pc and tech tips, reviews and how-to'spc and tech tips, reviews and how-to'spc and tech tips, reviews and how to's. tech savvy talk for the non tech savvy minded Articles
Tivo for your ipod!
2007-09-20 17:29:00 BroadClip is like a Tivo for your ipod. This crafty, yet potentially legally questionable app actually lets you capture music from online music stations and transfer it right into your iPod or any other portable player. All you’ve got to do is enter the type of music you want into the search box. Give MediaCatcher 24 hours to search for your goods. Afterwards, clip the music you want to save from the Active Searches page and MediaCatcher will pop open iTunes and deliver the tracks straight to your iPod. Basically, BroadClip offers ‘legal’ stream ripping (they claim the RIAA is totally fine with the service). They’ll scan over 20,000 radio stations to find the kind of music you want and tell your computer to record it to your hard disk. Computer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Ipod
Common PC Acronyms
2007-09-20 04:49:00 ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber LineAGP - Accelerated Graphics PortALI - Acer Labs, IncorporatedALU - Arithmetic Logic UnitAMD - Advanced Micro DevicesAPC - American Power ConversionASCII - American Standard Code for Information InterchangeASIC - Application Specific Integrated CircuitASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming InterfaceAT - Advanced TechnologyATI - ATI Technologies Inc.ATX - Advanced Technology Extended--- B ---BFG - BFG TechnologiesBIOS - Basic Input Output SystemBNC - Barrel Nut Connector--- C ---CAS - Column Address SignalCD - Compact DiskCDR - Compact Disk RecorderCDRW - Compact Disk Re-WriterCD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only MemoryCFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft /min)CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide SemiconductorCPU - Central Processing UnitCTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)--- D ---DDR - Double Data RateDDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access MemoryDFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module... More About: Common , Cron , Acro
Quick Torrent Tutorials - 101
2007-09-20 04:39:00 The first things you need to know about using Bit Torrent :Bit Torrent is aimed at broadband users (or any connection better than dialup).Sharing is highly appreciated, and sharing is what keeps bit torrent alive.A bit torrent file (*.torrent) contains information about the piece structure of the download (more on this later)The method of downloading is not your conventional type of download. Since downloads do not come in as one big chunk, you are able to download from many people at once, increasing your download speeds. There may be 100 "pieces" to a file, or 20,000+ pieces, all depending on what you're downloading. Pieces are usually small (under 200kb)The speeds are based upon people sharing as they download, and seeders. Seeders are people who constantly share in order to keep torrents alive. Usually seeders are on fast connections (10mb or higher).In this tutorial, I will be describing it all using a bit torrent client called Azureus. This client is used to decode the .torren... More About: Tutorials , Quick
Auto endtask to shut down a stubborn XP computer
2007-09-20 04:35:00 This registry tweak automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit.1. Copy the following (everything bolded) into notepad.QUOTEWindows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentContr olSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management]"ClearPageFileAtShut down"=dwor d:00000001[HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTControl PanelDesktop]"Auto EndTask s"="1"[HKEY_LOCA L_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControl]" WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"2. Save the file as shutdown.reg (select save as, the type of file is "all files" from the drop down. Notepad defaults to saving everything as a txt extension. This will not work, and must be save as a reg extension.3. Double click the file to import into your registry.NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.Computer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Sa...
Freekeys FTA satellite keys and info
2007-09-19 16:59:00 Freekeys.info - FTA satellite keys and info dss testing and moreread more | digg storyComputer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Satellite , Info , Keys
Freekeys FTA satellite keys and info
2007-09-19 16:57:00 Freekeys.info - FTA satellite keys and info dss testing and moreread more | digg storyComputer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Satellite , Info , Keys
The Smallest 50 inch TV screen!
2007-09-13 22:21:00 The Smallest 50" Inch Video Screen The days of star trek (the next generation) Gordi LaForge's space age visor are NOW nothing new. Now, just another example of art imitating life, however I'll bet Gordi never had a television inside his visor!Well, we do now. ezgear has released a product called the EZgear EZ Vision Video Glasses, a high tech set of eyeglasses with the capability to simulate a 50 inch television screen viewed at 8 feet distance. An amazing concept! How long have we been waiting for something like this? The EZvision glasses are very lightweight weighing only 4.0 ounces. It can accept just about any input source, such as an ipod, a dvd player, an xbox, a psp, Nintendo wii - if your device has RCA cables, S-Video, it will work with these glasses. (you may need an adapter cable in some instances, however EZgear has these on their website) Also, you may read their FAQ Included with the EZvision are: - Built in stereo earphones, or use your own with a s... More About: Cree
Very Cool Wifi Sites!
