No one could have thought that this is the decade when we can watch satellite TV on personal computers. Tell that to someone about 10 years ago and people will jeer at your somewhat out of the world imagination. But the truth is digital technology has seen many new frontiers being broken and re-established with new gadgets such as digital photography, skype and now the equipment to watch satellite TV on personal computers. It is the intention of our article to discuss the two ways to do so.

There are already websites online that allow you to watch satellite TV on your personal computers. Of course, there is a variety of tradition television channels as well as some hip entertainment programs like MTV and so on. More importantly, more foreign channels are getting on board to broadcast television in foreign languages other than English ones. If you have fond likings for home videos, you can even watch some home-made videos at sites like YouTube, Google Video, Eye Spot and so on.

Another more popular way to watch satellite TV on personal computers is to make use of software called PC satellite TV software. This little piece of application can be downloaded online via retail sites and enables your computer to access more than 3000 satellite TV stations worldwide. Trust me, 3000 satellite stations is a lot. You probably will take one whole year to watch all the channels available. But in case you get so overwhelmed and start thinking that it is going to be challenging to find what you like, it is not. The search features and tagged description of each channel makes the whole channel search and management a breeze.

But there are quite a number of software providers out in the market which provide different versions. All allow you to watch satellite TV on personal computers instantly. The only differences are in the number of channels, the pricing and the customer support. Oh yes, be sure to check out the software specifications to ensure that it is compatible with your PC. I forgot to mention one more important thing. To optimize the transmission of the TV feeds, it is best that you have broadband at home. Other than that, the requirements are quite simple and minimal.

Conduct simple research to find out which is the most popular software that most TV viewers are using to watch satellite TV on personal computers. There are also forums and blogs that discuss about this so be sure to check them out. The beautiful thing about this software is that you can practically install it on any computer be it a laptop or desktop and start using anywhere in the world as long as there is internet connection.

The PC satellite TV software usually costs lesser than $60 and is a far cry from the monthly bills we are used to getting from the satellite TV providers. Talking about value for money, we are getting way more channels using software than subscribing for TV packages which can be quite limited in choices. And many TV viewers including myself simply hate the pay-per-view concept.

This is the latest development in satellite TV entertainment. So why not check out my satellite blog to get more information on how to watch satellite TV on personal computers?

(A) cause damage to the battery

laptop computer battery life is longer, often dissatisfied with battery charge, and even show the battery has been damaged, concrete expression of the resistance is bigger, at charging voltage is increasing relatively quickly at both ends. So easy to charge control circuit has been judged already been filled, the capacity also falls. Since relatively large battery internal resistance, discharge voltage drop big, fast, so the system is easy to mistakenly believe that voltage is not enough electricity shortage. The discovery of relatively short battery life, should take appropriate measures.

(B) The battery refresh program to restore the battery discharge time

Big-brand notebooks have a battery refresh program, we can use it to repair the battery. For example: a IBM Thinkpad390/262650-based notebook computers, are fitted with nickel-metal hydride batteries (Ni-Mh) batteries, due to normal charge and discharge properly, leading to the battery discharge time is shorter, leaving less than 5 minutes, if the bring notebook computers to work, then it is very inconvenient, what methods can restore the battery discharge time?

In response to these circumstances, we can use the IBM has launched a battery refresh program to refresh the battery put it back in discharge time, specifically as follows.

(1) the use of AC adapters to the notebook computer, first to ftp://fip. pc. ibm. com / pub / pccbbs / mobiles / isbr01ww. exe download software provided by IBM notebook computer batteries TP390/390e/390x refresh program.

(2) Restart the computer, press F8 key to enter boot menu and select safe DOS mode.

(3) to enter the directory where the file you just downloaded, the implementation of the battery refresh program isbr0lww, exe, reading a warning message, by asking you to insert a floppy disk, and then press the Enter key to the implementation of the self-extracting operation.

(4) boot floppy disk with this computer, the screen appears StartingPC-DOS. . . Tips.

(5) Follow the prompts to unplug the AC power, the program will automatically pairs of Ni-Mh battery discharge, discharge is completed, the system will automatically shut down.

(6) As the battery temperature is higher at this time should not immediately start, let the battery cool for a while, the plug in AC power.

(7) to guide the computer with the floppy disk, this Autoexec. bat file will run automatically refresh program, and asks the user whether to proceed. Select yes, press the Enter key.

(8) At this point, refresh program began to refresh the battery, the process quickly, when the return to DOS prompt A:> when that refresh has been completed.

(9) Turn off the computer, and recharge the battery until the green indicator light up.

(10) The above procedure repeated three times to get the best results.

