Farewell to Analog Cell Signals

I remember the days of the big bag phones and cell phones that were bigger than your home cordless phones of today. I have to say it’s much nicer carrying around a RAZR without an external antenna than lugging around that bag phone in my car. If you’re fan of those analog devices though, you better get ready for a switch starting in 2008. After February 18 a lot of companies who use analog cell phone waves will be going digital. Apparently about a million cell phones won’t work anymore after the switch. That’s not terribly bad since you can go down to your cell phone carrier and get a new one. However, if you have OnStar and use the phone feature of it, you will lose that capability because of this switch. GM started making changes in 2002 to their vehicles once they heard about the FCC’s decision to let analog be laid to rest, but it’s there are some vehicles that were made up to 2005 that still won’t be able to use the new digital service. Good news for some of you using this OnStar feature…you can pay just $15 and get your vehicle upgraded to be able to use the digital signals. For others, the upgrade might not be possible depending on when your vehicle was manufactured.

If you have a home alarm system, you might want to check and see if you need to go about getting something set up for the switch as well. From what I read most of the big companies have what they need in place and don’t use the analog signal. Some of the smaller companies don’t however. The alarm system uses the analog signal when a landline isn’t connected to the system. If you have a home alarm system and are worried about any potential problems, it might be a good idea to call your company and ask if it will affect you.

GeekByte: Retrieving your Recycle Bin Icon

There are times when we all get a little punchy with the Delete button and delete something that you weren’t ready to rid your Desktop of just yet. I know we’ve all done this with files and folders, but what happens if you delete My Computer or the Recycle Bin icon off of your Desktop? How do you get it back?

Luckily it’s easy to get these little guys back to their home on the Desktop. For XP users, right click on an empty area of your desktop and choose Properties. Click on the Desktop tab and then click on the Customize Desktop button on the bottom of the window. This will open another window that has checkboxes at the top under the section Desktop Icons (original, isn’t it?). Simply place a check in the boxes next to the icons you want to appear on your desktop and click OK. Click OK again on the Properties window and your icons should be back on your Desktop once again.
If you’re running Vista, the steps are a little different. Right click on an empty area of your desktop and choose Personalize. A new window will open with several links on it. On the left side of the window there will be a Change Desktop Icons link. When you click it a new window will open. Place a check in the boxes next to the icons you want on your desktop and click OK. You can then close the Personalize window.
Conversely, you can go into either of these windows and uncheck any boxes of icons that you don’t want to appear on your Desktop.

XM and Sirius to Wed?

It looks like satellite radio customers, and prospective customers, will have some new options by the end of the year. The two big satellite radio companies, XM and Sirius, might be merging in the near future. The merger still has to be approved by the FCC and Department of Justice but shareholders in both companies have approved the concept (each side voted over 90% in approval). If the merger is approved more pricing options will be available. This is a good thing since I’ve always thought that $13 a month is a little pricy for radio (but hey, I’m cheap). Plans could start at $6.99 a month and range up to $16.99 a month depending on what kind of package you want. The latter will include the option to add channels from the other carrier and keep what you have already.

What’s that you say? Wouldn’t that make it a monopoly? XM and Sirius reason that they have plenty of completion from other digital music sources such as MP3 players and cell phones that can play music to keep them from having an advantage. I’m kind of split on this one, but my first thought was that they are the big names in satellite radio and what other company offers what they do in the US? They’ll have the only satellite radio for American consumers. However, the price cuts and option to get channels from the other service that you aren’t currently on will be a big plus.

GeekByte: Keep Your PC Up To Date

One thing I’ve noticed with a lot of users is that they don’t keep their home PC’s updated. The nice thing is that most of your important software has the ability to automatically update itself. Usually the biggie is the antivirus. There are a lot of people out there who don’t realize that their software needs to update to know the latest viruses out there. Make sure your antivirus is doing automatic updates on a regular basis, and while you’re in there check what the date is on your last update file. A couple of days old is ok, but if it’s more than that then you need to update it. You also want to make sure your antispyware software is updating as well. Just like virus definitions, you need to keep your spyware definitions current so that the software will recognize any new threats.

