Use the address bar

It always amazes me (even after more than ten years) how unintuitive computers can be for many users. One call I fielded today was from a computer user who has been using computers for many years, but had a befuddling question. She was trying to browse to her bank’s web site, but couldn’t get there. After talking with her for a few moments, it became apparent that she was typing the address to her bank in a...

Firefox reaches 1 billion downloads

After the great Internet Explorer (IE) vs. Netscape browser wars of the 90s, it didn’t appear that Internet Explorer would ever be challenged again…thus Microsoft’s complacency with updating IE. Then just 4+ years ago, Mozilla Firefox burst onto the scene with a small, fast, and safe browser that caught fire quickly. As spyware and other malware all but crippled IE users, Firefox became stronger and stronger...

Intel Helped Google with Chrome OS

This article seems to confirm a suspicion I had and wrote about upon Google’s initial announcement of the Chrome Operating System. Intel has been working with the Linux community for months developing a compelling operating system called Moblin. The Moblin project already uses the Chromium browser (Linux equivalent of Google Chrome) and seems like a natural starting spot for Google’s project. I still think that...

The Castellini Approach to Internet Security

This past week I saw way too many people who are not taking advantage of the free information we give out on the show and the web site. Their computers were suffocating from a preventable disease…viruses and spyware. Yes, preventable, almost 100%. And fighting the war on our home computer security front does not have to be costly or time consuming. We talk about this subject quite a bit on the program and the web site...

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 released – Get it!

Mozilla released version 3.5 of their  browser, Firefox, less than two weeks ago. I jumped on the update the day  it came out and have had zero problems. You already know that I recommend everyone use an alternative to Internet Explorer for daily browsing. If you aren’t using an alternative browser yet, then now is the time to jump in and start using something other than Internet Explorer. Mozilla Firefox 3.5 shored...

Email of the Week – 006

QUESTION Name: Kathy From: Grand Junction OS: Windows XP ———————- When I go into different web sites I get this message: ERROR A runtime error has occurred? Line 30 ERROR: Object required Yes No This occurs quite frequently can you tell me why and what I can do about it? ANSWER This error is usually due to some programming and setting problems in Internet Explorer. You can...

For Beginners: 3 Getting Started Guides for Google...

You know that I write about Web 2.0 (cloud computing) often. To me, working in your browser is easier, safer (for backup), and more consistent than using desktop applications. And since most of us use only the bare minimum of features for document creation, why spend $100s of dollars for name brand applications. Online applications offer full Microsoft Office compatibility with minimum fuss and no cost or installation...

Make reading the web easier than ever – Vide...

Although we now have 19″ and larger monitors on most new desktop computers, the text seems to shrink. Why is that? It has to do with screen resolution (how much information can be displayed). Screen resolutions on today’s monitors are up to 3X that of monitors we used just 6-8 years ago. We can see a lot more information, but often the text is too small to view for some computer users. Never fear. Using this...

Will you be too scared to use the Internet?

Spyware infections, on Windows based computers, continues to sky rocket. The average computer user suffers from this plague far more than a more technically savvy user. As more and more people get connected to the Internet, the ratio of technically savvy users drops and thus the increase in spyware infections. Many people equate younger computer users with techno knowledge, but the opposite seems to hold true. Young computer...

Remember the tabs!

Every day I make my appointed computer help rounds, someone marvels at my use of browser tabs. Tabbed browsing started almost 9 years ago with the Opera browser and continues today with the excellent implementation in Firefox. Internet Explorer finally got on board a couple of years ago and tabs work ok with it too. If you are not using tabs in your Internet browsing, then you really aren’t browsing, your floundering...

Searching within a Web page – Video Tip

This tip falls in the category of “wow, that’s easy to do, I wish I would have known about it long ago!” When you are on a particularly long web page and need to find a term or phrase, click on Edit from your menus, then Find (or Find in page on some browsers). The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + F. You will be presented with a small window that allows you to enter a word or phrase and then the computer will...

Backup Your Favorites (Bookmarks) – Video Ti...

Many years ago, I shared with you how to back up your address book. We have talked about how to back up your favorites, but never written it down. This tip will walk you through saving your favorite places in case of a disaster. Even if you have thousands of favorites, they will easily fit on a floppy disk (if you still have one) or better still, a USB Flash drive. Internet Explorer Open Internet Explorer Click File from the...

Import Outlook Contacts into Gmail WITH Street Add...

After running into this issue one to many times lately, I finally found a fast solution. Problem: Outlook users who want to export their address books (contacts) and import them into Gmail can get almost everything imported except street addresses. It’s maddening. Madness be gone, the solution is now just a few steps away. Exporting your contacts from Outlook: Open Outlook (note this is NOT Outlook Express) Click...

Firefox or Internet Explorer doesn’t display...

For some reason, I have seen this issue about six times in the past few weeks with Windows XP computers. The browser (both Firefox and/or Internet Explorer) symptoms include: Web sites don’t display all images Text seems distorted Backgrounds don’t display The solution to your browser not displaying the images or backgrounds properly is removing the high contrast setting in the Control Panel. Here’s...

You can do what I do

I love learning. My goal is to learn something new every single day I open my eyes. Luckily, I learn multiple new ideas, techniques, or facts every single day. When it comes to my job troubleshooting computers, I believe anyone can do it if they follow the formula I use. You need to be able to be able to learn and learn quickly. Computers, software, peripherals and the infinite combinations of them change at a rapid pace....