2007-09-12 14:39:00 No doubt you have heard of Wifi , and have learned not to confuse it with Wii from Nintendo. Chances are, you use Wifi and have seen it go through it's changes and improvements to become what it is today. If you need more information on what it is, you should probably visit this link.The point of this article is to introduce you to the newest WiFi related websites and Web 2.0 technologies. You'll quickly learn that Wifi isn't the estranged wireless protocol that it used to be!(thank you to killerstartups.com for these!) As WiFi locations continue to sprout up, people become more and more mobile with their computers with the added internet connection availability. Whisher makes WiFi even more available and adds a community feel to it. Once you have downloaded Whisher, you are able to share your WiFi with others in your area, or use the WiFi of a fellow Whisher for free. Y... More About: Cool , Sites
Glam Rock Music Videos
2007-09-08 17:07:00 70 s, 80 s and 90 s Glam rock videos, pulled from youtube.read more | digg storyComputer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Videos , Music , Music Videos , Rock , Rock Music
Bookmarking Sites - Part 3!
2007-09-07 16:48:00 Further to my previous posts on promoting yourself, here is an updated list of 170+ bookmarking sites. Enjoy!http://babblz.comhttp://cloudytags. comhttp://complore.comhttp://de.lirio.ush ttp://ez4u.nethttp://i89.ushttp://ihm.igc ity.nethttp://indiza.comhttp://kinja.comh ttp://lifelogger.comhttp://linkarena.comh ttp://linkatopia.comhttp://linkfilter.net http://listmixer.comhttp://ma.gnolia.comh ttp://maple.nuhttp://my.xilinus.comhttp:/ /myprogs.nethttp://myweb2.search.yahoo.co mhttp://otavo.comhttp://oyax.comhttp://re ader2.comhttp://slashdot.orghttp://smarki ng.comhttp://thinkpocket.comhttp://thoof. comhttp://ticklr.nethttp://twitter.comhtt p://unalog.comhttp://voo2do.comhttp://waz ima.comhttp://wink.comhttp://www.2centsne ws.comhttp://www.30daytags.comhttp://www. 42things.comhttp://www.a1-webmarks.comhtt p://www.aboogy.comhttp://www.addthis.comh ttp://www.adopt.comhttp://www.allmyfavori tes.nethttp://www.ambedo.comhttp://www.aw orldofhelp.comhttp://www.backflip.comhttp ://www.beanrocket.comhttp://www.b... More About: Sites , Part , Bookmarking , Part 3
PC and Technology - tips, reviews and how to's: Over 100 sites to promote y
2007-09-06 16:41:00 PC and Technology - tips, reviews and how to's: Over 100 sites to promote yourself, part 2!Computer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Reviews , Promote , Tips , Sites
PSP Repair - a great resource for sony playstation repairs and tips
2007-09-04 20:25:00 sony psp, repair, tips, demos, games, tricks, cracked screen, replace your psp lcdread more | digg storyComputer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Playstation , Tips , Sony , Great , Resource
Save your favorite stories and bookmarks; share stories and bookmarks
2007-08-28 22:13:00 Savafav is a community driven site for publishing news, and popular content. You can save your favorite stories and bookmarks; share stories and bookmarks; and vote for your favorites!read more | digg storyComputer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Stories , Share , Save , Favorite , Bookmarks
Over 100 sites to promote yourself, part 2!
2007-08-28 17:46:00 Another list of over 100+ places to submit your site. The list includes bookmark sites, RSS feeds, Web 2.0 start pages among others. 99% of these will require that you have an account, so take the time and register. If you plan on utilizing these links more than once, registration is just a little pain for long term gain! To use these links simply replace my URL with yours, and add an article title to the end of the line. Enjoy! ( I'm tired of editing these.. , so there may be an error or two :) http://blogmarks.net/my/add.php?title=&am p;url=YOUR-URL-HEREhttp://buddymarks.com/ add_bookmark.php?bookmark_url=YOUR-URL-HE RE&bookmark_title=http://del.icio.us/ post?&url=YOUR-URL-HERE&title=http:// digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=YOUR-URL-HERE &title=http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/e dit_bookmark?.src=bookmarks&.folder=1& ;.name=&.url=YOUR-URL-HERE&.save=+Sav e+http://favorites.live.com/quickadd.aspx ?url=YOUR-URL-HERE&title=http://feedh ugger.com/subscribe.php?url=YOUR-U... More About: Promote , Sites , Part , Romo , Mote
Phoenix Data Recovery Software is 3 times faster!
