MSCONFIG: These items are unneccessary

We talk about the Microsoft Configuration Utility (msconfig) so much, that we have a t-shirt available for it in our store. Msconfig is accessed by: Click Start Click Run Type:   msconfig Click OK Once in the utility, you want to click the "Startup" tab. Here is a list of some the programs that can be safely unchecked. After doing so, click OK, and restart the computer as instructed and your computer...

I love PayPal

I have been raising a little money by selling stuff on eBay so I can buy my wife a Ferrari for Mothers day. As it turns out, the items I sold only went for about $50, so I will have to find her something else. EBay is amazing, but PayPal is amazing-er (a little Bushism). Both items closed yesterday and by this morning I had the money in my PayPal account. I took the items to the post office and I used my PayPal debit card to...

Is this computer good enough?

I get a lot of calls from people who are planning on purchasing a new computer. I really enjoy these calls because I am typically able to help people keep from making some big mistakes based on the advice of their teenage children. Today I had a call from a client who had purchased a computer but wanted to make sure she got the right thing. She had asked my advice about a week ago and I told her to set a $700-800 budget and...

Microsoft Word or Office Problems after last week&...

This is a short note to help those folks who are having problems with opening Word documents after a critical update from Windows last week. It appears it is unique to folks with some specific HP software. After studying it, I would recommend going to Add/Remove Programs and remove the HP Share-to-Web program (unless you are really using that feature…most people don’t). If you do use that feature or want to learn...

Travelocity: Should I believe the gnome?

Whenever I am not at a client’s home or office working on a computer, I am likely driving in my car to see a client. As I drive in my car I listen to a lot of talk radio. I don’t really care what show it is, I just enjoy something besides the same 50 songs that music stations play.  I have noticed that many talk radio shows all use the same advertisers; this is primarily because they are on the same networks....

The power of databases

Lately, I have been helping a business customer set up a database to help manage a portion of their business. Databases are highly underutilized in the small to medium sized business. Databases differ greatly to spreadsheets and potentially offer many more benefits to using spreadsheets. Properly designed and built, a database can save many hours of data entry and reduce entry errors to almost zero. Databases also provide the...

Proper Cleaning of your LCD (flat panel) Monitor

Flat panel monitors make a wonderful addition to any computer. However, they do require more special care when cleaning than traditional CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors. CRT monitors all have a glass front. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors, on the other hand, have a much softer face…almost membrane like. Because of this, LCD monitors are much more prone to being damaged from being touched and poked. Rule #1: ...

Choose local Internet providers for DSL

No one likes to sit on hold waiting for ‘customer support’. DSL high speed Internet is growing rapidly because of increased availability from the phone companies and it is inexpensive. However, many computer users choose to get the service through the phone company (which in turn is provided by big guys like MSN or AOL) or they choose to upgrade their dial-up service with their existing large national Internet...

I always have my tools with me

Most computer problems have nothing to do with the mechanics of the computer. It is rare that I see a motherboard die, RAM go bad, a video card burn out or a power supply fail. Almost all computer problems are software related. Among the hundreds of millions of lines of programming code, a few 1s and 0s crash together and things go screwy. Whether it is a programming glitch or the problem is caused by an intentionally...

Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows

Microsoft PowerPoint is a program for creating business presentations but many people use it for creating elaborate photo slide shows. In addition to discussing PowerPoint we also talked about a few PowerPoint alternatives. OpenOffice – a great free alternative to Microsoft Office Ulead Movie Factory – for creating Slideshows and movies on DVDs or CDs There are a couple of others that I failed to mention at the...

Computer guys are kind of like Zorro

Before I begin, I want to make it clear that I am not complaining in this post at all. I am just explaining the events of the day. I began my day with a blank schedule. My mother in law was scheduled to arrive to spend a couple of weeks with us so I had blocked today so that I could help my family get ready. My phone rang at 7am this morning. It was a dentist’s office. They had accidentally done something that had...

Some interesting web finds….

After years of reading computer magazines and trying to keep all my info straight, I finally came up with an idea to make my reading more streamlined and my retention a little higher. Actually, it is just like taking notes in school, but I didn’t make the connection for about 15 or more years. Now, I keep a notebook with me when I read the trade magazines, and I jot down web sites or tips that I read, that I want to...

Printers don’t come with cables

This is a short one today, but it is something a lot of people don’t know. When you buy a new printer it typically will not come with a cable. You must also purchase a USB cable. If you are switching from an old printer you can use the old cable as long as it is USB. Old printers that worked on Windows98 were typically parallel printers and that cable will not be compatible with the new printer. Before you shell out...

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,...

I’m not perfect….

I have never claimed to be the most knowledgeable computer tech on the planet…and I never will. However, what I will promise is that I give my customers the best advice that I can for the topics that I know about and will refer them to the best possible resources for topics outside my scope. Today, I saw a client who traded some services with another computer tech here in Grand Junction, CO. The other tech reformatted...