Need new ideas to improve my computer hub once again.

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   Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

   After I changed the title and uploaded new photos and making new tweaks here and there, I submitted it to Turbofuture on Friday. It's been declined. Any ideas on how to make it better for me to resubmit it later this year would be great? https://hubpages.com/technology/Back-to … e-Computer

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      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Kirsten, I think the problem is that it is very out of date. While this information was relevant 10 or 15 years ago, it isn't now. I don't think desktop computers are people's first thought any more when purchasing computers for personal use. Most people I know access the internet via their phone and use a small laptop for academic or writing work. Professionals and gamers, of course, are different and require a more sophisticated set-up.
      
      Also the cost of laptops is in the hundreds, not thousands. And who is going to check their newspaper for computer deals -- it's all available online these days.
      
      Another problem is that your article leans heavily towards Apple products. Not everyone chooses Apple, so singling them out adds bias. You say that tablets can't be used for writing, but that's simply not true. You can get external keyboards or use the built-in ones. I type on my tablet all the time. And my laptop converts into a tablet as well.
      
      You also say that laptops don't have CD slots -- and you are right in that the newer laptops don't -- but many do, although they are DVD players, not just CD players. We have three laptops with DVDs and one without.
      
      To be moved to a niche site, photos must be of high quality. Most of yours are fuzzy and some are even the wrong way round.
      
      I can't see this being moved to a niche site without extensive reworking to bring it up to date

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2. 68

   Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

   HI Bev.I shot those photos with my smartphone's camera. It didn't look fuzzy to me when I downloaded them, except for the last photo of my EDD.  It's focused as it can be. I just need to rotate them, I guess.  I'll see what I can do with your suggestions for this fall to improve it.

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      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I know, I have the same problem. The photos look great until I upload them to HubPages. I've had to replace loads. Some look better when I use my camera, others look better from my phone. It's weird.

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3. 68

   Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

   I wrote it 4 years ago to be exact, not 10.

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      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, but sales of desktops have been in decline for years. It seems that the only people buying them these days are businesses and gamers.
      
      Also, I meant to say that cloud data storage is becoming more and more popular as the size of hard drives are shrinking. Lots of laptops use SSDs (solid state drives) nowadays.
      
      This is a really technical topic now and, I think, to make it to Turbofuture, it has to be at the cutting edge. Everything is wireless and hooked up to smartphones and devices like Amazon's Echo and suchlike.
      
      Look at the topics on the front page of TurboFuture: https://turbofuture.com/ General PC articles aren't going to make it.

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   DrMark1961posted 7 years ago

   Things change so quickly in the computer sphere that this hub would have to be almost totally rewritten, as theraggededge points out. I think that the main problem I saw was the images. They all need to be replaced if you are going to try and submit it again.
   What about shifting this article so that it is only about the types of Apple computers available? I still do not know how much traffic it would get, but if you have to rewrite anyway maybe a tighter focus would help attract readers.

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   theraggededgeposted 7 years ago

   This is the kind of thing to aim for, Kirsten:
   
   https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/col … 847667001/
   
   You'll be able to get all the photos you need from Pixabay or Unsplash.

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6. 68

   Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

   Thanks Bev for the links and suggestions. Glenn mentioned to use my own photos last year, when I've asked him for help. So I've done my best with it under the circumstances.

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7. 68

   Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

   Okay. I thought it would work in Dengarden, but they passed on it last year. Back to the drawing board to make it feel 2018 and not 2015 I think.

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8. 68

   Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

   Mark, I can try to fiddle with it with your idea this summer.

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   Nathanvilleposted 7 years ago

   Hi Kristen, 
   
   I like the title “Finding Your Perfect Home Office Computer”, I think it would potentially make for a great article if you focused your article on the ‘Home Office’; but unfortunately most of your article is devoted to laptops and other devices ‘On the Go’.  What little information you do give about desktop computers references mainly Apple.
   
   Most of your existing article (if it was updated e.g. DVD instead of CD) would make for a great lead-off from the article e.g. referencing at the end of the article on how laptops and other ‘on-the-go’ devices can complement the main desktop computer situated in the ‘Home Office’.
   
   Also, you do need to ensure using high resolution and high quality photos in the article.
   
   Also, while focusing on ‘Desktop and Tower’ computers for the ‘Home Office’ (Workstation), including PCs as well as iMacs, there may be some mileage in writing a section on ‘Ergonomics’.
   
   I was an IT (ICT) Professional for about 15 years before I took early retirement so setting up and maintaining desktop/tower computers and ancillary kit on ‘Workstations’ is second nature to me.  Consequently, although we do have ‘wireless’ I’ve also made full use of the router and hub switches to hardware not just the ancillary equipment in our home office into the home network e.g. printer, backup drives (NAS and ICY) but also to provide cabled Internet connection to my son’s home-office (another room in the house) and to an Ethernet port in our living room.  In addition I also use the ‘Powerline’ technology:  http://www.techradar.com/news/networkin … now-930691
   
   In our home we have a dedicated workstation in our ‘home office’ with a Tower PC under the office desk, and on the desk we use a wireless mouse and keyboard, 24 inch Samsung monitor, a networked HP Officejet Printer, 4-port router, 4-port hub-switch, NAS (with two hard drives) connected via the home network and an ICY box with a further two external hard drives (USB).
   
