Notebook As A Tool Of Time Management

Notebook As A Tool Of Time Management

Notebooks have emerged as a bare essential for the business executives who carry their work along with themselves. Notebooks which are also known as laptops can facilitate the work process thereby saving substantial and valuable time. In short, it is used as tool of time management.

Owning a notebook is a dream of many, but since it is very expensive nobody buys it unless it is indispensable to them. However, some people having shoe-string budget look for a good notebook. They are the ones who need detailed and comprehensive information on notebooks and laptops before they settle for one.

Basically, buying a notebook or laptop largely depends upon the personal choice, specific requirement and social status of a person. Besides, different manufacturers are introducing notebooks of different look with a wide-range of features. However, some notebooks are launched in the market to cater to a particular segment of buyers keeping in mind of their specific needs. Accordingly, these laptops differ in flavor, class and quality.

Let`s take a look at the various types of notebooks that are available in the market today. Keeping various factors in consideration the notebooks can be broadly divided into four major categories, such as:

Budget laptops – Typically, these laptops cost around US$ 1000 to $ 1200.

Mid-range laptops – Notebooks of this category can be found with a price-tag of about US00 to 00.

Ultra-portable laptops – These light-weight laptops ranges from US00 to 00.

Laptops for the people with a class apart. With all the standard and advanced features in these notebooks, they cost above US00.

Performance test of laptops:

Notebooks can be tested on the basis of certain benchmarks such as Multimedia content creation 2003 and Business Winston 2002. These tests determine the performance ability of different notebooks with regard to regular productivity applications and multimedia content application.

Similarly, 3D Mark05 and 3D Mark06 are used as standards to measure the gaming and graphic potential of different notebooks.

Likewise, PC Mark05 is taken as a yardstick to test various components of notebooks such as hard-disk general usage, multithreading, web-page rendering, file decryption and 3D pixel shader.

Moreover, the battery back-up and wireless connectivity can be tested using Battery Mark02 and QCheck as the benchmark.

Finally, Vista Compatibility Check can be undertaken to test if the notebooks have Vista-readiness. Under this test, the performance of the laptops is assessed on the basis of Vista drivers and Vista upgradeability.

Features:

When it comes to features, the list seems endless. Some expensive notebooks have the most advanced features such as built-in webcams, fingerprint readers, TPM and so on. So far as the features go, they can be divided into five different categories, such as:

Physical – Screen size and weight of the notebook

Connectivity – Bluetooth version 1/2, infrared, MMC reader, S-Video, DVI port, FireWire. The number and type of USB ports and PCMCIA slots.

Components – Type of optical drives, whether the notebook has a DVD combo, a CD-RW or a multi-recorder DVD-RW. The hard-drive capacity and any additional component such as wireless optical mouse or an MMC adapter.

Software – Software have always been an essential part of the package. These include recovery CDs, driver CDs, OSes, etc.

Protection – All types of protection available in a notebook, be it a finger-print reader, BIOS level HDD protection, touch-pad lock, TPM, or even rescue option available at the time of boot up.

Pricing and Warranty:

All notebooks ranging from 00 to 00 offer warranty of 1 year and some laptops have the option of additional extendable warranty.

So, the above discussed comprehensive analysis and performance tests will definitely help those who are planning to buy a laptop.

Single-Dose Oral Antiviral Therapy Found To Accelerate Healing Time Of Cold Sore Outbreaks

Single-Dose Oral Antiviral Therapy Found To Accelerate Healing Time Of Cold Sore Outbreaks

You sense a tingling on your lip that, in a day or two, turns into a red blister. It’s a cold sore and it’s difficult to hide or get rid of easily.

With approximately 100 million episodes of recurrent cold sores occurring annually, all too many Americans are familiar with this common condition. Cold sores, medically known as herpes labialis, are an infection of the mouth area with the herpes simplex virus. In fact, it is estimated that cold sores affect 66 percent of American adults–with most being infected by the age of 20 years. Also known as fever blisters, cold sores typically appear as eruptions of small and usually painful blisters on the skin of the lips, mouth or gums or the skin around the mouth.

Although there is no cure for cold sores, new medical research found that a single dose of the prescription antiviral Famvir® (famciclovir tablets), given to patients with recurrent cold sores at the first sign of symptoms (within the first hour), resulted in significant improvements in healing time and resolution of pain and tenderness. This study is the first of its kind to show the benefit of a full course of antiviral therapy in a single dose when the virus is most active.

