwan-based Acer Inc., and the combined entities now comprise the third-largest PC company in the world.

Design-wise, the Gateway 7808u FX Edition follows the same pattern used in previous gaming models particularly the P-7811 FX. The orange and black color combo remains ditto the chassis, keyboard, trackpad. Many users point out this design needs to be updated or even replaced.

The 7808u FX Edition’s biggest offering is in its use of the Core 2 Duo Q9000 quad-core processor. That processing capability is combined with 4GB of RAM, a GeForce 98000 graphics chip with 1 GB of VRAM and a 500GB of hard disk space. That combo assures the user that this laptop can take on today’s most demanding games.

The 7808u FX Edition features three USB ports, an HDMI port and an eSATA port. There is also an eSATA external hard drive and other ports that include VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, modem, an ExpressCard/54 slot, and a 5-in-1 memory card reader.

Like the display, we were also disappointed with the quality of the speakers in the 7808u FX Edition. SPECS AVAILABLE OPTIONS (From Gateway’s website)

CPU – 2.0-GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000

RAM – 4GB

Screen Size – 17 inches

Operating System – Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit with SP1)

Battery Life – About 3 hours

Graphics – 1GB Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTSPros

The use of the Core 2 Duo Q9000 quad-core processor combined with 4GB of RAM, a GeForce 98000 graphics chip with 1 GB of VRAM and a 500GB of hard disk space is one great combination we would recommend. That combo assures the user that the Gateway 7808u FX Edition can handle today’s most demanding games with ease.

Cons

The Gateway 7808u FX Edition’s 1440×900 display is a disappointment from a gaming perspective. At the price the unit is being offered, we expected a 1920×1200 resolution. We also felt, like many users that the design of the 7808u is getting outdated; time for Gateway to bring in new ideas. The sound system on the 7808u also leaves much to be desired.

Conclusion

Performance-wise, the Gateway 7808u FX Edition passes with flying colors. For the not-so-serious gamer, that criteria alone can be a basis to go out and get himself a unit. However, serious gamers look for the total experience – the processing power along with the audio and visual treat …

How to Get Target Visitors From Facebook on Your Website

Facebook is yet another social network that has gained much popularity in recent years. There have been many other social networks before Facebook, but none could reach the popularity graph of Facebook in such a quick time. Today Facebook is not just about socializing, but even emerging as best social media to post information regarding company or service and can be used for business. You can use this social media to promote your products and services, to acquire new clients, or even get traffic to your website or blog. In case, if you still wondering about how to get target visitors from social media like Facebook on your website then here are few vital social media optimization tips that you can follow:

Try to include information regarding your website on your wall or in photo gallery- Facebook is one of the few social networking that facilitates you to write a lot about you and your endeavors. Adding to this, you may even add or include pictures, so try to have the maximum use of all these opportunities and build the interest in you and your products.

Always try to build a good network- You need to understand that your network is your major capital in social networking websites. Therefore, always try to invite your friends and partners and ask them to join as your supporter. In fact, the best exercise that you can follow is you should always search for people with interests similar to yours. However, make sure you never spam, remember this is not the way to encourage people to join your network.

You have to post regularly – Posting regularly is the best recipe for success on Facebook. You need to understand that if you don’t publish new content regularly, the traffic to your Facebook profile and correspondingly the traffic to your website will automatically get slow and may affect the traffic. The chances are very high that you may not be able to post on a daily basis, so the best thing that you can do is try to do it as frequently as you can. If nothing else then you may also try to update your status regularly.

Try to arrange your page- Facebook is one of the few social networks that provide you the flexibility to move around many of the boxes. Just for example, if you put the RSS feed with the links to your blog in a visible space, this simple step can easily help you in generating lots of traffic for your blog or even website from Facebook account.

You can also use Facebook social ads- If you are unable to get target visitors the most appropriate and effective way you can get the traffic is by using Facebook Social ads. These are just like PPC ads and starting a campaign is similar to an AdWords campaign.

