SUPPORT PCS

Warning: phone scam using the Support PCs name

2010-11-03T14:06:00.003Z

Our network of sites provide advice articles and support via its forum. We don't provide phone support and definitely do not use unsolicited phone calls to contact potential customers. There is a pervasive phone scam, apparently originating in India that involves people being contacted and offered preventative PC help to combat viruses, spyware and other infections. They aim to get the customer's credit card details and charge large sums. There are more details in a Guardian article here. Callers claim to be from Microsoft, from Windows and from various other places.

We've recently had a report of the Support PCs name being abused in this way. The scammers are doing so without our knowledge or permission. We strongly condemn this dishonest practice. Please put the phone down on any scam call you receive. We do not offer phone or remote support and have no plans to change this policy.

Website Pick: Your Face

2009-11-02T08:00:00.000Z

http://yourfaceblog.blogspot.com/

Send this man a photo of your face and he'll draw you with antlers, holding an iguana, shooting laser beams from your eyes or whatever takes his fancy. He'll post it on his blog.

Website Pick: Samorost

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000Z

http://tinyurl.com/2qpz7k

The drawings in this puzzle game are enchanting. Try it out – it's the best free Flash game we've seen.

Website Pick: Grappa Delayed Trace

2009-10-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

http://tinyurl.com/8dscf

We defy you not to get hooked on the gorgeousness of this swirly drawing tool. Move your mouse slowly to get a thinner line and quickly to get a sweep of colour.

Website Pick: Old Photos

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds

Use this handy online converter to make your pictures look as though they were taken a hundred years ago. It’s a foreign language site, but the controls are quite obvious. Just click browse to locate the file on your PC and then Convert to make the magic happen. It works with JPG, PNG and GIF file formats.

Freeware pick: Any Video Converter Free

2009-10-09T10:20:00.001+01:00

As the name implies, this program is designed to convert video from one format to another. It's not just useful for those wishing to play certain video files on their PC, it can help those who have transferred footage from their digital camcorder too. It's frustrating how many camcorders don't support standard formats, and converting those formats can be more hassle than it's worth.
Step forward Any Video Converter Free Edition, which you can download from here. Just select your problematic video file or files, pick a profile (Customised WMV Movie is perfect if you wish to edit your video footage in Windows Movie Maker), tweak the settings (we suggest changing the video size to Original) and then click the Convert button. Job done.

Website Pick: Themed Fonts

2009-10-05T09:00:00.000+01:00

Click here

If you've ever wanted to get hold of a font from a film or TV program, here's your chance. This page has an enormous list of free, downloadable, familiar-looking fonts.

Website Pick: Rasterbator

2009-09-28T09:00:00.000+01:00

Click here

This dubiously titled but actually completely innocent application does the same thing as previously mentioned Block Posters but in a different style. Instead of blowing up your picture and creating a final image with a pixelated effect, the Rasterbator uses large round dots to make up the picture for a more stylised effect. You can Rasterbate online or download the program.

Website Pick: Block Posters

2009-09-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

http://www.blockposters.com

You have a picture on your PC that deserves more than to languish on your desktop. The image is a masterpiece and you want to create a printout that's the same size as you for display in the lounge. Block Posters can help: upload your image and decide how many pages wide it should be. The site slices and dices the picture into A4 sized chunks and sends you the PDFs.

Tip of the day: quick access to system folders

2009-09-15T08:00:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie, as I’ve only recently discovered this. When you press [Windows] + [R] to open the Run dialogue box in Vista or Windows 7, you can type %AppData% and press [Enter], which will take you to your user profile’s personal Application Data\Roaming folder. Many programs place their settings in the Application Data\Local folder, and you can quickly access this folder instead by typing %LocalAppData% in the Run dialogue box and pressing [Enter] instead.

Website Pick: Rsizr

2009-09-14T09:00:00.000+01:00

http://rsizr.com/

There's image resizing, and then there's intelligent resizing. Rsizr identifies which bits of an image are important and prioritises the size of those things when the dimensions of the picture are changed. So less important parts shrink first when you make an image smaller, and adjustments are made so that images don't look stretched when you enlarge them. Ingenious.

Troubleshooting tip: post-infection blues

2009-09-12T18:43:00.001+01:00

Ten tips on avoiding re-infection, from our Q&A database. Click here.