2007-08-27 17:14:00 Following my recent post covering data recovery for hard drives, I stumbledupon a data recovery product called Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software . I will have a review of the product shortly. I am hoping to test their data recovery services on a hardware level. I'll keep you posted! Stellar launches Version 3.0 of Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software– The v3.0 of Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software has a new scanning & recovery engine that is three times faster and much more efficient. Stellar Information Systems, the industry's leading and most advanced provider of data recovery products and services has announced the immediate availability of the latest version of their flagship product, v3.0 Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software, advanced recovery software designed for safe and non-destructive data recovery from hard disk or any removable media. This is the latest version of Stellar Phoenix FAT & NTFS. The new version is powered by a new eng...
Hard Drive Revival! Get Your Data Back!
2007-08-26 17:52:00 Is there anything worse than a dead hard drive, when you boot up the computer as you usually do every day, only to see that dreaded hard drive failure message?It's either hardwrae failure, software, or the computer itself. What dto do about it?SoftwareThe most common hard drive data loss problems originate from corruption of the master boot record, FAT, or directory. Those are software problems which can usually be taken care ofwith a combination of tools like Fdisk /mbr to refresh the master boot record followed by a reboot and Norton disk doctor or similar drive repair programs.Hard wareThe most common hardware problems are a bad micro controller (onboard microchip), a baddrive motor, or a bad head mechanism.To narrow down the source of the problem;1. Can the BIOS see and identify the hard drive correctly? If not, then the hard drives onboard controller is bad. (or a badloose drive cable)2. Does the drive motor spin and maintain a constant velocity? This indicates that the drive... More About: Drive , Data , Back , Hard Drive
Internet Bandwidth and all it's mysteries... Explained
2007-08-25 02:43:00 Internet Bandwidth and all it's mysteries... ExplainedMost hosting companies offer a variety of bandwidth options in their plans. So exactly what is bandwidth as it relates to web hosting? Put simply, bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to occur between your web site and the rest of the internet. The amount of bandwidth a hosting company can provide is determined by their network connections, both internal to their data center and external to the public internet.Network ConnectivityThe internet, in the most simplest of terms, is a group of millions of computers connected by networks. These connections within the internet can be large or small depending upon the cabling and equipment that is used at a particular internet location. It is the size of each network connection that determines how much bandwidth is available. For example, if you use a DSL connection to connect to the internet, you have 1.54 Mega bits (Mb) of bandwidth. Bandwidth therefore is measured in bit... More About: Internet , Laine , Erie , Myst
All Things ipod!
2007-06-22 15:55:00 The ipod has quickly transformed itself into a household word, such as Duracell, Kleenex, the walkman, qtips, and coke. These are not the actual names of the product, but rather the brand name. Brand recognition is what every company aspires to achieve. Apple, once again has succeeded in a best way possible. The ipod is the defacto portable audio device to own. Your ipod can be used as a portable hard drive with this tip, you can put an operating system on it with mojopac, and of course there are many software packages to organize your playlists, update your album art, and synch your music. Now you can use the power of the internet to enhance your ipod. Several new services have launched on the internet in the fashion of web 2.0 products and services. All of them geared towards integrating your musical tastes into the internet, and you daily lives. Share your playlists, or download someone else’s; check out what others are listening to, or discover new music. These are some... More About: Ipod , Things , Thing
Rockstarist Launches!
2007-06-21 17:11:00 Promoting my new blog aimed at helping musicians in the same way that I try to help computer users on this blog.Please visit, and leave comments and suggestions!http://rockstarist.vox.com/Co mputer and technology tips, reviews and how-to's in a non technical language. Savvy tech talk for the non-tech-savvy. More About: Rocks
Ipod XtremeMac iPod recorder review!
2007-06-20 17:29:00 Finally, a portable recording solution that integrates into your everyday life without any extra gadgets or power supplies and cables! For the commuter, the public transit user, or the “quick…record it before I forget it” like me, the XtremeMac Ipod recorder is a welcomed innovation! Can you tell I love it? even before I’ve used it? Not at all obvious! The recorder plugs into the bottom of the ipod (with video, and nano 2G) and seamlessly integrates with it. It has a built in speaker, as well as a standard 1/8” mini (3.5mm) stereo jack. Included is a flexible mini goose neck type microphone that can be detached from the unit. You may choose to use a line in signal from your computer sound card, or from any other low level input source. There is a line and mic input selector switch to handle the impedance and input levels. You may also purchase a lapel microphone, or use a different condenser microphone. I find it especially useful for recording a band, my lyrics or mem... More About: Review , Order , Recorder , Trem
The skinny on Modchips!
