The 10BASE-5 Ethernet topology (also known as thicknet) is the original full specification variant of Ethernet cable, using coaxial cable (RG-8 in comparison with RG-58 used by 10BASE-2). The RG-8 coaxial cable used by 10BASE-5 network uses beside external transceivers 15-pin AUI D-type connectors. Also, the cable has an impedance of 50 ohms and includes multiple shielding.

The RG-8 coaxial cable has a yellow to orange cover made out of fluorinated ethylene propylene (used mostly for safety since it is fire resistant). Even more, the RG-8 coaxial cable is usually known as the yellow cable. The 10BASE-5 Ethernet topology was superseded, mainly because of the demand for high speed networking, and the increasing popularity of 802.11 wireless networks.

The 10BASE-5 name is derived from three characteristics of the physical medium. The BASE stand for baseband signaling (opposed to broadband), the 10 comes from the speed of the transmission, which is 10 MB per second, while the 5 in the 10BASE-5 refers to the characteristic of the topology, capable of carrying signals five times 100 meters, reaching a maximum value of 500 meters.

10BASE-5

The 10BASE-5 Thick Ethernet has several limitations. First the maximum transceiver cable length is limited at 50 meters, while the minimum distance between transceivers is limited to 2.5 meters. While the maximum number of trunk segments was limited to five, the maximum trunk segment length was 500 meters and the maximum network trunk cable could only reach 2500 meters. Each end of the trunk segment is terminated in 50 ohm. While the connectors’ splices are kept to minimum, one of the terminators is grounded.

10BASE-5

The 10BASE-5 cable is developed specifically to allow transceivers to be added while existing connection are ongoing. However, in order to achieve this, the vampire tap was used. The vampire tap is a device which clamps onto the cable, forcing a spike to pierce through the first layer in order to contact the inner conductor while other spikes bite into the outer conductor. However, the vampire tap device is usually embedded into the transceiver, while another multi-wire cable sustains the connection between the node and the transceiver.

10BASE-5 standard

The maximum number of stations on a trunk segment (equivalent with maximum number of nodes that can be connected on a 10BASE-5) is limited to 100. The transceivers connect the nodes via AUI (also known as Attachment Unit Interface). The Attachment Unit Interface uses a 15 way two row D-style connector. However, this D-style connector lacks the normal screws for cable restrains but includes clips.

Toshiba is a well known and respected brand. A leader on the market, it offers a suitable solution when it comes to the latest technological gadgets. The Japanese brand has extended throughout the world offering innovation and artistry for all.

Toshiba Tecra line is a great solution for your business, thus it combines great performance for multitasking with an elegant design and hot features, a great way for those workaholics with lots to do and short time. The most interesting feature is the eco-smart design, therefore Toshiba is not only perfect for your business but also for the environment. They come with genuine Windows 7 (pre-installed), so do no bother to install another operational system, except if you are not familiar with Windows 7.

We have emphasized the good features of Toshiba Tecra Laptops, let us focus on the not so good ones, because let us face it, every gadget has its good and not so good parts, and it is best to know the weak points as well as the strong ones. I have been researching around the internet to find the weak points, as I mentioned above and the most frequent one is that the HDD makes some problems and runs a bit slow.  If you are „lucky” enough to get a virus in your system, then your system is practically dead, because it dramatically slow all its features down.

Even after  you have re-formatted the system it does not seem do help. Many have complained that after cleaning the system and even re-installing Windows the system was still running slow, therefore the only answer is that the hardware has a problem. Although Toshiba is well known for good hard features, you may just be the lucky one to get a laptop with a hard problem.

Another issue with Tecra, which is worse I guess is that when trying to listen to music the quality of the music is very bad. Of course, the solution would be deleting the old sound driver and installing a new one, if you do not have The genuine drivers (you should have received them in the package with you laptop), then it is a must that you download the driver from the official Toshiba site ( there are free ones as well as those you have to pay for, it is you choice nevertheless), so you avoid other surprises (like trojan or even worse  spy wear).

