Discount Computers

During a recent visit to my parent’s house I noticed a solid
black briefcase on the kitchen table. I was curious as to what
was inside. From it’s size, I thought it might be a laptop
computer. My mom opened the briefcase to reveal several colorful
tiles and game pieces. She informed me that it was her Mahjongg
tile set. She plays this ancient Chinese game weekly with her
friends.

I am a big fan of playing Mahjongg on the computer. I wondered
if there were differences in the rules of my mom’s physical
board game versus my computer game. There are many differences
indeed, just as there are many versions of Mahjongg available.
The board version is an intense game of strategy, logic, and
planning. My mom plays with three other players and has to work
with a partner. The computer version I play is basic in
comparison as I just try to match tiles together to remove them
from the Mahjongg tile pile.

What is the history of Mahjongg? Mahjongg is an ancient Chinese
game that has a debatable origin. There are several theories as
to who invented Mahjongg. Some believe that Mahjongg wasn’t
invented until the middle of the 19th century. Believers of this
origin maintain that Mahjongg was based on current Chinese card
and domino games.

Others believe that Confucius invented the game around 500 BC.
Confucius was known as a great Chinese philosopher. The theory
that he started Mahjongg is based upon observation that game
piece tiles and popularity relate to his philosophies and
travels.

Mahjongg made its way to the United States by the early 20th
century. The game was translated into English. In 1937 the
National Mah Jongg League was created. The rules of Mahjongg
were reviewed and revamped.

Who plays Mahjongg? Mahjongg has had a variety of players. The
game requires four players and takes a few hours to play.
Therefore, it is an ideal game for parties or special occasions.
Players in China have played Mahjongg to celebrate life events.

When Mahjongg became popular in the United States it was
primarily played by the Jewish population. Mahjongg is now
making its way across all backgrounds and age levels. The
physical tile game is familiar to the older generation while the
computerized version is bringing in the younger generation.

How do you play Mahjongg? Good question. The answer is that it
depends. There are basic rules, but rules tend to vary based on
the geographic region. The main goal of the game is to find
matching tile suits and complete the 14 to 17 tile set. There
are rule books that cover the Western version of the game.

The Mahjongg game that my mom plays is closer to the ancient
Chinese version then the computerized version I play. She enjoys
the complexity and strategy of Mahjongg as well as the benefit
of playing with her good friends.

Mahjongg is an exciting game to try whether you want to play
with friends or on your own. I find playing the computer
versions both entertaining and relaxing. Many games websites,
such as Grandmatrix.com, have several PC versions of Mahjongg
available. The different versions are akin to the variety of
Mahjongg history, rules, and players around the world. Start
your exploration of the Mahjongg variations by searching
GrandMatrix under the keyword ‘Mahjongg’ and you will be well on
your way to fun!

About the author:
Steve is a writer for the GrandMatrix website. Read more
articles, download, play and rate the latest free PC games and
play thousands of user submitted puzzles, quizzes and word games
at GrandMatrix Free Game
Downloads

When you wake up on exam day, one of two things is going to
happen. Well, yes, you’re going to pass or fail. But what I’m
thinking of comes before that, and has a lot to do with how you
perform on exam day.

You’re either going to have a tremendous feeling of anticipation
or the dreaded feeling of being nervous about it.

Anticipation is a great thing to feel on exam day. You’re
driving to the exam center, excited about the exam. You’re much
like a football player, slapping another player on the helmet or
the shoulder pads before the game starts. (Warning: Don’t try
this on the exam proctor.) You know there’s a challenge ahead,
but you’re looking forward to it. In your mind, you’re already
victorious you’re at the testing center only to make it official.

Conversely, there’s nothing worse than being nervous or feeling
unprepared before the exam. I’ve driven up to an exam center and
seen exam candidates doing some last-minute cramming in their
car. Sadly for them, if there’s something you were unprepared
for at 8 AM on exam day, you’re still going to be unprepared
when you go into the test center, no matter what you read in the
car at the last minute. You don’t see football players studying
their playbook on the sideline before the game starts.

It’s all about preparation. I regularly tell my students and
customers that you don’t pass a Cisco exam (or any other vendor
exam) the day you take it. You pass when you turn the TV off for
weeks before the exam to study you pass when you spend time and
money to attend a class or buy a book or training video you pass
when you give up a weekend to get some hands-on experience.
That’s when you pass. The exam score you get is simply feedback
on your exam preparation.

There’s a great saying “Prior Preparation Prevents Poor
Performance”. That describes to a “T” what your strategy to pass
the exam must include. Put the time in well before exam day and
you’ll reap the rewards on the big day. If you’re just planting
the seeds of knowledge in your car the morning of the exam,
don’t expect much of a harvest.

About the author:
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage
(http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials!
For my FREE “How To Pass The CCNA” or “CCNP” ebook, write to
chris@thebryantadvantage.com !

Data Recovery is probably the last thing on anyone’s mind when
they buy a computer. Most of us never think something will go
wrong until it’s too late. Data recovery or Disc Recovery
services is something we hope we will never have the need for.
Whether your computer simply crashes or you accidentally delete
software that is important or imperative to you, it may seem
that your information is lost for good. Although, if you have
quality data recovery software already in your system or on your
computer, you should feel good in the fact that it has backup,
even though things like this can and will happen at times. This
can be extremely important for you state of mind and well being
when it comes to safeguarding your personal or business
information and software.

What many don’t understand is that there are numerous reasons
things can go wrong on their computer. Whether it is your own
personal computer you are responsible for, or a large business
computer system, having a method of restoring the information
when things go wrong can be of the utmost importance. Your
computer could run slow or be packed full of non efficacious
adware and spyware that can ultimately destroy your important
files, siphon and transfer personal data, this could cause a
computer crash. In a blink of an eye, everything that is
important to you could be gone. Storms can cause Power surges
quickly and without much or any advance warning, that could be
all it takes to lose everything.

These are not the only ways you can lose the data that is stored
on your computer. Most people think this will never happen to
them, it’s human nature. So what do we do? Nothing, which means
you could lose everything. Disc recovery is an absolute must to
avoid these things from happening. Disc and Data Recovery is
very easy to install and use and can be virtually self
maintaining. So why doesn’t everybody take advantage of data
recovery? It could be the expense, but it doesn’t cost much,
more likely they just don’t understand the importance or simply
don’t think about it at all until it’s too late. Data recovery
is quite possibly the most important thing for computer users.
Don’t get caught without it!

About the author:

For more information about: Data Recovery,
Computer Forensics or Articles about Data
Recovery Services