What is SS USB?

What is SS USB?

SS USB is an acronym that means "SuperSpeed USB" where USB means "Universal Serial Bus".

USB is a type of interface the is used to connect computers to storage devices and digital cameras to transfer data.  SS USB designates USB 3, which is not only faster than USB 2, but can provide more power.  SS USB can provide power for storage drives and even computer monitors through the SS USB port.

SS USB ports are labeled with "SS" in front of the USB logo.  In some cases, SS USB ports are colored blue.  A new row of pins is added in the SS USB interface to support the higher speed data rates.

How Fast is SS USB?

SS USB supports a data transfer rate of up to 5 Gigabits/second.  This is 10x faster than USB 2.0.  SS USB supports full duplex communication (simultaneous transmit and receive), where USB 2 supports only half duplex communication- this provides the potential for SS USB to actually be 20x faster than USB 2.

How Do I Know If I Have SS USB?

If your look closely at the USB ports on your computer, you'll notice a USB logo.  If the USB logo has the letters "SS" in front of it, you have a SS USB port.  Another indicator is if blue plastic is used in the USB port.  Close inspection of a SS USB port will show that it has an extra row of pins compared with a "regular" USB port.

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What is HDMI?

What is HDMI?

HDMI is an acronym that means "High Definition Multimedia Interface".  HDMI  is the interface that carries digital video and digital audio signals for digital television and monitors.

HDMI ports are found on High Definition (HD) television sets and provide a means to provide a HD digital video source to the TV.  For example, a blu-ray player is connected to a digital TV through its HDMI interface using an HDMI cable.  The HDMI output port on the blu-ray is connected to one end of an HDMI cable and the other end of the HDMI cable is connected to the digital TV. Both digital audio and digital video signals are supported on HDMI.

Another example of connecting an HDMI media device is using the HDMI port on an Xbox to get high definition video for video games.  Just connect an HDMI cable between the Xbox and your High Definiton TV.

What is an HDMI cable?

An HDMI cable is the type of cable designed to carry HD digital video and digital audio from a  media source to a TV or monitor.  HDMI cables are available in a variety of lengths and start at about $5.

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SD vs SDHC vs SDXC Memory Cards

SD vs SDHC vs SDXC Memory Cards

There are 3 types of SD cards available: SD, SDHC, and SDXC.  These cards are the same size, but support different memory capacity and file system options.

SD

SD stands for "Secure Digital" and is a type of flash memory card for cameras and tablet computers.  This type of memory card is also known as SDSC which means "Secure Digital Standard Capacity".  SD cards are available with memory capacity up to 4GB.

SDHC

The SD standard was updated in 2006 to define the SDHC format which means "Secure Digital High Capacity".  SDHC cards support a capacity up to 32GB and are preformatted with FAT32 file system.

SDXC

SDXC means "Secure Digital Extended Capacity".  This update to the standard was released in 2009 and supports cards with up to 2 TB memory capacity.  SDXC cards are preformatted with Microsoft's exFAT file system.

SD Card Speed Classes

SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards are available in several speed classes.  Faster cards support faster read/write times and support real-time high definition video recording and high resolution digital cameras.

Class 10 SD cards

Class 10 is currently the highest speed class.  Class 10 SD cards support data rates of at least 10MB/sec.  Most class 10 cards available today support read/write speeds of 30-45 MB/second.

Below are some Class 10 16GB SDHC cards.  These cards support fast data transfer for high definition video and digital pictures.  Some of these 16GB SD cards are less than $10!


   

Recommended Reading:
64GB SD cards
32GB SD cards
16GB SD cards

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16GB SD card

16GB SD card

The price of 16GB SD cards has dropped significantly as larger capacity SD cards are becoming more popular.  You can get some great bargains on 16GB cards- some are under $10!

The memory capacity of a 16GB SD card can store a lot of pictures and files.  For example, if your digital pictures are 6MB each, a 16GB SD card can store over 2600 pictures.

