55 Minute Uninstall

Wow, it would have almost been faster to backup the data, reformat the hard drive, and reinstall everything from scratch. The long install was of the grossly over programmed Norton Internet Security Suite. Here's the breakdown of my appointment: 8:26am Arrive at customer's house. He tells me that his computer is running extremely slow. 8:32am I sit down and hit the power button on the computer. 8:36am Still...

Gadgets yield more gadgets

I have helped several people buy new computers lately. I don't sell computers or any other hardware so I am more of a personal shopper than a salesman when it comes to guiding people through their purchase. I think it's funny how gadgets always seem to yield more gadgets. Here is a short flowchart of how this process works. 1. A client calls and says that they need a new computer. They ask my advice on what they...

Laptop Repairs

Sometimes repairing a laptop can be a real pain because the manufacturer no longer makes the parts for your model. Fortunately, we live in a society where someone always sees a hole in the market, and fills that hole. In this case, at least two businesses have filled this niche and offer a resource for finding and buying parts for almost any laptop of any age. Visit Spare Parts Warehouse or the Laptop Parts Super Store to...

Are printers being made worse?

The past few months I have seen an alarming number of customers with printer problems. I know that printers aren't being made as well as they were five or more years ago. In fact, while attending CES and talking with some of the reps from well known printer companies, they stated that plastic gears and other parts have replace sturdier metal alloy parts. We can all feel it…printers are much lighter in weight that...

I am a man, I have needs

This article is a repeat from the newsletter last week, but I thought I would post it all by itself for two reasons. First, I have had a lot of comments on it this week. Second, all these tech names will create more yahoo search terms and we will make a few cents from it. Here it goes… I bought a new computer last week. The new system is dual core, 1 GB of RAM, 200 GB hard drive and DVD burner and card reader. I...

Laptop Touchpad Drivers

Synaptics makes the touchpads for many laptops. Chuck called in today and needed a driver for his Windows 2000 machine. Click here to get drivers for all Windows versions.

Las Vegas, here I come!

Today I signed up for the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The event takes place every January and this will be my fourth year to go. Rick and I spend the week meeting with important people in the electronics industry, looking at the latest gadgets, lining up interviews for future shows and riding rollercoasters. I am already making my list of the companies with new products that I am anxious to see. The short...

I’m raising my rates – here’s wh...

While Rick and I run seperate businesses, we each do the same thing. I spend my day travelling to various homes and businesses all over town to work on computer problems and train people how to get more from their systems. To do this I have been charging $50/hr. for homes and $75/hr. for businesses. Does that sound like a lot? Probably not if you live in a bigger city, but let's compare that to everything else out...

Send this article to EVERYONE you know…

REALLY! The health of your computer, your friend's computer, your neighbor's computer, the government computers, my computer are all at stake. Heck, economies world wide depend on the information I am about to repeat to you and you HAVE to forward it every computer user you know! REALLY! I cleaned up a laptop today that belonged to a sophomore in college. She readily admitted that she knew very little about her...

The no porn approach to computer maintenance

There are many things that can slow a computer down, but nothing does more to negatively impact the performance of a computer more than spyware. Even many viruses run undetected, but almost all spyware prevents a system from running at top speed. Spyware comes from a variety of places, but there are three types of web browsing that will guarantee that you accumulate some of the worst forms of spyware. Online gambling sites:...

Lots of new computers

The past couple of weeks I have helped many computer users setup new systems they had purchased. I have seen everything from laptops to some pretty pricey desktops. I think the low prices are fueling the new purchases. I think the prices will remain low through the end of the year and into early next year. LCD flat panel monitors are getting ridiculously cheap, memory appears to be plentiful and inexpensive and the upcoming...

Should You Leave Your Computer On or Shut it off?

Ah, the age old question about our computers. Since computers came into the home, users have asked; 'should I turn it off or leave it on?' I'm going to try and not muddy the waters any more than they already are in this short article. I will share some facts and some opinions in this article that will help you make the decision for yourself. First, let me say that there is no definitive answer on this subject...

Dell recalling laptop batteries for many models

Just in case you Dell laptop users haven't seen this article . Dell is recalling 4.1 million laptop batteries because of a potential fire hazard. Please read the article and check the model numbers with...

Unplugged and loving it!

When I talk about wanting to live in the 1800's, people are always surprised. A tech guy, an expert wanting to live in a time when the Pony Express was high tech? It's true I tell you. As much as I love technology, I also see how much time it can eat up as well. On our old fashioned road trip vacation, I took my laptop (used it twice for a total of about fifteen minutes), my GPS (used it once), my beloved Treo (used...

Best Buy doesn’t quite live up to its name

As I may have already mentioned once this week, Best Buy just opened its first store in our home town of Grand Junction, Co. Folks in Grand Junction have been very excited about the new store and today was the Grand Opening. As much as I love Best Buy and gadgets, I must say that I was not very impressed. There were no great specials and the prices were pretty much the same as you find anywhere else. I wasn't really...