If this does not work, and the problem persists then we go back to the problem mentioned above: hardware failure. Some of the components from the main board may affect the sound quality if they do not properly  work.  Another good solution would be the Toshiba recovery  CD, that is if you have one, but still if we are talking about a hardware failure then, there is nothing  else to do than change  the laptop.

The conclusion is that in spite of the original design and feature, the artistry there might be some problems and ToshibaTecra laptop may run slow. Still you may one the lucky one that will not have any problems and you Toshiba Tecra laptop will be the best of the best. Hope for the best!

We have already established that the desktop system has been slowly replaced by laptops or notebooks, due to the mobility and artistry that laptops offer. Having settled the supremacy of the laptop over the desktop system, it is now time to continue our permanent search for the perfect laptop that is the laptop that suits you best.

The topic of the day is a comparison between Sony and Toshiba, two of the best and most famous brands on the market, which one shall we choose? They both have pros and cons, still one must be better, let’s see which that is.

Sony has great design features, I for one love Sony, always stylish, beautiful LCD colors and cool external components. The Sony laptops are manufactured in Quanta, that means great quality and furthermore originality. I think this is the best way to describe a Sony laptop: ORIGINAL. You can always tell a genuine Sony from a fake one.

Nevertheless, the originality feature is not always in the best interest of the client, because due to their originality, Sony parts are a bit hard to find and also expensive, or you might get „ lucky” and they will not send you the parts you need but ask you to send your laptop and they will fix the problem (I am talking here about the laptops that are still under warranty, because after the warranty expires the problem is even bigger). But do not feel at ease because in most cases the bill is outrageous (although for laptops under warranty the costumer does not need to pay for service until the laptop problems are due to the costumer’s fault). Another weak point with Sony is the battery life is kind of short therefore restraining your mobility.

Let’s see how Toshiba manages? The screen features are not as better as those of Sony, but it has a longer battery life and due to the Japanese fabrication the parts are not as hard to find or as expensive, and there are no warranty complaints, as I heard.  Therefore are you having problems with Toshiba components no worries? If they are under warranty they will change it without problems, and if not you can rebuild you hole laptop with parts that you buy yourself, so respect for Toshiba for this! When it comes to price Toshiba is more accessible. Still Toshiba tends to overhead faster than Sony after a long use, so that’s a bad one for Toshiba.

Nevertheless the choice is yours between Sony and Toshiba. You might not have problems regardless the laptop you buy, your might just have. As I said in a previous article, when buying a laptop you must consider your needs and afterwards adapt your needs to what you what to buy. There will always be pros and cons no matter what you choose, still I am curious what would you choose: the Sony originality or Toshiba’s practical approach? I would choose Sony regardless of its weak points, but this is only my opinion, it does not have to be yours as well.

Since their first laptop in 1987 Toshiba has come a long way, improved its technology, design and features and has become one of the most famous brands in the business all over the world. The Japanese technology provides good features at accessible prices, this bring one of the most important reasons for which they maintain their place among the best, because in spite of the good price, the quality remains the same (always the best).

The good thing about Toshiba laptops is that you have a high range of laptops to choose from and is kind of impossible not to find something that you like, and that suits your need. Also you shall not worry, because they are professionals when it comes to warranty issues and you will get „ripped off”, the bill will be reasonable and the quality, the best.

As I previously said, when choosing a laptop the first thing to do is to consider your needs and only afterwards think about design, RAM, hard size, speed etc.  After you have decided on your needs and necessities and also focused on the design and components it is time to decide on the sum of money you want to spend and find the best deal. There are plenty to choose from, you have to do some research, be patient and perseverent.