“These results are exciting news for the millions of people who suffer from cold sores each year. This research showed that Famvir was an effective treatment option that provides a full course of therapy in a single dose by taking the medication during the first few critical hours of an outbreak when the infection is most active,” said Dr. Spotswood Spruance, Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and lead investigator in the study. “The implications of this study are important to physicians because the results may have the potential to significantly influence the overall management of cold sore outbreaks.”

Dr. Spruance also noted that when the herpes virus is “triggered” in the body, it is most active during the first hours of a cold sore outbreak, creating a narrow window of opportunity for treatment. According to this research, when patients were treated with the oral antiviral Famvir during this critical period of time, it shortened the duration of outbreaks and hastened the resolution of symptoms associated with cold sore outbreaks in many patients.

Based on these findings, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the maker of Famvir, filed a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a single-dose Famvir treatment indication for immunocompetent patients with recurrent herpes labialis (cold sores) in the fall of 2005.

Sixty-six percent of American adults are affected with cold sores, mostly women.

Note to Editors: For more information about genital herpes, go to www.genitalherpes.com. Famvir (famciclovir) tablets are indicated for the treatment or suppression of recurrent genital herpes in immunocompetent patients; the treatment of recurrent mucocutaneous herpes simplex infections in HIV-infected patients; and the treatment of acute herpes zoster (shingles).

In clinical trials, the most commonly reported adverse events vs. placebo were headache (zoster: 22.7% vs. 17.8; episodic: 23.6% vs. 16.4%; suppression: 39.3% vs. 42.9%); nausea (zoster: 12.5% vs. 11.6%; episodic: 10.0% vs. 8.0%); and diarrhea (zoster: 7.7% vs. 4.8%; suppression: 9.0% vs. 9.5%).

The efficacy of Famvir has not been established for initial-episode genital herpes infection, ophthalmic zoster, disseminated zoster, or in immunocompromised patients with herpes zoster. The safety and efficacy of Famvir for suppressive therapy have not been established beyond one year.

There is no cure for genital herpes. There is no evidence that Famvir can stop the spread of herpes to others.

Famvir, Pregnancy Category B, is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to the product, its components, or Denavir® (penciclovir cream).

Your Computer Can’t Keep Time

Your Computer Can’t Keep Time

A computer needs a certain amount of information to operate; for example, the date and time, the amount of memory installed, the number of drives and their configuration, and so on. In the early days of computers, either the user typed in this information each time the computer started, or it was set using DIP switches and jumpers. Today, computers store this information in a CMOS chip that uses a small battery to retain the information when the computer is shut off.
CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) is type of chip that consumes very little power; therefore, while the computer is turned off, the battery discharges very slowly. But the battery will totally discharge if you leave your computer turned off for a year or so. Even if you turn your computer on every day, the battery is designed to last only a couple of years. Occasionally a battery will fail prematurely.
Today’s plug-and-play computers can detect most of the necessary settings, but if your CMOS battery is dead, your computer will not be able to retain the date and time. The computer will also lose any custom settings, for example, the boot sequence. If you set a password in CMOS, you may be locked out of the computer. If the CMOS battery does fail, you might receive the message “System Configuration Lost” when you start the computer. It would be wise to record all the CMOS settings as a precaution.
To record the CMOS settings, watch for an on-screen prompt when you first start your computer. The prompt tells you to press a key, usually the Del or F2, to enter CMOS. To enter the CMOS configuration utility, you have to press the indicated key while the message is on the screen. After the CMOS configuration screen appears, follow the instructions provided to page through all the screens and record all the settings.
If your computer loses its time setting overnight, the CMOS battery may not be holding a charge. The CMOS battery is located inside the case on the motherboard. Changing the battery is usually a job for a computer technician. In fact, a layman might not even be able to find the battery.
If you want to locate the CMOS battery in your computer, be aware that a static discharge from your hands can damage components inside the case. After taking proper precautions, open the case and look on the motherboard for a battery. If you have a diagram of your motherboard, locate the battery on the diagram first.
Different motherboards use different types of batteries. The battery may be shaped like a barrel or a coin. Some motherboards use a component that resembles a chip which contains the CMOS and the battery (made by DALLAS or Benchmarq). Batteries come in different voltages, so make sure you get an exact replacement.
Sometimes the battery is mounted in a holder. Sometimes it is soldered to the motherboard. De-soldering and re-soldering a battery is usually a job for a computer technician. An inexperienced solderer can cause a lot of damage. If you want to try to do it yourself, first practice on an obsolete circuit board. You may change your mind.
If the CMOS battery has failed because it’s too old, this might be an opportunity to upgrade your motherboard. When upgrading a motherboard, the most important considerations are to make sure the new motherboard is the correct form factor for your case, and that the new motherboard has the correct bus connector slots for your expansion boards.
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