As I explained in this post, Windows 8 looks and works quite a bit differently from previous versions of Microsoft Windows. Some items have been hidden or moved to new locations while others have been either replaced or eliminated altogether.
There is the missing Start Menu of course (click here for instructions for adding one), and a couple of other rather important items aren’t in their usual places. But luckily, they are extremely easy to find and use. Here’s how: [Read more…]
Here’s the scenario: You take a great picture, spiff it up a bit in your favorite photo editing program, then sit back and admire the rich colors that look pretty much exactly as you remember them looking when the picture was taken.
But there’s a problem. When you print the photo or view it on another computer, the colors look absolutely horrible!
If this happens to you, the culprit is most likely a miscalibrated computer screen. Windows 7 includes a nifty utility that can help you calibrate the colors on your monitor. It’s called the Display Color Calibration Wizard, and here’s how you use it: [Read more…]
I have been asked by several friends and acquaintances whether they should upgrade their Windows based PCs to Windows 8, and my answer has been, and continues to be, “NO”. Why? Well, there are several reasons:
1 – The learning curve.
While Windows 8 is very similar to Windows 7 under the hood, the Metro-style GUI user interface is quite different and it will definitely take some getting used to. In my opinion there was no valid reason for Microsoft to try to make desktop PCs and laptops look and act like tablets, but that’s exactly what they did. And while Windows 8 ships with a few minor improvements over Windows 7, there aren’t enough of them to justify having to learn a new user interface. [Read more…]
When most people buy a new PC they take it home, open up the box, connect it to a power outlet and the Internet and get right to work putting it through its paces. And it’s easy to understand why. After all, who among us doesn’t enjoy playing with a new “toy”?
But in today’s world we need to be vigilant against hackers, viruses and spyware above all else! With that in mind, here is my list of things that should be done to every new computer before you even think about using it for anything meaningful: [Read more…]
Let’s face it, computer viruses, trojans and other forms of malware are a fact of life, and regardless of how carefully you try to avoid them there is a good chance that your PC will become infected sooner or later.
Most of these pieces of malicious code can be quickly removed with a normal virus scan and cleanup, but some infections are so insidious that they are difficult to detect and remove.
Even worse, some strains of malware even render your PC incapable of connecting to the Internet in order to download an updated virus definition file – or even starting up at all. That’s why you need a plan “B”: an emergency virus removal USB thumb drive. [Read more…]