Long Hiatus

Hey guys!

I've been gone for 2 months now! Damn. This blog needs some updating! I'll start writing new stuff once school is done within a week. Just finishing stuff to finally graduate!

Cheers!

New additions to my desk

Hey guys! After my previous post, it seemed to me that my desk was still missing a few things for it to be more functional for work and study. I also wanted to make the blue light look more apparent. So after going to a local hardware and furniture store and picking up some times here's what I was able to make:

I added another blue fluorescent light and a desk lamp. I still need to do something about that wiring from the fluorescent lamp though.

I'll post an entry discussing how I was able to put it up and how much I spent on doing so. I'll also include a guide on how to set-up your own personal desk space!

New Year, New Desk. Finally!

Hey guys! Happy New Year to all of you! May 2011 bring us success and new gadgets to explore!

As for the past 2 weeks, I've been trying to complete my study desk here at home. First few shots were uploaded here a few days ago, but now I've finally achieved how I want it to be!

From this...

To this...

 To this! 

 Blue Lounge Cable Box

3M Cable clips

Gundam 00 1/100 with Gundam Exia and Freedom Gundam in the background

I'll expound on it on a future post. This will be for now! 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas you guys! I will resume writing here after the holidays. Coming up:

Laptop vs. Tablet: Which one?

What is a Netbook?

5 essential apps for your Mac

How to create your personal workspace


See you and Happy Holidays!

My attempt at a dual screen monitor workplace

I've been admiring multiple monitor set-ups for a while now and was thinking of slowly making one myself. I knew I had some stuff around from before and now that can help me start make my dual monitor set-up come to life.

After a few scavenging, searching, fixing, and tidying up. Here is what I was able to make:

The set-up involves a white Unibody Oct 2009 Macbook, a Logitech Alto Wireless dock and keyboard combo (2 years old), a CD-R King 4 port USB hub, Creative 245 speakers, an old AOC LCD monitor (around 5 years old) an Apple Mighty mouse, a Maxtor 160 GB external HDD (3 years old), a MiniDisplay Port to VGA adapter for my Macbook, and an HP Deskjet D2460. There's also a bookstand/paper holder as well as a mousepad. I will try to improve on this as much as I can.

Let me know what you guys think!

Laptop Essentials: Software Solutions for a Faster Laptop

As our laptops age, we complain about them getting sluggish. Start-up takes longer, files open slower, programs don't run, they walk. But what most of us do not do is actually fix the problem. We complain instead and decide it's time to replace our 2 year old laptop. Well, here are some free programs that can actually improve the speed of your laptop and save money from buying a new one.


This section is for PCs btw. A Mac section will be written soon.



Defraggler by Piriform

Defraggler is a free defragmentation program by the guys at Piriform that scans and defragments your laptop or PCs hard drive extensively. It works faster than the included Windows defragmentation program as well. Fragmentation occurs when files are loaded and unloaded, used, moved, and renamed (among other things). When fragmentation occurs, it takes the hard drive a longer time to read and open files because the actual physical memory fragments of the file is scattered all though out the drive. Defragmentation fixes that, thus a faster hard drive. You can get Defraggler here.

CCleaner by Piriform

Another free software from Piriform, CCleaner is a cleaning device that cleans out all the unwanted junk in your laptop or PC. It scans system files, program history, temporary internet files, as well as other sections of your hard drive. It also has a registry scan and repair function to fix registry files (Wikipedia: "The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems"). With this tool, junk and other files that clog your hard drive space can be cleaned up and cleared. You can get CCleaner here.

Notebook Hardware Control by Manfred Jaider

Notebook Hardware Control is a free optimization program written by a guy named Manfred Jaider. It essentially allows you to control and optimize the performance of your laptop including processor performance, graphics performance, power consumption and output, temperature and fan speeds, and if your HDD is applicable, a temperature reader for your HDD. If you want to get the most out of your laptop, this is the way to go. Get Notebook Hardware Control here.

Game Booster by iObit

Game Booster is a free program that optimizes your laptop or PC for gaming performance. It stops the function of some processes (such as Windows 7 transparency) to optimize your system for gaming. It also allows the defragmentation of game files. 

To quote the site: 

"It works by updating hardware drivers, downloading essential gaming tools, tweaking system settings for gaming, defragmenting game directories, temporarily shutting down background processes, cleaning RAM, and intensifying processor performance."

The normal version is free but the pro version is a paid app. Learn more about Game Booster here.

The first three programs are essentials, while the last one is for gaming enthusiasts. So there you have it. Try these out and see the performance gain on your not-so-old still reliable computer.

Belkin TraveLite Retractable USB Lamp: Solution to a non-backlit keyboard

Have you ever tried to work in a place where there is not enough light and you couldn't see your keyboard? You find yourself wishing that the laptop you just bought yesterday had a backlit keyboard, huh? Well, here'a solution for that: The Belkin USB-powered lamp.

It features a clip to latch on the screen of a laptop, a USB retractable cable, an on-off switch, and an adjustable LED lamp. It's small form factor allows it to be easily packed and carried with your other gadgets and devices.

The switch and the clip

Adjustable lamp head

It's great when you are using your laptop in low light conditions such as an airplane cabin or a poorly lit coffee shop. 

Here it is in action. Should've taken this picture at night though.

EDIT: found a nice dark place to test it

The Belkin TraveLight USB Lamp costs Php 990 in the Belkin store at SM North Edsa Cyberzone.

If you don't want to shell out money though, there are other alternatives out there (CDR-King has a wide range) but they aren't as user-friendly as the one from Belkin.