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Our friends at Walyou.com and some people we don’t know (but whose work we admire) at Pumpkin Gutter have assembled a rogue’s gallery from the gourd family just in time for Halloween, and we’ve picked the best of the best. Every photo links back to the source page in case you want to keep exploring. Walyou alone has put together a mega gallery of 130 Pumpkin carvings that feature likenesses of video game characters, geek celebs, and more. So check em out when you’re done cowering at the sight of these fruity monstrosities. (Yes, pumpkins are fruit.)

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October 21, 2009

A Visual Guide to Computer Cables and Connectors

Computer cables can be confusing so here’s a quick visual guide that will help you quickly identify almost every cable that came bundled with your computer and other electronic gadgets. You may also refer to this guide for ideas on how to hook different devices using commonly available connectors and converters.

1. USB Cables and Connectors

What are USB cables used for – You can use USB cables to connect most new devices to your computer including flash memory sticks, portable media players, internet modems and digital cameras.

Computer accessories like mice, keyboards, webcams, portable hard-drives, microphones, printers, scanners and speakers can also be connected to the computer through USB ports. Additionally, USB cables are also used for charging a variety of gadgets including mobile phones or for transferring data from one computer to another.

How to recognize USB Cables – The standard USB connector, USB-A, is a rectangular connector. The USB-A end is present on every USB cable as it is the end that connects to your computer.

The other end of the USB cable may have different connectors including USB-B (a square connector commonly used with printers, external hard drives, and larger devices) or smaller connectors such as the Mini-USB and Micro-USB that are commonly used with portable devices such as media players and phones.

Additionally, many other connectors have USB-A connectors at the end that connects to the computer, and a device-specific connector at the other end (e.g. the iPod or a Zune). Then you have USB Male to Female connectors for extending the length of a USB cable.

Many other non-USB cables can also connect to your computer via a USB converter; these cables have the standard USB-A connector on one end while the other end could have connections for other ports such as Ethernet or audio.

2. Audio Cables and Connectors

2.1 – 3.5mm headphone jack

The most common audio cable is the standard headphone jack, otherwise known as a TSR connector. It is available in several sizes, but the most common ones used with computers are the 3.5 mm or 1/8″ mini audio jack.

Most speakers and microphones can connect to the computer with these audio cables. The microphone port on your computer is usually pink while the speaker port, where you insert the stereo audio cable, is colored green. Some computers have additional TSR audio ports colored black, grey, and gold; these are for rear, front, and center/subwoofer output, respectively.

A larger variety of the TSR connector, 1/4″ TRS, is commonly used in professional audio recording equipment and it can be connected to a computer using an 1/4″ to 1/8″ converter (pictured right).

2.2 – Digital Optical Audio

For high-end audio, like when you want to connect the output of a DVD player or a set-top box to a Dolby home theater, you need the TOSLINK (or S/PDIF) connector.

These are fiber optic cables and can therefore transmit pure digital audio through light. Some laptops and audio equipment have a mini-TOSLINK jack but you can use a converter to connect it to a standard TOSLINK (Toshiba Link) port.

3. Video Cables

3.1 – VGA

One of the most common video connectors for computer monitors and high-definition TVs is the VGA cable. A standard VGA connector has 15-pins and other than connecting a computer to a monitor, you may also use a VGA cable to connect your laptop to a TV screen or a projector.

Converter cables are lso available to let VGA monitors connect to newer computers that only output HDMI or DVI signals. A smaller variant of VGA, Mini-VGA, is available on some laptops but with the help of a converter, you can connect any standard VGA monitor to a Mini-VGA port of your laptop.

Related: How to Connect your Laptop to a TV Set

3.2 – DVI Monitor Port

If you have purchased a computer in the recent past, chances are that it uses DVI instead of VGA. The new breed of “thin” laptops use the smaller variants of DVI like the Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI (first seen in MacBook Air).

A DVI cable has 29 pins, though some connectors may have less pins depending on their configuration. DVI’s video signal is compatible with HDMI, so a simple converter can allow a DVI monitor to receive input from an HDMI cable.

Additionally, DVI to VGA converters are also available for connect your new graphics card to old monitor that supports only VGA mode.

3.3 – S-Video

S-Video cables, otherwise known as Separate Video or Super Video cables, carry analog video signals and are commonly used for connecting DVD players, camcorders, older video consoles to the television.

