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Computer Information

We at Developed Resources are not computer specialists or professional technicians. We do have some useful general tips, and links to or very inexpensive ways to purchase computer hardware and software.

Secured Transactions
We have made numerous purchases on-line and have never had a problem with security when using a secured server. We recommend using MSN Explorer with 128 bit encryption MSN Explorer as your browser. Sending your credit card information over the Internet via secured transactions is probably the safest transaction possible.

People who do not feel it is safe to make a secured transaction Secure over the Internet will often give a credit card to a waiter (whom they do not know) to pay for a meal! We strongly recommend that you do not ever send credit card numbers via email. There is a "remote" possibility of email security breaches on the server side.

Windows 95 Tip - Screen Capturing
Have you ever been working in a program and said: I wish I could show this to someone?

Have you ever gotten a high score playing a computer game, one that nobody would believe, and wish you could prove it?

Do not close the program that has the screen you want to capture. Open your word processing program, I use MS Word 97. I have used the following procedure on the last 4 versions of word and am pretty sure it will work for almost all word processing programs.

Return to the program which has the screen you want to print (or just capture). Press:
<ALT>
<PRINT SCREEN> (this key is usually next to "SCROLL LOCK" key)
Open up your word processing program. Just select "Edit", then "Paste".

With "other" programs, it may be more difficult to resize image after it has been placed onto a page. With Word, you just grab any "corner" of the graphic to resize it.

Windows 95 Tip - Changing Screen Settings for Maximum Viewing
Most computer monitors have a much higher resolution than a television picture tube. It almost always has the ability to show graphics and images much better than watching television.

There are two three items that dictate how good images appear on your computer's monitor:

  • A color monitor's clarity. This is usually rated in mm. A common aperture DPI is .28 mm. You need to check specifications in its manual to verify your monitor's rating.
  • The computer's graphics card. We will not get into details here, but your card can be installed in either a VL-bus (very old motherboard), ISA, PCI, or AGP bus.
  • The setting your operating system is set at for screen size (resolution) and color setting.  This is generally set at maximum color setting and optimum resolution range.

You cannot do anything if you would like to reduce Dot Pitch (DPI) to increase clarity. You can make sure a new monitor will have low DPI. Micro Concept Monitors usually has a 0.25mm DPI, 17-inch color monitor (usually a +16" viewable area) on sale for under $250. You should be able to find a 0.27mm or 0.28mm DPI, 17-inch monitor for under $250 at many dealers.

Your color setting can be changed a various number of ways. There are high quality graphics on the Internet and you owe it to yourself to have your color palette for the display as high as possible. This may slow down your screen refresh if you do not have adequate memory on the video card.

There is usually a way to change color monitor's setting by going into your "Control Panel," then selecting "Display," choose the "Settings" tab, and select "Color palette". There should be several choices in the scroll-down box under "Color palette". Choices should include, beginning with 16 Color, 256 Color, and then you could have a number of various choices. When you make this change through the Control Panel, you must reboot your computer to implement changes (unless you are using Windows NT). If you are using Windows 95 and have not downloaded and installed Powertoys, you must go to Microsoft's site and get this free add-on. One of the Powertoys called QuickRes will allow you make color palette and resolution changes without rebooting your computer.

If your only options for color palette go to 256 colors, you are missing a lot of nice images and graphics on your color monitor. It could be worth installing a new video card to get this improvement. Once you have determined bus type, you can shop for a new video card. Many times you will have the choice between using an ISA or PCI slot (even if current card is using an ISA slot). Use the PCI slot instead of ISA if possible.

We have used Price Watch and found the following prices (without S & H) to give you an idea of costs. We found a SVGA, 2mb DRAM, 16 million color, 1280 x 1024, ISA video card for less than $67. A 4mb, S3 chip, PCI video card was found for less than $30. Click on this "Link" to see price of a 3D, 8mb, 128 bit AGP video card.

Windows 95 Tip - Moving a "Lost" Window on Desktop
Have you ever moved a window on your desktop and accidentally placed it off or nearly off the desktop? There is not enough "Title Bar" to grab and pull it back onto the desktop.

Here's what to do.  Press:
<ALT>
<SPACEBAR>
Then enter the letter:
"M"

You should now be able to use any of your "Arrow Keys" to relocate the window! (a special thanks to Floyd Scott for this tip!)

Computer Hardware
We have had the opportunity to assemble 3 computers from scratch, and install various components in others. One can get very good deals from reputable suppliers if you look in the right places via the Internet. There are several good "Auction Sites" on the Internet, but have seen many, many, many (and then some) people bid for items they could get cheaper at retail price!

Best Computer Hardware Prices
Here is the best price search engine (by far the best) that we have found to search for hardware prices. The site is called Price Watch. It has easy-to-follow links to sites or telephone numbers for hardware and software. I have found best prices on software via on-line auctions (eBay especially), see below. Please send me the link if you have found a site that offers better prices than this.

We have recently assembled another "ultra" computer for ourself. Here is a list of components, prices (without S & H in most cases) and supplier link.

  • DFI AK74-EC Motherboard Combo - VIA KT133 / 686B Chipset, 200 mHz bus, Socket A, 1 AGP slot (Supports 4x/2x AGP), 4 PCI slots, 1 AMR slot, 1 ISA/PCI slot Expansion Slots, 3 DIMM sockets, max. 1.5GB and AMD Thunderbird 900MHz CPU.
    $258.00
    Monarch Computer Systems
  • Western Digital EIDE 30 GB Hard Drive - 2mb cache, ultra DMA 100, 7200rpm
    $129.00
    Fry's Electronics (Local Computer Super Store)
  • Iwill Side-2935UW SCSI Host Adapter - PCI ultra-wide
    $122 (includes S & H)
    Onsale Auction
  • 128MB Dimm - EDO, 122 MHz, 7ns - two units, 256MB total
    $275 (includes S & H for 2)
    Onsale Auction
  • Diamond Stealth III AGP Card 32MB

    • $79.95
    Fry's Electronics
  • 54x IDE CD Rom Drive - internal
    $29.99

    • Fry's Electronics
  • Mid Tower Case - 250 watt power supply, 4 - 5-1/4", 4 - 3-1/2" ATX form
    $43.50
    Micro Barn
  • Trident PCI 4D Sound Card - 32 bit, 64 voice, advanced wavetable synthesizer
    $19.00
    Bunta Technology
  • 260 Watt Speakers
    $19.00
    QualityClick.com

Our goal is to keep system price under $1,000.

Here are some other hot links for different hardware. Remember, it pays to shop around.

On-Line Auction Sites
There are lots of on-line auction sites on the Internet. Many have exorbitant S & H charges so be careful and check that out before placing a bid. We have checked out many, many on-line auction sites. The following two are our favorites. Onsale is our choice for hardware deals, but again, beware, many people will bid higher than retail for goods. eBay is an excellent source for finding deals on software. We recently acquired Office 97 Pro, CD Rom only (OEM), SR1, shrink-wrapped in jewel case. Our winning bid was $70 for two CDs and that included S&H.

sp NOTICE - This web-site provides information intended to be general guidelines and may not be applicable to your particular condition. There is no adequate substitution for a personal consultation with your physician whenever undertaking a new training, nutritional or supplementation program. Neither Developed Resources, any of their affiliates, or any contributors shall have any liability for the content or any errors or omissions in information provided by this web-site. sp
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