Computer management
Left-handed mouse pointers for Windows
I’m not left-handed but, from teaching, I know that the standard mouse setup can be inconvenient for those who are. Changing the buttons on a mouse is a standard Windows adjustment but Microsoft has also supplied a set of mouse pointers (AKA cursors) for left-handers. They can be downloaded at this Microsoft link. The download [...]
Men don’t read the manual
We have all heard about the reluctance of males to ask for directions when lost or needing to find some location. (I plead guilty. I get my wife to ask.) Well, it also seems that men are less likely to read the manual before calling tech support. (I’m not guilty in this instance. I hate [...]
Links about anti-malware applications
There is always a debate going on about which is the best anti-malware application. Or whether current anti-malware approaches need changing. There have been some interesting posts on the subject recently and here are some that I thought I’d pass along:
Lifehacker readers pick AVG as their favorite
The How-To Geek says Microsoft Essentials is good enough
CNET [...]
Clean up that new PC
Did you just get a new PC so you could run Windows 7? One thing about new PCs- they often come with a lot of pre-installed junk applications that should be removed right away. Vendors pay the OEMs to put this stuff on but mostly you want to get rid of it. A recent study [...]
Control your browser font sizes
As some of us get older, our eyes aren’t what they used to be and we need larger font sizes in our browsers. Also, the newer displays have high resolutions that make fonts look smaller and harder to read. The common browsers like Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox have settings that provide for permanently increasing [...]
Fixing Windows update problems
For one reason or the other, it sometimes happens that a file or a Registry entry gets corrupted in one of the never-ending Windows updates. In that case, it often becomes impossible to carry out updates without getting error messages. The problems are common enough that Microsoft has come up with a tool to fix [...]
Customize your icons
Many Windows users are unaware that they are not stuck with the default set of icons that comes with their setup. In fact, it is quite easy to edit or replace the existing icons. Some years ago I wrote an article on how to customize your icons. Why should all your folder icons be the [...]
Firefox update coming
Another Firefox update, version 3.55, is coming sometime today. If you have enabled automatic notification of updates, you should receive a notification soon. Otherwise, open the “Help” menu in Firefox and click “Check for Updates”. As of this writing (11:15 EST) the update is not yet available at Mozilla but gHacks is providing a [...]
How to toggle Adobe Flash on and off
Adobe Flash clips are ubiquitous on the Web and that includes a lot of advertising. The Windows Flash player can also be a vector for malware and needs frequent security updates. As a result, many PC users might find it useful to be able to turn Flash on and off as desired.
The Firefox browser has [...]
Update Java
Guess what? Another security patch- this time it’s Java. The update link is here. You might also be able to update using the Java applet in Control Panel. It’s easier to find the applet if you use Classic View in Windows XP. Be sure to uncheck any extras you don’t want from the Java update [...]
Scroll a window with your mouse wheel by pointing
In order to activate scrolling in a window with a mouse wheel, you have to first click in the window. Apparently, this extra step annoys some people so Antibody software offers a free little program that lets you just point your mouse at a window and scroll away without the extra click. It’s called “WizMouse” [...]