Archive for January, 2008
Another way to clean up Windows problems (sometimes)
Related to the previous post is a suggestion from Shipping Seven. This is the anonymous blogger, who supposedly is part of Microsoft’s team working on Windows 7, and posts about the upcoming OS (without Microsoft’s approval). He or she also posts on other subjects and makes this interesting suggestion to recreate your profile or user [...]
Fast ways to clean up a Windows problem (sometimes)
These are old tricks but worth repeating since I find that many average PC users don’t know them. If you’re having a problem, try logging off and then back on. It’s quicker than turning the computer completely off and then turning it back on, which is the next recommendation I will mention for clearing up [...]
The impact of the Web on how we think
The Internet is often compared to the printing press in its influence on society. Writing at the Guardian, John Naughton comments on a study by the British Library (PDF download here) that suggests that the way that our minds process information is changing (and not for the better IMO). Naughton writes:
‘It is clear’, says [...]
Recovery console CD update
I have posted previously about how those who have no Windows XP installation disk can get a nice program to create a CD to run the very useful Windows XP Recovery Console. The program is from Dean Adams and has been a very popular download on this site. Dean has updated his program and it [...]
The dark side of the Internet?
A new book, Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob, is out and The Wall Street Journal has an interview with the author, Lee Siegel. The article begins:
Where most people see the Internet as an essential part of modern life, providing convenience, access to friends and speedy information, essayist Lee [...]
WinPatrol updated
WinPatrol is one of my favorite programs and it has just been updated again. Download site is here. Although there is a very worthwhile free version, consider supporting this excellent software by springing for the Plus version. (I have no connection with WinPatrol. This is an unsolicited plug. I bought my own.)
Why 100 GB doesn’t go far these days
Today’s desktop computers may come with 500 GB or even terabyte hard drives but something around 100 GB is still a common size for drives in laptops. Nowadays laptops are often the choice for home PC buyers but don’t plan to store a lot of videos and music files on your laptop. If multimedia [...]
Oh, it’s grand to be a monopoly
If I told you that a company’s major product, which took years to develop and was called a make-or-break product for the company, had received an unenthusiatic reception, you would begin to wonder about the profitability of that company. If I further told you that the company constantly irritated its customers by never ceasing to [...]
Vista service pack
Service pack 1 for Windows Vista is scheduled for release soon, by sometime in March or perhaps even earlier. Version RC1 has already been made available to the general public. (Incidentally, I do not recommend that the average PC user try to install this package.) Many have been waiting in hopes that SP1 would improve [...]
Don’t trust anybody if you download
There’s no way around it. If you download something from the Internet, no matter where, you have to scan it for malware and back up your system before installing. Too many otherwise legitimate sites have been hacked by criminals. Computerworld reports:
The majority of Web sites serving up attack code are legitimate domains that [...]
The continuing confusion about disk sizes
It comes up over and over. Someone looks at their hard drive size in My Computer (Computer in Vista) and sees less capacity than they thought they had. They start asking, “Where has my space gone?” Nothing has happened to their space. It’s the way hard drive manufacturers advertise disk size. The industry uses the [...]