How To Choose The Best Computer For Ministry?

What is The Best Computer For Ministry?

Maybe some of you are planning to buy a computer that you can use for your ministry. The problem is, there are so many brands and so many models to choose from. Which one is the best?

We really can't tell which one is best by just looking the physical nature of the models and brands that you are looking at. But I enlisted here some factors that you may want to consider in choosing the best computer that will deliver your needs for your ministry.

Before I start, let me just describe you general terms so that you may not get lost. Allow me to use the “high-end” computers for pc's that cost at least $1000 and up, “low-end” for $300-500.

Ok, let's go to the real issue.

Mobility

I think in our days now, mobility is one of the most important thing to consider in buying computers. If you always travel, I suggest that you buy a laptop instead of a desktop computer. On the other hand, if you seldom travels and you want to get the most out of your computer, then get a desktop PC.

Desktop PC's though imobile, they are more flexible in terms of upgrades and capabilities. Due to the ease and cheapness to upgrade, it gives more flexibility for its users as to purpose.

Purpose

This is a very important factor that you will have to consider. “Where will you use your computer?” Are you going to use it for graphics? How about for simple encoding and plain office purposes? Video editing? What?

If you will simply use it for encoding and office purposes, then I sugges that you just get the low end pc's or laptops. If you will be using it for video editing and graphical editing, I strongly suggest that you get a high-end computer.

Just a note, the main key for graphical and video editing includes a good RAM, good Video Card, and a HUGE harddrive. So if you have bought a brand new, low end computer, upgrading your RAM, video card and harddrive will probably do the job.

Price

How much is your budget? I guess this the least of all factors that you need to consider. Acquiring a computer will certainly cost you something. But you do not have to spend a lot for something that will not deliver its purpose in its fullest.

However, if you just have a good budget and you can afford to buy the high-end computer, then why not go for it. If you have a limited budget, don't worry, I believe that with a limited budget, all the more that you can get the most out of your computer.

Operating System To Use

There are 3 main operating systems that PC's usually use, WINDOWS, LINUX, MAC. But I will only discuss Windows and Linux since MAC usually comes with their own customized computer units. Now, which one are you going to use? This is also a very important question to answer.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 which is the current trend are RAM and Video Memory greedy. So if you are planning to install them, then I suggest that you follow their system requirements:

RAM 1 G (minimum)
Video Memory 128 mb (minimum)
and several Gigs of Hard drive

If you are planning to use LINUX, particularly Ubuntu, then you don't really need a high-end pc. Linux usually have a very minimum requirements. The latest edition of Ubuntu can already run well with the following specs:

RAM 256 MB
Video Memory 64 MB
and about 1.5-2 Gigs of Hard drive

Model

For laptops, I suggest DELL, Compaq, Acer, HP and Lenovo. These brands have a better feedback than other brands. Just a quick tip. Try to upgrade the default RAM if there is still extra slot. This will make your laptop run faster than what you are expecting from it.

For desktop computers, I strongly suggest that you do not buy a “one brand” complete package. If you can assemble your own desktop PC (which will I also teach you later how to do it), the better. This will give you more room for customization and further improvements in the future that will sooth your needs.


Well??? I hope these factors can help you decide what PC will really give what you want.

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A Google Earth Feedback

I was fascinated with the features of Google Earth. I would say that Google always deliver a good source of information. And now even the geographical information of the world. I love Google, and I am definitely a fanatic of Google.

What's with Google Earth?

Not only that you can see any location in the world via satellite imagery, you can also see the historical imagery of certain places in the world. You can also explore the ocean floor and discover lots of things in it.

Some Issues That You May Face When You Use Ubuntu

To my dismay however, I have some issues concerning Google Earth. I am using Ubuntu Intrepid Linux on an Acer Aspire 4330 Laptop.

They say that this works in Ubuntu, but in my experience, it doesn't work that well. The graphics is too choppy and its like huge pixilize imagery. Sometimes it even crashes and cannot be played.

I don't know if I missed something from the system requirement of Linux below. If ever I did, I do hope someone will be able to explain me.

