Fonseca Luís - Net Pocket

After at least six years to spread the Internet,

it is time to be reviewed and made an analysis of its evolution.

... "Witnessed in the United States to the dotcom boom of the calls and also to its decline" ...

Although it has been announced as a new way of doing business in the United States, for example, saw the boom of calls Dotcom, but also, in most cases, to their decline.

After the "storm" today we can say that the Internet has mainly benefit the "old economy" because it is true that some companies sell well in the "new economy", I remind myself of Amazon , Google , etc.. in Indeed, were the old economy companies that benefited most, as it gained a new distribution channel that enables them to reach a larger number of consumers, breaking down geographic barriers and costs much lower than traditional channels.

Still, a good part of the Portuguese companies of the "old" economy - remember that? those who left benefited from the Internet - have not yet agreed to this benefit.

Just see what is broadcast by Media, spent more than a home where tradition stands the only consumer purchases online until they had the right to airtime. In 2004, more than any other year, online sales growths of 50% compared to 2003. Notwithstanding this, if we think we know who shops online, quickly concluded that the supply in Portugal is very low and service provided there is very weak and little is safeguarding the consumer.

From my point of view, there is no referral site for online shopping in Portugal (I refer to a Portuguese website), there is only one set of old economy companies who deigned to do some page with the image of your company and discharged into the World Wide Web to be able to tell it's there.

I can even agree that the low sales volume of this channel is not attractive and therefore limit investment by businesses in this area, but certainly not companies take the initiative, Users / Customers are unlikely to come to meet him. It is therefore necessary for successful symbiosis of the channel.

company has five models of the same product on the Internet only have access to see one or two. We do not have access to other products that the brand will have that up and eventually will be available in the physical store that company. Of products available, a large majority do not have enough information essential to the purchase. Moreover, in the overwhelming majority of sites, there is no guarantee that we intend to stock the product, much less lead times, not to mention the high costs of shipping.

In this Christmas season now, was curious to make a comparison between the Portuguese and foreign sites sites that have the operative set up to easily sell to Portugal. I can tell you that it was frustrating to see the announcement that one of the sites Portuguese, orders placed after December 21 had no guarantee of delivery before Christmas and one of these foreign sites, announced with great emphasis that orders placed until December 22, had to guarantee delivery until the 24th. If to this we add the fact that prices in these foreign sites, are in many cases, 30% to 40% lower than those in Portugal, easily see that there is no competition.

The opportunity that the Internet has brought our country to highlight and gain economic advancement compared to other countries, we look as it aside but had nothing to do with us. Foreign companies have won an opportunity to enter our market without even needing to settle in the country.

Admittedly, the problem comes back. When we spend time discussing a false liberalization of telecommunications instead of discussing how best to provide access to the Internet, so massificated users and allow this economic engine progresses, everything is said.

Even I can admit that in some cases, investments have only return in the longer term, but still have to mentalize that sooner or later this will be the main channel of business, and foreign companies are already there.

Yesterday (4/11/2005), I heard the news that the EU will produce a set of directives that encourage the use of broadband Internet on the Electrical Network, now known as Powerline which practically reaches everywhere, thus contributing to a further increase in mass of the Internet. Let's see how long it takes Portugal to adapt to this new reality ...

Choose a TFT-LCD (08-04-2005)

Now that you've made the decision to replace its "old man" CRT for a stylish new TFT-LCD , it is important to know which to choose the monitor that best suits your needs.

There are marketing different brands, models and sizes of TFT-LCD, and at first glance, seem all the same, deceive those who think that. In fact externally be very similar, but may soon begin to realize that there are differences by asking price.

Today is already 17 "displays for approximately 250 Euros. If the game looks cheap, in practice it can cause you many headaches and may even jeopardize the good deal that seemed to have done. It is clear that this situation will always be associated with the type of use that makes your PC.

