Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

What Rick said, read and thought about this week 2010-02-07

Rick — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:00:00 +0000

I uploaded a YouTube video – Rick Answers His Email – Episode 074 http://youtu.be/5vFNw1GcqFI?a # RT @anniepayne: Have u seen new gjsentinel.com? My column can be found in Lifestyle section. #gjco <– Looks great & MUCH faster. # RT @MacTxn: New blog post: Lessons from the Time Machine. http://blog.danielandbrenda.com Hat-tip to @HelpMeRick near the bottom. # Enjoying “Suite [...]

Linux + Gmail = Computing Bliss

Rick — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:48:41 +0000

Last summer, I wrote an article about a senior citizen client of mine who constantly struggled with her older Windows XP machine. Updates would cause problems, the printer would stop working, security woes plagued her. She turned out to be my poster child for using Linux (in her case Ubuntu 8.10). Check out the article [...]

Email of the Week – 024

Rick — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:11:47 +0000

QUESTION Name: TERRY JAMESON From: LARKSPUR CO. OS: Windows XP ———————- RICK, I WOULD LOVE TO USE FIREFOX, BUT IT SHUTS DOWN CONSTANTLY. THE INFAMOUS BOX COMES UP AND STATES THAT IT HAS “ECOUNTERED A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO SHUT DOWN.” I HAVE TRIED TO UPDATE IT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM. ANSWER Normally, I don’t [...]

Slow computer or slow Internet?

Rick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:06:27 +0000

A common problem I hear throughout my week is “My computer is slow.” I finally learned to ask, “Is your computer slow, or is your Internet slow?” The computer user usually pauses, thinks and often responds that it is his or her Internet that is slow; not the computer. When I sit down at a client’s [...]

Firefox 3.0 Bookmark & History Search – Video Tip

Rick — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:48:47 +0000

Firefox 3.0 was released last week after a long development period. The Mozilla folks put together an extremely good package and made genuine improvements in speed and features...a rare accomplishment in today's software arena where programs get larger and less usable. The feature I use the most, so far, is the incredibly fast searching of both my browsing history and my bookmarks. Firefox built this feature directly into the address bar and the results are nothing short of magical. I promise that once you try it and see the power, you will never look back. The short how-to video below demonstrates exactly how useful this feature is and how quickly you can master and start using it.

Let me know what you think of this new Firefox feature and what features you have found to be your favorite by leaving a comment below.

My business benefits from folks not reading my articles & tips

Rick — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:00:42 +0000

Since 1996, I made it my mission to share every bit of pertinent digital knowledge that I acquired with anyone willing to visit the site. It astounds me to this day how many computer users refuse to read and refuse to learn. Truly, 40-50% of the house and business calls I make every week would [...]

Rick Answers His Email – Episode 074

Rick — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:04:13 +0000

Last week, I was in Park City, Utah at the Sundance Film Festival with my son, but I’m back at it again this week answering your questions. Cindy paid $5 this week to be the very first question answered, but she never submitted a question. So the first question this week was from Kelly who paid [...]

What Rick said, read and thought about this week 2010-01-31

Rick — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:00:00 +0000

I like the service and folks at Stelera high speed Internet. They are offering 1 yr @ $30/month! Check it out #gjco http://www.stelera.com # RT @talkingdigital: Having my class at MSC create 21st century newspaper online. Stay tuned for domain & to watch project progress #gjco # RT @kwbridge: brother just said “politicians should be paid min [...]

What Rick said, read and thought about this week 2010-01-24

Rick — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:00:00 +0000

I uploaded a YouTube video — Rick Answers His Email - Episode 073 http://youtu.be/pumfq0Ro7GE?a # I uploaded a YouTube video — Using the Ubuntu Sotware Center http://youtu.be/Zhbh_QHVy88?a # Enjoying “Esperanza” by Salsa Celtica (http://bit.ly/6tyzVF) #pandora # RT @howtogeek: SUPERAntiSpyware Portable is the Must-Have Spyware Removal Tool You Need http://bit.ly/75t4gz # Reading: Smartphone Pricing War Spreads To Verizon [...]

Cellular coverage at big events

Rick — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:34:04 +0000

This weekend, I had the opportunity to take my son to the Sundance Film Festival. We are doing it on a shoestring by standing in line for stand-by and wait-list tickets and camping in our VW van at an RV park. So far, it has been great fun…except for cell coverage. No matter what carrier folks [...]