On May 30, 2006, Microsoft entered into the security software market with its U.S. release of its fully supported version of its Windows Live OneCare software. The OneCare product includes firewall, anti-virus, back-up and restore utility, as well as Microsoft’s Windows Defender anti-spyware technology. Also included is a tune-up utility which performs routine maintenance tasks such as defragmenting and temp file clean up.
Windows First OneCare Read More »
I was born in 1959, which puts me at the tail end of a trend called the Baby Boom. I’m a Baby Boomer. I remember long hair, Jimi Hendrix, LSD, bell bottoms, and Kent State as a rebellious youth. Maturity and greed replaced our wayward spirit; and with it came junk bonds, the personal computer, compact discs, IRA’s and the internet. We, Baby Boomers, have impacted, changed, and molded American society like no other generation before or after. Until now.
Commentary: Google Boomers
Article: Keyboard shortcuts save time
Windows Tweak: Reduce IE loadtimes
Optimize: Announcing Optimize 1.5
Research: Open Office gaining marketshare
Survey: Weigh in on our digital music survey
Windows Alert: XP drains portable batteries
Windows Tweak: Make your LCD screen crystal clear
July 2006 Newsletter Read More »
OpenOffice.org 2.0 was released in October 2005 and is proving to be a formidable contender in the office productivity suite arena. The fully featured open-source suite is freely distributed and is a direct competitor of Microsoft Office. The suite contains word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphic and database modules. It can read and write most of the of the file formats found in Microsoft Office and many other applications.
OpenOffice.org Office Productivity Suite Read More »
In 1985, I remember fondly opening the box to my first PC. It had 768K of memory, a 6 Mhz processor, and a 10 MB hard drive. It was a state of the art, technological marvel. I wrote my master’s thesis in a program called EZ Writer, and I planned my life and balanced my books in Lotus 123. It did everything I wanted it and more. I never thought it was slow, except when I saved to the 5.25 inch floppy.
Vista – RAM Guzzler Read More »
Since PC Pitstop opened in March 2000, we’ve tested and optimized more than a million computers. During that time, spyware has become a growing problem that threatens the stability and performance of your PC.
Our statistics indicate that more than 20% of PC’s have some sort of spyware active in memory, stealing CPU cycles, using up system resources, delivering unwanted advertising, and often creating system instability. Worse yet, spyware can threaten your privacy.
Spyware Information Center Read More »
If you had a complete knowledge of what most spyware was doing to your system, you would never agree to install it. So how does it end up installed on so many PCs? Here are some of the dirty tricks that spyware uses to worm its way onto your system and stay there. (Not all spyware uses every technique.)
Dirty Spyware Tricks Read More »
Commentary: Vista – RAM Guzzler
New Test: Try our Vista Readiness Test
Windows Tip: For those with reading glasses…
Research: Close to 3/4 of PC’s are not Vista Ready
Windows Tweak: Recover previous hard drive space
June 2006 Newsletter Read More »
The Gator Corporation makes several free applications that are distributed over the Internet. (On October 30, 2003, the company changed its name to Claria Corporation, but continues to operate in the same way it did before the name change.) Gator/Claria products are often delivered to end-users by being bundled with other applications or through “drive-by downloads” that pop up an ActiveX dialog and start the installation process if you say “Yes”.
Gator Information Center Read More »
Overclocking is the process of manipulating the CPU and other components of your computer to run faster than the manufacturers rated speed. Why would you want to overclock your computer? Overclocking can improve performance in tasks such as resource-intensive games, programs running large databases, extensive graphics editing, and video rendering. The budget conscious could also save money on their processor by purchasing a cheaper low-end CPU that can be overclocked to higher specs. And there’s always the bragging rights of having that really fast, super-tweaked system.