What should you take into account

Before too is necessary to choose the size of the screen. This size is indicated in inches, and the measurement is made diagonally across the monitor. This field must take into account the information provided. Many times the indicated area also includes the frame, which usually involves the monitor. The move lower in the market is 15, "however, is the common size of 17", however, if you can invest, monitor 19 "or 21" will not be too much, although the latter suffers a price increase heavy.

When you are making a decision on the size of the screen you want, it's imperative that you consult with the technical specifications of the monitor, for there will be describing the essence of the monitor, as a BI was involved.

GLOSSARY

1. Viewing Angle - angle from which you can view the monitor image.
2. Connection can be DVI (Digital) or DB-15 (Analog)
3. CRT - Cathode Ray Tube, or Cathode Ray Tube
4. Dot-Pitch is the spacing between the pixels of the monitor. The smaller the space, the better the image quality
5. Light is no more than the clarity and brightness. Measured in nit, 1 1 Nit = cd/m2, so the bigger, clearer and brighter the image
6. TFT - Thin film transistor, the new Active Matrix LCDs

Of the several characteristics that should be aware (not necessarily in that order), is the Dot Pitch. The lower the displayed value, the better. The most frequent value is 0.296 mm, see box.

Another important factor is the brightness, which indicates precisely the light intensity on the screen. The value is indicated on a number "cd/m2" and in this case, the higher the value, the better.

Then you can check the Contrast Ratio which measures the intensity between whites and blacks. Also here you can see large intervals between multiple monitors, 350:1, 400:1, 500:1, etc.. and the higher the number, the monitor will have greater contrast and thus a better image.

There have also attention to the Refresh Rate, which indicates how quickly the "sweep" the screen in vertical, ie the number of times per second that the screen may show an image across the display and is available to show a new image. This value is displayed in Hz Typically, a rate of 75 Hz is sufficient.

Last but not least is the Response Time. The most common monitors are 25 ms, however, the smaller this value, the better. If the use that will give the monitor is just a word processor, see the Internet and a little more, 25ms should be enough, but if their use is already to see more videos, games and other applications where there are fast movements, the ideal would be a monitor with a response time of 12 ms, thus avoiding the effect of "ghost" image (there are already displays on the market with a value of 8 ms).

Other Aspects

Basically, the above questions are the essential requirements that must take into account but, despite this fact may also bear in mind other aspects also depend on the type of use that is given to the monitor.

- Links

Many of TFT has an input D-Sub ", ie 15 pins, equivalent to the cables of conventional monitors (CRT), instead of having a DVI (digital). This means that there is a reduction of image quality, albeit slight.

In fact, the computer sends a digital image (if the graphics card support, should also take into account this factor) that is converted to analog (due to input of the monitor) and then converted into digital image.

If the monitor already has a DVI graphics card and support that format, the image is always digital, there will be no conversions and consequent loss of quality.

- Colour

Should then observe the number of colors that your monitor supports. The best monitors have 16.7 million true colors, while other monitors indicate 16.2 million, they actually only support 262 000 true color, or "recreate" artificially 16.2 million colors.

WARNING Some monitors, even new pixels can produce "dead." The reasons for this fact may be different, however, it is possible that they exist. Some brands have established rules regarding the guarantee in such cases, inclusive, there are already some brands to ensure "0 Dead Pixels" as though the match could not detect any error of this nature, the opposite might happen, so when the purchase of a monitor, ask the shop where conditions could complain.

CONCLUSION

Given these specifications, the question what kind of use will have to buy the monitor, so you can evaluate what works best for your case and can therefore make an assessment of value for money according to the technical issues of this article because these are specifications that largely influence the prices of these monitors.

Below is a table which is not binding, aims only to place the type of use in technical characteristics which should take into account, however, you should always consult a qualified technician to more accurately evaluate your case.

Contrast> 250:1> 500:1> 600:1
Brightness> 250 cd/m2> 300cd/m2> 300 cd/m2
Response Rate 25 ms 12 ms 12 ms / 8 ms
16.2 Million Colors 16.7 M 16.7 M