Some estimates I have heard recently indicate that 50-75% of all shopping will be done online this year. Now, those numbers are simply estimates until the holiday season is over, but I think the rest of the world is finally catching on to the deals and time savings that can be had from web browsing and not window browsing. All I have to say is “it’s about time.” For regular readers of the JumpstartMyPC.com blog, you are probably thinking “here he goes again with the online shopping talk.” Some will stop reading right about now, but for those of you who still have shopping to do AND like to save money in the process, here is the latest discovery in my holiday shopping series. I recently stumbled onto one of the best sites I have ever visited and I wanted to share it with you all. The site is LogicBUY.com.
Archive for December, 2009
Smart Tool for Smart Shoppers – LogicBuy.com
Friday, December 11th, 2009FREE Remote Login – Accessing Your PC (or others) From Almost Anywhere
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Before starting JumpstartMyPC.com I spent a lot of time working with computers just for fun. My addiction to technology and gadgets took me to sites where I found new and exciting ways to get the most out of my PC. One of my favorite finds was a site called LogMeIn.com. LogMeIn is a service that allows you to access other computers remotely, across a broadband connection. This is something that I was familiar with, through my job, but I was unaware that there were tools that would allow the average user to access computers remotely for FREE. That is exactly what I found in LogMeIn Free.
The idea behind LogMeIn Free is very simple and it is very easy to use. Installation requires a few minutes of setup and access to the computer you want to control remotely. When I first stumbled on this service I installed it on my laptop at home and then used my work computer to access and control that laptop from my office. This allowed me to use my free time at work for something productive and gave me on-the-go access to files and favorites that I had stored on my personal computer. I soon found myself using my lunch break to organize my iTunes library, clean up the hard drive, and perform basic maintenance on my personal computer from 27 miles away. But this got me to thinking “what else can I use this tool for?” I bet you are asking yourself a similar question like “why would I use or need this?”
What To Do When Hardware Acts Up: A Case Study
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Today’s article is more of a case study or lessons learned and a break from our normal article format. Why the switch? Well, a couple of days ago we asked our readers what problems they were running into or questions they needed answered and BOOM! a great issue was presented to us. Who knows, maybe some of you are experiencing similar issues and will benefit from the answer.
ISSUE: I received a call on Monday from a client who was having trouble with his 2 year old eMachine. The PC had Vista installed and had been running fine until his kids installed a new program. Instantly, the computer slowed to a crawl and the owner thought that the new program was to blame, so he uninstalled it. Suddenly, the computer quit playing sound of any kind.
Surf Safely – Tips for Avoiding Scams and Traps
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
It’s the holiday season and shopping is in full swing. If you haven’t already finished (or started) your holiday shopping, you are going to have to get there soon. Thanks to my family, I started all my shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and have slowly been adding to the stockpile of gifts. The best part is, I didn’t have to leave the house. I have done almost all of my shopping online. STOP! I know what some of you (or your friends and relatives) are thinking and I have heard it before. “I’m afraid someone will steal my credit card information.” “I feel safer shopping in the store.”
While there might be some potential danger in shopping online, I feel that you are just as vulnerable when handing your credit card over to a waitress or the teenager behind the counter at Wal-Mart. The truth is, you can get scammed or tricked anywhere. It is up to you to take the proper precautions to protect yourself. Learning to shop online safely is just the digital equivalent of doing so in person. We are told to keep our eyes open, be alert and know where the exits are. Women worry about keeping their purses secure and on them at all times. Men check their back pocket or move their wallet to the front to avoid pickpockets and thieves. So, what are the rules for surfing and shopping safely?
We want you to decide on our upcoming topics!
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Hello all. JumpstartMyPC.com was on vacation for a few days, but we are back and ready to tackle some great subjects. Over the last few months, we have covered a wide range of topics and we have gotten some valuable feedback and interactions from our readers. Our goal (as always) is to help our readers get the most out of their computers and we realize that we haven’t provided anyone a real chance to ask questions or make suggestions, so here we go.
Have you got a question, comment, suggestion or concern? Have you been struggling with a specific issue on your home computer over the last few days, weeks, months or even years? Are you getting tired of nagging issues that keep you from enjoying your computer, but you really don’t want to call a tech or take your computer to a repair shop? No matter what your question or issue, we want to help you resolve it. Most likely, there are others out there that would benefit from the same answer.
Here is your chance to have your questions answered. Simply post your question here as a comment and include your email address. We’ll provide an answer (in the form of one of our daily blogs) and email you when it is posted. The best part about it…. it is FREE! That’s right. We’ll give you the answers for FREE.
You Get a Holiday But Your PC Doesn’t – Don’t Forget Your Maintenance
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009This is a repost of an article that we originally ran back on September 5th. We just wanted to remind you that it is probably time for you to defrag your computer again and let you know that we have updated the link on our Tools page to the latest version of Auslogics Disk Defrag (3.1.0.65).
You 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?
