Create a docked Quick Launch bar in Windows Vista ...

One of my favorite tips to teach people is the use of the Quick Launch bar (click here for the tip for all other versions of Windows) for always having your most commonly needed files or programs at your ready. Microsoft made the process harder to accomplish in the new Vista, but it can still be done. Here's how: RIGHT Click on a blank part of your desktop. Click New —> Folder Push Enter on your...

Bad tech support: When in doubt, blame a virus

We talk a lot about viruses on the show and here on the site, but in reality, viruses make up a very small portion of day-to-day computer problems. In fact, many (if not most) problems that people blame on viruses are not actually viruses at all. Many of today's computers contain at least 100,000 smaller files. These thousands of little files work together by linking and sharing jobs with each other. Viruses work by...

Rthdcpl.exe – Illegal System DLL Relocation

Once in a while a Windows update comes along that causes a problem that ranges somewhere between a minor irritant and a catastrophic meltdown. I had a couple clients call today who were experiencing an error message on boot up. The error contains the following line "Rthdcpl.exe – Illegal System DLL Relocation" The error is caused by a recent Windows update. There is a simple manual fix or you can download a...

You can tell a lot about a person by the contents ...

Last night I was testing out my new camcorder by recording my office. At this point in time my office is a terrible mess. I put this video up to comfort those people I see every day who feel ashamed and apologetic for the condition of their office space. In this video, look for the following items… A spelling error in the opening title Any 3 Star Wars related items A helicopter helmet A book of Ayn Rand essays 3...

McAffee Uninstaller Removal Tool

Use this tool to completely remove McAffee Security 2005, 2006, or 2007. Here is another McAfee Uninstaller that you can try from Tucows.

Fill in Forms Quickly – Video Tip

Are you tired of filling out forms using your keyboard and mouse? To quickly move from field-to-field (box-to-box) while filling out a form, use the TAB key on your keyboard. For example; after you fill in your name, to move the cursor from the name field to the address field, simply push the TAB key on your keyboard. Some of you may be aware of that keyboard trick, but this next one is a doozie! OK, so you've tabbed...

YouTube becomes arena for political battle

I am going to keep this post free of any political commentary. I just wanted to post the "1984" video that it causing so much controversy. This video will be added to the list of dirty campaign commercials along with the Johnson nuke commercial and the Willy Horton ads. It is worth watching just so you can say you've seen it.  You may also enjoy the John Edwards, "I Feel Pretty" video. Here is...

Faster Internet does not equal faster computer

A common misconception I run across often is that getting a faster Internet connection will make the computer faster. The Internet is just one of many functions a computer performs. Whether you connect via a phone line, DSL, or cable has absolutely NO bearing on how quickly the computer boots up or opens a particular program. A faster Internet connection will allow you to receive large email attachments faster, surf the web...

Do you really have that much time on your hands?

I hate to beat a dead horse, but I need to know. One of the most common responses I get from people who don't have a high speed Internet connection is, "I have plenty of time to wait and am in no hurry." While I admire the Zen like focus and calm nerves of these folks, I have to ask the obvious. "Really?" Today, I worked with a customer who lives literally in the middle of the mountains…the...

Basic Programming

One caller today, John, was looking for a basic programming application to teach his grand daughter computer programming. We found this site that has a free basic program available for download. Myron, from Ontario, wrote in and suggested the following: The father may wish to check out Python as a modern alternative. It has a simple syntax and encourages good programming habits. One can get into Object Oriented Programming...

Open Multiple Home Pages with Mozilla Firefox OR I...

Now that Internet Explorer has caught up (sort of) with modern browsers, I wanted to point out yet another function of tabbed browsing (click here for the popular and informative tabbed browsing tip ). If you like to check multiple sites every day or maybe use your browsing sessions for research, let your browser do some of the work for you by opening multiple pages at the same time. Mozilla Firefox Open the first page you...

Temporary Internet Files – Don’t let t...

Cleaning out temporary files on our computers (see the archives for Disk Cleanup) remains an extremely important step in keeping them running clean and error free. Programs and Windows create temporary files, when needed, to perform certain functions. The Internet uses temporary files to store cookies, and recently visited web sites and their graphics. Temporary Internet files serve a useful function when you visit web sites...

Today I found a print screen utility that I had fo...

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away computer users used to be able to push a single button on their keyboards and get a printout of whatever was displayed on the screen. When Windows took over computers, this function was lost. Pushing the Print Screen key on keyboards did nothing…seemingly. It actually does something, but I wrote a tip about what it does many years ago (click here to read it...

Sorting the Mail – Video Tip

Wouldn't it be nice if you could sort your email by the date it was received or by the name of the sender? If you use Microsoft Outlook Express (or Outlook), Mozilla Thurnderbird, or most other email systems), you can quickly sort all of your mail. AOL finally added this feature for its members just last year. As an added bonus, this tip will work with any computer or operating system.   To sort the mail: Click ONE...

Dial-up users: Are you tired of waiting for email ...

I have been utilizing this tip much more lately as dial-up users get pummeled with email containing pictures that haven't been resized and an endless parade of forward spam with large attachments from friends and family with high speed connections. For every one megabyte of space an attachment contains, it takes 5-8 minutes for a dial-up user to download it. Many joke emails, slide shows or movies being passed around...