Easier Living

Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Popio) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:36:00 +0000

There always comes a time when your hard drive, mp3 player, your memory card, USB drive, etc gets filled up and your not sure what to do. Do your buy a new hard drive or do you delete files to make space? That is always hard for many people include my self, to delete things you are not sure of whether it is delete your games and all your hard progress or a program you are not sure you might need in the future or you don’t know if you should delete an old program that has not been used in a long time. However, most people do not know what exactly is in their hard drives as many don’t look deep into the storage to see what is there. These people are probably you, who does not know much about computers and are afraid of messing things up. While that is a true possibility, it is manly confined to a few area’s of your computer. I know what it is like so I will give you advice on what not to delete and how to go about deleting things.

Before we start however we will need a few tools for the job so we can maximize the freeing of disk space. What you will need is Windows free registry repair, Advance Windows care V2 personal {Wincare}, Quick Start Up, UltraDefrag, and Unlocker. Wincare is a jack-of-all-trades tool that does spyware removal, fixes registry, cleans up privacy, optimizes programs, and removes junk files. It’s a good all rounder to use but it should not be the only thing you rely on. Quick Start Up is a tool that allows you to customize which programs come on at the start and which one are worthless. You will notice a dramatic increase in start up and with mine, all it took was 40 seconds to start up after I chose my profile.UltraDefrag is a defragmentation tool that is a lot better and you will see a change in the free space when you use it. Unlocker is a tool that will help you delete programs that windows will normal not let you delete because it claims it is use. Don’t worry, those programs are worthless and it will not damage your computer if they are deleted. Here are links.

Windows care: here

Windows free registry repair: here here

Quick Start Up: I'm here

UltraDefrag: look at me!

When it comes to deleting files, you need to think about what your computer is used for. Is it like a command center where you run fax machines, Pc to TV devices, and do Taxes on etc, or is it were you just go on the web and download things. If your computer is used for gaming and not a command center, then you do not need to keep any programs that involve taxes, faxes, scanning as A. They are probably old and out dated when you are doing this, or B. A scanner or printer will probably come with these programs. Then you have to think about the programs that you think you MIGHT use. I emphasize this as what you think you might use, you might not ever use it. So think about it; can you download a similar program off the internet that will be more up to date any time or is it a bought one that you would have to buy again or you can’t find it anymore? Is this program on a disk or can you burn the instalation package to a CD or DVD? Have you even used it recently or know you will use it again very soon or have you even thought about using it? Any program that is on a disk that you rarely ever use can be uninstalled as it will always be on the disk and you can install it anytime. There are plenty of free programs out there that are updated all the time so if it has not been used in a long time then delete it as an update has probably came out already.

Next is thinking about what you want to save. Did it take along time to find those pictures or movies on the internet or is there any typed work you want to save? If so then save those things to a disk then delete them from your computer has they are merely taking up space. Next you should delete all installers that are lying around as they take up space. Now everything pretty much delete able except the folders; Windows, folder with a strange set of number’s, IF-images, and Internet explorer. Remember to explore every folder in your computer as there may be something delete-able that most programs can not find. Also download video player’s like VLC which can play almost every file or a file unpacker program like 7zip which can unpack different types of programs. Programs like these can handle multiple types of files so you can save space on your computer. If you are need an all in one image viewer with basic editing an coverting capabilities then I recommend Xnview which can open a wide variety of images so you can get rid of most image viewers on your computer plus it is simple to use. These are all the advice I can give you as each computer is different but most of this advice applies to any OS out there. Be brave and explore your computer.

7zip: YoYo

VLC player: ding ding

Xnview: Look Look!

StealthKnight

Community Colleges

noreply@blogger.com (Popio) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:35:00 +0000

When it comes to college we all want to go to a place to get a good education on the thing we may want to do latter in life. There is nothing wrong in wanting to go to a good school like Yale or Harvard but a good education does not have to be expensive at all as sometimes it can come from a community college. Such a thing is something that many seniors are dealing with while still understanding themselves. A good education does not mean that the school will be recognized are be very fancy at all. It’s all about who the teacher is and what you are getting from it. Going to a community college is a great alternative to a typical college if you don’t feel ready to move away from home yet or you don’t want to spend a lot of money. It’s also a great place if you are not sure what you want to do and you don’t know if you want to go to a specialized college or not.

