General Blogs

from CaptainPC - Netbooks have been the rage in personal computing for some months now. Sales of netbooks have boomed despite the economic downturn we have all experienced. After considerable reading about netbooks in article after article, I could not wait to get my hands on one. The first netbook I touched was an Asus eeePC in a private PC store back in...

from CaptainPC - Microsoft’s default setting for automatic updates on Windows XP and Vista is just that, automatic. The downloading and installation of updates takes place without the knowledge or consent of the PC owner. Microsoft recommends the fully automatic setting to ensure that all users get every critical update that becomes available to correct buggy code...

from CaptainPC - Microsoft today announced they have some "screaming deals" for users of all versions of Windows XP and Vista. The program will begin tomorrow, June 26, in the United States, Canada, and Japan. It is scheduled to end on July 11 in the U.S. and Canada, and on July 5 in Japan, or as Microsoft put it "while supplies last". Apparently Microsoft has...

from VickyRN - According to Moody (2010), the entire concept of a retirement period during one's senior years is a relatively recent development in human history and civilization. It has been a 20th century phenomenon, the result of industrialization and prosperity. The onset of retirement years, interestingly enough, has been slowly increasing since the late...

from CaptainPC - If you are a long time user of Microsoft Office, and were less than overjoyed with the ribbon menu system featured in Office 2007, rejoice! There is a free menu add-in available for download. While the ribbon menu has its good points, and will undoubtedly grow in popularity as time passes, the menu add-in is just what the doctor prescribed to...

from CaptainPC - Spring is winding down, and summer is about to kick in. But it’s never too late to finish the rest of that spring cleaning. One item often overlooked when folks give their home the once over is the personal or family computer. Sure, now and then it may get dusted like all the other pieces of furniture in the room, but have you ever considered...

from VivaLasViejas - ........from high school. This Thursday. And as glad as I am to be done with the public school system after 21 long years, a big part of me isn't quite ready for this to be over. Tonight was Ben's Baccalaureate ceremony, a tradition which, as a Christian parent, I'm glad to see still going strong even in this 'politically correct' age. Our...

from CaptainPC - A few years ago I purchased a nice new laptop and excitedly hurried home to set it up, delete the junk and trial software from the hard drive and generally give it a good tune up. When I booted for the first time, much to my dismay there appeared a dead pixel. It stood out like redeye on a photograph. The good news is if this ever happens to you,...

from CaptainPC - Disclaimer: The author is expressing his own opinion in some of this blog – and as someone observed, “opinions are like armpits; everybody has them and most of the time they…..” ….well, you get the picture. When Microsoft Vista is the subject of discussion, it becomes very clear that it is not a very popular operating system. Now that Service...

from CaptainPC - Virtually all computer retailers, whether brick and mortar or online, offer extended protection plans to extend your factory warranty and/or protect your investment from accidental damage. If you do a little research on the web you will find arguments both for and against the purchase of such plans. There are those who are adamant that all such...

from CaptainPC - Microsoft announced on June 2 that Windows 7 will be on new PC’s hitting store shelves on October 22 of this year, ending considerable debate as to whether the new OS would be available for this year’s holiday season. It is common knowledge that Windows 7 is, at its core, very similar to Windows Vista. Some have even referred to Windows 7 as...

from CaptainPC - One of the big boys on the Internet Security block, McAfee, published a report using data from 2008 titled “The Web’s Most Dangerous Search Terms.” The report is freely available to everyone as a PDF. The report is too lengthy to discuss fully, but I am highlighting a few key points. In the introduction, McAfee says, This just makes...

from CaptainPC - Microsoft posted a quick fix for a zero day flaw found in Microsoft Directshow used in processing Quicktime content. This vunerability affects users of Windows XP, 2000, and Server 2003. If any of you have Windows XP, it would be a good idea to download the ‘enable fix’ and the ‘disable fix’ installers. These will download the Microsoft installers...

from CaptainPC - I am not a fighter pilot, but I have played one on numerous flight simulators in days gone by. Even though flying a PC cannot compare to real flight, I learned a few of things about what it takes to make a good fighter jock. One of the most important things to have is what fighter pilots refer to as ‘situational awareness’, and it is vital to...

from CaptainPC - Personal computing has been my passion since 1982. Ever since my first encounter with computers, I wanted to learn all about them. I wanted to learn how to program, and for a while I dabbled with the BASIC (Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programming language. I also enjoyed designing database tables, queries, and forms for all...