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Riding Shotgun with Rick

What did you do with your time?

What did you do with your time before you got a computer?

I know that I watched more TV and read more magazines and books. I have to admit that I also think that I spent more time outside than I do now (except summers where it is hard to stay inside except on the hottest days). My information gathering has changed. What I used to rely on newspaper and TV for, I get first on the computer. Or if I read something or hear something interesting, I research it further on the Internet.

What I really am aiming this question at is businesses. As much as a computer can help a business do more work faster and potentially better, I see an awful lot of employees and business owners waste a lot of time trying to learn a computer skill or solve a problem. Seeking answers isn't the problem, but knowing how and where to seek the answers is important to avoid wasting time.

Do you remember your password for…?

If you do any online shopping and/or banking, user name and passwords have infiltrated your life. Many of my customers can easily knock one-half hour or more off their bill if they kept track of their passwords. I get many blank stares when I'm troubleshooting a machine and need to log into an Internet service or web site and I ask the customer for their password. Often times I receive the classic, "I don't have a password."

Everyone has a password for email, their bank, any other online service you might sign up for be it banking or a community forum.

Macintosh inching more and more

I really thought the computer world was simple. Ultra-geeks used Linux, cool cats with a little attitude used Macintosh and the rest of us used Windows. None of the three major platforms worried to much about the other and software remained pretty much platform specific. Then two years ago Apple released software for the Macintosh that allows Windows to be installed on their systems, an upstart Linux version called Ubuntu started to make a splash and Microsoft recently released their biggest dog yet…Windows Vista.

Today, I read a story that Windows users can now use the Apple Macintosh web browser called Safari. Dismiss the fact that hackers have already pummeled Apple's first offering at PC software and instead take a look at the tech forest. The tech forest is changing at a more rapid and significant pace than it has in nearly ten years. Microsoft and Windows are losing ground, manufacturers are now offering PC's with alternative operating systems, Apple is making a dent in Window's sales and now offering Windows software, buying packaged software is unnecessary in many instances, and computer users no longer crave or need the fastest or the latest and greatest.

Ubuntu on the road

I continue to experiment with the Ubuntu operating system. This past weekend, my family and I made a quick trip to the South Dakota Black Hills and I took my Ubuntu laptop along for the ride. My Ubuntu laptop is an older Compaq (almost six years old) that was destined for the trash heap by its previous owner. It no longer performed well for them and required reformatting and upgrading to run Windows XP and other software at any appreciable speed. I rescued it, installed Ubuntu Linux on it, bought the cheapest wireless card I could find, and now I have a completely functional and quick second laptop.

Collectors Celebrate

One of my customers was using some interesting and well laid out software for collectors (she collected books). We are often asked to suggest software for organizing and tracking CD, DVD, Book, Coin and other collections. This company called Collection Database Software produces software for collectors of all types. You can try the software out for free to see if it fits your needs before buying it.

Easily replaced hardware items…

Sometimes I am accused of being too laid back about life and problems. I take that as a compliment and consider my low key approach to life to be an asset not a liability. When it comes to computers, many computer users should also take a low key approach to many hardware problems.

Keyboards and Mice

If you start having a problem with a mouse or keyboard, the first thing to try is shutting the computer off, unplug and re-plug cables, then try again. If they still give you problems, go out and buy a new one. Mice and keyboards can't and shouldn't be repaired…just replace them. Mice and keyboards both can be found for less than $20. If your mouse or keyboard is a cordless one, always check the batteries.

Take a break …. Physical Therapy Advice

Many of you know that I started out as a Physical Therapist, but switched careers almost twelve years ago. I notice that many computer users (including myself) can get absorbed in reading online news, working with pictures, researching, learning a new computer program, or just playing a game. Unfortunately, when we get absorbed, we also lose track of time and thirty minutes can quickly become two hours! We have all been there. 

I like to use a computer timer (but an egg timer or watch alarm will do also) to remind me to stand up and walk away from the computer when I'm working on a long project. Our bodies don't like to sit stationary for too long and our eyes really don't like staring at a fixed distance for long periods of time either.

Actual drop in computer productivity from 1986 to Today

I just "Stumbled Upon" this article from Hubpages.com and article which compared one of the earliest 'personal' computers (an Apple Mac Plus). What it concluded was what Adam and I complain about on the show often and what all computer users feel when they sit down at their keyboards; our computers are not any faster today, than they were 10 or more years ago.

Processors, hard drives, RAM have all increased exponentially in the last 20 years, but unfortunately so has modern operating systems. The article I linked above pointed out the gargantuan disk requirements of Windows Vista, so I decided to put together a little table comparing disk space and RAM requirements for the different flavors of operating systems. It is quite eye opening.

Internet Explorer 7 Zoom

For many computer users, viewing some web sites can be frustrating because
text tends to be too small. Since many of you might be using Internet
Explorer 7, take advantage of the improved zoom functuon in it. To access
the zoom function:

1. Click Page from the menu in the upper right of the screen
2. Click Zoom from the menu
3. Choose a Zoom value from the options (I recommend trying the 125% first
and then move up from there)

Because of the method used to create some web sites, zooming can distort
some features on the site. It isn’t a perfect solution for zooming hard to

Make multiple computers work for you

The last few weeks I have seen many clients who own multiple computers and are learning to use a computer network to take advantage of printers, Internet connections and file sharing. If you own more than one computer and a high speed Internet connection, you need to consider connecting the computers together via a network. Doing so will allow you to own just one printer that all the computers can print to, take advantage of high speed Internet by having all the computers be online at the same time, and move files back and forth via the network.

Home networking isn't too difficult to setup and the benefits far outweigh the little bit of work and cost required to get it started. For a primer on networking your computers, visit our Networking Setup Guide .