2007-06-20 14:45:00 Modchips, just add salt!The music and movie industries have always implemented methods to prevent copying and illegal redistribution of their products. Obviously, they do this to create jobs, and make money. Although, some would argue that they do this simply because they can. Unfortunately, these methods of protection limit our free use and often dictate what we can do with items we have purchased. Let’s not get into the legalities here. One side of the argument is the purchase and use of computer software - you do not own it, you are merely licensing it for your use. With music, movies and games, the same thing applies. We are purchasing the right to play and use the product for our personal enjoyment. Not to copy or broadcast. Ok, fine. The consumer’s main argument has always been what right doea a company have to tell you what you can do with something you have purchased – like your car, can you be told where when and how you can use it? In relation to software, what happe... More About: Skinny , Modchip , Chips , Chip
Technical Support attitude!
2007-06-15 17:09:00 (part of an ongoing saga. See the previous articles, as well - here and here) Just because you buy a PC form a certain manufacturer, that doesn’t entitle you to owning the tech. Owning – as in - I called tech support and Owned the tech, or The customer called me and I owned him – both examples do NOT apply. The only thing you own is the pc, nothing more, and not even the software on it. You are only allowed to use the software, you don’t own squat. Remember that the next time you call for technical support. And all you technicians out there in help desk land, you need to listen as well. You don’t have the right to be rude, or talk down to the customer no matter how much you may think they deserve it. You don’t own anything either – You both need each other! No tech = no support, No customer = nothing to support = no job. Nothing turns a tech support call south than attitude, whether it’s the customer - either out of frustration, or a false sense of superiority, o... More About: Technical , Support , Attitude , Technic
Dealing with Tech Support!
2007-06-13 16:19:00 If you have ever called a tech support line, I’m sure you been frustrated to no end. Just getting to a live person seems to be a secret. You have to learn to navigate silicone sally’s virtual menus. Sounds like an adult movie title, ok, ok - don’t get excited. You can’t avoid the stress though. Press one for sales, 2 for support, 3 for support in English, then you’re in the support menu… press one for desktops, 2 for laptops, 3 for both… If you are a wearing a clown suit; press 4, if you are not, press 5. You get the picture. Eventually, you’ll get a live person. Step 1 – Did you write down all those menu choices you made to get here? Better do it now. You’re going to need to call back, and you might as well save yourself some time. By no fault of the technician on the other end (mostly) I have been known to – accidentally - hang up on some callers. Purely by accident… cough.. cough..You will either be cut off, or put on hold, transfe... More About: Tech , Support , Tech Support , Ealing
Consumers vs. Technicians! (Part 2)
2007-06-12 16:46:00 We’ve all had to call technical support at one time or another. We’ve all had good and bad experiences with them. Looking in from the consumer’s perspective, we have complaints abounding. Most complaints can be summed up: - The technician had poor people skills and didn’t care about me or my problem - The technician had poor language skills or spoke too quickly to understand - The technician had poor technical skills, and didn’t know anything Imagine that? A technician that doesn’t know it all! In my IBM days, it was a common saying that if you could walk and chew gum, and you were polite, they could train you to fix computers. Oh, how sadly untrue! And for the record – it’s the other way around! If you can fix computers, we can teach you to walk and chew gum – virtual gum, and walking through a cyber-world. - Just kidding. I’ll start out with some scenario from the Cons umer’s Perspective, then I’ll give the Technician ... More About: Part , Consumers , Technicians
Consumers vs. Technicians
2007-06-11 20:30:00 We’ve all had to call technical support at one time or another. We’ve all had good and bad experiences with them. Looking in from the consumer’s perspective, we have complaints abounding. Most complaints can be summed up: - The technician had poor people skills and didn’t care about me or my problem.- The technician had poor language skills or spoke too quickly to understand,- Often, a common complaint is plain and simply - just poor technical skills. Imagine that? A technician that doesn’t know it all! In my IBM days, it was a common saying that if you could walk and chew gum – but were polite, they could train you to fix computers. Oh, how sadly untrue! And for the record – it’s the other way around! If you can fix computers, we can teach you to walk and chew gum – virtual gum, and walking through a cyber-world. - Just kidding. As the customer, we’ve become familiar with that drab and monotone voice on the other en... More About: Cons , Consumers , Technician , Technicians , Technic
So you want a website? (Part 2)