The storage capacity is not the only thing to consider when selecting an SD card- speed is also very important.  The read/write rate of the SD card determines how long it takes to read and write files from the card.  If you are selecting an SD card for a digital camera or video recording, you will want a fast class 10 card.  Class 10 SD cards support data rates of at least 10MB/sec.  Many Class 10 SD cards available now support speeds of 30 to 40MB/sec or more.  This means less lag when taking pictures or recording video.

Below are my favorite 16GB class 10 SD cards.  These are all fast cards and work great for digital cameras and video recording as well as tablet computers.




Recommended Reading:
How to Get a Digital SLR camera cheap!

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64gb sd card

64gb sd card

There are lots of choices available for 64GB SD cards for your digital camera or tablet.  The main considerations when selecting an SD card are the memory capacity and the read/write speed of the SD card.

A 64GB SD card has lots of capacity.  For example, if you use a 64GB SD card in a digital camera, and each picture takes 6MB of storage space, a 64 GB SD card can hold over 10,000 pictures!  That is an incredible amount of storage.

Speed of the SD card is also important, especially for digital cameras and digital video recording.  Class 10 SD cards support data rates of at least 10MB/sec.  Many Class 10 SD cards on the market have a transfer rate of 30 to 40MB/second or more which is great to avoid lag.

Below are some of my favorite 64GB SD cards.  All of these are class 10, which are high speed SD cards-great for digital cameras and digital video recording.





Recommended Reading:
How to Get a Digital SLR camera cheap!

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32gb SD card

32gb SD card

There are some great options for 32GB SD cards for digital cameras.  Memory capacity and read/write speed are the main considerations when selecting a SD card.

A high capacity 32GB card will hold lots of pictures.  For example, the pictures I take with my Digital SLR camera are about 6MB each, so a 32GB card will hold 5,300 digital pictures.

Another important consideration for choosing an SD card is speed.  Faster SD cards will allow you to take pictures faster with less delay between pictures.  If you are using an SD card for a tablet, a faster card will allow you to run with less lag.  I use a fast class 10 SDHC card.  Class 10 SD cards support data rates of at least 10MB/sec.  Class 10 SD cards selling today may have a data transfer rate of 30 to 40MB/second which can keep up with recording photos or digital video.

Below are the best 32GB class 10 SD cards.  I got the SanDisk Extreme card with my digital SLR camera, but the Sony SDHC card looks like a good value.



Recommended Reading:
How to Get a Digital SLR camera cheap!

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What is ReadyBoost?

What is ReadyBoost?

ReadyBoost is a feature of Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista that allows computers to use a flash drive as a memory cash to make the computer run faster.  Since flash drives have faster random access read and write times than a hard drive, Windows uses the flash drive as a high speed memory cash to make your computer run faster.

Flash drives, also known as thumb drives or USB memory sticks, are available for under $10, so using ReadyBoost is an inexpensive way to get more performance out of your older computer.  I use the SanDisk Cruzer Fit USB Flash Drive in my laptop for ReadyBoost- it doesn't stick out like a full-size flash drive and works great with ReadyBoost.




This link has detailed instructions on using ReadyBoost and a cheap USB memory stick to speed up your computer.


Recommended Reading:
Use a Cheap USB Flash Memory Stick to Speed up Windows 7

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What is an iPod?

What is an iPod?

An iPod is Apple's brand of portable MP3 player.  These devices store digital music files and play them through headphones.  Some iPod models can also store and play videos on the small iPod screen.

iPod Touch features a touch screen and runs iOS like iPhones.  You can run iPhone apps and play games on an iPod Touch.  You can think of an iPod Touch as an iPhone without the phone.

What is the Difference Between an iPod and an MP3 Player?

iPods are a type of MP3 player.  MP3 describes the file format used to store digital music files.  iPods differ from other brands of MP3 players in that many people think they are easier to use.  Apple has integrated music downloading from iTunes to make it easy to download and manage songs.

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What is PayPal?

What is PayPal?