When you think about a community college, you probably think of it as adult education for old people, or a bad place to get a good education for someone who does well in high school. I used to have those feelings to before I finish my high school education at my local community college but I ended up going to a great place to learn and understand my self. For me the education is not Monday through Friday but it was 3 hour classes once a week. You probably shouldn’t expect to get the “College Experience” a.k.a. parties and organizations but you can have a friend take you to the parties and you can form your own organization at your community college. What I’m trying to say is that a community college and even living at home with your family is a good alternative to a regular college for the first two years. After that, If you want to continue, you will have to go to a regular or specialized college if you want to continue your education. I hope this helps you on deciding were to go to college and relives a bit of stress in your senior year of high school.

StealthKnight

Oh Password, are you Strong?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:33:00 +0000

Having a good password for an account is very important so people can not hack it. There are a lot of articles about this and what you can just by searching Google. The main thing that all sites recommend is your password should be something that you can easily remember like a phrase, and it should be badly misspelled. An example would be the phrase "Mary had a little lamb" and the password would be {"Mh@1l"}. This will make password cracking software have a hard time trying to hack it so it should safe for the most part. Another thing they recommend you do is change it often to increase your chances of being safe.

I personally do feel that although having a strong password is important, the reality is that it can still be hacked by someone dedicated enough. Like I have mentioned before with viruses, I feel password hacks that may or may not happen and if they do then it will do you no good if you don't know how to take action. Instead you should report to the people who host your account that it has been hacked and lock down any similar password accounts that may or may not be compromised. Check each account to make sure everything is okay and check all financial services to see if something has happened. Then I recommend you change your password and be more cautious with it. It can happen to anyone but how you handle such a event is most important if you want to get through it okay.

StealthKnight

Defend Your Email

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:53:00 +0000

We all email everyday for various reasons whether it is to sign up for a website, send things to coworkers or send personal messages. These days, however, it can be dangerous because of receiving viruses, not being able to read an important email because it was buried under spam, or even your boss snooping in your account to see what you are saying or doing. All of these are real and you need to protect your self against such threats as they can cost you your job, your computer, or losing out of something important.

There are ways to protect yourself protect your self from such threats like being careful who you talk to at work or not signing up for fishy things but they can attack that one location. It's why I suggest you have multiple email account's, preferably five. One for potential spam or fishy websites you sing up for, one for work to keep the bad boss away, one for communications between friends and family, one for your online "friends", and one for things for important stuff. This way nobody can directly attack you and the only thing they may find is a Nintendo news letter in your email. It's also important to make sure your email accounts are aliases that do not relate to each other and have false info. This is important so you don't have weirdo's coming to your house. Never give personal info away unless you can trust the source with it so do not allow any personal info to be viewable. In other words, say your are from Mexico city and your name is Hugh Heffner. Hopefully you will be more cautious about your email and protect your self better.

StealthKnight

Fighting off a bad virtual flu

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:10:00 +0000

The Internet can be a very dangerous place if you don't know what you are doing or if you are an explore and windows default firewall is not the most reliable. So you should get some virus protection but it cost a lot of money to spend every year if you are not sure you will get a virus and viruses change constantly. Nobody wants to have another insurance to spend so go with free ware. There are reliable open source virus protection out there that function just as good as a payed one. So stop wasting money for things that might or might not happen. Besides EVERYONE GETS A VIRUS ONE TIME OR ANOTHER.

Anti-virus:

AVG: Great virus protection. Though you do miss out on some features, you get the core features of protection and it gets updated. I recommend it. AVG

Bitdefender: Don't know much about it other then there is a free edition. Can't update however.
Bitdefender

Avira: Same as above. Avira

Comodo Firewall: free firewall. Anythings better then the windows default. Comodo

StealthKnight

Any web browser besides Internet Explorer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:36:00 +0000

Everyone has probably used Internet Explorer if they have a Windows OS. However, it is not the safest thing to be using when exploring dangerous sites and it is the weak point of Windows that can bring it down. Most people do not know about Windows or have been feed lies by Microsoft themselves that Internet Explorer is the safest. All us tech geeks know is anything other then Internet Explorer is better. Your probably apprehensive about switching other to a different browser but all browser have a similar interface to Internet explorer yet they have more functions and safer.

