Vista Service Pack 1 – Don’t do itR...

Microsoft released the first service pack (major upgrade) to the barely one year old Vista this week. In fact, the Service Pack has been in the works almost since Vista was released last year. You will see and read it being referred to as Vista SP1. Microsoft missed the mark so badly with Vista that the company had to immediately go back to work in trying to improve an already mediocre release. Should you upgrade to...

Have an old computer? Check your RAM

I saw two clients today with slow computer problems. Actually the problems weren’t slow, the computers were and that was the problem. But, I digress. Both computers were Dells of the same age. As it turns out each machine only had 256MB of RAM – too little for XP to run at its full potential. I added 512MB to each machine and suddenly the systems came alive and ran faster than most brand new machines I...

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a t...

Software upgrades can cost you much more than they help you. Very few computer users need to upgrade any software, except for daily updates for security software. Today, I helped a couple who became frustrated after updating from AOL 9.0 to 9.1. They relayed to me that they went ahead with the upgrade because of the promise that AOL would be easier and faster with the upgrade. After the upgrade, AOL changed their Internet...

What I like about Windows Vista

Please read the headline of this article correctly – it does not say, "Reasons why you should upgrade to Windows Vista." Windows Vista is still a nasty operating system that hogs resources and hides or eliminates important features, but there are some cool features hidden within and I feel that I must list them here so that I can be fair to Microsoft. If Microsoft had added any or all of these features to XP,...

Department store fix it people

I encountered another department store computer fix-it horror story today. The client called me because they had the proverbial slow computer. I show up and the owner proceeds to tell me that they just got it returned from a big box electronic store with the initials CC whose computer experts work under the initials of FD. Incidentally, I could tell similar stories of woe with another store whose initials are BB and their...

Track multiple time zones in Vista – Video T...

Windows Vista has few redeeming qualities, in my humble opinion. Some users, however, may have the need to track multiple time zones for work or personal use. I use this tip to track the time in Arizona where my brother lives. Because they don’t follow daylight savings time, I am forever confused about what time it is for him when I call. Watch the short video below to learn how to quickly track up to three time zones...

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...

Photoshop Elements 6 is out – Yawn.

Adobe released a new version of Photoshop Elements this week. I haven’t read everything about it, but looking over the "What’s New" section on the website it appears that there is little to get excited about. The new features and upgrades fall in four main catagories, organize, edit, create and share. These four catagories can be narrowed to two, useful and arts-and-craftsy. On the useful side, Adobe...

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...

Computer longevity

One huge misconception in the computer community is that computers are obsolete as soon as you buy them…or computers need to be replaced every 3-5 years. Both of these statements are patently false. I stand by my claim and philosophy that a computer is only outdated when it can no longer perform the functions you need it to OR it mechanically fails. Today I saw a customer that demonstrated this theory well. He had two...

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...

Turns out that real tech guys follow the same advi...

I worked with a business client today who runs their cash register computers from a "server" computer in the back of the store. Their server is really a normal computer that just shares the data about the stores customer's and products. The actual program exists on each of the register's computers. In larger businesses like banks, Home Depot's, etc, true servers deliver the program and data to the cash...

Should you just get a new computer?

I have seen a lot of power supply failures lately. This seems to happen every summer but I don't keep detailed enough statistics to prove it. I am not sure why it happens either. It could be that people turn off their computers for summer vacation and it is the first time the computer has really been turned off in a long time. This might give things a chance to cool down and become brittle. Maybe it is just a...

How much would you pay for a “simple” ...

This will be our poll question in the newsletter tomorrow, but I wanted to give you time to consider the question. Like Rick, I am constantly on a mission to make computers easier to use. I don't believe it is necessary to upgrade computers every few years if the system you are using now is working well. I hate (strong word, but accurate) the direction Microsoft has taken with Windows. Most people never use all of the...

Woo Hoo…new feature in Microsoft Office 2007...

I ran into a strange problem today with a client using Windows XP and Outlook Express. They had to install a new copy of Office 2007 because they lost their certificate of authenticity for their old copy (don't lose those folks). Subsequently, their spell checker in Outlook Express now only uses the French dictionary. Thanks Microsoft!! Once again, fabulous upgrade to the "new" Office 2007. After some...