Stephanie Ciccarelli asked:


I recently interviewed my Terry and Sharon Ciccarelli to learn more about how they use technology, particularly the Internet. Both of them were born in the mid 1940s and belong to a generation that grew up with home freezers, television, and space expeditions as major technological advances. When I suggested that I wanted to interview them about technology, they were excited and pleased to share how computers and the Internet specifically have changed their lives.

Terry and Sharon’s first computer was a Commodore 64 purchased in the 1980s and was primarily used for entertaining their children. Things have changed quite a bit since then and they are using their Dell Computer for a variety of leisure, educational, and occupational activities.

Sharon’s favorite activities include reading and sending email, reading articles on the Globe and Mail website, and gathering information about gardening, recipes, and health. Sharon is also an avid writer and uses their computer to compile a quarterly family newsletter, incorporating articles and photographs submitted by relatives via email, connecting the extended family both online and offline through traditional means by sending off printed copies of the newsletter in the mail.

The computer has simplified the collaboration and editing processes immensely. Desktop publishing is as easy as copying and pasting text from an email into her newsletter template in Microsoft Word.

Terry prefers to visit financial websites and blogs related to investment. One of his favorite blogs is BillCara, a blog that focuses on the stock market and enjoys a very popular following from people interested in buying and selling stocks. Yahoo! Finance is another favorite. The Yahoo! website keeps him logged in which is another element of the user experience that Terry appreciates.

For the past several years, Internet Explorer has been the browser of choice, but in recent days, they have made the switch to Firefox, an Internet browser that simplifies navigating the web to a formidable degree. Instead of saving their favorite home pages to their computer desktop, Firefox gives them the option to create ‘tabs’ or bookmarks on their navigation bar. They also installed a Google search bar in their Firefox navigation bar for easier access to the information that they seek.

When polled about their which search engine they prefer to use, the answer was unanimous: Google. Google, a search engine that has been online since 1998, is both familiar and trusted in their opinion. Terry and Sharon find that the search results are relevant to their needs and they don’t mind seeing the sponsored search results on the side, realizing that everything that is free to use comes with a cost, usually in the form of corporate advertising. When asked about what they didn’t like, pop-up ads and ads that took too long to load were at the top of the list.

The Internet has made a great impact on their everyday lives, bringing them closer to the people they love and making it easier to research, conduct business, and communicate with others. Sharon, whose background was in the field of nursing, has connected with a global community online that discusses blood types and diets associated with specific blood types. The Internet has enabled her to find a group of people who are interested in the same niche and has provided them with a forum to converse about health related issues.

Terry, whose background is financial and estate planning, uses the Internet to communicate with his clients from anywhere in the world. Current news, whether business or general, is conveniently available to him at the click of a mouse. Email is one of the most useful applications for Terry, particularly where work is concerned. Just this morning, he sat down at the desktop computer and emailed business clients in Kelowna, British Columbia, received their reply, and was able to email them back in the course of several minutes, something that would have been unheard of even a decade ago.

Although the computer has been a welcome addition to their home, certain elements of their everyday lives have remained untouched by newer technologies such as iTunes and handheld MP3 players. They have both listened to podcasts but don’t feel the need to subscribe. They key to gracious living is simplicity, and they have their boundaries set. In a day and age where most people can’t leave home, ride a bus, or do the dishes without their iPods, Terry and Sharon prefer quiet contemplation and conversation.

When asked what their next computer would be, both agreed that they would probably buy an Apple Computer. They really like the graphics on the Apple computers and are mainly interested in the user experience. The mere mention of iTunes, iPhoto, and other applications I really love were not factors in their decision to go with Apple. Again, it all came down to quality of product, user experience, and simplicity. Terry also mentioned that he would find a PDA (personal digital assistant) useful, such as a BlackBerry, or a hand-held device that could play videos of corporate presentations and speeches.

It’s amazing how far technology has brought us and yet how much further it will take us. The new technologies that we experience today will be the same technologies that our children will take for granted. Our generation takes home freezers, television, and lunar missions for granted. The next will take computers, the Internet, and GPS systems for granted.

