Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners » Application Tips

How to print labels the EASY way! – Video Tip

Rick — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:54:11 +0000

I know I'm late for this year's Christmas season, but you can learn and start using this tip TODAY to make next year's Christmas card mailings a breeze. Too many computer users have no idea what a database is, how to use it, and how to merge it with another program to create labels. Since printing mailing labels is only a once per year activity for many of you, learning how to do it again every single year requires too much time and frustration.

How to download, install & configure AVG Free 9.0 – Video Tip

Rick — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:30:03 +0000

AVG released version 9 of their free antivirus/antispyware product a couple of weeks ago. You may have started to see notifications from them that you need to update before December 1. Typically, they provide a deadline, but previous versions work for a number of months after the deadline. After using the new version for awhile, it [...]

Type first. Edit last.

Rick — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:20:01 +0000

Most of us learned how to type letters and documents using a typewriter. Word processing reigns as then new king of document creation and most typewriters are relegated to attics, back rooms and antique shops. However, the majority of computer users use their word processors (MS Word, Word Perfect, etc) like a typewriter. The first rule to remember when using a word processor is to forget your typewriting rules. When we sat down to our typewriters to create a document (whether a simple letter to Mom or a 100 page novelette), we had to have a clear picture in our head of what the document should look like. Otherwise, crumpled typing paper dominated our floors!

Password Mania

Rick — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:22:46 +0000

We are bringing this tip out of the archives because remembering passwords and having strong passwords is more important than ever with increased identity theft and the increased amount of business we conduct over the web.

I have accumulated nearly ninety user names and passwords for various email services, web sites, banking sites, etc. Without my password tracking software, I wouldn't be able to remember them all or, I would be using the same user name and password for every instance (an extremely dangerous practice). You can use software solutions to securely save passwords on your computer or Palm based handheld computer. For your computer, I recommend these packages for securely keeping track of your passwords (works much better than the sticky note method):

Installing Microsoft Security Essentials – Video Tip

Rick — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:38:45 +0000

Today, I downloaded, updated, configured and installed Microsoft’s new, free security product: Microsoft Security Essentials. It provides a significant upgrade in protection and usability over their previous offerings. In fact, the setup and administration is extremely straight forward. From the reviews and tests that I’ve read, it appears to protect PCs (Windows XP, Vista, and [...]

Print Preview

Rick — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:34:56 +0000

Sometimes the most helpful computer utilities elude us and stay hidden for years. One such utility that I find very helpful (and have taken for granted) is the Print Preview function found in almost any program that allows printing. Because Windows and Macintosh made the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment available to the masses, what we see on our screens is pretty close to what we see on our print outs. However, if you need to tweak margins, find the extra line that is creating an extra page, or determine whether a document (like a spreadsheet) will look better in Landscape or Portrait mode, there is no substitute for the Print Preview command.

Print Your Own Manual

Rick — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:22:05 +0000

To save on printing, shipping and packaging costs, many software and hardware companies no longer provide printed manuals. One of the top complaints I here from computer users is; "I wish there was a manual". Instead of printed manuals, many manufacturers use 'online' manuals or Adobe Acrobat files on the CD to house their manuals. Often times these manuals contain great information, but can be hard to 'thumb' through on your computer. My Olympus camera came with a 175 page manual in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format on the CD. Instead of battling with the online version, I took the CD down to a local printer and had them print and bind it in small format. The total cost was under $25 and now I have a wonderful easy to use manual at my side.

How to change time of AVG scan schedule

Rick — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:27:05 +0000

If you install AVG and use all the default settings, you will find that the AVG wants to scan your computer every day at either 8:00am or 12:00pm (noon). Because the complete system scan can take up to an hour or more to complete (depending on the number of files on your computer), it can [...]

How to use CCleaner – Advanced Video Tip

Rick — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:14:13 +0000

I produced a video last week demonstrating how to use the basic functions of CCleaner. This week, I wanted to show some of the lesser known features of the CCleaner program. Like any add-on utility program, you must be very careful when using some of its advanced or custom functions. The same is true in [...]

How to use CCleaner – Beginners Edition Video Tip

Rick — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:55:20 +0000

For many years, I have recommended using the CCleaner disk cleanup utility for Windows. It does a more thorough job and is faster than the Windows cleanup utility built-in to all versions of Windows. In this short video, I demonstate how to get started with CCleaner. I may delve deeper into the product in a [...]