The browsers that are listed here are different browsers with different idea's in mind. Some of them are made for special purposes, some of them are for general purposes. What ever you decide, It will be better then Internet Explorer.

General purpose:

Firefox: A great browser that is easy to use and can be modified to your own needs. You can change the theme, add plug ins like website analyzer that can tell you if the site is trustworthy or not, or a music player, or a forecast panel to see what the weather is like at home. It's the browser that I use. Firefox

IceWeasel: Same as Firefox except it does not use proprietary software. The difference between them is ethics. IceWeasel

Shiira: A web browser made to be better then Safari. No add-ons but some alternative themes available. Only for Mac. Shiira

Caminio: A Mac web browser made to blend in with the Mac interface. Can import bookmarks, cookies, and blocked site information from Firefox and it's faster then Firefox. Caminio

Opera: As web browser available for all platforms, it has been stated in research that Opera is the fastest of all web browser. Though that report was 3 years, it might still be true today. Like Firefox, it is a reliable browser that has add-ons, and themes to customize Opera to your liking. It supports mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, and voice command which makes this browser very handy for those who are handicapped. Opera

SeaMonkey: This is an Internet suite that offers a web browser, email, HTML editor, basically everything you can think of. This would probably be more suitable for those who use the Internet to the fullest. SeaMonkey

Specialty browsers.

Minimo: A web browser for mobile devices. Based on Firefox. Minimo

Flock: A web browser with a lot of social capabilities. It also has plenty of add-ons and media sharing capabilities. Now you can play Internet tag with your friends. Flock

Arachne: A browser that runs on DOS. Handy if your are in a third world country or a place with no Internet connection. Arachne

Amaya: A web browser/editor that allows you to edit your websites while online at the same time. Handy to see the changes happen before your eyes. Only recommended for those who run or actively work on the web. Amaya

SuperBot: A web browser that saves websites and pages from the Internet and allows you to view those sites as they are at the moment you saved them. Handy if you are at places without Internet connections. Cost a one time payment that is less then 50 dollars. There is a free trial with minimum features though. SuperBot

Buddy Browser: To be more precise, it is at the core a search engine database with a ton of family friendly websites and features. This is great for the young kids but make sure it is hard for them to access the your default browser. I recommend you make a account for your kid and make it kid friendly for your younger children. Buddy Browser

3B: A 3d web browser. Imagine a 3d room with pictures that look like web pages. You click on it an enter the normal 2d web page. The point of it is to have communities be able to interact with one another on different web sites. You can even make your own 3d web space of all of your favorites and allow people to view them if you want. It does however take a lot to run it so view the requirements carefully before downloading it. 3D browser

StealthKnight

Why Pay to Type When You Can Get It For Free

noreply@blogger.com (Popio) — Sat, 19 May 2007 20:22:00 +0000

Why pay 200 to 556 dollars for an Office suite when there are free ones out there that are just as good. I have no clue why but that is apparently how the world works. Stop wasting money so you can but that money to better uses. These programs offer the same features but cost nothing, though if you really want to buy then I will present those too. I recommend the free ware

Free:
Open Office: It has everything you need to replace any paid suite. The spell check and grammar check are not great however, but decent enough. Learn English if you are really worried about spelling and grammar. You can give applications back-rounds and it has a lot of add-on content available on the Internet. Here Here

Neo Office: The Macified version of Open Office. Look Look

KOffice: A suite for Linux. Tends to come with KDE desktops. Here I am

Paid: Only if you are insane

ThinkFree: There is a free version which is Online and can be used to share with other people. The paid one is a desktop version with every available . Over here

Ability Office: Low cost alternative to Microsoft Office. Here

Star Office: A few more features then Open Office and improved functions. here

Word Perfect: In practically all ways, it's superior to Microsoft Office. Here $$$$

StealthKnight

The Power of Linux Compels You!

noreply@blogger.com (Popio) — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:44:00 +0000

With Microsoft try pushing the resource hogging windows vista, many of us are are not to happy to have to upgrade our computers and spend 250 dollars for a prettified Windows XP that has plenty of issues to annoy someone to no end. Companies and schools who are told to upgrade for whatever reason have to shell out a crap load of money to upgrade their computer and to buy Vista. Mac does not seem any better as their computers are non upgradeable and cost plenty of money too. While we have been blindfolded by Apple and Microsoft for years, a certain Operating System [OS] called Linux has been with us all this time and has a strong community. We have been brainwashed into thinking Linux was like a complicated version of DOS when in reality, it is just like a normal OS that we use everyday and easy to operate. The best part they are mostly free! Yes, there is more then one variety of Linux and some of them are not free but those are developed with proprietary software rather then open source software. I'm here to help you pick some out for you that will suit many of your different needs. I have not tried them but I have done research on them ans I think these will suit your needs.