You can also start a group – Start a group about something related to …

Simple Instructions to Build a Gaming PC

In doing a little research I found that to build a gaming pc was not really as hard as I had thought it was. I was of the mind that all that tech stuff would be way over my head, but I found that it really wasen’t. With the way that hardware companies make components to easily coincide with each other, and the fact that they make this stuff so that it is easy to build; I realized that they made this a simple process much to my surprise. That’s when I decided to create a very simple instruction manual that anyone can use to know what will be needed, and what to do in order for you to build your own.

I see that the only tools that you really need are a screwdriver, a ziplock bag, a tube and a tube of thermal silver, and that’s it! No really, that’s it! After you have these tools the only other two things that are imperative obviously is to know what components you need to build a gaming pc, and how to put it together. Again, once I found out how this was done I was flabbergasted as to the simplicity of it all. Now these are the components that you will need at the least in order to build your extreme gaming pc:

1. a motherboard

2. a CPU (AMD) 2 or 4 core

3. a Graphics card

4. a Sound card

5. RAM (at least 4GB for games – especially required if you have a 64bit system)

6. a Hard Drive

7. SSD – to store your operating system; games; programs for best results

8. a Power Supply

9. An Optical Drive (Blue Ray/DVD Reader)

10. Fans

11. A Case (to mount your computer in)

12. and of course a monitor, keyboard, and a mouse

There are things you can do to make your gaming PC more fancy, explosive, or extreme, but the bottom line is that if you want to build your own gaming pc you can with the components I’ve outlined. Now, you can build it with this simple process:

* Start with your mother board outside the case its easier

* put processor inside socket and secure (do not force) then lock it in

* apply even coat of thermal compound (use ziplock bag to cover your hand)

* install heat sink fan to keep processor cool

* install RAM (in same channel)

* now install entire motherboard into computer case

* install drives and screw in with screwdriver (DVD and Hard Drive)

* install Video Card, or any other cards for computer

* install Power Supply

* connect wiring ( 24 pin and 4 pin connects onto your motherboard)

* connect all fans, video card, DVD, Hard Drive, Power, and Data

* POWER ON!

At this point you are ready to install your operating system. In the case of extreme gaming PC’s the consensus is that windows …

Why Traditional Marketing Methods Are Still the Best

With all the hype about new forms of marketing such as social media marketing, it is easy to forget that some of the best techniques are the ones that have been around for many years. Door to door mailing is one of the best techniques around, and this article looks at why techniques such as leaflet distribution are still so popular.

Social media marketing may be the latest craze, and some businesses have had very good results using it. But the fact is that it is still very new and many businesses simply don’t know how to get involved to make it effective for them. Even with all the new marketing methods available, traditional media still remains one of the best ways to carry out a marketing campaign.

One of the best traditional marketing techniques around is leaflet distribution. It may sound old fashioned to some in the internet marketing game, but it simply cannot be written off. Leaflet marketing works, it has done for years and it will continue to do so for a long time to come.

But why is it so effective?

Leaflet distribution is a way to target a large group of people with a powerful marketing message directly in their homes. You can base your mailings on whole regions or target by people based on demographics to reach a large amount of people in a very short space of time.

It’s also very cost effective. Leaflets are generally cheap to produce and distribute, allowing you to get your name in front of your targets whenever you need to. Because they are so cheap to send you can carry out multiple mailings over a long period of time so that even if they don’t act on your leaflet for the first few distributions people will immediately think of you when they need the service you provide.

Leaflet distribution is a great way to make sure your marketing messages get seen. With print ads you never know if your advert will just get ignored, but with leaflets people physically hold them in their hands, providing a much better opportunity to read your marketing message and hopefully act on it. This is even more effective when you send out your leaflets on their own without any other deliveries, so ask your distribution firm about this possibility.

Conclusion

Door to door mailing still remains one of the most effective forms of marketing, and leaflet distribution is used by businesses all over the country because of the huge benefits that it has. By all means experiment with new forms of marketing, by if you want to try out new techniques then it is a good idea to use these alongside the formats that you know will get you results such as leaflet distribution.

