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Operating Systems An operating system (OS) is the system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. Most computer programs require an operating system to function. Since the early days of Windows 3.0 and 3.1, operating systems for home or business users have evolved into more reliable and complex operating systems capable of undertaking countless tasks. Even so, most operating systems and software programs are upgraded rather than rewritten from the ground up. This lack of commitment and foresight limits operating systems development. What we see in science fiction (SciFi) films is not commonplace in our homes. Yet we have the technology and skills to push operating systems into that age, where: ​ ​ Walls become displays in every room. Desktop computers are integrated systems that communicate with our home and business devices, such as store cupboards, fridges, entertainment, lighting, heating, and security. Voice recognition and instant language translation are commonplace. Contact lenses become the new interfaces and remove the need for mobile phones, tablets, or laptops. ​ The four most common operating systems are: ​ Microsoft Windows Apple’s macOS Linux (Although this is not a commonly used OS for PC manufacturers) Android ​ Methods to identify an OS ​ If you do not know what version of Windows being used, press the Windows key at the bottom of the keyboard, which looks like four squares and the R key at the same time to open the Run dialog box, then, Type in ‘ winver ’, then click Okay . A window should open called About Windows that tells you which operating system you are using. ​ Open the Start menu by clicking the bottom left-hand corner of your screen. If you see a search text box, select it, and then type about or about your pc . If you do not see a search text box, then just start typing about or about your pc . Select About your PC.

Videos - Equipment and Building Model Kits Bottom of page Video appendix ​ 001: Airbrush overview 002: Disassembling and reassembling airbrushes 003: Dehydrator and its use 004: Thorough cleaning and lubricating an airbrush after use 005: Circuit for a pulsating LED using a breadboard and video of Star Wars Destroyer with pulsating engines. 006: 007: 008: 009: 010: 011: 012: 013: 014: 015: 016: 017: 018: 019: 020: 001. Airbrush overview - a brief outline of airbrush types. Watch on YouTube 002. A quick guide on disassembling and reassembling airbrushes. watch on YouTube 003. Using a dehydrator to speed up paint drying and cure times. Watch on YouTube 004. Thorough cleaning and lubricating an airbrush after use. Watch on YouTube 005. Circuit for a pulsating LED using a breadboard and video of Star Wars Destroyer with pulsating engines. List of components: ​ 555Timer 222A Transistor 2k ῼ (ohm) Resistor 20k ῼ (ohm) Resistor 100µf Capacitor LED Watch on YouTube Back to Top

Canmore Alberta’s Rockies Canmore is between Calgary and Banff. It took about 1½ hours to get the 50 miles (81 kilometres) from Calgary International Airport. ​ Canmore is only minutes away from Banff National Park, Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley Provincial Parks where 5 famous ski resorts and 6 breath-taking golf courses are located. ​ Canmore is situated in the Bow Valley within Alberta’s Rockies, it is an old mining town; because of this, it went relatively unnoticed for a great number of years, unlike Banff. ​ However, Canmore is more than a ski resort base. It offers over 70 kilometres of trails, a Nordic centre, hiking, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, and scrambling provide an endless assortment of outdoor activities. ​ To enhance your experience of the Rockies, visit the Rafter 6 ranch resort (currently up for sale), this ranch has a colossal variety of activities and the location is second to none. While there I was lucky enough to view the white buffalo, a herd of elk and some precious wolves. Being an ardent photographer, I was lucky enough to get some great photographs of the white buffalo, elk, wolves, and landscape in and around Canmore and Banff National Park. ​ Canmore's town’s elevation is 4296 feet (1309 metres) with the surrounding summits extending to heights of 9,633 feet (2936 metres). The Bow River flows through the town linking it to a network of wildlife corridors and trails. An abundance of local wildlife, wildflowers and mountains provide boundless opportunities to experience nature and take photographs of the wildlife, flora and The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters ​ The Three Sisters are a trio of peaks near Canmore. They are known individually as Big Sister (Faith), Middle Sister (Charity), and Little Sister (Hope). ​ Albert Rogers, a nephew of Major Rogers who discovered ‘Rogers Pass’ in the Selkirk Mountains named the three peaks in 1883. ​ Albert Rogers recollected, ‘there had been a heavy snowstorm in the night, and when we got up in the morning and looked out of the tent, I noticed the three peaks had a heavy veil of snow on the north side, and I said to the boys, ‘Look at the Three Nuns.’ They were called the Three Nuns for quite a while but later were called the ‘Three Sisters’ and first appeared on George Dawson’s map in 1886. ​ Heights: Big Sister (Faith) – 9,632 feet, (2,936 metres) Middle Sister (Charity) - 9,084 feet, (2,769 metres) Little Sister (Hope) - 8,840 feet, (2,694 metres) History In 1884 Donald Smith the director of the Canadian Pacific Railway officially named Canmore. In 1886, Queen Victoria granted a coal mining charter to the town, and the first mine was opened a year later. In the 1890s a North-West Mounted Police barrack had been built on Main Street, but it was vacated in 1927 and was restored in 1989. It still remains in the main street. ​ By the 1970s the market for coal had diminished and in 1979 the Canmore mines ceased operations. Unfortunately because of safety and reclamation policies initiated by the province of Alberta, most of the mining structures were demolished and today, only the lamphouse and a few mine entrances remain. Canmore’s commercial future seemed gloomy until the announcement in the 1980s that Calgary would be hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics. This opened the door for Canmore, as it would host the Nordic events, resulting in increased tourism.

