http://www.howtogeek.com/131154/so-your-laptops-fan-has-stopped-working-then-humorous-image/

So Your Laptop’s Fan Has Stopped Working Then? [Humorous Image]

There is such a thing as dust build-up and then there are the odd cases of dust-ball evolution…

What is the worst case of dust build-up that you have dealt with? Make sure to share your stories with your fellow readers in the comments!

http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/buyer-guides/find-the-perfect-tablet

Find the perfect... Tablet

Tablets are becoming almost as essential as smartphones. Here’s a survey of what to look for in these devices.

http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/buyer-guides/find-the-perfect-all-in-one-pc

Find the perfect... All-In-One PC

Our definitive guide to what you should look for when shopping for an All-in-One PC.

"Now that win 8 is out maybe win 7 will reduce in price significantly."

In the US sale prices on old Windows versions have traditionally been more common when a new version came out, but never really dropped like other software or products. Just for grins I checked Amazon & both XP & Vista are selling for surprisingly close to what we paid years ago.

I have win 7 on laptop but I still like XP Price win 7 NZ $200 to $400 but win 8 $15 to $30, I think Price like that may be think is it good why is it so cheep all most free ?
as I have win 7 may be next one win 9

Now that win 8 is out maybe win 7 will reduce in price significantly. I highly recommend you try Win 7 hotdog. I loved XP, but Win 7 is far superior. Its faster, looks better and has significantly fewer BSOD's.

Also, so far I've never had any problems running any of my old software, in fact some games that wouldn't run on XP now work perfectly.
(I ended up purchasing a couple of extra licences to update my older XP computers) and the discs for £10. I've seen the basic Win 7 package for significantly less. My first copy of Win 7 ultimate cost me £170 (that was about 12 months after release)

I see in one year if good or not may be I get windows 9 XP ok by me

I've been holding back installing my copy of Win 8 waiting to hear of any gaming problems. Thanks for posting this article Hotgog, much appreciated.

PC gaming performance on Windows 8: A hard-data analysis

http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/feature/pc-gaming-performance-on-windows-8-a-hard-data-analysis

We applaud windows that pop up faster, and we appreciate how applications like Word scroll more smoothly. But what do all the under-the-hood Windows 8 changes mean for PC games?

Although my subjective gaming experiences have been positive, I wanted hard data. So I took a moderately high-end (and home-made) gaming PC, played some games, and ran a bunch of performance tests to determine the differences in gaming performance between Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Microsoft has been saying touch is the future -- they've hardly been saying anything else. They've had touch since win XP it takes a long time

If you want to get to the corner store & back for a loaf of bread or a beer, you can walk, ride a bike, drive a car etc... they sell a lot more shoes than bikes, a lot more bikes than cars. They sell more pencils than pens, more pens than printers too.

They sell a lot more cell phones than laptops or PCs -- with the exception of upcoming win8 tablets with a lower end PC CPU, tablets today are essentially smart phones with bigger screens, poorer cameras, & often wi-fi only. They can & do sell more of these devices, cell phones & tablets vs. laptops/PCs, because of cell phone service, because many [most?] are cheaper, because they're more portable, & because they're new -- if you need a laptop or PC, chances are you already have one.

So, will the do-over, trying to recreate the [failed] netbook craze with tablets work? With the exception of Apple's products I don't believe anyone knows yet, but Apple's customers have always been a bit different [I don't mean necessarily in a bad way], e.g. willing to pay top prices for cell phones that won't make phone calls [iPods]. Netbooks did disrupt the market, though not in a good way for all the companies making/selling laptops who found themselves losing all sorts of profits. Nor did consumers come out on top, as reportedly most found they really did need a laptop to begin with, that they were sold false promises. This time everyone, every biz seems to have thought things out quite a bit better...

One, rather than try to sell a more mobile PC/laptop replacement, they're trying to sell you on the idea that you don't really need a PC/laptop any longer. Instead of designing & building a cheaper, smaller laptop that's not up to the task & can't make them money, they're trying to sell the idea that all you really need is a tablet's lower end capabilities. You don't really want to play Diablo III, you want to play Angry Birds. :)

Two, they're focusing as possible on making sure everything about, everything used in a tablet is sort of off-the-shelf -- it's tech that's both readily available & can be used in other products. It's not coincidence that so much is shared by cell phones & tablets, nor that the ARM processors most use are turning up, will continue to turn up in all sorts of appliances, devices, even cars/trucks. If the whole tablet thing dies out down the road they've got the least possible amount invested in things like R&D, & the results of any investments they have made can be used elsewhere.

