Computer and Web Articles

04/21/06
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Stop Procrastinating! (Or Get Help With Temptation Blocker)

I feel fortunate that I rarely fall into the evil hands of procrastination.

I remember finishing my reading assignments days ahead of schedule while in the fourth grade. I remember competing in 3 a.m. Connect Four tournaments in college while my roommates rushed to piece together term papers due at 8:30 a.m. (I’d completed my paper the previous week). I remember not being able to empathize with a pal of mine when she recently confessed that the Minesweeper game on her computer kept her from meeting several work deadlines.

And surely, sitting in front of a computer for several hours a day won’t keep procrastinators from their procrastinating ways. For every time-management application, online scheduler, or e-mail reminder utility, there’s an online poker game, funny video website, or Instant Messaging service.

It’s just too darn easy for some people to get swept into “one more game” of Solitaire, read “just a couple more” online news stories, or talk “just five more minutes” with a best friend via Instant Messenger. It’s for these types of people - people with procrastinating tendencies - that a little application called “Temptation Blocker” was created.

A fellow by the name of Adam Howell built Temptation Blocker for himself after searching (to no avail) for a program that would keep him from procrastinating while he was at his computer.

Temptation Blocker allows you to add programs to a “blocked” list and then set a timer for how long you’d like to block these programs. Once you hit the “Get Work Done!” button, say goodbye to procrastinating (on your computer, at least). Each time you attempt to access one of the programs on your blocked list, a box will pop up telling you how much time you have left before you can access it again.

Adam Howell is quite clever. He even built Temptation Blocker so that it takes a bit of effort to turn off once you’ve hit the “Get Work Done!” button. To turn off Temptation Blocker, you need to enter in a 32-character string of letters and numbers; this obstacle acts as a deterrent from accessing blocked programs (but still allows you to do it in case it’s absolutely necessary).

The other neat part of the program is that you can save Profiles. Let’s say every time you need to write a work proposal, you know you should block Internet Explorer, the poker game you downloaded, Outlook Express, and your AOL Instant Messenger. You can save these programs in a Profile (like “My Proposal Profile”) and the next time you need to write a proposal, you simply choose this profile. Temptation Blocker will immediately know what programs to block for you.

One user of Temptation Blocker commented that the program could make a great Child Safety Program - just set up a profile for your child, set the timer, and you’re set.

Let’s see . . . what else is there you should know? Oh yes. The program only works on PCs (sorry Mac users). The program is free. And you can download and learn more about Temptation Blocker at this website address: http://tinyurl.com/bv6g2.

04/08/06
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Disappearing Files Are No Reason to Panic

Posted in: Computer Tips & Tricks

Perhaps you’ve been there? That horrible, hollow feeling instantly develops in your stomach. It becomes a bit more difficult to breathe. Your eyes stare ahead, wide with horror. You feel frozen in a horrible, mixed state of fear and panic.

Oh no! You just deleted a really, really, really important file on your computer. Accidentally. Oh, no!

Perhaps it was your last QuickBooks backup file. Or maybe the term paper you worked on for the last three months - the one due tomorrow. Maybe it was the rough draft of the eight page letter you were writing to a friend. You hit “yes” when asked if you were sure you wanted to delete it … but you didn’t mean to.

You can’t stop asking yourself, “Is it really gone forever?”

Maybe yes, maybe no.

First of all, stay calm. Panicking isn’t going to help anyone in this situation. Once you’re calm, take a peek inside the recycle bin that sits on your desktop by right-clicking on it and choosing “Explore.” Do you see your file? If so, right-click on it, choose “Restore,” and you’re back in business (it should show up on your desktop). If not, keep reading.

When data is deleted on a computer, it usually does not just disintegrate into oblivion. The computer essentially just slaps a sign on the data that reads “This space is now available for other things!”

Stay with me here. This means that your file doesn’t actually disintegrate into oblivion until it’s been overwritten by other data. And the only way it can get overwritten by other data is if you keep using your computer! So stop using your computer immediately once you discover you’ve accidentally deleted a file.

Using the internet, checking e-mails, composing a letter in Word - all of these things could potentially overwrite that spot on your computer that’s been marked “now available for other things.” So just stop. Close all open programs and back away, slowly.

Once you’ve backed away and you’re standing several feet from your computer, find another computer. A friend’s, your work computer, your laptop, whatever. On this different computer, head over to Google and do a search for “undelete files.”

You’ll see a lot of results; unfortunately I don’t have a recommendation for you. Pick a program that won’t cost you an arm and a leg and that appears to be easy to use. (Alternatively, you may search for a program at Download.com, where user reviews and ratings may assist you in choosing.) Once you’ve downloaded the program(s) you’d like to use, burn them to a CD and transfer them over to the computer where your file was accidentally deleted. Then install the program(s), and you should hopefully have your file back.

If none of the Undelete programs recover your data, your last possible hope is a data recovery company. These companies use fancy-schmancy equipment and technology to recover the important information people sometimes lose on their computers. They don’t always succeed, and they’ll most likely cost you a very large amount of money, but they’re your last hope.

To find a company that matches your needs, search for “data recovery” or perhaps “Denver data recovery.” And you’ll do that search on another computer, right? Because you remembered you’re not supposed to be using the computer on which you deleted your file, right?

In the end, all this trauma and horror can be avoided if you simply backup your computer on a regular basis. If you’re like most people though, you’re likely thinking “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I really should backup sometime …” And if you’re like most people, you’ll unfortunately need to go through one of these horrible, stressful accidental-deleting experiences before you actually commit to running regular backups.

So hear my cry: “Don’t be like most people!” Learn from others’ terrible accidental-deleting experiences. Make sure to backup your data on a regular basis and you’ll never need to use the information provided in this article.

Stop Procrastinating! (Or Get Help With Temptation Blocker)

Disappearing Files Are No Reason to Panic

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