Video Games Are Art Eligible For Your Tax Dollars

Duke Nukem Forever

One individual’s Boticelli is another man’s Duke Nukem Forever. From that view of the National Endowement for Arts, they announced that “interactive games” will be one of the new media eligible for funding this week through NEA. In their Arts in Media program there’s a long list of classical music, ballet, and Shakespeare productions that have been made, they’re trying to delve into another new aspect - one that kids are into today. This involves content created for mobile phones, the World Wide Web and also content designed for gaming platforms.

The quote beauty is in the eye of the beholder has been said too many times, it’s already a cliché. If we’re talking about art, also put in the quote about one man’s trash being another person’s treasure. For some people in the video gaming world, they would like to think that video games can also be classified as an art. Although there’s still some debate about that, moves have already been made to recognize interactive games as art worthy enough for government funding.

We can now start thinking about art in light of the video games we’ve seen. There are a number of games out there today where that has graphics that can take your breath away. In some cases, it’s not too difficult to get enticed to play the game just to see how well the creators have made all the facets of it perfectly. It’s likely to get hooked with the intro of the game and end up in a dizzied frenzy from playing a game with so many colors, creativity and imagination rolled into one.

On the other hand, concerns abound about federal tax’s dollars usage on games like Angry Birds or Grand Theft Auto or maybe even first person shooters. But the good news is, these kinds of games aren’t mentioned as being in the running to get the funding. It’s a sigh of relief that only those deserving are included. But this doesn’t mean that this form of games won’t find its way to the government’s funding. Getting free money for something is always a good motivator and who knows what creators will come up with.

But on the meantime, just sit back and relax and wait for these games to come out. What’s more important is that there will be great number of entertaining as well as eye-popping games and apps available to us in the very near future. The best thing about it? Great games for free! That’s right, since it’s funded by the NEA, not a single cent needs to come out of our pockets to get hold of great graphics and fun games. What’s more, the creators also get their share of the fun by getting their fat paychecks and for a change not at the expense of gamers.

Regardless if video games are forms of art or not, its still part of the running in new media that’s eligible for funding. Video game is an art thinkers out there have National Endowment for the Arts to thank and everyone can’t seem to wait for the new game openings.

Bat Tech Express bringing you the latest in technology news. Bat Tech Express provides laptops, laptop repairs, computer accessories, computer leasing, computer repairs Sydney and a wide range of computer services.

For Better or Worse, Online Computer Sales

Laptop Retailers vs Online stores

Online computer and laptop stores are in direct competition to bricks and mortar retail business, who are failing to keep up with the latest technological innovations. The growing trend in the online market is driving prices down and putting pressure on laptop prices, leading to smaller margins for retailers. This change is leading to complaints from some of the heavy weights of the retail industry who are complaining about these direct threats to their business operations. Retailers concerns are more about the threat to their bottom line, and less about their customers, despite what their marketing spin doctors shout out. 

While many customers are weary of buying from overseas retailers, the Australian online industry is providing many customers with a convenient online shopping experience, with a physical presence and actual street address, to provide substance to their business operations. The days of an online retailer being a mysterious entity hiding behind a PO Box and pre-recorded voice message promising someone to call you back is gone. While many online retailers are still different to a fully-fledged retail shop, many retailers offer pick up services from their physical warehouse direct or head office. Most have complete contact details and sales staff to help with pre and post sales. 

Company’s such as Overstocked Orders have built up a reputable online store in which is backed by their direct warehouse and sample showroom. While the showroom doesn't offer all items on display, it still provides a generous range of items to peruse, as well as the option to buy over the counter.

Other online retailers such as Bat Tech Express display an online showcase, offering its computer services and support division. In addition to their range of computers for sale, they also offer a broker like sales service. Customers fill out an online order form including budget, specifications, and other details, and then the sales team will arrange the best deal from their wholesalers and report back to the customer.

These online retailers have many great advantages from their bricks and mortar cousins. By not keeping large inventory stock, customers are getting the latest models, and generally not items that may have been sitting in a warehouse for 6 months. Margins are lower, leading to competitive pricing for consumers.

While bricks and mortar retailers will still be around for a while, issues such as the cost of commercial rents, staff costs in keeping a store open even if no customers are around, insurance and utility costs, location constraints, and even local Government laws are having a larger impact on retail businesses. An online retailer can maintain a smaller office, lower inventory, require less staff and have fewer outgoings, with the option to re-locate if location or local laws impact on their business without disrupting online operations. 

The customer may lose out on being able to physically inspect goods though and this is where physical retailers hold their largest advantage. As always though, being a fully-fledged physical retail outlet store, online only, or a hybrid of the two, will depend on the decisions and foresight of management. As is true on all walks of life, it is the organism that can adapt the best that will survive.