For those of you who have been pioneers of the 20th century, you have our sincere thanks and utmost respect. Without your adoption, embrace and support of these innovations, they would not have been possible.

Roberto Sedycias asked:


There are so many models of digital cameras available in today’s market, that it becomes a rather difficult task to pick the best buy among so many options. Perhaps a few steps should be taken into consideration when choosing the right camera. Will the camera be for daily use, or just for special occasions like birthdays, family reunions, etc. Will the price of the camera make much difference on the pocket?

Assuming that price is not an issue, one should choose a well known major brand camera and if possible, go for the latest model and with the highest number of mega pixels available. The higher the mega pixels, the better the picture will be specially if there is an intention of having photo enlargements quite often. A good quality optical zoom lens will also make a big difference. Choose a camera which comes with a battery that holds a good charge, this way you can enjoy lots of picture taking without having to be worried when the battery charge will come down.

The range of features available make a digital camera very cost effective and more than likely you will be able to find the right camera suited to satisfy your needs.

If you enjoy printing enlargements of your photographs, you may want to pay close attention to the printing size and what is required in mega pixels for you to have good quality results. For you to have an idea of the amount of mega pixels required for most commonly used size of prints, refer to the chart below:

For photos 2×6 inches – 2 mega pixels

For photos 5×7 inches – 3 mega pixels

For photos 8×10 inches -7 mega pixels

For photos 11×14 inches – 14 mega pixels

For photos 16×28 inches – 28 mega pixels

For photos 20×30 inches – 54 megapixels

The handling and design also matters and the lightweight ones are much nicer to carry around. Choose a camera that is user-friendly and make sure that you have a good local technical assistance in case you may run into problems with it.

There are several advantages of having a digital camera instead of the old traditional film camera. First of all, there are no films to be purchased ever. You make take dozens, perhaps hundreds of photos and instantly delete the ones you don’t like, or that did not came well into focus and just keep the best ones. You may load them into your computer album, record them and you may view your favorite photos from you camera or from your television set. Some digital cameras also come with a recording device that allows you to record special events and replay them immediately after recording

Digital cameras take pictures that are stored in digital media. It is possible to select, save or delete photos without any cost whatsoever. The photos are usually stored in media cards into the hundreds, meaning that you can take as many pictures as you like before you run out of space. Also in most digital cameras, the user can view the pictures on the LCD screen, which will allow him to pick the best ones.

No wonder that digital cameras became so popular and accessible item to almost everyone. It became a must to have one nowadays and even cell phone cameras are getting better everyday with noticeable improvements in quality of picture taken. The earlier models of cell phone cameras were somewhat limited as far as picture quality is concerned comparing to the ones we find on today’s market. The mega pixels are increasing constantly and so the quality of the cameras. If a person needs to carry both at the same time, maybe a cell phone with a digital camera built in will be an interesting option to consider

If you have not bought yet a digital camera, maybe this the right time to do so, considering the manufactures are offering so many new models with new features at bargain prices. It is wise to compare the several models among different manufacturers and also the prices from traditional and online stores. Make sure you do your research right, and most likely you will find the digital camera you are looking for.

Fatima Zaheer asked:


If you own a PDA, you will know that while it is a brilliant contraption, there are only a limited number of things that one can do with it. Like sending e-mails, receiving e-mails, opening documents, editing documents, etc. In short, all things related to work are associated with PDAs but with a little bit of work you can often convert your PDA into your very own, very personal, very mobile entertainment center. For instance, spice up your mobile device by adding PDA accessories, start with the obvious and discover the possibilities.

 The obvious of course refers to simple things like carrying cases or holster cases or pouches. Start customizing your PDA or smart phone to your liking, because that is one major advantage that PDAs have over simple cell phones, the degree to which one can customize and personalize one’s phone. The next accessory which is a must have is a headset, and depending on your needs, requirements and taste you can choose a headset best suited to your needs. For example if you are always on the move and take a lot of business calls, you might find that a Bluetooth hands free set that loops over one year so you can easily converse with people around you and also attend to calls.