The easiest way is to go into a shop and start looking, testing and finally taking the big decision. Nevertheless there are some problems here, because you might find a very very good sales person that will sell you the worst laptop and make you believe it is the best. Of course, you may return it, but why go to the trouble. If you step into a shop be prepared to negotiate, feel free to speak your mind, don’t lose your focus and you shall make the right choice. The good think about going into a shop and buying a laptop is the fact that you can test the product first, see and touch the mercantile. There are plenty of good deals in shops, there are plenty of advertisements, best deals etc.

Another way to shop for laptops is online. It is a very cool way to shop, from my point of view because you do it wherever you want, whenever you want, and spent as much time as you want. This is the best way to shop if you have little time, or if you are just not in the mood to socialize with a sales person. There are plenty of deals as well, and you have the opportunity to test the product first and only afterwards decide if you buy it or not. The best place to buy Toshiba laptops is „Toshiba direct”, where you can always find the best deals, the best prices and the best quality.

Another way to find a cheap laptop is buying a second hand one. It is a good way to save money and you may get a great deal, but you must be careful, test the product and take the risk, because in the case of a second hand laptop you never know what you get. Although is you take the risks into consideration and know a bit about laptops you will find what you want.

No matter what option you choose, in a shop, online or second hand, cash or credit, you will surely manage to get the best deal if you think positive, negotiate and know exactly what you want. I wish you the best of luck in your search!

Laptops are machines designed by the engineers to perform at the maximum performance its components can provide. The components inside a laptop are designed to work perfectly together and in perfect balance. Unlike desktops, laptops are very rigid when it comes to changing parts. You have to get compatible parts and as similar to the old ones as possible.

Many have asked the question if you can upgrade the CPU of a laptop. Well, the simple answer is NO; technically, it possible, but you under some circumstances and you won’t feel the difference. You can upgrade the CPU by very small differences in speed numbers.

The maximum value of upgrade is technically 20% (a 1.7 GHz dual core CPU can be replaced by a 2 GHz CPU). The motherboard doesn’t support more than that; this sort of change inside your laptop may do much more damage that you think. The thing is that you will not feel the difference between such similar numbers, even if you upgrade the RAM memory. If you really want to do it, consider the type of CPU you are replacing, because they have different values of speed they can actually provide and different temperature limits. When you are looking at the temperature you need to know that if you change the type of processor unit, you need to change the heatsink metal and the fan as well; the problem is that it’s very hard to find compatible pieces, especially for the tight spaces inside a laptop.

It’s risky to deal with CPU changing because this might fry your motherboard. Motherboards are designed to support a certain amount of resources such as CPU and RAM. When you are dealing with laptop motherboards you should know that the minimal design doesn’t allow much flexibility for the rest of the components. Every motherboard has a set of recommendations for maximum efficiency. That means you can not change components as you wish; you have to consider the motherboard.

There are rumors that CPUs are designed a little different for laptops than for desktops. The main differences are on the top of the processor’s cover; they consist in heating features; that may vary from CPU to CPU, from desktop designed CPUs to laptop designed CPUs. This is one of the reasons you shouldn’t try upgrading the CPU on your Toshiba laptop.

Experts recommend upgrading the other components, such as the RAM memory and the hard drive. You see, even here it’s tricky; you have to find the compatible options. When dealing with laptops you have to consider the compact design (the very limited space inside a laptop); that is why you should know the dimensions of compatible hard drives. When it comes to RAM, the motherboard comes with specifications regarding the maximum capacity. On older motherboards (but not to old) you will find a maximum capacity of 2 GB of RAM, but on newer ones 3 or even 4 GB. You have to take the type of RAM units that the motherboard supports, because you may wind up with DDR3 RAM instead of DDR or DDR2 (whatever design your motherboard supports).

With these said, I think it’s obvious that you can’t really upgrade the CPU on your Toshiba laptop without upgrading the main obstacle, your laptop’s motherboard. If you are looking for a motherboard, you should know that it’s hard to find a better motherboard that fits your old laptop’s design, but give it a try.