Also, many battery pack lithium battery failure is the failure of a power-saving result of the core, this phenomenon can not be avoided. Because each section of the battery core properties can not be fully consistent with some of the quality of somewhat less long after the beginning of aging and the undermining of the whole (series after) the discharge curve. Interest and ability readers can try to open the battery pack, in the multimeter’s help, you can quickly find the damaged batteries (abnormal voltage). If conditions permit, according to the corresponding parameters of the replacement batteries can be qualified product.

Mobile Learning and iTunes U – Thinking outside the classroom

Learning no longer happens only in the classroom. Students demand constant access to information and knowledge, no matter where they are. As a contribution to this, academic institutions are beginning to use iTunes U sites to distribute digital lessons to their students. This is the pioneer concept developed by Apple. However, we are waiting for others to follow up with their version of this, as more gadgets are being able to perform same things as iPhone and iPodTouch products are. However, learning from what Apple has done so far and offer the public of services and possibilities, makes it interesting to see how academic institutions have approached this concept and what their experience is with it so far.

First a little about Mobile Learning

Students are already coming to school with portable computers and devices such as an iPhone and iPod in their hand. So they’re used to gathering information on the web, getting their email, watching lectures, getting directions, or pinpointing exactly where their friends are — anytime and anywhere.

Now they can learn anytime and anywhere, too. As educators all over the world are discovering, mobile learning works. Students devour engaging, customized curricula when it’s delivered on the iPod or iPhone. It’s a familiar and essential part of their lives. Audio and video podcasts let students study at their own pace, wherever and whenever they want.

Then how Apple Makes Mobile Learning Happen

From portable computers and mobile devices to software and servers to iTunes U, Apple makes all the technology you need to make mobile learning a reality for your students.

Teachers are using iLife and iWork applications on the Mac to create customized educational materials, such as language lessons that students can listen to outside the classrooms. With the help of Podcast Producer and Wiki Server — both of which come with Mac OS X Server — IT department at the academic institution can help produce and distribute all kinds of multimedia content on iTunes U or a class wiki. Once the classroom presentations and lectures have been captured and published, students can download them from iTunes. Then they can transfer them to iPod or iPhone and take it all with them. And suddenly, any place can be a place to learn.

Concept from Apple is either Internal iTunes U Site

If you want to allow access only to members of your institution, you can host your own password-protected iTunes U site. This enables you to create and manage the content available on the site, while controlling who can access and download resources from it.

Because administrative access is integrated with Apple ID, it’s easy to set up and manage your site, and you can add more Apple ID accounts to share site management responsibilities. Or you can integrate with your identity management systems to scale out management and access to hundreds or thousands of users. By default, iTunes U supports Shibboleth (the standards-based, open source authentication system), or you can create customized transfer scripts to integrate with popular authentication systems, including Kerberos, LDAP, Active Directory, and others. Apple also provides templates you can customize with your own branding, and you can use tools such as RSS to easily add and remove content. To ensure compatibility, the media you provide should be in: AAC, MP3, MPEG-4, or PDF format.

Apple also offer the opportunity to make External iTunes U Site

You also have the option of making your course material available to all iTunes visitors — alongside content created by other institutions. External sites are also a great recruitment tool, offering an inexpensive way to explain the benefits your institution has to offer. With an open iTunes U presence, your institution will gain recognition, and a competitive edge,  as you reach out and share your knowledge with the world. Media should be in AAC, MP3, MPEG-4, or PDF format. As with internal sites, administrative access is controlled via Apple ID, and you can add more accounts to share site management responsibilities. Apple templates let you incorporate your own branding, and you can request browse/search integration to make it easier for visitors to find your content on iTunes and to extend the reach of the content you post. External iTunes U sites are not just available to universities. Many museums, public broadcasting stations, and state education organizations also make education content available to the world through iTunes U in the iTunes Store.

Some academic institutions have made a Mix of Both

Many schools choose to create both an internal site with a greater amount of course materials available exclusively to enrolled students with a user account and password; and an external site that provides a publicly accessible subset of those resources.

Some Examples of Academic Institutions present with  their iTunes U sites

Carnegie Mellon University

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/cmu.edu

Oxford University

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/ox-ac-uk-public

Cambridge University

itms://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/cam-ac-uk-public

Open University     

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/itunes.open.ac.uk

Stanford University

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/itunes.stanford.edu

MIT

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/mit.edu

Edutopia

itms://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/edutopia.org

Texas A&M

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/tamu-public

Arizona IDEAL

itms://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/asu.edu

WGBH/PBS- teachers domain

itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/wgbh

What we notice, is that most institutions made this available to public are in the U.S.A. However, there are other institutions other places around the globe that has taken this concept into their arms. We will cover this in another article later.

(Most material is taken from Apple web page, which is referred to for more details).