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Turns out that real tech guys follow the same advice

I worked with a business client today who runs their cash register computers from a "server" computer in the back of the store. Their server is really a normal computer that just shares the data about the stores customer's and products. The actual program exists on each of the register's computers. In larger businesses like banks, Home Depot's, etc, true servers deliver the program and data to the cash registers and need to be very powerful. In the situation I described with my client's system, the "server" computer doesn't do a lot of work so it doesn't have to be too powerful.

How to have a phone, answering machine and fax on the same line

So, you have a phone, an answering machine and a fax. You have two lines so that the answering machine doesn't pickup the fax and vice versa. This means that you are likely spending at least $40 per month on phone service.

You haven't switched to broadband because it would cost that much more.

There is an affordable solution. It's called distinctive ring.

Provided your phone company offers the service, it is the solution for many  home businesses and others who need the ability to receive faxes without warning.

Distinctive ring is a $5 service that can be added to your existing phone line. The phone company will give you a new telephone number, or reassign your current fax number. Whenever someone calls that number, the phone will ring differently than it does when they dial your home line.

How to know if you have spyware

If the popups and sudden system slowdown aren’t sufficient indicators, here are two other ways to tell that you have spyware.

1. Tons of toolbars in Internet Explorer

2. More than 10 items in the system tray by the clock

Special thanks to my client who unknowingly contributed material for this video which I recorded with my cell phone.

Windows Vista’s Open and Save Dialog Box – Video Tip

Vista Dialog Box

Windows Vista has brought us many changes…some good, many not so good. One change that takes some getting used to is the new open/save dialog box. It takes a little getting used to, but with some practice and tips in my video tip below, you will be in harmony with Gates' new monster. In the video, I include how to create shortcuts to your most used folders, explain the new Vista file hierarchy, and demonstrate how to effectively utilize the new dialog boxes you encounter when opening and saving files.

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.

Easy, safe, fun (and useful) Google Images – Video Tip

Google offers hundreds of features and most of them go unused by the average computer user.

Google Images is one of the coolest features that the monster search site has to offer. Google Images allows you to search the web for graphics or pictures related to any search topic.

It's so easy to use:

1. Visit Images.Google.com

2. Type in a word or phrase that you want to search for

3. Hit ENTER key on your keyboard

4. The website where the image is found will load but you can get directly to the image itself by clicking on the thumbnail at the top of the page.

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.

Windows Vista Integrated Search – Video Tip

As you know, I am not thrilled will Windows Vista. However, one feature I did find helpful since Day 1 is the integrated search. Vista constantly indexes your hard drive…probably one reason it feels slower than XP. Indexing means that Windows looks through all user generated files like word processing documents, email, spreadsheets and other user files. It then analyzes the file names and the content of these documents and stores that information in massive index files. Think of it as a "Google" for your own computer. Using the integrated search, you can type in a few characters and get instant results of matching documents or programs on your computer.

I'm torn about this feature because I feel that it makes the user a little lazy in really understanding where the data actually is stored, but the speed of the search is undeniable.

I mentioned that the Vista integrated search is sort of like a Google for your machine. Well, if you are a Windows XP user, you can get this same functionality with a tool from Google called Google Desktop or from Yahoo using the Yahoo Desktop .

Watch the video below for a short demonstration of how this tool works in Vista.