Intel Turbo Boost

Intel Turbo Boost

Intel Turbo boost is a feature in the more recent Intel i5 and i7 processors. This feature overclocks your processor in real time when your computer needs it. For example, when you are rendering a HD video, your Intel Turbo Boost overclocks your processor to get better performance. Once done, it returns to its base clock speed. Average non-computer geek users have mostly used this feature and most of them get benefited from this, without even knowing it. But geeks usually shoo away this feature as they would want to overclock their processor themselves and they don’t want this feature getting in their way. This new technology has been very helpful to consumers to get something more out of their computers. But this feature also has downsides to it that causes damages.

The Intel Turbo Boost feature is widely known for increasing your frame rates when playing video games and also giving you better performance when doing processor intensive work. The Intel Turbo Boost feature works like this, it has three different areas of clock speed. The first is the layer is the lowest clock speed. Intel Turbo Boost uses this clock speed when your computer is usually idle. This clock speed saves battery and also keeps the processor and the computer cooler. The second clock speed is the base clock speed. This clock speed is the actual clock speed your processor should be clocked to. This is also the clock speed your computer manufacturer should have mentioned when you bought your computer.  This clock speed is generally enabled when you are using your computer for regular tasks.  The next type of clock speed is the overclocked clock speed. This clock speed is enabled when you are running CPU intensive applications such as video rendering, and intensive gaming. This clock is speed usually stresses and heats up your processor and you will hear the fans spin up when you reach these clock speeds.

Although, this feature has been widely appreciated, this feature also has many downsides. The first is the reduction of battery life. When the processor speeds are increased, it uses more power to process more thus decreasing the battery life, this can be easily avoided by using a desktop. The second downside is overheating. Playing a video game that has a recommended system requirement that exceeds your processor speed will lead to the increasing of your clock speed by Intel Turbo Boost. If you intensively game for long hours, it could increase the processors temperature to an extent it could cause damage to itself and shutdown your computer. Although these downsides are dangerous, the Intel Turbo Boost is a very innovative feature and as new versions of this technology comes out, it gets smarter and reduces the risk of damaging your processor.

Written by: Hemanth Srinivasan

Edited by: Jason Tu

Mac Os X Lynx

What will apple say to Windows 8?

Microsoft’s new Windows 8 is out and it is doing well. The operating system’s new price strategy seems to be working for Microsoft and the press has also taken it positively. The operating system’s new Metro UI, which is different than anything we have seen in the past, seems to be working out for a lot of people.

What is apple going to give out next? Mac OS X Mountain Lion had few improvements compared to Mac OS X Lion but nothing major. The next version of apple’s new desktop operating system is supposedly going to be called Mac OS X Lynx. Cougar and Ocelot are also other possibilities. Lynx is another type of cat. Apple has been using cat names to name its operating system since the first Mac OS X.1 came out. There is not a lot exiting about the new name but the most exiting thing is the user interface and new features.

People have mocked the new user interfaces that make it look like Windows 8. The new interface is supposedly going to be like Windows 8. This is just a roomer, but I don’t think so apple would do that. I think that apple will make changes to the user interface that will attract high number of Windows 7 users who do not want to upgrade to Windows 8 like me. Their interface is probably going to have a dock that looks a lot more prettier and most probably it is going to be transparent and reflective. The menu bar on the top of the desktop is also probably going to be a bit more transparent and reflective. Apple might also animations for desktop switching and new additions to mission control such as adding more dashboards. But these user interface changes are not that exiting because user interface only makes computers look prettier but what makes computer prettier are new features and additions.

One of the biggest requests that Mac OS X users are waiting for is Siri. Siri on the IOS has now boomed and is very popular. Although competition has come up with similar programs, Mac having Siri will improve user accessibility. Siri could be pointless if it was just ported from IOS but if it were redesigned for Mac it would be a great addition to Mac OS X Lynx. There aren’t many features to talk about other than better functionality with IOS devices and new features such as a better time machine software for back up. Apple will not adding any new killer feature into Mac OS X Lynx but keep in mind that this OS version number is 10.9 and the next could be Mac OS X 11. Many major changes in features could be saved for Mac OS X 11 or XI if I got that right.

There are many possibilities of a few bad features that apple could add. Maps could be an example, which could be added. As you might know, apple maps was a fail in the IOS version. Although IOS fixed it, it is still not completely reliable.

Why overheating and Macbooks dont go together?

Why Macbooks and overheating don't go together?

^Heat?

^{If you were not aware, every electronic gadget on earth causes heat because of the friction caused by the electricity that flows through it. MacBook pro is a pretty powerful laptop that can pack a lot of power. The laptop thin and fast.  I did all I can but my Mac just would not go to temperatures more than 99 degrees celsius. If you don’t know, most macs come with a feature known as intel Turbo Boost.  Intel turbo boost is a feature in intel i5 and i7 processors that overclocks itself when a computer needs more power. This feature has its own advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is overheating. This feature when being used extensiely, will keep you computer’s clock speed extensively overclocked. This increases the temperature and is one of the reasons for overheating.}

^{Connecting it with Mac}

^{Macbook pro’s unibody design for that matter any macbook’s body might be called as a weakness by few but it is actually a very good conductor of heat. The plasticy body of dell or HP does not conduct and spread out heat but it actually traps it in and the only way the heat can exit are through the vents. When a lot of heat is formed, the computer overheats. On a macbook pro, the unibody is made out of aluminium that is of high wuality and can resist high temperatures. So, when heat is formed it is distributed through the unibody of the mac and if you are in a place with moderate temperature (not too hot or not too cold) the heat will be slowly eliminated from the unibody. In other words, the whole body of the macbook pro, is a huge heat sink. The same system also applies for macbook air but it is a little different. This is why you barely hear fans spin in a Mac laptop.}

^Downsides

^{For the most part, this feature works well but sometimes, in extreme cases things can go wrong. If you are rendering 20 HD videos at the same time or doing a really crazy heavy task, the heat that spreads through the unibody can actually melt the mac itself. The melting unibody can stick to the table or even to your pants!}

^{Although, this can only happen in the extreme case that I talked about in the previous paragraph, the other laptops like dell and HP will usually have melting problems in the inside and not so much on the outside. Another donwside would be cost. Buying plasting is cheaper that buying a laptop made out of steel and Mac laptop’s price tags are usually very high.}

                                             

Windows 8–What?

