To keep your computer running as fast as possible, it is important to perform certain maintenance tasks on it. One these tasks are called defragmenting your hard drive(s) or defrag for short.

What is defragmentation?

Let’s say you have saved a bunch of files to a brand new hard drive (HD) and then over time you remove half of them. Those spaces or blocks you removed the files from are empty but scattered throughout the HD. Now let’s say you save a much larger file to the HD. The system will use the smaller blocks first thus breaking the file into pieces. When you go to open that file, the system needs to reassemble the file and depending on how many blocks the file resides in will depend on how long it will take to open. Defragging your HD will put those pieces in order allowing the system to find them faster and open quicker. Running periodic defrags will keep your system running as fast as possible and although Windows comes with its own utilities including one for defragging, I use a software called Defraggler.

Defraggler

Defraggler can be found here and is developed by Piriform. With Defraggler you can analyze and defrag your HDs as well as certain folders and files. I found it to be very fast and a better utility than the one offered by Windows.

Monday seemed to be a groundbreaking day when it comes to owners rights to their Smartphones. The FCC has officially announced the legality of jailbreaking Smartphones, in particular the iPhone.

The Reason Behind the FCC Decision

In a statement, they said jailbreaking Smartphones is “innocuous at worst and beneficial at best.” Apple did not go without a fight on this issue, saying this practice is a form of copyright violation. The FCC disagreed though, saying that not only is this practice legitimate, but it enhanced the inter-operability of the phone.

Why Would I Jailbreak my iPhone?

Many owners will now choose to legally “unlock” their iPhone in order to run software applications that aren’t necessarily approved by Apple. It can also be unlocked so it can be used on other networks (one of the most popular being T-Mobile). Cell Phone companies such as Apple are still free to make “unlocking” the phone as difficult as they desire.

Know the Risks Involved

Although the legality of this issue is not in question anymore does not make jailbreaking risky. Apple does tell us in a statement,”Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience.” Now there is some truth to this, especially since Apple has also said,” It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of the iOS is a violation of the iPhone end-user license agreement. Because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software.” Jailbreaking also opens up your phone to malicious attacks, because Apple works to provide a safe environment known as the App Store.

So no matter whether you are looking to jailbreak your phone to run third party software applications or not willing to take the risk of jailbreaking, this ruling has definitely changed the outlook of Smartphones as we know it.

Many times on Tech Tuesdays, we highlight some of the newest and greatest technology that you can install in your PC. This week, the “tech” has nothing to do with hardware, but how you put the hardware in your machine. One of the biggest problems that I have when I’m building a machine or making upgrades is that I cannot see exactly what I’m doing inside the case. This is especially problematic in deeper cases and where there isn’t any additional natural light to take advantage of. Holding a flashlight never works as you need both hands, so what’s the answer? Go hands free with your flashlights. (more…)

3D is all the rage this year in entertainment. Avatar is now the #1 grossing film of all-time, in large part due to its 3D visuals. 3D is coming soon to your home as well, as 3DTVs have begun to roll off the line and go on sale at your local retailer. As 3D moves to more areas of home entertainment, it will eventually come to PCs. Nvidia recently released firmware updates that made its video cards compatible with some 3D imaging. However, the cost will likely prove to be a significant barrier to many wannabe early adopters. (more…)