Standard S-Video connectors are round in shape and may have anywhere between 4-9 pins.

4. Audio and Video Cables

4.1 – RCA Connector Cables

RCA connector cables are a bundle of 2-3 cables including Composite Video (colored yellow) and Stereo Audio cables (red for right channel and white or black for the left audio channel).

Sometimes additional cables may be included, offering additional audio channels and/or component video instead of composite. Component video offers better picture than composite because the video signal is split in different signals while in the case of composite, everything is transferred through a single yellow plug.

Uses of RCA Connectors – The RCA cables are usually used for connecting your DVD player, stereo speakers, digital camera and other audio/video equipment to your TV. You can plug-in an RCA cable to the computer via a video capture card and this will let you transfer video from an old analog camcorder into your computer’s hard drive.

4.2 – HDMI Cables

HDMI is the new standard that provide both audio and video transmission through a single cable. HDMI support a maximum resolution of 4096×2160p (HD is only 1920×1200) with up to 8 channels of digital audio and are used for connecting Blu-Ray players to an HDTV.

Standard HDMI cables can be up to 5 meters long, but higher quality ones can be up to 15 meters long, and the length can be further increased with amplifiers. HDMI is backwards compatible with DVI so you can use a converter to watch video on a DVI device through the HDMI cable though you will have to use another cable for the audio.

4.3 – DisplayPort

A combined digital video and audio cable that is more commonly used in computers is DisplayPort and the smaller derivative Mini DisplayPort. Both support resolutions up to 2560 × 1600 × 60 Hz, and additionally support up to 8 channels of digital audio.

Mini DisplayPort connector is currently used in MacBooks but we could them in other computers as well in the near future.

Standard DisplayPort cables can be up to 3 meters long, but at a lower resolution cables can be up to 15 meters long.  DisplayPort connectors are available to connect VGA, DVI video, or HDMI video and audio with a DisplayPort cable or connection.  Additionally, converters are available to convert Mini DisplayPort into standard DisplayPort.

5. Data Cables

5.1 – Firewire IEEE 1394

Firewire, otherwise known as IEEE 1394, i.LINK, or Lynx, is a faster alternate to USB and is commonly used for connecting digital camcorders and external hard drives to a computer. It is also possible to ad-hoc network computers without a router over FireWire.

Firewire typically has 6 pins in its connector, though a 4 pin variety is common as well.

5.2 – eSATA Cables

While SATA cables are used internally for connecting the hard drive to the computer’s motherboard, eSATA cables are designed for portable hard drives, and can transfer data faster than USB or FireWire.

However, the eSATA cable cannot transmit power, so unlike USB, you cannot power an external hard drive with eSATA. The eSATA cable is somewhat different from the internal SATA cable; it has more shielding, and sports a larger connector.

6. Networking Related Cables

6.1 – Phone RJ11 Cable

The telephone cable, otherwise known as RJ11, is still used around the world for connecting to the Internet through DSL/ADSL modems. A standard phone cable has 4 wires and the connector has four pins.

The connector has a clip at the top to help maintain a tight connection.

6.2 – Ethernet Cable

Ethernet is the standard for wired networking around the world. The Ethernet cable, otherwise known as RJ45, is based on Cat5 twisted pair cable and is made from 8 individual wires.

The Ethernet connector, likewise, has 8 pins and looks similar to a phone plug, but is actually thicker and wider. It too has a clip to help maintain a tight connection like a phone connector.

Related: Clean Computer Cables with Vinegar

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Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/gadgets/visual-guide-to-computer-cables-connectors/10694/

Tags: cables, feature, guide, usb, Gadgets

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1879: Thomas Edison crowns 14 months of testing with an incandescent electric light bulb that lasts 13½ hours.

Sir Humphrey Davy had produced incandescent electric light in 1808 by passing battery current through a platinum wire. But the voltaic pile was expensive and could be messy.

The invention of the dynamo in 1866 literally generated new possibilities and a few American and European cities had some of their streets illuminated with arc lights by the end of the 1870s.

Arc light (where the current flows from one electrode through a gas to another electrode) is bright and harsh. Edison wanted to “subdivide” the light by using the softer glow obtained when electricity passes through a filament and heats it up until it glows.

