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Castellini on Computers Free Weekly
Email Newsletter
February 27, 2008
Hear (and see) our show LIVE
Every Thursday night at 9:30 PM MST
or
Visit HelpMeRick.com ANY time to download or hear
any of our shows.
Spelling and punctuation guaranteed to be at least 78 percent
accurate
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In this week's issue. . .
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*** Tip of the Week
*** Geek Speek of the Week - (Simple definition of common computer terms)
*** Computer News...and comment
*** Last week's Poll results
*** Adam's Comments - Stuff from the digital world that is rolling around in
Adam's head.
*** Email of the week
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Last
week's show was a little strange. We almost ran out of stuff to talk about.
Help us make sure that doesn't happen this week. Email us your questions and
comments, or better yet, join us live this Thursday night.
In last week's poll we asked if we are talking too much about non-Windows
topics. The results show that most people are happy with our new focus on all
computer topics. We hope to gain new audience members among Ubuntu and Mac
users as we continue to cover all topics that basic computer users need to
know.
If nothing else, tune into the show to watch Adam try to figure out how to
use his loaner laptop that he will be using until police recover the ones
that were stolen out of his car after last week's show.
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Email your questions
to us and we will answer them live on the air or on our daily website
updates!
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Custom Computer Help from Rick and Adam
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We have been posting a new how-to video every week since November and the
feedback has been tremendous. Now YOU have the opportunity to get your own
customized video tutorial about a topic that you are having trouble with or
just want to learn.
To learn more, visit: www.HelpMeRick.com/videohelp
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Tip of the Week
Start programs
automatically in Ubuntu - Video Tip
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Windows
user can use this tip to start programs automatically when they boot up their
computers. This week I learned how to do the same thing with Ubuntu Linux
(and its derivatives). Since my goal for this site is to impart all the
knowledge I have in my brain to you, here is how to start programs on boot up
in Ubuntu Linux:
1. Click System --> Preferences --> Sessions from the menus
2. Click the Add button in the Startup tab (should be already open)
3. Type the name of the program you want to start
4. Click the Browse button next to the Command box
5. Browse to the /usr/bin folder
6. Find and double-click the name of the program you want to start
7. Click OK
8. Click Close
Then next time you restart your Ubuntu machine, it will start the program you
added. Of course, you can also uncheck the boxes next to programs you don't
need to start automatically just as easily.
It's not as complicated as it sounds in writing. Watching
the video at HelpMeRick.com will demonstrate the tip for you.
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Geek Speek
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Unless
you have been totally out-of-touch the last couple of years, you have
probably at least heard the name; Nintendo Wii (pronounced weeee). The
Wii is the newest gaming console from the Japanese company Nintendo.
Nintendo designed the Wii with a very unique feature....a joystick that
requires the user to stand up and move around! Up
until the Wii was released, all game consoles (usually hooked to a
television set) had joysticks or controllers that simply required deft
movement of the gamers fingers. The Wii
introduced a controller that senses real life movements like a golf
swing, bowling, hitting or throwing a baseball, and even boxing. Now
instead of sitting on a couch until your butt gets numb, playing games
can actually bring sweat to your brow. Read and see more about the Wii by clicking here.
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Wii
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Computer News...and comment
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Intelligence Agency may hunt real
terrorists in World of Warcraft
The
Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a report this week
that names online worlds as potential areas for terrorists to congregate.
Games like World of Warcraft are essentially games where every major
character is another human playing the game somewhere else in the world.
Massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) are as much a social
gathering as they are a game. Communities of people with similar interest
join together and talk as they play. The digital worlds are large enough that
a community of players can meet and play without interacting with other
players.
Strange as it may seem, online game communities may be a perfect place for
bad guys to hookup and discuss future evil plans.
Windows Vista Ready sticker class action
case approved
A judge gave the go ahead this week for a class action lawsuit against
Microsoft for allowing the "Vista Ready" sticker to be placed on
late model XP computers that were not powerful enough to run Windows Vista. Hmmm. Lenovo releases the new ThinkPad X300 Lenovo
took over the ThinkPad line of laptops from IBM a few years ago and
have done great homage to the line by continuing to offer a top quality
product. This week, Lenovo released the new ThinkPad X300. It plans to
market it directly against Apple's ultra-portable laptop called the
"Air".
Unlike Apple's new light and thin laptop, Lenovo's
offers a built-in DVD burner, multiple USB ports and a
removable/replaceable 10 hour battery.
Another positive is that
the X300 (and many of their other laptops) can be bought with either
Windows XP or Vista. Lenovo is one of the few companies that continues
to sell XP on their computers because a large portion of their
customers are businesses who are extremely reluctant to move to Vista..
The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 isn't budget priced, however, with prices starting at $2500.
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Poll Results
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Do Rick and Adam talk too much about Ubuntu and Mac?
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Next week's poll:
Do you YouTube?
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Yes, please talk about Windows more! 34%
Yes, but I like it...the more the better. 16%
No, give us more info and tips. 50%
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VOTE in our Polls by visiting HelpMeRick.com!! |
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Adam's Comments
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I
got home from last week's show a little before midnight. At 5:20ish AM,
I went back out to my car and realized that someone had broken into my
car and stolen my trusty laptop bag containing two laptops and all of
the accessories contained therein.
While I have missed my
Windows laptop a couple of times, it is my Eee PC that I really miss. I
hadn't realized how often I used it until this week.
Every time
I get out of my car to eat lunch somewhere, I usually grab my Eee PC
and use it to write my Shotgun article for the website, surf the web or
play one of the games.
I was laptopless this entire week. I
don't know how many times I had to tell clients, "Normally, I would
have the tools to work on this, but they were stolen..."
My
little portable hard drive and my transfer kit that allowed me to move
data from one computer to another are also very hard to go without. I
used each of those tools several times per week.
I hope that
whoever stole my tools learns to love Ubuntu and the Eee PC as much as
I did. I also wish I would have deleted those pictures of Rick passed
out drunk and naked in our hotel room at CES.
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Email of the week
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Hello Rick, We
run two computers in our home....a laptop with Vista and a desktop with
XP. The XP was running sooooo slow, so my son recommended that I use
CCleaner on it. Somehow, on that website I ended up buying Errorsmart
for both computers (talk about an easy mark!). Anyway. I cannot deduce
any benefit from this program, and the speed on the desktop hasn't
improved. Do I need it? I also have AVG on both computers, and a
Windows spy sweeper. Am I over-protected? What benefit am I getting
from Errorsmart and Spy Sweeper that AVG does not already cover?
Sharon----------------
Hello Sharon, Your
problems probably warrant a professional looking at your system.
However, the Errorsmart program you downloaded and unfortunately paid
for should be removed immediately. You are correct that there is no
benefit to having it and in fact it could be and probably is
contributing to the slowness. Search
HelpMeRick.com for the initials "SCD". It stands for Slow Computer
Disease, and I have some advice and links in that article that should
help you. Thanks for your letter.
Rick
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Castellini on Computers & HelpMeRick.com ©2008
Rick Castellini and Adam Cochran
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