2007-06-08 14:44:00 Once the domain name is purchased, you then tell the domain registrar to point the domain to the address of the server you purchased hosting from. The hosting company will have their own name servers. These are servers that direct the people trying to locate your website. Let us compare a name server to an apartment building directory. You are in the lobby, and know the name of the person you want to visit, but not the apartment number. Look in the directory, and you have it. So, the internet surfer has click on your link, they are taken to your hosting company’s web server, and then the name server tells them where your site is located on their servers. The internet visitor sees none of the behind the scenes work, they just get to your site. Now, you have a name, and a hosting company. You then setup all the emails you need for each department, or person and configure your email software to access those accounts on (outlook, thunderbird, Eudora, etc.) they will retrieve the em... More About: Website , Part
So you want a website? (Part 1)
2007-06-07 16:09:00 Having your own website means freedom of speech, your own personal place to rant and rave, or somewhere just to setup shop. No matter what the intention, you can do just about anything you need to do online. Before you start planning and spending the money to get the ball rolling, take a few moments to think about what its real purpose is. You may be surprised to know that many services and products related to websites are free and ultimately can save you lots of time and headaches. Before we talk about those, let’s first describe the website checklist; Requirements: – a product or service – domain name – hosting and email – marketing and promotion – ongoing maintenance, webpage updates – more marketing and promotion! – More updates… I’ll not get into the details of a business plan and research. We’ll assume you are 100% convinced and are ready to take the plunge. The first step is coming up wit... More About: Website , Part
Microsoft Office – Give it the Boot!
2007-06-06 15:58:00 Microsoft PowerPoint is a component of Microsoft Office . It is used for presentations and slideshows. Microsoft Office itself is a complete suite of applications similar to Lotus 123 for spreadsheets, and WordPerfect for word processing. The problem with Microsoft Office and other proprietary data formats is compatibility – or the lack thereof. The computer industry has very few standards that benefit the consumer. There are thousands of standards for the computer workings and components to make a computer but diddly- squat for the end user. Microsoft would like to have their Office product line be the standard, Corel would like WordPerfect and so on and so on. In the bustle and haste leaves you and I scratching our heads to keep up. Which package do we purchase with our hard earned dollars? What if we don’t like it, or if it doesn’t work for our purposes? Can I return it? Guess What – no. Although to be fair, that is not a blanket statement. Most retailers will put up a fus... More About: Microsoft , Give , Boot
Getting Stuff for free - Part 2!
2007-06-05 12:23:00 Further to my article (getting stuff for - really?) there are alternate methods to get those goodies for free. These are called paid referrals, referral trading, and conga lines.Paid referrals and referral trading is a simple concept, where you trade referrals with others. Each helping the other complete their required offers and get the freebie. You complete an offer under their referral code for them to receive the signup credit, and they reciprocate for your free site offer. http://www.refstop.com/ is an example of a community driven website that helps users’ trade referrals. As I mentioned in my previous article, I paid for referrals (pay4trade) which you can do as well. Paid referrals cost somewhere in the $5 – $50 range depending on the value of free item you are after, and the amount of time you wish to advertise the pay 4 trade. Refstop.com charges you a fee to advertise your trade t its members which typically costs $5 – 15 for 10 days. Site members can rate each othe... More About: Free , Stuff , Part
Getting Stuff for free - really?
More articles from this author:2007-06-04 16:00:00 We’ve all seen the free ipod websites and those annoying popups. The question is can you really get a free ipod, or a free laptop? How does it all work?The basic premise behind this is advertisers pay these free stuff website owners a commission for every person they attract to their product. These products are usually in the form of offers, trials, or subscriptions that the consumer signs up for. When a consumer signs up for an offer several things happen. First, the website owner builds his own referral network, which enables him to garner more signups, more traffic, and of course more commissions from advertisers.Secondly, the consumer builds their own referral network – which is required to be eligible to those free goodies. However, you must complete several steps to start the ball rolling. There are many hoops that you will jump through!Free items are not supplied from the manufacturers, and usually have no affiliation whatsoever to these free websites. The webmaster simpl... More About: Stuff , Really , Ally 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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