Computer and internet briefs 2

Jan 29, 2012, 3:06 GMT

Plan to spend about 1,300 dollars on an ultrabook

Berlin (dpa) - Buying one of the new lines of ultrabooks will probably set a consumer back by about 1,300 dollars. Paying less will mean putting up with significant limitations, like a very small SSD hard drive or a significantly slower hard drive, reports German computer magazine c't. There's also the risk of the annoyance of a computer with no USB 3.0 port.

Ultrabooks are coming on the market starting at around 800 euros (1,030 dollars), meaning the price has already sunk noticeably. Just a few months ago, manufacturers were asking 1,500 euros and more for the computers, which have made a splash because they are light, have a high quality housing, battery lives of at least five hours and plenty of computing capacity.

Also look at the working memory before buying. It's often not possible to install extra memory yourself since the memory blocks are often welded in with ultrabooks. Thus, make sure you initially buy a model with enough memory or at least one that has the capacity for expansion. Another novelty with ultrabooks: most have a built-in battery that cannot simply be exchanged while underway.

Check format before shooting video with standard cameras

Berlin (dpa) - If you plan to shoot video with your digital camera, be sure to check the video format supported before making a purchase. Ideally, clips should be saved in the AVCHD format, recommends German computer magazine Computer Bild. That format provides decent quality without taking up too much memory. MPEG files take up a lot more space. And beware of cameras that generate MDV files: Not every video editing programme can process those.

Also check to see if the camera controls for focus and lighting. You can usually test this in the store before purchasing by moving the camera quickly from a well-lit to a poorly lit space. Inexpensive models might only record 15 images per second, meaning jerky videos. And demanding consumers shouldn't expect too much from the sound. Even the most expensive models have microphones that only produce mid-level quality. It's best to consider an external microphone if this is an important factor.

Surfing calendars make sure you don't miss anything online

Berlin (dpa) - Humans are creatures of habit, even virtually. Most people tend to return to the same sites again and again, hoping for new content. But a lot of blogs and pages aren't updated daily, meaning people soon forget to visit them regularly. To make sure Firefox users don't miss anything, there's now an add-on for the browser called My Weekly Browsing Schedule, a kind of web surfing calendar that opens specific sites at set times.