iomega 1TB external hard drive: $89

This just came across my wire...one TB iomega external hard drive for $89. An external hard drive is an important investment for your home setup. It's a place to keep all those extra photo and music files, not to mention it's ALWAYS important to have a place to backup your hard drive. I actually recommend keeping two externals, so you have double protection. Anyway, this is a great deal from CompUSA.

Kim Komando: Queen of Everything Tech

One of the first tech blogs I ever subscribed to was Kim Komando. She's got her pulse on all things tech, and her information is great for everyone, from the most basic user to sophisticated techies. She also has a HUGE inventory of free software downloads, tips and tricks, and informational articles. Check it out: http://kimkomando.com

My Favorite Solitaire Program

Everyone loves Solitaire games, right? Need something to do while you're talking to your loquacious sister? Or to pass the time while on hold with customer service? Yup, that's when I pull up Good Solitaire. This program is amazing...it currently has 710 games on it, along with instructions and tips. You can get a free trial, but the program itself only costs around $25 and in my opinion it's money well spent.

I am not affiliated with this company, and I'm not getting anything for sending folks to their site. I just really love these games, and I think the application is well written. If you like card games, check it out.

How to Fix Anything. Really.

I'm going to give away my biggest secret, my most valuable tool in any aspect of my business or home life. It's the internet. Yup. You heard me.

If you have a problem and need to know how to fix it, chances are, somewhere in the world, someone else has had the same problem, asked the same question. And yet another someone has the answer. The internet has grown so big that out of the millions of people that probably know the answer, at least several have taken the time to put it online.

For example, when I moved into this old house, I had to re-wire the plug on my dryer. Hey--I'm a computer geek, not an electrician! What do I know from red and white wires? But someone out there knew--at least two someones. (If I'm playing with electricity, darn right I'm going to make sure I find two sources with the same answer.) So I just googled "3 prong to 4 prong dryer plug" and I got pages and pages of answers!

It used to be that you had to be pretty tricky with your keywords, but these days you can literally ask a question in the search box. Sometimes you get answers from forums, where someone else asked literally the same question. Other times you get referred to "expert" sites for whatever. Trust me; it works! Try it out! Here are some fun queries to play with:

Can I buy sunglasses for my dog
How to replace a roof
How to make an origami dragon
Can I recycle tennis shoes
Weird google searches
What's the silliest thing you've ever done

And an especially fun search (trust me)--enter "find chuck norris" and then click on "I'm feeling lucky"

Have fun!

Free books? You're kidding!

This morning my in-box contained an email titled "Awesome list of free math books". I'm not that excited about math textbooks, but I took a look at the link and found E-Books Directory, a site that has compiled links to free e-books available online. And not just math texts! According to the site, they currently have 1567 books available right now, in 386 categories. The categories range from "Arts and Photography" to "Travel", with both fiction and non-fiction, even children's books in-between. Cool site--check it out!

What the heck is a registry, and why should I clean it?

So what the heck is a registry?

One of my first tasks when I do a tuneup for a client is to use a registry cleaning utility. It's one of the important steps in improving PC performance, and I always get asked: what is the registry, and why do you have to clean it?

The registry is a dynamic database that stores options and settings for Microsoft Windows. It keeps information about profiles for each user, computer memory, startup programs, hardware settings, system options, and much more. It also stores information about every software application, including the manufacturer, settings, add-ons, tweaks, etc.

How does it get cluttered?
As a user is working, information is continuously accessed, added and removed from the registry. Over time, the registry can become very large and filled with unwanted information, causing it to become unstable. Most of the clutter is the result of keys that are left behind when a program is uninstalled, duplicate entries when programs are updated or reinstalled, and malicious keys added by malware (viruses, trojans, spyware, etc).

Okay, so how do I clean it?
The best way to clean registry entries is to use a good utility program. It's not a good idea to try editing the registry yourself, unless you're an uber-techie, in which case, you probably aren't reading this entry, because you already know everything I have to say!

That said, there are several really good programs out there, some free, some not. Here are a few programs to look into:

RegCleaner An open source, free application
Wise Disk Cleaner Wise Disk Cleaner, with its intuitive and easy to use interface, helps you quickly wipe out all the junk files. Using the program is indeed easy. It also works fast when both scanning for files and deleting files. There's an annoying nag screen, but overall this program is very easy to use.
TweakNow RegCleaner Though most average users would be just as well served by the free version of this utility, TweakNow RegCleaner Professional offers a few extra features that will help keep your PC clean as a whistle.