Minimum:

• Kernel: 2.4 or later

• glibc: 2.3.2 w/ NPTL or later

• XFree86-4.0 or x.org R6.7 or later

• CPU: Pentium 3, 500Mhz

• System Memory (RAM): 256MB

• Hard Disk: 400MB free space

• Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec

• Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 16MB of VRAM - Screen: 1024x768, "16-bit High Color" screen

Recommended:

• Kernel 2.6 or later

• glibc 2.3.5 w/ NPTL or later

• x.org R6.7 or later

• System Memory (RAM): 512MB

• Hard Disk: 2GB free space

• Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec

• Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM

• Screen: 1280x1024, 32 bit color

Tested on Ubuntu version 6.06, but certainly works on others.

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How To Resize Photos Using GIMP

I must admit that I am still learning GIMP. So it is safe to say that I am not that expert in using GIMP in comparison to Photoshop. But if you are a minister, or someone that sends out e-newsletters, I think this post is best for you.

Have you ever sent a newsletter with your pictures? Do you ever wonder why sometimes your newsletter is hard to upload in your email and in return the recipients of your e-newsletters find it very hard to download your PDF e-newsletter?

The reason: The file pictures embedded are too large.

Solution: Resize your pictures first before pasting it to your Open Office Writer or Microsoft Word.

There are several ways in resizing photos, but in this post we will be using GIMP. What is GIMP by the way? GIMP is GNU Image Manipulation Program, a very good alternative of Photoshop. Photoshop will cost you something, but GIMP will cost you nothing, it is totally FREE. All you have to do is to download it through www.gimp.org.

Let us say that you already have downloaded the GIMP and already have installed it. Here's the intruction on how are you going to resize your pictures:

First, open the picture that you want to resize using GIMP.

Go to “Image” > Scale Image.

A new window will appear. If you are not sure on what pixel should you resize your picture, simply click the botton of the “Pixel” and change it to inches or millimeters, or whatever you prefer.

A good picture size for your newsletter should not be more than 100x100 pixel.

Click “Scale”.

Now you can cut and paste your pictures in your Open Office Writer or Microsoft Word without eating too much of space. That should do the trick concerning your pictures in your newsletter.

If you have anymore questions, please post it as a comment. Thanks!!!

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How To Extract A Photo Using A Photoshop

Extracting a selected image from a photo is pretty easy to do by following these simple instructions.

1.Create first a backup file for the picture. Better if you'll create another folder for your original images.
2.After backing up your original image files, open the image that you want to extract. Click Filter > Extract. It will open a new window with your image.
3.Use the Highlight tool in it. For example you want to extract a picture of a lady from a picture of group of ladies, using the extract tool, trace the portion that you want to extract. you can use the Zoom options to carefully draw the bondaries of the image (or rather to carefully highlight the image) that you want to extract. The hand tool will also be very useful in going to places in the image.
4.Be sure that when you choose the image that you want to extract, the highlighted portion of the image is enclosed. Which means that your point of start will also be the end. In short, just highlight the image that you want to extract.
5.Then activate the Fill tool, by pressing G. Be sure that the bucket icon is placed inside the image that you highlighted. Click it, then the image that you want to extract will turn blue which means that you have chosen the highlighted portion. Click Preview.
6.In the Preview, you will see that the image was not finely extracted. So you will have to use several tools; Edge Highlight, Eraser, Edge Touchup and Cleanup. The Edge Touchup restores the subject edges, while Cleanup removes the background elements.
7.If you are already satisfied with the cleanness of the image, press OK. And there you have it, an extracted image. You can copy it and paste it to another group of pictures or set another picture as its new background.

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Compatible Games For Acer Aspire 4330

Many laptops now are able laptops, which means that they are semi-powerful laptops. Many of them are now capable of playing good games. The main struggle with laptops however, lies mainly on the video graphic hardware that the laptop has.

We must understand that graphic hardware of laptops is built in and not upgradable. Thus, it is one of the main set backs of laptops especially if you are a gamer. Though some laptops where already equipped with powerful video graphic hardware like the Acer Aspire 8920G Gemstone, still most of Acer Aspire Series and most laptops have slower devices.

In addition to this, these built in video graphic hardware share with your RAM which makes it stressful for your laptop to process it. And if gaming will be abused, you may end up frying your own notebook.

Despite all these, there are some games that are not too stressful for your Acer Aspire 4330 that I would like to share to you.

