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Control is Key

I can usually get a 'wow' from many computer users when I show them how to use the Ctrl (Control) key on the keyboard. In combination with other keys it can do fantastic tricks like copy (Ctrl+C), print (Ctrl+P), or save files (Ctrl+S) to name a few. Combine the Ctrl key with a mouse click and you truly get magic. Hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on documents, email, pictures or other multiple to select multiple at a time.

No longer do you have to be relegated to deleting files one at a time or emailing pictures one at time. Use Ctrl+Click to select or highlight multiple options at the same time.

AOL is NUMBER ONE!!!

I finally got around to reading my newest PC World magazine today. Their cover story is the Top 100 Products of the year. As I read the story, I came across a side bar:  The 25 Worst Tech Products of ALL TIME.

Guess who was the #1 worst tech product of ALL time? If you guessed AOL, you were right. Needless to say a smile broke across my face when I saw that. Pick up a copy of PC World to read the article for yourself or read it online by clicking here.

We've been trying to tell you that we weren't the only ones who despise the over priced product that AOL puts out. 

Make sure you have the disks

I do my best to support small local businesses, because I own and operate a small, local business. However, when it comes to purchasing a computer, too many times I have seen the small computer shop put together a machine that is more expensive with less features than a name brand computer. And worse, the computer does NOT come with the original Windows CD and accompanying license.

If you aren’t given and can’t obtain the original Windows installation disk when you purchase a computer, then the copy of Windows on your computer (and probably other software as well…think Microsoft Office) is illegal. The software will work fine, but when it comes time to reinstall after a hard drive crash or if you want to upgrade, you are stuck with having to purchase full versions of these programs. 

DVD Burners

Seeing all the blank DVD’s and CD’s in a store can confuse a computer user. And with most computers shipping with a DVD-ROM over the past four or so years, it is even more confusing. And to make matters even more difficult, many CD/DVD-ROM manufacturers have black fronts with black text! Yikes that’s hard to read.

One of my customer’s today assumed that his laptop had a DVD burner because it could play DVD’s. He is not alone as many people fall into the same category…it is not that clearly written. For many years, we used floppy disks and if a computer had a floppy drive, we knew we could read and write to a floppy. Unfortunately, that is not the case today. CD and DVD players come in two primary flavors (I won’t discuss all the hybrids here); ROM (Read Only Memory) and R/RW (Recordable / Re-writable).

Oops…I hate it when I make mistakes

I’m always the first to admit when I make a mistake, but damn I  hate making them! Especially when the mistakes affect a customer I’m working with at the time.

While uninstalling yet another copy of the bloated Norton Internet Security today, I ran into the Norton Password Manager. Unfortunately, some of my work (like anyone else involved in a business) becomes repetitive and robotic and that can lead to potential problems. I was getting "click happy" when I ran into this program (that I honestly had not seen anyone use yet) and before I thought to ask the customer if he used the program, I had already uninstalled the program. Fortunately, I saved the data, but the program was history…even System Restore couldn’t get it back and he didn’t have the CD for re-installation.

I’m not perfect….

I have never claimed to be the most knowledgeable computer tech on the planet…and I never will. However, what I will promise is that I give my customers the best advice that I can for the topics that I know about and will refer them to the best possible resources for topics outside my scope.

Today, I saw a client who traded some services with another computer tech here in Grand Junction, CO. The other tech reformatted my client’s computer and proceeded to install a copy of Microsoft Office 2000. The copy was not a legal one. My client never paid for Microsoft Office and never received a CD and certificate of authenticity for the software. She was appalled that a "business person" would do such a thing. Unfortunately, this is the second time I ran into a situation like this in less than two weeks. I also happened to talk to a client of mine, recently, who took a class and was "sold" a pirated copy of some software for a substantially reduced price over the retail price of the product.

Changing your email address is easy

A new customer that I helped today uses AOL. She stated that she is frustrated with AOL’s support, price, and continuous barrage of advertising among other things. In the next breath, however, she said

Holiday Greeting Cards

Holiday Greeting Cards

Using the techniques discussed this month you can create a stand-alone post card style greeting card, or make the photos on the front or inside of your greeting cards much more personalized.

Although the card above does not look that much like one you would send out for the Holidays, it uses several important effects and techniques that are only limited by your creativity.