Do your parents a favor, follow through with your ...

Most of my clients are over 50 and a good portion of them are over 65. I have learned that age has nothing to with computer aptitude. Computer aptitude is determined 99 percent by computer attitude. Those who are not afraid or intimidated by their computer are the ones who learn the fastest, no matter their age, gender or religious background. One of my primary goals with my business, with the show and with the newsletter is...

Resolving problems with PayPal

Once in a great while a person on eBay will take your money but never send you the item. This is one of the advantages to using PayPal. If the seller has a PayPal account you can file a complaint with PayPal. To start the complaint process go to www.PayPal.com, log into your account and click on the Resolution Center. If the person does not work with PayPal to resolve the problem then PayPal will remove the funds from the...

Don’t assume it is your problem….

If you use a high speed Internet connection, don’t assume that if you have problem accessing the Internet that it is your computer’s problem. I encountered a situation today where a customer, in an effort to save money, had problems with their DSL connection. Before calling me she: Attempted to troubleshoot the problem herself for two days by playing with the settings of her email and network Her husband...

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...

You have a virus, it is called Norton

I had one client today who had setup an appointment for me to get rid of a virus. Every time they turned on their computer and/or logged into their email, an error would pop up. The error in their email was so bad that they couldn’t even read their messages. I noticed that all of the errors were related to Symantec – the company that makes Norton. I removed Norton and installed AVG. All of a sudden the...

Blood relation does not equal computer expertise

A few years ago, I added two items to my list of common advice that I give. 1. Don’t let your kids fix your computer, no matter how old they are or who they work for. 2. Blood relation does not equal computer expertise. I know that this makes me sound arrogant at times, but my first appointment this morning was a case in point. It was a simple enough job, I was to setup a laptop and get it online. My client didn’t...

Know where to find your vital computer information

One of the reasons I share so much information on this web site and on our show is because I like to help people learn to save time and money. Usually if a person isn’t saving time or money, they become disgruntled and agitated. Today, two of my clients could have saved some money and time if they had had some basic computer information available. In order to help others be more efficient and frugal, here is a list of items...

How to Get Better Printing Results

Better Printing Results   One of the only disadvantages to digital photography compared to film is the fact that you don’t automatically get a print. If you want to share your photos with someone, hang a picture on the wall or carry one in your wallet, you must print your photos out. There are a variety of factors to consider when printing out your photos. How Should You Print Them? Are these prints going to...

What should I back up?

Recently, you have heard me talk a great deal about flash memory drives and there usefulness for backup. One of our listeners/newsletter readers, recently asked what files are important to backup. So, tip number one in backup is to backup only those files that you create. These include but are not limited to: Financial program data (Quicken, Money, etc)  Email and other address books  Saved email messages Important...

Simple Advice to Protect Your Computer and Your Sa...

This tip, if followed, could substantially limit the number of phone calls we get on the radio show and put a dent in my computer troubleshooting and training business. I can sum up the entire tip in one phrase you have heard me utter many times on the radio show: "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."   I know ain’t isn’t a word, but if AOL can say "You’ve got...

WARNING! Your Internet connection is not optimized...

Banner ads are a real and somewhat necessary part of our Internet world. You see banner ads at the top of nearly every Web site you visit.  In the past year, one particular ad seems to pop up more frequently than others. It reads something like this: WARNING! Your Internet connection is not optimized. Click Here to boost your Internet speed! The ad cleverly (some people say deceptively) resembles...

Learn To Identify Search Engine Ads

A search engine is a website or part of a website that allows you to search either the entire Internet, or a given website for specific information. Google, Yahoo, Excite and Dogpile are just a few of the common search engines that search the entire Internet for information on any word or topic you type into their search box. As you may well imagine, it is not an easy thing to create software that searches the entire...

Gaming Consoles vs. PC’s

While this gaming consoles (Nintendo Gamecube, Playstation2 and Xbox) may seem unrelated to computers, we assure you that it may have everything to do with the performance of your computer. While it many not seem practical to buy both a computer and a gaming console for yourself or your children, in the long run it will save you lots of money. A gaming console costs between $75-$250. A computer that handles the most...