By now many of you have figured out that computers are unruly beasts. They seem to be fine one day and schizophrenic the next. As a person who troubleshoots computers for a living, I’m going to let you in on a little trade secret.
When something on your computer seems to be a little left of center, stop and ask yourself three questions:
On last week’s web show, I talked about how excited I was with a new technology called Splashtop. Adam sent me the site earlier last week, and since then my mind and ideas have been flying.
Splashtop was developed by a private company called Device VM. They work with hardware and software developers to bring their ideas to the market. Splashtop is being billed as a computer’s alter ego to the operating system (aka Windows, Linux, etc). Instead of booting all the way into your operating system (2 minutes plus), you can choose to boot to the Splashtop which, at the moment, runs a customized version of Mozilla Firefox and Skype.
When you choose to start your computer into Splashtop, you can be browsing the Internet in seconds. Everything you can do on the web is available. When you finish, hit the off button and the system shuts off instantly.
I am really excited about the possibility for Splashtop because I have been talking and writing a lot recently about the need for simpler computers. With all the computing we can do on the Internet today, there really is no need for a vast majority of computer users to deal with the complexities and cost of an operating system.
Take a look at the Splashtop web site and watch their video below and then let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
With Microsoft putting out less-and-less usable software and better-and-better options becoming available online, there is no reason to shell out hard earned money for Microsoft Office. If you aren’t quite ready to move your data and applications online (search our site for Web 2.0), then OpenOffice.org’s free office software is a wonderful option.
Learning to make Windows work for you instead of you working for it can yield many more happy and productive hours using your computer. One highly under utilized feature of Windows is the shortcut icon. Learning to use and manage shortcuts will give you a huge advantage with your computer.
Windows Vista is going away or improving so I will do my best to help Vista users make the best of a marginal situation. Lack of speed and responsiveness remains one of the biggest detriments to Vista.
I believe that one visiblible flaw with Vista’s speed is the over abundance of visual affects that require a great deal of resources. Disabling these unnecesary and sometimes irritating features will yield a little extra speed from Vista. Here’s how:
1. Click the Windows Orb (old Start button)
2. Type: SystemPropertiesPerformance (no spaces…type it as shown
3. Press Enter on your keyboard
4. Uncheck the features and affects you don’t need
5. Click Apply and OK
Watch the short video below to learn how to put this Vista tweak into practice:
Windows Vista has few redeeming qualities, in my humble opinion. Some users, however, may have the need to track multiple time zones for work or personal use. I use this tip to track the time in Arizona where my brother lives. Because they don’t follow daylight savings time, I am forever confused about what time it is for him when I call.
Watch the short video below to learn how to quickly track up to three time zones if you are a Windows Vista user.
Many times when sitting in front of a computer screen, I need to know the date. I don’t tend to keep the date in my permanent memory, so I rely on calendars to remind me. With a Windows computer (from Windows 95 through Vista), you can quickly access the current date by hovering your mouse, don’t click, just hover on the time in your system tray.
Watch my quick 40 second tip demonstrating this extremely useful, but often forgotten tip.
I know that downloading can be fun and pop-ups can be enticing. But when it comes to most system utilities (programs supposedly designed to help your computer), just say “NO!” One of the worst add-on utilities you can get is the so-called “registry cleaner”. First, let me try to define the registry. Starting with Windows 95 and all versions of Windows since then, Microsoft has employed a large and complex database that tracks all hardware, software, user settings, drivers, and more for our computer. This “database” of information controls everything we do with our computers from the installation of software, customization of the desktop and more importantly how all the programs we use interact with each other and with Windows.
I setup my first Quad Core processor computer today. It wasn’t for me, unfortunately, but I was impressed with the machine. My client ordered a Dell XPS Intel Quad Core machine with 4 GB of RAM and Windows XP. It was easily the fastest computer I have seen to date. With all that RAM, a 256mb video card, and the new Intel Quad Core processor everthing literally flew on this machine. One example is Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5. On most computers with 512 to 1 GB of Ram, Elements takes between 30-60 seconds to fully load. On this mahine today, it loaded in less than 10 seconds. I was floored.
No, I’m not so obsessive-compulsive that I do things twice. What I’m referring to in the title of today’s Shotgun/Email Tip is that almost all email programs require you to delete your email twice. Whether you use Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Thunderbird, AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, or any of the myriad of other email services, when you delete your email, the email isn’t gone. Deleted email ends up in the “Deleted Items” folder or “Trash” folder of your email.
To get rid of your email for good, go to your deleted items folder and use its “empty all” option or delete the individual emails you want to get rid of permanently.
Also, don’t forget that your Sent mail folder also needs cleaned from time-to-time.