Rick's Daily Tips

Microsoft seems to be considering big changes for Windows 8

Posted on April 17, 2013

Has Microsoft finally learned the value of listening to their customers? It appears that they just might have. Losing sales and market share by the boatloads will usually spur some soul-searching.

Reports leaking out of Redmond indicate that Windows 8.1 (aka Windows Blue) just might have a Start Button/Start Menu as well as an option for booting directly to the Desktop instead of the highly unpopular Start Screen. I for one hope the leaked information is true.

Many great companies have made major blunders (Is anyone reading this old enough to remember the “New Coke”?), but the smart ones eat a bit of crow and reverse course. It appears that the powers that be at Microsoft just might have a clue after all.

What do you think? Will they add these much-in-demand features back to Windows 8.1? Should they? I’d love to hear your opinions.

How to speed up your Start Menu

Posted on April 17, 2013

microsoft-windows Does it seem like it takes forever for your Start Menu to display after you click the Start Button? There are several things that affect the speed of your menus that are beyond your control, but there is one that you can control with a simple Registry hack.

Important: Editing the Windows Registry can render your system unstable or even unable to boot up properly if something happens to go wrong. That’s why if you choose to follow the instructions below you do so at your own risk.

You also agree that it won’t be my fault if you begin having three birthdays a year, your car gets damaged by an out-of-control shopping cart in the WalMart parking lot, or your PC becomes unstable or refuses to boot up properly.

If you agree with everything I just said in the preceding paragraphs, follow the steps below to speed up your Windows Start Menu: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I make the Windows 8 Maps app display distances in kilometers?

Posted on April 15, 2013

Question from Joyce B.: Hi Rick. I just moved from Des Moines, Iowa to Vancouver, British Columbia and of course I brought my new laptop with me.

I love the Windows 8 Maps app, but now that I’m living in Canada I need for it to display distances in kilometers instead of miles. How do I make it do that? Thanks.

Rick‘s answer: Hi Joyce! I hope you enjoy your new home north of the border. I have a feeling that you will since Canada is such a beautiful country and the people are sooooo nice!

To answer your question, here’s all you need to do to make the Windows 8 Maps app display distances in kilometers: [Read more…]

Microsoft to stop supporting Windows XP in April 2014

Posted on April 14, 2013

It’s been a long time coming, but Microsoft has announced that they will no longer support or release security updates for Windows XP after April 8, 2014, a move that will effectively kill off what has been arguably the most popular version of Windows ever released.

The company had originally planned to end support for XP years ago, but for various reasons they pushed back the “kill” date several times. It appears that the April 2014 date is set in stone however. [Read more…]

Q&A: My Task Manager is disabled. How can I get it back?

Posted on April 14, 2013

Question from Eric: My computer slowed to a crawl and I found out that it was eaten up with Spyware and viruses. I spent the better part of a day cleaning it all up but now I can’t load the Task Manager. It’s grayed out on the menus and I can’t click it. How can I get it back?

Rick‘s answer: Hi Eric. The miscreants who create spyware and viruses use all kinds of tricks to prevent us from discovering and disabling their insidious creations, and a couple of their favorite tricks are disabling the System Restore and Task Manager utilities. [Read more…]