Hi everybody. We are often asked what is the best search engine to use when I am looking for information? There are literally hundreds of search engines out there but almost everybody uses the top three or four brands. In this article, we will share our findings but you will have to be the ultimate judge. The first search engine we tested was Google. Google is by far the most widely used of all thesearch engines. They currently have about 70% of the users but Bing is starting to take some of that away. We will talk about that a bit later. In our tests, we have found the Google searches good for finding all the big companies but many of us want to do business with the often times more personable small business owner instead. It is harder to find these entries on Google, especially since the Penguin update. So depending on what you are looking for, you can decide if Google is the best choice for your needs. The second search engine we tested was Bing. Bing is one of the main competitors for Google and rightfully so. From the pleasant to look at home page to the great organic results, it is our number one pick. Bing actually stems from the older MSN search that was first introduced by Microsoft. It has great organic results that give you a mix of both the big guys and the smaller hometown businesses. If you happen to deal with their advertising department, even if it is a free local ad, they are courteous and helpful. With the new social media plug in they are introducing, Bing will be a force to be reasoned with. This is our top choice. The next big gun on the block is Yahoo search. These folks are essentially the same as Bing with only slight differences in the search results. Although not quite as fancy as Bing, the searches are very organic and you get a nice mix of corporate and small business. Yahoo also rates very high with us in our searches. As an added bonus, both MSN and Yahoo make excellent home pages delivering compelling news articles and featured stories. Sometimes you...
Read MoreHi everybody. How do you connect to the Internet: DSL, Cable or Satellite? There are many options at our fingertips but which one is the fastest and which one is the most reliable? That will be our dissuasion today in our column. I can still remember my very first Internet connection. I had with AOL. It was a 56k dial up connection that at the time we thought was fast. Everybody was offering dial up and some plans were even free. Soon after, companies like Bell South began to offer broadband DSL. The speeds at the time were super fast but the ability to surf the Internet and talk on the phone at the same time was a real luxury! No more second phone line. It was just a short time after that all the companies started offering higher speeds like the Extreme 6. At the time, Bell South was one of the biggest suppliers of DSL service. While on the topic of DSL, I would like to add that through the many years that I have used this service, the downtime has been next to zero. During Hurricane Wilma, I lost power cable and telephone but my DSL line kept blinking and never went dark. By generator power, I was able to surf the web and do just about everything I normally would do with my computer as though nothing had happened. I would have to rate DSL service as extremely reliable and rock solid. But it is not the fastest solution. Your local cable company provides today’s fastest Internet service. Cable can offer speeds that are unmatched by almost any other method. Cable is relatively reliable and usually only goes down after a major storm. In our area, cable appears to have more outages then the DSL counterpart but that might not be the typical scenario in all locations. For a gamer, cable would be a must. All in all for the price and the speed you get, it’s a great deal. I would also like to talk a bit about satellite Internet connections. If you live in a rural location the only choice you might have for Internet is satellite. Satellite offers different speed packages but...
Read MoreHi everybody. Often times we get lots of things trying to update themselves on your computer. If you are not sure exactly what the update is, there are times that you might decide to simply pass and not do the update at all. In this column, we will discuss what is safe and what you should avoid. The first thing we are going to discuss are Windows security patches. Once a month on patch Tuesday, Microsoft issues a series of updates for all supported versions of Windows. Patch Tuesday usually falls on the second Tuesday of each month. The type and number of updates that are offered go by operating system and the number of security holes that have to be patched. Usually, these updates are safe to install but there are certain ones you might want to avoid. One of the types that we have seen the most problems with is the .net updates. As of late, these updates have been popping up even after they have been installed and sometimes they simply will not install at all. At present, I would have to advise against trying to install these updates. Another area we often see issues with are with updates for Office. We often see issues where the patches will not install as well. If you encounter an issue while trying to install any patches, it is probably a good idea not to try to force it is as problems with your Windows install could definitely be an issue. There are two products that you should update every time a new patch is offered they are Flash and Java. These two little gems are what allow you to view multi media items such as movies and slide shows. They also are required for playing many online games like Pogo and Zynga. The patches are usually offered to you automatically and always help to patch known security holes. Always allow these updates when you see them. Another product that offers security updates is Adobe Reader. Again, it is a good idea to keep this product patched so you can have the best security possible. Quick Time and Real Player will also offer security updates for their products. Since...
Read MoreHi everybody. If you own a laptop computer you know how complicated they are by looking at how many parts that they try to place in a very small area. These tight quarters allow you to have a system that is small and lightweight but the amount of heat that is produced is almost always greater then that of a desktop counterpart. For this reason, there are some common sense things you should remember when operating your laptop. In this column, we will discuss some of the things you can do to help prolong their life. Today’s laptops are like a modern marvel. They allow you to take your work almost anywhere so you are not confined to a single location. I have often seen customers placing their laptops on the bed, on the couch and yes, as the name implies, on their lap. The thing all these places have in common is that the surfaces are soft. The soft surface of a pillow or cushion can block the bottom ports of the machine. This can lead to overheating and in some cases, damage to internal components. Whenever you need to place your laptop on a surface that is not solid, you should use a laptop cooler or a portable laptop stand. These devices ensure that the machine is not placed directly on the soft surface. Laptop coolers are fans built into a portable stand that you can place on your desk or anyplace you want to place the machine. These fans help to remove heat from under the computer so it stays cooler. In my tests, I have seen as much as a 10-degree difference in the operating temperature of the laptop we tested. As like desktops, laptops can also accumulate dust and dirt in the cooling fins of the processor. You should use some canned air from time to time and blast away any dirt that is located around the cooling ports of the laptop. You might be surprised to see how much dirt might actually come out when you spray it. Be sure the machine is off when perform this operation. You can also use the air to blast away any dust or crumbs that might...
Read MoreHi everybody. Have you ever booted up your computer and when you tried to log in your system files just would not show up? You might try to use safe mode and possibly even system restore to try and get your file system working again. When all of these attempts fail you have two choices: You can reformat the computer and completely wipe the drive or you can restore your computer from a newly updated bootable image you created on a removable hard rive. The second option will always be the best option because you will retain all your files and programs once the system is restored. The sad part is that very few people use this method to back up their system. In our offices, every one of our computers has a matching hard drive that is ready to go in case of a major breakdown. Being able to do this is not as complicated as you might think. In the following column, I will explain what you need and how to do it. In order to perform a complete bootable image clone of your hard drive you will first have to purchase an external drive that is at least as big as the original already installed on your computer. If you are more technically inclined, you can install a second drive right inside your case. The second thing you will need is a good imaging software. We use and recommend Casper. We have been using it for many years with excellent results. Once you have all your tools, it is time to start backing up! These directions will follow that of using Casper but will applicable for other imaging software as well. The first thing you will need to do is to install the software. Follow the install wizard, as you would with any new program install. Once the software is installed you can run it from the desktop shortcut. You will be presented with a wizard. The wizard will show you several options. You want to choose the option to copy your entire had drive. This is the option that will give you a bootable backup. In most cases, you will use the default options for...
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