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Super Mario and Nintendo Switch
Super Mario and Switch update
It’s official! Nintendo has announced that Super Mario is not as we have all believed a plumber!
As revealed in the Independent recently the cuddly Italian’s profile has been updated and he is now “all-round sporty”.
For those of you hooked on the loveable retro-game character, who have now embraced the Nintendo Switch, there is still a while to wait for the latest adventure Super Mario Odyssey featuring the loveable former plumber and his new friend Cappy.
It’s not due for release until October 27 when Mario gets some new moves that will include being able to throw Cappy.
In the meantime, perhaps the latest adventure, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, will keep you going.
According to a review, again in the Independent, it is not as awful as people might fear.
The storyline sees the Mushroom Kingdom overrun as a result of a freak scientific experiment, which has merged two worlds together. The Kingdom has been taken over by the evil Rabbids and only Mario, together with two partners, can rescue it.
It is basically a combat game, where players travel through stages to defeat Rabbids armed with everything from guns to huge concrete slabs.
But it takes co-operative strategies and planning to combat the different enemy battle styles so it is clearly a multi-player game if you fancy a session with friends.
According to the review there’s also a good deal of humour for when the pace slackens.
Guide to buying a new computer part 1
Ok so you’re looking to buy a new computer, but do you actually know what you’re looking for? What you need? A lot of the people I speak to are never quite sure what they need when it comes to purchasing a new computer. We can all go into Curry’s or PC world and pick one up sure, but do you think the sales rep there is going to have your best interests in mind, or just how many extras they can sell you to boost their commission? Below I am going to give you a break down and a basic guide on what to look for when buying a new computer, so that when the time comes you can make an informed decision on what to buy for YOUR specific needs.
Laptop, tablet or PC?
May seem like a simple one but with tablets now being offered with detachable keyboards the line between them all is becoming even more blurred. I personally think if you have a dedicated office space and you’re not looking for mobility a desktop is the best option, you can get the micro towers now that are getting smaller and smaller allowing for them to be wall mounted tucked away into tiny spaces. If you want mobility have good wireless where you intend to use it, for example want to be able to take your work with you to the office and then home a laptop may be the best option, however you generally will pay more for a decent laptop to try and match a desktop for performance so bare this in mind. Not only that a desktop is generally a lot easier to upgrade for future use. Tablets I think are great I have one, but it would never replace my desktop or laptop, but serve their purpose, they are usually much cheaper and very good at doing the basics such as browsing the internet, sending emails and looking for superior mobility compared to a laptop. Typing has been unwieldy on tablets, touch screens have come a long way however, many people prefer to use a keyboard over a touch screen, this is why there has been an increase on tablets being produced with detachable keyboards.
Operating System
This is quite an easy one to answer, simply because most if not all computers or laptops that you will buy from mainstream shops or stores such as your PC World or Argos’s will come with only Windows 10, Microsoft’s newest operating system. You may still be able to pick up a discontinued model that may still have Windows 8 but this is very unlikely, Windows 10 is very easy to use, comes complete with a start menu which older users will be accustomed to, although Windows 8 was met with a frosty reception from most of my customers the 8.1 upgrade as reintroduced the familiar start menu which makes navigating much easier, and the best thing is if you don’t have Windows 10 you can get it for FREE if you have Windows 7 or 8 machines!
Hard Drive or SSD?
So most of us know the bigger the hard drive the more we can store on our machines, but do you really need to pay for that extra space? Some people like having big hard drives but would a 500GB HDD be big enough for you instead of a 2TB? A 2TB hard drive for example will hold 34,000 hours of music, 80 days of video, 620,000 photos or 1000 hours of movies so if you think you fall into this bracket then a 2TB is for you if not why not opt for a smaller drive and save yourself some money.
Solid state drives are built for speed, and with this you sacrifice space, an SSD will perform much faster than a traditional HDD when a standard HDD takes 2-3 minutes to boot into windows an SSD will normally do this in under 30 seconds, and not only boots quicker, but general use is much quicker on the whole. If you need speed and a lot of space, you can opt to have an SSD drive with your operating system on it and the bigger hard drive as a data drive if your laptop can accommodate an extra drive but towers this is normally not a problem.
Laptop Spillages – Seconds Count What to do
Laptop Spillages – How to handle liquid damage
I often see laptops that get brought to me at Ross-IT that have been subjected to an unwanted bathing in some form of liquid, the majority of people when i asked them what they did after the spillage said the first thing they did (other than panic of course) was to get some form of cloth and try and soak up the liquid. Then shortly after their laptop cuts off never to be turned on again, this is because usually the liquid has made its way onto the motherboard and shorted out a circuit. Now you would think that is bad enough right, how much worse can they get? Well if your poison of choice happens to be a fizzy drink like Coke or worse alcohol the damage doesn’t stop there, the problem with these liquids is that they will also corrode the circuit board after the inital short circuit, which makes repair even harder and normally more expensive.
