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March 13th, 2006 - Newsletter by Jerrold Schiff
INDEX of Articles
1) Don't Panic [ That's what I am here for !]
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2) Free and useful programs
3) Web site of the day
4) File sharing. File downloading. Music
5) Maintenance, backups, updates - IT IS TIME!
6) High Speed connection for slightly more than
the price of Dial up? Or in some cases LESS!
7) Buying a new laptop / pc ?
Fears of VISTA (the NEXT Windows Operating System AFTER XP?)
8) Orlando Sentinel - "The Last Resort"
My name in print (bad news is good publicity?)
1) Don't Panic [ That's what I am here for !]
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How to handle computer problems
a) Stare at the screen [ It will calm you down.
Figure out the next step ]
b) Write down the EXACT message
- if the screen is Black with White lettering
it may be a hardware problem. But caused by....?
- if its a Blue screen with White lettering
BSOD - the Blue Screen of Death
These are treated very very seriously!
write the message on the second line
(ie "unsupported_boot_disk")
write the numbers (ie 0x0000033)
AND CALL ME IMMEDIATELY
You'll need to shut down the computer
by pressing and holding the ON OFF button.
- if the message is over top of your desktop (normal screen)
- if its in a Blue Box (terminology "dialogue box")
- write down what it WANTS you to do (DON'T Do It!)
- is there an X upper right?
- if not, select TASK MANAGER and Stop the process
c) write down WHAT you were doing at the time.
(internet explorer, email program like outlook, instant messaging etc)
write down WHAT programs you last installed on your computer
(adding a game, updating windows etc)
d) Depending on just how serious the error may be....
And you'll love this answer....
Shut down the computer, reboot it, start it back up again,
and the message MAY have gone away.
Sadly, if the message relates to a virus, this advice
could actually make things worse (it finishes installing
the virus and wipes out important files).
The other option is to press and hold the ON OFF button
and force the computer to shut down.
You will, of course, lose any data and changes (say you
have a word processing program open or you're in the middle
of an email).
e) Call me.
If you can give me all the info above,
I may recognize the problem and give the best advice.
[ ie: can I fix it over the phone or need to be in
front of the computer to try a few tricks ]
f) The very last thing to do is take a hammer to the computer.
While that may be on my LOGO - Don't do it !
Besides, the parts within a computer are saleable.
And I do have a service to help you select a new computer,
and help with the pre-install (removing free demo garbage).
2) Free and usefull programs
Source: MaximumPC
WinDirStat - paints a picture of disk usage (and large files!)
http://windirstat.sourceforge.net/
Not reviewed:
www.slysoft.com ANYDVD $40 (30 day demo is free)
Haven't tried this one - but it says it can let you watch movies
or make copies bypassing the "copy protection". Hmmmm...
3) Web site of the day:
http://www.madehow.com
This is a great web site
For old and ESPECIALLY YOUNG (How are Marshmallows made? etc)
4) File sharing. File downloading. Music.
Yes, it's still illegal and immoral
I'm just reporting on the TRENDS.
a) Highly recommend that you stop using Bearshare, Kazaalite or
any other file sharing program.
Why?
Well, they download the WHOLE program / file.
Two reasons:
1) If the other guys computer is turned off,
you lose your download BEFORE it is finished.
2) Its fraught with corrupt files, viruses and porn.
As more and more downloads are mislabeled or
"changed out" (rename porn.exe to babypictures.jpg
and when you open what you THINK is harmless,
guess what you get !)
b) Newest method: TORRENTS
A "Torrent" uses the "forest is made up of little trees" approach.
Take a 500 megabyte program.
If you split it into 500 parts - you can have ANY of those parts
on ANY computer in the world.
TORRENTS - each individual part - is downloaded to your computer.
And then "put back together" to make up the entire file.
THEN - you can use it (Scan for viruses, run the program, watch
the movie, listen to the music etc).
Of course, using TORRENTS has a heavy learning curve,
not for the faint of heart...
But for the patient person, this is the best approach
(safer, albeit more time consuming)
I've created a "learning class" complete with installing the
free software. Two hour class - for the price of one hour. $60
5) Maintenance, backups, updates - IT IS TIME!
Its time again to ask yourself:
What will you do if your computer dies a miserable death?
Have you backed up your hard drive?
Got all your pictures, emails, documents and financials
on a CD or other backup media?
Is your computer getting slower?
(Duh, that IS how Microsoft works you know?)
- You clean your oil and air filter - have you cleaned your computer?
Got the latest updates from Microsoft?
If you need help -
YOU KNOW WHO TO CALL !
AND guess what?
Because this is SOOOO long, mundane and boring
I'll give you a special rate:
Four hours for the price of TWO hours ($120).
Yes, it really takes that long!
I know - I pamper my computer - change its diaper once a week!
(this analogy has been cleaned up)
6) High Speed connection for slightly more than
the price of Dial up? Or in some cases LESS!
Got Dial up?
Who is your local phone carrier?
If its SPRINT - call Alex Del La Rosa
407-830-3646
AND MENTION I SENT YOU!
Alex is a Sprint Sales Agent and will answer all your questions (With permission, he can look at your billing and save you even more money).
CALL ME - and I can help you install the SPRINT High Speed Internet Connection. That includes backing up your files, preparing your computer, AND BEST OF ALL? Getting you online so that you FINALLY get all of MICROSOFT updates - and Service Pack 2 (finally, the protection YOU NEED)
As always,
if there are any questions:
The first 5 minutes are free !
7) Buying a new laptop / pc ?
Fears of VISTA (the NEXT Windows Operating System AFTER XP?)
VISTA is not out YET (except in testing mode). The FEAR is that, to get it to work on your computer, you will need to upgrade the CPU (processing power) and the hard drive (disk space)
If there is ANY advice - that may be considered worthwhile
down the road (a year, two years out)....
Look to DUAL CORE processing
- TWO CPU chips are better than one.
- especially for watching movies or playing online games
More memory is better (bet you've heard that one before). Currently 512 megabytes of RAM is "required". Double it to a gigabyte (1024 - but call it a GIG). Can't go wrong. But, guess what, its still expensive
DISK SPACE - Gee. This is the only item that hasn't changed! Certainly, most computers come with 80 gigs of disk space. Heck, I've seen desktops with over 120 or 200 gigs! But guess what? You don't need more than 20 for your pictures etc. Sure, VISTA will take up a lot of space. But at this time I wouldn't worry about running out of disk space!
8) Orlando Sentinel - "The Last Resort"
My name in print (bad news is good publicity?)
Google (www.google.com) Orlando Sentinel Jerrold Schiff
or click on:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/lifestyle/orl-dawson1006mar10,0,7892176.column?coll=orl-home-lifestyle
[ The article is ABOVE my name "Jerrold Schiff - Apopka"
I would have put a LINE to separate the letters and answers!]
