5 Reasons why YOU should be moving to the cloud

I have written many articles about Web 2.0 or cloud computing. Cloud computing means that you work with programs and/or data that are not installed or saved on your computer. Instead, the programs and/or data live on an Internet connected computer (server) somewhere else in the world. Among other things, these computers/services provide: Security via the password and user name that you choose. Access to the service from any...

Print Anything You See on Your Screen – Vide...

Many times a computer user may need the ability to print what they see on the screen, but can’t access a Print command.  Using the underutilized Print Screen button on the keyboard can rectify this situation. The Print Screen button is usually located just to the right of your F keys and above the Insert, Home, Delete key section. In the ol’ days of DOS, pushing this button would indeed send a paper flying out of...

Type first. Edit last.

Most of us 40+ 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...

What do you really do with your computer?

In my travels, it seems that most home computer users primarily use email. I would love to see 100-200 comments attached to this short article so you can tell me what you use your computer for from day-to-day. You don’t have to be statistically accurate or detailed, I’m just curious and this topic is too broad and detailed for a poll. Here’s how I use my main computer: Internet (web browsing, pay bills, web...

Rick’s Answers his email Videocast – 0...

Questions about converting to Firefox, malfunctioning keyboards, WordPress consulting, Norton 360 problems, video editing, the Magic Jack phone, and more are brought to you by Dixie, Kitty, Jill, Anne, Diane, Elaine, Amber, Norma, Rich and Mike! Have a look!! ...

Rick’s Answers his email Videocast – 0...

Brought to you by questions from Paul, Pat, John, Luke, Jose, Pam, Gloria, Mark, Jon, Nicole, James, Laureen, Anne, Larry, Don, and Papa C. They asked questions about web editing, web surfing on a Mac with OS9, installing AVG, installing Windows Vista SP 1, creating a shortcut to the Clipboard Viewer and much more. ...

Netbooks are NOT made for Windows XP or Vista

One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC.  I wrote about this subject just a few months ago, but with the holidays approaching and netbooks are high on gift giver’s radar screens so I want to explore netbooks a little more in depth. Netbooks make attractive gift giving ideas for a few reasons: They are inexpensive; usually cost...

Dr.Pic Online Photo Editing and Batch Resizing

Earlier this week, I posted a story about Web 2.0. Just today, I found another Web 2.0 application that works extremely well. It’s called Dr.Pic and offers online basic photo editing and touch up in a fast and intuitive layout. In addition to the nice editing and touch-up tools offered by Dr. Pic, they offer a fantastic batch (multiple) image resizing utility. Like all Web 2.0 applications, a high speed Internet...

Dell goes deeper into Linux

Dell announced that they will release a line of laptop computers this fall with an instant on technology called Latitude On. Early indications are that it will closely mimic the Splashtop technology I wrote about last year and during CES 2008. And like Splashtop, the Dell technology involves using a light version of Linux to produce an extremely fast boot up (30 seconds or less) time and can access the Internet through...

Defrag, scan disk, and deleting cookies don’...

In the computer world, there are hot rodders – people who will tweak their computers to get every last bit of horse power out of their systems. Just as with automobiles, techniques used by hot rodders were once necessary in the early days when horse power was hard to come by. Today, most computers come with all the horsepower most people need. Important tasks like defragmenting the hard drive, running scan disk and...

Living online with your applications and data

Here I go again talking about online applications and data storage. I keep bringing it up because the idea makes more sense to me everyday. In just my first two days of work this week, I found multiple examples of how computing online instead of on your desktop makes sense for so many people. It will be a long time before serious photographers, movie makers, engineers, and graphic designers can make do with online...

Where to buy a book manual for your computer

“Why didn’t my computer come with a manual?” One of the most common complaints we hear is about how new computers don’t come with manuals. I am here to explain why this is the case. The sad answer is that if the computer company came with a manual, it would weigh more than the computer. “But my old computers used to come with manuals…,” Is the next comment. Back in the old days...

Online Photo Editors

Basic photo editing no longer takes special software. You can now do some wonderful things with photos from any computer on almost any browser from anywhere in the world. Online photo editors allow you to edit photos simply by going to a special website. Once fully loaded, these sites let you resize, adjust brightness and contrast, tweak color and even work with layers. While none of these editors are as robust as Photoshop...

Picasa vs. Elements – I challenge you to a d...

Photoshop Elements is hands down the best consumer program for image editing. However, it is one of the worst for cataloging and sorting your photos. This is not an opinion. It is a fact. To prove it I will challenge anyone who uses Photoshop Elements to sort and organize their photos to a duel of the image cataloging programs. I encourage anyone who thinks that PSE is a better cataloging program to name one way that it is...

5 Web 2.0 Sites to Watch

I have been blathering on about Web 2.0 sites for some time. Web 2.0 means many things, but can be boiled down to web sites that allow you to be productive within your web browser. Pre-2004ish, the Web was mostly an information gathering tool. Around 2004 and especially from 2005 forward, many web sites started to mature and sprout up that allowed us to perform actual work on the web that was previously only accomplished...