Below i am going to give you a few simple steps to remember, so if you are ever subject to this happening you can reduce the risk of completley ruining your laptop altogether.
Step 1 – Remove Laptop Power Cord + Power Off
Yes if you have your laptop conected to its charger remove it straight away, the first thing you need to do is kill off the electrical supply and this is the first step to doing so. Once the power cord has been removed the next step is to manually turn the machine off as quickly as possible seconds count here, so no messing about push and hold the power buttong until the machine turns off, don’t simply push it once and allow it to shut down as this will take to long and shutting down using the start>shutdown option in the OS will take even longer!
Step 2 – Remove the Battery
The next step is to remove the batery as this holds charge, and could also cause a short circuit. by removing the baterry you are eliminating the chance of the motherboard blowing a fuse. The quicker you do this the better, the idea being if you are quick enough you ca do this before any liquid makes its way through to the motherboard, however this does depend on the design of the laptop and the amount of liquid that has been dumped onto it.
Step 3 – Place face down
Although this may be pretty obvious as to why you should place it face down, im going to briefly explain why, by placing face down you are helping to stop the liquid finding its whay onto the motherbaord, obviously this will depend on the laptop design but the rule remains the same. If your laptop does not extend fully like the one in the picture you could for example hang it off the edge of your bed with the keyboard face down on the bed and a couple of books to weigh it down. You can to speed up the process put your laptop somewhere warm and dry such as an airing cupboard this will speed up the time it take to dry out.
So hopefully after reading this brief article if you ever spill liquid onto your laptop you will have a good idea of what to and what not to do. once it is fully dry can take a few days! you can either try and power back on, or i would recommend taking it into your local computer shop. Here at Ross-IT we specialise in laptop repairs in Colchester and are more than willing to take a look for free.
Laptop or Tablet?
Laptop or Tablet which is best for you?
If i had a pound everytime i was asked this question, im sure i could retire, there are a few things you need to take into consideration when you have this decision to make. 1. Have you ever used a tablet before? 2. What are you hoping to use the laptop or tablet for? 3. Direct comparrison between the two products. These would be the main points to cover, with also a few other points that need to be covered which i will do in this article, so you can make an informed decision without any biased views. Lets face it we all have “that friend” who is obsessed with a certain product either Apple products or android so i am going to try and keep this article as un-biased as possible. So if you decide to go and shop for either you won’t be suckered into the “technical” jargon that may be thrust upon you when you go to your local IT wholesaler.
What will your Lapotp or Tablet primarily be used for?
What are you intending on using your new device for? Will you be just surfing the net, checking out your Facebook, eBay and sending a few emails? If so then you definately qualify for a tablet, where as if you are intending on doing anything a little more demanding such as photoshop tasks, playing the latest 3D games. Then you would most certainly need to choose a laptop over a tablet, even thought they are advancing graphically with every release they are not yet able to rival a laptop power wise.
Have you used a Tablet before?
Well, have you? its very easy to get suckered into the advertisements on TV especially the Apple iPad adverts, they are very good at matketing their products, and i have chosen Apple as an example not only because they are the market leader in tablet sales but i also own an ipad 4. If you have never used a tablet before i suggest you try one out before you go out and buy, try a friends of even go into your local Apple store and have a play about with one on display. You may find that beneath the glitz and the glam of the TV adds you simply can’t get on with a touch screen device, however if you have a smart phone that is touch screen this would be used as a good gauge as to whether you can cope using one properly.
Laptop or Tablet – direct comparison
An overview of the two, and you will find that you can pick up a new iPad direct from Apple for around the £400 mark just as you can pick up a new low to middle range laptop for about the same price. It all boils down to screen size, touch screen or traditional, do you mind having a 10″ screen, or do you prefer to have a traditional 15.6″ screen with a full size QWERTY keyboard, Yes you can get the adapters for the iPad that joins a minuture keyboard to it, but i personally think that is not very practical. Also the touchscren as mentioned above may be an issue for you. The iPad as you may have guessed wins the round on portability with it being so small it s easily carried to and from wherever you need to go.
In conclusion, i personally think that if you are just looking for something to do the basics, and you can get on with a touchscreen, and can do without the keyboard then a tablet may just be what you are looking for. However if you need something with a little more power, to do gaming or editing on then you will need a laptop. I have however yet to see a tablet come down with a virus, where as computers contracting an infection is becomming a regular occurance, but who is to say that with the rapidly increasing demand of tablets that there will not be viruses introduced for them too? I have both and i utilise them both, but i am also aware of the limits to the iPad, even though they are produicing new and more innovative apps everyday its quite ovbious that a tablet just is not yet anyway a replacement for a laptop.
