Task Tracking Application

Every company is going to find that planning needs to be accurate and it will be important that employees follow through in their processing. Because of this, a task tracking application can make sense for most businesses, especially when a critical task is being worked on and accuracy is vital.

For this process, it can be a good idea to begin with a simple issue tracking system being in place that can monitor the progress individuals are making on a particular part of a project. This can help to determine finish dates and to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks, when there is a lack of available supervision.

As team members make updates, the simple tracking system should log this progress and adjust the projected completion date. In cases where there are several tasks that need to be completed to help ensure that the development process continues to move forward, a good task tracking application should allow the individual to assign themselves a new task.

Of course, members of management will find that thanks to this software, their time is freed up to work on more pressing issues in their department, over having to continue to figure out what everyone is doing. As tasks are assigned and completed, a supervisor can log into the system and find status updates on each task and within minutes can do what might otherwise take them a few hours to do. Best of all, they can track milestones, deadlines and ensure that as items come in, they are able to figure out where they stand at all times, without having to try to figure out too much. More importantly, they can ensure that department resources are being properly used and that overtime is being used appropriately based on the information that is contained within the task tracking application.

Of course, the accuracy of the simple issue tracking system will also be vital in this case. Because so much time is wasted on bad information, the tacking system that is begin used can help to reduce inaccurate findings and reduce the risk of errors and oversights that might otherwise present themselves in the business world.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that you will need to have the best resources available to ensure that your applications are running smoothly. When placed on a cloud drive, you can ensure that your local systems aren't being bogged down and that updates can be done quickly and effectively from anywhere in the world. This is perhaps one of the largest benefits a company will find, especially when they are working with individuals across the globe as part of a team that is trying to properly roll out a line of products or software.

Graphic design in Laptops

Nowadays laptops have evolved to the point that they can take on tasks desktops are used for. These include games, watching movies in HD resolutions, 3D applications and even graphics design.

The main advantage of the laptop will always be its portability. A laptop allows you to take your work with you everywhere you go, whether you're a workaholic or just need to play casual games and watch movies.

This guide is meant to teach you what to look for in a laptop that you'll use for demanding applications like graphic design programs.

What not to get:

If you're in the market for a new laptop or a portable work machine, you should not choose a netbook, even if it's extremely light and looks appealing, since these systems are configured for people who are always on the road and need to keep in touch with the online world.

These systems can run basic office applications, but will stagger if you try to run Photoshop or Corel Draw on them, since they don't pack that much power. Since most graphics designers work with multiple such programs simultaneously, you'll need something that can handle multitasking, and a notebook or a tablet PC is not that kind of computer.

Average laptops are good systems to use for such tasks. They will run most applications and can even be used for basic graphic design.

These systems keep their portability and can be carried to everyday meetings or classes and they don't climb that high on the price scale. Aside from doing basic graphics editing, you can still use them to watch movies and play games, keep in touch with friends online and so on. Some basic features to look for in such laptops would be a hard drive of at least 300GB, 3GB or more RAM and a screen size of 15 inches or more.

Graphic design programs require a lot of power in the processing area as well as the graphics area. Some might say that the best laptops for graphics design, might coincide in configuration with gaming laptops, and this is not far from the truth.

Gaming laptops place emphasis on the graphics card installed, since this is the most used component in games, and on second place comes the amount of system memory installed and the processor.

A good graphics design laptop will carry a decent processor, about 4-8 GB of RAM and a decent graphics card. Plus the hard drive will be either over 7200rpm, if it's a standard hard disk drive. A great configuration would be to get a laptop that carries an SSD drive, since these can move data with up to 10 times the speed of regular hard disk drives.

Here's a quick check list you should try to remember when you go shopping for a graphic design laptop:

The Storage

It should start at a minimum of 500GB, since you'll be storing large files and always need the extra space for future projects.

The Memory

You should get a laptop with at least 4GB of RAM, but aiming higher will provide even better results in terms of performance.

The Processor

The CPU should be a multi-core either from Intel or AMD. This will allow you to do multitasking and jump from one program to the next without having to close them in order to save up on system resources.

The Graphics

If you run into a laptop with the latest Ivy Bridge processor installed, then the integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics will suffice for a graphics design laptop, but if it's something else, then you should check only laptops that carry a dedicated graphics card with at least 1GB of dedicated memory.

Screen Size

Graphic design is all about the image and the final output. The screen size should be at least in the 15.6 inches range, but should you find something with a screen size of 17 inches or up, you should focus more on that, since more pixel real estate will allow you to work a lot better, without having to squirm when you edit an image.

