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Temp files? What are they good for?
2007-05-31 15:12:00 Temporary files - or temp files - as they are commonly referred to, are everywhere. When you add software to your computer, change a setting, browse a webpage and create a document, a temporary file is created. Some are beneficial, most are a nuisance and take up precious hard drive space. What’s more, cleaning them is not so easy because they often reside in many different folders. It can be quite a task locating them and deleting them. Some of them are can even be operating system required files. Delete one of these and you’ll quickly learn the hard way that temporary files cannot haphazardly deleted with a fell swoop of the delete key. For the most part, yes they can be, and if they are needed by the operating system, they won’t easily be deleted. Some say that temporary files are the droppings of bad software; when a developer forgets to include the instructions to clean out the temporary files. When a program is installed, or requires large amounts of data, they will ... More About: Good , Files , Temp
The death of the screen saver!
2007-05-30 16:15:00 Screen savers on computers have been around since the first versions of Windows. The purpose was to save the monitor from screen burn in. Early versions of computer monitors used a phosphorescent backing on the inside of the screen to help display colors. If the image on the screen was not changed frequently, the image would actually burn into the phosphorous permanently. Screen savers are designed to activate after a set period of computer inactivity. Original screen savers on Windows 3.1 systems would display the windows logo in random on the screen. Then came the starfield effect, where you could pretend you are Captain Kirk of the enterprise and watch the stars zoom by from your captain’s quarters. If zooming through space is not your thing, how about your own marquis banner. You can customize your own text, text colour, size and text direction. Pretty snazzy stuff! Soon after Windows 3x came Windows 95 and the screen saver desktop basically stays unchanged. There was o... More About: Screen , Death , The D , Screen Saver , Cree
Make Vista look like XP
2007-05-29 15:27:00 Never thought you would call Windows XP good, and old would you? How many bars of soap would your mother have made you eat for all the bad words you uttered towards XP, and the headaches you had installing it and learning it. Guess what … it’s “start me up” - all over again, if you've been bit by the Vista bug. Microsoft has changed some of the rules in upgrading to Vista from your previous version of Windows. The first problem is upgrading from XP. It also seems that Vista makes the decision whether it will let you upgrade or not. Generally, it looks as if upgrading any Windows version always has some surprises in store. Forget the fact that the upgrade just might not work. It would be better to allow the user to make the decisions about partitioning, formatting, and where to install the version, but sometimes we just want fast and simple. So Windows makes those assumptions and decisions. Nevertheless, there are some tools and options in the setup of Vista, but you hav... More About: Make , Like , Look
Ipod’s dirty little secret
2007-05-28 17:18:00 The ipod as well all know has some amazing features. With its ability to mobilize our music and media files. It can serve up all a digital buffet of music and video, help organize your contacts, and allows you to play games and view the family photos. All great and amazing, but one very important feature that many of us overlook is the ipod’s dirty little secret. I am referring to its ability to double as a mobile filing cabinet. The average ipod has a 20Gb hard drive. If you are like me, I have about half of my ipod filled with music that I actually listen to. Once the honeymoon is over, and you organize your media collection to include what you actually listen to, you can free up some space on the hard drive. iTunes by default manages your ipod and the space on it. Change a few settings in iTunes and you can access those precious Gb’s of unused space. The real benefit is of course the amount of storage you have. In comparison to USB flash drives, they typically offer... More About: Dirty , Secret , Litt
Windows XP password hacks! oh my!
2007-05-24 14:48:00 Forgot your windows password? If you have ever forgotten your windows XP password, you are in a mess. A few years ago, yes, but not now. There are ways to recover your administrator password with little or no money down! Typically, you could have created a password reset floppy disk, however I don’t think I’ve ever made one of those personally. OK, Next option - Load your windows xp recovery cd, and boot the computer from that cd. Then upon accessing the startup menu, you have the option to repair the windows XP installation. This effectively replaces your windows directory and reloads your windows files. You have the option to setup windows again and put in a new password. It does not easily allow you to recovery a password. Sort of like making a mountain out of a mowhill. You run the risk of losing your my documents folder and other windows related settings, however it does not format the hard drive. This is the safest way to recover your password, but obviously not... More About: Windows , Hacks , Password , Window , Windows Xp
Losing your bearings? or a haunted pc?
2007-05-23 16:09:00 If your computer makes strange noises (I don’t mean through the speakers) and not what your children or friends may be listening to on the computer. I mean whining, or grinding, or general poor health sounding noises. Maybe you’re losing your bearings! Computers have many parts and only a few of them move, thus only a few of them can make any noise, so this makes it much easier to source out and troubleshoot the noise. Chances are that one of the internal cooling fans is the culprit. There can be several cooling fans in your pc, and laptop. If they stop working, you’ll know it in a hurry. When the processor gets too hot, it has built in thermal protection to shut it off. However there may be cases where the cpu fan is working and keeping the cpu within its operating limits however other components are boiling up. PC Cooling Requirements: - CPU has its own fan - Hard drive needs to be cooled, as it has NO internal fan. - The video card –... More About: Haunted , Bear
Planning on a vacation - from Vista?