   As my son is a professional photographer he needs a lot of substantial high-end equipment, so in his ‘home office’ (another room in the house), which is connected to the main router via the hub-switch, as well as his iMac and Apple laptop he also has his own 4-port hub-switch, and currently has a bank of about 10 external hard-drives plus an array of other IT kit.  He also has Internet access to our NAS and Internet Printer (which being in the room next door is convenient).  The beauty of the NAS is that it works across platforms so although he has an iMac and we use a Microsoft Windows PC we can share files with each other via the NAS.  SYNOLOGY DS216J - 2 Bay NAS (Budget Model): https://youtu.be/bnriqaAN3c8
   
   In Conclusion
   If you want any help with writing an article focused on the ‘title’, and there’s no urgency e.g. I’ve got a busy schedule, then I’m more than happy to correspond with you to provide you with some of the key information based on my knowledge and experience. 
   
   I’m also more than happy to send you some high quality photos of our set-up for you to use (if that helps).  Just yesterday I finished doing a ‘makeover’ of my son’s home-office so (although he’s got to now put all his computer equipment back) I’ve installed all the wall mounted extension sockets he’ll need (photo below); for the benefit of American readers, in the UK a single mains power socket is rated at 13Amp (3,000 Watts Maximum), which gives plenty of scope for adding wall mounted extension sockets for low powered use equipment e.g. to accommodate all my son’s ICT equipment I’ve wall mounted three 6-gang and one 4-gang extension sockets to an 8-gang ‘power-surge protected wall mounted extension socket under the desk, which feeds into a 13Amp wall socket (plus each extension socket, as with each individual device, are all also protected by their own fuse fitted to each plug):-
   
   British Plugs (safety features):- https://youtu.be/UEfP1OKKz_Q
   
   
   

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10. 68

    Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

    Hi Nathan. I do have two other hubs focusing on the home office: desks and ergonomic chairs with accessories. This is devoted just for computers.  I don't know why my photos aren't up to snuff, when I've taken them from my own smartphone. It didn't looked fuzzy to me last week. I'll think about your suggestion.

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       Nathanvilleposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Kristen, with reference to your photos:  Certainly lighting is an issue, which is always a problem for indoor photography.  Some artificial lighting (such as tungsten lightbulbs) can play havoc with ‘white balance’ e.g. make whites look grey and make everything else look darker or give them a yellowish or orange look etc.  Natural lighting is much better if possible e.g. take the photos during the day when the room is lit by as much natural light as possible from the window.
       
       With poor lighting, the photo can look grainy (similar to out of focus); therefore if you can’t get enough natural light into the room, using a camera with a flash can help to give a better picture.
       
       Also, a low resolution photo taken on a smart phone or camera might look good on a small screen, but becomes grainy when enlarged on a large screen.  Therefore, check the pixel and file size of the photos you’re uploading to Hubpages; if your photos are too small then you may need to either increase the resolution on your ‘smart phone’ (if possible) or use a camera with a higher resolution.
       
       These videos might give you some useful information: 
       
       Resolution and pixels per inch explained https://youtu.be/C4zAhuLCdiI
       
       Photo Image Resize for Web https://youtu.be/3Lqmu23Shgc

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11. 68

    Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

    Thanks Nathan. I just had light from my home, so it won't look dark.  I wish I had a high res digital camera. I don't think my camera from my computer would do it justice either.  Thanks for the links. I believe it has a flash feature. I'll reshoot them again soon.

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       Nathanvilleposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Kristen,
       
       You might wish to consider this camera from Amazon, it’s very similar to the one I use for the web e.g. small (compact), point-and-shoot, inexpensive (less than $300) and guarantees quality photos almost every time.
       
       https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X18NPBK/re … B010CCOWRM
       
       I use a Sony Cyber-shot WX300 for web photos because it’s a simple point-and-shoot e.g. it’s intelligent enough to work out all the settings for you; so it’s a no fuss camera.  And what’s more important, is that in most circumstances it takes good quality photos that’s more than adequate for web use; and the camera has a built in flash for when there’s insufficient natural light.
       
       I’ve looked on the web and the nearest current model I can find is the Sony Cyber-shot WX350; which is almost identical to the one I use.
       
       Although it’s not a professional camera it still takes photos that are 4,896 pixels wide, which is far too large for the web.  So before uploading to Hubpages I reduce the photos to about 2,400 pixels in order to reduce the file size to less than 1 Mb, and then let the Hubpages website software reduce it further e.g. to less than 1,000 pixels wide e.g. guarantees minimal loss of quality, rather than Hubpages stretching a small photo which will only make it grainy.
       
       I hope this info is of some help!

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12. 68

    Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

    Thanks Arthur. I don't have that money to buy it these days.  I'll try my cameraphone with flash with better luck.

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       theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

       Kristen, try this site: https://pixabay.com/ photos are free and legal to use. You don't even need to credit them. There are lots of computer photos there that will match your article.

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13. 68

    Kristen Howeposted 7 years ago

    Thanks Bev. I've been there before for other hub articles.

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