On the other hand if you are a music aficionado you might prefer something that has better sound quality or you might even want to get an accessory that adds a headphone jack to your PDA so you can connect Bose headphones to it. You should also get a car kit that allows you to take calls without getting into accidents and travel chargers so that you can be sure that your PDA would not run out of charge even on long trips. If you find that your PDAs keypad is not sufficient for your purposes you can always get a foldable keyboard that connects through InfraRed, Bluetooth or even USB to use with your PDA (most modern PDAs have compatibility support for keyboards, check your user manual for more information or the keyboard’s manual). There is no limit to your PDAs capabilities, get on the net and look for software for your PDA and you should find many nifty applications for your PDA ranging from those that let you check the weather to those that allow you to edit movies! But there is one thing that you must almost certainly need, and that is extra storage space for your data. As most PDAs have expandable memory that can be expanded by using SD cards or Micro SD cards, etc this is a rather easy problem to solve.

However one should choose one’s memory card by one’s needs, for example, if you don’t listen to music or watch videos on your phone and mostly use your PDA for calls and e-mail then you almost certainly do not need a memory card at all (unless it be for your PC). These are but a few ways to improve your PDA experience, however, by far the best way to personalize your PDA (or smart phone or even your cell phone) would be to try as many things as possible and keep the ones you like because not only is it rewarding but accessorizing your PDA can also be a fun experience.

Have a look……….

PDAaccessories.com 

posted by:

Fatima Zaheer

Markus Sanarko asked:


Well it seems that you are not alone, according to one headline news there are more than 280 million people around the world are reported to have found themselves in the same position during the last three years.

Today we live in digital-era; we work with computers or other digital media and gadgets. We rely more than ever on our personal computers (PC) or personal digital assistant (PDA). Personal data such as photos, internet bookmarks, email, contact lists, financial records, and office documents are some of the data difficult to replace.

Most people don’t realize how much they have invested into the data on their digital storage like hard drive or removable USB disk. Just imagine how depressing and disastrous we are to know that some day these valuable data gone forever in a second just because of the hardware failure occur suddenly or other common causes. These could cost you several days of productivity. While we are living in the super busy world, time is money, and then you should ask yourself “How much is my time worth to me?”

What would you do if you lost all of your data today? As data loss can happen in many ways without warning at any point in time and you perhaps have “everything” saved on your computer hard drive then you should think about backup routine as soon as possible. Having a good and reliable data backup is like having a “life insurance” for your important data. You don’t have to suffer business downtime, loss of time and money, and loss of business reputation.

Darren Evans asked:


Sony Ericsson’s highly-regarded P-series smartphones have long been the device of choice for many looking for an all-in-one office solution, especially those not looking for a Windows Mobile device. The Sony Ericsson P1i is the latest addition to the range.

With the P1i, Sony Ericsson looks to be consolidating this position and branching out further by adding increased functionality and some additional features that may establish the P1i as a full multimedia device as opposed to just a highly-competent smartphone.

Though the P1i weighs in at a hefty 120g, the overall feel is of a very sturdy, well-built handset with very-good proportions. Design wise, the first thing that will catch your eye is the unusual structure of the keypad. Though it is a full QWERTY keypad on the P1i, there isn’t one key assigned to every letter. Instead, to save space Sony Ericsson has used the half-QWERTY keypad. In this case each key represents 2 letters with the letter located on either the left or right of the key and a small dip in the middle of each key.

In practise this is a very awkward solution as ease of use in many other aspects of this handset is a very strong-point, but definitely not with the keypad. Whilst the majority of the keypad is raised, for some reason the bottom row of keys is not and (strangely) this feels easier than the raised keys that are employed elsewhere.

