Computer and Web Articles

Have you been lazy? Perhaps it just slipped your mind. Regardless, here are some reminders that might give you the nudge you need to take action.

• Everyone: Be honest. When was the last time you cleaned your keyboard? Have you at least taken it outside, held it upside down, and given it a good shake lately? (Eeewww.)
• Website owners: When was the last time you ran a spellcheck on your website? What about a check for broken links?
• Everyone: When was the last time you backed up your data? If you’re not backing up on a regular basis, have you recently asked yourself if you’re willing to lose everything on your computer?
• PC users: Have you defragmented your computer lately?
• Mac Users: Have you cleaned out your cache within the last month? (Visit http://tinyurl.com/495nsn4 if you answered No.)
• Everyone: Have you recently run a program (like Spybot S & D) to check for spyware and other undesirables that sneak into computers over time?
• Website owners: Have you given your site’s statistics a good hard look within the last few months? Do you know how people are using your site, if visitors are running into any major problems when using your site, or…if your site actually has any visitors?

Tapping Alt + Enter allows you to view the properties of any files or folders you’ve selected.

Deb Austill of Breckenridge recently sent an email my way, asking a few questions and sharing some of her thoughts. I though her notes on PC shortcuts would be great to share with everyone, as it’s always so nice to receive a quick shortcut refresher, isn’t it?

Deb wrote: “The Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V and Ctrl-X [keyboard shortcuts] have to be some of the most useful tools that I teach people on the computer. There are so many [people] that don’t know about those commands and the many, many places that they work. Then Bud Robinson [of Summit Nettrekker and SherpaLink.com] taught me the Ctrl-Enter on the web address line for it to automatically enter the www and the .com.”

Were you scratching your head when Deb was mentioning Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, and Ctrl-X? Don’t be confused. Let’s walk through it all together; once you start using these shortcuts you won’t know how you ever lived without them. Here we go:

First, highlight some text (just about any text will do) with your cursor. Next, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and tap the C key. All done? Nothing happened? That’s fine; you’ve just told your computer to make a mental copy of that text. Now let’s open an blank email… or perhaps a fresh Word document – and do the same thing, but this time hit the V key instead of the C key. The text you previously copied should now be “pasted” right there in front of you. Quick, painless and… easy, right?

The Ctrl-X shortcut Deb mentioned does the exact same thing as the Ctrl-C (“copy”) shortcut, except it actually removes (or “cuts”) the text you’re copying.

Some of you are likely thinking “OF COURSE I know the copy, paste, and cut keyboard shortcuts!” So the next question is: have you ever used the Ctrl-Enter shortcut? No? Let’s test it out.

To use the Ctrl-Enter shortcut Deb is mentioning, try this:

1. Fire up your favorite web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, whatever you like).
2. Place your cursor anywhere in the address bar (that bar across the top of the screen that has the current website address displayed) and left-click your mouse.
3. The website address sitting in the address bar should be highlighted.  This is perfect; once we start typing we’ll be replacing that text.
4. Type the word amazon into the address bar. The word amazon should be the only text in that entire bar. Done? Great.
5. Hold down your Ctrl key, then tap your Enter key.
6. POW! A “www” immediately appeared in front of the word amazon and a “.com” immediately appeared after it. Plus, you’ve been whisked right over to www.amazon.com.

Ctrl-Enter instantly added the www and the .com to the text you typed into your address bar. Quite a great shortcut to know, eh?

Thanks for reminding everyone of these great shortcuts, Deb!

Question:
Erin, I am more of a keyboard person (using my mouse only occasionally) and know all kinds of shortcuts [for moving around Windows directories] with the keyboard. I was looking for one that would move you back up a directory when opening a file. This would be the equivalent of hitting that back arrow with your mouse.
– Deb A., Breckenridge CO
[Note to readers: A “directory” is another name for “folder”.]

Answer:
Hi there Deb. I’m not sure which version of Windows you’re using, so here are the answers for XP, Vista, and 7. (Oh – and keep in mind that yes, many times your previous folder is the same as the folder directly up from where you are—but not always!):

• Windows XP: Hitting the Backspace key will move you up one level. Alt + left arrow key moves you back to the previous folder.
• Windows Vista & Windows 7: Hitting Alt + up arrow key will move you up one level. Alt + left arrow key will move you back to the previous folder. [Note: This information was pulled directly from Microsoft.com; I do not run Windows Vista or 7 myself.]