If you have an Acer Aspire 4330 and you have a video graphic hardware model: Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M, you have to check the specs by clicking it.. It will lead you to the site that will tell you the capabilities of this video graphic hardware.

It has 10 pipelines unified, core speed is 533Mhz, Direct X 10, Shader 4.0. These capabilites are fair enough. But notice that it is has a “shared” memory which is very common for laptops.

For experience purposes, I have tried playing these games in my very own laptop Acer Aspire 4330:

1. Starcraft – highly recommended

2. NBA Live 2008 - I do not recommend this game for your laptop.

3. Civilization 3

Haven't tried this games but these games are have been reported to run on this laptop:

1. Warcraft

2. Counter Strike (the older 1)

3. Diablo

4. etc. other games that has similar system requirements of these games.

Warning though: I really do not recommend that you play too much games with your laptop. But if you really want games, try the older version of games, the one that runs with windows 98. In this way, you will be able to at least have safety measures that your laptop will not be fried. Have a nice day!!!

Note

I also do not warrant any failures of your laptop in playing these games. I will also not answer in damages of your hardware. Any attempt of playing games in your laptop is purely you own discretion and not mine.

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Starcraft 2 Reviews

Starcraft Fanatics!!! I guess you are now very excited for this almost all new Starcraft version. More effects and a little modifications of characters. I do hope that you'll enjoy their new look.

Some critics do not like all the modifications. See the video below:



Share your opinion about Starcraft 2 by posting a comment below.:)

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Review On Acer Aspire 8920G Series

Let's go first with the basic specifications:
2.4GHz na dual core
18.4" Full HD, Acer Fine Cinecrystal
DDR2 667MHz upgradable to 4G using 2 soDIMM modules
Blue ray optical drive
Wireless WiFi Link 4965 AGN Network Connection
Blue tooth
Nvidia GeForce 9650M GS with up to 1280 Turbo Cache (512MB of dedicated GDDR3 VRAM) or Nvidia GeForce 9500M GS with up to 1280 Turbo Cache (512MB of dedicated GDDR2 VRAM)
And it is 4.1kg or 9.04 lbs.

This giant Laptop was designed for Vista, but then again, so far, there is no exemption to the compatability of Ubuntu Linux to laptops like this.

This laptop is obviously heavy but this one is currently one of the "top of the line" laptops as this post is being published. I would say that this is the upcoming cheap laptops maybe after 2 years.

This laptop is also designed for gamers having 2G default DDR2 RAM, it can still be upgraded up to 4G plus a category 2 graphic support. Due to its heavy weight and high end specs, this can be a good replacement to any ordinary existing desktop computers.

It also possess an HD screen combined with the Blue Ray optical drive especially designed for extraordinary cinematic experience.

Acer Aspire 8920G Series is not just a "Gemstone" its a "Gemrock" because of its weight, and its high-end specs.

For more information about Acer Aspire 8920G Series, CLICK HERE

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Best Software Programs In Ubuntu For Internet Marketers

As I said in my previous article, if you are an internet marketer, I strongly suggest that you try UBUNTU Linux. But what are the programs that you can use as an internet marketer in Ubuntu? Can it really substitute Windows for its programs?

Here are the list of programs that you can best use in internet marketing using UBUNTU.

Open Office – I think this is a must for any office based jobs. Of course you want to create documents, files etc. In here, I will make this very important statement, Open Office is not a substitute for MS Office, it is a complete REPLACEMENT for MS Office. This set comes with Open Office Writer (Word equivalence), Spreadsheet (Excel equivalence), Presentation (Power Point Equivalence), Drawing.

Kompozer – This is a totally FREE Page Maker. This is what you might have heard from other internet marketers. If you have been with Affiliorama, this is what Mark Ling is suggesting to have. This is what they call before as NVU. NVU stopped its development now, but Kompozer continued the project. This is a very good substitute for Dreamweaver.

GIMP – The equivalence of this software in windows is the Adobe Photoshop. It is a little weird to use if it is your first time. But if you have been using it for a week, you will find out that GIMP can equal the ability of Adobe Photoshop (depending to your expertise in GIMP). One comment though, I haven't seen yet a developer who develops an action scripts for GIMP to create ebook covers. For sure it is possible to develop but as of the moment, this is really a big set back for GIMP if you are an internet marketer who wants to create an ebook cover. But if you know GIMP and you are reading this, perhaps you might want to share your talent for everybody that you will try to work on developing action scripts for ebook cover making using GIMP. Other than this, I would say, GIMP is really a potential substitute to the expensive Adobe Photoshop.

