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Riding Shotgun with Adam

How much would you pay for a “simple” computer?

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 bells and whistles in Windows.

So, here is my question. If there were a computer that would do email, Internet, basic digital photography, document creation and standard games like solitaire, how much would you pay for it.

I’m sure it’s something simple…

Several times each week I will receive messages with the phrase, "I'm sure it's something simple…" What is ironic is that these are usually the calls with problems that are the farthest from simple.

I was thinking about this last week as someone left a message that said something like, "Hi I was given your name by a friend who said you might be able to help me. I have a computer that is shutting itself off every time I drag a heart over a club in solitaire and my antivirus software keeps telling me that it can't find my sound card. I am sure it's something simple that you can walk me though over the phone. Oh, ya! It also keeps giving me errors that say something about catastrophic failure and immanent death. Of course I exaggerated the details, but only slightly.

I’ve heard you say that before

Imagine for a moment (you won't have to stretch very far) that your son or daughter comes home past curfew and you say something like, "I told you to be home by midnight." In reply your kid says, "I know I heard you say that."

Imagine for a moment that you are an engineer who builds bridges. One day a bridge that you design collapses. You confront the builders only to find that they used half of the bolts that you indicated in the design. "I heard you say that we should use that many bolts," comes the reply from the builder.

In each case, the next sentence that follows is an excuse from the offenders as to why they thought this should be an exception.

Simple things to check before you call your computer guy

People always apologize all over the place whenever a problem turns out to have a simple fix. Small problem or not, I typically charge a small fee just to cover the higher gas prices and time I blocked out for the appointment.

To avoid the small fee or feeling silly, here are a few things to try before calling your computer guy whether you have to pay him or not.

1. Turn the computer off and back on.

2. If you are on broadband Internet and it isn't working (You can't get Internet OR email) unplug the power from your modem then plug it back in. If you are going through a router, do the same with the router.

Compare online map services

I was home sick for the day so I had a lot of time to stumble around the Internet. I found this great site that lets you compare all of the big online mapping services like Yahoo, Google, Ask.com and NASA. I think Google won every time but the site is interesting.

Quickly sort your start menu items – VIDEO TIP

Finding the right program in your Start menu can be difficult if the items are all out of order. Here's how to sort them alphabetically.

1. Click Start -> (All) Programs

2. Right-click on any item in the Programs area

3. Click Sort By Name

If you need any more help with it, just watch this quick little video tip.

Spyblocker: My first nasty Vista spyware and repair success story

I am writing this from a client's house. Typically I wouldn't work on the site while I am on the clock but since I have to sit and wait for they repair scan to finish, I might as well tell you why I'm here.

It all began with a call this morning. My client said that she could move her mouse but it wouldn't let her click on anything. Luckily I had time available to see her in the afternoon.

When I got here I took the computer into safe mode where I discovered two strange things.

1. A windows kept popping up telling me that Windows Explorer had a problem and needed to be restarted. Followed immediately by a window that said that the problem couldn't be repaired. Or vice versa. I don't remember which order the windows were coming up.

Three ways to learn Photoshop

Although Photoshop Elements is the "easy" version of Photoshop, it is still far from intuitive. While this may seem like a bad thing it is actually what makes it a great program. When programs get too intuitive, they begin to think for you and limit options. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements do neither.

The newer versions of  Photoshop are much better about guiding you to certain areas and offering better tutorials, but the best way to learn is still to just to dive in and get your hands dirty (too many idioms?).

I think there are three ways to approach Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. The best way depends on how you learn.

Know your ports

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I often get calls from people who have recently moved or otherwise disconnected their computer only to find that certain features no longer work once it is all put back together.

More often than not (probably about 99.9% of the time) this is because thing

s were not put back together correctly.

There are three common problems I see as a result of mismatched cables. Typically, there are very few mistakes you can make when connecting everything to the back of a computer. However, there are a few cables that will go into the wrong port (geek for hole where you plug something in the back of your computer).

Don’t put folders and files on your desktop

A few days ago one of my clients called me with some strange problems. Suddenly many of her files disappeared from her computer. None of the files seemed to be related. She was missing a few Microsoft Word documents, some photos and her genealogy.

After looking around and doing several searches she happened to mention that she used to have a folder on her desktop called "Old Desktop Files." It was a folder with files that she had on an old computer.

Instantly I figured out what was going on. I looked in her Word and PAF under the File menu and noticed that all of the missing files had been in that missing folder.

All Rights Reserved © 2026 Rick Castellini
All Rights Reserved © 2026 Rick Castellini