PayPal is an on-line money transfer service that replaces checks and money orders for making payments. PayPal users put funds into their PayPal account with a funds transfer from their bank or credit card.  The PayPal account can then be used to transfer the funds to someone else's PayPal account to make a payment.

Using PayPal eliminates the risk of getting a bad check since the funds are confirmed immediately.  If you receive funds into your PayPal account, you can transfer these to your bank to access the money.

PayPal is the main method of payment for eBay items.  PayPal charges the seller a transaction fee of about 3% for sales on eBay.




Recommended Reading:
What is eBay?

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What is eBay?

What is eBay?

eBay is an e-commerce site where visitors can buy and sell items.  All kinds of items are offered for sale on eBay.  Individual sellers can sell household items and electronics that are no longer wanted to make money.  Some eBay sellers buy large quantities of imported items and sell them individually at a profit.

eBay is a good place to look for rare or unique items since millions of items are for sale from around the world.  eBay is a good opportunity for sellers to reach a large market to get the best price for their items.

What Selling Formats are Available on eBay?

eBay started off selling through an auction format.  Items were listed at a starting price, and buyers could bid in an auction by offering a price higher than the current high bid.  The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the auction.



eBay has added other selling formats, such as "Buy It Now" (BIN) where buyers can instantly buy an item by offering the BIN price.  Buyers like this format since they do not need to wait until the end of the auction to find out if they will get to buy the item or not.

Another option is "Best Offer" where buyers can make the seller an offer and the seller can accept or reject the offer.  This is a good selling format for items that are difficult to price.

How Much Does it Cost to Sell on eBay?

The final value fee from eBay is 10% of the final price.  If you accept PayPal for payment the PayPal fee is about 3% of the selling price.




Recommended Reading:
What is Etsy?
How to Ship Sold eBay Items
Avoid the Nigerian eBay Scam

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What is a UPS?

What is a UPS?

UPS is an acronym that means "Universal Power Supply".  This is a back-up power supply for computing equipment that allows computers to keep running through a brief power outage.

During thunderstorms, it is not unusual for the electric power supply to homes and businesses to go out for a few minutes due to lightning strikes on utility equipment or tree branches falling and damaging power lines.

A UPS has a battery and an a DC to AC converter to supply 120 volt A/C power to run equipment.  The capacity of most UPS can run a computer for an hour or so when no power is available.  The main purpose is to allow users to save their work in an orderly fashion and power down their computer without losing their work.  Most UPS also include surge protection to protect items plugged into it from power surges.

Do you need a UPS?

If you have a desktop PC, you may benefit from a UPS.  A UPS will protect you from losing your unsaved work when power outages occur, and can allow you to continue working for some time without electric power.  You can also power peripherals such as printers using a UPS.  You will also benefit from surge protection which protects your computer equipment from power surges.

If you have a tablet computer or laptop, you do not need a UPS since these devices have a built-in battery and are not immediately affected by power interruption.  You may want to consider a surge protector to protect your equipment from power surges.

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What is VoIP?

What is VoIP?

VoIP is short for "Voice over Internet Protocol".  VoIP is a way of making a phone call using the internet to send the data instead of using a phone network or cellular telephone network.  The advantage of using VoIP is that you can make free long distance phone calls using your existing internet service.

How Do You Make Free Phone Calls with VoIP?

You can download software that allows you to make VoIP calls from your computer.  Skype is one example of free VoIP software.  Skype also allow you to do videoconferencing if you have a webcam connected to you computer.

You can also buy devices that allow you to use VoIP to make free phone calls using your existing phones.  Ooma Telo Free Home Phone Service is one example.

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What is Retina display?

What is Retina display?

Retina display is an Apple brand of display technology used in iPads, iPods, iPhones and Apple MacBook laptop computers.  The display is designed to have high enough resolution so that the human eye cannot see pixelation at normal viewing distances.  In other words, if a curved line is displayed on a Retina display, the individual square pixels that are used to render the curved line should not be visible.