Three, the focus is on tablets as a content delivery system, a way for you to continually buy something, each company hopes from them. Sales of Kindle books subsidize both Kindle R&D and lower selling prices. Microsoft is subsidizing development of their app store with win8 -- I think it will work both ways with their Microsoft branded tablets. Selling apps/games, movies & other video, books, magazines etc. is a continuous revenue stream Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, & even Samsung would like to monopolize -- they all have stores for you to buy all sorts of content. Frankly it's the idea of the ad-driven web site taken to the extreme. They're still hedging their bets though -- Apple's proven that selling content to cell phones is a long lasting & profitable biz, so Microsoft & Amazon are each coming out with cell phones too, and like Apple, Google, & Samsung they'll still have a market if tablets do fail.

Everything else is self-serving marketing hype... Qualcomm's Mollenkopf most likely makes $ if Qualcomm's stock prices go up. The ARM chips Qualcomm makes have a slight fraction of the power in the latest Intel PC CPUs, & sell for something like 20 times less -- an article in the last issue of Wired talks about Intel breaking into the cell phone/tablet processor biz, & how in that particular market Intel will have to shift strategies from making high profits per chip to low profits on much higher volume. Sure, someday some company may develop an ARM powered PC, & someday there may even be software comparable to what you run now available for it, but those somedays aren't happening anytime soon -- every Windows' app & game has to be rewritten or re-ported from x86 to run on ARM, or some sort of emulator would have to be developed... emulators are less efficient & slower.

Microsoft has been saying touch is the future -- they've hardly been saying anything else. They've had touch since win7 -- outside of being used by some news shows on TV [& AFAIK soon after abandoned], how's that worked out? Touch laptops have been available for years -- how many have you seen on display &/or in actual use? According to http://www.worldometers.info/computers/ there were 1 bill + PCs in use in 2008 -- they have current figures for sales this year, & at this moment that constantly increasing figure is 247 mill plus. The [likely vast] majority of those have/use keyboards & mice or equivalent [e.g. touchpads]. Does MS honestly expect anyone to believe that all these people are idiots? If touch worked so much better, wouldn't the free market reflect that? Wouldn't sales &/or use of touch hardware reflect that, & the same for 3rd party Windows' desktop replacement apps designed for touch? Some people like or need to use touch -- Great -- but for most people it's something for kids who've not yet developed motor skills, &/or for devices like smartphones, where there's no physical space for an alternative pointing method/device like a touchpad, & too many choices for something like the buttons on a digital point & shoot camera. Microsoft's hardware folks apparently feel the same way -- they've developed new keyboards & mice designed for tablets, anticipating there's enough of a market among users wanting more than to play Angry Birds.

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2204532/microsoft-windows-rt-to-mark-the-end-of-the-pc-era

Microsoft Windows RT to mark the end of the PC era

Microsoft's forthcoming Windows RT operating system marks the beginning of the end for the PC era, according to chip maker Qualcomm.

Qualcomm's chief operating officer Steve Mollenkopf claimed that in the future, all devices will run using mobile operating systems. He cited the upcoming Microsoft Windows RT operating system as proof of his claim.

"In Windows RT we're seeing a blend of the smartphone world with the PC world... a move from legacy computing to mobile computing,"

Idunnobutiwastold I get 2 for that Price

as for Photos of computers from the past..still got some

Thanks for all the posts, Hotdoge3 ! :)

- - - - -
I would totally get one of those Raspberry PCs, if they're available!
Website: http://www.raspberrypi.org/
Prototype...

Acorn:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/142936/20110509/raspberry-pi-25-computer-usb-sized-computer-kids-linux-ipad-apple-programming-tablets-touchscreen-no.htm

RaspBerry Pi's USB-sized $25 computer to hook kids soon to programming
A British non-profit organization Raspberry Pi Foundation has the answer, in the form of a computer the size of a USB key priced at $25 – which could arguably be the cheapest computer on the block.
The computer is designed to plug into a TV or a touch screen. The USB sized computer runs on Linux and has a 700MHz ARM11 processor and 128 MB RAM. Other specifications include OpenGL ES 2.0, 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode, Composite and HDMI video output, USB 2.0, SD/MMC/SDIO memory card slot, General-purpose I/O and Open software (Ubuntu, Iceweasel, KOffice, Python)
Basically, the computer is like a Linux box which offers video playback of 1080p via HDMI output and has a memory card slot for storage. It can be connected to any TV and keyboard or touch screen to have a fully functional computer.
A picture of the computer shows a 12 Megapixel camera fitted to the computer.