Hard Drives (HDD) A hard disk drive (HDD) is a storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information (data) HDD retains their data even when powered off, unlike memory RAMs. ​ There are three types of hard drives: SATA , SSD, and NVMe . ​ In 2003, SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) was introduced as the default interface for most desktop and laptop hard drives and referred to as SATA hard drives, but they are rotary hard drives with spinning platters coated with a magnetic material, with a moving needle that writes data to consecutive sectors on each platter. ​ Most computer HDDs are fitted into an internal drive bay in the computer and connect to the motherboard using a SATA cable. ​ HDDs can also be used as external devices these are reasonable as backup drives reducing the risk of data loss if the HDD fails. ​ The two most common form factors for modern HDDs are 3.5-inch for desktop computers and 2.5-inch for laptops. ​ A single drive can range from 80 GB to 16 TB and are reliable drives if you need a lot of cheap storage and do not need extremely high reads or writes. Since data is physically written to a disk, deleted, and re-written numerous times, it can become fragmented, meaning that different sectors can be spread across different areas of the disk, thereby slowing down the drive. HDDs also are vulnerable to shock or sudden movement since there are moving parts in each drive, which makes them a poor choice for laptops. Pros: Low cost. High disk sizes. Cons: Not good for laptops. Requires regular de-fragmentation. SSD stands for Solid State Drive , SSDs do not have moving parts. Instead, the data is stored on non-volatile flash memory. So, there is no needle that must move to read or write data, and this makes them significantly faster than SATA drives. It is difficult to define exact speeds because it varies by manufacturer and form factor, but the lower-performing drives are comparable to SATA drives. ​ The disadvantage is that they are significantly more expensive and do not come in as many sizes. SSD drives generally range from about 80GB to 2 TB. Since there are no moving parts, these drives are also more durable, and there are form factors built specifically for laptops, making them ideal for storage on the go. But they are still prone to failure. Pros: Fast More durable, especially for laptops Cons: More expensive than SATA drives Lower disk sizes Non-Volatile Memory Express, or NVMe Released in 2013, is a type of SSD that is attached to a motherboard fitted with a PCI Express (PCIe) slot. Incredibly fast, PCIe slots were originally designed for graphics cards. Speeds on NVMe drives can reach an interface rate of 32 Gb/s with a throughput of 3.9 GB/s, useful if gaming or high-resolution video editing. ​ Most older BIOS do not support booting from NVMe, so installing an Operating System on an NVMe, a motherboard upgrade may be required. Having worked for a major IT company and saw the distress on customers' faces when their HDDs failed and they lost their data, I always recommend the Cloud Storage option for important data or photographs. Data recovery on failed drives is awfully expensive and not guaranteed. ​ ​ ​ Protect your data, if you scrap an old computer DO NOT throw away your HDDs as they can be connected to your new computer using a USB adapter. Also, the important data stored on them can be retrieved by a second or third party, meaning they could have access to ALL your personal information, including passwords and bank details, so BEWARE! Dealing with HDD Error messages and issues

Networking and Internet It is a computer network is a group of computers or servers that use a set of common communication protocols over digital interconnections for the function of sharing resources located on or provided by the network nodes. The interconnections between nodes are formed from a broad spectrum of telecommunication network technologies, based on physically wired, optical, and wireless radio-frequency methods that may be arranged in a variety of network analysis situs. ​ Computer networks for the home and small business can be built using wired or wireless technology. In the past, a wired Ethernet has been the option is used in homes, but Wi-Fi wireless technology has improved greatly and is now commonplace. ​ Wired and wireless networks have advantages and disadvantages. They equally epitomise practical choices for home or other local area networks (LANs) and depend on the packages purchased by the user. ​ When possible, I prefer wired solutions as performance and security are better and more reliable. Wireless networks are convenient but can have performance and security issues. ​ Both have advantages and disadvantages. ​ Wireless networks allow devices to stay connected to the network but roam untethered to any wires. Access points amplify Wi-Fi signals, so a device can be far from a router but still be connected to the network. When connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot at a public place, café, hotel, airport lounge, the connection is with that business's wireless network. ​ Wired networks use cables to connect devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, or servers to access the Internet or additional network. A wired network has disadvantages when compared to a wireless network, the largest is that the device is tethered to a router. ​ Motherboards have at least one RJ-45 networking socket and some have integrated Wi-Fi adapters fitted. ​ A computer network is a collection of computers and/or hardware interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information. ​ It is where a device, computer or server sends or receives data to or from another device, computer, or server in a remote location. When connected, the two devices are said to be networked. A network is a group is the sum of computers, tablets, phones, laptops, and servers that are connected. Networks are organised in a diverse group of physiognomies, such as, the method used to carry the data and communications protocols. ​ Communication protocols define the rules and data formats for swapping information in a computer network and provide the basis for network programming. Router A router is a networking device that forwards data several layer packets between computer networks, such as files, communications, and transmissions. Routers perform the traffic directing functions on the Internet. Data sent through the internet, like web pages or emails, data packets, a packet is normally forwarded from one router to router through the networks that make up the Internet until it reaches its destination node. ​ Data packets have several layers, or sections, one of which carries identifying information such as sender, data type, size, and most importantly, the destination Internet protocol (IP) address. The router reads this layer, prioritizes the data, and chooses the best route to use for each transmission.

