http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/147691 Want to build your own PC? Here's your chance. Plus, how to upgrade your old laptop or buy a new one. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/146561 The older I get, the less tolerance I have for noisy PCs. So my new desktop computer had to be quiet, not just fast. Oh, and I needed it to be affordable, too. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:25:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/144836 Want to save power, paper, printer ink, and--oh, yeah--the earth, too? These simple hints will make your computing life more eco-friendly--and cheaper. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/242 It is April which means we are fast approaching Dad’s and Grad’s buying season and for some of you it will be time for a new PC and, given trends, most of you will probably be getting laptops.Life has historically sucked for laptop users that like to play games, and if you are someone that is thinking “green” but likes performance, it has kind of sucked for you too. The problem has been if you want long battery life or an electric bill that won’t be like an extra car payment you need to buy an underperforming laptop or desktop PC.For me that has traditionally meant I couldn’t travel with a gaming laptop because not only did it weigh a ton, after about 45 minutes it was as dead as a do... Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/143531 If you've been dreaming of the ultimate high-definition computer, why not take matters into your own hands? We show you how to pick the hottest components and create the multimedia system of your dreams. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/141702 How can you make Vista less annoying? Or back up your data easily? Or preserve your pricey new HDTV's picture? We've got solutions for these and 22 other common tech conundrums. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/140985 We look at the minimum requirements for playing high-definition video on a PC--using two basic hardware configurations, five different graphics boards, and a CPU speed that we gradually decreased while watching for signs of compromised playback. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:45:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/140796 Monitoring the power that my gadgets suck up, and making a few changes, helped me to be greener--and cut my bills. Sat, 29 Dec 2007 11:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/20219/ Twenty years ago giving someone a notebook as a gift would have been considered ultra-lame. If you give one today, you have a friend for life. The difference between the two is the difference between microchips and paper - silicon and ink. There's a lot there. Today's notebooks allow us to watch movies, play intense and real time games, balance checkbooks, write printable term papers and surf the World Wide Web. Big difference indeed. So, now that you know you'll be considered one of the greatest gift-givers if you give a laptop, what are you going to do about it? Where do you start? There are hundreds and even thousands of different notebook computers out there - enough to even make a seasoned notebooker's head swim. Well, if you are in the mood to give a laptop this year, but aren't quite sure what to pick, allow me to tour you through some of your choices. For the Game Maven Video games have become quite demanding on PCs - desktops and laptops alike. But think of a laptop - a mini-computer in a sense. How does it fit all that gaming power into one, tiny, skinny, miniscule notebook? I mean... Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:01:46 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/140740 Three of the four best times of the year to purchase a laptop or desktop computer come around like clockwork. The fourth, however, is less predictable. Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/139503 When something goes wrong with your girlfriend's computer, you're the one she calls. So here's how to impress her and have some fun doing it. Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/138642 Stop boot-up hiccups, zap folders that keep popping up, make Windows Explorer more reliable. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/138101 Swift and easy cures for unwieldy Start menus, virus-infected USB drives, and five other PC problems. Tue, 09 Oct 2007 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/137328 A few simple tweaks to the BIOS and to Windows' power settings can cut your PC power bill by more than half. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/137285 New PCs come littered with demoware and ads you never asked for. Does all that stuff affect performance? You bet. Here's how to get rid of the crud--or avoid it in the first place. Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/209 Back in 2004, when Gateway bought eMachines, I thought it was likely that, eventually, Acer would pick up Gateway as the next major PC company acquisition. This was because Acer was serious about entering the US market and the only company that was affordable which had major shelf space was Gateway.   Look at the facts.Gateway has owned the low end of the PC market with their eMachines brand for some time, has some of the strongest monitors (see their 24” widescreen products) in the segment for the price, and has recently strengthened their Gateway laptop and desktop offerings. (The new notebook computers a... Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/136124 Here's how to repair another system using remote control software. Mon, 20 Aug 2007 23:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/135034 Use the OS's own tools to maximize your PC's performance without spending a dime. Wed, 25 Jul 2007 04:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/134970 A processor upgrade can breathe new life into your old PC. Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/128154 Want to speed up your broadband connection? Diagnose mysterious crashes? Move massive files across the Internet? Sooner or later, you will--and you'll find step-by-step instructions for these and other common PC tasks right here. Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/167 Once upon a time PCs were terrible gaming platforms. *gasp* Why, you ask? Well, beside the obvious lack of horsepower or gaming-centric graphics accelerators, the CPUs were simply not capable of processing in hardware the necessary floating-point math required for today’s games. Starting with the 80386, consumer desktop PCs were the first to benefit from a symbiotic, pseudo dual-core technology that included a second processor for handling these math-intensive calculations. While this processor could not stand on its own or even allow the system to perform multi-threaded instructions, it did intercept floating point instructions and could decode them in hardware. ... Mon, 29 Jan 2007 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/128138 When disposing of old drives and discs, be sure to destroy the data they hold. Wed, 20 Dec 2006 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/128142 Dirt and dust can damage your rig and hurt its performance. Fight back! Wed, 20 Dec 2006 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/128134 A variety of products and strategies will protect your PC from theft. Wed, 20 Dec 2006 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/128243 Advice on keeping track of your valuables and a site that helps you recover stolen gear, plus another tip for keeping kids safe online. Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:00:00 -0500