What is the Resolution of a Retina display?

The third and fourth generator iPad and iPad Air have a Retina display with a resolution of 2048×1536 pixels.  The display density is 264 pixels per inch.  This works out to a pixel density of 69 pixels per degree at a viewing distance of 15 inches.



Recommended Reading:
Can You Get a Stylus for an iPad with Retina Display?

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What is wi-fi?

What is wi-fi?

Wi-Fi is short for "wireless fidelity".  Wi-fi is a wireless networking technology that is commonly used in homes and businesses to provide wireless internet access.  Each computer, laptop, tablet computer, printer, game console, or other device on a wireless network has a wi-fi module installed.  The wi-fi module can be a card that is installed, or wi-fi capability can be integrated into a device.

How Does wi-fi work?

Devices with wi-fi capability communicate with a wireless router using radio signals to transmit data.  The wireless router provides access to the internet and allows devices to communicate with each other on the wi-fi network.  For example, you can stream video from your smartphone to your TV using a Chromecast and your home wi-fi network.  Game consoles can update their firmware and install games using the wi-fi network to access the internet with no need for an ethernet cable to be plugged in.

What is the Range of a wi-fi Network?

Most home wireless routers have a range of about 100 feet.  This means that you should be able to access your wi-fi from all areas of your home and even from outside in your yard if you wish.  In residential areas, you can usually pick up signals from wi-fi routers within a few houses of your location.  You can add encryption to your wi-fi router so that only people who know your password can use your wireless router.

How Do You Install a wi-fi System?

It is easy to install a wi-fi system in your home or business.  You need internet access, typically a DSL line with a modem or DSL router.  Your internet service provider will install this part.  You then simply connect a wireless router using an ethernet cable.  You can buy a high speed wi-fi router for under $100 and install it in a few minutes to provide wireless internet access.

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What is Google Chrome?

What is Google Chrome?

Google Chrome is an internet browser with versions that run on computers, laptops, tablet computers, and smartphones.  With Google Chrome, you can view web pages and surf the world wide web.

How Much Does Google Chrome Cost?

Google Chrome is available free.  You can download Google Chrome in the internet or from Google Play on your Android device.

What Are Alternatives to Google Chrome?

There are a number of popular web browsers that compete with Google Chrome:

• Internet Explorer
• Safari
• Firefox
• Android Browser

Recommended Reading:
Android Browser War- What is the Best Android Browser?

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What is a Tablet Computer?

What is a Tablet Computer?

A tablet computer is a computer with a touch screen that does not require a keyboard or mouse.  Unlike a laptop, a tablet computer does not have a screen that opens and closes.  A tablet computer is a single rectangular piece.  You use a tablet computer by using the touch screen interface to click icons to start apps.  You can type on a tablet computer by using an on-screen keyboard and clicking on the keys shown on the tablet's touch screen.

The most popular types of tablet computers are Android tablets, iPad Tablets from Apple, and the Surface from Microsoft.

What are Common Features in Tablet Computers?

Tablet computers typically have touch screens, built-in wi-fi, and a slot for a flash memory card for memory expansion.  Tablet computers typically have 4GB or more of internal flash memory built-in.  You will usually find a headphone jack on a tablet to connect headphones and a USB port to connect accessories to the tablet computer such as an external keyboard.

How Much Do Tablet Computers Cost?

You can get a cheap Android tablet with a 7 inch screen for under $100.  An iPad with a large screen can cost over $400.

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What is Chromecast?

What is Chromecast?

Chromecast is a small device from Google that plugs into the HDMI port of your TV to provide streaming video from a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.  Chromecast uses your home's wi-fi network to transmit the video from your device to the TV wirelessly.  No other equipment is needed except for your Chromecast stick, your home's wireless network, and your device (tablet, phone, laptop, computer).

How Do You Control a Chromecast Video?

You use your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone to access the video you want to show.  You can show anything from your Chrome browser on your TV set using Chromecast.  There are apps available to show additional video sources such as Hulu Plus.

