Ramblings of an old Doc
DrJBHL's Articles In Personal Computing » Page 13
December 19, 2010 by DrJBHL
  Here's Part One if you didn't see it. Beth Jones is a senior threat researcher with Sophos. She stated to PCWorld (another of Doc's faves), "The two-week mark before Christmas is when things start to ramp up out of control. Spammers and malware authors focus on when the attention is going to be there. That's generally two weeks before a holiday." You don't need to be shopping online to get caught in one of their traps. Even checking out email or spending time on Facebook and Twit...
December 22, 2010 by DrJBHL
    If you want really quick access to launch a frequently used application without putting extra icons on your desktop, you can add that application to the context menu for the desktop with a simple registry hack. Here’s how to do it for Windows 7. I don't have any other OS's to test this on. If you're afraid to edit your Windows Registry believe me, I understand. Just go to my response number 6 to get a nifty program to do this more easily. If you have problems, please pm...
December 25, 2010 by DrJBHL
  Merry Christmas folks.   Just a quickie present this morning to help process those holiday photos .... on Give Away of the Day.   It runs on XP, Vista and Seven, however while 32 bit system support is certain, it is not clear 64 bit is.   Features: ( LINK )       I haven't downloaded nor run this software, but I have reviewed the comments on Free Giveaway of the Day, and one that caught my eye was that to register, you have to fill out a...
January 17, 2011 by DrJBHL
  Microsoft has jumped totally into the war of Cloud computing. To compete with Google and Amazon, Microsoft introduced cloud computing with Windows Azure technology. Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand, as with the electricity grid.  It means, using the infrastructure of the company providing the cloud service. Along with big Enterprises, Microso...
January 17, 2011 by DrJBHL
  The "cloud" is where we've been sharing our lives and storing our files for awhile now, but with so many cloud services there's much more you can do that may not have crossed your mind. Here are ten ideas.   9. Write in Public Without a Blog Everyone and their mother has a blog nowadays, but how often is it really updated? And even then, how often are people saying anything worthwhile? That said, there are plenty of times we all have a goo...
January 16, 2011 by DrJBHL
    During a press conference held ahead of CES, Microsoft gave everyone a sneak peek of their next Operating System, Windows 8. The most exciting news is that Windows 8 will support System On a Chip(SOC) architectures including ARM-based systems from partners NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Intel and AMD will continue their work on the lower SOC designs on the x86 architecture that supports Windows fully. This includes support for millions of x86 applications. ...
January 15, 2011 by DrJBHL
  Even the best free software is useless without hardware, yet how many of us actually know how their computer works? Teach yourself by reading the latest free guide form MakeUseOf: “Your PC, Inside and Out.” This amazing free guide covers the computer’s chassis, power supply and motherboard, and is only the first half of a two-part volume. In this guide Lachlan Roy breaks the computer down into its different components. For each component he describes its function, expl...
January 15, 2011 by DrJBHL
        Microsoft sure has gone all out and geared itself up, to address the security concerns of netizens, while creating the new age browser – Internet Explorer 9. Not only is it safe and secure, it also gives you a beautiful and speedy browsing experience. Earlier (at the holidays) I posted about scams to protect yourself from, and it turns out that ie9 helps a good deal in doing just that, especially for malware coming via the social networking site...
January 14, 2011 by DrJBHL
Does your child need help with math? Could he/she improve skills needed for a great future? I know I wish I had stuff like this when I was a kid! Microsoft Mathematics (formerly Microsoft Math ) is an educational program, designed for Microsoft Windows , that allows users to solve math and science problems. Developed and maintained by Microsoft, it is primarily targeted for students as a learning tool. A related freeware add-in for Microsoft Word and Microsoft OneNote, ...
January 13, 2011 by DrJBHL
  Apture Highlights is a Firefox extension that turns your cursor into a powerful search tool. Highlight any text in your browser window and see search results from Google, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Once the app is installed you just need to highlight some text (and not very neatly at that, Apture Highlights will intelligently expand to grab the text you were trying to highlight) and then click on the search box that appears near your highlighted text. You don&rsqu...
January 12, 2011 by DrJBHL
  We all hear the word Cloud every now and then but I am sure many of us aren’t exactly very sure about The Cloud and Cloud Computing . So first of all, it is important to understand,  what is the cloud? Cloud is just a metaphor for internet, when we say cloud, we are just referring to internet only and simply the services we use using internet – through our web browsers. Our current model: You own your PC, laptop, phone, netbook, etc. and...
January 11, 2011 by DrJBHL
  Whether you're upgrading or repairing your computer, at some point in time you'll be faced with the task of reinstalling your operating system, especially in the Windows world. As I can personally attest, most of the frustration with starting fresh comes from losing your installed programs and customized settings with them. Sure, you can create tweaked installation discs to automate the process and have all your drivers, programs and settings already in place. The problem is...
January 10, 2011 by DrJBHL
  Microsoft’s Kinect has been awarded The National Parenting Center’s 2011 Seal of Approval recommending it for age 6 and up. The National Parenting Center was founded in July of 1989 with the intention of providing the most comprehensive and responsible parenting advice to parents everywhere. Unless you live in a cave it is pretty hard to avoid the crush of media coverage for Microsoft’s newest baby, the Kinect for Xbox. Hype can be a blessing or a c...
January 9, 2011 by DrJBHL
Hi folks, I hope you’re enjoying the weekend. I just became aware of this and thought you should also although there’s no fix for it at present. XP and Vista appear to be vulnerable while Windows 7 does not. Microsoft Security Advisory (2490606) Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution Published: January 04, 2011 | Updated: January 05, 2011 Version: 1.1 General Information Executive Summary Microsoft i...
January 9, 2011 by DrJBHL
    How secure is your wireless network? Are your neighbors eavesdropping on your Internet connection (are you sure)? Have you ever used your laptop or netbook to connect to an unknown network in order to get on the Internet? If you've answered "Yes" to any of these questions, you are putting yourself at a huge security risk. So, what steps can you take to better protect yourself, your personal information, and your PC? Here's a list of 10 things yo...