Archive for The Desktop Experience
PC Memory Upgrade Guide
Posted by: | CommentsBy Christer Steinsvik (Contributed)
So the time has come, your PC is slowing you down and taking forever to start your favorite applications. You have gone through the normal stuff we do when this happens and you are done defragging, scanning for viruses, uninstalling applications and all the other stuff.
This might be a good time to have a look at your computer’s memory usage, and compare that to how much RAM you actually have installed. I’m going to use my computer as an example here just to keep things simple. I’m at this point running Windows7 on a fairly new computer, and its chugging along just fine at about 40% of the 6 gigabytes I have installed. Read More→
Hello, Windows 7!
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“Sweet dreams are made of these/who am I to disagree?”
Well, it didn’t take long..2.5 weeks in fact, before Windows 7 finds itself once again on my trusty Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505 (See “Goodbye, Windows 7”).
What happened?
As the saying goes: ‘Life Happens’. By that I mean certain issues arose, likely of my doing, but in the end necessity won the day and Windows 7 Professional is back, up and running. And running nicely, I should add, but doesn’t every fresh install seem to be the fastest ever? Windows XP was running fine, but something was grinding it to a halt.
Was it a program? Was it one of the numerous tweaks I applied?
Deleting Your Google Search History
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By Richard Tyler C (Contributed)
You probably use Google to search the Internet. Did you know that Google, and your browser, maintain a history of your Internet activities? In this article, we will take a look at why you want to remove this history and how to do it.
Most people do not know that their Internet activities are logged. These activities are ostensibly logged for your convenience. For example, if you have visited a page in the past, your browser maintains this information so that you do not need to type the whole website URL again.
Or in other cases, you may have typed something into the Google search box. These searches are maintained by Google to present you with similar searches if you happen to be looking for the same thing in the future. In fact, Google combines your previous searches with their own database to try to provide you with the optimal results.
However, what will happen if someone logs into your computer? Can they see your previous Internet activities? Read More→
How to Name & Date Computer Folders & Files For Fast, Effective Organization
Posted by: | CommentsBy John Cini (Contributed)
Effective storage of your computer data is directly tied to the way you assign names to files. Knowing how the computer sorts files based on the date format is also a huge time saver. No one teaches us this, so we need to get it somewhere. This is the place! Having a reliable system that you use consistently throughout your computer will save the average person literally hundreds of hours annually.
Microsoft Office Online (2003) says: “Statistics show that you can reduce the amount of time you spend finding and filing data by as much as 50 minutes a day by having an effective reference system in place.” [The direct link to this quote is provided at the bottom of this article.]
That’s a whopping 300 hours a year! (Above, when I said “hundreds of hours,” you thought I was exaggerating, didn’t you?)
So it’s worth taking the time to implement a strong computer filing system.
Goodbye, Windows 7…One Week Later
Posted by: | CommentsWell, it has been one week since erasing Windows 7 off my Dell laptop’s hard drive and restoring Windows XP. How has it been, using Windows XP you ask?
Simply put, a real joy.
There have been a few Windows updates in the past week, and no issue with update MS10-015 so far. I have been burning CDs, playing movies, composing posts, downloading, uploading, browsing the ‘Net all with great speed and agility. Of course, as some commentors have pointed out, my aging Dell laptop is due for a replacement, and nothing would please me more, but present finances do not allow it, unfortunately. My RAM is maxed out at 2GB, so that cannot be upgraded any further.
Why You Need to Update Your Drivers For Windows 7
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By David Snowdon (Contributed)
If you are upgrading to Windows 7 or are planning to buy a new PC with a Windows 7 operating system, it is important to update the drivers for all your devices. This applies to Modems, Wireless Modems, and Wireless Adapters, some Printers, as well as some internal devices such as Video Cards. This can save you from a load of problems from devices not working properly.
The Internet Browser Start Page – Everyone Has One
Posted by: | CommentsBy Bobby A Clark (Contributed)
One of the most overlooked and widely used aspect of the Internet is your browser’s start page. What is a browser start page? This is the page that is set as your home page every time you launch your Internet browser, whether you are using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Opera, they all have them. Most users that surf the Internet use the default browser home page that is set from when they purchased their computer or they use their Internet provider’s home page – that’s not any fun.
Just like a business’s Intranet web page that is personalized with their logo and links to most used resources, your browser start page should cater to your needs and be personalized to your liking. Most users that surf the web either do not know of the different options that are out there for them or they do not know that they can even change their start page!
To answer most Internet users first question, “How do I change my browser start page?” let’s take a look at your Internet browsers settings.
Goodbye, Windows 7
Posted by: | Comments“The Windows 7 Honeymoon is over” reads a headline over at ZDNet. Interestingly enough, that is the same way I feel: the excitement over Windows 7 has waned for me and now it is time to get down to work and quit tinkering around.
I have gone back to Windows XP.
Yes, you read that right. I have uninstalled Windows 7 and installed XP. What brought this decision about? Well, I had been testing out a lot of software of late, installing, uninstalling, that sort of thing. This was indirectly causing my PC to act, well, quirky. It was time for a fresh start. First, though I gave some serious consideration as to whether to stick with Windows 7 or not.
Oops! Backup Mini-Review and Discount Offer
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I must admit that when I first heard about Oops! Backup, I was not enchanted with the name, but when the CEO of Altaro.com contacted me to do a review of Oops! I thought I had better look into it. All I could find were impressive reviews, so I loaded up my complimentary copy to see what all the fuss was about.
First off, Oops! Backup is not a full backup program. What I mean by that is Oops! does not create disk images like AcronisTrue Image Home for example.
How does Oops! Backup work?
