There is a new feature on Facebook and I am not sure how many of you Facebook users even know it exists. The new feature has been aptly named “@Mentions.” Thanks to my blogging friends @Mashable I found out about this great new element in Facebook two days ago. I began researching it this morning and decided that many of you might be interested in finding out more.
Archive for September, 2009
Shopping Safely – 101 Days Until Christmas
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Online shopping. To some, this is the only way to go (yours truly) and for others these words bring forth images of masked internet bandits, stealing their credit card numbers and identity. The truth is, there are risks in everything we do, but with a few words of wisdom and a few minutes of your time, you can feel at ease with internet shopping and save a boatload of money in the process.
Save and access your files in a flash, without a flash drive.
Thursday, September 10th, 2009A few years ago, Flash drives (also known as Jump or USB drives) become very popular. At first, they were a bit pricey and you were lucky to get a 2GB drive for under a hundred dollars. As the popularity grew and the manufacturing price dropped, so did the price of these drives. They are now so inexpensive and plentiful you can find them in a bowl by the register, right next to the gum and “extra change” dish. These drives are great, but they have their limitations. Lack of security, damage, loss, limited space…. Well, there is a new sheriff in town, and its name is Dropbox.
To Be or Not to Be…. On. That is the question.
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
Should you leave your computer On or Off?
Today’s topic would surely cause some discussion amongst the Nerd Herd (see NBC’s Chuck for this reference) but we are pretty sure that they are not following us on Twitter, Facebook or this blog just yet. So, we can tackle the subject “should you leave your computer on or turn it off when you aren’t using it” in relative peace.
Most of you probably use your computer to check your email and surf the web, then you turn it off. I’m sure this stems directly from being yelled at as a child to turn the lights off when you leave the room or it could be the utter shock of opening a $400 electric bill during August in Texas. Either way, it is time to break those habits. We have a few things for you to think about. Here are the top reasons why you should leave your computer on all the time*:
Don’t take the scenic route. Find a shortcut.
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009I’m sure there were a few readers that did some traveling over the long, holiday weekend. If you did, you most certainly found yourself looking to shave off a few minutes during that trip back home. Thanks to the low-cost of GPS units today, you may have even had the right tool to find that shortcut. This is exactly what we tried to do on our long car trip home and it got me thinking about how we could help you in our first, post-holiday blog.
There are several layers to using a computer and one of those layers seems to elude many people. I’m talking about keyboard shortcuts! Keyboard shortcuts (using a combination of keys to perform a task) are just one of the many time-saving tools that you can use on any computer. It may even seem silly at first, considering how simple it is to use a mouse, but once you get the hang of it you will realize how much easier these keyboard shortcuts will make your life.
Defragmentation: A Simple Task for a Huge Result
Friday, September 4th, 2009You got that new PC home and it worked so fast. Programs opened in the blink of an eye. Web pages loaded the instant you clicked on a link. Everything was just…. perfect. Then, several weeks or months went by and you started to notice a different behavior from your computer. It certainly wasn’t getting any faster. What happened?
There are a number of factors that could cause your PC’s ailing performance. When working on any PC, I tackle several key areas, including Disk Defragmentation. Performing this task, usually referred to as a “defrag”, is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get a performance boost from your old PC. But why?
Putting the “personal” back in “personal computer”
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Months ago, two of us sat in a room, unfamiliar with one another, joined by chance. Tucker had to come to visit me at my office as part of a school project. It only took a few minutes to confirm what I already knew after reading just one email from him, he knew computers.
Unfortunately, Tucker is part of a minority in this country. No offense to anyone reading this, but most people really only know how to use a very small portion of the tools that they have at their disposal. I am specifically talking about their computer. Today, pretty much everyone has at least 1 in their home, if not 2 or 3. We bought them, we got them home and set them up and then…..
BETA testing begins today
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009It is a huge day for JumpstartMyPC.com. Not only are we about to begin BETA testing (see below), but we have a birthday in the “family.” Tucker (one of our founding fathers) is celebrating his birthday on the same day as our BETA launch. As if that were not enough to celebrate, we are also launching the blog section of the site. This is the first official post of the blog. Welcome!
BETA Testing – We have been working for months to build our business and we are ready to begin sharing with the world… or at least a portion of it. Later today, our family, friends and Facebook fans (say that 5 times fast) will receive the BETA instructions and begin testing the site. It is our hope that this small window of BETA testing will help fine-tune our site and get it ready for it’s official, global launch.
We look forward to many more blog posts and a successful venture in JumpstartMyPC.com. Our goal, as we will undoubtedly repeat over and over, will be to help PC users get the most out of their computer.
