http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/ Articles at BetterLifeAdvice en-us http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/10-quick-and-easy-ways-to-speed-up-your-computer.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/10-quick-and-easy-ways-to-speed-up-your-computer.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:33:56 -0800 All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter * Click the drives you want to defrag and click Analyze * Click Defragment 2. Detect and Repair Disk Errors Over time, your hard disk develops bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing difficult or even impossible. To detect and repair disk errors, Windows has a built-in tool called the Error Checking utility. It’ll search the hard disk for bad sectors and system errors and repair them for faster performance. * Follow Start > My Computer * In My Computer right-click the hard disk you want to scan and click Properties * Click the Tools tab * Click Check Now * Select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box * Click Start 3. Disable Indexing Services Indexing Services is a little application that uses a lot of CPU. By indexing and updating lists of all the files on the computer, it helps you to do a search for something faster as it scans the index list. But if you know where your files are, you can disable this system service. It won’t do any harm to you machine, whether you search often or not very often. * Go to Start * Click Settings * Click Control Panel * Double-click Add/Remove Programs * Click the Add/Remove Window Components * Uncheck the Indexing services * Click Next 4. Optimize Display Settings Windows XP is a looker. But it costs you system resources that are used to display all the visual items and effects. Windows looks fine if you disable most of the settings and leave the following: * Show shadows under menus * Show shadows under mouse pointer * Show translucent selection rectangle * Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop * Use visual styles on windows and buttons 6. Disable Performance Counters Windows XP has a performance monitor utility which monitors several areas of your PC’s performance. These utilities take up system resources so disabling is a good idea. * Download and install the Extensible Performance Counter List (http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/exctrlst-o.asp) * Then select each counter in turn in the ‘Extensible performance counters’ window and clear the ‘performance counters enabled’ checkbox at the bottom button below 7. Optimize Your Pagefile You can optimize your pagefile. Setting a fixed size to your pagefile saves the operating system from the need to resize the pagefile. * Right click on My Computer and select Properties * Select the Advanced tab * Under Performance choose the Settings button * Select the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory select Change * Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file. 8. Remove Fonts for Speed Fonts, especially TrueType fonts, use quite a bit of system resources. For optimal performance, trim your fonts down to just those that you need to use on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require. * Open Control Panel * Open Fonts folder * Move fonts you don’t need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:FONTBKUP?) just in case you need or want to bring a few of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more system resources you will gain. 9. Use a Flash Memory to Boost Performance To improve performance, you need to install additional RAM memory. It’ll let you boot your OS much quicker and run many applications and access data quicker. There is no easiest and more technically elegant way to do it than use eBoostr (http://www.eboostr.com). eBoostr is a little program that lets you improve a performance of any computer, powered by Windows XP in much the same way as Vista’s ReadyBoost. With eBoostr, if you have a flash drive, such as a USB flash thumb drive or an SD card, you can use it to make your computer run better. Simply plug in a flash drive through a USB socket and Windows XP will use eBoostr to utilize the flash memory to improve performance. The product shows the best results for frequently used applications and data, which becomes a great feature for people who are using office programs, graphics applications or developer tools. It’ll surely attract a special attention of laptop owners as laptop upgrade is usually more complicated and laptop hard drives are by definition slower than those of desktops. 10. Perform a Boot Defragment There's a simple way to speed up XP startup: make your system do a boot defragment, which will put all the boot files next to one another on your hard disk. When boot files are in close proximity to one another, your system will start faster. On most systems, boot defragment should be enabled by default, but it might not be on yours, or it might have been changed inadvertently. To make sure that boot defragment is enabled: * Run the Registry Editor * Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftDfrgBootOptimizeFunction * Set the Enable string value to Y if it is not already set to Y. * Exit the Registry * Reboot ]]> http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/10-reasons-why-to-share-printer-with-printer-anywhere.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/10-reasons-why-to-share-printer-with-printer-anywhere.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:25:56 -0800 http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/10-tips-to-shopping-for-printers.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/10-tips-to-shopping-for-printers.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:17:56 -0800 http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/5-tips-to-buying-ink-cartridges-for-printers.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/5-tips-to-buying-ink-cartridges-for-printers.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:09:56 -0800 http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/5-ways-to-find-cheap-used-laptops.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/5-ways-to-find-cheap-used-laptops.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:01:56 -0800 cheap used laptop, then take some time to do the research, and you will be sure to get a great deal. I will detail 5 ways you can use to locate the right used laptop that suits your needs, and price range. One of the first steps in your research should be to get on the Internet and begin your search. Your first stop should be eBay. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you already know that eBay is an auction site where you bid for items. It's also a great place to find hard to find items such as, a piece of toast with a religious icon burned into it, or a clip Elvis's sideburns. But, it's also a great place to find inexpensive used equipment, i.e. laptops. Once on eBay, you can do a quick search by typing “used laptop” into the search function. You're sure to find hundreds of selections, and name brands too. Spend some time there conducting your research. You don't have to bid right away so take your time. Compare prices, and look for sellers with good ratings. The higher the rating, the more reputable the seller. Another place to find used laptops is Amazon.com. Amazon is not only a great bargain store that sells new items—you can also find used items for sale at a great price, often a lot cheaper than their respective new items. If you've used Amazon before, then you've probably seen the links “new & used.” By clicking on this link when you do a search, you'll be able to see both options. But of course we're interested in used. You'll be given the prices for the used items, as well as its condition, and the rating of the seller. Still another stop you should make before concluding your research is Craig's List. This website is much like a newspaper classified section in its apparent simplicity. But don't let that simplicity fool you. Do a search for “used laptop” and you will find a huge selection. You can even choose by location to find something local, or you can opt to expand your search to other regions if you wish. One bad thing about Craig's List is that it doesn't include a seller's rating, so you have to be careful. One way to avoid being scammed this is to stick to buying locally, where you can have potential face-to-face interaction with the seller. One more place where you can try to find cheap used laptops is Overstock.com. Although this site won't yield as much of a selection as eBay, or Graig's List, and perhaps even fewer than Amazon, it's still a good place to look. You may find something in there you didn't see in any of the other sites, so it won't hurt to look. You don't have to limit your search to the Internet. You can also try doing a bit of off line research. Look in your local newspaper and see what turns up. Often times, some people will opt to sell their used computers by placing ads in the newspaper, so you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find. Try the Sunday paper since it usually has a larger classified section. There you have it—5 ways to look for cheap used laptops. By doing some thorough research, you're sure to find a great deal. With all of the selections you'll have at your disposal, you'll be able to find a laptop that has the features you're searching for, at a price range you're comfortable with. ]]> http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/6-tips-to-save-on-your-printer-ink-cartridges.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/6-tips-to-save-on-your-printer-ink-cartridges.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:53:56 -0800 1) Print only what is necessary Let’s begin with economising. Most often, we end up making unnecessary printouts and in the process waste precious ink. For instance, you might need to print only a small portion of a web page instead of the whole page. Instead of simply printing the whole page, complete with its heavy graphics etc, be specific on what you want to have in hard copy and print only that portion. Text always consumes less ink compared to graphics or images. If textual information is all that you need then you can make sure that you don’t print the graphics and images. If it is a web page you need to save in a printed form, check for its print version. If there is no print version, you can copy and paste the text in a word document and take a printout of that. Also try to do a bit of planning and double check what you are printing before hitting the print button. 2) Go for a quick print preview Most branded printers such as HP, Canon, Dell, Epson or any other printer come with a printer driver which has a very useful print preview function. With this function, you can have a prior preview of the copy you want to take a print out of. This function is especially handy when you are directly taking the print out from the Internet. At times, what you see on a site is totally different as compared to the printed version. A quick preview can help to get the printout of the material that you specifically want. 3) Make sure the power is turned off Just as you never switch off your computer without properly shutting it down, the same rule applies to your printer too. If you don’t shut down the printer properly, the print heads will remain directly exposed to air causing the ink to dry in the nozzles which, in turn, could affect the quality of printing adversely. Make it a habit to check the position of the print heads before cutting off the power. 4) Use good software There are various ink saving software options available online. These software applications are designed to reduce the consumption of your printer ink. With these applications, you can get good quality printout copies with less ink consumption even during high resolution printing. 5) Use printer ink cartridges smartly If you don’t do printing regularly, run a small printing test at least once a week, to avoid the ink cartridges from drying up. This little precaution will help you to increase the life of the cartridge. 6) Never expose your printer to extreme temperatures Too much variation in room temperature is bad for printer ink cartridges. You must avoid keeping your printer in too hot or too cold a temperature as the cartridges can dry up. For lasting printer performance, make sure the room has a normal and stable temperature. With these small but important tips, your printer ink cartridges will get a longer life. It is easy to buy good quality printer ink cartridges at excellent prices from online shops. ]]> http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/7-barebones-computer-buying-tips.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/7-barebones-computer-buying-tips.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:45:56 -0800 http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/92298a-c4127x-c4096a-q2610a-toner-cartridges-that-will-stand-the-test-of-time.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/92298a-c4127x-c4096a-q2610a-toner-cartridges-that-will-stand-the-test-of-time.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:37:56 -0800 http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/about-laser-printers.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/about-laser-printers.