Photography Photography has always been a large part of my life. My first camera (when I was about seven years old) was a Kodak Brownie 127, a plastic box camera for eight 4x6 cm pictures on 127 film, a paper-backed roll film format. Then, I only shot black and white film. Through the years my cameras became more complex and expensive. But it was not until I signed up to a local photography course that I really appreciated the additional advantages of processing one’s own film and quickly built a darkroom and purchased the equipment required. This opened a whole new world of darkroom highlighting, shading, Solarization (the process of re-exposing photographic paper during the development process), and playing with chemicals to get certain effects. Nowadays, this can be done using digital software, but the experience is not the same as experimenting yourself. Whether you use a conventional film camera or have just purchased your first DSLR and want to learn the basics or are looking for simple ways to update your existing photography skills, the following tips might help build a strong foundation. However, photography is an art, so the learning never stops. So, what is Photography? ​ Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light electronically using a digital sensor, or chemically using light-sensitive materials and chemicals, like photographic film. It is used in numerous fields of science, manufacturing, and business, and has more direct uses for art, film and video production, recreational purposes, hobby, and mass communication. Some cameras can also capture wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye, including UV, infrared, and radio. Having been a senior Shotokan karate instructor I quickly learned that to keep improving the best way is to practice often using varied techniques, make mistakes and be open to learning from others. Essential photography tips ​ 1. Hold your camera correctly - Sounds obvious, doesn’t it, but many photographers do not hold their camera correctly, which can cause camera shake that produces blurry images. Tripods are the best way to reduce camera shake, but in truth, how many people carry a tripod, unless they are shooting in low light situations or have learned the hard way? If not using a tripod it is important to hold the camera correctly to help to reduce unnecessary movement. ​ Most people will sooner or later develop their own way of holding the camera, but it should always be held with both hands. Grip the right side of the camera with your right hand and place your left hand beneath the lens to support the weight of the camera. ​ Also, the closer you keep the camera to your body, the more stable it will become, so keep it close to the body mass. Additional stability can be achieved by leaning up against a wall or crouch down on your knees, but if there is nothing to lean on, try adopting a wider stance. 2. Composition - understand the rule of thirds, fifths, or sixes Old artists deeply understood the composition rules. Most older photography books discuss the thirds, which is based on the idea that pictures are generally more interesting and well balanced when they are not centred. Imagining a grid placed over your images with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines that divide the picture into nine equal sections. ​ Rule of thirds is a photography guideline, dissecting the image into 9 parts, with two evenly spaced horizontal lines. ​ So, following the rule of thirds, rather than positioning your subject or the important elements of a scene at the centre of the photo, place them along one of the four lines, or at the points where the lines intersect. Many cameras even have a grid option you can turn on, which can be useful when composing images. ​ However, rules are made to be broken. Photography is about creativity and personal expression, so sometimes choose to break this rule and place the points of interest elsewhere in the photo. This is fine, but before breaking these rules, it is important to understand them and are in the habit of consciously thinking about composition, the points of interest, and where to place them. ​ These days, professionals, artists, illustrators, or photographers often use the rule of fifths or sixes for composition. Looking at the Dutch and Flemish painters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who used fifths or sixes rules for grand naturalistic landscape and seascapes composition, to empathise dramatic a sky or ocean. 3. Eyes must always be in focus ​ When shooting portraits, the focusing area is small, so it is more important to get the image sharp. The eyes are an important facial feature, and they are often the first thing people look at, especially when it comes to close-ups photography and headshots. ​ So, the subject’s eyes should be the main point of focus. To get both eyes sharp, choose a single focus point and aim it at one of the eyes. Once the first eye is in focus, keep the shutter button pressed halfway down and move the camera to recompose the photo and include the second eye. 4. Consider the background ​ Normally, the background ought to be simple and as clutter-free as possible, so it does not pull the viewer’s attention from the main subject of the photograph. Muted colours and plain patterns often work well, no one wants viewers in being more interested in the colourful building or church tower in the background than your main subject unless a photographer wants to make a statement. ​ Fixing a distracting background can be as simple as moving the subject matter or changing an angle, but if that does not work, try to obscure it by using a wider aperture and getting in as close to the subject as possible. Whenever possible, keep the background neutral, especially if placing the subject off to one side of the photograph making the background more visible. 5. Play with perspective ​ The best way to up creativity levels is to experiment with perspective. Any scene will look remarkably changed when approached from a different angle, while, capturing your subject from above or below can change the feel of a photograph. ​ Of course, changing angles may not work for every photograph, but unless considered or tried how do you know what works. Experimentation is the key factor to help improve your photography. Make mistakes, try new things, and think out-of-the-box. When shooting small objects, animals, or children, get down to their level and view the world through their eyes. If shooting a portrait, consider standing on a bench and shoot your subject from above, or, have them stand on a bench and shoot up. 6. Shoot in RAW ​ RAW is a file format like jpeg, but unlike jpeg, it captures all the image data recorded by the camera’s sensor rather than compressing it. Shooting in RAW provides higher quality images but also allows for more control in post-processing. For instance, correcting underexposure problems or adjusting aspects like colour temperature, white balance, or contrast. ​ However, one negative aspect of shooting in RAW is that the files take up more space, so I advise using larger SD or Micro SD Cards. Furthermore, RAW photos need some sort of post-processing, so photo editing software is essential. 