Do you use or are you interested in Online Backup?

I wrote about backup last week, I know. But already this year, I’ve seen at least a dozen computer users (many of them running businesses) who either don’t backup at all or have no clue how to backup their important data. Adam mentioned that he will start using and testing the heavily advertised Carbonite online backup system and post a review soon. I started using Xdrive (an AOL company) again tonight to test...

Online Photo Editors

Basic photo editing no longer takes special software. You can now do some wonderful things with photos from any computer on almost any browser from anywhere in the world. Online photo editors allow you to edit photos simply by going to a special website. Once fully loaded, these sites let you resize, adjust brightness and contrast, tweak color and even work with layers. While none of these editors are as robust as Photoshop...

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...

Backup Your Email Address Book – Video Tip

You can back up your address book very simply to a floppy disk or USB Flash drive and the heartache it has the potential to prevent far outweighs the thirty seconds it takes to complete the task. Follow these steps depending on the program you use: Outlook Express Windows Mail Users Insert USB Flash Drive Start Outlook Express Click the Address Book icon from the toolbar. Click File –> Export –> Other...

Dell 3110cn the best color printer on the market

I have been using the Dell 3110cn color laster printer for 10 months now and I must say that it is amazing. I just checked the stats tonight and we have printed over 1000 pages per month 10,480 to be exact. During that time we have put $100 worth of toner into it. Currently our black cartridge is at 40 percent, cyan and magenta are at 80 percent and yellow is at 60 percent. The black is the cartridge that we replaced...

ASUS Eee Laptop PC released today

Remember how excited I was yesterday when I talked about the $199 PC from WalMart? Well, I’m equally excited today with the official release of the ASUS Eee Laptop starting at $299! This little gem promises to unleash a whole new genre of what I want to call Internet Appliances 2.0. I’m hoping to get my hands on a review unit soon, but in the mean time, read this thoroughly written article from Dave Altavia at...

I want a Palm Centro!!

I just read the review of the new Palm Centro at TreoCentral.com. It sounds wonderful. I was very excited to hear about it when it was announced, but after reading the review, I feel that it is a device that would change my life. I have used the Palm Treo 600, 650 and 700p. Each new generation has been better than the last. My only complaints about the Treo have been over form factor. It already does more and does it better...

Windows Vista SP1 – WOW!

When Microsoft released Vista, their slogan for the new program was, "The Wow is Now," or something like that. Their ad campaign was not incorrect, over and over we have heard people say, "Wow!" As in, "Wow! This is slower than my Windows 98 system." Most major software titles come in several generations. There is the initial program then, over time, major updates called service packs are...

Ubuntu Take 2 – Follow up

Yesterday, I talked about my woes in getting a Linksys WMP54GS PCI wireless card to work on an almost 10 year old computer that I successfully installed Xubuntu (Ubuntu Light) on for a customer. The “official” instructions on how to accomplish the task are lengthy and require many commands typed into a terminal windows (think DOS prompt). After many dry runs and dead ends, I found this gem buried in the Ubuntu...

Screen magnifiers for everyone!

I ran across this site today while searching for alternative screen magnification programs. Whether you use Mac, Linux or Windows, this site lists screen magnifiers for every platform. While you are here, click on the HOME link. This site is full of great information and product reviews for all computer users with impaired vision. ...

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Scannin...

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Scanning* *but weren’t sure who to ask. Every scanner works a little differently, but these terms and tips should help you through the process. TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW Image Editor – This is any program that allows you to manipulate an image. Some titles include Adobe Photoshop and Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft ...

Canon leaps ahead again in DSLR wars

I have made no secret of the fact that when it comes to digital SLRs I prefer Canon over all other brands. I have also backed up my argument with a long list of reasons. Everytime any other company gets close to Canon, Canon announces a new camera that out paces the competition both in features and price. Canon did it again this week. They have announced two new digital SLRs, both will make any serious photographer...

Fun with Cameroon Pet Scams

I really love English Bulldogs. Recently I became aware of a common pet scam that is based on every other over seas Internet scam. Someone from Cameroon posts a desired breed up for a ridiculously low price. He/she asks for money plus shipping. You never get the dog. Here is my recent correspondence with one such scammer. I have resorted the posts from oldest to newest so you can enjoy the events as they occurred. For...

DPReview.com posts Canon S5 IS Review

The Canon S* IS series is my favorite line of high zoom digital cameras. Canon just came out with the S5 IS – an 8 megapixel version of the 12x, image stabilized camera that has become a best seller. DPReview.com is the best site for in depth reviews of the most popular cameras to hit the market, they just posted their review of the S5 IS. If you are an S1, S2, or S3 IS user, you will want to check it out and see if...

Ubuntu – Day 3

One knock that I read about Ubuntu is the poor wireless support for laptops/wireless Internet. I took this laptop (a Compaq Presario 2100) on a short family vacation in June and had no problems connecting to wireless networks all along the way. I will say that the procedure wasn’t as smooth as the wireless utility built into Windows XP (which I also like better than Vista’s utility). It did work, however. ...