Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

If you have been thinking about upgrading to Windows 7, but have been holding off due to the cost of the software, there is some good news from Microsoft. Beginning October 3, 2010 for a limited time (no end date announced), Microsoft will offer the Family pack upgrade for $149.99 – this includes three upgrade licenses for Windows 7 Home Premium. At $50 a license, this is a great deal. In order to be able to qualify for the upgrade, your computer must currently be running Windows XP or Windows Vista and be able to handle the hardware requirements for Windows 7.

To find out if your computer hardware/software is compatible with Windows 7, you can run the Windows Upgrade Advisor. Most systems that run Windows Vista should be able to upgrade to Windows 7 fairly easily. Windows XP users will need to ensure that there are adequate drivers for their hardware, and will have to do a clean install of Windows 7 (upgrading directly from Windows XP and keeping programs and settings is not supported). Windows Vista users can do an in place upgrade to keep their programs, files and settings, however it is generally better to do a clean install to elimate potential conflicts.

Windows 7 was released in October of 2009 and is a great operating system which offers many new and improved features that make using your computer easier and allows you to be more productive.

If you have questions about upgrading, or need some help with the upgrade process, contact Pensacola Computers. Offering computer service, repair and training for Windows 7 and other software, Pensacola Computers is ready to answer any of your Windows 7 or other Computer questions. Visit them on the web at http://pensacolacomputers.com

Wireless networks ( wifi or wi-fi) are everywhere these days with more and more people coming to depend on having an available signal for their laptops and portable devices such as smart phones and iType devices, but with this proliferation comes some issues that people need to be aware of. While it is admirable to want to share your wireless internet access with others, doing so caries a legal risk. Government and law enforcement tend to hold the owner of the internet connection responsible for what is transmitted over it and as such, if your neighbors are using your wireless to illegally download songs, movies or other material that is illegal, it is your door that gets pounded on by the law, putting you in the position of having to prove it wasn’t you. A quite simple solution is to ensure that you have wireless security enabled on your router (if you are unsure of how to do this, you can visit the manufacturers website of your router and check out their support section for directions, or talk to your local computer expert).

Then of course their is the initial purchase of the wireless hardware needed for your network. Wireless a, Wireless b, Wireless g, Wireless N, Wireless super G, MIMO, bgn, abg, dual band, multi band etc etc – it can get kind of confusing. A quick history on the wireless types as well as their basic specifications and uses:

Wireless a (802.11a) came out in 1999 and is one of the lesser used types of wireless due to the it’s higher initial price and the fact that its signal generally cannot penetrate as far as wireless b/g/n devices and its signals are abosobed more by walls and other objects. This type of wireless operates in the 5 GHz band with a data rate of 54 Mbit/s (realistically about 20 Mbit/s) which gives a big advantage when it comes to interference as the 5 GHz band is much less crowded than the 2.4 GHz band which is used by many other devices.

Wireless b (802.11b) came out in 199 as well and was the first widely adopted kind of wireless router device. With speeds of 11 Mbit/s (real world about 6 Mbit/s) and a typical indoor range of about 100 ft at the rated 11 Mbit/s speed and about 300 ft at 1 Mbit, wireless b was a great choice for early home and small office environments. Unfortunately, wireless b operates in the 2.4 GHz range which causes it to suffer from interference from other devices such as microwaves, bluetooth, older cordless telephones, baby monitors and of course other wireless routers that operate in this range. This kind of interference can get quite bad in populated areas and can cause a lot of frustration from dropped and poor quality wireless signals.

Wireless g (802.11g) came out in 2003 and operates in the same 2.4 GHz spectrum as wirelss b, but with a higher rated speed of 54 Mbit/s (around 20 Mbit/s real world). It is fully backward compatible with wireless b devices, however using mixed wireless g and wireless b devices will significantly reduce the overall speed of the wireless g network. Wireless g unfortunately also suffers from the crowded 2.4 GHz spectrum and is prone to interference issues in areas with other devices which operate in the same frequency. *Note: Super G wireless is a term that refers to a wireless device which uses to wireless g channels to achieve a rated speed of up to 108 Mbit/s, however these devices also have the potential to cause more interference.

Wireless n (802.11n) was released in its approved form in 2009, though many devices were sold before then as ‘pre-n’ devices. Wireless n has significantly higher potential data rates (up to 600 Mbit/s) and is backward compatible with previous wireless a, b, and g devices. Wireless N can operate on both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz ranges, although it is quickest when operating in ‘pure’ wireless n mode at the 5 GHz mode (‘pure’ n mode being where there are only wireless n devices hooked into the network). Wireless n uses MIMO (technology which uses multiple antennas) to achieve greater data rates over greater distances. There are also now a number of Wireless n routers which offer multi-channel broadcasting which allows the router to actually have 2 wireless networks – one for legacy 2.4 GHz devices and one for 5 GHz devices.

