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3 Reasons NOT to upgrade or buy to Microsoft Office & 5 Alternatives

Microsoft has primarily moved to a subscription model for its Office suite…costing you recurring fees. After 25+ years of using Microsoft Office and watching others use Microsoft Office, I can say without hesitation that it is a waste of hard earned money for most people. Don’t be pressured or swayed into purchasing it.  Here’s why: 3 Reasons NOT to upgrade… Read More »3 Reasons NOT to upgrade or buy to Microsoft Office & 5 Alternatives

Windows 7 – 4 month report

Technically, I’ve been using Windows 7 (in beta and final form) for more than a year, but for today’s discussion I want to review what I’ve seen with it since its public release in October.  Since then, I have helped many computer users setup their new Windows 7 laptops, desktop, and netbooks (probably around 125-150 new systems in total). I also helped around a dozen or so computer users upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7.

After this hands on experience, I’ve started to see some trends about Windows 7 that I like and some that I don’t like. Maybe some of this information will help you with the purchase of your next system.

Windows 7 is Vista done right (in the speed department)

On the surface, many computer users familiar with Windows Vista will think they are simply looking at Windows Vista. And overall, they would be right. Except for the small user interface changes with the Start menu, taskbar changes, system tray overhaul, and the way you can interact with open Windows, Windows 7 looks and feels like Vista. Under the hood, however, is where Microsoft Read More »Windows 7 – 4 month report

PC World columnist says don’t upgrade from XP

PC World columnist, David Coursey, writes this week that the hassle of upgrading a Windows XP computer to Windows 7 isn’t worth the time and price. It pretty much mimics the exact advice I gave to Windows XP users when Vista came out 2 1/2 years ago.

Software developers build software for the future, so older computer simply cannot run the newer software as efficiently. Especially when talking about operating systems like Windows.

Bottom line: If you are Read More »PC World columnist says don’t upgrade from XP

How to adjust toolbars in Internet Explorer – Video Tip

I ran across a question today that could not be explained verbally or in writing. It is so visual, that a video was warranted. The question was how to adjust or restore the default toolbars in Internet Explorer. Here’s a 49 second video demonstrating the skills you need to get this done. Take a look!

Microsoft’s Security Essentials

Security
photo credit: CarbonNYC

Microsoft released an updated and completely re-tooled version of their computer security product. It is now called Microsoft Security Essentials. I have not had a chance to try it out yet (wasn’t accepted into the beta testing this summer), but through my reading it is getting much better scores than their awful Live OneCare products they sold for a couple of years.

Overall, it supposedly runs much faster than OneCare and protectsRead More »Microsoft’s Security Essentials

Email of the Week – 008

Mailboxes in the sun
photo credit: mihirvaze

QUESTION

Name:   Norman B. Buckallew

From: Florien, La.,

OS: Windows XP

———————-
I have office 2003 standard addition installed on my computer. When I try use programs such as powerpoint it asks for a key word to install or activate it. I have lost the keywords that came with my computer. I have tried Belarc and it dosn’t give me it keyword for powerpoint or office 2003. Can you help.

Norman

ANSWER

Thanks for writing Norman. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to get those numbers, but I would start byRead More »Email of the Week – 008

Windows 7 Will Launch in October

It appears, from this article, that Microsoft has chose October 22 as the official release date for Windows 7. After testing Windows 7 for the past 5 months, I can honestly say it is heads and tails above Windows Vista. However, I still stand by my previous comments that most basic computer users would be far better off with an… Read More »Windows 7 Will Launch in October

Bing Search Engine

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the new Wolfram Alpha search engine and it was news fodder all over the web for nearly 2 weeks. This week, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine is getting a lot of press. At first glance, the Bing search engine looks clean and fresh. Searching is ultra-fast and easy to read. Like Google,… Read More »Bing Search Engine

Microsoft Promises greater compatibility with Windows 7

Windows Vista was hammered from its beta versions all the way through to its release and even to this day for lack of compatibility with hardware and software. Today, Microsoft announced that more than 10,000 hardware and software vendors are working with Microsoft during the development phase of Windows 7 to help assure a quality launch of Windows 7 later… Read More »Microsoft Promises greater compatibility with Windows 7