The newest addition to the Laptop market is the Mini PC. Usually these are about 1/2 the size (if not smaller) than a normal laptop, have 2-3 times the battery life, and are quite a bit lighter. These PC run Intel Atom processors which require far less power to operate, however, they are not very fast.  But are the worth the money?

The short answer is that it depends on your use. If you are an avid user who likes speed and always has the power adaptor in tow, a mini pc is PROBALLY not for you or at least shouldn’t be your primary pc. These machines are slower and wouldn’t have the graphic preformance you’d be used to, even from a low end laptop. Graphic artists and gamers also should shy away from these machines, unless you need a smaller machine for basic tasks

Now, as for the average casual user: These machines are great. Check your email and surf the web, they are perfect. Some of them even have 3G Cell cards built in so you have internet access anywhere (although plans can cost 20-50 a month). These things are super portable (they fit in women’s purses) and they are quite cheap when compared to a low end laptop. Most cost between 200-500 dollars and can be purchased over the web, or at most retailers.

Imagine this, you are sitting at dinner and need to send an email. If you are like me, your laptop is a monster (Dell M1710) and I wouldn’t want to bring it along with me all the time (although I usually do). Regardless, pulling it out at a moment’s notice would make quite a headache. Instead I whip out a tiny pc that can do what I needed and I’m on my way. Check detailed stats while’st sitting in the stands of your favorite sports team, surf the web while standing in line at the dmv, hook it to your car for a internet radio streamer.

These things really are versitile. While I won’t review any specific models, CNET does a great job of that.

http://reviews.cnet.com/best-netbooks

Again, these machines aren’t for everyone, but evaluate your needs and you may find that a mini-pc, netbook or tablet pc fits you lifestyle

Sadly, email spam is a fact of life. Very little can be done by the individual to stop the overall problem. But there are steps you can take to make it harder for the spammers to find you.

Firstly, if you use a free email account as your primary email, you are out of luck. While these services have spam filtering, you are going to get spam. These services are heavily targeted by spammers. If possible switch to another provider. Most ISPs offer email.

Second, install a email client with spam filtering such as Mozilla Thunderbird. This will help if emails get past the larger net (step 3)

Third, check to see if your ISP offers spam filtering or, if they have it, use something like boxtrapper. Boxtrapper first sends an email to anyone NEW that writes to you asking them to respond to verify they are real. If they don’t respond within a certain time frame, the email is deleted. You can manually go in and look and see what is in queue. Also, if an email bounces back, it’s email is deleted too.

Fourth, If you are using a non-free email and get a lot of spam already, use a filtering service like ClearMyMail. This service checks your email for you, and then you check your mail on it. It filters out most spam. However it is not free.

The best option is to use a free email for most stuff and ONLY give your real email address to friends and family. You can even open a free email and have it forward all email to another account. Getting too much spam, close it down and open another. Easy right?

But what is the Windows Experience Index? What does it mean? Does it even matter at all?

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) allows users to match their computer hardware performance with the performance requirements of software. For example, the Aero graphical user interface recommends a WEI score of 3 or higher for satisfactory use of the “Aero Glass” feature. The WEI can also be used to show which part of a system will provide the greatest increase in performance when upgraded. For example a computer with the lowest subscore being its memory, would benefit more from a RAM increase than adding a faster hard drive (or any other component).

Therefore, it’s a good first place to look when in the market for upgrades. Peronally, I’ve taken systems from 3.1 to 4.9 with only a few minor upgrades. However, in the long run, upgrading may go both ways. If your system is low end, upgrading may yield powerful results. High end computers, you’d be hard pressed to improve more then a few points.

So your computer just isn’t as fast as it used to be. It has gone from lightning fast, to taking several minutes to boot up. Sadly, it’s a computer reality in this day and age. Applications just aren’t very clean. They leave behind traces of themselves and these traces build up eventually slowing the entire computer to a crawl. What can you do? Thankfully there are steps you can take to restore your PC to optimal working condition, or at the very least, speed it up more then it is now.

So what can you do? Do you have to be a computer genius? The answer is no. There are TONS of free and paid solutions that will fix you right up. Here are some of them

1. As I’ve said previously, I love adaware (http://www.lavasoft.com) and spybot (http://beam.to/spybotsd). These programs do exactly what they say they do and they are free (although you can pay for them) the are mostly community supported so they might not get updated as quickly as a paid one, but rest assured, they are updated in a reasonable time.

