R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I could write volumes about today. It started out extremely weird, but ended up great.   I roll up to my first client’s apartment today…she was a new customer, first visit. I ring the doorbell about 10 minutes prior to our appointment. A little dog starts barking directly behind the door, and I hear its owner say something to it and it scurries away.  Approximately two minutes go by and I figure...

What’s in my msconfig?

Here are two sites that help you figure out what is in your msconfig: Task List Programs System Info 

Make a list for your computer guy

Whether I am teaching someone how to use their computer or I am fixing a computer, I have found that I am best at helping someone out when they make a list of everything that needs done. Today I had two great clients that had nice neat lists made up of everything that needed done. One particular client had a long list of 15 or 20 things, but because she had taken the time to write them all down, I was able to get through the...

Digital Camera Basics

There are a few differences between 35mm cameras and digital cameras. The following are a few that we discussed. Shutter delay: There are two types of delay to expect in a digital camera. The first is the delay that the camera needs to auto focus.  The second is the delay that the camera needs to analyze the image and store it on a disk. When you take a picture with a digital camera wait a second or so before you move the...

Our Top Internet Information Sites 2005

We started publishing this list about three years ago. I fully admit that I am an information junkie and enjoy finding the answers to questions as soon as they come up. I tend to use a core group of sites to find my information. In this list you will see some perennial favorites and some new ones that I started using over the past year. In no particular order, my favorite information gathering web sites...

Making the most of a dialup connection

This tip has the dual function of teaching you how to not only get around the Internet faster, but also understand how Windows can allow you to do more than one task at a time. First, when you use a search engine, it returns many different answers for you to sift through.  The common way to sift through these is to click on one of the answers, examine it and then hit the back button on the browser to return to the list....

Learn about Your Favorite Hobby or Share your Expe...

With over a half billion people online worldwide and growing by more than one hundred million annually, the Internet is a great place to congregate and discuss hobbies, politics, sports and more. Are you interested in Model A Ford restoration, raising cockatoos, RV traveling, cross breeding tulips, or programming Access? These and thousands of other topics are freely available for discussion on the Internet. In the beginning,...

Google Yourself

I enjoy reading my morning newspaper comics. Earlier this week, I laughed and laughed at one that talked about one person "Googling" another person. Although not official yet, I’m sure that "Googling" will become Merriam-Webster’s newest verb. Googling refers to typing your name (or someone else’s name) into the Google search engine and see what comes up.  Although a somewhat...

All Search Results are NOT Created Equally

When you click on a link provided by a search engine for a medication you are taking or maybe a popular TV show, there is a good chance that you may end up at a site packed with spyware and/or viruses ready to pounce on your computer. In this week’s tip, I don’t want to rant about viruses and spyware or even the nuances of searching. All of these topics are thoroughly covered here at the web site. Instead, I want...

CDR vs. CDRW

This week’s newsletter sparked a tremendous amount of email already about the use of CDR/W drives and their use. Specifically, newsletter readers were interested in knowing the difference between CDR and CDRW. In a nutshell, CDRW allows you to use a CD like a floppy disk and copy, delete and recopy files. CDRW’s do NOT work for music CD’s, and are not easily shared with other computer users. CDRW media also...

About Rick, Adam & the Show

The Castellini on Computers radio talk show hit the air in April 1999. Our idea was to create a talk show where anyone would feel comfortable asking questions about technology. While there are a number of computer and technology related talk shows on the radio, Castellini on Computers is the only show that centers around callers’ questions. We strive to keep the show focused on the everyday questions, concerns and...