Steal, Shoot and Slam Dunk Your Solution to a Win in PS3 NBA Live 10

In PS3 NBA Live 10, your rival will be “courting” disaster. And in this situation, you get to become judge, jury and executioner, stuffing your competitors within the movie game globe. So, are you ready to slam-dunk any and all levels of competition into oblivion? Just like the actual sport, PS3 NBA Stay may be the game that made talking trash for the court docket. Really don’t fool yourself into thinking this are going to be some cakewalk, make no mistake. We’re talking about playing PlayStation games within the web at Reside within the net tournament, in which the gamers wager real money. Here’s where you prove towards the PS3 NBA Are located gamers that you just call the shots… and set to rest any debate that you might be THE Guy! Make the passes and make the shots, and you’ll discover oneself with the adulation of the peers.

The sports movie game motion starts when you’re all set to have on over to Are living around the net tournament, turn on your PS3 game console, and look for out some genuine competitors. But make no error: some gamers who imagine they’re willing aren’t really all set if you realize what we are saying. If you ever strategy to pummel your PS3 NBA Reside challenger and snake his bankroll, then ensure that that you’ve conquered the game controller also as the game arena. Be sure you have received a deal with on every thing you should know – spin go, goods, trick and roll, stealing. Since your rival has a handful of moves of his own, and you really don’t want to obtain mowed lower about the court docket.

Once you’ll be able to start scoring individuals three-pointers together with your eyes closed (okay, perhaps that one’s a tad of the tall order), then it’s time to create your presence recognized at Rivalspot and allow the video game planet know that that you are a force being reckoned with. If they’re offline, send them an invite, and be certain to allow them know you mean business – a tiny (or a lot) of trash-talk does the trick there. We’re just saying. It’s all inside game. Live within the web tournament has provided PlayStation NBA Stay players the ultimate around the net video game fantasy – uncover the finest players within the internet, difficulty them to some PS3 NBA reside, and play movie games for income. Following your unquestioned string of victories against your competitors, the term for the street – or Stay on the internet tournament forums – is going to be you are a force to be reckoned with. And on greatest of that, you’ll make some serious money. What much more could a gamer question for?

What to Blog About on Your Business Blog!

When coaching some of my social media business clients, after convincing them why one should blog, they often ask,

“So what should I blog about”?

So I present them with a long list. I am going to share my list with you in the hopes that it will inspire you to make a list of things you could blog about for your business.

An application or new software that you discovered

A risk you took

A book you read

An interview

Something that is right in your niche or area of interest

Something that is wrong or could use a fix

A cause

Your favorite Charity

The scariest thing that ever happened to you

You most embarrassing moment

Rants and raves

About your mentor

About your student

Debunk a myth

Guest posts

Have someone interview you

Interview someone else

Create a collaboration post

Ask questions or do a survey

Post a video and put some comments

Review someone else’s post

Interview yourself on a topic.

Recap a past event.

Recap the results of a research report someone else published.

Report on a conference you attended.

Reveal background information on something you do to make your organization successful.

Share really cool work you or someone in your organization has done.

Share the results of some research your organization has done.

Summarize what you know about a topic.

Write about things that you know that others might not realize.

Write about what you do in your business to serve customers.

Feature Experts

Answer Frequently Asked Questions from your clients

Present a Case Study of a Successful Client (with permission)

Post a funny comic or video

This is a short list. Really, it is! I would love to hear if you would add any topics to this list.

Of course, a social media manager can help you get started with your business blog, in these ways:

Get your WordPress blog setup

Help you come up with a calendar of content

Help you regularly post and optimize your content.

Help you brainstorm client relevant topics

Select search engine friendly words

Submit your posts to social media sites

Submit your posts to article sites like this one!

Hyperlink your content to relevant other posts on your site, and to relevant websites and blog posts by other authors.

Find video and pictures that are relevant to your readers.

So get out there and start blogging! Your Business will thank you!

Budget Gaming PC – Is it Good Enough?

