But there is possibly a funny and interesting alternative to buying a new computer, if you want a better performing machine. In fact, mainly for marketing reasons, computer and software producer are often pushing the assumption that personal computers are inseparable combinations of hardware and operating system (that is: the actual machine and the software that allows that machine to function). This is not entirely true. It is true that, unless you are a computer geek, most of the time, you may want to buy a machine that works, possibly very well, as soon as you take it our from the box. But it is also true that the machine that you bought and that came with a given (rather expensive) operating system, can sometimes work well, or even better, with a different operating system.

Switching to a free Linux operating system was, till recently, a synonym of headache, even for someone with relatively good computer skills. Today things have changed. In fact, the “open source” software communities continue to show outstanding skills and have done an excellent job: several freely available Linux distributions have evolved into great user-friendly operating systems that allow you to do everything (or nearly everything) you may need to do with your computer, often in a better and faster way (see References below). Consider that some of these distributions were developed with the challenge to keep both the operating systems and common use applications in the smallest space possible and/or to have all needed bits, stored in RAM for faster access. Isn't that an excellent way to get rid of the “fat” slowing down other non-free operating systems?

Here are the basic needed skills to start; you will need to know:

1. how to back-up your data; it is NOT advisable to do any experimentation with a computer where you stored data, obviously. Just -in case you decide to do so- make sure you have a good back-up and a reliable way to recover your data, should things go wrong.
2. how to access your BIOS settings; usually this is done by pressing one or a combination of keys during the startup. You can find this information on the manufacturer manual for your computer model or on the Internet. This is to change your boot options (in a frequent scenario you may want to start from a “bootable cd”, made burning a iso image file on it).
3. how to burn a iso image file on a cd-rom. This translates mainly in finding a good software for doing it.

And that's it.

You can find even simpler ways to use a Linux shell (command line) or to run more or less complete versions of Linux, totally under your current operating system; this would help, if you just want to give it a try, before installing it.

Scan through the sources below, learn some more about it and, more important, have fun!

References

• http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/
• http://www.freeveda.org/linux/puppy/PupWin98.htm
• http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/qemupuppy/
• http://colinux.wikia.com/wiki/Getting_Started_with_coLinux
• http://www.cygwin.com/
• http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
• http://sourceforge.net/index.php

Discovering what type and size of RAM you currently have installed can be a pain. I suggest you go to your computer manufacturers website or look at your printed computer documentation if you have a name brand model. If you have a put together pc you can remove the case screws and the side panel or rear of the case. Locate the long thin RAM sticks on the motherboard. On IBM style computers the ram is connected to the motherboard by two clips, one on each end of the RAM. Push the clip away from the RAM up or down, a clicking noise will be heard. Grab the edge of the RAM and apply steady pressure up to remove the RAM. On the side of the stick of RAM should be a sticker on some models the information may be printed on one of the chips. The information will tell you the maker, the model, the size, and the type for example it will say “Samsung 1GB DDR RAM PC3200 184-Pin DIMM.” In this case Samsung is the maker, 1GB is the size, and PC3200 is the socket type. Always unplug the power cord before doing any kind of service on your computer.

Great now we know what size and type of RAM you have, and lets say we ran out and purchased a new stick. To install our new RAM we will locate the two or four, depending on your motherboard, long thin RAM slots. Make sure your grounded so you don't discharge static inside your computer case. Unwrap the new stick of RAM and compare it to the old stick. Make sure the cut in the contact portion of the old stick matches the new stick. Now we are ready to install our new RAM. Line the stick up with the slot in the motherboard and apply gentle steady pressure down, the clips should automatically close on the notches in the stick. Make sure the RAM is seated and snapped into place, reattach the side panel or the case, and put the case screws back in.

The final steps, turn your computer right side up, reconnect the power cable, and turn it on. Your computer should boot then beep and give a warning message. The message will say “Warning system memory has changed press F1 to continue or F2 for setup.” We want to continue on most computers running Windows 2000 or newer. The operating system will take longer than usual to boot up for the first time after the memory has been changed.

Congratulations are surely in order. We have successfully installed or upgraded system memory. Its not really a hard job, the hard part is understanding the types and sizes available to the consumer. I hope this article has helped.

The new idea is still a few years away from being marketable. Still, if and when it is available for consumer use, it may have a positive impact on the cost of printing short-term office materials and may reduce the use of "real" paper.

The idea is simply another attempt to become a paperless society. The stacks of papers in most offices reveal the failures in these attempts in the past. The use of personal computers has not actually cut down on the use of paper. Although we can read material from computer screens, most people prefer to print out something that they prefer to keep a while or to read more carefully.

The adoption of LCD (liquid crystal display) brought new hope of reducing or eliminating the use of paper. However, most people tended to print anything longer than a couple of pages in length. Reading from paper is more pleasant to most of us than reading from a screen.

The technology that Xerox is working on now involves a new electronic paper, a reusable paper with a short life for the printed material. This paper will be able to be reused up to fifty times. The printed material will fade after a few hours, depending on the environment in which it is stored.

Rather than depending on ink, this paper is exposed to particular wavelengths of light to produce the image. This elimination of ink should reduce the cost per page of printed material. The short lifetime of each printed page reduces the stacks of printed papers in the corner of the office. Even if the cost for the printer and the paper are a bit higher than presently, not having to invest in ink helps to keep the cost of pages within the present range.