If you’re running Windows make sure to have the Automatic Updates turned on. You can configure this setting under the Control Panel. When Microsoft releases a new update your computer will alert you and install it based on the settings in the Automatic Update configuration. You can choose to have them alert you before downloading, download it and then alert you before installing, or download and install without alerting you. These updates will keep you safe by patching any security holes that you have, and will provide you with service packs for your operating system.

You might also want to download the service packs to Microsoft Office if you own it. I’ve run into a few issues with setting up an email account in Outlook before because it didn’t have the necessary patch level to work with the server’s settings. A simple service pack install did the trick. Most of the time the service packs for a product like Office aren’t that big of a deal if you don’t have them installed, but if you are having any kinds of problems then you might want to look at installing them. You can download the service packs and other updates for Office from Microsoft’s Office website.

All in all keeping your PC safe is a big deal. One of the easiest things you can do is keep up with the latest updates for your computer. Of course safe browsing and safe Internet activity is always a must, but the patches will give you a good start to keeping the ‘puter nasties out of your PC.

GeekByte: Podcasts Are Great Learning Tools

If you’re looking for a good way to learn more about technology and have access to a fast internet connection, try listening to podcasts. Podcasts are pretty much just radio shows that are in MP3 format free for download. You can easily find them by downloading and installing iTunes. Just click on the iTunes Store link on the left side and you will see an area for Podcasts on the right. They have tons and tons out there on various topics, including technology. You don’t have to subscribe to podcasts through iTunes, but I find it’s one of the easiest ways since they are all in one central location. I have about four that I listen to every week. Even if you are good with computers you will still pick up something from listening to these podcasts. I personally listen to MacBreak Weekly, The Tech Guy, This Week in Tech, and MacBreak Weekly (even though I don’t own a Mac). All are hosted by Leo Laporte. I like keeping up through this medium since I can listen to it in the truck on the way to work and back home. If you have a long drive like I do, you’ll find that you’ll have plenty of time to catch up on the week’s tech news.

GeekByte: Clear Out Those Startup Programs

In Windows XP and Vista you can clean up what starts when you boot your computer. There’s a lot of programs that you really don’t need to have starting up every time you turn your ‘puter on. Most programs seem to want to stick themselves in the startup without you knowing, and before you know it your system tray (by the clock on your taskbar) is full of little icons and your computer takes forever to boot. There’s a couple of ways to prevent those items from starting up. The first way is to click on Start and choose Run. Type msconfig and click OK. A new window will open with several tabs at the top. Choose the Startup tab. You can uncheck the items that you don’t want starting up with your computer. If you aren’t sure of what one is, the Command and Location columns may help you figure it out. You can always go back into the Startup tab and recheck anything that you decide you would like starting up, so don’t be too afraid to get creative.

The second way is to click on Start, Programs, and choose the Startup folder. Right click on anything that you don’t want starting up and choose Delete. Doing this will place that shortcut in your Recycle Bin. Keep those shortcuts in there for a while until you are sure that you are happy with the result.

Nifty Office Downloads

If you are running a version of Office prior to 2007 and someone sends you a document that is saved in the new 2007 format (.docx, .xlsx, etc.), you will not be able to open the documents. Microsoft has provided those of us who are not on 2007 a way to open the new extensions using our current versions of Office. You can download the file format converters on Microsoft’s website. Just install the converters, and the next time you try to open a document in the new format it will convert the document so that you can open it, and then save it back as an original file extension (.doc, .xls, etc.).

There’s also a nifty download for people who have the new Office 2007 and want to save their documents as a PDF or XPS file. Just download and install the executable file and you will get a new save option in your Save As menu for the two formats.

