It’s Not A Relay…The Video!

It’s Not A Relay Until The Logic Gates Are Opened!

That’s right….whaaaat? Relays and Logic Gates….I bet you didn’t know that your computer uses them. Yep, automation. According to http://www.merriam-webster.com
automation is defined as:

Main Entry: au·to·ma·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌȯ-tə-ˈmā-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: 1automatic
Date: 1912
1 : the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically
2 : the state of being operated automatically
3 : automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process, or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human labor

So how is the computer automated? As users we know to simply use the mouse and keyboard to give any form of input and bam output is produced. No need for scrap paper to do calculations. No need to go to the library and crack open the dewey decimal system to get a book’s index location in the library. WOW! AUTOMATION! Who’s in there? Is this some form of black magic? What’s going on????? Well my friend it’s all Greek to me….”LITERALLY!!!”….it’s Greek! Go say “Yasu” to your local “Bakalakalapkus”! Put on your “wayback” helmets, here we go!

The “wayback” machine winds down at Venice, in the year 1494. Right smack in front of the business called, “Aldine Press”. Aldine Press was a printing office created by Aldus Manutius. Aldus was a 15th Century Humanist, an intellectual movement of Florence, Italy during the preceding 14th Century. Scholars who began to rediscover the literay works of the Greek and Latin scholars. Which many historians believe created the Renaissance Movement of that time.

Aldus basically printed Greek texts to the public, in a new form called “italics” which enabled the book to be in a “paperback” form. Not only that, but he created dictionaries and books on translating Greek so more people could read these texts. Since the Greeks had many inventions that combined nature and technology, it is believed the French hydraulic engineering got it’s inspiration. That led to the French Monarchy using animatronics with hydraulics!!!! The Water Organ:

from Wikki:
“The most famous water organ of the 16th century was at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli. Built about 1569–72 by Lucha Clericho (Luc de Clerc; completed by Claude Venard), it stood about six metres high under an arch, and was fed by a magnificent waterfall; it was described by Mario Cartaro in 1575 as playing ‘madrigals and many other things’. G. M. Zappi (Annalie memorie de Tivoli, 1576) wrote: ‘When somebody gives the order to play, at first one hears trumpets which play a while and then there is a consonance …. Countless gentlemen could not believe that this organ played by itself, according to the registers, with water, but they rather thought that there was somebody “

Essentially, water is pumped near the pipes where air is flushed out and a musical note is given. In the case of Tivoli, it was a waterfall. In ancient Alexandria a large paddle wheel that forced water passed a set of pipes. Water acting like a relay to the air?
This form of automation brough a whole new inspiration to the people of Europe at that time. One particular gentleman was Basile Bouchon, a French silk textile worker in Lyon that created a new drawloom invention in 1725. (Mon deur, Jacquard Loom! Hah! Indeed!) His father, an organ maker, had introduced his son Basile to the Carrillons of that time. These Carrillons were mechanisms that would control clappers on bells. Using a turning cylinder, with protuding pegs, leavers would then be touched inturn striking particular clappers in that allignment. Alleviating the need for people pulling large ropes attached to the bells.

The French upperclas was going through a new fashion fad of silk weave. These weaves had intricate patterns which called for assistants to pull threads up and down in order for these patterns to be established. It could take weeks for a length of design to be woven. If one stitch was missed, the work was ruined. It was very tedious, but Bouchon also noticed, very monotonous. Monotonous enough to see a pattern established.

For the weave patterns to work, hooks had to pull certain threads to re-establish a new pattern. Assistants were assigned this task. It dawned on Bouchon that as the weaves were being performed, if someway certain hooks were prevented from moving, a new pattern could be done without a need for manual change. He looked on the Clarrion as the basis for his invention. Clarrions needed a cylindrical spool with pegs. The blacksmiths used a paper pattern on the spool to drill holes for it’s pegs. Bouchon took that same paper, with the holes, and lined them up with the hooks on the loom. Hence the automatic loom was created using a perforated paper with holes. Sound familiar? IBM Punch Cards? Hmmmmm…..

