|
Castellini on Computers Free Weekly
Email Newsletter
April 16, 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
|
|
In this week's
issue. . .
|
|
*** 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
|
We
had to cancel the show last week due to some last minute problems we didn't anticipate. We
will return this week with a live show and recorded podcast. We have
over two weeks of emails to answer so we will have plenty to talk about
on the show.
If you have emailed us from our link at HelpMeRick.com lately, make
sure to either tune in to the show or listen to our podcast later this
week for answers to those questions.
You can listen to - or download - any and all of our previous shows here. |
|
Email your
questions to us and we will answer them live on the air or on
our daily website updates!
|
Custom
Computer Help from Rick and Adam
|
|
We have been posting a new how-to video
every week since November 2007 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
|
|
Tip of the Week
What version do I have?
|
|
One of the first questions tech support people will ask you if you
have problems that need solved is what version of Windows you are using
and what version of the program you have a question about you are
using. Fortunately, finding out the answer takes just a few steps:
Locating your Windows version
- Click Start
- RIGHT Click the My Computer icon (or Computer icon)
- Click Properties
- The System Properties screen appears telling you not only what
version of Windows you are using, but also how much RAM (temporary
memory) you have and how fast your computer's processor is.
or, you can push the Windows key + the Pause/Break key on your keyboard to get the same screen
Locating the name and version of any program
- Start any program
- Click Help from the menus in that program
- Click About
- The program's information screen will appear telling you the
official name of the program, its version number, and sometimes the
programs support web site address and/or phone number.
Use this handy tip to gather important information about your
computer before calling for help to save yourself and your computer
helper time. |
|
Geek
Speek |
We
haven't defined the difference between these different types of burning
media lately. Here's the breakdown you are looking for:
R - Recordable
RW - ReWriteable - Although RW disks can be used multiple times, they are much less dependable than standard -R disks.
DVD-R - Allows you to write up to 4.7GB on a single disk.
DVD+R - Also allows you to burn 4.7GB on a single disk. Some older drives will only read or write one type of DVD.
DVD+R\DL - A DVD+R disk that is almost double capacity (DL=Double Layer) at 8.4GB.
CD-R - Writable disk that only holds 700MB (or .7GB).
Any writable media works best for archiving large files, such as
photographs. They are also an affordable option for sharing files.
However, if you are looking for regular backup of files such as Quicken
or PAF, you are much better off going for a USB flash drive instead.
|
|
DVD-R, DVD+R (DL), DVD+RW, CD-R,
CD-RW
|
|
|
Computer
News...and comment
|
|
Psystar creates rift in Mac world
Psystar is a company that builds computers that run on the Mac OS. In the Mac world that is a big no-no.
One of the primary reasons that Macs tend to be more stable than PCs is
that pretty much everything that runs on Apple products is made by
Apple. Apple builds their machines and writes the main software for
those machines.
Now that Apple runs on Intel products Psystar has begun selling
computers at a drastically lower price ($400 as compared to
$1800). This has the folks at Apple more than a little upset.
While Apple threatens to take action, Psystar is not backing down and it looks like legal action may soon follow.
Amazon taking Wii Fit pre-orders
The Nintendo Wii has proved to be much more than a video game. The
consoles motion sensing controllers allow the player to play the games
by acting out the motions of the given activity such as bowling, golf,
or pool.
In June, Nintendo will begin selling the Wii Fit, a fitness program for
the Wii that comes with a special mat. The mat will allow the Wii to
work as a fitness tool for training.
The player will be able to track progress in weight and endurance by playing games and other activities on the Wii.
XP SP3 due out this month
Microsoft plans one last big update for Windows
XP this month. The update will be called Service Pack 3 and you will
want to watch for it.
Typically we advise our audience to do all of there updates when
prompted by Microsoft. However, service packs are a little different.
Because they often add features and make big changes to Windows, we
recommend waiting until July or August if possible. Those who are the
first to update are often the first to have problems.
Microsoft - Yahoo deal in the works for real this time?