 

Microsoft has done a very good job on Windows 7 and Windows 7’s market share has out broken XP’s. What about the next version?

Microsoft has been showing off Windows 8 from the start of 2011. The video that they put out on YouTube was not very informative but it did give us an idea on what the next version on Windows will be.

At first glance at the video, I was very confused. The interface shown looked really different. At first I thought that it was very confusing and to a normal consumer it was going to be very hard to get around the user interface. The narrator showed of a user interface that looked very different. He showed of something called the metro interface.

The interface made me wonder why they are calling the Operating system Windows. The narrator mostly used the Metro UI, but when he came to the point where he showed of the file browser in Windows 8 (Windows Explorer) he took us to the similar interface that looked exactly like Windows 7. There was a lot of confusion going on in the start and some of them already had their opinions on whether to upgrade or not. But they managed to convince themselves. Because it was just a preview.

Soon, around November of 2011,  Microsoft put out developer preview of Windows 8 for the developers to download. Most of the people (Including usual consumers) actually installed it. Most of the reviews on the internet was telling that the whole operating system was confusing. Even for the basics like shutting down the computer. Many people also said that it was like a tablet operating system being used with a mouse and a keyboard. Most people said that Windows 8 will surely push users towards Mac and Linux. After all this talking, let me show you the first screen you see after logging in:

 

That is what you will see. You see the users name on top left. And you see the word start on the top right.

The whole OS seemed as if it was made for a tablet. When when people found a tile named desktop and they clicked it, it took them back to the old traditional desktop. But when they clicked start to launch a program it took them back to the metro user interface. It never made sense. Start was to start programs. But why did it have to take them to a completely different interface? Everybody had a very tough time getting around. Also, there are two types of apps – Metro apps and Desktop apps. The metro and the desktop apps are launched using the metro screen. The Metro apps are full screen and are especially made for tablets. The Desktop apps run in a windows like a usual Windows 7 app. So it confused the user so badly that they never wanted to use a Windows computer again.

This was a huge problem to us but not Microsoft. The first thing that I could ever think is Microsoft is going to lose their enterprise customers as well, the market where Microsoft was shining. I thought Steve Ballmer does not know how to run a company. Why would any company make a product that is not at all friendly to a market the they are shining in, and Microsoft states that their users, enterprise or home, they are going to love. Microsoft still does not understand that it is not easy to use.

I have been talking about the bad for a long time, let’s get to the good stuff.

Microsoft has introduced a new booting technology that makes windows 8 boot 5x faster. The OS installed with most of the basic programs booted in 5 seconds to the login screen and 2 seconds to the start screen. This was one of the reasons why people might consider getting Windows 8 .

In previous versions of Windows, aero was like a texture and the Windows classic was the one that used to run most of the time. In Windows 8 aero has been made the traditional interface. People don’t need high end video cards any more to run aero. It all works out of the box. This is great as your (and mine)  Windows 8 desktop looks cool out of the box.

Microsoft, previously had a program called Windows defender for basic viruses and Windows firewall for firewall. But for advanced malware, you needed to go out and purchase a additional software such as MacAfee or Norton. But in Windows 8 Microsoft has built in all of the security essentials for a operating system and you no longer need to worry about viruses as you get virus protection out of the box and free.

It is very interesting how Windows 8 is going to perform in the outside world as Microsoft has a lot good and bad. Let’s see how it will.

 

- Hemanth

Ubuntu 11.10

Ubuntu 11.10 review



Ubuntu 11.40  was a very good operating system for either home, business or other uses. My use for Ubuntu was mainly for programming purposes. The Linux kine of operating systems were not so famous because they looked at as third party consumer product. After the Ubuntu 11.40 the number of users that Ubuntu has has increased. People love Ubuntu for various reasons.

The first thing that I noted when I looked at Ubuntu is in its requirements. I use a IBM think pad T42. I know its a pretty old laptop but I wanted the laptop for my programming purposes. I wanted to make an operating system and make it work well. People insisted me on using Linux because it was the operating system that supported most of the compilers and things like that. I thought that the NASM compiler I wanted to run would not run Ubuntu because it was a newer operating system that looks more cool and sleeker. It occurred to me a while ago that when I was using windows 7, I tried running some ms – dos applications such as lotus 123 and NASM. Lotus 123 failed to run but NASM worked. I got a mindset that the newer and modern you go, the past and the older you lose. I mean that the newer versions of operating system back backwards compatibility. But Ubuntu was not like that. It ran every application smoothly.

The Unity Desktop that they call has been updated to run on older PC's running older graphic cards. My computer has 32 MB graphic card and it still runs unity. Its unbelievable because the windows aero needs minimum of 64 MB to run. Here is a picture of Unity Desktop.

The Unity runs very well. Although there is some freezing when there is a lot of stuff opened up.

Overall I really liked the operating system. I have no problems asking you to upgrade to it. Thanks for reading.

Anirocks11. V