CasualPC

Facebook-The new myspace but safer

2008-11-11T15:47:00.002-07:00

There is a new social media website in town and I'm sure you have heard of it. It is Facebook. It is the direct competitor with Myspace and is getting a lot of attention right now. Although Myspace still has a huge lead in members and traffic, Facebook is becoming very popular with all ages.

Facebook has a more grown up feel to it with options to create or use applications, join groups of interest, or just stay up to date with your friends. Facebook is still growing and has many groups to join that are in beta or newbie mode. Overall Facebook is a great social media network and worth taking a look at so please check it out and add me as your friend if you feel so inclined.

Ubuntu 8.10 Out (Ibex)

2008-10-30T19:04:00.002-06:00

The latest version of Ubuntu was released today, Ubuntu 8.10 (Ibex). I had download the release candidate early some my update time was small. I had some shutdown and audio problems but I fixed them fairly quickly with the good old Google search.

Things seem about the same with small menu changes and other small changes. Everything a bit faster and shutdown is super quick. Right now the servers are jam with people downloading it but there is alternative ways to get it like bit-torrents and alternative download sites.

Be patient and you can get your hands on the latest open source OS.

Woot-Deal of the day!!

2008-10-03T10:16:00.003-06:00

Where is a good place to find the deal of the day on tech stuff, electronics, and house hold items? Woot is your answer. They post one deal a day and shipping is always $5. I have bought a couple things from Woot and have been very happy with my purchases.

Woot has a "discuss a product section" to see what people think about the item for sale. This is a good resource to do product research before you buy the item. People will post their personal reviews or links to other reviews on the items and you can get a good feel for the quality or use of the product.

Woot also has what they call a Woot Off. This is where Woot will post an item for a short period of time and then move to the next item. The deals are usually good but go quick. The Woot Off mode is indicated by rotating lights and a bar displaying the percentage of product's stock remaining.

Ok, now you know what Woot is go check it out and definitely add it to your favorites/bookmarks.

Download YouTube Videos

2008-09-26T21:27:00.004-06:00

We all know what YouTube is and I am sure we all have received some kind of email with a link to a YouTube video. What do can you do if you want to save that video to your computer? YouTube doesn't offer a download link but there is a way.

Actually there are several ways to download YouTube videos. The most current way I am trying is through a free open source program called xVideoServiceThief that Lifehacker posted about today. This program allows you to put in the URL of the video you want and it downloads it for you. It is easy, simple, and free. I recommend you give it a try if you are wanting to download a YouTube video.

The other alternatives are websites that you past the URL into and they allow you to download the videos. Trying doing a search for YouTube download and you will find numerous of these websites. Now you can have all the Youtube videos on your computer and not have to wait for them to load. Have fun.

Passwords-Where to keep them?

2008-09-21T14:21:00.003-06:00

We all have numerous passwords to remember for the many websites, accounts, and programs that we use. How can you remember them all without using the same one for every account which we know is not safe? The answer is a password manager.

You only have to remember one password to access all your other passwords. I have been using password safe for over a year now and it works great for me. I just log in, click browse to URL, click copy username to clipboard, then copy password to the clipboard, and then log in to where I am going. No more need to remember 25 passwords for all the different things I need to log into.

The guys over at Lifehacker have posted a great poll on password managers to see what what everyone thinks is the best. KeePass come out on top. Take a look and free some room in your brain for more exciting infomation rather than boring passwords.

XP, Vista, or something else?

2008-09-18T21:04:00.002-06:00

I have been asked the question numerous times, " I am buying a new computer and not sure if I should get Vista or XP?". There is of course not right answer to this question other than it depends.

One must consider the pro's and cons of each operating system and what the intended use is for the computer. Lets take a look at some of the pro's and cons of each

XP Pros
• How to use and navigate is known by most people.
• Less bugs than Vista
• Highly compatible with most hardware

Vista Pros
• Support life longer than XP
• Stronger security
• New features & eye candy
• Now cheaper depending on the version

XP Con’s
• Mainstream support until April 2009
• More expensive than some versions of Vista
• Weaker security than Vista
• Very old for software age

Vista Cons
• Learn new OS navigation
• More processor intensive
• Still has bugs to be worked out
• Vista is already planned to be replaced by Windows 7

Overall it is hard to say which one to use but for the average user it is probably a better decision to go with Vista due to the future support. If you are more brave I recommend trying a free Linux distribution like Ubuntu or the number other Linux distributions out there.

New use for USB Drives

2008-09-13T14:51:00.003-06:00

Well, I am pretty sure everyone has seen a USB portable drive or more likely owns one. These drives have become cheaper and cheaper while holding more and more. What do you need a USB drive for?

Well, for the average computer user they are great to quickly store files and share them with others. You can also use it to speed up vista with ready boost or carry it to troubleshoot another computer.

Now USB drives are being used by the traveler instead of a laptop due to the new laws allowing border patrol agents the right to seize your laptop without cause and search all of the data be it personal or business related.

To circumvent this problem you can carry your computer on a USB drive. This is done by installing MojoPac. You can take all the necessary programs and data you need on your easy to carry drive. When you get to your destination just plug into any XP computer and walla the desktop you are used to shows up. Everyone can afford USB drives so why not give it a try next time you are thinking of traveling with your laptop.

Free Software $$

2008-09-11T19:32:00.003-06:00

Everyone likes to get things FREE. Even better is when the free thing is legit and better than the paid for product. This is what you can find at SourceForge.

There is great free software to be used like Firefox or Linux Ubuntu but where can you find more great free software? Well look no further than SourceForge for your next quest to the free alternative of your software needs.

There are many great programs like Gimp that rivals Adobe Photo Shop or Launchy that indexes your computer so you can launch programs quickly. There are many other great free programs to be had so go take a look and when you have a software need take a look at SourceForge before you spend you hard earned cash.

Tell me what your favorite free software is?

Large Hadron Collider

2008-09-10T22:16:00.002-06:00

Well, we are still here even though the massive Collider has been fired up. No black holes opened to suck the earth into an oblivion. Maybe next test.

Stephen Hawking has a $100 bet that the large experiment this week will not find the so called Higgs boson or "God Particle".

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) took 14 years to build and cost $8 billion. Hope something comes from this. Take a look at some of the amazing pictures.

Hello All

2008-09-09T19:37:00.001-06:00

This is my first post on my blog. The idea for this blog is to share PC news, tips, and ideas for the casual PC user who is not quite a geek but no dummy around the computer. I figure the average working person uses a computer in some way so why not have a blog for the average user that does not get into the nitty gritty of the computer world. I hope this blog helps the average user and that we can all gain some computer/technology knowledge.