7. Understand the exposure triangle ​ While it can seem intimidating at first, the exposure triangle simply refers to the three most important elements of exposure, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. When shooting in manual mode all three of these things need to be balanced to get sharp, well-lit photos. ​ ISO - controls the camera’s sensitivity to light. A low ISO setting means the camera will be less sensitive to light, while a higher ISO means it will be more sensitive to light. Conversely, the quality of the image will decrease as the ISO increases and you may see 'noise (grain)' on the image with a higher ISO. So, an ISO setting of 100 to 200 is usually ideal when shooting outdoors during the day, but when shooting in low light situations, such as indoors or at night, using a higher ISO of 400 to 800 or higher may be necessary. ​ Aperture - is the opening in your lens, it controls how much light gets through to the camera’s sensor as well as the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the area surrounding the focal point of the image which remains sharp. A wider aperture (indicated by a lower f-number) lets more light through, but it has a narrow depth of field. While a narrow aperture (indicated by a higher f-number) lets less light through but has a wider depth of field. A wide aperture is terrific when you want to isolate your subject, but when you want the whole scene to be in focus, such as with group shots, a narrow aperture is required. ​ Shutter speed - controls how long the shutter stays open when you take a picture. The longer the shutter stays open, the more light gets through to the camera’s sensor. A fast shutter speed is great for freezing action like a horse jumping a fence, while a longer shutter speed will blur motion. Long shutter speeds can give interesting effects, like flowing river water over rocks but require a tripod. 8. Use a narrow aperture for landscapes ​ Landscape photographs entail an atypical approach because everything in the foreground to the mountains in the background should be sharply in focus. So, when shooting a scene where everything needs to be fully in focus, select a narrow aperture rather than a wide one. ​ A larger f/ number means a narrower aperture, so aim towards f/22 or higher, depending on what the lens allows. Using Aperture Priority Mode (Av or A) will allow experimentation with different apertures without having to worry about adjusting the shutter speed each time. 9. Experiment using Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority Mode ​ Only using automatic mode will limit anyone’s photographic potential, so, experiment using Aperture Priority Mode (A or Av) and Shutter Priority Mode (S or Tv), as they are two valuable options that are available on most cameras. ​ Aperture Priority Mode allows the selection of the aperture and then the camera adjusts the shutter speed accordingly. So, when shooting an object and want to blur the background, select a wide aperture, and let the camera decide the shutter speed. ​ While, Shutter Priority Mode, allows the selection of the shutter speed, and the camera will select the correct aperture. So, for a crisp shot of a racing car speeding past, select a fast shutter speed (a high number, 2000 or higher) and let the camera choose the aperture. 10. Raise the ISO ​ Many photographers try to elude shooting in high ISO as it will lead to grainy-looking photos or ‘noise’. But, while using a higher ISO can lead to lower image quality, grain in some photographs can be beneficial. ​ If the shutter speed cannot be lowered due to motion blur, and a tripod is not an option, it is better to obtain a sharp photo with some noise than no photo at all, anyway, much of the noise can be removed during the post-processing. ​ Furthermore, camera technology has improved so much in recent years, so it is possible to produce great photographs with ISOs of 1600, 3200, 6400, or higher. ​ Either way, using a wider aperture can help to minimise noise when shooting at higher ISOs, and slightly overexposing your image can also help, as making light areas darker in post-processing will not increase noise, whereas making dark areas lighter will. ​ Bearing that in mind, always check the camera's settings before going on a shoot. Discovering that the whole shoot was shot at an ISO 1000 on a bright sunny day can be exasperating, especially if the photos were taken to document a special occasion or other events that cannot be recreated. ​ It is an easy mistake to make (Yes, I learned the hard way), so, to avoid unpleasant surprises, make a habit of checking and resetting your ISO settings before shooting anything. 11. Learn to use the white balance ​ White balance can help you capture colours more accurately. Different types of light have different characteristics, so not adjust the camera's white balance will result in the colours in your photography taking on a marginally blue, orange, or green hue or ‘temperature’. ​ Of course, white balance can be fixed in post-processing, but it can become tedious if you have hundreds of photographs that require small adjustments. Some of the standard white balance settings on a camera include Automatic White Balance, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash, Shade, Fluorescent, and Tungsten. ​ Each is symbolised by a different icon, so check the camera’s manual. Automatic white balance works okay in many situations, but it is best to change the setting according to the type of light shooting in. ​ When shooting indoors I use daylight bulbs for photography and videos, actually, all the bulbs in the house are daylight rated. 12. Flash can be overused or not adequate ​ Built-in camera flash at night or in low light can lead to some unpleasant effects, such as red eyes or harsh shadows. Generally, it is more advisable to better to increase the ISO and get noisier photos than to use the on-camera flash and risk ruining the shot altogether. ​ However, occasionally there may not be enough light, and if you do not have off-camera lighting, there is no other choice but to use the built-in flash. If in this situation there are a couple of things that can be done. First, find the flash settings in the camera’s menu, then reduce the brightness as much as possible. ​ Secondly, use a diffuser, parchment paper is a good option, secure it with tape. Or bounce the light off the ceiling by holding a reflector or white cardboard in front of it at an angle. ​ Nearly all hot-shoe flashguns come with diffusers. 