On Computers : Supercomputer ahead of curve, but what to call it?
Posted on Monday, July 9, 2007
Someday, wishful thinkers say, we’ll all have desktop computers as fast as a Cray Supercomputer. How about next year ?
The Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland has put together a desktop computer with 65 processors that can go through data at 100 times the speed of the current fastest desktop machines. Mounting that many processors is the easy part, of course; the tough part is designing the software to make them work together. They have tested it with high school students, and the students are able to use it.
The University of Maryland is holding a naming contest for its super machine. (The Silver Surfer ?) Enter if you dare, at eng. umd. edu.
CAPTURE THE MOTION The latest version of ALLCapture has a new memory manager that allows you to capture computer screens in real time, without slowing the computer’s operation. The memory manager stores data directly to the hard drive instead of using the computer’s working memory. Thus the computer still has enough memory available to let you add spoken comments as a video is being captured. You can add a company logo, voice, text, speech bubbles, additional video animation and “spotlight” effects.
This last feature lets you highlight a certain section of the screen you want to emphasize for the viewer. You can also decide to capture only a portion of the screen and can make that change at any point during the video, then go back to capturing the whole screen.
This is a very impressive program. We’re real big on “ease of use.” In fact, programs that are hard to use make our eyes glaze over, and we become listless and bored. You start recording a video ALLCapture by clicking on a button labeled “Record.” That’s definitely easy to use.
The captured video can be saved in a wide variety of formats. We liked SWF (Shock-Wave Flash ), because it compresses video as it captures. We captured a 66 megabyte video that was compressed down to 13 megabytes. This makes it much easier to view on the Web or send as an e-mail. You can save captured video as an executable file, which can be viewed offline, or as a DVD. This last point raises an interesting question: Since ALLCapture captures any video on the computer screen, we figured it could also capture a movie. We tried it and were able to capture movies easily, but did not try copying any recent Hollywood releases.
ALLCapture lists for $ 199 at AllCapture. com; there is a free trial available. This is $ 100 less than Camtasia, a competing video and screen-capture program we’ve reviewed here a couple of times and found to be excellent in every regard. You can find those reviews at our Web site, OnComp. com, and other information at the company site, Camtasia. com. You can download a free trial version of Camtasia as well, and if you can spend some time with these valuable tools, this is the way to decide which you like best. A $ 100 price difference is not significant if you’re going to work with a program for a long time. FREE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE Last year when we wrote about QuickBooks Simple Start accounting software, it cost $ 100. Now it’s free if you don’t need an extensive customer list.
Simple Start is designed for small-business owners. It lets you keep a record of income and expenses, send out invoices, pay your bills, and then pull up reports that show you where your best sellers and customers are. It’s good for people who are usually disorganized, like us. We heard from a successful jewelry maker in Boston who says the free program is all she really needs. It took her from a bunch of crumbled papers to a file she updates once a month. The free version is limited to tracking 20 customers, instead of the thousands you can keep track of with the full version. Find it by searching on “free accounting software” at Quick-Books. com.
A WASHABLE MOUSE Who needs a rat that can cook (new Disney movie ) when you have a mouse you can wash ? This comes out in August from Belkin. com and is probably no threat to the movie. This is a computer gadget and accessory company, and we usually like their stuff. They also have a $ 13 mouse pad that zips up into a pouch to hold your mouse, flash drives and other bits and pieces. (How did they ever arrive at an odd price like $ 13 ?)
A REAL NICE DATABASE Our favorite database, Alpha Five, is just out in Version 8. It has been our favorite for many years because it’s easy to use and at least as powerful as the offerings from Microsoft and others. One of the strengths we like is the ability to define rules for data entry that prevent people from typing in absurd or contradictory information and warn them they are about to enter something that doesn’t seem to fit the data. The database can reside on a desktop computer or the Web.
New features include faster creation of custom databases, color gradients for a pro look and security zones. You can create different security levels for access to either the whole database or parts. These levels can be accessed through codes that are meant just for individuals or for groups.
The program lists for $ 199 in its most basic configuration, and you can get more info at the Web site: AlphaFive. com. No programming skills required. NOTE: Readers can search several years of columns at the “On Computers” Web site: www. oncomp. com. You can e-mail Bob Schwabach at bobschwab@aol. com and Joy Schwabach at joydee@oncomp. com.
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