The Vita FAQ: Things You May Not Know About The Vita

The Vita FAQ: Things You May Not Know About The Vita

With so much information and hype out there about the Vita, sometimes you don’t always get the whole story and you often find that some things get “lost in translation” when it comes to accurate information about any kind of new product. Here’s some info on the Vita about its unique features and some features you may not have known about:

How much will it cost?

As far as total costs, you can expect to pay 0 for the Wi-Fi only Vita and 0 for the 3G/Wi-Fi model. Average costs of games are going to run around apiece new. In addition, the 3G model will have an optional monthly recurring cost through AT&T which will be around for 250MB of data and up to for 5GB. Additionally if you didn’t purchase a bundle, you will need a memory card, coming in 4, 8, 16, and 32GB sizes and ranging in cost from about to0.

What kind of networking features will it have?

The Vita, no matter which model you have, will work with a number of networking features, ranging from game features to apps. Near, LiveArea, and Party are great for meeting and keeping in touch with new friends as well as commenting on each other’s achievements and seeing what people nearby are playing. As far as non-gaming, the Vita will support multiple social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, just to name a few.

What kind of battery life can I expect?

On average, the Vita will last about 3-5 hours, depending on your settings. Taking precautions like dimming the OLED screen and turning off Wi-Fi will increase the life, but more feature and graphically intensive games will use up more juice than those less graphics-focused.

Do I get anything for my Vita from having a PSP?

Well, this is a yes and no situation. Just having owned a PSP doesn’t count for much, but if you downloaded any digital titles for it that are compatible with the Vita, you’re entitled to download them again to play on your Vita at your leisure (assuming you use the same PSN account for your Vita).

What exactly does Remote Play do?

Well, Remote play does a lot of things, but at its core it allows you to use your PS3 with your Vita from anywhere you have an internet connection. There are only a few PS3 titles out that support Remote Play with the Vita, but more and more games will be soon supporting it. You can also stream any media your PS3 has access to (either on its HD or on a PC on the same network) for viewing/listening on your Vita. Finally, with the PS3’s PS1 backwards compatibility, you can Remote Play PS1 titles through your Vita from anywhere you can connect to the internet.

What kind of hardware does it have?

Well, the Vita has a stunningly detailed 5 inch OLED screen that displays a 960×544 resolution (16:9) with a whopping 16,770,000 colors which gives you unprecedented depth for a handheld gaming system. As far as the technical side of the Vita, it runs on a 4-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, while the graphics are powered by a 4-core SGX543MP4+ chipset. Both the front and rear camera are 0.3MP and support 480p video recording.

Is there anything it doesn’t do?

Well, as much as I want to answer this with a no, there are things beyond the Vita’s (current) reach. As of now, the Vita doesn’t support Flash and, by extension, YouTube or any other online media requiring it to run. It also doesn’t support the use of UMDs from the previous PSP, though as mentioned above you can still download and play compatible digital PSP titles.

All in all, the Vita is a great handheld with almost limitless possibilities for expansion in the future. If you’re on the fence or don’t have one already, you’re missing out on an amazing gaming experience.

Laptop Workstations: Taking The ‘lap’ Out Of Laptop

Laptop Workstations: Taking The ‘lap’ Out Of Laptop

More and more office workers and students are turning in their traditional desktop computers for laptops. Offering mobility and the convenience of having only one computer, without the need to email files or save on flash drives, laptops are surpassing their heavier, bulkier, and more expensive cousins all over the world.

And just as we were starting to get this desktop computer ergonomics thing right. After years of OSHA guidelines and the development of the correct types of keyboard trays and tilting monitor arms, we go and decide to use a device that allows for none of that. So what now? Now that laptops are making the transition to being full-time computers instead of the once-in-a-while device we use when we aren’t at our “regular computers,” how do we make sure that all the problems associated with non-ergonomic computer use don’t come flooding back?

According to Cornell University, “laptops violate basic ergonomic design requirements, so using a laptop is a trade off between poor neck/head posture and poor hand/wrist posture.” That’s the bad news. What can we do to make sure we neutralize the poor ergonomics associated with laptops?

First, the best thing to do, is to modify your work station at home or the office to be ideal for both laptop use and ergonomics. We found a great laptop workstation from Versa Products, Inc. called the Versa Table. It allows the user to position the laptop, as suggested by experts at Cornell, on the desktop so that he/she may see the screen without bending his/her neck. The Versa Table has a height-adjustable desktop, so it’s perfect for almost any height. The folks at Cornell also suggest using a separate mouse and keyboard. The Versa Table has you covered there as well. You can add an articulating keyboard arm and an additional, adjustable platform especially for a mouse (the nice thing—it can be mounted to the left or right of the keyboard depending on whether you’re right or left-handed).

The Versa Table comes in various sizes—small ones fit nicely in dorm rooms or compact offices, while larger ones are ideal replacements for the typical office desk. They also come in six distinct color combinations to fit your room’s pre-existing color scheme.

The best accessory? Versa also offers a Lockable Laptop Drawer that allows the user to secure his/her laptop at the desk and leave with the key, knowing the laptop won’t be missing upon his/her return. The steel locking case is mounted to the underside of the Versa Table – or your own desk—and slides easily under the desktop for storage when not in use. In addition, the design of the locking drawer allows the user to charge his/her laptop while it’s locked away to maintain battery life.

As if that weren’t enough… the whole outfit can be put together with all the bells and whistles for under 0. As with all of Versa’s products and accessories, the Versa Table and aforementioned accessories carry a lifetime warranty and are shipped for free within in the contiguous United States.

Computer Operating Systems

Computer Operating Systems

Computer operating systems have evolved over the years to become one of the most integral software components of a computer system. Without the operating system, being able to use a personal computer would be much more difficult. The operating system allows the user to easily and more successfully navigate the computer system without having to know complicated commands and requests.

In the early days of computers, operating systems weren’t part of the overall system configuration. They came about after the super computers had already been invented. Before operating systems, information was input into the computer with punch cards. The system wasn’t very efficient and required knowledge of punch card machines just to get the desired information from the computer.

Then some programmers had a vision. They thought it would be wonderful if everyone could use a computer without having to know about complicated programming language. They began designing the first computer operating systems, and soon found success.

Today, there are many computer operating systems both already developed as well as currently in development. Most of these operating systems are designed solely with the user in mind. They allow computer operators to simply load programs into their computers and then navigate their system with the point of a mouse and the click of a button.

All computer operating systems have certain processes that they perform “behind the scenes” so that the user doesn’t really know that they are happening. This is called multi-tasking and makes it much easier to use a computer without having to manage resources manually. The operating system does it for you!

Your computer operating system will manage your random access memory, your hard disk memory, the scheduling of tasks, and so much more! It will provide a level of security to your computer so that you don’t have to worry about an outside party gaining access to any of the information on your computer. It will also navigate the various programs that are on your computer when you want to open those programs. Just tell the operating system, and it’ll take care of the rest!

The most popular operating systems today are Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Mac OS X. The technology for most computer operating systems came from these two computer giants and other operating systems have evolved from those. Linux and GNU are two other operating systems that are beginning to take hold in popularity, although they are mainly geared toward the mainframe and network system market.

The computer operating system brought personal computers into our homes and businesses and made it easy for anyone to use a computer. Without the computer operating system, using a computer would remain in the dark ages.