13. Invest in a tripod or two ​ To get sharp photos in low light without raising the ISO, a tripod is an essential accessory. It also allows experimentation with long exposure photography, when the shutter is open for seconds or minutes at a time, this can produce amazing effects when photographing like the sea, rivers, or waterfalls. ​ However, when purchasing a tripod , there are several things to consider, such as weight, stability, height, and flexibility. ​ Weight is important because carrying a heavy tripod around is not fun, but it also needs to be stable enough to support the camera and the lenses. Tripod buying guide . 14. Be selective ​ An important factor to realise is that every photographer, no matter how experienced or talented, will get mediocre shots. However, the reason their portfolios are impressive is that they only display their best work; they do not bore you with the twenty other photos depicting a virtually identical scene. ​ So, if you want your work to stand out on Facebook, Instagram, website, or photo-sharing sites like Flickr or 500px, narrow it down to a couple of extremely good photos from each shoot. By showing the mediocre shots you obscure the three or four great shots obtained. 15. Learn by mistakes ​ Getting overexposed, blurry, grainy, or badly composed photos may be frustrating, but use them as a learning tool, analyse them, what did you do wrong, what do you do right. Keep notes of each shot and the associated factors, like lighting, flash or no flash, handheld or tripod, strong winds with an insubstantial tripod. ​ Most of the time there will be a simple solution such as changing the composition or using a faster shutter speed or changing the aperture. 16. Invest in decent photo editing software ​ This brings us back to shooting in RAW: When shooting in RAW, post-processing will become essential rather than an afterthought, so invest in some photo editing software that will allow basic editing tasks such as, cropping, adjusting exposure, altering white balance and contrast, and removing blemishes. ​ Most professional photographers use programs like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, but less pricey options are Photoshop Elements, Picasa, Paint Shop Pro or GIMP (Gimp is a free powerful open-source software). 17. learn to shoot sunrise or sunset ​ Lighting can make or break a photo, and the early morning and evening are widely thought to be the best times of day for taking photos. In photography, the hour just after the sun rises or before it sets is called the ‘golden hour’, because the sun is lower in the sky and the light is softer and warmer. ​ Whether shooting landscapes, portraits, or still life, using the early morning or evening light can give photos a serene feel with its warm glow and the long shadows it casts. 18. Bracketing ​ One of the most useful techniques in photography is called bracketing , in other words, taking multiple photos of the same subject with different camera settings. Normally, bracketing is about changing your exposure: one photo at the meter’s recommendation, plus one under and one over. But exposure is not the only variable at play here. Why Bracket Photos? ​ Bracketing means you capture a sequence of photos while changing your camera settings from shot to shot. This means you end up with two or more photos of the same scene, with only a couple of differences in each shot. ​ Exposure bracketing is the most common kind of bracketing in photography, will usually ending up with one photo that is too dark, one that is too bright, and one with a correct exposure. But bracketing the focus distance will resulting in one photo that is front-focused, another that is back-focused, and one that is accurate. ​ Some people consider bracketing takes up memory and wastes time. Especially if one knows what settings needed for an image, so, why bracket shots? There are two important reasons why bracketing is beneficial in photography.

RAID Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) is a group of hard drives, controller cards, and software to increase the reliability and redundancy of data storage on hard drives. RAID comes in multiple configurations, offering enhanced performance and/or better data reliability. Data is distributed across the drives in one of several ways called ‘RAID levels’, depending on the level of redundancy and performance required. ​ RAID numbers are allocated according to the required protection or reliability level required, RAID-5 for example, is not representative of the number of drives involved. The most common RAID implementations are 0, -1, and 5 . RAID can be implemented with and without the ability to hot-swap a drive. ​ RAID 0 ­- The data is written across multiple drives to improve access performance. There is no data redundancy. For example, a 4Meg file would be written across 4 drives in 1Meg pieces. Note that the failure of one drive will render the data inaccessible. The advantage is a much higher throughput. The RAID numbers are, click on each for its meaning: RAID 1 RAID 2 RAID 3 RAID 4 RAID 5 RAID 6 RAID 10 Almost all manufacturers provide a diverse of plug-in controllers that allow RAID execution. These controllers interface with SCSI drives and are available in ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) configurations, the highest throughput is via the PCI format. RAID support for IDE drives is not generally available. ​ All SCSI drives can be used with a RAID controller, and different drive manufacturers' sizes and throughputs can be used on the same bus. Controller manufacturers provide additional information on expectations. RAID controllers can also act as generic drive controllers interfacing to CD, DVD, and Tape Drives and external accessories like Scanners. ​ RAID drives either be permanently mounted in a chassis, mounted in external drive bays, or externally using Hot-swappable enclosures that each hard drive can be installed or removed without powering down the host computer. eSATA, FireWire, and USB are examples of interfaces that are hot-swappable on computers. ​ Full RAID protection can be realised even in non-removable drive situations where the RAID system provides data protection and time to take the system off-line to replace a failed drive. This can certainly be a less expensive and potentially more reliable option in place of using expensive removable drive carriers.