There is a generation old rivalry between PC gamers and console gamers. In many ways, the console gamers are oblivious to this rivalry but PC gamers are often all-too aware. Console games get all the attention, they often get first release of games, and console gamers can just pop their discs in and play without having to go through an install process or anything. On the other hand, console gaming lacks a certain depth that PC gaming is famous for. PC gaming offers wider ranging control with a keyboard instead of a handheld controller with only a dozen or so buttons and PC’s offer the latest in graphics and sound technology. Unfortunately, PC gaming also has a history of being fairly expensive. This is one thing many console gamers tend to be very aware of, and it leaves many PC gamers nursing sore wallets. This doesn’t have to be the case, though.

A true budget gaming PC can be had for generally the same price as a console system, although for a gaming PC that will take you through to the next console release you will either want to spend a bit more, or expect to buy another budget gaming machine about halfway through the console life cycle. The trick is to look at the curve in the price points. Top end PC hardware can be prohibitively expensive, but prices drop sharply as you look to slightly older (by a few months) technology. In mathematical terms, the performance of new PC hardware tends to go up like a straight line graph, but the price of the latest and greatest tends to be a geometric progression, like graphing X vs X-squared. Somewhere in the middle of the graph you will find a point where pricing has dropped into the range you can afford, but performance has not dropped nearly by the same amount. This is the sweet spot.

There is no such thing as “planned obsolescence” from a manufacturing standpoint with PCs. Generally speaking they will last a long, long time. The problem tends to be that in many cases they become less useful when faced with the latest games or other multithreaded software, and we feel the need to upgrade. Any serious gamer is going to want to keep this in mind. Most gamers will want to buy a new PC every 1-3 years depending on their budget, how much they game and how graphics-intensive the latest games are. That being said, a bargain hunter with an eye for price vs performance can end up buying a budget gaming pc every 3-4 years and do very well for themselves. The trick isn’t just about finding a good price though, it’s about knowing when you plan to replace the machine. Someone who spends thousands of rand on a new gaming pc will likely be unhappy with its performance 3 years down the line, while someone who spent 1/3 the price could buy a …

Social Media Training – To Tweet, ReTweet Or Not Tweet

Twitter is a popular social media site. Even with some recent declines in traffic from a high of 29,000,000 in July of 2009 to just over 21,000,000 in March of 2010, this site still receives a massive amount of traffic. (Source )

A recent article entitled Twitter: Media or (Un)Social Network? by John Zappe shared some interesting social media statistics specific to the end users in Twitter. His article was based upon a presentation delivered to the 19th World Wide Web Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Some of the data revealed was common sense such as the majority of tweets are topical and Twitter following is not usually reciprocated at 22%. However after studying the 431.7 million Twitter Profiles along with the incredible 1.47 billion follower relationships, the researchers suggested Twitter does serve as a functional marketing vehicle to spread information.

Data on Twitter messages suggested there is better than a 50/50 chance of your tweet being retweeted within one hour. What that happens, your tweet reaches on average 1,000 users no matter the number of followers within the original message. Within a hour, a message can make five hops. The researchers now defined one hop as a retweet and two hops as a retweeted retweet.

Bottom line is that Twitter is a powerful fast distribution vehicle for getting your marketing message out. Your Tweet goes beyond your followers. However given that most messages (Tweets) are one way, you must truly add value if you want your message to be re-tweeted.

And herein lies the problem with so much of the social media training. These now transformed traditional marketers leave this critical component out because many in social media are clueless about what makes compelling marketing copy. Then add that with so many involved in marketing not being results driven along with the space constraints of 140 characters only exacerbates this problem.

Using the old AIDA model may help you overcome this problem along with doing the research about your target market and aligning your messages to your overall strategic marketing action plan. When you can Attract Attention, Build Interest, Develop Desire and include a call to Action, you just may hit a grand slam. Of course not all messages may have these 4 criteria especially in you are tweeting or retweeting quotations.

Finally, knowing when or what not to tweet is just as important. No one likes to be sold hence why people mute television commercials or TIVO past them. By using a 10 to 1 ratio (10 education based and informative treats with one self serving message) keeps you from being viewed as the typical product or sales based salespersons only interested in increasing your own coffers.