Canon Unveils the PowerShot SX100 IS

Canon unveiled a new point-and-shoot camera a few days ago that will appeal to the novice (me) and professional (my husband) alike. We purchased one Saturday and have really loved using it. It has a lot of features that your SLR’s have, but without the complication or the separate lenses and body. It’s a mini me of sorts. My husband is as excited about this point-and-shoot as I am. That should give you an idea of the features that it comes equipped with. The SX100 comes with 8 megapixels and powerful 10X optical zoom. The other point-and-shoots that I looked at in that price range for the most part had either a 3X or 6X optical zoom. It also comes with image stabilization which is a definite perk. The one thing that it’s missing that I am used to is a view finder. Good luck finding a point-and-shoot with one of those anymore. It’s slim pickin’s. The SX100 does have a 2.5 inch LCD screen though which by far makes up for the lack of a view finder. The screen is very clear and large enough that you can see what you’re taking a picture of without the need to squint.

As far as options go, there are the standard settings that most point-and-shoots have preconfigured, like portrait, landscape, foliage, night time, etc. The SX100 give you Program, Tv, Av, and M settings so that you can set all of your options like ISO, f/stop, and shutter speed manually. This is the part that my husband was excited about. I’ve found since using the manual settings that I want to learn more about what they are and how they work. You can even do white balancing with preconfigured settings, or you can manually white balance so that you get exactly what you want. The macro setting is awesome. I am finding that I enjoy this feature the best so far. The closest the manual says you can get to an object and still focus is about a half an inch. I’ve tried this out and it holds true. The picture I’ve included at the bottom of this post is a tomato about an inch in diameter in the morning dew, taken at about an inch away. The camera does come with video capability at 640x480 and 30 fps with sound. I tried this out and was able to view the video maximized on a 17” widescreen LCD monitor without any pixelization. The sound on the video is pretty good, but you do have to be careful not to bump the camera too much or you will get those noises on the video.

Now, you may think that setting all of these features is going to be difficult. Wrong! This is one of the easiest interfaces to get around in. There aren’t a ton of buttons to begin with, and they have pictures next to them to tell you what it does (like the flower symbol for the Macro setting). It does have a wheel on the back that you can either press in the four directions, or turn around in a circle to get around your menus. The four directions are considered buttons since they each do something different when you push them. The left side of the wheel allows you to set the Macro settings, the top button the ISO settings, the right button the flash settings, and the bottom what kind of shot you want to do (continuous, single, timed, etc.).

The best part…all of this comes at the reasonable price of $300. When we compared this camera to the others we saw in the store, we felt like we got the most options for the price. Canon is really making it a point to offer point-and-shoots that appeal to both the beginner and the pro who want a camera that has SLR features, but without the bulk of an SLR.

An Apple a Day…

To anyone who owns an Apple product under warranty, beware…you will still have to pay to get your product fixed or replaced if you have problems with it. To start out, you have a couple of options to get your Apple product fixed. You can either mail it in for about $30 or go to an Apple store and see a Genius. You might think that going to the store would get you out of the 30 bucks. Wrong. Even if your product is still under warranty, and the problem is something that the warranty covers, you will still have to pay $32 as a “processing” fee to get your product fixed/replaced. I have to say that really turned me off to Apple. I don’t have a problem with my iPod…I really do love it and have enjoyed using it. However, their warranty just doesn’t impress me. If you don’t own any Apple products but are looking at any, please be aware of the warranty fine print before you decide to purchase one. If my iPod ever dies and it’s out of warranty, I won’t be buying an Apple again.

Resistance is Futile

I’ve noticed from working in IT as long as I have that users hate change. It doesn’t matter how helpful that change may be, if they have to learn something new they hate it. At the very least, 85% of users hate it. Admittedly, there are always users out there that are ready to go to the latest greatest before IT is. I like users like that really. I’d rather deal with those than the ones that resist change. As an IT person I can say that we usually complain about users not willing to change with the times. Never fear though…IT people can have the same hatred of change. It’s probably more surprising to me to see IT pros resist changes in technology than a user. It’s the nature of our business. By the time you purchase a new computer, something new and improved is out a month later. Our profession is in a constant state of change. Yet, it seems that some of the geeky people I’ve worked with over time just don’t get it. Change can be good, especially if it helps you in your tasks. Yet, some people just don’t want to accept having to do things in a different way, and change how they do something. I think one of the things that really gripe me about IT pros who don’t like change is that they are really limiting what they can do. So for all you users out there who feel distanced from your geeks just remember, IT people often feel the same as you.