Edison was riding high on the fame and profits from his gadgets for telegraph printing, multiplex telegraphy, telephone improvements and the brand-new phonograph. He figured he and the 40 researchers at his Menlo Park, New Jersey, development lab could come up with a good incandescent bulb in three or four months in 1878. When he prematurely announced that he’d come up with the bulb, stock in gaslight companies took a dive.

Edison was unable to devote all his time to the quest: He had to redesign the receiver of his telephone system — which was being marketed in England — to avoid infringing on Alexander Graham Bell’s patent. The lab also had to work on improving electrical generators and developing an electric meter to bill the eventual customers.

Edison’s lab put a lot of effort into making a bulb with a platinum filament, but that work went nowhere, because platinum has a relatively low resistance. But gas bubbles in the platinum had led Edison to develop an efficient vacuum pump to remove the air from the inside of his bulbs. And that created a new opportunity: carbon.

Carbon conducts electricity, has a high resistance and can be shaped into thin filaments. And it’s cheap. But it burns easily — unless there’s no oxygen around. The vacuum bulbs Edison had created for platinum were ideal for carbon.

Edison pushed hard on his research assistants, whom he more or less affectionately called “muckers.” After testing hundreds of materials, they baked a piece of coiled cotton thread until it was all carbon. Inside a near-vacuum bulb, it stayed alight for more than half a day. The “three or four month” project had taken 14 months.

Soon, the lab got a carbon-filament bulb to last 40 hours. It had cost $40,000 (about $850,000 in today’s money) and taken 1,200 experiments, but was ready at last for a public debut.

On New Year’s Eve, 3,000 people visited the lab in Menlo Park to witness 40 electric light bulbs glowing merrily. Edison switched them on and off at will, dazzling and delighting his guests. These bulbs used carbonized cardboard.

Eventually, Edison’s lab tested carbonized filaments made from plants as diverse as baywood, boxwood, hickory, cedar, flax and bamboo. “Before I got through,” he said, “I tested no fewer than 6,000 vegetable growths, and ransacked the world for the most suitable filament material.” Bamboo became the favorite for several decades, but tungsten supplanted it by 1910.

Edison didn’t start delivering electricity to paying customers until he opened the Pearl Street power station in New York City in September 1882.

So, what we see here is Edison leveraging profits from one invention to finance the next, announcing a product well before it’s completed, dodging and defending intellectual-property disputes, missing a big deadline, working his development staff feverishly, unveiling a prototype in a splashy and impressive event, and still needing more time before it was actually available to end users — in select markets, of course.

If that pattern reminds you of a tech mogul of our own time, that’s your business. Or his, actually.

Source: Electric Perspectives, September/October 2004

Image: Thomas Edison received a patent for his light bulb in January 1880.
Restored photolithograph/Courtesy National Archives

This article first appeared on Wired.com Oct. 21, 2008.

See Also:

• Feb. 11, 1847: Look Out, World, Here Comes Tom Edison
• Aug. 8, 1876: Edison Patents Mimeograph
• Aug. 15, 1877: ‘Hello. Can You Hear Me Now?’
• Jan. 19, 1883: Let There Be Light
• Jan. 4, 1903: Edison Fries an Elephant to Prove His Point
• Geeks Take Their Cue From Thomas Edison’s Napping Technique
• March 14, 1879: Mr. Big

You don’t need psychedelic drugs to start seeing colors and objects that aren’t really there. Just 15 minutes of near-total sensory deprivation can bring on hallucinations in many otherwise sane individuals.

Psychologists stuck 19 healthy volunteers into a sensory-deprivation room, completely devoid of light and sound, for 15 minutes. Without the normal barrage of sensory information flooding their brains, many people reported experiencing visual hallucinations, paranoia and a depressed mood.

“This is a pretty robust finding,” wrote psychiatrist Paul Fletcher of the University of Cambridge, who studies psychosis but was not involved in the study. “It appears that, when confronted by lack of sensory patterns in our environment, we have a natural tendency to superimpose our own patterns.”

The findings support the hypothesis that hallucinations happen when the brain misidentifies the source of what it is experiencing, a concept the researchers call “faulty source monitoring.”