Bat Tech Express is a reputable online laptop store in Sydney providing 24/7 computer support, computer services and laptops for sale.

iPad 2 worth the upgrade?

The iPad was no doubt, the hottest new gadget of 2010. Thousands of Apple consumers who opened up their brand new iPad on Christmas morning were unimpressed to see that Apple has already released the iPad 2. If you’ve barely pulled the shrink wrap off your original iPad, is the upgrade to the iPad 2 worth it? We’ll take a look at the pros and cons.

Here’s a rundown of the new features: 

Dual Video (and still photo) Cameras

Everyone who owns or has seen the iPhone 4 knows exactly how the iPad 2’s dual cameras work. There’s a front-facing camera and a backwards-facing camera that allow you to take pictures of other people or of yourself without having to rotate the device. Thanks to these handy-dandy cameras, you can also run FaceTime and connect with other iPad 2 users for a cozy video chat. If you’re a heavy-duty FaceTime user, this is probably a welcome upgrade. After all, when it comes to screens, bigger is usually better.  If you’re not a FaceTime user, you may be left feeling a little “meh,” especially since the camera picture quality isn’t anywhere close to what you get from even the most inexpensive digital point and shoot camera.

Faster Processor

The iPad 2 has—oh yes—a dual processor, which means it’s capable of running more graphics-intensive and more complex apps at higher speeds. If you’re a hard-core gamer, you might really appreciate the upgrade. Meanwhile, very few people  have complained that the original iPad is slow. Once apps start expanding and begin outgrowing the original iPad, speed might be more of a gripe. But by then, Apple will probably be on to the iPad 3 or 4 anyway.

HDMI Video Output

If you’ve ever been lounging around watching video on your iPad and wished you could hook it up to your big screen, the iPad2 is for you. Its new HDMI video output will let you do just that. Now you can use your iPad to stream Netflix or other movies right to your television. Granted, if you already have a Wii or an internet-enabled television, this won’t seem like that much of a benefit. But if you don’t, you’ve now got the hook-up.
A Lighter and Thinner Design
The iPad 2 is a few millimeters thinner than the original model and is also a whopping 15% lighter. In other words, the old iPad weighed 1.5 pounds while the new one weighs only 1.2. If that leaves you underwhelmed, you’re not alone. Yes, it’s cool that the new model is thinner and lighter while still managing to pack in more features than the original. However, the savings of a few millimeters and a third of a pound is not enough to make an upgrade mandatory. It’s just not that much of a difference.

So what’s not to like?

Still won’t Play Flash Video

iPad lovers everywhere seem to agree that the machine’s one serious drawback is its lack of support for Flash video. With more people spending more time on Facebook than Google these days, it’s no wonder people are irritated. If you’re browsing Facebook on your iPad and want to play a video one of your friends shared. . .  you can’t. Too bad. The same thing goes for Twitter.  The even worse news is that thanks to a feud between Apple and Adobe, support for Flash is unlikely to be available anytime soon. Meanwhile, competing companies are gearing up to release Android-powered tablets, and you can bet those machines will be Flash-enabled.  So if this is an important feature for you, you might want to consider ditching the iPad for something else when it’s time to upgrade.

The iPad is Still Relatively Expensive

iPad detractors are also not fans of the tablet’s price. The entry level iPad2 goes for $500, and better models go up from there. Critics say that much more powerful laptops are available for less than $500 and are a more practical choice. Sure, the iPad 2 is much cooler looking and has a sleek touch screen, but as an actual computing tool, it comes up short. Industry experts are expecting competing tablets to debut at a more affordable price point.

What do you think? Is it worth it to upgrade to the iPad 2?

For more information on iPads, iPhone repairs, iPad support go to Fix My iPhone Repairs Sydney.

Hard Drive Repair, Recover Hard Drive Data

In this age of digital world, almost everybody relies on their computer and hard drive to store their important files. Some even store their important memories like pictures of the first time their daughter walked on their hard drive.  The danger of storing files in your hard drive is that it isn’t safe at all. In as brief as an instant, the worst can happen and files can be accidentally deleted.  And if it does happen and you feel that all is lost, data recovery will still give you a glimmer of hope.

It’s good to know that even though a major crash happened to your computer, most of the time the data or files can still be found on your hard drive. The question for many is how to recover these deleted files in the hard drive? Basically, you have two options to choose from. The first one is always the safest way and that is to let the experts handle the job. Bring your hard drive to a data recovery center and let them do the hard work. Data recovery is a very difficult task which would require the knowledge of experts in data recovery. This offers less risk in recovering and restoring your important files.

