1-click access to your favorite websites – V...

Please DO NOT use the address bar as a repository to return to sites you use all the time…eventually they will get lost. The address bar history maintains a small amount of your recently visited site and can easily be wiped out via an update or disk cleaning and maintenance tools. Instead, use the Favorites (Internet Explorer) or Bookmarks (Firefox and every other browser). Favorites/Bookmarks are designed to save and...

Keep your Mac running clean & fast

Macintosh computers run remarkably quick and smooth when you first buy and set them up. However, over time, like any computer, they can begin to feel somewhat sluggish. To keep your Apple Macintosh computer running quick and smooth, try these hints: Leave your computer on overnight at least once every week or two. The Macintosh Operating System (which is based on Unix) will run maintenance and cleanup tasks in the wee hours...

2 laptop suggestions for college students

Millions of high schoolers will be graduating soon and will be leaving for their respective campuses (campii?) at the end of the summer. These students will more than likely go to college with a computer…probably a laptop. I would like to suggest two possible laptops ideas for these students. Both of my ideas involve good systems that will allow college kids to word process, chat, email, listen to music, watch...

Use CCleaner Monthly

If you are a Microsoft Windows user, of any flavor, I recommend that you download and use the free CCleaner utility once per month. Our computers create thousands of small files that we never see in order to perform the computing tasks we ask of them. Visiting web sites also creates thousands of files including the oft misunderstood cookies. All these files are called temporary files and are completely expendable. Over the...

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...

Lazy computer users

Over the past few days, the tech news sites and blogs have carried a story centered on a quote from a NetBook (tiny laptop) manufacturer stating that the company receives 4X the returns of Linux based systems versus Windows systems. The more often I saw this headline and read the articles, the more irritated I became. Computers are still in their infancy compared to much of the technology we use today. Americans have had...

Linux at Lowes

I’m in the middle of a pretty major house refurbishing right now and am making frequent trips to the hardware stores and elsewhere. Today, while asking a Lowes rep a question, I glanced at one of the computer screens and saw Firefox for Lowes on the title bar. I was blown away that a major corporation had the good sense to use Firefox, then as I scanned the monitor, there was no sign of a start button. Instead, I...

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,...

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:...

Technology solves problems tracking medical record...

Have you ever been to a doctor’s appointment where the doctor asked you a lot of questions then referred you to another doctor only to have that doctor ask you all of the same questions all over again? Are you tired of answering questions about whether you have any allergies? Are you ever curious why the doctors ask you when your last tetanus shot was? Don’t they ever write this stuff down? As it turns out,...

10 Things you can do with Broadband Internet

Thanks to lower prices and increased availability, broadband (high speed) Internet is starting to over take dial-up services in the United States. Dial-up Internet served us well for the first 10 years of the Internet, but to really take advantage of the Internet today, a broadband connection is a must. Here are 10 things that you can do with a high speed connection today that you can’t do (as easily) with a dial-up...

Things aren’t always the same

A client of mine made a great observation today about computers. She put into words something that I have tried to articulate for years. I’m paraphrasing, but it went something like this: "The trouble I have with computers is that they don’t always react the same way twice." "Wow", I thought….great statement. Unlike cars or toasters, computers have many more complex instructions...

How to Format Your Hard Drive and Reinstall Window...

WARNING:  I have done my best to outline the steps in this somewhat arduous task, but undertake this procedure at your own risk. Because of the vast differences in hardware and software, I cannot possibly cover every nuance. Please use this Tip as a guide and not the end all. AND BE SURE TO BACKUP ANYTHING YOU DON"T WANT TO LOSE PRIOR TO UNDERTAKING THE TASK! Since many of the sites that I used to refer...

Run Scan Disk or Defrag in Safe Mode

Performing regular disk maintenance on our computers helps keep them running smoothly. However, some computer users are not able to successfully complete the two standard disk utility programs…Scan Disk and Defrag. Scan Disk may produce an error pop-up stating that it tried to complete the operation up to ten times, but wasn’t able to complete it. Or, with defrag, the error may mention that another program is...

Keep Your Computer Clean

I am often asked what is the best way to clean a computer. Here’s how to do it safely: In past tips, we discussed the importance of good air circulation around your CPU (Central Processing Unit)…the big box where you put CD’s and disks. One spot to start your cleaning is looking at the back end of the CPU and make sure that the vents do not contain too much lent and dust. If so, use a can of compressed air...