Yet another feature yanked from the NEW Microsoft ...

While working with a small business client today, they asked how to insert a picture into a Word document from their scanner. “Oh, that’s an easy one”, I said to myself. Then I realized they were using the new Office 2007. In all previous versions of Microsoft Word and other word processor worth their weight, you follow these steps to insert a picture from a scanner into a document:  Click Insert...

Can I ask a dumb question?

“The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask.” That’s my pat answer when approached with the question…and I hear that question a lot. I believe that by not asking questions you eventually end up costing yourself time, money, and/or knowledge. When it comes to computers, it behooves you to ask as many questions as possible so that you can learn. Too often, I hear this phrase; “I...

Incredible deal on a fast computer

I installed a new computer for a customer yesterday that turned out to be the easiest setup I’ve done in quite a few years (with the exception of Apple setups). He bought the computer, ZT Affinity, from OfficeMax’s web site for $399. It comes with 1 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard drive, fast processor (albeit the previous generation Pentium D), Windows XP Professional, built-in memory card reader, keyboard, optical mouse, a...

Backup…yes, again

I’m late in writing my daily Shotgun report because I have four computers sitting in my office in various forms of failure. Fortunately, at some expense to the owners, I was able to extract some valuable data from two of the machines. The other two machines didn’t fair as well and nothing was salvageable. Today’s lesson? BACKUP!!!!!!! I just searched HelpMeRick.com and found no less than 15 articles and tips...

Week #3 with my Eee PC

My daughter is out driving around with a driving instructor, and I took the opportunity to visit a local coffee shop and use my Eee PC. Asus announced their intention to release a small computing device that is too small to call a laptop, but too large to call a handheld device earlier this year. They started selling them in October. After watching the hoopla for about a month, I decided that the unit is too compelling...

Picasa class coming this Tuesday!

See below to pre-order my new Picasa tutorial CD. I will ship it out on Tuesday. Click on the "Buy Now" button and follow the directions. Note the link for non-PayPal users. After month’s of requests, I am finally doing an entire class on Picasa. On Tuesday, November 27 from 7-9pm in conjunction with our regular digital photography user group, I will be teaching about Picasa for the entire two hours. The class...

Brand New Computer for $199

I am getting really excited!! Ubuntu Linux, Splashtop motherboards, fast Internet connections, and Web 2.0 are all starting to bring us to the next generation of Microsoft-free, cheap computing. At least 80% of the computer users I help in their homes or offices do not really need or utilize the power of a full blown Windows (or Mac) computer. You’ve heard this soap box from me before; computer users who only use word...

The string theory of personal computers

One of the most common questions I get as I work on other peoples’ home computers is, "Where did you learn all of this stuff?’ Today I setup a large office copier on a business network. It is the first time I have ever set up such a thing. It seems like at least two or three times per month, I fix a problem that I have never seen before. It is the ultimate in on the job training, however it is not voodoo or a...

Print Envelopes with One Click – Video Tip

Using Microsoft Word and a little customizing of the Word toolbar, this tip will get you printing envelopes easily. If you write business letters with the recipient’s address in the body of the message, Word will pick up the address and insert it into your envelope when you use the envelope tool. Click on the Tools menu and then Envelopes and Labels. From there, you can print your envelope and set your default return...

Is anyone out there?

There is no doubt in my mind that our site has the most relevant and easy to understand computer information for the average and beginner computer user. Unfortunately, the average computer user doesn’t know how to browse the web well and has trouble finding the information they need to know. Search engines are confusing. Searching a web site is even more baffling. These computer users do well when they have a recipe...

Quad Core Processors

I setup my first Quad Core processor computer today. It wasn’t for me, unfortunately, but I was impressed with the machine. My client ordered a Dell XPS Intel Quad Core machine with 4 GB of RAM and Windows XP. It was easily the fastest computer I have seen to date. With all that RAM, a 256mb video card, and the new Intel Quad Core processor everthing literally flew on this machine. One example is Adobe Photoshop...

Demand compensation from Microsoft

If I was independently wealthy, I would give discounts to customers with Windows Vista. Alas, I am not independently wealthy and my business supports my family, so I charge for time I spend in a client’s office or home. One customer , today, could have saved 30-40% off their bill had they bought one of the few remaining laptops with Windows XP. This brand new Toshiba laptop with only 1 GB of RAM (half of the minimum...

Outlook Express Spell Check – pardon my fren...

Many people are installing Office 2007 and then discovering that their spell check for Outlook Express is set for French. This is fine if you are writing emails in French, but most of us aren’t. Microsoft is aware of the problem and their solution is the upgrade to Windows Vista. Our solution is do download and install this free spell check program. Another less than elegant solution is to: Close all...

Wacom Bamboo – an excellent artist’s t...

A Wacom tablet is a tool used by artists to design work on the computer using a natural pen and paper motion. The tablet is hard and flat and the stylus that you draw with looks like a pen. The Wacom tablet is pressure sensitive providing the ability to draw thicker or heavier lines depending on the amount of pressure that you apply while drawing. The stylus has a pen tip end and an “eraser” end. As...

Make Microsoft Office 2007 Play Nice – Video...

The release of Microsoft Office 2007 introduced us to an entire new interface and file format (thanks Microsoft). If you upgraded to Office 2007, you are creating documents in Microsoft’s new XML formats. Word documents now have the .docx extension, Excel documents have a .xlsx extension, PowerPoint has the .pptx extension…well, you get the picture. This is all fine and dandy if everyone you know also use the...