With the rest of the control layout any other worries over ease of use are put to rest as there are numerous options in controlling the device and these are very user-friendly. One feature that P-Series veterans will be pleased to see is the 3-way Jog-dial on the left-side of the device which enables easy-scrolling through the menus. This works perfectly well and coupled with the responsive touch-screen there doesn’t seem to be much need for stylus’ in PDA smartphones anymore, especially when the alternative control options are so much more user-friendly (barring of course the awkward keypad design).

The 3.2 MP camera is also worth a mention as it can be favourably compared to dedicated cameraphones such as the K800i. Coming with auto focus and flash, it is probably fair to say that the P1i is well-equipped enough to trounce all other smartphones in the imaging department.

Though the lack of Xenon flash means that the K800i just edges ahead, the P1i puts up a brave fight and can be easily classed as the best camera in a smartphone, eclipsing its nearest rival, the HTC Tytn II.

All in all, the P1i is an extremely capable smartphone which has almost everything. Great build quality, intuitive user-interface and a nice surprise in the form of the high-quality camera. The only let-down is the QWERTY keyboard which somewhat spoils the otherwise great experience that can be had using this handset. Though it may not be for everyone, the P1i would be more than worth a try for those in the market for an all-round device.

The Sony Ericsson P1i is available on the O2 and Vodafone networks.

Angulo Fu asked:


Burgeoning

When the cell phone first appeared on the Chinese market in the late 1980s it cost 10,000-20,000 yuan, and was the size of a brick. Regarded as the ultimate status symbol, it was called the da ge da, meaning very influential person. At that time, sales of mobile phones were under state control, and stocks were limited. Purchasers were required to place an order and make an 80 percent down payment. How things have changed! Mobiles are now available in multiple choices of size, color and function, on request.

Actuality

China has become the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturing base and consumer market. In the first quarter of 2008, the total mobile phone shipment in China reached 134 million units, increasing 34.5% year over year. While the subscriber base of mobile services reached 480 million at the end of the first quarter of 2008, which increased approximately 20 million when compared to the statistic data at the end of last year.

Internationalization

With expanding the industrial scale and quickening the pace of innovation, the entire domestic mobile terminal industry begins to step into the world, seeking new markets, technologies, capital and other resources for more development space. To cater to these demands, the IMIE’2007 has invited overseas buyers from 24 countries and regions, including 7 overseas mobile operators and 17 multinational purchasing delegations. Their purchasing lists include HSDPA/GSM/CDMA mobile handsets, PDAs, smart phones and other mobile devices, as well as components and accessories.

Representative Product

When it comes to affordable iPhone clones, Meizu seems to be leading the pack now that they’ve unveiled the pricing for their M8 cell phone. The 4GB model with built-in camera will go for $310 while the 8GB version will go for $400. The entry-level model (with no camera) will go for only $195 at 4GB and $285 at 8GB. Compare that to the iPhone’s $499/$599 price and suddenly Meizu’s option doesn’t look so bad, though it’s still an iPhone clone.

Trade Shows

electronica & Productronica China With PCIM China

The electronica & ProductronicaChina event is the leading regional trade show for electronic elements and assemblies and electronics production in China. It takes place each March in conjunction with LASER. World of Photonics China in Shanghai. Messe Mnchen International (MMI, Munich Trade Fairs International Group) organizes electronica & ProductronicaChina as part of its MMI electronics trade fairs network, which includes electronica and Productronica, which are the worlds leading trade shows in their industry sectors. The network also includes premier regional trade shows in Brazil, Hong Kong and India. With a total of over 8,000 exhibiting companies and more than 280,000 attendees for the MMI electronics trade fairs, MMI is one of the world’s leading trade show organizers in this sector.

71st China Electronics Fair

With its debut in 1964, CEF is an authoritative electronics show in China, which is the only one supported fully by China Ministry of Information Industry and Ministry of Commerce and it was classed “A” exhibition in 2003 by Ministry of Commerce.

Online Marketplace

www.Made-in-China.com, China leading online marketplace of export and import, offers product directory, offers to importer and exporter. More than ten thousands of trade leads of mobile phone and accessories are available.