New tutorial: Use formulae and functions in Excel

2009-09-08T08:00:00.000+01:00

Develop more powerful spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel by getting to grips with functions and formulae – click here.

Website Pick: ScrnShots

2009-09-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

www.scrnshots.com

You might be a dab hand at organising photos but when it comes to screenshots you’ve taken you probably won’t want to get them mixed up in your photo library. ScrnShots is a free web app that aggregates your captured images and organises them in a similar way to a personalised bookmarking service such as Delicious or Yahoo Bookmarks. Now you’ll lose another screen capture again.

Coming soon to Support PCs

2009-09-03T09:48:00.001+01:00

The terms of my contract with many of the publishing houses I write for is that I regain non-exclusive rights six months after publication, enabling we to reuse my original material again as I see fit. With that in mind, the following features will soon be appearing on the site as they become available, so keep checking back over the next few months:

Complete guide to Skype – save money on your phone bills with our definitive guide to getting the most from this VoIP application. Originally published in PC Answers issue 197, this will be on the site in early October.

Transfer to a new PC – everything you need to know about transferring your files, settings and programs to a new computer. Originally published in PCA198, this will be on the site in early November.

Freeware pick: Send to Toys

2009-09-01T18:36:00.001+01:00

This nifty freebie enables you to add some useful shortcuts to the Send To menu, such as “Folder” (pick a folder to copy or move the selected file or files to), “Command Prompt” (open a command prompt at the currently selected folder), “Quick Launch” (create a shortcut on the Quick Launch toolbar) and more besides. It’s compatible with Windows Vista (and probably Windows 7 as well), which makes Vista’s less friendly Send To folder that much easier to manage. Get it from here.

Website Pick: The Hype Machine

2009-08-31T09:00:00.000+01:00

http://hypem.com/

One of the best ways to discover interesting new music is by reading MP3 blogs which post news and discussion along with tracks for listening. The Hype Machine is an aggregator that enables you to search through postings from thousands of blogs and listen to tracks.

New tutorial: change your Windows logon screen

2009-08-30T16:13:00.001+01:00

Tired of the same old screen that greets you when you log into Windows? Discover how to spruce it up with no fuss – click here

New tutorial: design your own email stationery

2009-08-27T20:13:00.001+01:00

Spice up the emails you send by creating your own custom email templates in Windows Mail or Outlook Express – click here

New tutorial: optimise your display

2009-08-25T10:28:00.001+01:00

Get a better, brighter display and reduce eyestrain with our essential selection of tips and tricks for improving your monitor – click here

Website Pick: Gliffy

2009-08-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

www.gliffy.com

Gliffy is an excellent free Web application that enables you to create good diagrams without needing to learn a drawing package. There are tools to make floorplans, flowcharts and various technical diagrams. All the symbols and shapes needed to make your diagrams are built into the program. For example, for a floorplan, there are symbols for doors and stairs, and graphics for flooring and furniture. Drag and drop elements onto the diagram and resize and rotate using the handles – that's all there is to it. You can also upload your own images to add to your work. When you've created you r diagram, you can publish a read only version to the Web, or you can invite collaborators to work on it with you. Finished documents can be exported as JPG, PNG or SVG.

Tip of the day:

2009-08-23T12:00:00.000+01:00

This comes from our 100 keyboard shortcuts feature, which you can view by clicking here:

Switch windows
If you've got multiple windows or dialog boxes open within the same program, and one vanishes from sight, press [Alt] + [F6] to cycle through them until you find the one you want. This doesn't work in Vista; instead, use [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Tab].

Troubleshooting tip: Q&A

2009-08-22T19:28:00.001+01:00

I’ve just uploaded another batch of Q&As, including the following:

10 ways to protect your data
Q
I recently lost precious files and photos after a hard drive failure. How can I make sure this doesn't happen again?

A
Data loss is potentially devastating because the files you lose are irreplaceable. You can't reinstall important work documents or download precious family photos without taking steps to protect them yourself. Click here to view our 10 tips for keeping your data safe.

New tutorial: keep a daily diary

2009-08-21T08:00:00.000+01:00

Discover how to digitally record your private thoughts without blogging or sharing with others – click here

New tutorial: create a podcast

2009-08-20T10:09:00.001+01:00

Broadcast your own radio show - to friends, family or the entire internet. It's easy when you know how – click here