Przetwarzanie danych Bardzo wcześnie nauczyłem się obsługi komputera, teraz mam doktorat. Zajmował się informatyką, programowaniem, naprawą sprzętu, projektowaniem witryn internetowych i pracował dla głównego programisty oraz jako starszy inżynier komputerowy. Wcześniejsze Mam kilka maszyn, głównie używanych do: Wcześniejsze Projektowanie Oprogramowania Programowanie Pisanie programów e-learningowych Moje powieści projektowanie stron Edycja zdjęć i wideo Media społecznościowe Moim pierwszym komputerem był ZX Spectrum; był to 8-bitowy domowy komputer osobisty wydany w Wielkiej Brytanii w 1982 roku przez Sinclair Research. Wcześniejsze Komputer Spectrum był dostępny w ośmiu różnych modelach, począwszy od podstawowego z 16 KB RAM, a skończywszy na ZX Spectrum +3 z 128 KB RAM wyposażonym we wbudowany napęd dyskietek. Wcześniejsze Inne pierwsze komputery domowe skierowane do mainstreamowej publiczności w Wielkiej Brytanii to: Wcześniejsze Commodore 64 Smok 32 BBC Micro Amstrad CPC Wcześniejsze Nauczyłem się programować w różnych językach komputerowych z wykorzystaniem powyższych systemów. Wcześniejsze W 1991 roku przeprowadziłem migrację na komputer w wersji firmy Microsoft z systemem Windows 3.0. Było to ulepszenie w stosunku do poprzednich systemów, na których się uczyłem, ale w Win 3.0 brakowało multimediów i funkcji sieciowych, więc Win 3.0 został szybko zastąpiony przez Win 3.1, a ulepszenie wyglądu interfejsu było ogromne.

Central Processing Unit A central processing unit (CPU), also known as a processor, is located on the motherboard. The CPU carries out the instructions of a computer program known as software by performing the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. Its function is to execute programs machine language code and store it in main memory RAM in the computer, including performing calculations, and running programs. It does this by repeating the ‘fetch-and-execute’ cycle over and over, it repeatedly fetches a machine language instruction from RAM and then executes it. The CPU is often called the brains of the computer where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system but works as part of a broader, more diverse ecosystem that includes RAM and other elements of the computer. Motherboards support specific types or ranges of CPUs, so check the motherboard manufacturer’s specifications before attempting to replace or upgrade a CPU in a computer. Most CPUs come with heatsinks and a fan that fits on top of the CPU to help dissipate heat, CPUs generate a lot of heat so water cooling a CPU is the best option for high-end gaming or graphics machines. The two normal components of a CPU are: ​​ ​ Control unit (CU), which extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them - calling on the ALU when required. The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs arithmetic and logical operations.

Raid 5 to 10 RAID 5, 6 and 10 RAID 5 is block-level striping with distributed parity that allocates parity with the data and needs all the HDDs but one to be present to operate. In this configuration, the array is not destroyed by a single drive failure. When an HDD fails any successive reads can be calculated from the distributed parity, so, the HDD failure is masked from the end-user. RAID 5 requires at least three disks and is often and is reliable a good system to use because if an HDD fails your data is safe on the other HDDs. ​ Also, if you replace the failed HDD with a new HDD it will automatically take over the function of the failed HDD. RAID 6 is block-level striping with double distributed parity that provides fault tolerance up to two failed HDDs. This makes larger RAID groups more practical, particularly for high-end systems. These days this is increasingly significant as large capacity HDDs prolong the time needed to recover from a single HDD failure. ​ Similar to RAID 5 , a single HDD failure results in reduced performance of the total array until the failed HDD has been replaced and the data has been rebuilt. RAID 10 , sometimes mentioned as RAID 1+0 mirroring and striping occurs. Data is written in stripes across primary disks that have been mirrored to the secondary disks. ​ This is the best RAID system, one I have used for a long time.

Tomato Soup Cooking your own tomato soup is easy and rewarding. There are many benefits from making your own tomato soup, such as, you know what ingredients have gone into it and the lack of additives, like colourants, stabilizers, and preservatives that are used in commercially produced products. ​ This is my recipe; it makes enough for 4 large meals for two people (we freeze unused). You can vary the ingredients to vary your own needs, likes, or dislikes, so, feel free to experiment. Recipe ​ 1000 grams of sweet tomatoes 3 x large carrots 3 x large onions 4 x sticks of celery 2 x whole garlics 6 x fresh mint leaves (or a tablespoon of dried mint) 1 Litre of vegetable stock (either you own, or I use 2 x Knorr vegetable stock pot (112g)) 2x tablespoons of Tomato Puree 20 grams Extra Virgin Olive Oil 8 grams granulated sugar 2g table salt 2g pepper

Airbrushing If you are committed airbrushing will give you more options. ​ Airbrush - there are many airbrush variants and many manufacturers, it is often personal preference. Double or dual-action airbrushes are considered more flexible than single-action airbrushes because they allow users to modify paint volume accordingly. This is more beneficial when building scale models. However, this does not imply that the single-action brush cannot be used for painting models. Some users prefer single action because they are easy to use and handle. There are a number of types available: Single action - Press down the trigger controls airflow, basically, it is an on-off device, so do not try to control the airflow or pressure. That is done using the regulator on the compressor. Twisting the knob at the rear of the airbrush counter clockwise starts and increases paint flow until the knob is twisted completely out. ​Advantages: The separate air and paint controls make single-action airbrushes easier to use than double-action airbrushes. Allowing users to concentrate on moving their hand instead of concentrating on how far back the finger moves. Provides repeatable actions as everything is pre-set. Keeping air pressure and paint flow steady. Double action - Press down on the trigger for air release - pressing down further release more air. Pull back on the trigger for paint release - pulling back further will discharge more paint. Dual-action, sometimes referred to as double-action, allows modellers and artists greater control. Dual-action airbrushes provide the user to produce incredibly fine lines and provide greater control of fading and blending for more detailed work. Good dual-action airbrushes are more expensive than single-action airbrushes because of the greater accuracy. Dual-action airbrushes also have a steeper learning curve than single-action airbrushes, so can take longer to develop full control and a disciplined technique. Trigger or Pistol grip style airbrushes are one of the most useful types of airbrushes available, but they are not so popular amongst the average modeller. There are plenty of trigger or pistol grip airbrushes on the market today, like the: Grex TS. Iwata - TRN1, TRN2, Neo TRN, HP-TR1, HP-TR2, HP-TH, HP-TH2. Sparmax – GP-35, GP-50, GP-70 and GP850. Harder & Steenbeck – Colani. Mr Procon Boy - PS-275, PS-290. Zoukei - Mura PM-C. PointZero. Despite the number of Trigger or Pistol grip style airbrushes available the interest in this specific style of airbrush is minimal. Some manufacturers denote the ‘T/TR’ as ‘Trigger’ other ‘P/PS’ as ‘Pistol’. ​ The benefit of these types of airbrush is being a dual-action airbrush, it works somewhat like a single-action one. Pulling the trigger automatically mixes the air and paint, the more you pull the trigger the richer your mix becomes. Advantages Variations in finger or hand motions benefit people who do not have the dexterity to use a normal trigger. The trigger mechanism stays cleaner for a longer period. Tighter tolerances are obtainable. Disadvantage Trigger mechanism is more problematic to maintain. Sparmax GP-50 Grex Tritium TG Iwata TR1 ​ Gravity-feed - Gravity-feed airbrushes have a paint cup at the top of the airbrush where the paint is poured. With the aid of a compressor, gravity pulls small amounts of paint into the mixing chamber where atomization occurs. ​ Side-feed - Side feed airbrushes are in-between, with the aid of a compressor, they can use a side gravity cup or side siphon-feed bottle. Most side-feed airbrush sets include a cup and bottles. ​ Siphon-fed - Siphon-fed airbrushes feature a bottle or cup connected to the bottom of the airbrush with a tube running through. With the aid of a compressor, the air is drawn into the top of the tube causing the paint to be ‘siphoned’ into the mixing chamber where atomization occurs. I have separate airbrushes for different tasks I do not like mixing airbrushes with different types of paint, primers, or varnishes and each of my airbrushes is labelled for a specific task. Examining the list below, yes, I have a lot of airbrushes, but these were purchased over many tears to see if one airbrush is better than the other, like many of my pieces of equipment. And, yes, there is a great disparity between airbrush manufacturers and models of airbrushes. Often it is personal preference what airbrush you use, an airbrush recommended by one person may not be suitable for you. Airbrush parts vary greatly in quality. I have two cheap-no-name airbrushes that I have been using for many years that provide extremely good results and three expensive ones that I do not like. I have found that the two most important features when considering an airbrush are the quality of the tip and the needle. I have found that many expensive airbrushes have poor quality needles and when examining a tip under a microscope have found that the quality is not as good as one might expect. Airbrush tips also vary greatly and I have had two tips from €250 airbrushes with damaged tips and a number high end needles not Unlike the expensive airbrushes where replacement parts are easily accessible, cheap airbrushes replacement parts are almost non-existent, so over the years I have learned to interchange parts and modify the cheap models with great results. All my airbrushes are thoroughly cleaned and lubricated after use; I do not leave dirty airbrushes on my workbench. If you spend money buying a good product, it should be looked after. ​ I use - ​ Harder & Steenbeck 2 x infinity CRplus – one with a 0.15 mm needle, and the second with a 0.2 mm needle used for fine detail work, used for acrylic paint. 1 x Evolution ALplus with 0.2 mm needle used for fine detail work, used with enamels and lacquer paint. 3 x Evolution CRplus with 0.15 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm needles used with enamels and lacquer paint. 2 x Evolution Solo with 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm needles, used for acrylic paint. ​ Sparmax GP-50 – 1 x with 0.3- and 0.4-mm needles, used for acrylic paint. ​ Badger - 2 x Sotar 20/20 Fine 0.21 mm needle, used for acrylic paint. 1 x Patriot 105 0.33 mm needle used for acrylic paint. 1 x Patriot Extreme 105 0.33 mm needle used for acrylic paint. 2 x Renegade Velocity with a 0.21 mm needle used with enamels and lacquer paint. 1 x Renegade Rage with a 0.33 mm needle used with enamels and lacquer paint. ​ Iwata - 2 x Hi-Line HP-BH 0.3 mm needle one used with acrylic paint, second used with enamels and lacquer paint. 1 x Custom Micron CM-B with 0.4-mm needle used with acrylic paint. 5 x Revolution Neo with various needle sizes used with acrylic paint, enamels, lacquer paint, primers, and vanishes. 1 x Neo TR1 with 0.3 mm - 0.4-mm needles used enamels and lacquer paint. 