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

Discussion this week included problems receiving the Castellini on Computers newsletter, virtual memory questions, Mac G5 and two button mouse, Antivirus 2009 malware and much more. This week’s episode is brought to you by: Roo-Man, Craig, Karl, Debbie, Maci, Anne, Laureen, and Harold. Enjoy and keep the questions coming! ...

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

This week’s episode features answers to questions about Windows XP Service Pack 3, YouTube, a super utility that will fix everything and much more. Questions are brought to you by: Kerryn, CJ, Dick, Jim, Dave, G. Falt, John, Erik, Robert, Burce, John, and Mac. Enjoy! ...

Is Skype quality getting worse?

Skype ranks as one of my all-time favorite web programs. For those who have never heard this name or weren’t sure what it is about, Skype allows you to make voice and or video calls from your computer to another Internet connected computer anywhere in the world for free. Skype also offers extremely low pricing for making computer to land line or cell phone calls as well. I use Skype to communicate with my brother in...

Windows XP reset loop reboots after installing Ser...

I had another big frustration today. Unfortunately I reformated one computer before I found the fix, but it saved me a lot of time on the next computer that had the same problem. Some Windows XP machines with AMD processors get caught in a reset loop after installing Service Pack 3. After running this little command, the problem goes away. There are also a few other tips that resolve this problem caused by other issues,...

Windows was unable to find a certificate to log yo...

I looked all over the Internet for a long time to find this answer. Once I discovered it, I decided to post it here on HMR so that everyone can have it. The problem arises in Windows XP while trying to connect to a secured network, often on a D-link router. While trying to connect a new computer wirelessly, an error comes up stating that “Windows was unable to find a certificate to log you onto the network (Network name...

What kind of computer do 3 teenagers use?

An extremely slow and sick computer! Today, again, I ran across a family who has multiple teenagers (3 in this case) who use a computer that has become polluted with spy and adware. I see this situation again and again, week after week. This computer was less than 2 months old! Give the typical teenager a Windows based computer (doesn’t matter if it is XP or Vista) and within weeks (sometimes hours) the computer is...

Backup your digital photos with iPhoto – Vid...

Macintosh users take digital photos too. And they also need to make sure their photos are backed up safely. Thankfully, the bright men and women at Apple computers have built in a great picture management software called iPhoto. Within iPhoto, you will find a straight forward method of backing up your photos. Here’s how: 1. Start iPhoto 2. Hold down the Command key on your keyboard and select which folders,...

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

If your name is Mel, Jim, Barbara, Happy, Sandie, Buddy, Larry, or David and a few others…your email answer is here! Their questions ranged from hard drive data retrieval to Macintosh password management to AVG and many other questions as well…tune in by clicking play!! ...

Asus started a whole new trend

I just returned from visiting my brother and his new baby and traveled, again, with only my phone and my Asus Eee PC. As usual, the little laptop did not disappoint. I was able to keep up with email, work with my spreadsheets and word processing documents and do other web research as well. All from a little marvel that cost less than $400 and weighs less than 2 pounds. Asus was the first to release a successful mini-laptop...

Adobe Reader 9 update – DON’T DO IT!

Adobe released version 9 of their PDF (Portable Document Format) Reader program. Once the king and almost sole PDF reader on the market, it, like so many other mainstream programs, has become bloated beyond recognition. This software bloat slows down the performance of even the fastest computers, and for this reason, I firmly stand against software bloat. I added Adobe Reader to my do not use list almost two years ago....

Great digital photography debate topics

Technology is no different than politics in that there are a variety of topics that people have opinions on. While you may not know much about these topics now, what you know about them can have a great impact on knowing who to listen to when it comes to learning more about digital photography and related topics. PC vs. Mac: The Mac people will tell you that Macs are better for graphics, easier to use more stable. PC...

Are Macintosh computers poised to make a run?

JUNE 2008 UPDATE: I wrote the article below two years ago, ran across it tonight and wanted to write an update to it. At the time I wrote it, I think the now famous Apple and PC guy commercials had just started ramping up and the ominous steps towards Windows Vista were getting closer. My words probably weren’t unique at the time, and I don’t claim to be a sage, but it is astonishing how much the market has...

I no longer recommend Ubuntu or Macintosh

If I keep recommending Linux/Ubuntu and Apple Macintosh to my customers, I will have to find another line of work. Admittedly, I came to the Linux table very late (just over a year now) and have only been luke warm to Macintosh over the years. Windows Vista put me over the edge last year, and I started looking seriously at other operating systems. What I found in both Ubuntu and Mac OSX was an extremely stable, secure,...

Red Fish and Hero Machine – fun for French a...

Poisson rouge means red fish in French. Poissonrouge.com is one of the greatest web sites for kids that I have ever been to. Chances are it will keep about 75 percent of adults entertained for an hour or two as well. The site is simple, visit and click on anything to discover new areas. The site will seem endless as you or your children click through feature after feature. No keyboard skills are required and the site is so...

Eee PC 900

The new ASUS Eee PC 900 is finally available in the United States. Like its release earlier this year in Asia, the 900 version is selling like hot cakes in the U.S. too. I have been using the 4G version of the  original ASUS Eee PC since November 2007 and wrote a few articles about it that can be found here. I originally bought it to try it out and see what all the fuss was about, but quickly became attached to its ultra...