The Sun Fire V40z is Sun Microsystems' "entry-level" server, but that classification doesn't fit the performance level and feature set included in this system -- it's far more powerful. I spent two weeks testing this machine in a production environment, trying different operating systems and measuring the performance of database calculations, and I was pretty impressed with its performance.

One of the most difficult components in a computer to troubleshoot is the power supply. Often times it can "sort of" work, providing partial or inconsistent power, which in turn causes the most puzzling computer problems. You can hook up a multimeter to a power supply and use a wire to turn it on, but that involves equipment and knowledge that even most computer technicians don't have. That's why a tool like the Antec ATX12V power supply tester is such a valuable thing to have.

It's easy to get confused with all of the different terms, abbreviations and nomenclatures out there. Let's take a moment to clear things up so that the next time someone starts talking about a mini-ITX board, you'll know what they're talking about.

How often do you think about your keyboard? Most people don't -- they just use the cheap keyboard that came with their computer and figure that they're stuck with it. Unless you have a specific complaint about your keyboard, you probably can't think of a good reason to replace it. But the fallacies of a cheap keyboard aren't always apparent at first -- sometimes you have to compare it to a really nice keyboard before you notice the difference.