By taking the time to do your research, you can leverage this very fast marketing distribution media vehicle. In this way you can go beyond the popular quotes to actually educating your target audience with your tweets. Sales Training Coaching Tip: …

Getting A Gaming Laptop Under $1000

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace that we are now seeing several manufacturers selling a gaming laptop under $1000. These laptop models come with specifications that are fine tuned to provide you with an excellent gaming experience. There are however models that outperform the rest in terms of performance and this is what we will be looking at into now. If you are in the market looking for a gaming laptop under $1000 then be sure to follow our guide in making the right choice.

GPU (Graphical Processor Unit)

What sets a gaming laptop apart from other models is that it always uses a dedicated GPU to handle the intense 3D graphics. Some of the most popular brands used are Nvidia and ATI Radeon that can easily handle the most intense graphics a game can come up with. It’s always important to get the fps (frames per second) rating a GPU can make on a game. For testing purposes Crysis has been used as a benchmark since it is the most graphically demanding game. If you can do at least 30 fps on this game then you have found a great model. One excellent model to consider is the Dell Alienware M11X using an NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M. It is one of the best gaming laptop available at this price.

Screen Size

Now that you have great graphics, you will want to view it on a big enough display. If you will be constantly bringing your gaming laptop with you then an 11.6 inch screen size will do however if you are looking for a desktop replacement then a 15 inch screen size makes a better choice. However, you should also consider that higher the screen size, higher would be the weight of the laptop. One excellent gaming laptop to replace your desktop is the Samsung RF510-S02 15.6-Inch HD LED Laptop.

Processor

There is an ongoing debate as to who makes the best gaming processors, Intel or AMD. Both companies offer excellent processors however Intel has a slight edge over their second generation Intel Core processors. The ASUS N53JQ-XC1 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop is an excellent choice that uses an Intel Core i7-740QM processor.

Memory

A gaming laptop has to have the largest memory possible. If you can upgrade your memory to the maximum possible configuration your laptop can accommodate then do so. This will ensure a smoother gameplay as more and more characters pop up in the game.

5 Things to Consider Before Podcasting As a Small Business

No doubt you like me, you are using your transit time, be it travelling or wait appointment and possibility even your insomnia to listen with your iPod to podcasts in your area of interest. I have a number of marketing favorites now including:

Ten Golden Rules

Ducttapemarketing

Six Degrees of Separation

Marketing Over Coffee

Marketing Geeks

These are all great and it begs the question should we all be doing podcasts for our businesses. Well, here are 5 things to consider before you take on this new social media. See if you can tick each area off.

Susan Bratton from Dishy Mix makes a good call when she explains whether you should go into podcasting. A veteran at podcasting, she explains that her preferred medium for communicating is to speak with people, even over blogging or twittering. Susan does have a great personality and she has honed her interviewing skills and so makes for an interesting host.

1. So deciding if this medium suits your style is number 1. If you feel you would rather blog, or remain in the background then this forum is not for you.

2. What do you want to achieve with the podcast? Is it another tool to connect with your customers? Is it serving a particular niche? To compliment yourself as an expert in a area is another valid reason. Maybe it is just to serve your ego, perhaps not the best reason but some people honestly want to share their burning passion. I think Jay uses this medium the best and that is to provide really great content in a different way. People are busy and to be able to download Jay and listen to him and is great expert guests and content is a must on my list. This also I am sure provides him with many speaking engagements as an expert.

3. You have to keep to a regular format which means setting the time aside to do the podcast every week, month or fortnight. Once you have the listeners you need to commit to the schedule. This is a hard one for some of us with limited resources but as Jay so cleverly does there are many ways to do a podcast. You can do it remotely from sites or take your ipod with a recording app and capture content at conferences, with clients and other guests. However, it is valid to remember that the editing of the podcast can take up to 3 times as long as the recording.

4. Technical skill – there are so many resources out there for podcasting that it is now easier than ever to do a podcast.

5. However to make it useful there are some categories that you need to look at. Using podcasting music from Podsafe network is really just the beginning.

Format and length

Content is king – is what you have to say worth listening

I think it is …