REASONS WHY YOUR PC FREEZES

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Even if you are not a regular PC user, you may at least once have experienced system freeze on your computer. System freezes commonly occurs in lower version of Windows OS and lower capacity PC. It also randomly appears even in the high end computers with latest version of windows OS. 

When a computer freezes, it removes your ability to control it, meaning that either the keyboard or mouse doesn’t respond. There is also what's commonly called a blue screen of death (BSOD), which also freezes the computer before shutting it down. 

There are several causes for freezes, and a few ways to prevent them. However, you will always have to restart the computer when it freezes. 

The reason(s) you may experience computer freezes, could be software related or hardware related; perhaps it's a combination of both, so let’s talk about its cause and how to prevent them.

• A PC is set to perform within a norm and if the computing exceeds that norm, system freezes occurs. Even with regular system update of programs and hardware device drivers, if your computing exceeds beyond what your PC is set to handle, the system freeze occurs. That is the main cause of a system freeze!

•  Another cause is that when a user installs programs or hardware device drivers that are incompatible.

• Likewise if a software package is high ended but installed in a computer with smaller computing capacity. That is another reason.

•  When temporary folder is full that its bloats up and over uses the disk space. Temporary folder is where all the temporary files needed by running software are saved in. For example: the internet browser saves all its files downloaded from the internet in the temporary folder.

• Hard disk bad sectors as a result of overhaul. When a program or file that is located in the bad sector of the hard disk is loaded up, the system freezes up on you.

•  The page file, which saves all the files as a cache, when bloats up.

• When a system registry is cluttered and disorganized with too many invalid or wrong and unwanted items, it bloats up. A cluttered registry prevents easy access of file settings and thus a system hangs up as a result of executing these bad entries to get to the right one.

The Remedy – How to prevent system freezes:

OK, the kitchen sink is pushing it.. but you get the picture. Now that we know what may cause your computer to freeze or lockup the real question is how to isolate the cause and solve it. Now since there are numerous sites that address this issue I have composed a list that should be helpful.

Before installing a software package of hardware device make sure it’s compatible with your computer.

• Don’t install the programs that did not meet your system requirements.

•  Use Disk cleanup tool to cleanup temporary folder periodically.

•  Use Disk defragmenter tool to reorganize files into healthy sectors thereby fixing the bad sectors in the hard disk.

• Adjust your page file size to what system recommends.

• Invest in a Registry Optimizer Tool and do periodic registry house keeping!

• There may be several reasons why your computer may be freezing. First question is when was the last time you cleaned your registry. Having a corrupted registry can cause a whole host of errors and problems. Freezing up is one of them. If you have a lot of unnecessary registry keys that are hogging up your computer resources. Your computer is bound to choke. Scan your registry with a good registry cleaner. If you pull up more than 20 errors or duplication, clean your registry.

Besides all those, consider some of these other issues.

Depending on your RAM specs and your computer usage. This could also be a the issue. Having an insufficient amount of free space does not allow your RAM to function properly. If you are using a lot of RAM by net surfing or other activities without enough empty space your will get freezes. You don't need to buy new RAM but you should increase your free space by removing unnecessary data and perhaps increasing your virtual memory.

Spyware could be the culprit, so do a scan and see if your computer is infected.

Another area is a hardware drivers. This could be the problem if new hardware has been added to the system. So, the drivers should still be up to date. So try the first two suggestion and see if you can get your computer to stop freezing.

Check your drivers.

Lastly, check the dust buildup on the fan to make sure you system is cooling properly.

Trust me, in the absence of those factors, Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) or system freezing will be a rare incident to you.

TEN PROFOUND INNOVATIONS AHEAD

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Today's world looks increasingly like the future. Robots work factory assembly lines and fight alongside human warriors on the battlefield, while tiny computers assist in everything from driving cars to flying airplanes. Surgeons use the latest technological tools to accomplish incredible feats, and researchers push the frontiers of medicine with bioengineering. Science fiction stories about cloning and resurrecting extinct animals look increasingly like relevant cautionary tales.

 

But even the best of science and technology has yet to solve climate change and famine, or conquer disease. More and more people live on a planet with shrinking resources, which leads to political strife and conflict. Here, we examine some of the hottest areas where researchers hope to forge a better tomorrow.