2. Digeus System Optimizer 6 (http://www.digeus.com/products/systemoptimizer/index.html). Also a great product. This is a paid product that gets deep into your system and does a very through cleaning. A very good investment if you find your system to be getting rather slow.

3. Power Defragmenter (http://www.clanwhitefang.org/Defrag.zip). Simple to use, powerful and much more efficient than the built in windows tool

4. Panda Cloud Antivirus (http://www.cloudantivirus.com) Does virus work in a swarm. Therefore doesn’t use very much of your system to do it. Protects against a new virus threat in under 5 seconds.

5. Windows defender (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx) Free for legal copies of windows, for a non-tech this program is a god-send. It works well and doesn’t nag very much. Integrates nicely (as expected) with windows security center.

However, don’t limit yourself to just these. There are thousands of solutions you can try. However, finding gold among them is hard.

What programs do you use?

Ok, so Shakespeare may be old, but your computer is too. The newest games just aren’t running like they should be.  You might be due for an upgrade. But what should you get? Should you build your own PC or should you just buy one in a store? This guide should help you out:

What kind of budget do you have?

If you have less then $1000 to spend, it can go either way. For that price, sometimes you just can’t buy the parts and put it together for the price that Dell, HP or others might charge. But if you don’t like “grey boxes” you might be able to build an identical computer for slightly more.

If you have more to spend, by all means, stay away from the brands unless you are too lazy to build. There are companies that build PCs for you that will blow your socks off, but they tend to charge a premium for the service.

How comfortable are you with computers?

If you think that building a computer from scratch is a hard task, you are wrong. Building one is actually very easy. Cables only fit one way or another and won’t go other places. Once you’ve built one computer, with the exception of new technology, you are ready to build a thousand ones.  It can be a fun way to spend an afternoon. Plus, it’s fun to bring something to life from a pile of parts. If it’s your first time, I’d recommend having a geek on standby for questions, but overall, it’s pretty straightforward.

But, if the idea of building a computer scares you, don’t worry, it isn’t for everyone. There are plenty of companies such as Voodoo or Alienware that would gladly build you a screaming fast machine. But you will pay for it. The advantage though is the warranty and the fact that it arrives ready to go.

Are you a gamer or a casual user?

If you are a gamer, in this day in age, there is no excuse for you not build a computer. You can customize it for what you want and be the envy of the party. If you have money to burn, you can make a system that will make fellow gamers bow before you in fear.

To bring it all together, building a computer is not a daunting task, but it can be tough the first time. Seek help, use the internet and most of all, have fun doing it. You are bringing something new into this world. Make the best of it

External Sites:

Lets face it, the Internet is a dangerous place. Like any public place, there are viruses and diseases to catch. But what can you do to stay safe and keep your system running at peak performance?

Tip #1: Stay away from cracks and serials sites. If you know some of these sites, avoid them. Most have all kinds of bad things on them that install without your knowledge

Tip #2: Just say “no”. If you get a pop up of any kind that you weren’t expecting, say no, or disallow. Only say “Yes” if you know what it is you are installing. When in doubt, type the name of the program trying to install itself into a google search and see what comes up.

Tip #3: Anti virus protection!!!! I can’t stress this enough. EVERY computer on the Internet needs AT LEAST anti-virus protection. There are dozens to choose from, however, if you can’t afford one, AVG is a good option. Install one of these. A bonus for AVG and McAfee. They both come with browser plug ins that warn you when you are visiting dangerous sites

Tip #4: Install Mozilla Firefox. This browser is still one of the safest on the market. While Internet Explorer is improving, Firefox is constantly being updated to deal with new threats. You can download it from the Mozilla site http://www.getfirefox.com

Tip #5: System tray pop ups that you don’t recognize, DON’T click on. If it asks you to buy something that you don’t recognize, don’t do it. Refer to Tip #6

Tip #6: Install Spybot AND AdAware to combat these threats. Make sure you use the immunize function in Spybot for a little preventative maintenance.

Tip #7: Keep your firewall up. As tempting as it might be sometimes due to incompatibilities and ports being blocked, don’t drop your firewall. Instead research your firewall and learn how to configure it. Only open ports that you need to and (if the firewall supports it) map said ports to the specific application that needs it.

