Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners » new computer

Print Your Own Manual

Rick — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:22:05 +0000

To save on printing, shipping and packaging costs, many software and hardware companies no longer provide printed manuals. One of the top complaints I here from computer users is; "I wish there was a manual". Instead of printed manuals, many manufacturers use 'online' manuals or Adobe Acrobat files on the CD to house their manuals. Often times these manuals contain great information, but can be hard to 'thumb' through on your computer. My Olympus camera came with a 175 page manual in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format on the CD. Instead of battling with the online version, I took the CD down to a local printer and had them print and bind it in small format. The total cost was under $25 and now I have a wonderful easy to use manual at my side.

Email of the Week – 013

Rick — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:23:46 +0000

QUESTION Name: Beth From: Missouri OS: Windows Vista ———————- Dear Rick, I have a new laptop using Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Advice on how to set it up? email, browser, virus/ad/spy programs, etc? I am sure there are many people out there who want to know how to set up a new computer. Usage – I will be setting up a [...]

Adding RAM to increase computer speed – Video Tip

Rick — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:45:49 +0000

RAM is the temporary memory that the computer uses to give us the feeling of programs opening and running with some pep. It's like giving your computer a larger desk to work from so it can spread out and find things more efficiently. RAM also allows us to open multiple computer programs at the same time with less impact on the speed of the computer.

256 megabytes used to be a lot of RAM. Today, I'm recommending users have at least

You are ignoring Web 2.0 – 12 articles to catch you up

Rick — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:26:43 +0000

Over the past few years, I have written and talked much about Web 2.0 or as it is sometimes known, cloud computing. You have ignored those articles and haven't visited or tried the Web 2.0 offerings that are changing the way we use computers. Today, I'm going to give you a second change to get up to speed, because I will be writing more and more about Web 2.0 in the coming months, and I want you along for the ride!

Listed below is your HelpMeRick.com reading assignment for the day.

New computer users

Rick — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:44:02 +0000

Today alone, I ran across two brand new computer users. It irritates me when I see commenters on some of my YouTube videos and elsewhere on the web make fun of the fact that some people can’t copy and paste or create a table in Microsoft Word or perform any number of computer tips I [...]

Keep track of your original computer documentation and make restore CDs

Rick — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:43:57 +0000

Lately too many customers have had to wait for repairs on their computers because I needed to order recovery CD sets from the manufacturer. This time and expense can be avoided if you do two simple things when you buy your new computer: 1. Save all disks and/or documentation that comes in the box 2. Since [...]

Don’t buy a new computer yet

Rick — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:14:00 +0000

2009 is upon us and computer prices are incredibly low, but if you can wait a year to buy a new computer, I would highly recommend it. Why? Microsoft plans on releasing the next version of Windows either late in 2009 or early in 2010. All indications point to the earlier release since Microsoft is anxious to bury Vista.

Rick’s Answers his email Videocast – 021

Rick — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:57:49 +0000

Some wide ranging questions this week about strange AVG and keyboard problems, Ubuntu, transferring files to a new computer, a Kim Komando mention??, AOL high speed, and much more. Brought to you by questions from Joan, Janet, Jon, Karen, James, Charley, Mike, Joe, Geri, Don, Papa C, Howard and Anne.

Netbooks are NOT made for Windows XP or Vista

Rick — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:50:18 +0000

One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC. I wrote about this subject just a few months ago, but with the holidays approaching and netbooks are high on gift giver's radar screens so I want to explore netbooks a little more in depth.

Netbooks make attractive gift giving ideas for a few reasons:

They are inexpensive; usually cost less than $400.
They are extremely portable (2-3 pounds).
They are cute.

Here are some facts you need to know about netbooks:

Get a new computer for almost free

Rick — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:24:47 +0000

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 Linux a little more than two years ago. Linux offers a secure, completely functional, modern operating system for free. Linux falls under the guise of Open Source software (available for free and developed by a collaboration of many programmers) and has spawned many different versions to suit all sorts of users.

The most popular version of Linux the past few years, and the one that hooked me, is Ubuntu. Ubuntu has risen to become, arguably, the leader in Linux operating systems. Ubuntu's popularity stems from the solid community behind the product that supports and develops it, the incredible array of software that comes installed automatically including full Office compatiblity, networking, photo and multimedia tools, and even games. To get the equal functionality that Ubuntu gives users upon installation, a Windows user would have to shell out nearly $1000 for software alone. Ubuntu throws the knockout punch by offering all this for not only free, but also in a package written well enough that it installs in under 20 minutes and runs on hardware that would buckle under the weight of