Happy Birthday Sputnik

I got a chance tonight to see the International Space Station fly overhead. The whole thing took just a few minutes from start to finish. It started out fairly dim but brightened nicely as it traveled more overhead. One thing that really caught my eye was the yellow color. I guess I expected it to be whiter for some reason. As I looked up at the little dot of light carrying actual human beings over head, I tried to imagine what it was like to see the first satellite fly overhead. Sputnik has its 50th birthday on October 4th. I’ve kind of gotten used to seeing satellites fly overhead. In fact, I’ve always seen them and never given much thought to the fact that there was a time that they weren’t flying around in orbit. I wonder if people back in 1957 would have fathomed what we’ve done with satellites to help predict the weather, guide us in our travels, and set up communications across the globe. In another 50 years who knows what will be in place based on technologies of today.

GeekByte: Clear Your Internet Explorer 7 Cache Easily

Microsoft has made it easier to clear out the cache in IE 7 (it’s also called Temporary Internet Files). The cache is a collection of files that are saved on your computer as you browse the Internet. These files can help webpages load faster if you visit them at a later date. Sometimes it’s helpful to clear out these files. I’ve seen the size of the cached files get too big and cause problems with IE hanging. The fix was to delete that stored cache data. You might also want to clear these files if you’re shopping for your significant other and you don’t want them to know what you bought them.

To clear out these files, open IE 7 and click on the Tools menu. Choose “Delete Browsing History” at the top of the menu. A new window will open. To clear out all the files, choose the “Delete All” button at the bottom of the window. If you only want to delete certain files, choose from the buttons along right side of the window. Once you’re done clearing out the temporary files you want to delete, click the Close button if the window is still open.

USB 3.0

USB is getting an upgrade. The new version will be ten times faster than the current version, bringing transfer speeds up to around 4.8 gigabits per second. The technology will be released next year, but there will be a lag between the release date and the time that it will be readily available for most computer users to purchase. Don’t look for devices to come equipped with 3.0 until 2009 or 2010.

GeekByte: 3 Things to Run with the Run Command

I’m always looking for an easy way to do tasks while working on the computer. I use the Run command located under the Start menu a lot. The Run command is simply that…it runs whatever program you tell it to. To get to the Run command, just click on Start and click on Run. You’ll see a new window open that has an “Open” field and the buttons OK, Cancel, and Browse. Here are three programs that I run using Run on regular basis. Just open the Run command, type the name of the program, and click OK.

1. MSCONFIG: If you have Windows XP you should familiarize yourself with this program. It’s the easiest way to check what is starting up when you boot your computer, and the easiest way to get rid of the things you don’t want starting up. You can check all of this under the Startup tab of this utility. Never fear…if you uncheck something you find you need later, you can always run MSCONFIG again and simply recheck that program.

2. CALC: This command opens the Calculator. Yep, that about covers it.

3. NOTEPAD: Notepad is the simple text editor that comes with Windows. I use it when I want to strip out formatting from something I am trying to paste into Word usually. For instance, if I copy something off of a webpage and it has a ton of formatting to it, I will paste that text into Notepad first. Then recopy the text inside of Notepad and paste it into Word or whatever other program I need for my end result. Sounds like a lot of trouble, but it’s really an easy way to get just the text and not the fluff.

GPhone Still in the Works

Looks like Google is still planning on going through with their brand of cell phone. The plans aren’t finalized yet but should be soon. The initial plans were to use EDGE, but 3G is edging it’s way in the picture (no pun intended) as a possibility. If Google decides to go with a 3G solution, the release of the phone could be pushed back to the first part of 2008. I know I’ll be looking at what will be the terms for using their phone and what the phone’s features will be.

