With Microsoft putting out less-and-less usable software and better-and-better options becoming available online, there is no reason to shell out hard earned money for Microsoft Office. If you aren’t quite ready to move your data and applications online (search our site for Web 2.0), then OpenOffice.org’s free office software is a wonderful option.
Learning to make Windows work for you instead of you working for it can yield many more happy and productive hours using your computer. One highly under utilized feature of Windows is the shortcut icon. Learning to use and manage shortcuts will give you a huge advantage with your computer.
After several months, we think we have all of our newsletter issues corrected. If you haven’t been receiving our free weekly email newsletter, you can now subscribe simply by tying your email address into the box at the top left of any page on HelpMeRick.com.
If you are using any kind of spam filter, you will need to add response26262629 @ zinester.com (delete the spaces before and after the @ symbol) to your accepted email addresses.
If you are a Bresnan broadband user, you may need to email this-is-not-spam@bresnan.net and tell them to take the above email address off of their blocked spam list.
Apple products are beautiful and functional. Many people brag about their iPod or Mac’s stability, but there is a good reason that Macs are so stable. Apple is very restrictive as to what others are allowed to do with their systems.
For example, if you have a iPod, you can only use iTunes if you want to sync music to it. If you have another brand of media player, it will not work with iTunes.
Most standard hardware such as keyboards, mice and printers are compatable with both Macs and PCs, but when it comes to software, Apple has some very strict standards that developers must meet and money must exchange hands to apply for Apple approval.
Windows Vista is going away or improving so I will do my best to help Vista users make the best of a marginal situation. Lack of speed and responsiveness remains one of the biggest detriments to Vista.
I believe that one visiblible flaw with Vista’s speed is the over abundance of visual affects that require a great deal of resources. Disabling these unnecesary and sometimes irritating features will yield a little extra speed from Vista. Here’s how:
1. Click the Windows Orb (old Start button)
2. Type: SystemPropertiesPerformance (no spaces…type it as shown
3. Press Enter on your keyboard
4. Uncheck the features and affects you don’t need
5. Click Apply and OK
Watch the short video below to learn how to put this Vista tweak into practice:
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 if you are a Windows Vista user.
Many times when sitting in front of a computer screen, I need to know the date. I don’t tend to keep the date in my permanent memory, so I rely on calendars to remind me. With a Windows computer (from Windows 95 through Vista), you can quickly access the current date by hovering your mouse, don’t click, just hover on the time in your system tray.
Watch my quick 40 second tip demonstrating this extremely useful, but often forgotten tip.
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.
As you have noticed, the site design has changed a little, yet again. Adam and I aren’t graphic designers and don’t have much of an eye for color (at least I don’t). In lieu of those deficiencies, we rely on the professional designs of others for our site. I found this one yesterday and liked the clear distinct layout and fonts.
NONE of our content has changed and everything is in the same place it was before. Let us know what you think of this design…it may change again, but for the moment, I’m pretty happy with this one.
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I know that downloading can be fun and pop-ups can be enticing. But when it comes to most system utilities (programs supposedly designed to help your computer), just say “NO!” One of the worst add-on utilities you can get is the so-called “registry cleaner”. First, let me try to define the registry. Starting with Windows 95 and all versions of Windows since then, Microsoft has employed a large and complex database that tracks all hardware, software, user settings, drivers, and more for our computer. This “database” of information controls everything we do with our computers from the installation of software, customization of the desktop and more importantly how all the programs we use interact with each other and with Windows.