(Alternating Current) The common form of electricity from power plant to home/office. Its direction is reversed 60 times per second in the U.S.; 50 times in Europe. Contrast with DC.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Should you run your laptop on battery or charger power?
- Should you run your laptop on battery or charger power?It shouldn't be that hard to figure out.It really shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. Get a power meter and run three tests. First test run laptop at full settings while plugged in with no battery. ...
- Discussion threads 2008-12-03
- Should you run your laptop on battery or charger power?
- An interesting article in Slate by Jacob Leibenluft the other day asks a simple question: Do you save more energy keeping your laptop plugged in during use, or should you use your charger only after the battery runs out of juice? It's a complicated...
- Blog posts 2008-12-03
- Acoustic Research HDP100 HDMI Powerlink System
- If you've paid to have your HDTV installed in any kind of permanent way, you know that the cost of installation can often overtake the cost of the television itself. Part of that installation cost involves wiring: running cables from your gear up to the TV, generally through walls. In...
- Product reviews 2008-12-02
- Lenovo IdeaPad Y530
- When you're shopping for a low-priced media laptop, the Lenovo brand is not likely to come immediately to mind. After all, the company is best known for its serious, business-oriented ThinkPad line. But Lenovo has been doing some interesting things with its consumer-oriented IdeaPad line, from creating a stunningly beautiful...
- Product reviews 2008-11-26
- Asus N10J A1 - Atom N270 1.6 GHz - 10.2
- Almost every Netbook we've seen to date has featured the same basic setup: the Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP. We're even seeing less difference in screen size, as most vendors have settled on a 9- or a 10-inch screen. Really, the only differentiation between...
- Product reviews 2008-11-26
- Gateway MC7803u
- With the exception of lid color, the Gateway MC7803u looks identical to the MC7801u we reviewed earlier this month. Both 16-inch laptops feature Gateway's attractive new case design, complete with glowing light-touch media controls. And both incorporate an edge-to-edge glass display that's great for enjoying HD video content. But once...
- Product reviews 2008-11-26
- Gateway M-7818u
- The Gateway M-7818u is a fixed configuration version of the manufacturer's midsize M series and is currently available through OfficeMax. As with the other versions of the M series we've reviewed, we like the design of the M-7818u, which combines an attractive display and comfortable keyboard inside of a stylish...
- Product reviews 2008-11-26
- TeleNav Shotgun
- TeleNav is no stranger to the navigation market. The company has provided location-based services for GPS-enabled cell phones and smartphones for quite some time now. However, the company has never released a standalone portable navigation device PND, until now. The TeleNav Shotgun isn't just a regular PND, either. Similar to...
- Product reviews 2008-11-25
- Samsung Omnia (Verizon Wireless)
- Photo gallery:Samsung OmniaEditors' note: Portions of the Design and Features section were taken from our original review of the unlocked Samsung Omnia, since both models share a number of similarities.Back in late September 2008, we reviewed the unlocked version of the Samsung Omnia and at the time, we didn't know...
- Product reviews 2008-11-25
- Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Mid-range Apples that won't break the bank
- If you've got a couple extra bucks in your budget this year there are a couple of middle priced (US$100-300) gifts that up that I want to recommend. If this isn't quite your price range, feel free to check out my list of Mac-related gift ideas under $100...
- Blog posts 2008-11-24
- H2O + C = cool idea
- H2O + C = cool ideaGreat PostPosts like this one help restore confidence in a world where confidence is in short supply.RE: H2O C = cool ideaThis is an innovation, and as such it is good for progress in the air conditioning area. Therefore the biggest money loss...
- Discussion threads 2008-11-24
- New MacBook Pro performance degrades with the battery removed
- New MacBook Pro performance degrades with the battery removedActually......the batteries degrade faster if they are not used. I have an HP Laptop about 2 years old, when I stored it last December it had a battery life of about 2-2.5 hours. When I took it out in August the...
- Discussion threads 2008-11-23
- Brother P-Touch 2100 Labelmaker
- Brother P-Touch 2100 LabelmakerUnreadable Screen DisplayThis is my third Brother P-touch labeler; I also have a QL-500. The particular model in question is a PT-2100. This is the second unit of the PT-2100 I purchased, the first unit was purchased last week and I sent it back.I returned...
- Discussion threads 2008-11-21
- Sony VPL-HW10
- Sony may have canned its line of SXRD-based rear-projection HDTVs in favor of flat-panel LCDs, but the technology is going strong among front projectors. The VPL-HW10 is the company's lowest-priced SXRD projector yet. It starts the updated three-model SXRD line just below the VPL-VW70, which will replace last year's "Pearl"...
- Product reviews 2008-11-20
- Hands On: The BlackBerry Storm
- First off, a warning: Be very skeptical of any review you read in the next 24 to 48 hours that proclaims to be the definitive word on the Blackberry Storm. While clearly I have my own early impressions, the Storm is so different than any other smartphone...
- Blog posts 2008-11-19
- HomePlug revival continues with new Netgear Powerline gear
- HomePlug revival continues with new Netgear Powerline gearPowerlineToo expensive. I would buy it in a heartbeat at 1/2 that cost.HomePlug Powerline EthernetI have to agree - too expensive, and then I have several concerns:1) Power line spikes happen all the time. All it would take is one spike to...
- Discussion threads 2008-11-19
- Dell data dump: More energy ammo for the procurement checklist
- Two Dell-related green tech proclamations this week: First, the company has done one of those fun green math exercises and is calculating that its customers have saved an estimated $3 billion in energy costs and 29 million tons in carbon dioxide emissions by using OptiPlex desktop systems since 2005. Whether...
- Blog posts 2008-11-19
- Sony XDR-F1HD
- After years of being priced as luxury items, tabletop HD Radios finally dipped below $200 and even $100 in 2008. However, most of those models still didn't actually sound very good--either the tuner wasn't terribly adept at pulling in stations or the speakers were pretty cheap. That's where the Sony...
- Product reviews 2008-11-18
- Averatec Buddy
- We unboxed the Averatec Buddy and immediately felt a sense of deja vu. We'd seen this Netbook before--dare we say, this Buddy felt like an old friend from the start. After taking stock of the Netbooks in CNET Labs, we traced this feeling back to the MSI Wind. Aside from...
- Product reviews 2008-11-18
- HomePlug revival continues with new Netgear Powerline gear
- Remember when, not so long ago, home networking using power lines seemed down for the count due to slow throughput rates, especially as Draft N wireless devices entered the market? Thanks to improved technology, the HomePlug standard is staging a comeback, with big-name brands like Linksys...
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
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