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/25_Computer_to_Entice_Kids_into_Programming/551-115175-893.html

ULPC includes Wi-Fi connectivity and web browser,ultra low-cost PC supports OpenGL ES 2.0 standard, capable of delivering 1080p video through the attached HDMI port.
* $25 Pocket PC Could Run Windows XP *

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10631570

A USB stick inserted in a carpark booth computer at Waikato Hospital has been blamed for bringing down the district health board's computer network in December last year.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10616074

Computer virus cripples Waikato DHB Thursday Dec 17, 2009
Waikato District Health Board has been crippled by a computer worm which has seen every PC in the organisation shut down.3000 PCs
"We need to keep as many people out of hospitals as we can."
"We brought in Microsoft and have been working with them through the night."
Conficka has been identified as the culprit.
The Waikato DHB covers a tenth of the country across a number of outlying sites.

It's OK now don't know how Thanks for all your Help

Hi Hotdoge3, have you contacted the Admin folks (via GOTD's contact form)? Maybe they can give you helpful feedback on how to solve the problem.

Well, any XP that has SP1 or later installed has Microsoft's version of the Java Virtual Machine installed. The debate is whether you need to use Sun's Virtual Machine and continue to get Java updates or whether the Microsoft Virtual Machine can continue to handle all the script's it could possibly see, forever. Some people insist this is the case, but I have my doubts. But, if this machine predates SP1, then incompatibility with current Java could still be the problem. A few types of cookies are set by scripts.

Thanks but did try security privileges are set too high set all down & still not work the 2 PC seem the same but cookies not work on GOTD only, I look in & see loots of cookies only on GOTD not work,I click Log in go to post it say you need to log in I check HOST file is OK, No Java on my P C's

Is your Java up to date on any of those browsers? That's what sounds like your problems. Sometimes, if a site gives you a message like "browser can't set script's cookies" (or something like that) the problem's not with cookies but that Java is not running properly. As much as people hate Java, some sites won't run well if you're not up to date. The current version is 6.17. That's what I would suspect since you said it's an older system. Other people have fixed problems with GOTD by updating their Java.

The only other thing is that maybe your security privileges are set too high, but I doubt that would be true of all 3 browsers.

one PC can not log in to GOTD click log in not set Cookie but set Cookies ok but not on GOTD I clean out all old Cookies not luck try with IE6 Opera Firefox XP sp3 PS this PC was a old school PC all so when the phone rings it boot up help please thanks

This link gives a well designed look on Firewall performance: http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

Outpost Firewall Free 2009 6.5.2724.381.0687.328 is in 3rd place (with an "Excellent" mention): http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/reports/PSC%20report%20-%20Outpost%20Firewall%20Free%202009%206.5.2724.381.0687.328.pdf

PC Tools Firewall Plus (Free) 5.0.0.36 is in 8th place (with a "Very good" mention): http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/reports/PSC%20report%20-%20PC%20Tools%20Firewall%20Plus%205.0.0.36.pdf

Regards

Quantum Dragon

You should look into Windows SteadyState. You can restrict the access your child has and I know you can make a computer shutdown after X amount of minutes. However I can't remember if you can make the computer shutdown at X time of day but I bet you can.

What works for me is oy, go brush your teeth wash your face and get into bed.

Our children 15 and 13 are supervised anyway, so they know their limits.

Problem with software is, children are smarter than adults give them credit for.
So they will find out from friends in school and the net how to bypass such wares.

My children's school banned instant messaging, within 2 days of the ban a lot had signed up to web messaging and well the tech staff didn't have a clue.

Hi raymel1, the following two freeware applications may be of use:

http://www.newfreedownloads.com/Windows-Utilities/System-Utilities/Auto-Shutdown-Genius.html

or

http://www.newfreedownloads.com/Windows-Utilities/Automation/PC-Auto-Shutdown.html

Looking for a FREE Timer that will shut down the PC when a Child reaches their allowed time. Windows XP Home.

Antiivirus that ok with most firewall are free AVG avast AntiVir, AntiVirus with Securty like McAfee, NOD32, Norton, Kaspersky, need the firewall that come with them if no firewall you need to check with them,I think Kaspersky will work with the old Zone Alarm but check.

I tried to download Outpost to try it out, but it doesn't work with Vista. I did try the PC Tools Firewall and I didn't like it. I had a lot of connection problems with it. In basic mode it won't let you edit any rules, and in advanced mode I had to change settings I wasn't confident were very secure, in order for pages to load. It may depend on what anti-virus you are running, as to what firewalls will be compatible. Also, if you are wanting something very techinical, or more user friendly. My first choice would be Online Armor. They have a free version. It is generally rated at the top, along with Comodo, but Online Armor is much more user friendly. Unfortunately, Kaspersky won't play nice with it :( I'm currently running Webroot Desktop Firewall. It's fairly user friendly, and when I tested it at Shields Up, it tested pretty well. If you are able to run it, my suggestion would be Online Armor.

Thanks, hotdoge! That's a very interesting site and I bookmarked it. Has a whole bunch of applets to test firewall vulnerabiltiies, a good general security discussion, some useful security links, and a little software advice.