Tip #8: Ditch P2P applications. You’ve used Limewire or Kazaa or Shareazaa for ever, well sad to say that these networks are often riddled with viruses buy the Movie companies and such to discourage people from using them. Instead, make the move to Bittorrent. However, as with any Internet download, make sure your virus protection is current.

Tip #9: If you suspect anything, scan. If you system is being slow or has previously non-existent pop ups, restart your computer, right before you see the windows logo, press F8 on the keyboard and choose safe mode. Disconnect your network cord and scan your system with your Virus Scanner, Spybot and AdAware. Safe mode should allow you to clean just about anything.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’ve used Windows and at least heard of Linux. But is the hype true. Is Linux really a better alternative then Windows?

Pre Screening questions

If you say “I don’t know what that is” to any of these, stop right now, Linux isn’t for you

• I know how to burn an ISO to a CD.
• I know how to boot from a CD.

The truth is, it depends on a few factors.

How technical are you?

If you are a novice user, stay away from Linux. While overall it doesn’t require much in the way of geeky skill, if something does break, you’d be hard pressed to get local help.

If you generally know your way around a computer, Linux may indeed work for you. It’s rather simple and your skills should be enough to troubleshoot some easy issues, and if all else fails, format/reinstall.

Got guru skills with a computer? You may want to install it and even dual boot Linux/Windows so you have the best of both worlds

Now, what kind of user are you?

Casual user, this is a toss up. If you are used to Windows, stick with windows. If you want to try something new, go for it. Keep in mind though, most software isn’t designed for windows. Linux will be fine for checking email, typing documents and browsing the web. However, any other types of applications may require a few Google searches.

Gamer, don’t. Just….. don’t. Games are mostly designed for windows or MacOS so they just don’t work. That isn’t to say some games don’t work on Windows, but most don’t. Now… there is an emulator that would allow you to run Windows inside of Linux, but it crashes often (go figure, Windows crashing) and doesn’t get very good performance.

Office user, firstly, most IT departments won’t help you, nor is it allowed. Second, a lot of offices use special software for, say, scanning for viruses and missing updates company wide, and don’t have Linux compatible versions. The short answer is, unless your IT department says you can, don’t.

So, after reading all this, you still feel like you should install Linux. Well… the good news is, it’s really easy. All you need to do is visit the website of whatever distribution you wish to install. I recommend Ubuntu, which can be found at the link below:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

You download an ISO image, burn it to a CD and boot from it. Most of the time, installation is a breeze and goes off without a hitch. Once it’s installed, you bring over any data you might have, and tada!

And now you are part of a small group (but growing) of people who have cast off the shackles of Windows and delved into a wider world that is community supported.

So here is a summary:

Good:  Less viruses, usually better preformance on lesser hardware

Bad: Limited software. Support is community driven

What do you think?

In February, Microsoft announced the next version of Windows that is to come next, replacing Vista. This raises some questions however. What features does this new version have? Is this operating system better or worse then Vista? When will it be out? How much will it cost? Is it worth it? All of these questions will be answered.

Is this operating system better or worse then Vista? For you Vista hates out there, rejoice. This is not Vista. While it is built on the same architecture, it is a far cry from it. It nags you less, has better computability support, smaller hard drive footprint, faster load times, and a better name (in my opinion).

Firstly, what features does this new version have? I could go for hours on ALL of the new features that this version will bring to the table. But most of them wouldn’t mean very much to the average user. There are two main things: Speed and appearance. If you are already used to Vista, the appearance part won’t really shock you. It is almost identical. The main appearence changes lie in the task bar. Now, certain programs (at the moment just Microsoft ones although new ones are sure to use this feature) can display information directly on the task bar

Notice the progress bars on the downloads in the task bar in the screen shot above? Now you can see at a glance important information such as this. Also, right-clicking on Internet explorer can bring up your most recent history or your bookmarks for easy access to the web. Dragging has been redesigned also. Drag most windows to the top of the screen and they will be maximized. Drag them to either side to make them tiled.

Speed is the other area of improvement. If you have a more modern processor, Windows 7 has been optimized for better usage of it. The loading time has been dramatically improved also.  Gone are the days of long Windows load times.