Free Music That Isn’t Evil

I listen to a lot of tech related podcasts and they mentioned something on one that peaked my interest – free music. Yep, free. F-R-E-E. The best part is that it’s so unbelievably simple to get. (One of the easiest ways to get it is through iTunes.) Do a search in the iTunes store for Magnatune. I’d recommend sorting the list by Artist and scrolling down to the section where the artist is Magnatune. They offer 48 different music genre podcasts ranging from Cool Guitar to Vivaldi. From the looks of it, you can find just about anything you’re looking for plus some. I like to have background music going at work and this is going to keep my ears happy for a while with new tunes. It’s also a fun way to find out if you like different music without having to put any money into your creative endeavor.

If you end up finding a certain podcast that has a lot of songs you like, minus one or two, I’d download Audacity and cut those songs you don’t like out of the podcast.

Europe to Be Blessed by the iPhone

People in Britain will soon get a chance to own the little piece of heaven known as the iPhone. It will go on sale on November 9th for about $536, with the higher price resulting from the the value-added tax in Britain. The monthly service will be about $70 - $100 through the company O2. Apparently O2 “fits the culture” of Apple. I suppose that translates into hip, fun, and expensive. :)

400 Million and Growing

The Firefox browser had an anniversary a few days ago. That nifty little free browser has been downloaded 400 million times. That’s a lot of free browsers out there. If you haven’t tried Firefox you should. It had the tabbed browsing before IE 7 did and I used it a lot more before IE 7 added that feature. I don’t use Firefox as my primary browser now since some webpages don’t display correctly in it (although the good majority do) and IE does what I want it to, but I have found a few of my work websites that operate better in Firefox than IE so it’s a must to have installed. The fun part about Firefox is that you can download Extensions and Themes to make your browser do fun things and look pretty. What can I say, the fluff is important! I personally like the MacFox and Red Cats (blue and green flavors) themes. If you’re looking for some good extensions, Colorful Tabs, MR Tech Local Install, and Copy Plain Text are very handy. You’ll find fun and useful tools under both categories. You can also download the email program from Mozilla called Thunderbird. I used it for a while and liked it. It’s worth trying if you’re interested.

You can download Firefox from Mozilla’s website for free.

GeekByte: Show Menu Bars in Internet Explorer 7

The new Internet Explorer is great! It has that handy feature of tabbed browsing that will really make your life easier. One thing that drives me nuts about it is that when you first install it, your menu bar is gone. The menu bar contains File, Edit, View, Favorites, etc. I like these menus visible since it’s really easy to get to the settings and options for various IE components.

Never fear, getting those menus back is easy! One way is to right click in a blank grey area below the address bar and choose Menu Bar. (The address bar is where you type in the web addresses that you want to go to.)

Alternatively, if the Tools button is below the address bar in your IE window, you can click on it and choose Menu Bar.

As a side note, if you aren’t sure what version of IE you have, it’s simple to find out. Just open IE click on the Help menu. Choose “About Internet Explorer.” This procedure is the same for most any Microsoft program if you need to find out what version of that program you have installed. Yep, it’s that easy.

$100 Credit to Disgruntled iPhone Owners

In response to the sudden price drop in the iPhone, Steve Jobs has made an announcement today stating that if anyone is, to put it mildly, ticked about paying $599 for their iPhone a couple of months ago, they can contact Apple and get a $100 credit valid for any Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. The method of obtaining this credit hasn’t been released yet, but look for it on Apple’s website next week. I gotta say I’d be pretty ticked too if I just bought an iPhone last month. Technology does move quickly I admit, but two months is a bit fast for that big of a price drop. I can see the drop in a year, but not two months. I guess all the nasty emails caught Steve’s attention. It’s a good thing to see Apple doing something for their loyal customers who went out and bought the iPhone right away. At least they’re doing something to keep their loyal fans happy (and Steve's Inbox free of hate mail). :) You can view Steve's letter to iPhone customers here.

GeekByte: 7 Things to Do to Keep Your Email Safe

Spammers and virus/spyware writers are getting smarter and smarter nowadays. Here are a few tips on keeping yourself safe against their attacks.

1. The number one means of protection is education. Know what to open and what not to open (see below), and always be cautious even if it makes you sound paranoid.

