BBC Technology of Business: Avatars

Can avatars and hyper-real video conferencing replace business meetings? As more and more of us choose to work from home, or perhaps not venture into the office as much, the BBC have put together this very cool video about the increase in the use of video conferencing. Check out the video below.

Make time to do what you really, really love. Part 1

The Dell Small Business team have been busy producing something a little different. This video shows a young entrepreneur enjoying life out of the office and doing the things he really, really loves; in this case mountain biking down some narrow steps. As in real life, carrying out these stunts sometimes comes with a few surprises and in this case, as he cycles down, a water melon vendor appears unexpectedly from a side street and collides with our entrepreneur. Enough said, check out the video below.

Asus Eee PC 1005PE Netbook Review

Netbooks are getting better by the day and the Eee PC 1005PE is one of the latest offerings from Asus. Check out the review.


Screen: 10.1" WSVGA(1024x600)
CPU: Intel® Atom™ Pineview-M N450
Memory: 1GB, DDR2
Wireless: WiFi 802.11n
Bluetooth
Storage: 250GB HDD
Web Camera: 0.3 Mega Pixel
Built-in stereo speaker
Built-in microphone
3x USB 2.0
1x VGA
1x SD/MMC card reader(SDHC)
1x Audio in
1x Audio out
Battery: up to 11 hrs

Supplied by: Asus UK

PC Build Series - Video 10 - Motherboard & Device Connections Close-up

In this video I show you all the connections from the various peripherals to the PSU & motherboard.

Total Cost of this PC Build: £1,327.79.


Possible savings - Corsair 650W PSU, slightly slower processor, Asus HD 5850 GPU, 4GB RAM (instead of 6GB), 1 x 1TB hard drive (instead of 2), DVD Writer (instead of BluRay). This would have taken the cost down to £923.70.

Video Series Links:
Video 2  Video 3  Video 4
Video 5  Video 6  Video 7
Video 8  Video 9  Video 10

Heaven Benchmark v2.1: http://www.unigine.com/download/

Manufacturer websites:
Case: http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/
Motherboard & GPU: http://uk.asus.com/
Processor: http://www.intel.com/
Memory: http://www.crucial.com/uk
Power Supply: http://www.corsair.com/
Optical Drive: http://www.lg.com/uk/
Hard Drives: http://www.samsung.com/uk/
Operating System: http://www.microsoft.com/

PC Build Series - Video 9 - RAID set-up - Installing Windows 7 + Benchmarking

In this video I show you the RAID setup (this is not needed for a regular install). This is followed by the Windows 7 installation and then some benchmarking figures both with the Windows Performance Index and Heaven Benchmark v2.1.



There will also be three extra bonus videos on the channel over the next couple of weeks. A close-up of the wiring connections. This will be followed by a CPU Cooler Upgrade and a 256GB Crucial Solid State Drive.

Windows 7 Home Premium OEM price at time of build £77.63.

Total Cost of this PC Build: £1,327.79.

Possible savings - Corsair 650W PSU, slightly slower processor, Asus HD 5850 GPU, 4GB RAM (instead of 6GB), 1 x 1TB hard drive (instead of 2), DVD Writer (instead of BluRay). This would have taken the cost down to £923.70.

Heaven Benchmark v2.1: http://www.unigine.com/download/

PC Build Series - Video 8 - Connecting all the cables

In this video I show you how to connect all the cables, a short break, then tidying everything for a really neat install. I am a bit sad that this PC Build is almost finished. However, I am very excited to share the next video with you (number 9) where I set up the RAID hard drives, install windows and benchmark the system.


One video every day, so keep checking back on the Geekanoids Channel for the next instalment.

Manufacturer websites:
Case: http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/
Motherboard & GPU: http://uk.asus.com/
Processor: http://www.intel.com/
Memory: http://www.crucial.com/uk
Power Supply: http://www.corsair.com/
Optical Drive: http://www.lg.com/uk/
Hard Drives: http://www.samsung.com/uk/
Operating System: http://www.microsoft.com/

PC Build Series - Video 6 - Installing LG BluRay Drive & Samsung SATA Hard Drives

Without hard drives your PC won't really do much, so in this video I show you the LG BluRay Drive & Samsung SATA Hard Drives being installed.


LG BH10LS30 BluRay Drive price at time of build £99.
Samsung HD103SJ 1TB Hard Drive price at time of build £49.34 each.

One video every day, so keep checking back on the Geekanoids Channel for the next instalment.

Manufacturer websites:
Optical Drive: http://www.lg.com/uk/
Hard Drives: http://www.samsung.com/uk/

PC Build Series - Video 5 - Installing Corsair Modular PSU

The build is now progressing extremely well. In this video I show you how to install the Corsair CMPSU-850HXUK Modular power supply. Careful now, those PSU's are heavy!


Corsair CMPSU-850HXUK Modular PSU price at time of build £129.23.

One video every day, so keep checking back on the Geekanoids Channel for the next instalment.

Manufacturer website
Power Supply: http://www.corsair.com/

PC Build Series - Video 4 - Installing Crucial Ballistix Triple Channel Memory Kit

PC Build Series - Video 4. Memory can make a big difference to your systems performance. In this fourth video I show you how to install the Crucial Ballistix Triple Channel Memory Kit.



Crucial Ballistix 6GB Triple Channel Memory Kit price at time of build £176.24.

One video every day, so keep checking back on the Geekanoids Channel for the next instalment.

PC Build Series - Video 3 - Installing the Motherboard & CPU

In this third instalment I show you how to install the Asus P6X58D-E motherboard and Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz cpu.


Asus P6X58D-E motherboard price at time of build £142.00.
Intel Core i7 930 D0 SLBKP Bloomfield 2.8GHz CPU price at time of build £209.00.
This is a bundle price, components may be dearer purchased separately.

One video every day, so keep checking back on the Geekanoids Channel for the next instalment.

Useful Links
Motherboard & GPU: http://uk.asus.com/
Processor: http://www.intel.com/

PC Build Series - Video 2 - Cooler Master HAF 922 Case Features

PC Build Series - Video 2 - In this second instalment I take you for a tour around the features of the Cooler Master HAF 922 Case. Learn why I chose this particular case.

Cooler Master HAF 922 price at time of build £74.01.

One video every day, so keep checking back on the Geekanoids Channel for the next instalment.

Useful Links
Case: http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/