Hardware Tips

Netbooks are NOT made for Windows XP or Vista

Rick — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:50:18 -0600

One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC. I wrote about this subject just a few months ago, but with the holidays approaching and netbooks are high on gift giver's radar screens so I want to explore netbooks a little more in depth.

Netbooks make attractive gift giving ideas for a few reasons:

They are inexpensive; usually cost less than $400.
They are extremely portable (2-3 pounds).
They are cute.

Here are some facts you need to know about netbooks:

Adding RAM to increase computer speed - Video Tip

Rick — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:45:49 -0600

RAM is the temporary memory that the computer uses to give us the feeling of programs opening and running with some pep. It's like giving your computer a larger desk to work from so it can spread out and find things more efficiently. RAM also allows us to open multiple computer programs at the same time with less impact on the speed of the computer.

256 megabytes used to be a lot of RAM. Today, I'm recommending users have at least

Microsoft Arc Mouse

Rick — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:53:55 -0500

My old cordless mouse quit on me this week. It was a simple Logitech 2 button scroll mouse (optical). I'm not a big fan, actually I'm not a fan at all of mice with all the extra buttons and features. I want a simple 2 button mouse with a scroll wheel. As I was shopping, I noticed that the only simple mice were either cheap crap, corded (I wanted cordless), or came bundled with a keyboard. Since I didn't need a keyboard, I thought I was out of luck. There are simple 2 button laptop mice, but for everyday use that's a little too small for me. After almost giving up, I spotted and tried out the Microsoft Arc Mouse. It's a futuristic looking rodent, cordless, has a micro USB adapter, and has only one extra button (a back button on the left side that is easy to avoid). I tried it side-by-side with one of the simple mice bundled with the keyboards and it felt good.

The arc seems to provide three functional purposes:

Less surface are contacting the desk or mouse pad making it extremely easy to move around
Much lighter than a conventional mouse, again making it move around effortlessly
The slightly taller profile makes the hand fit more comfortably with it than a traditional mouse.

I'm on day 3 with the Microsoft Arc Mouse and am extremely pleased with the purchase. At around $50-60, the Microsoft Arc Mouse costs about 20-40% more than other good mice, but for the comfort, unique and functional design, and lack of too many extra buttons, I think the cost is justified.

Set up a home network - Part I

Rick — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:08:17 -0500

Home computer networks used to be just for geeks, there was no practical reason to setup a network at home because most people only had one system and the Internet was only accessible through a dial-up connection that couldn’t be shared.

Today that has all changed. Computer networks are not only practical but they are also easy to setup and in many cases they are absolutely necessary. Over the next few weeks, we will breakdown the process of building a computer network into simple steps that will guide you through the entire process of setting up either a wired or wireless home computer network.

Before we get into the logistics of a network setup, we should cover some quick terminology. Here are a few terms you absolutely need to understand to build a computer network.

Setting up a new computer

Rick — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:17:58 -0500

Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to avoiding illness in ourselves. Prevention in the computer world is no different. And like a newborn baby, a newly purchased computer is subject to many terrible diseases and problems if not properly cared from the moment it is taken from its cardboard box. I follow these steps when setting up a new computer system for my clients, and recommend this methodology for all new computer setups:

Simple wireless password security

Rick — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:02:41 -0500

Thankfully, more and more home computer users are securing their wireless networks. Most newer wireless routers offer to automate the whole process which works pretty well. However, if you are wanting a little more control, I recommend the following advice for setting up a wireless router:

Vista can run faster if you...

Rick — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 10:34:04 -0500

I just finished my normal Sunday morning routine of breakfast with the Sunday paper. I always peruse the Sunday high tech ads to keep tabs on prices. Computer prices continue to drop (and I still think manufacturers are getting a kick back from Microsoft) to help spur sluggish sales.

However, the past few weeks, I picked up on another trend; increased RAM.

In this week's big 4 ads (Office Depot, Office Max, Circuit City, and Best Buy), there were 43 desktop and laptop ads. Out of these 43 systems, only one of them had

What I learned in the first 4 days of my iPhone 3G

Rick — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:59:26 -0500

I picked up my new iPhone late on Thursday night, worked with it on Friday, then left with it for a quick trip to see my brother and my first and only nephew. Prior to this phone, I have used some sort of smartphone since 2000...all Palm software based. Prior to that I used Palm handheld computers since about 1997.

I decided to move to the iPhone because I felt that the Palm innovation had stagnated...about 5 years ago. Plus, with all the innovation and development happening around the iPhone, I knew it was a great opportunity to take my smartphone usage even further than the Palm based systems had. A real quick word about any smartphone; they aren't met for every cell phone user. Smartphones are designed for people who want to check email, lookup information on the web, get maps, send text messages, add specialty programs like conversion programs, time trackers and much more to their phone.

Enough blabber, here are some of my thoughts about the iPhone after only four days of use:

The screen is absolutely stunning...clear, bright, and responsive.
I really miss being able to select text

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Increase the speed of your computer

Rick — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:35:47 -0500

If your computer still performs all the functions you want it to do, there is no need to replace it. However, no matter if you've been using the same computer for a month or seven years, all computers need and crave RAM (Random Access Memory).

RAM provides the 'umph' for our computers and an abundance of it helps Windows' performance tremendously.

Hard drive space (physical storage of your data) and RAM (temporary memory for running programs) utilize two distinctly different types of technologies. So, don't equate free hard drive space with RAM. Instead, use these guidelines for figuring out your RAM needs.

Because of the dramatic drop in price over the past two years of RAM, here are my current recommendations for your computer system (the numbers are in megabytes):

Printer Troubleshooting 101

Rick — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:49:46 -0500

Lately, I've run across many printer problems so I'm going to share with you my formula for approaching a printer problem.

Shut off computer
Shut off printer
Check cable from printer to computer and make sure it is securely plugged in on both sides
Check cable from printer to power source and make they plugged in well.
Turn the printer on and wait for it to go through all of its startup activities (wait until it is quiet)

If the printer happens to be a HP printer, I will sometimes unplug the power cable from the back of the printer, then

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