2. One of the latest spam emails is the fake greeting card notification. Usually this one will say that “a family member,” “college friend,” or some other vague acquaintance has sent you a greeting card. Your name is nowhere in the email either. Do not click on the link in the email. A legitimate greeting card company will have their company name, the name of the person sending you the card, and your name in the email somewhere. In other words, more than likely a greeting card notification from Hallmark will be ok to open. When in doubt, give the friend who supposedly sent you the greeting card an email or call and verify that they did indeed send you something to brighten your day.

3. If you get an email that looks like it’s from your bank or other financial institution asking for your bank account information, don’t enter it. Don’t click on any links in that email either. You may also get an email saying your eBay or PayPal account (or a variety of other possibilities) has a problem and you need to click on a link to reactivate it. Even if you do have an eBay or PayPal account, don’t trust this email! If a bank or other company needs to verify anything with you, they won’t ask you to enter any information through an email.

4. Never open an attachment unless you are expecting one from someone. When in doubt, again verify with the sender that they did in fact intend to send you that attachment. Even I’ve emailed friends and coworkers asking if they emailed me attachments or links.

5. Never click on any links in an email unless you know the sender is legit and meant for you to click on it.

6. ALWAYS keep your virus definitions up to date. Without the latest definition files, your computer won’t know about any new viruses out there and can’t keep you protected.

7. Run antispyware software such as Windows Defender. It’s a freebie from Microsoft. You must have Windows XP (SP2 please!) or Windows Vista to run it. There are plenty pieces of free antispyware software out there, including Ad-Aware and Spybot. Your antispyware program should be set to auto update as well. Just like virus definitions, spyware definitions are constantly being updated and you need the latest to stay protected.

If you do get any of the email types listed above, just simply delete them. With a little extra caution you will greatly reduce your chances of getting spyware or a virus on your system.

Acer to Acquire Gateway

I read today that Acer is in the works of acquiring Gateway for $710 million. Everything should be completed by the end of the year. That will make Acer number three, up from number six, in the PC market once the acquisition is complete. I remember when HP and Compaq merged together (don’t ask me my opinion of either one of them…you’ll be reading for days). I wonder how the pairing of Acer and Gateway will go. Hopefully the quality of their products won’t slip.

Elk Cloner

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first boot sector virus, written on that wonderful little contraption called an Apple II. Boy, that was some hacking power in that machine. Rich Skrenta wrote this virus, named Elk Cloner, when he was in ninth grade as a prank around the year 1982. Rich, like many in those days, pirated software for the Apple II. He would slip in little bits of programming onto the pirated discs that he gave his friends so that they would display messages or shut down the computer. Once his friends had enough of this, they wouldn’t accept any more discs from him. Instead he devised a way to alter floppy discs without having to actually touch them. Hince, the boot sector virus was born.

Just think…a time without virus protection, and without the Internet as we know it today. He managed to get his virus to spread simply from having the virus copy itself to any disc put into the computer. With the Elk Cloner virus, on every 50th boot a short poem would display on the screen (see below). Granted, it’s minor compared to the viruses of today, but it was a pretty good feat of programming back then.


Elk Cloner: The program with a personality
It will get on all your disks
It will infiltrate your chips
Yes it's Cloner!

It will stick to you like glue
It will modify RAM too

Send in the Cloner!

GeekByte: 3 Handy-Dandy Nifty-Neato Features in Windows Vista

I’ve come across a few things in Vista that have really helped me out on getting things done quickly. I like them so much that when the trial time of my RC1 of Vista ran out several months ago and I had to switch back to XP, I was crying over their loss. Now, I have my full licensed copy and I’m back to smilin’ again.

1. Rename Multiple Files/Folders in a List Easily:
I have times at work where I need to rename a bunch of folders in sequential order. This really helpful new feature of Vista will allow me to tab through the list of files or folders and rename them using the Tab key. Of course the files/folders you want to rename will at least have to be in the same directory. To do this, right click on the first file/folder in the list and choose Rename (or press F2 for you keyboard shortcut junkies). Type the name to want the folder to be and press the Tab key on the keyboard. The next folder in line will be highlighted and ready to rename. It was much harder in XP to do this. You had to rename the first folder, press Enter, arrow down, hit F2, rename that folder, and continue the cycle. Phooey! Vista has made this process so much easier.

