Raj Agrawal

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Tips To Consider Before Buying Used/ Second Hand Electronic Products

August 4, 2011 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

In the struggle to save money, many people choose to buy secondhand or used products. While certain items are fine to purchase used, such as cars or DVDs, there are others they may actually cause you to waste money in the future. Here is a buying guide that you should follow in order to fetch the best deals.

homer smart
It isn’t as hard as it may seem

So before you ever rush over to a secondhand electronics dealer selling items out of storage units, you should make yourself aware of the electronic items you should never buy used. Three of those items include:

  • Laptops

A refurbished laptop is different from a used laptop. A refurbished laptop has had new parts incorporated into it and they generally come with a warranty. A used laptop has all the old parts and systems and generally come without a warranty which is what makes them a poor purchase decision. While you may be able to turn on the laptop and skim around, you won’t be able to take it apart on the spot and see the condition of the laptop’s interior. Within a few days, the laptop could easily crash on you, leaving you out of a computer and a wasteful expense.

  • Plasma and High-Def TVs

Plasma and high-definition TVs have a much higher success rate than they did when they first entered the market, but that doesn’t mean that they are now great to buy used. You want the warranty and extended warranty that comes with your flatscreen TV as it protects you from any high repair costs. If the screen of your used TV was to go out, the cost of the repair would most likely be more than the TV is worth. However, if you buy your TV new and have the correct warranties, the cost of the TV repair would be free.

  • DVD Players

Purchasing used DVDs is a great idea; however, buying a used DVD player is generally a not wise move. The lasers tend to wear out and when you buy one used, you won’t have any idea how often it has been used. The cost to replace the lasers in DVD players is generally more expensive than the unit is worth, and anymore you can purchase a new one for a fairly reasonable price.

Purchasing new electronics is usually a high cost to anyone, and one that we often groan and grumble about. No one likes spending a grand or more on a TV or computer, but if you want an electronic that is both durable and long-lasting, then it is best to buy a new one.

Anymore, most electronic stores offer zero percent financing (available in many countries) on larger purchases allowing you to get the electronics you want at a price you can afford.

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: laptop

Is Spintronics A Potential Successor To Transistor Technology?

July 9, 2011 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – The trend paths laid down by the Moore’s law is gradually nearing it’s end; this basically suggests we need to find an alternative to the conventionally used transistor technology in order to continue making better computer chips. Spintronics, also known as Magnetoelectronics, is an emerging technology that possibly has the answer to the indigent alternative.

moore's law joke
Image Credit [IntelSinSides]

Transistors (being a part of the semiconductor family) are dependent on electrical charges to perform the computational duties. While a research based on Spintronics, led from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physics, is designed to develop a spin-based electronic technology to replace this charge-based technology of semiconductors. Spintronics technology is being said to succeed the transistors technology for all the good reasons, much need for better computing needs.

Spintronics technology relies on manipulating the electron’s magnetic ‘spins’, when applied to computers could drastically improve their speed with reduced power consumption. This new research talks on making the ‘spins’ more efficient. One of the most intriguing facts about Spintronics is that it does not use electric currents to transfer the spins, the spins can rather transfer information without generating any heat in the electrical devices.

VIA [ScienceDaily]

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: spintronics, transistors

If The End Is True, What Lies Beyond Moore’s Law?

July 4, 2011 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – Gordon Moore had said it. The transistors embedded on integrated circuits will get smaller every two years and eventually become as small as the size of an atom. So, by the time we reach that point, we would desperately need an alternative in hand to continue with the ever growing need better processors. But, what if we run out of ideas or what if we fail to find an alternative?

Take your time to browse through this beautifully poetic info-graphic depicting how the era of computers began with the invention of integrated circuits and transistors, following with the startup of the pioneers of the computer/ software technology and the eventual saturation of the possibilities where transistors could be reduced in size to fit more of them into the ICs. This may suggestively happen in the year 2023. What lies beyond is intriguing. I leave that for you to have a look at.

the end of computers

The end of computers?

Filed Under: Technology

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