From time to time I treat myself to a smoky piece of chugo, the rock-hard, long-lasting, protein-rich yak cheese from Haa. Little did I know that I was actually eating, well, there's no way around it: I was eating a dog treat...
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
3G: From Theory to Practice
About a year ago we wrote about the importance of a wide-coverage 3G network. Apparently, things are starting to change. According to recent news articles (Kuensel, Bhutan Today) coverage is about to increase, starting with Paro, Gelephu and Phuentsholing.
The End of Broadband Recharge Cards
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| A museum piece? |
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Stay Signed In? (K2 #31)
Question of the Week
Should I check the "Stay signed in" box when I log into my Gmail account?
-- Dechen, Motithang HSS
Should I check the "Stay signed in" box when I log into my Gmail account?
-- Dechen, Motithang HSS
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Formatting Memory Card (K2 #30)
Question of the Week My memory card looks like it doesn’t work. I am not able to open it, and it won’t even let me format it.
What can I do?
-- Rinzin Phelgay, MoE
What can I do?
-- Rinzin Phelgay, MoE
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Distorted Display? (K2 #29)
Question of the Week
My friend and I have identical laptops but for some reason my laptop screen doesn't look as sharp as my friend's. Images are shown stretched and a bit blurred. Why is that?
-- Ms. Prem, Jaigaon
Answer
Dear Ms. Prem,
I've seen this on a lot of laptops in Bhutan (and elsewhere). Distorted display is usually the result of a missing or incorrectly configured display driver. A display driver is the piece of software that is responsible for managing the display. Each laptop model requires a specific display driver to control the screen.
Each screen is made out of pixels - tiny dots set up in a rectangular grid (you can often see these dots if you look at the screen really closely). The higher the screen's resolution, the more pixels the screen contains. If your screen's resolution is specified, for example, as 1280 by 800, then your screen has 800 rows of pixels and each of these rows has 1280 pixels. However,if the appropriate display driver is not installed, Windows will not be able to take advantage of the full resolution and a distorted or blurred image will appear.
The best place to find out information and drivers for your laptop is the manufacturer's website.
My friend and I have identical laptops but for some reason my laptop screen doesn't look as sharp as my friend's. Images are shown stretched and a bit blurred. Why is that?
-- Ms. Prem, Jaigaon
Answer
Dear Ms. Prem,
I've seen this on a lot of laptops in Bhutan (and elsewhere). Distorted display is usually the result of a missing or incorrectly configured display driver. A display driver is the piece of software that is responsible for managing the display. Each laptop model requires a specific display driver to control the screen.
Here are the Indian support websites for the most popular laptop models. On the website, you will often be able to download and install the display driver after entering the exact model name. Some websites (e.g., Lenovo) can auto-detect the laptop's model.
If the correct driver is not installed, or is not set up properly - as is often the case with pirated versions of Windows - you will often not get the full benefits of your screen. Distorted display is not only a cosmetic issue but can strain your eyes and cause headaches.Each screen is made out of pixels - tiny dots set up in a rectangular grid (you can often see these dots if you look at the screen really closely). The higher the screen's resolution, the more pixels the screen contains. If your screen's resolution is specified, for example, as 1280 by 800, then your screen has 800 rows of pixels and each of these rows has 1280 pixels. However,if the appropriate display driver is not installed, Windows will not be able to take advantage of the full resolution and a distorted or blurred image will appear.
The best place to find out information and drivers for your laptop is the manufacturer's website.
Tip
To check and fix the current resolution on a Windows XP machine, right-click on an empty area of the desktop, then select properties. In the Settings tab, check the "screen resolution". On Windows 7 machines, right-click on an empty area of the desktop, then select screen resolution.
Go to the manufacturer's home page, select the country (I usually select India or Thailand - depending on where the laptop was purchased), then look for a link called "support", "downloads and drivers", or something similar. Once you enter the laptop's exact model number (which is usually printed on the laptop's bottom cover), a link to the latest drivers - including the display driver - will be presented. Follow the instructions, which will typically involve downloading and installing the driver. Note that this is also the place to get drivers for your laptop's other hardware, such as sound card and wireless adapter.To check and fix the current resolution on a Windows XP machine, right-click on an empty area of the desktop, then select properties. In the Settings tab, check the "screen resolution". On Windows 7 machines, right-click on an empty area of the desktop, then select screen resolution.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Updating Windows 7 (K2 #28)
I am trying to use Windows Update but I keep getting the following error code: 80072EFE. I tried to solve the problem in different ways, such as running PC Cleaner and SystemCare 4, and even reinstalling Windows 7 (without formatting drive C). However, I keep getting the error. Can you kindly advise?
-- Tashi Dubjur, College of Science and Technology (CST)
Dear Tashi,
Operating systems such as Windows 7 are complex creatures, and the issue of the type that you encountered is quite common. I’ve also run into similarly annoying error messages. In my experience, the key to solving such problems is by searching online for solutions. Why? Well, there are millions of other Windows users around the world, and typically a few of them have already run into the same problem. Luckily, you are not alone! Other users will often share their solutions, usually in an online forum. You can find online discussions by typing the exact error message text into the Google search bar.
With all of this in mind, I've searched for your specific problem. I typed "error code 80072EFE" in the Google search bar, and got many relevant results. Try it! The top result was for a discussion that had more than one hundred posts. According to the discussion, many users found that a Kaspersky utility that removes a nasty virus was able to solve the problem. So read the discussions, see what solutions people have found, and try them out.
Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com
-- Tashi Dubjur, College of Science and Technology (CST)
Dear Tashi,
Operating systems such as Windows 7 are complex creatures, and the issue of the type that you encountered is quite common. I’ve also run into similarly annoying error messages. In my experience, the key to solving such problems is by searching online for solutions. Why? Well, there are millions of other Windows users around the world, and typically a few of them have already run into the same problem. Luckily, you are not alone! Other users will often share their solutions, usually in an online forum. You can find online discussions by typing the exact error message text into the Google search bar.
With all of this in mind, I've searched for your specific problem. I typed "error code 80072EFE" in the Google search bar, and got many relevant results. Try it! The top result was for a discussion that had more than one hundred posts. According to the discussion, many users found that a Kaspersky utility that removes a nasty virus was able to solve the problem. So read the discussions, see what solutions people have found, and try them out.
Website of the Week
Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.com)
Students have started their winter vacations, but that does not mean that learning must stop. About five years ago, Salman Khan, a young Bangladeshi-American with a gift for making the complicated appear simple, created and uploaded a few short video clips containing math tutorials to YouTube. His original motivation was to help his remotely-located cousins with maths. The videos became popular. Very popular. So popular, in fact, that eventually Khan left his job, founded “Khan Academy”, and the rest, as they say, is history. KhanAcademy.org now contains over 2700 short video clips covering math, physics, chemistry, history and more. Everything is free. Check it out and you’ll discover that there's more to the Internet than Facebook.
Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.com)
Students have started their winter vacations, but that does not mean that learning must stop. About five years ago, Salman Khan, a young Bangladeshi-American with a gift for making the complicated appear simple, created and uploaded a few short video clips containing math tutorials to YouTube. His original motivation was to help his remotely-located cousins with maths. The videos became popular. Very popular. So popular, in fact, that eventually Khan left his job, founded “Khan Academy”, and the rest, as they say, is history. KhanAcademy.org now contains over 2700 short video clips covering math, physics, chemistry, history and more. Everything is free. Check it out and you’ll discover that there's more to the Internet than Facebook.
Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com
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