 

HACK THE BRAIN

Much of the human brain remains a mystery embedded in billions of neurons. Now researchers behind the Blue Brain Project have announced plans to create a functioning, artificial human brain within the next decade. They have already modeled part of an artificial rat brain using the IBM supercomputer Blue Gene, and said that the simulated brain cells have even begun self-organizing without human intervention. Success in reverse-engineering the brain could lead to a model for biomedical testing, as well as a better understanding of human consciousness. The researchers only caution that it's no artificial intelligence ... at least, not yet.

HARNESS THE SUN'S FIERY FURNACE

Nuclear fusion has kept the sun shining for billions of years. Now scientists want to recreate that power on Earth and finally tap into fusion's unbeatable energy efficiency. Giant lasers at the National Ignition Facility could help along that breakthrough by focusing their power on a tiny hydrogen fuel pellet, and ideally release more energy than what the lasers require. Still more alternatives involve the magnetic confinement of high-temperature plasma involved in fusion, or even a rebranded form of cold fusion. For now, LiveScience readers have already voted on their best bets for alternative energies.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CONTROL

Forget modest goals like trying to halt Mother Nature from raining on the Olympics. Geoengineering plans befitting Bond villains have become hot topics for the National Academy of Sciences, the American Meteorological Society and the White House science advisor. Ideas include lofting reflective particles up into the atmosphere to divert sunlight and cool the planet, or seeding the oceans with iron to encourage carbon-gobbling algae blooms. Even billionaire Bill Gates joined a patent filing on an idea to slow or stop hurricanes, by deploying a fleet of ships to churn the ocean and cool the warm surface water that fuels such storms. Climate control technologies have almost become reality, which raises the question of whether scientists and policymakers want to risk the side effects of such schemes.

ELIMINATE WASTE

New technologies look to turn all our trash into reusable materials. Chicken feathers and other agricultural castoffs could become the future of plastics. Biodegradable plastics that dissolve harmlessly in seawater might actually encourage people to throw their garbage into the ocean. Food scraps, sewage and other waste has already begun to fuel some power plants and generators for the U.S. Army and civilians alike. Achieving 100 percent sustainability may still sound daunting, but the efforts do add up. MIT researchers have even begun a Trash Track project to gauge the costs and patterns of waste disposal in New York, Seattle and London, in hopes of helping more people think green.

FEED THE WORLD

Solving world hunger represents an incredibly difficult task, given that the political situations and economics of each region bring their own complications. Nonetheless, scientists have moved to protect the important crops that feed most of the world. Researchers continue to develop different varieties of wheat, corn and rice that have greater yields and are more resistant to temperature changes, drought conditions and even insects. New information technologies can keep farmers updated on the condition of their crops and agricultural practices which preserve nutrient-rich soil in the long run. Even lab grown meat could help satiate the growing worldwide demand, if people can get over the irk factor. And if all else fails, scientists have stored thousands of seeds in a doomsday vault to safeguard the future of food.

REGENERATE THE BODY

No one has regenerative powers just yet, but patients can expect a growing array of therapies to repair or entirely replace organs in the human body. A British team grew the world's first artificial liver from umbilical cord stem cells in 2006, and other researchers have since found that even the heart may harbor stem cells capable of regenerating the organ. Adult stem cells have also helped restore eyesight using a patient's own healthy eye stem cells in an Australian study, and Chinese scientists demonstrated the potential of adult stem cells by creating live mice from reprogrammed skin cells. The future of individually-tailored organs and therapies may soon arrive.

KNOW IT ALL

People could eventually hold a hitchhiker's guide to everything that they see. Pick up a carton of OJ in the supermarket, and nutritional comparisons about that brand would appear. Flip through a new bestseller in the bookstore, and reader reviews might flash on the pages. MIT has already unveiled a prototype of such a technology in 2009, which combines a webcam, a projector and a smart phone to link the Internet's vast array of information with the real world. Such wearable devices would work together with embedded "smart" systems and tags to create an augmented reality, where staring at a street might bring up GPS coordinates and a local map. In the 21st century, information reigns supreme.

