Archive for October, 2007
Microsoft, give us a new operating system!
Not all PC users are the same. There are hundreds of millions of them and they vary enormously in interests and in technical knowledge. Yet we have a dominant computer operating system with a one-size-fits-all approach. Microsoft’s model of bundling as much as possible into the operating system means that many millions of home PC [...]
Detecting email scams
PC World has a pictorial guide to spotting email scams.
Windows XP service pack 3 in beta testing
Yes, there really is a Windows XP SP3. It’s been released to a group of public beta testers and some description is at this link. It seems to be mostly a rollup of previous patches and fixes although there are a few new things. I haven’t seen anything that would really grab a typical PC [...]
Command line tip #2 - Open the command prompt at any folder
In the first command line tip, I gave two ways to open a command prompt window. Please remember that paths in all commands are relative to the folder indicated in the command prompt itself, unless explicitly indicated otherwise. The default reference folder is usually C:\Documents and Settings\(log on name)\. Thus if a reference is made [...]
Disable those pesky Thumbs.db files
If you have a folder with any pictures in it, or if you choose the “thumbnails” view for a folder, a system file called “Thumbs.db” will be generated. The purpose of the file is to act as a kind of database (hence, the extension “db”) that makes generating thumbnail views faster. If you have the [...]
Find out what’s running
Sometimes you have a computer problem and you need to know what programs, services, and/or processes are actually running. There are a variety of ways to do this and I have discussed several at the Computer Education site, including the Windows Task Manager. However, nothing is as extensive and comprehensive as the free utility from [...]
Domain names may soon have non-Roman characters
As a left-over from its origins, top-level domains on the Internet have been restricted to ASCII characters. This situation is likely to be coming to an end; ICANN is testing the use of new languages. Computerworld reports:
The organization that oversees the Internet address system is launching an evaluation of International Domain Names (IDN) that will [...]
The “Storm Worm” problem
A recent series of serious Web attacks have been carried out by a type of malicious software that has been given the general name of “storm worm”. Security expert Bruce Schneier gives a description of why this malware is different and considerably more dangerous than previous malware. He believes it may be the weapon [...]
Facebook growing up?
Social networking sites are all the rage and Facebook has been a playground of the the college set. Now it seems that there is an influx of older types. The New York Times has deemed the subject to be of sufficient interest to publish a story, 73 and Loaded With Friends on Facebook, in the [...]
Command line tip #1 - Accessing the command prompt
Because I think there are a number of simple but very handy ways to use the command line or prompt in Windows, I am going to begin posting some tips that I think almost any home PC owner can use. But first we have to show how to open a command prompt. One way is [...]