1 X Neo TR2 with 0.3 mm - 0.4-mm needles used with acrylic paint. ​ MIG Ammo - Aircobra with 0.3 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ Grex TS - 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm needles used with acrylic paint. ​ Mr. Procon Boy PS-290 - with 0.5 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ Zoukei - Mura PM-C with 0.3 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ PointZero – with 0.35 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ 8 x Cheap, no name - airbrushes used mainly for primers and varnishes. I do not have or have never used either of - ​ ​ ​ Paasche ​ AK Interactive Harder & Steenbeck iwata TR2 Harder & Steenbeck Airbrush Nozzle Wagner Portable Paint Booth Portable Spray Booth Spraybooth - Airbrush spray booths help remove unpleasant odours and noxious fumes while airbrushing your model kits/parts. They have large fans with filters and long flexible hose pipes to help suck harmful paint particles and fumes from the booth and filter them out of your house through the window or extraction system. But I still advise wearing a respirator mask for best safety. They also protect pets or people close to the spray environment. Airbrush spray booths can also protect items kept near the spray area, reducing over-sprayed. ​ Air compressor - a compressor specifically designed for model makers or artists is vital as the gauges are marked for the ease of lower pressures. Also, purchasing a compressor with a larger air tank will help reduce excessive noise. There is a colossal amount of no-name compressors available, but some of the best-named compressors come from: ​ ​ ​ Badger Iwata Sparmax ​ I use a Sparmax TC-620X Compressor with a 2.5 L tank that is connected to a Sparmax 5 L tank with regular and water traps. And have an older Badger Aspire Pro TC910 compressor as a backup. ​ I have used cheap unbranded compressors, with and without air tanks and apart from the noise, they work well. But I would not recommend a compressor without an air tank as the air pressure fluctuations vary greatly. ​ Cleaning equipment - whether you opt for a named or no-name airbrush, cleaning, and maintenance of airbrushes on a regular basis is a priority to ensure reliability. ​ I clean my airbrush thoroughly after each spraying session, but only deep clean my airbrush when weekly. Laqauers and varnish is a different matter, I always deep clean after use because lacquer and varnish tend to stick everything together if not removed entirely. ​ I use Dental absorbent paper points (the same dentists use to suck out moisture when doing a tooth root canal) to clean out the nozzles, these come in various sizes and fit through the smallest nozzle nicely. Each dental stick is colour coded according to size. White the smallest and black the largest in this pack. ​ When deep cleaning I place my airbrushes in a heated ultrasonic cleaner for 10 minutes, this helps dislodge any persistent residual. I do not use chemicals in the ultrasonic cleaner to prevent damage to the 'O' rings and springs. Sparmax TC-620X Compressor Cheap No Name Compressor Airbrushes needles come in several sizes and qualities: ​ ​ Why have so many, and what do they do? Airbrushes are sophisticated devices used for the application of mediums onto a surface. The main element of paint atomization is an airbrush needle. An airbrush needle is responsible for the mixing of paint with air and forming a spray pattern. Because of their sharp tips, needles are the most fragile parts of airbrushes. They can be easily damaged when knocked or dropped. At best, the needle will bend, and I have lost count of how many airbrush needles I have damaged, and often you may not notice the bend in the needle until it affects the spraying results. How to choose airbrush needles ​ There are a vast variety and quality of airbrush needles from many manufacturers. And each offers a vast number of needle sizes for all types of airbrush models. ​ The main factor influencing needle choice is what is it intended to be used for, the type of airbrush you are using, and the size of the surface being airbrushed. ​ So, changing an airbrush needle will determine the amount of paint or varnish sprayed onto a model. Or will it? There are other factors to consider. The nozzle, also known as the tip, and the needle size of the airbrush will determine the amount of paint that can be sprayed through it. Most airbrushes come with one nozzle and needle already fitted. ​ When you change an airbrush needle size, the nozzle and often the needle cap will need to be changed to allow the correct working of the spray amount and pattern. Also, forcing a large needle into a smaller nozzle can damage it. Another factor is the type of paint being used. Although the likes of Vallejo, AK Interactive, MIG Ammo, Games workshop, etc provide paint ready to be airbrushed straight out of the bottle, I have found that not all paint is equal, it varies between manufacturer and even by the same manufacturer in the pigments of different colours. Many people advise, ‘thin your paint, primer or varnish’ others suggest ‘don’t bother'. Personally, I have found you can not equate a ‘do’ or do not’ paint thinning as it depends on the colour pigment or type of paint being used. ​ And if you decide to thin, buy how much? Over-thinning can breakdown the pigments, while not or under thinning may increase the incidence of tip drying or block. ​ How much to thin? Again, there is a wide consensus, and I have heard: ​ Consistency of ‘single cream’ (found this method too thick) Flows like ‘ milk’ (I find this difficult to visualize) 1:1 Ratio (Does not work for thicker pigment paints) So that it runs down the airbrush cup easily without the pigments breaking up (my method, I can easily see how the paint reacts in the airbrush cup). Airbrush Parts Airbrush and spraying troubleshooting Needle Caps help protect the tip of the needle from being damaged. There are a few designs, some enclosed, and others are partly open to ease needle tip cleaning when in use. Most experienced and professional users remove the needle cap entirely to make needle cleaning easier and to get better views while spraying.