Tech Tips Blog - Computer Tips - Computer Blog

Must Do Things on Facebook

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:46:00 PDT

These days it seems that Facebook, the social networking site, has become the “new MySpace” – a place where people and their friends can get together and have a good time. In fact, you more than likely have a Facebook account (over 200 million do) and if you don’t then get one, they’re free! If you’re a Facebook veteran you no doubt know about many of the cool things you can do with Facebook, however if you’re new to the Facebook community, then this Tech Tip is for you! We’ll look at some MUST DO things to do while on Facebook!

Fifteen Cool Websites You Need To Visit

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:46:00 PDT

All of us have our own personal favorite websites, and many of them may be the same favorites of many other people. However beyond the Youtube’s, CNN’s and Facebook’s of the world lay some other terrific websites. In this week’s Tech Tip, we’ll be looking at fifteen cool websites that are a must visit. Some you may know about, and others may be new to you, so without any further ado we present (in no particular order) the fifteen sites!

Four Ways to Back Up and Share Files in “the Cloud”

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:03:01 PDT

The Web has become an integral part of the lives of millions of people, and not just for browsing or shopping for computer parts, either. More and more people are using Web applications for a variety of tasks.

There are Web applications for doing just about everything. You can create documents, balance your books, invoice customers and clients, keep track of tasks, plan events and much more. One area in which Web application developers are really pushing the boundaries is storing and sharing files. And why not? The Web is just a big collection of servers with big hard drives. With the price of hard drives dropping, it’s easy and fairly inexpensive to add more storage.

Five Reasons Why Microsoft’s BING Outshines Google

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:44:00 PDT

On June 3, 2009 Microsoft officially unveiled its latest incarnation of the search engine: Bing! Yes, Bing, as in cherry, as in Crosby as in BING! I found it! Bing is not so much a search engine as it is a “decision engine”. Bing is what Google was 10 years ago, fresh, innovative, and (dare I say it) cool. But how does it stack up to the behemoth of the search engine world? Pretty well actually, and with this Tech Tip I’ll give you FIVE reasons why Bing outshines Google

Five Essential Apps for the Ubuntu User

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:00:00 PDT

Ubuntu is arguably the most popular Linux distribution available. It’s solid, stable, and well packaged. On top of that, the developers have made some good calls about the software that they package with Ubuntu.

There’s a lot of software for Ubuntu (and other Linux distributions). A lot of it’s good, some of it’s OK, and there are a few duds. But the five applications that this TechTip covers are great additions to anyone’s installation of Ubuntu.

Taking a Breath of Adobe AIR

Sun, 31 May 2009 17:00:00 PDT

One of the holy grails of software development has been to write applications that run on just about any operating system. This is called write once, run anywhere. The Java programming language tried, and almost succeeded. Almost. But the true grail is yet to be found. There’s nothing worse than being a Windows user who sees a really nifty app for the Mac and finds out that there’s no Windows version of it, and that there are no plans for one either.

Web comes close, and a previous TechTip looked at a way of bringing Web apps to your desktop computer. But, let’s face it: the Web’s not quite the desktop. That’s where Adobe AIR comes in.

Learning Languages: Online

Sun, 24 May 2009 19:25:00 PDT

Learning a foreign language seems to be on the to do list of a lot of people. And their reasons for learning a language are as varied as the languages many of them want to study.

While there’s no denying that being able to speak a foreign tongue is beneficial, would-be language learners often run into a few obstacles. They might not have time to attend formal or informal classes. They might not be able to afford language tutoring. Or classes for the languages they want to learn might not be available where they live.

Optical Disc Drive Guide

Sun, 17 May 2009 17:00:01 PDT

Optical disc drives, you know CD-ROM type drives, are pretty much on all computers these days (except maybe netbooks - - where you may need to buy an external optical drive) . While this drive is extremely useful, some very common some questions still arise about them. In this Tech Tip we’ll be providing a refresh look at optical drives as well as looking at common failures and replacement strategies.

Wikipedia – All Aboard!

Sun, 10 May 2009 21:19:00 PDT

So much has been written and said about the website known as Wikipedia that many people may start to wonder what exactly Wikipedia is. Wikipedia is simply a Wiki Encyclopedia (a wiki being defined as “a Web site that allows visitors to make changes, contributions, or corrections” [Webster.com]). If the Encyclopedia Britannica is a chauffer-driven limousine, then Wikipedia is the bus loaded with passengers with each having a turn at the steering wheel.

In this Tech Tip, we’re going to take a look at this Wikipedia bus and check out what exactly it is.

Should I Upgrade My Web Browser?

Sun, 03 May 2009 21:53:00 PDT

The car I drive is a beautiful bright yellow Mustang convertible with big bold racing stripes, while the car that my neighbor drives is a small, economical silver Toyota Prius. While the cars will get you from point A to B with no problems, they do it in different ways. The Mustang looks “cool”, it drives “cool” and it gets you to point B in “cool” while the Prius drives solid, is an engineering marvel and gets you from point A to B with quiet, fuel efficient “coolness.” Internet browsers are very much the same, they (for the most part) will get you from point A to B – but how you arrive can be totally different factors of cool.

While a lot of this Tip may be more subjective than objective, it will give you a good idea of different ways to arrive at point B (so to speak) with your internet browser.