Tiplet expert tips & tech support

March 6, 2009

What’s the Best Way to Complain About Problems?

Filed under: communication — Tags: , — admin @ 9:00 am

by Gabe Goldberg

“Whine, whine, whine,” “Gripe, gripe, gripe,” and even “kvetch, kvetch, kvetch” usually mean “Shut up; stop complaining.” But when things go wrong, complaining courteously to the right person with a specific remedy in mind can be rewarding.

If a company Web site has a “Contact us” link, start there with an email or telephone connection. Be polite, identify yourself, mention how you’re connected to the organization (current or potential customer, etc.), and describe your dissatisfaction. Staying calm and cheerful will set you apart from most people and will improve the odds of your getting satisfaction.
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March 5, 2009

How Do I Replace the Battery In My Laptop Computer?

Filed under: computer hardware — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

Laptops seem to be most useful when the battery is fully charged and you know it will last a good two hours or more. After all, what good is a portable computer if you have to find a working electrical outlet to use it? OK, it’s still some good. However, it’s much better to have a powerful battery or two that you can rely on during those times when other people have claimed every outlet in the coffee shop, but you still need to get that report typed. Replacing your laptop battery is easy to do, and if you look around a bit you might find a great deal too.
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How to Delete or Move a File That Is “In Use By Another User Or Program”

Filed under: applications,computer performance,data storage and recovery,Windows — Tags: , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by David Hakala

Have you ever encountered one of these error messages when you tried to delete or move a file on your Windows machine?

Cannot delete file: Access is denied
There has been a sharing violation.
The source or destination file may be in use.
The file is in use by another program or user.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.
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How to Use SuperDuper to Make Backups and Bootable Mac Disks

Filed under: applications,computer hardware,data storage and recovery,Macintosh — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by David Strom

After having my laptop stolen from the trunk of my locked car in a shopping mall parking lot, I am very paranoid about making copies of my data. Apple’s latest version of the Mac OS includes backup software called Time Machine that will make regular copies of the files on your hard drive. But what if you aren’t running this version (10.5) or want to use something else? My recommendation is a product called SuperDuper. You can try it for free with some limitations before you purchase a copy for less than $30.
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March 4, 2009

Can I Get Old-Style PC Keyboards with “Clickability” Tactile Feedback?

Filed under: computer hardware — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by Gabe Goldberg

No matter how much you spend for a (non-laptop) computer, it’s likely to come with a junky low-end keyboard which you’ll hate. For much of my computing career, I was spoiled by using high-quality keyboards attached to various IBM terminals; early IBM computers maintained this battleship-robust quality. I was fortunate that early in my PC use, a friend gave me not one but two IBM Model M keyboards. They’ve survived multiple moves and been connected to several PCs, and they just keep on clicking with that nice tactile feel that typing should have.
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Why Won’t My Computer Recognize My SD Card?

Filed under: computer hardware,computer performance,digital media,photos and video — Tags: , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

SD cards are standard equipment for anyone who owns a digital camera. These tiny memory packages have become digital film, and for years, desktop computers and laptops alike have come with an SD card reader installed by default. So what’s the problem if you insert your new SD card and your computer doesn’t recognize it?
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How to Improve Wireless Internet Reception and Get Free WiFi Legally

Filed under: Internet,wireless computing — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by David Hakala

The distance record for wireless Internet reception based on 802.11 technology is 125 miles, set in June 2005. You probably don’t need that much reach, or all the hundreds of icons that would show up in your “available WiFi networks” list if you could reach out that far. But you may be struggling to get a strong, consistent signal from your home WiFi network. You may also have heard there is free WiFi available in your neighborhood, but can’t seem to find it. Solutions are at hand.
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March 3, 2009

Why and How to Turn Unneeded Services Off in Windows

Filed under: computer performance,Windows — Tags: , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

Services in Windows are executable programs that run in the background without user interaction. Usually, these services facilitate user actions or help other programs run. They can be loaded automatically, disabled, or set to run only when instructed to do so by the computer user. Since each service uses a share of the available system resources, it makes sense to check your services from time to time and shut off the ones you don’t need. Additionally, if you have a lot of services auto-starting at boot time, setting these services not to automatically start can reduce the amount of time it takes to boot up.
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Pros and cons of Solid State Drives

Filed under: computer hardware,computer performance — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by David Hakala

Q: What are the pro’s and con’s of switching to a Solid State Hard drive? Is it faster and is it reliable? – Bill.

A Solid State Drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store data. “Solid-state” means that the device stores data as patterns in the on/off states of transistors. A transistor in its “on” or positively charged state is considered a binary “1” bit, while a transistor in its “off” state is considered a “zero” bit. “Solid” refers to the fact that there are no empty spaces in a transistor for mechanical parts to move around in; the transistor is turned on and off by the application of electricity, not by the electromechanical movement of a physical switch.
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March 2, 2009

Preserving Your Vista Desktop

Filed under: applications,computer performance,Vista — Tags: , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by Ross M. Greenberg

I’ll be the first to admit it: Vista is not perfect. There. I said it. As much as I admire the product, it has some warts that really bug me. Programmers who worked for me would have been fired if they ever let a product ship with these kinds or this quantity of bugs. Things have certainly gotten better of late but still…

For example when installing a new product — perhaps a flaky one — there is a good chance that my desktop will be screwed up. Some of those carefully placed icons magically shift or disappear or randomly transpose. What should be a quick and easy no-brainer turns into a frustrating humbling and painful experience, annoying to recover from.
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How Do I Add More RAM to My Computer?

Filed under: computer hardware,computer memory — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Your computer uses this virtual memory to do computations and calculations while the computer is on. Nothing is ever permanently stored in this memory, yet it is a big factor in the performance quality of your system. Most computer come with at least 1GB of RAM and extra space so you can add more. On older computers with less than 1GB and/or no extra space, you can even take out the existing RAM and replace it with a higher-capacity “stick” of memory.
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