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Last week we wrote a tutorial for the new Image Resizer for Windows 7 and Vista…and now it’s time to review it!  The software has been developed by CodePlex and is free to download!

As a whole we’re very impressed with the program and think it’s got a lot of potential.  The software itself is very easy to use and provides a very effective and efficient service.

If the product was to be developed further we’d like to see a couple of new features added.  Firstly, we think that there should the option to select the image compression.  By this we mean you can select the extent to which the image quality is compromised.  Secondly, there could be some basic image editing software within the application.

Overall we’re impressed and think it’s worth downloading!

See Also:
Downloading and Installing – Image Resizer for Windows 7 and Vista

What exactly is computer memory and what does it do?

Memory in industry is known as RAM (Random Access Memory), its main job is to momentarily remember information for different tasks to be completed.  The computers CPU (Central Processing Unit) is then able to access the information, stored in memory, very easily and quickly.  In simple terms the CPU could be described as the boss of a company, it tells the different parts of the machine what to do.  For example, if you were to open up an application program like Microsoft Word, the CPU then brings the program into memory.  Therefore, as the program has been brought into memory you are able to perform the task at a quicker rate because you’re not waiting around as long for the program to load as the program is ready to be accessed in memory.

A process can be started by simply just typing something on your keyboard.  The CPU interprets what you have done and tells the hard drive to load the information required into memory.  Once the information is in memory, the CPU is able to access the information quickly, especially when compared to having to access the information itself.  In simpler terms, this is a bit like saving your files in a certain folder on your computer, because you know where they are you can find the files quickly, whereas if you were to save then in any old place you could be searching for the file for ages.

How does memory affect performance?

Adding memory to a computer, in most cases, increases the performance of the machine significantly.  If a machine doesn’t have enough memory to store the required information the computer creates what is called ‘virtual memory’.  This means that the CPU reserves space on the hard disk for the data which simulates additional RAM.  This process, known as swapping, considerably reduces the performance of your computer (slows it down a lot)!  So you get an idea of how much slower here are some figures, for an average machine it takes 200ns (nanoseconds) to access RAM, compared to 12,000,000ns to access the hard drive.  So you get an idea of how big the difference really is, think of a basic task at home like washing up…instead of it taking 3 1/2 minutes to wash up, it takes 4 1/2 months.

What difference is made when upgrading memory on a PC or Laptop (usually)?

When you add more memory to a PC or Laptop you notice the difference straight away…

• Programs open quicker,
• Web pages open faster,
• Your machine can cope better with multi-tasking,
• General jobs are performed much faster and reliably

If your machine is getting a slow and you can afford it, it’s well worth increasing the memory!

This tutorial will show you how to run a ScanDisk on your Vista PC.

What is a ScanDisk?

ScanDisk, also known as ‘Error Checking’ simply scans the file system and repairs any errors or bad clusters.  This just helps keep your computer running smoothly and hopefully quickly, so its worth doing.  How often depends on how much you use your machine, every three months for the home user should be fine.  Busy home machines or business machines I would say monthly ideally.

How to run a ScanDisk

1. Firstly, close all programs.
2. Click on the Start Orb.
   
3. Select ‘Computer’
   
4. Right-Click on the drive which has the Label ‘(C:)’ and then select ‘Properties’.
   
5. Select the ‘Tools’ tab and then ‘Check Now’ (Click to Enlarge Image)
   
6. Ensure that both boxes are ticked, then click ‘Start’.
   
7. Click ‘Schedule Disk Scan’ and then restart your machine.
   

Any questions?