Computer and Web Articles

If, while browsing the web with Internet Explorer, you frequently run into an annoying Security Information pop-up stating, “This page contains both secure and nonsecure items. Do you want to display the nonsecure items?” it’s highly likely you’d pay a hefty sum of money to be able to rid your web-browsing experience of this extreme annoyance. 

Allow me show you exactly how to turn these annoying pop-up alerts off altogether. Completely free of charge.

• Step #1: In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Internet Options.
• Step #2: Click the Security tab, then the Custom Level button.
• Step #3: Scroll alllllllllllllllll the way down, down, down until you see the option that reads “Display mixed content”. Select Enable.
• Step #4: Click Ok, then Yes.

All done!

Question: I was wondering if you knew of a way I could send text messages to my friends when I’m on my computer? I figured there had to be a way to do it but I haven’t been able to figure it out. Can you help? (And I would prefer the cost to be free.)

Answer: I can help. The solution is www.sendafreesms.com – free, spam-free text messaging direct from your computer.

A few things to keep in mind when using this service:

1. You must know the carrier of your friend’s cell phone in order to successfully send a message.
2. Don’t forget to enter in the phone number as numbers only (no dashes, spaces, etc.)
3. Prior to sending your message, you’ll be asked to enter a pin number. You can find this pin number at the top of the form (the pin number changes from day to day).
4. If you submit your information and it goes through successfully, you’ll see a “Message Sent” confirmation. If you don’t see this confirmation, it means there was an error in one of the fields you filled out, so try again.

If you’re like most computer users, your keyboard’s “End” key probably doesn’t receive much attention. Here’s a use for that End key that, if you’ll keep it in mind, just might make the poor fellow feel a tad less neglected.

When searching for website contact information such as general email addresses or phone numbers, many people habitually scroll straight to the bottom of a website to look in the footer text. Sometimes web pages are long. Sometimes web pages are very long. Tapping your keyboard’s End key moves you to the bottom of just about any webpage out there in a split second – no need to even reach for your mouse.

Pistaschio is a free, teeny-tiny, overachieving little program for PCs that provides little bits of additional functionality to help with everyday computer tasks.

Pistaschio does quite a lot. Some of the tasks it will gladly handle for you include snapping a window to other windows when moving/resizing, disabling the Insert key, locking the mouse or keyboard while you clean them, minimizing a window to the system tray, allowing you to control sound volume using your mouse wheel, and restricting a window’s position to inside of your screen.

Might Pistaschio be a useful program for you to download? Learn more about the various bits of functionality it can provide and decide for yourself: http://pitaschio.ara3.net/index.htm.

With seemingly everyone working hard to come up with new ways to make their dollars stretch further, I thought it might be helpful to share a few money-saving tips of my own. The three techniques listed below will enable you to help extend the life of your printer’s laser toner or ink cartridges.

#1) Don’t let your cartridge dry up! Not surprisingly, this tip is especially important for people living in areas with low humidity and at high altitude. And thankfully, keeping cartridges fresh and preventing dry-out is simple; just make sure to use your printer to print out at least one page per week.

#2) Print just the text you want! If you’re looking to print out a selection of text from a webpage, there’s no reason to print out absolutely everything you see on the screen (extra text, graphics, photos, etc.). Simply highlight the selection of text you’d like to print, go to File > Print, and then in the dialogue box that pops open, make sure to choose “Selection” before clicking the Print button.

#3) Reduce the default print quality! Unless you need to print high-quality pages on a regular basis, you can easily save ink/toner by setting your printer’s default print quality to “Draft”. Making this change is simple, but the process varies from computer to computer. The steps in this online article should work for most PC printers: http://tinyurl.com/avp9fu.

Sometimes you just know you want to delete a file-that there’s simply no reason for it to first temporarily be placed in the Recycle Bin.  Sometimes you just know it would be silly to clog up your Recycle Bin with files that you’ll absolutely positively never need again.

In cases such as these, use the “Shift Shortcut” to bypass the Recycle Bin and delete your files for good.  To use the shortcut, press and hold down your keyboard’s Shift key as you press Delete (or select the Delete command from a right-click drop-down menu).  A confirmation request will pop up. Say yes and-BAM-the file gets permanently deleted into the ether, never to be found on your machine again.

One day a fellow by the name of Michael Scrivo got fed up with having to go through a series of windows to access his Outlook Calendar. Being that people use their calendars to organize their daily lives, he didn’t appreciate the unnecessary number of clicks it took just to access the Outlook calendar.

To address this nuisance, Michael developed a program called “Outlook on the Desktop,” which he now allows people to download and use for free. The program places Microsoft Outlook’s calendaring system right smack dab onto your monitor’s desktop. Your calendar is pinned there (so that no windows can show up behind it) and it stays there “all the time in plain sight so you can always see what’s upcoming.”

The Outlook calendar keeps all its functionality — such as direct editing, drag and drop file capabilities, and switching between calendar, inbox, contacts, and tasks views — and suddenly the task of staying organized takes far less effort.

Michael’s program runs on Windows XP and Vista with Microsoft Outlook 2000 SP3 or higher. Learn more at www.outlookonthedesktop.com.

One day a fellow by the name of Michael Scrivo got fed up with having to go through a series of windows to access his Outlook Calendar. Being that people use their calendars to organize their daily lives, he didn’t appreciate the unnecessary number of clicks it took just to access the Outlook calendar.

To address this nuisance, Michael developed a program called “Outlook on the Desktop,” which he now allows people to download and use for free. The program places Microsoft Outlook’s calendaring system right smack dab onto your monitor’s desktop. Your calendar is pinned there (so that no windows can show up behind it) and it stays there “all the time in plain sight so you can always see what’s upcoming.”

The Outlook calendar keeps all its functionality - such as direct editing, drag and drop file capabilities, and switching between calendar, inbox, contacts, and tasks views - and suddenly the task of staying organized takes far less effort.

Michael’s program runs on Windows XP and Vista with Microsoft Outlook 2000 SP3 or higher. Learn more at www.outlookonthedesktop.com.

Question: Very often when I’m online (using Internet Explorer) my work is interrupted by an insidious message in a square box about 2 x 2”inches or so. “ERROR” is in the upper left corner under which is a large red circle with a white X through it. Under the X is the message: “A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to Debug? Line:12 (although this number varies a great deal) Error: ‘com’ is undefined.” Under this message are two boxes: “Yes” and “No.” This message is very hard to get around. Even after clicking the “NO” button and trying to get away, the message continues to pop up over and over again precluding navigating anywhere else. Do you know what causes this, or how to get rid of it permanently? Thanks so much for your help! — Annieb, Silverthorne Colorado

Answer: Hi there Annieb. Yes, I do know this error; I’ve repeatedly seen it slowly drive people toward madness with its ridiculously annoying tendencies. Thankfully the problem isn’t serious and it’s an easy one to solve.

The error you’re seeing (over and over and over again) is actually an error message that’s intended specifically for web developers who are testing and debugging their sites. And of course, I know of a solution.

To prevent the error from appearing in the future, you’ll need to open Internet Explorer, look up near the top of the page, and then click Tools, then Internet Options, then the Advanced tab. You should now be looking at a long list of options and associated checkboxes. Scroll through these options and make sure the following two are checked:

• Disable script debugging (Internet Explorer)
• Disable script debugging (other)

Then, make sure the option below these two (Display a notification about every script error) is *not* checked.

Last, click OK to close the dialog box and your problem should be solved. Bye-bye, annoying ERROR message.