A PERFECT ARTIFICIAL LIMB

U.S. veterans and other prosthetic users may soon wield artificial hands, arms and legs as easily as they control their natural limbs. The most advanced prostheses tend to use "smart" microprocessors that act as tiny brains to anticipate how a user will walk or move an arm. But both monkeys and humans have already used brain signals alone to control robotic arms and digital applications, which paves the way for new brain interfaces with artificial limbs. Such technology could then retrofit the latest prostheses to give users ultimate control over that "Luke

AROUND THE WORLD IN 90 MINUTES

Phileas Fogg took 80 days to go around the world, but travelers may eventually hop halfway around the globe in less than an hour. The U.S. Air Force and Brazil are developing a Lightcraft concept that could someday ride laser-produced explosions into the sky, and deliver passengers or cargo around the world. Barring that wild ride, space planes that could take off and land like regular aircraft have begun undergoing serious development in the U.K. and United States, and some could fly within the next few years.

READ MY MIND

True mind-reading devices remain in the realm of science fiction, and lie detectors rely on indirect cues to catch fibbers. Still, brain scans have allowed neuroscientists to predict what people will do during specific task experiments, and even to observe when a person will make a mistake up to half a minute beforehand. Another technique has used near-infrared light to figure out simple preferences based on brain activity. These feats rely on analyzing brain patterns that occur during specific actions, rather than truly cracking the brain's neural code, but they still have scientists and legal experts debating mind-privacy issues. Perhaps in the near future, they'll just use Twitter for a meeting of minds.

As culled from Tech News Daily

WHY OBINNA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND CLOUD COMPUTING

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Recent survey shows that most Nigerians don't understand cloud computing -- and it's our fault

In a recent survey carried out by Nimos Technologies, 85 percent of respondents claimed they have never used the cloud. Worse yet, 25 percent thought the cloud is a “fluffy white thing in the sky”.

As we know, people who took this survey most likely do some online banking; purchase from online retailers, post status updates on social networks, and manage photos on photo-sharing sites -- all in the cloud. I'm sure many have signed up for iCloud, Box.net, Dropbox, or other retail cloud providers, though perhaps not understanding exactly what they are using.

The problem with cloud computing is the term itself. It's way too overused, covering way too many technology patterns. As a result, cloud computing has no specific meaning, which makes it both difficult to define and to understand, whether you're a cloud computing industry staff or an average Nigerian.

Mr. David Linthicum of InfoWorld once state: "I believe we've officially lost the war to define the core attributes of cloud computing so that businesses and IT can make proper use of it. It's now in the hands of marketing organizations and PR firms who, I'm sure, will take the concept on a rather wild ride over the next few years." He further adds: “That was true a year ago, and it's still true today”.

With the introduction of iCloud by Apple, the term Cloud Computing has become very common. So the question still remains: “What is this Cloud computing?” as a colleague of mind once put it.

Now think of the entire internet as a big cloud sitting out there above the world. Wherever you go – you just need to look up to the sky – and there it is.

Now think about having all your stuff floating on that cloud.

Wherever you are, whenever you want it, all you need to do is reach up to that cloud and grab what you need.

Suppose you want to share some of that stuff with your friend halfway across the world. All your friend needs to do is look up to that cloud and grab what they need, use it – maybe even change it, and put it back on the cloud.

The next time you need that same thing, it will be there waiting for you – with all the changes that your friend made to it.

In the digital world – this cloud can hold lots of things. It can hold files. It can hold applications.

For example, if you use Google Apps for calendar, email, documents etc. – you are using Cloud Computing.

For instance a friend of mine wanted some help setting up her iCloud. She really didn’t know much about it, but she knew that she wanted to be able to share some stuff, like calendars with her family. She wanted this to happen on a personal level – not for business.

If you use Dropbox or Apple iCloud – you are using the cloud.

This explanation is very basic – and behind the scenes as proven earlier, things are more complex.

But from the perspective of the average end user – this is how we see it.

And Cloud Computing is truly changing our daily routines, how we work, and how we live.

Thus having the information that we want and need right at our fingertips has become the new norm and believe me it’s here to stay.