     TekkyNASekky at EzineArticles.com

www.tekkynasekky.webs.com

Increasing Laptop Speed

Happy Labor Day! Well, I hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s attempt at my first real blog. Today, I’m covering the topic of Laptop Speed. My friend had emailed me about his laptop’s slow processing speed and if I had any suggestions for correcting it. Well…after a few checks of the ol’ BING! I got 3 possiblities:

1. Good Ol’ Hard Drive Tools Tab:
a.) go to your hard drive icon in My Computer, right click your hard drive and select Properties.
b.) under the General Tab, and the Pie Chart, you’ll see Disk Cleanup. Select that and you’ll see a choice of files to delete. Choose all except compression. (I’ve heard nothing good of compressing files-due to the fact that the processor has to uncompress if you have to use it.)
c.) once the cleanup is finished and if you don’t want to use your computer for 20 minutes to an hour, go to the Tools Tab (still in Disk Properties) and choose Defragmentation. This option will reorganize your files so there isn’t any wasted time in skipping around the disk. (This occurs during software removal and gaps forming between files.)

2. Try using PC Tune-Up @ LargeSoftware.com Various softwares out there, such as this can actually go in and find any unwanted files and software, or malicious software picked up while web surfing.  Believe it or not, Microsoft Live has a free one too, but it’s pretty similar to the previous Step 1.

 

3. Increasing RAM (Random Access Memory chip). Yep, you heard me adding RAM to your laptop! Surprisingly, it’s not that difficult. Just find out what type of memory module you’ll need for your systems particular RAM Card. Flip your laptop over. Find the appropriate entrance. Add or replace and “boom”, you are a “electronic zepher” my friend. For a far better description check out this link at “How To” for a complete video break down of the steps!

“Increasing Laptop Speed” by Jim Carrillo Tech Support and Owner of www.TekkyNASekky.webs.com

Also check out updates on MySpace,  LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter @ TekkyNASekky

How R2-D2 and Your Computer Are Similar!

Good Sunday morning to ya! I was searching for a good topic today and happened across this article topic, that never really dawned on me, “Trouble Shoot Beep Codes” by Tim Fisher on www.about.com  I always turned on my computer and never really wondered about the beeps. Oh, I have when it went out of control, but this article, I think, should be reviewed for all of us who are ignorant of our computer’s BIOS page. (wait the topic of BIOS will also be described in this article)

Tim suggests turning your computer on. After warming up you should hear at least one beep. For most computers, it’s the motherboard reporting that the system diagnostic has successfully completed with no errors. But…if you hear a succession of beeps, there could be a problem. What you need to know is FIRST what type of BIOS your system has. In other words what is the manufacturer of your mother board. Excerpt from Tim’s article:

“4.What steps you take to solve a particular beep code will differ depending on the BIOS manufacturer.

Choose the correct beep code troubleshooting guide below based on your motherboard’s BIOS manufacturer:

•AMI Beep Code Troubleshooting (AMIBIOS)

•Award Beep Code Troubleshooting (AwardBIOS)

•Phoenix Beep Code Troubleshooting (PhoenixBIOS)

Tip: Not sure what brand of BIOS is on your motherboard? See this How to Determine Your Motherboard BIOS Manufacturer guide for some helpful advice.”

I hope this short snippet has enlightened your computing Sunday! Until tomorrow keep computing!

 

“How R2-D2 and Your Computer Are Similar!” by Jim Carrillo Tech Support and Owner of www.TekkyNASekky.webs.com

Also check out updates on Facebook and Twitter @ TekkyNASekky

TekkyNASekky Computer Support Services

Hi this will be a blog for my new business TekkyNASekky Computer Support Services. Here I will bring new blogs on tech and support help. For more information visit me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and my actual webpage on Webs.com at www.tekkynasekky.webs.com. More blogs will follow daily. Thankyou for your attention.