2. Quickly Add Programs to the Quick Launch Toolbar
If you have a program in the Start Menu that you want to add to the Quick Launch toolbar, just right click on that program and choose “Add to Quick Launch.”

3. Search from the Start Menu
If you click on the Start button should notice a white box along the bottom titled “Start Search.” If you type a name of a file, even the first few letters, search results matching that criterion will be displayed above in the white space on the left of the Start Menu. It’s a little faster than opening My Computer and doing the search from there.

GeekByte: Turn off User Account Control in Windows Vista

If you have Windows Vista you’ll know that whenever you try to do dern near anything you get a message asking if you are absolutely positively sure that you want to continue. That annoying little message is due to a feature in Vista called User Account Control (UAC). It’s supposed to be helpful by helping you make sure there are no changes made to your computer that you don’t want changed. Yeah yeah, security, blah blah blah. Granted it might be helpful in the event of a virus or spyware infection, but urges such as wanting to shoot your computer with a grenade launcher should not be encouraged. UAC is one of the first things I turn off after I load Vista. If those messages are driving you mad, UAC is really simple to disable.

Click on Start, click on Control Panel, and choose User Accounts. A new window will open with the title “Make changes to your user account.” The very bottom link in that window is “Turn User Account Control on or off.” Click on that link. Uncheck the checkbox titled “User User Account (UAC) to help protect your computer” and click the OK button. You can close the User Accounts window.

New Subscription Options

I’ve added a couple of features for my readers to make it easier to read my blogs. Below the poll you’ll see two links. One is to subscribe using your favorite RSS reader, and the other is to subscribe so that you can get new posts via email. Both links are through feedburner.com.

You can also subscribe to my posts through Atom if you scroll down to the very bottom of the blog page. You’ll see a subscribe link there.

GeekByte: Disable Script Debugging in Internet Explorer

GeekBytes is my jargon for tips on how to use your computer. Whether it be how to do something, improve performance, or just a nifty setting that will make your life easier, you'll find it in a GeekByte post. This is my first for Technobabbles. Enjoy!

Tired of that annoying message when you're browsing the internet that says "A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to debug?" Or how about "Internet Explorer Script Error. An error has occurred in the script on line 1. Do you wish to continue running scripts on this page?" Sound familiar? Well, there's a simple way to end the script misery.

Simply open Internet Explorer and click on the Tools menu. Choose Internet Options. Click on the Advanced tab (the last one in that box) and put a check in the box next to "Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer)." If you also have “Disable Script Debugging (Other)” place a check in this box also. Also, make sure the box next to "Display a notification about every script error" is unchecked. Click OK for the changes to take effect.

The Dark Side of the Justice System

I had to giggle a little at the guy who was sentenced to use Windows for his operating system after uploading Star Wars Episode III on BitTorrent. (As if the movie industry isn't making enough off that movie as it is.) The reasoning behind the OS switch is that as part of the punishment he needed to have internet monitoring software installed on his computer. The catch is that the monitoring software only runs on Windows. Now, the story itself really isn't all that funny to cause the giggling, but I know a few people who are so into Linux that their stomach’s would turn at the thought of using Windows. I can imagine this guy isn’t any happier. On top of having his internet connection monitored he also has to wear an ankle bracelet until around Christmas of this year. The lesson here...don't give into the dark side.

Some Things in Life Are Free

If you’re looking for an antivirus for your home, look no further. AVG is a free – yes, free – antivirus that you can download from Grisoft. I’m running it at home and I like it. I’ve had it installed on Windows XP and currently on Windows Vista. The nice thing about it is that it doesn’t install all that extra fluff that slows down your system like the Symantec and McAfee antivirus programs do. That’s mainly my biggest gripe about the two aforementioned products. With AVG, you just install it and it pretty much takes care of itself without slowing you down.

