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Rick

Log out rather than reboot

This tip isn't for every situation, but it helps when you are short on time or to recover from a small crash (yes there is a such thing).

Rather than completely reboot your computer, instead go to Start -> Turn Off Computer. Instead of Turn Off or Restart, choose Log Off. This will close all of your running programs and stop anything attached to your account.

To get back in, just click on the user name and Windows will take you right back in.

This process is great for recovering from lockups. I don't recommend it to replace a standard reboot after you have installed a piece of software in hardware. Those types of restarts need to completely shutdown Windows so that changes can be made to the registry.

Fix the AutoPlay wizard

If you use a memory card reader (internal or external) and Windows does not bring up the AutoPlay wizard (little window that pops up when a card is inserted giving you choices of what you can do), the solution is to download and run this utility from Microsoft . The tool, called AutoFix, will re-enable the AutoPlay function Windows normally displays when a memory card or USB drive is inserted into the computer.

If your AutoPlay works fine now, do NOT download and use this utility. 

HELP!!!!!

I consider myself to be generally a smart guy. I also put my friend Adam in that same category. No one would mistakenly call us geniuses, but overall we can hold our own. However, when it comes to this web site/radio show, we need help. The radio show will be 8 years old next year and have little to show for it except for helping lots of people and having some laughs along the way. We enjoy doing the show and helping people, but we would also like to make a profit (we're capitalists). For some reason, we keep hitting dead ends when we try and grow the show or the site. Our newsletter has amassed a few thousand subscribers, but that's not much in the big scheme of things. 

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 junk mail, I just wanted you to know that this is a valid address and I read anything you send me).
  • Post your email address all over Internet forums, web pages and other public Internet sites.

Now, there are some new ways or variations of the old ways to get added to junk mail lists, give these a try if you want more spam:

A short tip for LCD monitor users

If you use an LCD monitor and it seems a little fuzzy, there are two possible solutions.

Probably the biggest reason for fuzzy flat panel monitors is that the resolution is set too low. Most LCD monitors require at least 1024×768 and most are 1280×1024. If your monitor is set on 800×600, then the text is probably plenty large to read, but it will be fuzzy. The solution of increasing the resolution will make the image much sharper, but the text will be a lot smaller so there is a tradeoff.

Another cause of the problem may be that your monitor has never been setup correctly. I think every LCD monitor I have ever seen has an Auto button or Auto setting. Look for this word Auto. It might be in the monitor menu that you will find by pushing the indicated button on your monitor or it may be a button all by itself.

Windows Vista – Day 1

I installed the Windows Vista Beta edition I downloaded yesterday and so far have no evidence to overturn my initial observations. The install took about 55 minutes and was entirely hands off…an improvement from previous Windows installations. The boot up process is slower than Windows XP and shutdown is really slow. And this is all without adding any software to the computer yet.

Microsoft tells us that Vista will be the safest Windows ever. I hope that is true because computer users will be moving to Apple in droves. The interface seems anything but intuitive, and that's coming from me who some say knows a little about computers. Instead of making the interface easier, much of the functions are hidden under layers of hard to navigate clicks. And so far, once I do get into a program, they all seem like the old programs with just a new layer of gloss and difficulty.

An 8 hour download…

This afternoon I started downloading the beta version of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista. I pay for a 1.5mb DSL connection. At that speed, the download is estimated to take about 7 or so hours. Cable users with a 6mb connection would be able to download it in about 2 hours. Dial up users aren't even allowed to try…it would take almost six days on a dial-up connection. I could have ordered the DVD installation disk, but why wait three weeks when I can get it today. 

We have bashed the upcoming upgrade to Windows repeatedly here at the site and on the show. I plan on putting the OS (operating system) to the test by installing it on an older computer that I have. For those of you in Grand Junction who attend our monthly User Group, I hope to have the new computer system up and running by the October meeting to demonstrate for the group.

I don’t like call blocking

I'm not a big fan of caller ID or call blocking.

I stay busy all day and I only return calls while I'm on the road between appointments. Most of my time driving is used also to listen to voice mail on my hands-free headset. My voice mail gives me an option at the end of each call to press 8 to return the call. Since the call is made through the voice mail service my ID is blocked. If I can return the call by pressing 8, I can return a call easily. But, if I have 5 or 6 calls to return I would need to pull over and write each message down.

The problem with call blocking is that when I try to promptly return a call by pressing 8 to a caller with blocking on, all I get is…"we're sorry this party does not accept unidentified calls…" As a result, I skip that person's message and go on to the next message that I can return by pressing 8. Often it is the next morning before I am able to get to those who left messages but had call blocking. Caller ID comes mandatory with my cell phone service, but I don't use it on my home phone because I love surprises.

Never assume a problem is on YOUR end

Specifically, I'm talking about the Internet. If you have been working along merrily on the Internet for weeks, months, or years and all of the sudden you aren't able to get email or connect to the Internet, DON'T PANIC. Instead, calmly turn off your computer, shut off your computer and if you have high speed Internet, shut off your high speed modem and router if you have one. Then slowly walk away from the computer and have a nice cool or warm beverage of your choice, take a nap and or a walk.

After about an hour or two, walk back to  your computer, turn on the high speed modem and router (if you have one), wait a few moments, then turn on your computer. If the Internet is working, great. If it isn't working, then repeat the steps above and try again.