Now, what is this going to cost me? At the time of this article, Microsoft has yet to announce the pricing. However, if microsoft follows the same pricing strategy it has in the past, it should be something like this:

Again, these numbers are for FULL copies and not upgrades and this data is far from official. Due to the current economic climate, I would think, if anything, the prices would be lower then this. But expect to shell out 175-275 for the basic edition.

When will it be out? As of the time this article was written, there was no OFFICIAL release date for the full version. It is widely thought that it SHOULD be available in November, but no one know for sure

The bottom line, is it worth it? For users of XP, this should be the version you upgrade to. While XP was nice, this version is NOT vista. It nags less, and it offers even more features then Vista did. It is also will be the central platform that software makers will use and users of XP will be left behind when it comes to compatibility.

Vista users however will have a choice, this version is nice, however, because it is built upon the same platform as Vista, it is highly unlikely that Vista will not be supported by tomorrow’s applications. While Windows 7 does have more features and more operability, the cost may encourage you to stay with your current operating system. If you can afford it, I recommend going for it. If not, stay with Vista.

Lets face it, the Internet is not a safe place. Not only do you have viruses and the like crawling around trying to infect you, but you have the people behind said viruses working overtime to circumvent any security you may try and install. So what can you do to make yourself safe?

The honest answer is that there is no solution or combination of such that will keep you 100% safe. However, with the right free (or paid) solutions installed, you can balance security with memory CPU usage. You don’t want something that takes an IT guru to make work, nor do you want something easy that doesn’t give you the flexibility to change any settings. So where does that leave you? Fear not! I have some simple programs that are easy to use, and best of all, FREE!

Spybot Search and Destroy

Description: Released in the early 2000’s, this program has been one of the front runners in basic computer security. It does one thing, and one thing well. It scans for spyware. It’s easy to install, update and use. In addition, it has a great feature, it can add entries to your HOSTS file to take preventive measures to block spyware from getting in the first place.  Includes Teatimer which advises you of changes to your system. I don’t recommend installing Teatimer if you use your system extensively. It can get annoying.

Direct Download: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html

Pros: Easy to use and update. Has immunization feature for preventive action.

Cons: No automatic scans. Doesn’t like having Adaware installed. No automatic update.

Lavasoft Adaware

Description: Originally developed in 1999 for a completely different purpose, this is an EXCELLENT program to fight adware. It is chock full of easy to use features and even updates itself automatically and can run scans automatically as well. Even includes an anti virus program, if paid for. The virus scanner is one I personally like because it also contains a rootkit scanner, however if you’ve installed these programs, you shouldn’t need to worry about root kits.

Direct Download: http://download.cnet.com/Ad-Aware-Anniversary-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html

Pros: Automatic updates and scans. Has real-time scanner

Cons: Benefits greatly from paying for it. Doesn’t like having Spybot installed

Windows Defender

Description: Released in 2005, this product was actually a rebranding of GIANT AntiSpyware. However, because it’s free, this is an excellent supplement for Windows users. It sits in the background and notifies users of changes to the registry or Windows Firewall. Integrates with Windows Security Center and updates itself automatically. It even runs scheduled scans at non-peak times (or at times that you specify). All you need is a GENUINE copy of windows and this program will install itself.

Direct Download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=435BFCE7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en&mg_id=10134

Pros: Free. Easy to install. Updates automatically. Real-time protection. Automatic scans

Cons: Very few options to configure right out of the box. Only works on genuine Windows systems

AVG anti virus

Description: Released to the US in 1998, this is one of the best free Anti-virus solutions, and honestly, this product is more then enough for MOST users. While I personally use McAfee, this is for business reasons and not because it is better. I do have AVG installed on quite a few computers because I don’t want to pay more to increase the size of my McAfee License. AVG however has an excellent track record of keeping up with, or in some cases beating the paid antivirus software packages. It automatically upates itself and can run scans whenever you choose. Best of all, as mentioned previously, it’s free. Although paying does have it’s benifits. In a few cases, i’ve had McAfee installed on a system and had to install AVG because I’d noted strange behaviour from the system and low and behold, AVG found the virus that McAfee missed.

Direct Download: http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html

Pros: Free. Easy to use. Automatically updates. Just as good as the paid ones

Cons: Lacks ALL the features unless you pay for it. Options menu is not as easy as it could be.

