Tech Tips for the Average Joe

Selling my wife's HP dual core AMD X2 laptop

2008-05-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello folks, I'm selling my wife's HP dv2125nr AMD Turion Dual Core laptop on ebay. It's tricked out with 1.5 gbs of RAM, 120gb hard drive space with Windows XP (media center edition). It has a...

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Play almost every media file with VLC

2008-04-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've experienced this before. Your good friend or family member has sent you a video they took w/ their digital camera as an attachment, but when you tried to open it, you couldn't play...

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Save your Money - Get Free Antivirus

2008-03-12T15:49:00.001-07:00

If you have a PC with any kind of Windows on it, the fact of the matter is, you're very prone to viruses, especially if you're the type to download a lot of things, or just simply unaware of the what...

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Pinger makes group voicemail messaging easy

2008-03-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

If you’ve ever tried to send a voicemail to various people at once (you know, that announcement that you'll be late, etc.), you know how much of a headache it is. You have to go through all those...

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Windows: Create a new folder at the touch of a button!

2008-03-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

There are usually hotkeys for everything in windows, except this one crucial one - create a new folder in windows explorer. But now you can, with bxnewfolder. All you have to do after install is to...

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Windows XP: set a restore point to save that stable setting

2008-02-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

OK, now you’ve got your PC just the way you want it with all the programs installed, and it hasn’t crashed in awhile! You should then backup all settings of Windows right now, so that whenever you...

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Intro to Windows XP - Part 1

2008-02-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

There must be countless sites out there that talk about Windows XP and all the tips and advanced hacks that you can do. But I know that the common person like you isn't interested in that kind of...

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The portable... DESKTOP?

2008-02-25T16:35:00.001-08:00

This was just too funny, so I have to link to it. Checkout the mobile desktop prank

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Excel: get a high level summary with pivot tables

2008-02-25T16:11:00.001-08:00

If at work, you're using lots of data in excel, and need quick summaries, a pivot table is the way to go. You can use it to filter down your data to a high-level summary, using tables and charts....

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Powerpoint Tip: use the keys 'B' and 'W' to allow your audience to focus

2008-02-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

If you've ever given presentations, you know that keeping your audience's focus can be tough. Part of the reason for that is because when you have a slide up there, the audience naturally wants to...

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Oldies but goodies round-up #1

2008-02-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

There's no way to migrate or import from my old site in wordpress.com into blogger (well, at least none that I know), so I'm going to post these "oldies but goodies" once in awhile to bring useful...

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Say hi to your computer - part 6 - the CD/DVD drive

2008-02-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, we're pretty much on our last part regarding the major parts of your computer's hardware. Today, we're covering the CD/DVD drive. Only about 5 years ago, the CD and DVD drives used to come...

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Replace your keyless remote entry for cheap

2008-02-22T11:20:00.001-08:00

I’ve lost a couple for my car, and was shocked at the price of replacing them from the dealer - over $150 for one! But there are 3rd party vendors from whom you can buy these things. They teach you...

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Never made it to MIT for college? It's ok, take their online classes free!

2008-02-21T17:28:00.001-08:00

Boy has internet really changed the world. Even if you never made it to your dream university like MIT, it's ok! You can take some of their classes online here for free. Of course you won't get...

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Organize your Start Menu alphabetically

2008-02-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

I’ve seen many people who have installed several programs here and there being lost when trying to launch that one program. They click Start > All Programs, then go “hm, where is that...

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Take me to your...

2008-02-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, sister, brother, cousin, etc... just anyone that doesn't know techy stuff, and asks you to fix everything for them during the holidays! If they stay tuned to this site for...

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How to turn off your computer when it's REALLY stuck

2008-02-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, your computer will freeze. It’s more likely on Windows, but sometimes even on Macs. You pound on the keys and click on the mouse, but nothing happens. You even press control+alt+delete on...

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Say hi to your computer - part 5 - the RAM

2008-02-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before, technically both RAM and hard drive serve as the computer's memory. But think of the RAM as your working desk-space area on your physical desk, and the hard drive as your file...

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No, big companies don't really make their own parts

2008-02-18T11:37:00.001-08:00

I found that a lot of folks stick to name brands such as Sony, HP, Dell for one main reason: they think that they actually make each of the parts involved, and therefore, they must be quality...

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Tired of biased news? My 2 favorite sources

2008-02-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you might be tired of news sources such as CNN or Fox news. They are extreme cases, but I'm sick of subjective news. I don't even like Time or Newsweek. I stopped reading them...

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Say hi to your computer - part 4 - the hard drive

2008-02-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today, we're going to cover the hard drive. As I mentioned before, your hard drive is like your desk drawer. The bigger it is, the more info it can hold (duh). There are 2 main types out there...

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Say hi to your computer - part 3 - the motherboard

2008-02-15T10:00:00.001-08:00

Today let's talk about the motherboard. The motherboard is not really too much to talk about, except that there are 2 main different kinds of motherboards based on the processor. Of course, again,...

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Don't get abused by customer service

2008-02-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

Joe, I thought you might need a break from the hardware stuff. So here's some useful info that will save many headaches and phone calls when dealing with customer service with any company. Too many...

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Say hi to your computer - Part 2: the processor

2008-02-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, Average Joe, now you've gotten the basic 'outline' of what your computer is composed of, we're going to talk a bit more about your processor. As I mentioned before, the 2 major players in the...

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Say hi to your computer - Part I - the hardware

2008-02-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

Now that I've moved to a new home, maybe I should just start again from the basics, except, this time, really the basics. I want this site to be a site when you can send your not-so-tech savvy...

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