Reader challenge: Computer boot time results

After two weeks and more than 21,000 visits to the web site, the survey only produced 225 responses (thank you to those who filled out the survey). I hoped to amass at least 1000 responses, but it was still an interesting experiment. The Google Web Form attached to Google Documents worked simply and flawlessly. The survey will remain open and you can access it by clicking here. Google Docs automatically generated the...

Computer boot time survey

I’m experimenting with an online database collection service and thought it would be interesting to put forth a practical question; How fast does your computer boot up? To measure the boot-up time of your computer, time it from the moment you turn the computer on until the desktop and all background applications are fully loaded (i.e. no hourglass present and no hard drive activity present). Click the title of this...

Is Skype quality getting worse?

Skype ranks as one of my all-time favorite web programs. For those who have never heard this name or weren’t sure what it is about, Skype allows you to make voice and or video calls from your computer to another Internet connected computer anywhere in the world for free. Skype also offers extremely low pricing for making computer to land line or cell phone calls as well. I use Skype to communicate with my brother in...

New ways to get more junk email

My comments today are directed toward those who are looking for more ways to get on junk email lists. Some common ways that we talk about on the show include the following: Register any new project you buy. Ask your friends to add you to their forwarded joke list (spammers love to harvest from forwarded email). Reply to junk email asking that the sender take you off their list (spammers interpret this as "Thank you for...

The no porn approach to computer maintenance

There are many things that can slow a computer down, but nothing does more to negatively impact the performance of a computer more than spyware. Even many viruses run undetected, but almost all spyware prevents a system from running at top speed. Spyware comes from a variety of places, but there are three types of web browsing that will guarantee that you accumulate some of the worst forms of spyware. Online gambling sites:...