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Create a docked Quick Launch bar in Windows Vista – Video Tip

One of my favorite tips to teach people is the use of the Quick Launch bar (click here for the tip for all other versions of Windows) for always having your most commonly needed files or programs at your ready. Microsoft made the process harder to accomplish in the new Vista, but it can still be done. Here's how:

  1. RIGHT Click on a blank part of your desktop.
  2. Click New —> Folder
  3. Push Enter on your keyboard.
  4. Carefully drag the new folder to either the top or sides of your screen. Once at the edge, let go of the mouse and your new toolbar will appear.
  5. RIGHT click on the new toolbar
  6. Uncheck the "Show title" option
  7. RIGHT click on the new toolbar
  8. Click Toolbars from the menu
  9. Click Quick Launch
  10. Now you can delete the new folder from your desktop.

Watch the video below to

Bad tech support: When in doubt, blame a virus

We talk a lot about viruses on the show and here on the site, but in reality, viruses make up a very small portion of day-to-day computer problems. In fact, many (if not most) problems that people blame on viruses are not actually viruses at all.

Many of today's computers contain at least 100,000 smaller files. These thousands of little files work together by linking and sharing jobs with each other. Viruses work by getting into that mix and confusing the files.

However, even without viruses at play, these files can get confused all on their own. In many ways a computer is like a living organism. Just as DNA, cells, the processes of life can get mixed up an mutated, the files and programs that make a computer work can also get corrupted.

Rthdcpl.exe – Illegal System DLL Relocation

Once in a while a Windows update comes along that causes a problem that ranges somewhere between a minor irritant and a catastrophic meltdown. I had a couple clients call today who were experiencing an error message on boot up.

The error contains the following line "Rthdcpl.exe – Illegal System DLL Relocation" The error is caused by a recent Windows update. There is a simple manual fix or you can download a small fix to fix this relocate problem.

Read all about it at Microsoft's support site Here. Or download the little Microsoft fix HERE .

Fill in Forms Quickly – Video Tip

Are you tired of filling out forms using your keyboard and mouse?

To quickly move from field-to-field (box-to-box) while filling out a form, use the TAB key on your keyboard. For example; after you fill in your name, to move the cursor from the name field to the address field, simply push the TAB key on your keyboard.

Some of you may be aware of that keyboard trick, but this next one is a doozie!

OK, so you've tabbed from Name to Address to City and now you are in the State field that has one of those drop down lists to choose the proper answer. Normally, I would reach for the mouse, Click on the field, then scroll through the list and Click on the proper state. It works, but takes extra time.

YouTube becomes arena for political battle

I am going to keep this post free of any political commentary. I just wanted to post the "1984" video that it causing so much controversy. This video will be added to the list of dirty campaign commercials along with the Johnson nuke commercial and the Willy Horton ads.

It is worth watching just so you can say you've seen it. 

You may also enjoy the John Edwards, "I Feel Pretty" video.

Faster Internet does not equal faster computer

A common misconception I run across often is that getting a faster Internet
connection will make the computer faster. The Internet is just one of many
functions a computer performs. Whether you connect via a phone line, DSL,
or cable has absolutely NO bearing on how quickly the computer boots up or
opens a particular program.

A faster Internet connection will allow you to receive large email
attachments faster, surf the web faster, and download updates faster, but
it does nothing else for speeding up other computer functions. If your
computer feels slow, that can be due to one or more factors including; not

Do you really have that much time on your hands?

I hate to beat a dead horse, but I need to know. One of the most common responses I get from people who don't have a high speed Internet connection is, "I have plenty of time to wait and am in no hurry." While I admire the Zen like focus and calm nerves of these folks, I have to ask the obvious. "Really?"

Today, I worked with a customer who lives literally in the middle of the mountains…the nearest town (about 200 people) is more than 20 miles away and the phone line sounds like popcorn in a microwave and there is no cell service. She has been patiently using dial-up Internet service for more than 7 years connecting at speeds of between 12 kbps and 14.4 kbps on a good day. Yes, you read that correctly…12-14 kbps!!! That is half the speed of a poor dial-up connection…good dial-up connections range from 44 kbps to 52 kbps. An entry level DSL connection starts at 256 kbps. When I setup her new computer today, it took almost thirty minutes to download and install the flash plug-in for her browser. I ended up disabling graphics from showing in her browser and showed her how to view a graphic if she really needed to since a 54kb graphic would take nearly two minutes to load.

Basic Programming

One caller today, John, was looking for a basic programming application to teach his grand daughter computer programming. We found this site that has a free basic program available for download.

Myron, from Ontario, wrote in and suggested the following:

The father may wish to check out Python as a modern alternative. It has a simple syntax and encourages good programming habits. One can get into Object Oriented Programming as well as traditional Procedural programming styles. It has been ported to just about every operating system there is!

http://www.python.org/