The second option is by doing the data recovery yourself. For someone who is good on computers and can follow instructions, this is a cheaper option as they don’t have to pay the service fee of the experts. Unfortunately not everybody who is good on computer can perform the difficult task of recovering deleted files. The danger of doing data recovery by yourself is losing your file permanently. In the end instead of helping yourself get the files that you want, you end up doing more damage and lose files permanently. This is an important consideration that you should bear in mind when performing data recovery.

After thinking it through and you decided that you are able to perform the recovery of deleted files from your hard drive, the next step is to find a program that will help you perform this tricky task. There are programs and freeware that can be downloaded through the internet. Some programs are free but the more complex ones come with a fee. The advantage of using these programs is it will save you some money as you don’t have to hire or pay a data recovery specialist to recover deleted files from your hard drive.  For many, this is a smart idea since the programs can perform almost the same service as the specialist does.

But then again, it should be emphasized that recovering deleted files from your hard drive is a tricky and risky business. A person who is not good or adept with computers should try to stay away or shun away from delving into the big task of data recovery. Also not all programs for do it yourself data recovery can be used for all types of data loss or deleted files. Examples of which is when the hard drive is physically damaged. But for simple matters of recovering deleted files from a perfectly good hard drive, most software is able to work. You just have to be very careful when performing the data recovery by yourself to avoid further damaging your disk which will make it even harder to recover deleted files or it could even turn for the worst of losing your files permanently.

For more information on data recovery services or for hard drive recovery repairs go to Drive Data Recovery.

Recover Deleted Files From Your Hard Drive

Accidentally deleted all your data? Is your hard drive failing? Hit the delete button? Help is here, read through the steps to get your data back and future prevention.

Data recovery is an advanced repair process. There is the usual concern of whether the device is repairable, but the bigger issue lies within, whether your important data, work docs, and family pictures can be recovered. In addition any data recovery procedures incorrectly carried out could further damage the hard drive and completely wipe out the data. It is important that the provider of your data recovery services is not only reputable, well equipped, but also trained and experienced within the various types of data recovery scenarios. Would you risk losing your most important data in the hands of an amateur?

There are two main types of hard drive failures - mechanical, non-mechanical. Mechanical failures are generally issues with the actual hard drive heads, platters and the hard drive's circuit board. With both issues there are two steps in the data recovery process. One is to service the drive to obtain a read of the drive's data, and then a data transfer to a new hard drive. Non-Mechanical issues usually involve corrupted data, bad sectors on the drive, and other problems preventing the hard drive reading the data.

The general data recovery process can vary upon different hard drive scenarios. First and foremost ensure the drive is in a readable state, followed by running repair and data recovery tools to obtain the data from the hard drive, data recovery software can be found on the internet. Generally if a hard drive has corrupted data, for the future safety of your information, it is advised to not use the drive again even if the repair tools enable a full read of the drive.

Avoid spending hundreds on data recovery. For future prevention ensure your data is backed up weekly on another computer, USB drive or external hard drive. Alternatively there are many online backup tools to explore. Cloud computing is an efficient way to back up data, as data can be uploaded and accessed anywhere in the world. The cheapest and easiest data backup solution is to send yourself documents via email, not only does this backup your data, but also provides a dated archive to go back through previous saved versions.

However if your hard drive is unreadable when connected to the computer, it is highly advised to contact your local data recovery shop. Ensure you contact the right data recovery business suitable and obtain an estimated quote, as some data recovery companies specialize in company repairs and emergency recovery, charging thousands.

Estimated Data Recovery Prices

$100-$250 - low level data recovery, recovery of deleted files, hard drive is readable, hard drive may only have small issues and may not need replacing.

$250-$700 - medium level recovery, could be mechanical damage on the drive, it is advised that the hard drive should not be used again.

$700-$2000 - advanced recovery, mechanical damage to drive as well as further issues with data corruption, hard drive cannot be used again.

For more information on data recovery services or for hard drive recovery repairs go to Drive Data Recovery.

Which Tablet Should I Choose? In Comparison To The iPad 2

Apple’s iPad 2 made a big debut when it was released, since then it has met a lot of competition in the tablet industry. With new tablets released from Motorola, Samsung, Telstra, though, there is finally variety in tablet selection.

It’s worth comparing what a tablet can and can't do before you splurge all your hard earned cash. They are a lighter and compact alternative to a notebook, with generally less power than the same notebook available for the same price. At the same time, the touch interface can make work fun and quick with its light weight accessible design, great for presentations and lugging around the house. See the list of 2011 best Tablets available on the market below. 

