How to save money on paper and ink

Business Week published an article in 1975 touting the virtues of and dawning of the paperless office. Sadly, except for the paper industry, we still aren’t there 35+ years later! In the past 40 years, paper use has tripled. In the United States alone, we use more than 400 million ink cartridges per year. I do not consider myself an environmentalist. However, I do consider myself a practicalist (I’m coining the...

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...

Save Money on Computer Repair Bills

It’s no secret that I am a computer consultant/trainer/troubleshooter. So, why would I potentially take food out of my own hand by writing this tip? Three reasons: I like to help people and share knowledge I dislike troubleshooting messes that could have prevented and I enjoy teaching people how to get the most out of their computers instead of being frustrated and constantly battling or worrying about the...

7 ways to become a more efficient web user –...

This is a reintroduction and retitling of a previous video/tip because of a copyright infringement complaint fromFranklin Covey. Hopefully, the new title and verbiage will satisfy their legal staff. All week long I help computer users of all ages and experience levels. Too often, I see that many computer users (beginners and experienced alike) do not utilize or know about some basic web browsing skills that will speed their...

7 Internet Security Tips to Save You Time & M...

I write about Internet security frequently because I see too many breaches of Internet security every single day. And by Internet security, I’m referring to keeping your computer free of spyware, fake security software and other annoying, time consuming, and expensive ailments that can strike your computer. THESE TYPES OF INFECTIONS ARE PREVENTABLE. First, I need to exempt Mac and Linux (Ubuntu) users from reading this...

Should I backup?

Should you carry health insurance? Should you carry car insurance? Should you save for retirement? Should you eat every day? Does a bear…. Well, hopefully you get the picture. The answer is a resounding YES!! You should backup, and depending on your computer needs and usage your backups should occur frequently (sometimes daily). Many computer users equate backing up their computers with their mother’s...

AOL users: Save your money!

I just left a client’s home who pays for both a DSL connection AND AOL. They were paying $30+ per month for AOL and not using a dial-up connection or their support. In fact, take a look at the image at the bottom of this tip and note that although they were signed up for the AARP discount account of $23.01, they were actually being billed $30.01! If you use AOL and have a high speed connection, there is no need to pay...

The Castellini Approach to Internet Security

This past week I saw way too many people who are not taking advantage of the free information we give out on the show and the web site. Their computers were suffocating from a preventable disease…viruses and spyware. Yes, preventable, almost 100%. And fighting the war on our home computer security front does not have to be costly or time consuming. We talk about this subject quite a bit on the program and the web site...

Will Obama save money on government computers?

A news story from the BBC broke today describing Obama’s invitation to Sun Microsystem’s CEO, Scott McNealy. Obama asked McNealy to present a report on the benefits of Open Source software. Already many national and state government entities in the United States and many over-seas governments successfully use Linux and other Open Source software. What do you think? Should the United States government go on a...

How can I increase traffic to my site?

What a week! For some reason, my scheduling went a little awry this week and made for some long days. In addition to my scheduling problems, however, I could have saved a ton of time (thus the 3 day hiatus of new posts) and my clients could have saved a lot of money if they were more diligent about backing up their data and keeping track of passwords and software. This web site is exactly the same age as my...

What is Open Source?

Open Source software began soon after computers became main stream in offices and then homes. In a nut shell, Open Source refers to software developed under a set standard of rules that developers agree upon to make the software freely available, no penalties for copying or sharing the programs (in fact, it is encouraged to share the software), the source code (programming) must be made available to anyone, and the software...

Get a new computer for almost free

If you would like or might even need a new computer, but aren’t crazy about spending $500-1500 in our current financial environment, consider upgrading your computer for free. Yes, I said free. The only investment you will incur is some time. “How”, you ask? By upgrading your computer’s operating system to one of the many Linux options. As many of you know, I started dabbling and learning more about...

Telecommunications Bundling

Almost two years ago, I wrote an article (click here) about knowing how much you pay for your telecommunications every month. Telecommunications costs include cell phone, long distance, land line phone, cable or satellite TV, and Internet costs. I use the method I described in that article to help people get more of a handle on their tech costs and features and often save them money while getting better...

Why overseas tech support doesn’t work so we...

Frequently, computer users hire me to call and talk to tech support for them. That may seem like a waste of money to some people, but consider that many computer users have to over come TWO language barriers. Yes, I said two language barriers. The first language barrier for both the overseas helper and the computer user seeking help is understanding each other. We have a hard time understanding the accent and language use of...