Stander ed OS: These were designed as a general desktop with no specialties. These would be the equivalent of a Windows XP home edition. They come in three different styles: GNOME which is alike the Apple desktop with a bar on the top and bottom of the screen, KDE which is like the Windows style desktop with one bar on the bottom, and What I call Light which is for people who don't have a decent running computer. All I know is that they use less resources but obviously at the cost of possible functions. All in all, all Linux distributions are similar to each other so it will not make a drastic difference on which one use chose.

OZ: The purpose of this desktop is to be fast and stable and to be use able at universities. You can chose between installing GNOME or KDE or both and have the ability to switch between the two any time. This allows you to use software that was meant to be used for one style without having to install two Linux OS. Get it here

Foresight: Designed to showcase the newest Linux technology for the GNOME desktop. Most of it you can just download and add it to any Linux OS but some of it you can't download and add.
I don't know what to say as I have never tried it. Get it here

Mandriva: This is a free version that does not have all the bells and whistles. Though it still should have it's excellent virtualization hardware that helps make any software that may seem incompatible, to work. Get it here

Ubunto and other variants: Ubunto is a Gnome style OS that was made be easy to use, accessible to people all around the world, and have software that does not overlap each other. It can be used for servers, desktop or even laptops. Their are other variants that ether have different styles or meant to be more specialized for a certain audience. Get it here more info on variants

Fedora: A GNOME style OS by the makers of RedHat and the community.They are striving to be the best. Not much else to say. Get it here

Specialized: These OS's lean towards a specific use rather then a broad, general use. They would be the equivalent of all of the other versions of XP.

LinuxMCE: This is a media center OS which is basically a Widows media center version. You can switch between three graphical modes which allows it to be run on a broad range of PCs. Unlike Microsoft's version, This can also be used for security, communication, and for running the home its self, all on a remote and your TV. Your house Can be your very own "Lair" so you can be compared to the likes of Dr. Evil. Get it here

Freevo: Another media center that can watch TV, play movies, music, and even look up the weather. It has a lot of customizabe potential as it allows addon's and different skins. worth checking out. Get it here

MythTV: Another Media Center. The only differences is that it has an emulator to play games, can can rip DVD's, and can view RSS feeds.

Flash Linux: A 256MB version of Linux meant for a flash drive. You can take it any where and use it on any computer. Follow the instructions on how to install it. Get it here

Feraga: Same as above. Here it is

These are all the distribution that seemed good and I hope you like them. There are many more out there if these do not suit your needs. Using Linux will save you a lot of money that can be put into good use and Linux can be customized to you personal needs too. I will cover that another time. For more info check out these links on various distributions and installing of other versions of Linux on a USB drive.

Distribution list Linux on a Stick

StealthKnight

Welcome to Easier Living!

noreply@blogger.com (Popio) — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:18:00 +0000

Hi, my name is StealthKnight and I am the Co-owner of my grandfather, Popio's blog. The site, Easier Living was created with the idea of promoting Popio's Ourgv shopping mall and help him make money on the side. The other idea of this blog was to compile helpful resources of information on various subjects in order to make your life easier. Some of the info has to do with free software that can help you save from a thousand up to six thousand dollars on stuff you would normally buy and yes, it's legal open source software. Other topics we will cover involve how to make money online, how to utilize your money better, things that you could by to make your life easier and save money too along with the environment. The blog was made to help people who are Internet weary, find ways to make their lives easier in simple, understandable, context that does not involve skirting around the subject. I will probably be running this blog more often as Popio will be busy with other things but he will contribute to subjects he is experienced on. We hope you enjoy this blog and hope it helps your daily life become a little easier.

StealthKnight