Category: Computers

  • CrashPlan: A few questions

    CrashPlan: A few questions

    For some time already (a few years, actually), I use and I recommend CrashPlan as an online backup solution. My photos are sent to a US backup server to protect them against some seriously bad event in my home (a fire? the theft of my computer hardware?) which would leave me without any backup locally…

  • Happy Birthday HAL-9000!

    It’s on January 12th, 1992 that, according to Arthur C. Clarke, was born HAL-9000, the computer from “2001, A space Odyssey” (the book from Arthur C. Clarke and the movie from Stanley Kubrick). Actually, the first time it was powered on. So, it is exactly 23-year old today. Happy birthday HAL-9000! HAL-9000 is an Artificial…

  • Kermit, it’s the end

    You know that you’re a computer dinosaur when you discover that a computer program you started with is reaching its end-of-life after… 30 years. The Kermit Project is canceled, effective 1 July 2011. I think that I actually started using Kermit on a Vax 11/780 computer from Digital Equipment Corporation to exchange data between various…

  • Vexin français: Free wallpaper

    Vexin français: Free wallpaper

    If you were looking for a free wallpaper for your PC with a French countryside inspiration, here a photo of Spring in the Vexin français. The wallpaper is available in various screen sizes: 1920 x 1200 pixels 1280 x 1024 pixels 1024 x 768 pixels

  • Reliability of lead-free soldering

    Reliability of lead-free soldering

    For those of you who asked for more details about the reliability of lead-free soldering (see the end of my previous titled “Manufacturing of electronic boards“, I have found an interesting and useful analysis from Numonyx (now Micron Semiconductors). Lead-free and leaded package soldering compatibility – Backward and forward compatibility This white paper explores the…

  • The invention of big RAM memory

    The invention of big RAM memory

    Before we could discuss of whether or not it’s useful to have more than 4 giga-bytes of RAM memory in a PC, some people had to work with slightly less space.

  • Battlestar Galactica Online minimum requirements

    Battlestar Galactica Online minimum requirements

    In Battlestar Galactica Online, you will play an intense browser-based MMO game. This unusual setup will be requiring some pretty unusual hardware and software combination to be sure to play in good conditions. Minimum requirements Windows XP/Vista Processor: Pentium 4 2.2 Ghz, AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or better Memory: 512 MB of SDRAM Graphics: Any…

  • Colorful background pictures

    Colorful background pictures

    A web site on which you will find a colorful collection of background pictures for your PC or your Mac: Imgur. Its only drawback is that you don’t know where the picture comes from, since they are uploaded by the users as they see them here or there.

  • Before Tetris

    Before Tetris

    Did you known what is happening before the Tetris blocks fall from the top of the screen? As a matter of fact, you should know that it’s ugly, scary and has something to do with Space Invaders.