Monthly Archive for September, 2008

50 Tools to Speed Up Your PC

From PCWorld.ca:

Is your PC tired and sluggish? Has its get up and go got up and went? If you want a faster system, you could certainly break the bank and buy a new machine. Or you could read this article instead.

We’ve found 50 downloads that will make your PC run more quickly and smoothly, help you use the Internet more effectively, and push Windows to work at optimum speed with the interface you want, not what Microsoft gave you.

15 Turning Points in Tech History

From PCWorld.ca:

Imagine how different the computing world would be if IBM had used proprietary chips in the original PC, rather than off-the-shelf components. The PC clone market would never have happened, and IBM, rather than Microsoft, might have emerged as the leading company of the computer revolution.

Or if Steve Jobs had never taken his fateful tour of Xerox PARC? Had he not seen PARC’s GUI in action he might never have created the Macintosh. And then where would Windows be today?

In every industry there are key milestones that mark a change in the course of history, and the fast-moving technology field has more than its share. Presented here are 15 turning points that shaped the computing world as we know it today, including some that still continue to influence its direction for years to come.

As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks

From the New York Times:

Senator Barack Obama used one to announce to the world his choice of a running mate. Thousands of Americans have used them to vote for their favorite “American Idol” contestants. Many teenagers prefer them to actually talking. Almost overnight, text messages have become the preferred form of communication for millions.

But even as industry calculations show that Americans are now using mobile phones to send or receive more text messages than phone calls, those messages are coming under increasing fire because of the danger they can pose by distracting users. Though there are no official casualty statistics, there is much anecdotal evidence that the number of fatal accidents stemming from texting while driving, crossing the street or engaging in other activities is on the rise.

Words the Internet Killed

LIVEdigitally had a posting about words that we used to know, but that the Internet has made obsolete:

I’m noticing that a few very common words are losing their meaning, specifically due to their various implementations online (warning: much sarcasm and cynical writing follows, don’t take it too seriously if you are easily offended)…

22 Tips to Do Everything Faster

PCWorld.ca had an article about how to do things faster on your computer:

22 smarter, more efficient ways to make short work of common tech tasks–from reinstalling Windows to crushing spyware to setting up a Web site.

Protect Your Child’s Privacy Online

security4web has a nice list of suggestions to protect your child online (follow the link to read the entire 19-point list):

  • Be aware of cyberspace threats! Learn about all risks children may face while surfing on the Internet and start educating them on how to protect themselves online.
  • Talk to your children about dangers they can encounter as long as they are online. Do not be reluctant to subjects such as sexuality, pornography or pedophiles. Do not consider them taboo.
  • Make sure your children know that not everything they read on the Internet is true and accurate.

AOL’s Luddites Love Their E-Mail More than Google’s Geeks

From the New York Times:

If you read the comments on our post asking who uses AOL, you would think that a big number of the company’s users simply keep their AOL.com e-mail address to hear from long-lost correspondents who haven’t heard they have moved on to Gmail.

I checked with comScore to see how they measure AOL’s audience, and the perception that Gmail is trouncing AOL mail simply isn’t true. Yahoo’s mail service is the king of the hill, towering over everyone else.

AOL’s e-mail seems to be a big and engaging service that is holding its own with users. Gmail, by contrast, is growing in the number of users, but is far behind the other big Web mail providers in how often users check their mail and how much time they spend on the site. That would imply that it is Gmail, far more than AOL, that is being used as the supplemental throwaway e-mail address.

YouGetSignal.com – A collection of uncomplicated, powerful network tools

I heard about YouGetSignal.com from Chris

The best way to learn about the tools is to visit the site and try them. The reason why we came across the site is that we were trying to determine what sites were on a web server (to determine how loaded or overloaded the server is). The tool is the “Reverse IP Domain Check”. For instance, I did a search on my PCIN.net domain, and found that the IP address of my server (66.98.222.18) has 177 different sites hosted (seems excessive to me!).

Disable the Avira Antivir nag screen

I used to use AVG on my computer, but then learned about Avira Antivir. There is a free version of this which apparently is the best/most effective free antivirus out there. The only drawback is that every day there is a huge pop-up asking you to buy the full product. I did a quick search and came across a document that explains how to stop the “notify” program from running. I haven’t tried it yet, but I link to it for your reference…

30 Skills Every IT Person Needs

From IT World Canada:

An IT manager’s guide on how to be better at what you do, no matter how experienced you are.