HP LaserJet 1020 Printer Review

Overview
As you know, laser printers use dry ink and the Ink Jet ones use cartridges with liquid inside. Those cartridges with liquid ink get dry in just a few days if the printer hasn't been used. A home user doesn't need the printer every day, so he should buy one that could be used for a longer period of time. Among those printers perfect for a home user, we can find the HP LaserJet 1020, which is very compact and light. It has 15 pages per minute printing speed. It has some features that allow HP LaserJet 1020 to print at 1200 dots per inch resolution.

Pros                                                                                                    
It has a standard paper flip tray which can hold 150 sheets/15 envelopes with the size ranges between 3x 5 inches and 8.5 x 14 inches. It has only one single sheet multipurpose slot for transparencies, labels and many other things like that. This printer was made for home use, so you should not expect this printer to print high volumes. However, it can even handle large printing jobs, but the low paper capacity needs a very often refilling. As I said, this printer was designed for home users who will find that the 150 sheet capacity is barely enough for their printing needs. If you are looking for a printer which is fully capable of printing what a large business needs, you should definitely choose something else.

It weighs only 11 pounds, it is compact and because of this fact it won't take up much space on your desk. Its dimensions with the paper flip tray closed and without the dust cover in place are 14 x 9.5 inches. HP tried to reduce the warm up time of HP LaserJet 1020 by keeping the fuser on, while the printer is in standby mode. Because of this fact, this printer is able to start printing only after 10 seconds.

Its native printing resolution is 600 x 600 dots per inch, but it is capable of creating 1200 dpi quality ones, because of HP's FastRes 1200. It can even print nice photographs and the texts are relatively sharp. Also, you will save toner and you will reduce the carbon footprint, because of an eco-feature called Toner Save. The control panel is formed of 2 lights, and it has no buttons. Those lights are called Ready light and the Attention light. However, the Attention light is so ambiguous, because you will not make a difference between something like fatal error and a simply paper empty.

Cons
HP LaserJet 1020 is a pretty slow printer. HP called it a laser printer, which should have a very high printing speed, but in fact its printing speed is lower than the one of an Ink Jet printer. If you do not know, the actual Ink Jet printers can reach a printing speed of 20 pages per minute or maybe more than that.

Also, it has a single sheet manual feeder for multipurpose projects, while many other models have at least a multipurpose slot which could be capable of holding 10 sheets or more. When you need to print more envelopes, you will have to stand by the printer to put the envelopes one at a time. In addition, its memory is only 2Mb, while many other models have at least 8.

The latest Tablet PC will re-write history

The influx of tablet PCs into the worldwide market has reduced the rate at which laptops are used. In fact, research shows that a lot of people now prefer to own a tablet than a laptop and the reason for this is not far-fetched.

Tablet PCs are lighter than laptops with a 10-inch tablet weighing three times less than a laptop of the same screen size. This is attributable to the physical keyboard, which is now seen as a burden that has been eliminated in a tablet. Since the keyboard is not always in use, putting it in a virtual format is a welcome development for phone users. Interestingly, however, an external physical keyboard can be added to a tablet if the user so desires.

Furthermore, tablets are cheaper when compared to laptops of the same configuration. For example, a tablet with a hard disk of 32GB and a RAM of 1GB will be cheaper and can do the same work like a laptop of the same configuration. In addition, tablets come with high resolution cameras which give you the opportunity to capture events and moments with ease and at high quality. The most popular operating system for this magnificent device is the Android which enables you to use various applications suited to your taste.

Moreover, the flexibility of a tablet can never be over-emphasized. Unlike a laptop that can only be used on the lap or placed on a table, a tablet can be used anyhow; on the lap, on the table, on hand, while lying down, while sitting, while eating and, in fact, while in the toilet. This has made this device indispensable to worldwide consumers who have always craved for better lives.

A tablet PC does not take up too much space like a laptop. Once your bag is filled up with essential materials, your favorite tablet will still have a space to occupy and you don't need to worry about extra luggage. In fact, there are handheld tablets that you only need to put in cases and carry around as you do with your mobile phones. You will agree with me that indeed the better days are here.

In addition, you tend to pay less for shipping when ordering a tablet because it is not as heavy as a laptop. Consequently, you will pay less for clearing it if you order from a country where you must pay tax for every import. An Android tablet PC comes in different shapes, sizes and configurations. The popular ones in the market right now are the Ainol Novo 7 Legend 8GB 7-inch capacitive screen Android 4.0 tablet PC, ONN M2 8GB 7-inch capacitive screen Android 4.0 tablet PC, Flytouch VIII 32GB10.2-inch multi-touch resistive screen Android 4.0 GPS tablet PC, just to mention a few.