AVG comes with automatic updates that are relatively tiny since it doesn’t take long to get the updates even on dial-up. You can schedule the updates to occur between certain times of the day, and if you aren’t online at the time it is scheduled, it will update the next time you are online or at the next scheduled time, whichever comes first. A window will open to show you the progress of the update, which is handy if you are sitting at your computer so you know the thing is updating. I have noticed that on Vista this window doesn’t display. But Vista will tell you that a program is trying to display a window and you can choose to view the window if you want. The updates still work correctly though. I would imagine they would fix this with an update or new release. I can’t complain at all about this little freebie.

**TIP**
Even if you don’t have AVG installed for your antivirus, you always want to make sure and set up those automatic updates. If you don’t update your antivirus you are prone to getting the newest viruses out there. So check on your DAT file date every now and then and make sure you have the latest one. I’ve seen a lot of people get a virus just simply from not keeping their antivirus software up to date.

Tune-In to Your Local Internet

I’m always looking for ways to get high-speed internet where I live for a reasonable price. I haven’t found that perfect combination just yet. However, early 2009 might just be the date for me to look forward to. Microsoft, Intel, and other companies are pushing the FCC to allow them to use unused TV airwaves to offer internet to consumers…consumers like me who live in the middle of nowhere. The unused airwaves would be from the remaining airwaves due to the switch to digital broadcasting that TV stations will be doing in 2009. The FCC is currently working on standards for the devices that would use those airwaves and should be finished around October of this year. Hopefully the price would be right and I can finally join the modern world of high-speed surfing.

Mega Email

Word is out that Microsoft is going to make some changes to Hotmail. The storage will increase from 2 GB to 4 GB for the free version and from 5 GB to 10 GB for the paid version. I joined up with Google Mail a few years ago because they offered a lot of storage (2.6 GB currently). Not that I use that much but it is nice to know that I have it if I need it. I can think of a few people who will use every bit of that new 4 GB or 10 GB that Microsoft is offering. I mean, think about it. Four GIGS of email. Wow. That’s a lot to keep up with. In today’s age, you can never have too much storage.

Ribbons and Pearls

The ribbon. Reminds me of the Nexus on Star Trek Generations. The ribbon in the new Office 2007 isn’t quite as cool as the one on Star Trek, but it’s a big improvement over the old interface. I tried the new Office 2007 suite several months ago as a trial download and fell in love with it. I have a licensed copy now and I wouldn’t go back for anything. Some people say that it doesn’t offer anything new. Oh, but it does. The interface alone is easier to work with than the previous version. You will have a learning curve since everything is in a different spot than the previous versions, but it’s worth it. I like how it dynamically changes to fit what you are doing. Typing text? Then you have the ribbon with the text functions. Working with a picture? The ribbon changes to the picture ribbon. Instead of hunting through menus you have your functions at your fingertips…er, mousetips. You can even preview what something will look like in your document before you actually choose that setting. For instance, if you want to insert a table you can choose from a variety of preconfigured visual designs. By hovering over the design, the table will dynamically change in your document. It won’t become permanent until you actually click on the design. There is also a free add-in available from the MS website that will allow you to save your documents as PDF’s. How handy is that?!

Some people I’ve talked to don’t like the change. We’d still be stuck in the DOS days if someone hadn’t decided to change interfaces. Besides that without change life would be boring. :) I know users don’t like their world turned upside down when they finally got the hang of something, but change can be good. So get used to it…the ribbon will be the next step in interfaces for MS Office. It won’t hold you in a moment in time like the Nexus, but it will make your life a bit easier.

To try a free trial of the Office 2007 suite, click here.

Free Cell Phones on the Horizon?

So I read that Google is throwing around the idea of offering free cell phone service to users. Nothing is set in stone yet, but the concept is kind of cool. You would have to put up with some ads, but if you were tight on cash or if you wanted a cell phone for emergencies, this could be a great thing for you. If I could get them to offer free wireless internet where I live I would certainly sign up (alas, I am still in the dial-up world – the boonies will do that to you). I’d even deal with the ads if it meant I could go faster than 28 kbps. :)