This
week, rumors and news stories starting surfacing heavily again about
this possible giant takeover/merger. The latest seems to be that Yahoo
is seriously considering what it would take to get the deal done. Which
I translate as meaning the deal is still alive. This will undoubtedly
change again. Microsoft appears to be getting some help from AOL/Time
Warner to help sweeten the deal further for Yahoo.
All this
being said, Yahoo appears to be talking directly with AOL and Google as
well. We will keep our ever watchful eye on the happenings and report
back to you with our comment and how it would affect all of us normal
web user types.
|
|
Poll
Results
|
Do you enjoy YouTube videos of people getting hurt while doing stupid things?
|
|
Next
week's poll:
What color is your computer?
|
Yes 18%
No 82% |
|
|
Adam's Comments
|
I
spent almost the entire day today in bed sick. I can't remember the
last time I was this sick. Luckily, I can feel it starting to fade and
hope to be back to normal tomorrow.
I was too wiped out with fever and cough to feel like doing anything, but I couldn't sleep much either.
So, I watched TV. Lots and lots of TV. Too much TV.
At one point I confessed to my wife that I wasn't sure how many of my
symptoms were the illness and how many were due to a baked brain from
watching that much day time TV.
In total, I imagine I watched about six hours of TV. However, I didn't
even watch a complete episode of anything. I surfed from channel to
channel the whole time.
I don't know how TV can last.
I love keeping the full spectrum of channels programmed into my TV. I
don't skip anything. That includes Spanish channels, religious channels
and even sports channels.
Pressing the UP channel button for hours on end, I got a glimpse into
the world of what many tweens and teens experience on a daily basis and
I am worried about the future.
Every show geared at the under 18 audience defined glamor as beauty.
Over-tanned, leathery women in short skirts falling all over a guy who
was missing teeth and looked like he hadn't bathed.
Teens getting even, getting makeovers, flirting, and every program
portrayed the teens as a philosophical and enlightened generation.
I ran to the news shows looking for some reality away from reality TV.
Here I was told about Brittany Spears' car accident this weekend. I
learned that gay marriage should be a right, but polygamy
should not. I learned from news commentary that the Pope is out of
touch with modern society and that farmers can't grow crops because of
elevated carbon dioxide levels (isn't that the stuff that plants need
to breath) in the atmosphere.
I learned that Spanish TV is almost always entertaining even when you can't understand the language.
A few minutes were spent watching the home shopping channels. I admire
the sales people on these channels. They are able to convince people
that ordering a product from them at a higher price, is better than
ordering from the Internet or buying from a store. They are very good
at it.
I didn't buy anything, but they had my attention a few times before I
realized that I had been watching them for much longer than I should
have.
Overall, I will say that the amount of actual information I gathered
from watching six hours of TV is equal to about 15 minutes of time
spent on the web. I don't know how TV can last in its current form.
Producers will have to change programming to something that we can't find in a faster, simpler form online.
|
|
Email of the week
|
Hello
Rick,
Have either of you tried out any portable apps living on your USB drive and working on whatever computer?
Shanna
----------------
Hi Shanna,
For
those of you wondering what a Portable App is, Shanna is referring to
specially designed programs ranging from word processing to email to
chat programs and even password managers that all run from a USB Flash
Drive versus from a hard drive. This gives the user the ability to plug
their USB drive into any computer and use their applications on that
computer.
Yes, I tried out the OpenOffice and Mozilla Firefox
portable applications about three years ago or so and found them very
responsive and convenient. However, in the past three years, online
applications (Web 2.0) have matured so much that I now use those
applications for portability instead of my USB drive.
I still
think the Portable Application market has some relevance for some
computer users, but the power, value, and convenience of Web 2.0 makes
using Portable Apps seem kind of dated already.
For those interested in trying out some portable applications (most are free), go to the aptly named: www.portableapps.com
Great question and thanks for bringing it up Shanna!
Rick
|
|
Castellini
on Computers & HelpMeRick.com ©2008
Rick Castellini and Adam Cochran
|