Apple iPad 2 WINNER
Price: $499-$699 (varies on memory and 3G capability)
Pros
Apple’s newly released tablet leads the market with the most affordable high end tablet available. If you’re an iPhone owner, applications can be transferred to the iPad in one touch. Not only is the tablet lighter, the 9.7 inch screen is even thinner than an iPhone 4. The tablet sports a pair of cameras for video recording and Face Time capability. Multi-tasking is a breeze with its a5 processor and variety of memory options including: 16GB, 32GB and 64 GB.
Cons
The cameras are VGA poor quality and the screen resolution could be improved. Unlike the Telstra or Samsung tablets, there’s no phone functionality.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Price: $599 outright (estimate)
Pros
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab offers a larger 10.1 inch screen with 1280x800 which beat Apple’s 9.7 inch screen with 1024x768 screen resolution. The tablet runs on Android 3.0 or Honeycomb juice which brings the benefits of multi-tasking and customizable widgets to the tablet.  The tablet offers an 8MP camera and 2MP front facing camera, in comparison to the iPad’s VGA camera. The Galaxy Tablet 10.1 certainly comes out as a worthy competitor to iPad 2 compared to most Android tablets out there.
Cons
The Galaxy tablet comes in the same size as the iPad 2, although the tablet is thicker than the iPad 2 measuring 0.43 inches. The Galaxy is only available in two options 16GB and 32GB.

Motorola Xoom
Price: $799 outright  Pros                                                                                                                                                            The Xoom performs outstandingly with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the NVidia Tegra 2 dual core processor skims the iPad 2 giving it a graphical advantage over most tablets. The Xoom holds built-in apps such as Google Maps, Gmail and Google Calendar still trump anything built into the iPad 2. The Motorola Xoom tablet has customizable widgets and also has a sleek & sexy design.

Cons                                                                                                                                                                          Besides the price tag being very high, the Xoom battery life is shorter than the iPad 2 with a fewer apps available. In terms of specs; Motorola Xoom is one of the top Android tablets to date. But that comes with an expensive price. Is it worth it? You decide.

 The iPad 2 will be setting the standard for tablet computing in 2011 but we’re going to see a lot of good alternatives throughout the year. Waiting really won’t hurt you.

Thinking of purchasing an iPad Tablet? Fix my iPad provides setup, iPad repairs, iPad support and iPhone repairs.

Top Rated Laptops for 2011

With technological advancements and prices plummeting yearly, laptops are becoming increasingly popular. We want you to find the latest and best laptop available in 2011. This list of top rated laptops for 2011 will help you find the right laptop available.

Find the top rated laptops of 2011 below:





10th Place

HP ProBook 5310m
320 GB 2GB Intel Core 2 Duo

pros:
attractive design
good processor
good multimedia performance

cons:
poor battery life
poor sound quality
no DVD drive


9th Place

Sony VAIO EC
8 GB 1 TB Intel Core i5 2.4 GHz

pros:
good light weight gaming laptop
great battery life
good multimedia laptop
bright display
blu - ray

cons:
poor quality speakers
poor graphics quality

8th Place

Toshiba Satellite L450
320 GB 3GB Intel Core 2 Duo

pros:
good performance for price
wide variety of options
good graphics
fast processor
quite

cons:
cheap glossy plastic finish
poor speaker volume
low battery life



7th Place

Lenovo ThinkPad X201
320 GB 8 GB Intel Core i7-640 2.13 GHz

pros:
powerful processor in a 12inch laptop
excellent battery life
fast boot-up
tablet pc

cons:
bulky
expensive


6th Place

Dell Inspiron 15R
320 GB 4GB Intel Core 2 Duo

pros:
wi-fi
good gaming performance
bluetooth
good battery life

cons:
poor screen resolution
slow boot-up
needs a better graphics card


5th Place

HP Compaq 6730b
320 GB 2GB Intel Core 2 Duo

pros:
large display
long battery life
good performance
great for mobile professional travellers

cons:
heavy
needs upgrades
processor needs upgrading












4th Place

Lenovo G560
500 GB 2 GB Intel Pentium 2. GHz

pros:
good keyboard
tough exterior – hides smudges
good performance for price

cons:
limited range of ports
sensitive cursor moves whilst typing


3rd Place

Alienware M11x

500 GB 4 GB Intel Core2 Duo 1.3 GHz

pros:
good graphics
good battery life
fast
lightweight

cons:
no disk drive

2nd Place

Dell Inspiron 14
320 GB 4GB Intel Core 2 Duo

pros:
fast
light weight
comfortable keyboard

cons:
limited battery life
keyboard has no lights
average graphics


1st Place

Apple Macbook Pro
250 GB 3 GB Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26 GHz

pros:
lightweight sleek design
great battery life
good expansion options
quite, minimal noise

cons:
expensive
heats up
non-removable battery

Now its up to you to decide which screen size, graphics card, weight, hard drive and price range you are looking for? Are you looking for a laptop for traveling or just presentation? Have you considered purchasing a tablet?


Tired of looking around for the right laptop? Bat Tech laptop repairs and i.t support make purchasing laptops stress free, providing an extensive range of laptops for sale, laptop setup and support services.