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:29:56 -0800 http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/acer-aspire-3004wlci-a-quick-review.html http://www.betterlifeadvice.com/computers-technology/hardware/acer-aspire-3004wlci-a-quick-review.html Sat, 09 Jan 2010 04:21:56 -0800 Quick Specs: AMD Mobile Sempron 3100+ (1.8GHz) w/ 256K L2 cache 512MB DDR333 SODIM RAM (expandable to 2GB) 60GB 4200rpm Hard Disk Drive 15.4 Wide Screen WXGA Monitor CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive 3 USB 2.0 Ports (1 front / 2 side) Front Audio / Microphone jacks Integrated Microphone / Speakers Integrated Audio Controller Integrated Video Controller (up to 128MB shared) Integrated 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem Integrated 802.3 10/100 Ethernet NIC Integrated 802.11b/g WiFi Maximum screen resolution: 1280 x 800 External monitor maximum resolution: 2048 x 1536 One type II PCMCIA Slot AC Power Adapter / 4-cell lithium-ion battery 1.5"Hx14.3"Wx11"D / 6.2lb. w/ Battery Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 OK, before I go into the Pros and Cons of this system, let me first say this... As a Network technician, I'm a bit of a stranger to Acer products. I've seen them before, but I've never used them. In an industry dominated by Dells and HPs, Acer seemed more of an "off-brand" to me. With that in mind, I wasn't expecting a whole lot for my money. Fortunately, I was not disappointed, but neither was I entirely wrong. Also, it is worthy to note that before I used this machine, XP Home was trashed in favor of XP Professional SP2 and I went through the system and performed several minor software performance tweaks on the operating system; all of which can be performed using the native Windows XP Pro utilities. Pros: The Acer Aspire 3004 WLCi is a reasonably powerful system for $600. Even at the original $750, this system is hard to beat in the performance department. The Sempron 3100+ processor is surprisingly fast and capable. It handled running Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft OneNote 2003, Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6.0, Opera 8.5, Resize Browser, CPick, Java JRE, NOD32 Anti-Virus, Hotmail Popper, and several system services and minor utilities running in the background simultaneously and didn't complain or produce any unacceptable sustained CPU usage spikes. This is partly due to the generous and fast 512MB of DDR333 RAM, but even so, the processor surprised this long-time AMD user. The 60GB hard drive provides an ample amount of storage for average users. It is on the lower end of my requirements, but sufficiently large enough to handle all my installed software, over 12GB of service software needed for service calls, all my client projects, and it still has enough space left over to easily accommodate a 20GB client system backup. In addition, this system has a very good Broadcom WiFi controller. In my 3 story townhouse, which has excellent insulation, this system can be used anywhere in my home with a signal strength of "Very Good" to "Excellent". The system is ergonomically laid out. I have rather large hands, and most modern laptops are entirely too small for me to realistically use for any extended period of time. Usually, within 20 or 30 minutes, my wrists and hands begin to ache from trying to maintain a very unnatural position in order to type the documents I'm working on. Not so with the Aspire 3000 series. These laptops have a relatively large chassis with a keypad that is almost perfect for someone with large hands. I've actually found that I can type nearly as fast (roughly 35wpm) on this laptop as I can on my desktop system that has an ergonomic split keyboard (40wpm). Cons: If you're looking for a Multimedia system, or if you plan to do any graphics intensive gaming, keep on looking; this system is not for you. Even with the widescreen WXGA display, this machine is not well suited for watching DVDs. The integrated video controller is only acceptable and the monitor requires a lot of "fiddling" with in order to find the "just right" position for viewing. Furthermore, the glare on the screen of this unit is terrible. I've found that in most brightly lit rooms I'm spending more time straining my eyes to see past my own reflection. Also, the viewing angle is unimpressive. If you try to view the screen from anything greater than 15 degrees in any direction, you're either looking at a washed out or negative variation of the original. I've never been a big fan of LCD. I've always felt that a high quality CRT always looks better, but this screen is more reminiscent of a LCD of three years ago than a brand new product. The integrated audio and video controllers are a definite sore spot as well. I've always preferred expansion controllers over integrated controllers, but in this price range, I knew I would be stuck with the so-so quality of an integrated controller. No surprise here. As usual, the quality and performance is sub-par with these controllers, but for my needs, they do the job. However, if you plan on listening to any audio playback on this machine, you had better pack a quality set of headphones. The tiny speakers on this machine are terrible sounding. Again, no big surprise. Now, about battery life. I don't know who was in charge of defining this aspect of this machine, but they need a checkup from the neck up. Battery performance on this machine is absolutely unacceptable. Unless you tune the system down significantly, it is very difficult to squeeze more than an hour of real usable time out of this system's battery life. The manufacturer states that it will run for 1.5 hours on the battery. I've never been able to get more than an hour out of the unit. In this day and age, this is not acceptable. Fortunately, there are very few occasions when I need to use this system where I'm not close to a power outlet. My only other major complaint is the lack of expandability of this system. You get two SODIM memory card slots (filled with 256MBx2 sticks from the factory), three USB 2.0 ports and a Type II PCMCIA slot on this machine, and that's it. No internal expansion capabilities, no firewire, no serial or parallel connections, and you cannot swap out the combo drive easily. Given the price range of this system, I'm really not surprised, but I am a bit disappointed. Fortunately, there are an abundance of USB adapters available that allow me to do whatever is needed. Summary: If you just need a basic system for work or school related tasks the Acer Aspire 3004WLCi is a solid performer that can handle average use with ease. I would definitely recommend this unit to college students or traveling professionals who need an inexpensive, user-friendly laptop, but who do not plan on using their laptop on batteries very often, or who do not intend on playing many games or movies. For the price conscious consumers out there, this system is definitely worth the money. In my humble opinion, you get more than what you pay for, but not by much. ]]>