Sometimes pc assemblers just write their components with their specifications without telling what exact model they are going to use to build that particular pc configuration. Well these small model numbers sometimes can make a huge difference. Today I did some benchmarking on two different Western Digital 320GB Hard Disk models just so I can see if there is any difference in the performance. A simple benchmarking test with HD Tune Pro 4.01 showed some interesting results.

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As you can see the average read speed of the Western Digital Caviar WD3200AAKS is about 86.7MB/s which is a lot faster than the 60.0MB/s of the Western Digital Caviar WD3200AVJS. Similarly case is with the average write speed. The Western Digital Caviar WD3200AAKS has scored 85.8MB/s and the Western Digital Caviar WD3200AVJS 59.5MB/s . Having in mind that the classic hard disks (not SSD’s) are the slowest link in a modern PC configuration, these differences of 25MB/s have a lot of significance in the overall performance of a PC. So if you’re buying a new PC, better ask for that exact model of your hard drive and see how it compares to others.

The exact models used in the benchmarking process were:

Western Digital Caviar WD3200AVJS-00WDA0 and,
Western Digital Caviar WD3200AAKS-00L9A0 .

Here is a small gallery with both of them, and one old Western Digital 20GB just to break the monotony ;)

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Manufacturers sometimes change their packaging depending on the market they deliver to as well as the price they want to set. So customers asked me why these particular processors come in different packages, so I decided to make a small comparison.

Here are the unboxing videos of both of them

Well basically the main thing you buy is exactly the same. No differences. Same GHz same performance so there is nothing to worry about. The manuals/warranty that comes with it are a bit small in the smaller packaging, and the sticker is also the same with the only difference being that in the small package the sticker is out of the plastic box. But there seems to be a more significant difference at the fan comparison. As you may guessed, the bigger package has a little bigger radiator. Well because the AMD Athlon X2 240 works at 2.8GHz the fan doesn’t seem to make any significant difference in the temperature, but still if it costs even a dollar or two more I think it’s better to get the bigger one. Here are the pictures of both.

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I had a one to one combat with the language bar recently as the language bar just won’t minimize. If you go through the “regional and language options” and tick the show language bar, the language bar shows up as a flying icon which you can move through the screen. But if you want to minimize it and make it appear on the right of your taskbar (where it actually belongs) the language disappears completely, but if you check and see at the “regional and language options” you will notice that the “show language bar” is ticked.

Missing Language bar

I myself, like 99% of the windows users, find that the most comfortable and practical place for the language bar to show up is the right of the taskbar. That’s why I searched a lot around the internet, I tried and tried to edit the registry, and in the end I found a simple registry file that does the trick, it fixes the bug completely! Here it is:

Download Missing Language Bar Fixer

It is a simple registry file which you just have to double click and then select yes and that’s it. Your language bar will get back right at the task bar and you won’t have to guess which language are you typing at.

I know it’s been a while since we posted new stuff, but that does not mean we haven’t been active in the PC scene. Let me begin by posting some materials we’ve been collecting for some time. I’m present you possibly the best gamers motherboard currently available. Asus has done it again. The Asus Rampage II Extreme is a great piece of overclocking hardware. I’m posting these videos of unboxing the Asus Rampage II Extreme motherboard, and some interesting posts going in depth with it will follow. Stay tuned.

The news and many others are constantly telling us that cloud computing is on the horizon but I say no. I reckon that it is here already.

I think that news stations and even the world needs to face up to the FACT that cloud computing isn’t yet to come but that it is already here. Here is something very simple to prove that. If you buy a new computer and it is not able to connect to the internet then in all essence you would say it is broken or in complete and just look for something else.

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Its not often commuters have a reason to start spontaneously dacing in the train station, but  the prospect of better cell phone service just might cause us to just that (given the proper soundtrack). T-Mobile’s feel good ad of the season transforms the woeful working class routine of going to the office into a lively, choreographed, case of boogie fever amidst the hustle and bustle of the Liverpool Street station. The lesson here is that “life’s for sharing”, whether it be text messages, the two-step or the mutual desire to never hear that Pussycat Dolls “Don’t ‘Cha” song ever again.

Credit where it is due: Original post found at www.joshspear.com/item/t-mobiles-soul-train/

Tomorrow Microsoft will make Windows 7 beta available for download. But should you rush and install the successor of the memory eating monster Vista?

At the Consumer Electronic Show 2009 in Las Vegas Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the free public beta of the Windwows 7 OS, which is expected to be less memory consuming, leaner, faster than its previous versions. We had a glance at very early version a month ago and i have to admint even though it wasnt feature complete this early version was working fine.  This release is reportedly feature complete all the intended functionality is included as the final version and will expire on Aug 1, 2009.

According to Microsoft Windows 7 is stripped-down OS and it will require as little as 1 GB of system memory to run smoothly even on Netbooks.  Alot of changes under the hood are made, including revamped Vista kernel, overhauled graphic modules, less anoying User Accounts Control, new ways to connect different devices with your PC with Device Stage etc.  Windows 7 may even include some features from the Microsoft’s upcoming Azure cloud OS.

All this would be great if Vista wasn’t that big of a resource hog and the scepticism of the users wasn’t that high. Infact some companies either still offer XP to their customers or swtich back to XP.

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A few days ago GMZ (a hacker) helped himself to some high profile accounts on Twitter.:o Naughty, naughty hacker.:P This however is not the most amazing thing in the world nor is it, in itself that interesting, the intersting thing is how lax twitter are with their password security. The way he gained control of these acounts was ridiculusly simple.

1. He found a highly active account on twitter. Which, later turned out to be that of a Twitter employee who had access to ALL acount passwords.
2. He used an automated dictionary program that tries common English words as passwords. He ran the program all night, with no interference.
   

   Cracking the site was easy, because Twitter allowed an unlimited number of rapid-fire log-in attempts.

3. The Twitter employee used a common English word (happiness) as a password.
4. Once into the account, he could access the passwords of any account on Twitter.

GMZ says he didn’t post on the hacked accounts, but gave away the information to forum members who did.

President-Elect Barack Obama was among the most popular requests from Digital Gangster denizens, with around 20 members asking for access to the election campaign account. After resetting the password for the account, he gave the credentials to five people.

He also filled requests for access to Britney Spears’ account, as well as the official feeds for Facebook, CBS News, Fox News and the accounts of CNN correspondent Rick Sanchez and Digg founder Kevin Rose.  Other targets included additional news outlets and other celebrities. Fox won the hacker popularity contest, beating out even Obama and Spears. According to Twitter, 33 high-profile accounts were compromised in all.

You can see some of the chaos in these screenshots.

Continues after the jump»»

Igor:
I just wish all the best to everyone, alot of health and sex, you can earn the rest :) Noone has everything. Damn I have terrible hangover :)

William:
Best wishes for the new year, 2008 has been the turning point of the internet with the amount of advancements made in web design, web development and the advancements of the web browsers themselves! Not only has 2008 been the turning point of the internet but a turning point in history with Barack Obama in the white house, the Olympics and much much more.Lets see if we can make 2009 even better. Once again best wishes for the new year.

On monday (dec 22nd) Mozilla released the second development version of their mobile browser Fennec. However, this may be a browser being developed for mobile phone use but could this browser move into a new area of the computing wolrd? Say… netbooks for example?
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