Both of my laptop’s batteries act like I spent the last year endlessly popping them into the toaster. Half the time it seems like they run out of juice before my computer’s done booting up. Okay, yes, that was an exaggeration. But not by much.

My batteries may be toast, but I’m thinking we can take a few moments today to learn how we can help conserve the juice in your laptop’s batteries.

I recently read an article on Microsoft.com that listed various strategies for conserving battery power. Several of the strategies pertained only to PC users, but a few would be helpful for both PC and Mac users.

The two main PC-only strategies mentioned in the article covered 1) optimization of power settings and 2) taking advantage of low-power states. Specific instructions for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 are provided.

Additional tips included disabling your wireless and managing your screen’s brightness.

If you’d like, you can read the article here: http://tinyurl.com/m4haua. (It’s a short one.)

A month ago I shared with you how easy it is to determine what browser and browser version you use.

Today I’m admitting there’s actually a much easier way to locate this information (as well as some important related details).

That’s right. The next time someone asks you for any of the following:

1. your browser
2. your browser version
3. your operating system
4. your IP address
5. your user agent string

…don’t fret. Just visit www.thismachine.info. The moment you arrive you’ll find all the above-listed information displayed on your screen. It’s like your little private cheat sheet.

Go ahead and bookmark this page so that the next time tech support/your webmaster/that warranty card asks you for any of the above-listed details, you won’t feel like a deer in the headlights; you’ll instead be able to provide an accurate answer with ease.

I’m sure you’re well aware of the fact that sometimes, when using the web . . . things just don’t go exactly as planned.

You hit a “Buy Now” button but the wrong product shows up in your shopping cart. You click a Log In button and … nothing happens at all. You arrive at a website only to find you can’t read half the text because it’s covered by photos or ads.

These things happen. And when they do, we call tech support. We call our cousin the web expert. We email the owner of the problematic site.

More often than not, the person we contact will at some point ask, “What browser are you using? And what browser version do you have?” Knowing which browser you were using at the time of the problem is often vital in helping others troubleshoot your issues; this is why replying with, “I don’t know” only delays a resolution and irritates the person trying to help you.

(Quick refresher for those of you scratching your head right now: Your browser is simply the program you use to surf the web. You’ll also hear browsers referred to as web browsers—they’re the same thing. Common browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera.)

So. Back to identifying your browser: This page should, in matter of seconds, help you visually identify which browser you use: http://tinyurl.com/28aog75

If you’re feeling adventurous and would like to take things a step further by determining not only which browser you use, but which browser version you use, go ahead and fire up your browser, click the “Help” menu item at the top of your screen, and choose the “About (xyz your browser name here)” option. You should now see a little window displaying your browser’s name and version number on it.

I’m glad you took the time to learn this information. It’s extremely likely that your newfound knowledge will come in handy in the future.

Yes, the glass-like translucency effects you see in Vista are nice. But they come with a price: their graphical fanciness slows down your system.

If you’re not married to Vista’s Aero-glass effects, consider disabling them to see if they’ve been slowing your computer down. (If turning off the glassy effects doesn’t seem to improve your computer’s speed, just turn them right back on.)

To disable the effects:

1. Right click on an empty area of your desktop, then click Personalize.
2. Click Window Color and Appearance.
3. Uncheck the Enable Transparency box.
4. Click a color you’d like to use for your Start menu and taskbar (you’ll need a solid color now that your transparency effect is going away).
5. Click OK and try using your computer for a day or so.

Did turning off the glitzy glassy effects make a noticeable difference? If yes, that’s great! If no, simply return to the Window Color and Appearance area and re-check the box next to Enable Transparency.

QUESTION:
Thanks for the previous Windows XP tip to kill indexing and Messenger. Can I do the same in Vista too?
– Pat Tormey, Silverthorne, Colorado

ANSWER:
Yes, you sure can. Here are the steps you need to take for each task.

————————————-

Turning Off Indexing in Vista:

1. Click Start, then Control Panel
2. Click System and Maintenance, then Administrative Tools, then double click Services
3. Locate the service named Windows Search, then right-click it and select Properties from the menu that pops open.
4. Click Stop
5. Now, in the Startup Type drop-down box, choose Disabled
6. Click OK

Turning Off Messenger in Vista:

1. Click Start, then Control Panel, then Uninstall a Program (under Programs)
2. Click MSN Messenger
3. Click Uninstall from the list of options in the new window
4. Click Yes, then wait until the process is done
5. Restart your computer