So what does all this mean in a practical sense when trying to figure out what kind of equipment to get? While generally the older wireless b and g devices are cheaper by a few bucks, they are also much more prone to interference so it is recommended to go with wireless n devices whenever possible. Also, if you have an older laptop (or desktop) that is using a wireless b or g card, if you have a newer wireless n router, you might consider upgrading the wireless b and g devices with a wireless n card (you can easily install a wireless n usb dongle on either a laptop or desktop that is currently using wireless b or g, and then just disable the older device through your device manager). Be aware that wireless N devices come in many configurations and different speed ratings (some are rated at the a lower 150 Mbit/s while others are rated at 300 Mbit/s)>

So for a quick recap: If you are setting up your wireless network, or thinking about upgrading it, consider going with the newer wireless n devices. When setting up your wireless network, be sure to enable wireless security to ensure that only allowed people are using your wireless signal. For questions, or help setting up your home or office wireless network here in Pensacola FL, contact Pensacola Computers

Office 2010 officially came out last month to the public, and it is now appearing on many new computers as well as being installed by home users and businesses as an upgrade. When Office 2007 came out, many people hesitated to upgrade from Office 2003 due to the change in the user interface and cost, however for those who are still using Office 2003, now may be a good time to consider taking the plunge and going with Office 2010.  There are quite a few revamped and new features in Office 2010 that really do increase the value, as well as make it more productive and easier to use. Both business and home users can find new features that help them do things better and faster, and while moving from Office 2003 to 2010 may take a bit of getting used to, it seems more than worth it.  Also, for the most part, if your computer can run Office 2007 or Office 2003, it should be able to run Office 2010. For the tech specs, see here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/office2010/archive/2010/01/22/office-2010-system-requirements.aspx

** Note to the tech people at Office Depot on Fairfield Drive here in Pensacola: Office 2010 will run on Windows XP, you just need to have service pack 3 installed (if you aren’t sure about the specs, then just read the Office 2010 box before you tell people that their computer won’t run Office 2010!)

Here are some of my favorite new and improved features in Office 2010:

1. Photo Editing from within Word,  Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Publisher – you can now edit pictures from within the applications with features like corrections, color adjustment, add effects, crop, and you can do it with a live preview – definitely a great added feature!
2. Screenshot capture utility: This nifty feature lets you add a screenshot of any active window or a snip (like windows snipping tool) to an active document.
3. Paste Preview/Options – in Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher, you can now see a live preview of how text and it formatting will look in your document, you also have options on how the information is pasted into your document. Another excellent feature added!
4. Save and Send as PDF in Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher. This was available as a downloadable add-on for Office 2007, but is now included in Office 2010 as  a standard feature.
5. Backstage View – this is one of those Microsoft code words for what has basically replaced the File Menu from Office 2003 and the Office Button in Office 2007 – it is actually a pretty apt description as it allows you to access a number of features such as Printing, page settings, options for the applicaiton, save and send options etc, all in one place. With the new save options in Office 2010 you can now save to both your computer as well as SharePoint servers or Windows Live SkyDrive (which makes sharing documents on the web so much easier!)

While upgrading to new software will take a bit of getting used to, I have found that the new and improved features in Office 2010 really help productivity and make a number of previously ‘hard to do’ tasks so much easier. As computers, the internet, and how we interact with technology changes, so must our software, and Office 2010 seems like a good step towards the future.

If you are interested in checking out more new features, or getting a free trial of Microsoft Office 2010, visit here: http://www.microsoft.com/office/make-it-great/en-us/for-home#demo

If you are a student and would like a fantastic deal from Microsoft on Office 2010, check out the Offers page at Pensacola Computers  for details

Most people who have watched TV or listened to the radio have heard the ads touting the amazing incredible website that will help fix everything wrong with your computer and help your slow system to immediately speed up and run like it was brand new – well all I can say, is beware! I have had the unfortunate users of such software come to me with computers that wouldn’t boot to Windows, or that were freezing up and crashing all the time after using this software. While it is certainly true that spyware/malware/viruses can slow down your system, and removing them will certainly help the performance, using these ‘fix all’ software solutions can often cause more problems than they fix – as a matter of fact, the free ‘diagnosis’ they offer has nothing to do with finding spyware, malware, or viruses.