2007-05-22 15:46:00 Summer's here and the time is right - for finally telling the computer that you have "another" That good 'ol pc will have to take a backseat because you're going to do some traveling. Now comes the task of planning where to go and how to get there - (no... I don't mean by someone telling you to do that)Need a few suggestions, or maybe just interested in learning about some new websites that can help you plan and organize your next trip. These aren't your typical travel booking sites and maps, these are web 2.0 style!tripbase – Travel Your way - is a travel website that gives you unbiased recommendations about where to go on your next trip based on what you like. Tripbase will find you places based on your rank. Tripcart - Trip Plan ner and Online Travel GuideWhether you're taking a family vacation, traveling on business, or driving cross-country, TripCart gives you all the tools you need to plan a memorable experience, whatever your budget. No more endless Internet searche... More About: Vista , Planning , Vacation
Sending Large Files (continued)
2007-05-17 18:25:00 Most ISP’s allow you to send attachments of up to 5Mb per email. Some ISP’s have increased this to 10MB. This is great for Mp3’s and pictures, but terrible for everything else. Let’s say you have an Adobe Photoshop graphic to send to your favorite printing company, chances are it’s over 5Mb. You may be fortunate enough to have a graphics designer that is savvy in splitting the file into sections – and most likely this is a common occurrence for designers to send their files to the printer. What do you do if you don’t have this magical graphics designer? Further to the dilemma, most ISP’s only allow a certain amount of storage space for your emails, so you can easily exceed your storage quote with 1 large email, worse yet – if you have a slower internet connection, you will have to wait for the email and it’s attachment to arrive at it’s destination. You then receive that dreaded deliver failure report email – your email didn’t make it through because yo... More About: Files , Sending , Large , Conti
Send huge files with zip-ease!
2007-05-16 15:50:00 I have received a link from a friend to download a program but its RAR file. What does it do?If any of you have come to know ZIP files, these are files that have ZIP as the last 3 characters of the file name. You use a program called WinZip, or one of many similar zip utilities to open the file. A RAR file is essentially a condensed collection of files. Sometimes they are referred to as a library, or a cabinet of files. These files use a compression technique to shrink the files and combine them into one handy file. They then can be sent through the internet or email in parts which can be reassembled on the recipient’s computer.Winrar is the utility used to open RAR files. Now, let’s explain a practical example. Your friend has a training video, that he wants to send you. You both have high speed internet, but don’t want to send it through the mail. What can you do?The files in their native format are too big and difficult to organize. You would have a very hard time putting t... More About: Send , Files , Huge , Ease
Take Control of My Documents
2007-05-14 14:58:00 Are "My Documents " really yours? Are you really in control of them?Windows 2000, and XP started using a common folder to store your music, movies, downloads and photos. The My Documents folder is a great way to manage all your personal data, and facilitates an easy back for all your data. Provided that you use My documents as your default save locations. This is unfortunately welcomed by many, and cursed by many more. How many times do you go through the motions of clicking the save option to have My Documents appear as the first in the list of choices? Or how about this - how many times do you import data, such as your entire digital camera archive, and the Windows scanner and camera wizard appears magically to automatically upload, and name the files, then save them in my documentsmy pictures. As you can see, it's a 50/50 task. Sometimes it works like a charm, and sometimes it's a pain in the southern end.The My Documents component of Windows is tricky, if you prefer to have fa... More About: Control
Slipstreaming Windows XP
2007-05-11 15:36:00 How many times have you reloaded windows XP on a pc or laptop only to spend half a day applying updates? Actually, updating and patching takes more time that installing the operating system itself. It’s an unavoidable fact, so live with it. There are however, some great time saving options available. Window s XP commonly comes with Service Pack 2 nowadays, so really the updates you need will not be as large as SP2. Updates all depend on what is installed in the system as well. If you have Windows XP installed with every accessory and option, then each of those will have their own updates as well. Outlook Express and MSN messenger alone, will require at least a half dozen updates.The good news is your Windows XP Installation files can be updated and patched to include these updates, and then can be re-burned to cdrw. This is a process called Slip-streaming. There are several programs on the market to assist with this process. One such program is called nLite. This program allows you... More About: Windows Xp , Streaming , Ming
Mother's day - Web 2.0 Style!
More articles from this author:2007-05-09 21:37:00 Don’t forget mom! Mother’s day is fast approaching and what better way to give mom something she can actually use. Never given your mom something she couldn’t use? Be honest, is a food processor, or an iron really for mom? Or is it for her to use to cook YOU dinner, or clean up YOUR mess? Try visiting a few of these links after you’ve taken your mom out for a nice dinner, or a show. These sites are for you mom! (also, If you have any suggestions for sites or topics I should have included, please let me know!.. after all I’m only a guy…and these are sites I think my mom would like. J Moms Know BestOpMom - short for Operation Mom - is a free lifestyle management system and social community for moms. OpMom members enjoy sharing the latest event ideas, travel plans, recipes, and service provider referrals with each othere. Share - Support - SucceedMumspace - aims to give mums every opportunity to succeed, both personally and financially, and embrace the challenges tha... More About: Style , Web 2.0 , S Day 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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