With Chromecast, you "cast" the video from your device to your TV set using the Chromecast stick.  The TV shows the video that is displayed on your device in the Chrome browser.  You can use your device to start and stop the video.  People in the room can take turns sending video to the TV using their devices.

How Much Does Chromecast Cost?

You can but a Chromecast for about $35.  There is no monthly fee for Chromecast- you only need to buy the Chromecast stick once and you can use it without limitation.  Some streaming video services charge a monthly rate, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus.  Other video services like YouTube are free.

Recommended Reading:
Cable TV Alternatives

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Kiva Microfunds

Kiva Microfunds

Kiva Microfunds is a non-profit organization that collects funds to provide microfinancing to entrepreneurs and students around the world.  People can lend money by sending funds to Kiva in small amounts such as $25.  The Kiva website states that the repayment rate is somewhere around 99%.  As with any loan, there is risk that the loan will not be repaid for various reasons.  Field partners distribute the funds and collect payments from the recipients.  As the funds are repaid, the money can be lent to other entrepreneurs.

Kiva Entrepreneurs

The Kiva website allows contributors to read stories about entrepreneurs and select which will receive funding.  The details on the Kiva website explain that the entrepreneurs shown on the website have already received loans from field partners.  The funds that are provided to Kiva are used to fund the field partner.

Kiva Microloans

The Kiva concept is to use microloans to help small businesses and individual entrepreneurs get business started, which helps the entire community.  Kiva also provides an easy way for people to learn about opportunities to help people all over the world.  A unique aspect is that the funds get paid back, and you can re-invest in other entrepreneurs.  The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time tells the story of how loaning and re-loaning funds has helped thousands of people all over the world.

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Chitika

What is Chitika?

Chitika is an advertising network that delivers search-based advertising on blogs and websites.  The advertising that is displayed is selected based on the search terms that a user enters in search engines.  This differs from context-based advertising such as Google AdSense in which the advertising selected is based on the contents of the webpage where the advertising will be placed.

Chitika is a word in the Telugu language spoken in India that means "in a snap".

How Can You Make Money with Chitika?

If you have a blog or website, you can sign up with Chitika to display advertising and start making money.  You will get paid based on how many times visitors to your site click on the Chitika advertisements that are displayed.  This is a form of Cost Per Click (CPC) Advertising.  There also is an aspect of Cost Per Impression (CPM) Advertising with Chitika ads.  I have noticed that even during times that I get zero clicks, I can get a small payment.

What is Chitika Gold?

The starting level of advertising is Chitika Bronze.  If you have enough search engine traffic, for example a couple hundred visitors from search engines per day, you can advance to Chitika Silver or even Chitika Gold.  The advertising you get with Chitika Gold pays more than the Chitika Silver ads.


Recommended Reading:
How to Make Money Blogging

What is CPC Advertising?
What is CPM Advertising?

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LED vs LCD TV

LED vs LCD

LED is an acronym that stands for "Light Emitting Diode".
LCD is an acronym that stands for "Liquid Crystal Display".

What is LED vs LCD TV

An LCD TV is a television that uses LCD technology to produce the image and cold cathode fluorescent (CCFL) backlighting.  LCD requires backlighting to produce a display since liquid crystal does not produce light by itself.  So called LCD TV's using the CCFL backlighting are rapidly being replaced by LED TV's that are coming down in price and produce higher image quality.

An LED TV also uses LCD technology to produce the image, but use LED instead of CCFL for the backlighting.  The term LED TV is misleading, since LED TV does not actually use LED technology to produce the image.

Some LED TV's have a grid of LED's for backlighting behind the entire image area.  This allows a lot of control over making areas of the image darker and lighter as needed to produce the best image.  Some LED TV's have LED's around the edge of the TV and not behind the image area.  This technique is used to produce extremely thin TV panels.

With price reduction of LED backlighting technology, you can now get a 32 inch full High Definition LED TV with 60 Hz refresh rate for just over $300:

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