One thing I find very interesting is the disclaimer in the Terms of Service on doublemyspeed.com: “ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE WEBSITES IS DONE AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL” In other words, if you use their software and it hoses your system, too bad, they did warn you after all. The other bit I find interesting is this part: “CyberDefender EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. WITHOUT LIMITATION, CYBERDEFENDER AND THE PROTECTED PARTIES MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE WEBSITES OR ANY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTED THEREFROM WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THEY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE WEBSITES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE” – so basically, they won’t provide any kind of warranty for their product, and they certainly don’t claim that their software or results it gives you will be secure, error free, accurate, or reliable. So then tell me, why in the world would I ever spend money on their product????

One of the worst things is their Registry Cleaner which can definitely cause irrepairable damage to your system if it removes the wrong things from the registry. Granted, back in the days of Windows 95/98, a lot of registry errors could have a significant performance impact on your system, however in today’s world of high RAM and multi-core processors, registry errors of the kind that this software usually fixes have a negligible impact on most systems, and the risk of the software removing a critical registry entry is too great to justify the results.

The truth is, many machines just need a simple cleanup of malware/spyware, and some tweaking of startup programs to run better. Then of course there is the fact that your old Windows XP machine with 256MB of RAM will NEVER be able to keep up on the internet of today due to the much increased demands. Remember, Windows XP is about 10 years old, and when it was released the internet was pretty much all text based. Today the internet is multi-media rich with all kinds of add-ons running – Java, Toolbars, Browser helpers, etc. and older computers just don’t have the hardware or software to keep up.

Basically what this website does is con you into running a pretty much worthless registry scanner that will of course show massive errors on your system (which in reality may or may not be errors, and even if they are errors they have a negligible impact on your systems performance if any impact at all) – then if you decide you want to fix these inconsequential errors, you will be taken to a website where they want you to spend $39.98 for a basicaly worthless product, then they want you to buy their CyberDefender antimalware/antivirus software for $29.95, and then of course ad $14.97 for a cd with a copy of your software (you can burn your own CD for about 25 cents). All in all, it is just another company trying to make a quick profit off of anyone who believes their overhyped ads. My opinion: the software is a total waste of money, and you take a risk of totally messing up your machine by using it – not to mention, trying to exit out of the ‘free scan’ software just leads to pop-ups and opens their web page, and you have to confirm multiple times just to uninstall the software! Stay away from this product!!

Of course, this is just my opinion, take it for what it’s worth, but there is no way I would ever recommend this software to anyone – EVER!

For links to Free Software such as Malwarebytes, Spybot S&D, and AVG Free that can help you keep your computer malware and virus free and keep it running faster, visit the Tech Support page at PensacolaComputers.com

The other day, I was at a local electronics super store here in Pensacola FL, and I couldn’t help overhearing a salesperson talking to a couple about a computer they were looking to buy. This ‘kid’, who was probably 18-20 had absolutley no idea what he was talking about, although the couple he was trying to sell a computer to had no idea that the majority of what he was telling them was utter BS. I always advise people to spend a little time researching before they go out to buy a computer, and to never ever listen to the salespeople in the stores. Not that some of the salespeople aren’t somewhat informed, but seriously, if they knew that much about computers, they wouldn’t be working on the salesfloor. In this case, the couple almost bought a computer based upon information that was totally wrong, all because the employee at this store sounded like he knew what he was talking about, when in reality he knew a few computer ‘words’ without having any idea what they really meant.

For the ‘kid’ who was working there, a few bits of ‘correct’ information so the next time you try to sell someone a computer, you have the right info: an intel Core i3 processor is a dual core processor, NOT a quad core – http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/corei3-specs.htm. Also, 6 GB of DDR3 RAM is NOT equal to 12 GB of DDR2 RAM in terms of speed or performance of the computer, in fact in many benchmarks there is little if any noticeable difference in speed between most consumer DDR2 and DDR3 RAM because while DDR3 RAM runs at a higher speed, it also has higher latency: http://www.breakitdownblog.com/ddr2-800-vs-ddr3-1333-does-speed-matter/.

One other important thing to note if you are buying a computer from a retail store – when you buy certain brand names, like Dell from a retailer, be very careful and wary about what they tell you about the warranty. In most cases, the warranty is handed off to the retail store and is NOT the same as the warranty you would get if you bought the computer direct from the manufacturer. In many cases, if your computer breaks, you have to take it to the retail store for service and are at their mercy and the repairs can often take days to weeks (unlike most normal Dell warranties where they will have a new part shipped, or have a technician to you by the next business day).

If you are in the market for a new computer, check out:  Computer Buying Guide at PensacolaComputers.com