“This is the idea that hallucinations come about because we misidentify the source of our own thoughts,” psychologist Oliver Mason of the University College London wrote in an e-mail to Wired.com. “So basically something that actually is initiated within us gets misidentified as from the outside.” Mason and colleagues published their study in October in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

To choose people for their study, the researchers asked more than 200 volunteers to complete a questionnaire called the “Revised Hallucinations Scale,” which measures the predisposition of healthy people to see things that aren’t really there. The scientists picked participants who scored in either the upper or lower 20th percentile, so they could compare how short-term sensory deprivation affects a range of individuals.

Study participants sat in a padded chair in the middle of an anechoic chamber, a room designed to dampen all sound and block out light. The researchers describe the setup as a “room within a room,” with thick outer walls and an inner chamber formed by metallic acoustic panels and a floating floor. In between the outer and inner walls are large fiberglass wedges. “This results in a very low-noise environment in which the sound pressure due to outside levels is below the threshold of hearing,” the researchers wrote.

Though participants had a panic button, none of them used it. After spending 15 minutes deprived of sight and sound, each person completed a test called the “Psychotomimetic States Inventory,” which measures psychosis-like experiences and was originally developed to study recreational drug users.

Among the nine participants who scored high on the first survey, five reported having hallucinations of faces during the sensory deprivation, and six reported seeing other objects or shapes that weren’t there. Four also noted an unusually heightened sense of smell, and two sensed an “evil presence” in the room. Almost all reported that they had “experienced something very special or important” during the experiment.

As expected, volunteers who were less prone to hallucinations experienced fewer perceptual distortions, but they still reported a variety of delusions and hallucinations.

The researchers were not altogether surprised by such dramatic results from only 15 minutes of sensory deprivation. Although few scientists are studying sensory deprivation today, a small body of research from the 1950s and 1960s supports the idea that a lack of sensory input can lead to symptoms of psychosis.

“Sensory deprivation is a naturalistic analogue to drugs like ketamine and cannabis for acting as a psychosis-inducing context,” Mason wrote, “particularly for those prone to psychosis.”

We still don’t know why some people are more likely to have hallucinations than others, but Fletcher says that some researchers consider the phenomenon particularly important because it suggests that symptoms of mental illness occur on a continuum with normality.

“Perhaps this reflects different ways of dealing with sense data, which under certain circumstances might be advantageous,” Fletcher wrote.

Next, the researchers hope to study how sensory deprivation affects schizophrenic patients and people who use recreational drugs that increase the risk of psychosis.

“There are claims that schizophrenic patients paradoxically find that their psychotic symptoms such as hearing voices are improved by sensory deprivation,” Mason wrote, “though the evidence for this is very long in the tooth indeed. What happens to people who already hear voices when in the chamber?”

Via MindHacks.

Image: daveknapik/Flickr

See Also:

• Freaky Sleep Paralysis: Being Awake in Your Nightmares
• Virtual Hallucinating Device Drives Police Insane for a Day
• Sorry, Absinthe Trippers: Scientists Say You’re Just Really Drunk
  
• Schizophrenic Brains Not Fooled by Optical Illusion
• TED Q&A: Neurologist Oliver Sacks
• The Persistence of Vision: A Story of Freakish Perception

Follow us on Twitter @wiredscience, and on Facebook.

FastPictureViewer Code Pack Lets You to View All Kinds of RAW Images Right in Windows 7 Explorer [Tool]

Written by Kent on October 22nd, 2009 | Posted in Tools | Tags: image viewer, RAW

Tip: Click here to run a free scan for Windows related errors

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It may not be a good deal if you are not really into photography. However, if you do, it’s inevitable that you would face the fact viewing the high-resolution raw images that you take. Usually, you would just rely on manufacturer’s own-brand image viewer or converter, or Photoshop. Now, with this Fast Picture Viewer Code Pack, you have no reason or needs to use all these tools. This is all you need.

Windows Vista, now Windows 7, introduced a modern and extensible imaging framework called Windows Imaging Component (WIC) that makes it possible for 3rd parties to add first-class support for image formats to Windows, with thumbnails in Explorer, preview, slideshow support in Photo Gallery / Photo Viewer and metadata search integration.

The FastPictureViewer WIC Code Pack provides such platform support and adds the support that has almost every camera type covered, from Canon’s CR2 to Sony’s SRF, and Nikon’s NRW, and many more.

And the best of all, it’s FREE. It installs into the background and you will never hear from it again. If you are the one who loves photography, you will have to check it out.

FastPictureViewer WIC Codec Pack [via Download Squad]

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