Getting to know your hardware

I decided it's time for some hardware trivia this week. So let's begin at the root of it – the main circuit board inside your computer which is called the 'motherboard.' The motherboard contains connectors for attaching all the devices that makes a computer work, such as the CPU, BIOS, memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots and all the controllers that are required to control standard peripheral devices such as the display screen, keyboard, and hard drive. Collectively, all these chips that reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.

You can think of the motherboard as a communications centre. The purpose of the motherboard is to felicitate communication between all the other components and peripherals. There are different types of motherboards depending on the type of CPU it was deigned to use. Motherboards are divided into categories based on what type of socket it has. Socket 478, for example, is used for Intel Pentium 4 and the Celeron series CPUs. Socket 939 is used for the AMD64 range of processors.

It's important to ensure any motherboard you buy will support the type of CPU you want to use in the system. If you already have a CPU, you'll need to purchase a motherboard that will accept that processor. For those building or upgrading a system, you can also invest in a motherboard and CPU combination, which is often cheaper than buying the two components separately and it also ensures compatibility.

It is important to remember that all of the system components must be supported by the motherboard itself. So, if you were to upgrade your memory you can't just search online for "system memory" and buy whatever falls into your price range. You must make sure the type of memory you buy (SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM, RDRAM) and the size (512-MB, 1-GB) is supported by the motherboard. The manual that came with your motherboard will detail these types of specifications. Also, motherboard manufacturers tend to keep updated manuals and specifications on their Web site should you happen to lose your copy.

When upgrading your system you should keep in mind that not all components of your system can be upgraded due to limitations of the motherboard. For example, an older motherboard will not support dual channel memory or PCI Express. Some upgrades that you may want to make may mean upgrading to a new motherboard first.mails: technopage@gmail.com

While being chased by Microsoft in a possible take-over bid, Yahoo has decided to do a bit of its own chasing. Skirt chasing that is. Last week, Yahoo is launched its latest new Web site, called "Shine", aimed squarely at women. Shine now joins a whole host of other Yahoo spawned sites including Yahoo news, finance, sports, entertainment, tech and green. However, Shine is Yahoo's first go at targeting a specific demographic even though in this case its targeting just over 50% of the world's population.

Yahoo claims that Shine will not aim to tap into the stereotypes nauseatingly used by marketers and advertisers to decide what content women should be interested in, and claims that it doesn't want to be a site just for moms or just for single women or working women, or any "specific demo- or psychographic." (Psychographic? They really do seem to know women!) Yahoo reckons that Shine will be more appealing to the new breed of tech savvy women who, according to CNET, tend to blog even more than men do. Also, according to CNET, about 40 million women aged between 25 and 54 logs into Yahoo every month, making them a worthwhile market to tap.

On the Facebook social networking site, a forced invite is a term associated with Facebook applications. After installing some applications, users are then directed to a page where they are prompted to invite their Facebook friends to also install the application.

Some applications require users to send these requests to successfully complete the installation of the application itself. In February 2008 Facebook updated its Facebook platform Policy, stating that the application must present the user with a friend invite page that includes a Facebook-rendered Skip, Cancel, or Skip This Step button, or provide users with an alternative means to navigate off the friend invite page.

Carputer refers to any computing platform that is installed in a vehicle. While some aftermarket carputers are available to consumers, most carputers are built by enthusiasts using desktop PC components from smaller form factors like the mini-ITX or microATX. Carputers are mainly used for playing music and DVD movies, connecting to the Internet, and navigation. Carputer may also be called Car PC. – Webopedia.com