Hijack This

Description: This program is great if you are an IT guru or an average user. It gives you the tools to analyze your system. However, it does generate a rather cryptic log file which can be daunting to the average user. But rest assured, there are ENTIRE forums out there filled with people who will be happy to analyze your log file and give you instruction as to what to do next. This program, I only recommend installing if you think you have “caught something” and want verification.

Direct Download: http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis/download

Pros: Easy to scan. Generates a very detailed logfile that most geeks can read with ease and tell you if you have a problem

Cons: Not as easy to remove things. Can be daunting for the average user.

Some side notes: Installing Spyware and Adaware at the same time may cause either program to complain that the other is installed. You can ignore this warning, however, I do not recomend running both scans at the same time. Run one then the other to make your system clean

So it has finally happened. You were using the computer and the worst has happened, your hard drive failed. Taking with it, all of your precious data. Or did it? You see, a few simple steps is all it takes to recover from the inevitable. While no drive is completely 100% reliable, you can greatly reduce the chance this catastrophe will affect you. Best of all, all of these solutions are transparent and in the background so you don’t even notice them.

Method 1. Windows Live Sync

Requirements: 2 or more computers running either Windows or MacOS with internet connections (high speed internet preferred)

Cost Free

This method involves using a second computer (or more) to replicate your data across a network or even the internet. What you have to do is install windows live sync (http://sync.live.com) and setting it up.

Step 1: Create a windows live ID or sign in with an existing one. If you use XBOX live or Hotmail you have one already (http://sync.live.com)

Step 2: Download the software (https://sync.live.com/clientdownload.aspx)

Step 3: Install the software

Step 4: Log into your windows live ID with the software

Step 5:  Right click on the live sync icon in the tray

Step 6. Choose “Sync Website”

The rest is fairly simple. You select folders that you wish to back up, and create libraries. You then install the software on another computer, and point the same library from the first computer, to a location (or the same location) on the second. You can use this software to sync all of your documents (for example) and when you make a change on one computer, the file is transfered automatically to all other computer that are in the library.  Besides keeping everything up to date, you now have automatic copies of your data on other machines.

Method 2: Manual Backup

Requirements: CD Burner or some kind of backup device

Cost: Depends on how many discs you buy

This method can also be automatic, however, most of the time you must do it manually. You use your favorite CD burning software to copy files that you need to external media which you must store. While this method is fairly safe, it also requires that you keep discs safe. And it opens up the possibility of people stealing your data. You can also use tools like Winzip (http://www.winzip.com) to compress the data or to make a large data file and split it up into pieces that can fit on CDs or DVDs. With Winzip, you can even password protect the files. However, this method, as mentioned previouslly, is not usually automatic, although it does give you more control over the backup.

Method 3: Online backup services

Cost: Varies

Requirements: Computer with an internet connection

This method involves using services like Carbonite Backup (http://www.carbonite.com). These services back up your data in the backround over the internet. The advantage to this is that you get peace of mind because even if your house burns down, and your computers are destroyed, you have backups safe and secure. This method can take some time initially, especially if you have lots of data to back up. However, once you have completed the initial transfer, it only transfers changes thereby saving you time. Cost is the only disadvantage to this system

So, what should I be backing up?

Documents folder

• XP: C:\Documents and Settings\(User Name)\My Documents
• Vista/7 C:\Users\(User Name)\Documents

INF Folder - This folder contains your drivers. While not critical, it might save you time if you have to reinstall the operating system

• C:\windows\inf

Financial data - Quicken, Microsoft Money, Tax Data from previous years (if applicable)

• Varies by program

These are just examples. There may be other data that needs to be backed up, but each user has different needs. Remember this, backup anything you couldn’t afford to lose. Programs can be reinstalled, but the data they create, cannot be.

Lets say though that the worst has happened. You didn’t use any of the solutions metioned above and you lost data that you desperatly need. What options are left. While not 100% certain, you can attempt to use a data recovery program or service.

Option 1: Data Doctors (http://www.datadoctors.com)

Option 2: Salvage Data (http://www.salvagedata.com)

Option 3: Get Data Back (http://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm)

However, these options can become costly and may not be able to fully recover the disk depending on the damage. Preventive actions will save you in the long run. Take steps to protect your data so that you don’t regret it later.