WINE – This another unique software of UBUNTU. This software will allow you to install and work on windows based programs. Though, I am afraid that it is not yet in its best right now, believe me, this will continue to become better and better. Time will come that even those softwares in windows that you really cannot get rid of will not be a problem in installing it and working in it using UBUNTU.

FileZilla – This is a FREE FTP Client. In the net you will find lots of FTP softwares sold between $20-30. I have tried one of them. Just within three days, the software begin to crash and bug down. Then in my personal research, I have found this Linux based FTP Client. I would say this is the best FTP. Until now, I haven't experienced crashing and errors using this excellent File Transfer Protocol.

Firefox – Of course you know this outstanding internet browser even if you are using windows. This is the default internet browser of UBUNTU.

There you have it, the five essential tools for internet marketing. Take note, all of them are free. If you are using windows, there should be no problem either. You can still have them because all of these softwares where also made available for windows. The only difference is that, if your operating system is windows, then I am afraid that it will be infected with virus (which is most likely to happen), you will have to reinstall them all over again. Unlike if you use a Linux based OS, then it is at least more safe from these nasty computer viruses.

What are you going to do now? Try UBUNTU. www.ubuntu.org.

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Ubuntu and Internet Marketing

Some internet marketers refrain from using Linux OS because many of them does not know how to use it to the max. But I think, every internet marketer should learn how to use it for several reasons.

First of all, for safety reasons. There are thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands kind of viruses out there in the big vast world wide web. Many people like hackers are trying to invade Microsoft just to prove the point that their system is weak and will always have loopholes in security. But Linux on the other hand is different, most Linux programs are made by the people itself. Let us say Ubuntu. By the name itself, it says Linux for human beings. It is totally free software.

Most people who protect Ubuntu were driven by passion and love to people who cannot afford to buy security softwares for their computers. Unlike in windows, most of those people who are there to protect it were driven by money.

This is the uniqueness of Ubuntu and other Linux operating systems. This is why it is almost virus free, and if there is, it is very rare. We can see here that it is more safe to use Linux, in my case Ubuntu, compared to windows based operating systems.

Secondly, for economic reasons. The world today has been plagued by crisis. And I am pretty sure that if you are an internet marketer or even just an ordinary person, you will really avoid spending much money. Well guess what? Windows based operating system will cost you hundreds of dollars just for you to acquire all the things that you need for your computer, Operating System, Anti Virus, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, DreamWeaver, PDF maker, etc.

In Ubuntu, it is totally free. And all these programs have it's own equivalence even the anti virus (though most linux doesn't have anti virus because there is almost no virus in linux).

XP, VISTA vs. UBUNTU, Mandriva, OpenSuse, etc.

Adobe Photoshop vs. GIMP

MS Office vs. Open Office

DreamWeaver vs. Kompozer (formerly NVU)

Commercial PDF makers vs. Open Office direct PDF making

All these softwares are free. Though I really cannot tell which is best, but if one of your main categories is economical, Linux based programs will have the most points. But if you will count the “user friendly” aspect, then “maybe” windows based programs will still win. But then again it is all up to you to decide.

Finally, if you are really looking for some “real” colleagues, Ubuntu will really be one of the best. Ubuntu has the best forum on the net. I have been around the forum for a months now, and wow, there are really lots of people who loves to help you. No hidden secrets about Ubuntu. They will tell you how to troubleshoot your own computer.

So there you are. If you are a newbie in internet marketing and really want to get ahead start without spending a dime (granted that you already have your own pc), then you can try UBUNTU.

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Marketing Graphics

Do you know that it is important that our website will have good graphics? Of course it should be done in a clean way or else your website will end up hanging when someone opens your site. Here's another good deal from eBooksulit, I have an offer to make to all website owners and web masters.

DOWNLOAD THIS NOW for you to know what I am saying.

Want to increase your SALES? DOWNLOAD THIS NOW!!!

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