by Matthew on January 2, 2010
When you install software on your Windows computer it is common for those programs to set themselves to automatically run when your computer starts up. Over time a collection of these programs starts to slow down your computer as more and more memory is used for each additional program loaded at boot. In a lot of cases all these extra programs are not required when you start up your computer as chances are you are not going to be using every piece of software you have ever installed every time your computer is switched on. Luckily there is an easy way to prevent some of these programs from loading up when booting your PC by using a program called msconfig.exe.
Msconfig.exe comes installed with most versions of Windows and allows you to control exactly what is run when booting your PC. To access the program click start (or the Windows button for Windows 7 users) then click run (if on XP) or if on Windows 7 type in msconfig.exe in to the search programs and files box and hit enter. Once done you will be presented with the System Configuration program shown below. Once loaded up select the Startup tab.
Here you see a list of programs currently selected to load up when booting my own PC. Out of the visible list above I personally can remove Adobe Acrobat, Adobe CS4 Service Manager and Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Having these run at boot is not essential for my PC and thus, is wasting valuable memory that could be put to better use elsewhere. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on January 1, 2010
Google Docs is a free set of online tools from Google that allows you to work with spreadsheets online as well as documents, presentations and forms. This tutorial provides a step by step way that you can upload a Spreadsheet created in Excel to work with it online in Google Docs and perhaps even share the spreadsheet with friends so you can collaborate together on the data within.
How to Upload a Spreadsheet to Google Docs
Visit the Google docs site and log in with your Google username and password. If you do not have a username and password for Google then click on the Get Started button towards the bottom of the login box and follow the on-screen instructions. Registration is a fairly straight forward process requiring you to enter your email address, or create a GMail account and then give it a password and some basic information.
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by Matthew on December 7, 2009
Recently, Google announced a new protocol called SPDY that is designed to get information to your browser quicker when downloading a web page. As well as introducing SPDY, Google have also launched the Google Public DNS that aims to speed up the time it takes to resolve a web address to an IP address.
A quick run down of what that means… When you type in the name of a website in the browser, such as www.techasis.com, a DNS is queried and the name is translated in to an IP address. DNS can be looked at as a phone book as each domain name has an IP address assigned. Each time a domain name is used in your browser it ads a little bit of time to a page load. By using Google Public DNS servers, their aim is to lessen that time to give a better user experience. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on October 30, 2009
If you are a user of Twitter then you probably have noticed the the above image at the top of your Twitter home page. Twitter lists were created to help you cut down the noise of Twitter by creating and adding yourself to specific conversation groups. For example, for this site I have created a list called PC-Tech-Sites that can be found by clicking on that link. When visiting Twitter I might only want to look at what other pc tech sites have to say and if that is the case I simply load up my pc-tech-sites list. I could also add a “GadgetVenue” staff list where writers connect. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on September 22, 2009
Microsoft Office 2010 is not too far away now. One of the big features touted is the Office Web Apps application which allows you to use online version of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote. A technical preview was just started, but due to demand it was already closed with those showing interest being able to register over on the Office 2010 beta site.
Most features on the beta test web app work except a few quirks such as being unable to edit in Word. Excel and Powerpoint have a few features missing too. OneNote is not yet ready for preview on the test site. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on September 22, 2009
Google have announced that Google Docs documents will now be spidered by Google “if” they are published. What this means is that if you have published any of your documents as a webpage then google will spider them and allow them to be searched. The announcement has frustrated a number of people who don’t want their documents being put in to search results. Google have provided a way to stop this from happening with details quoted below.
The basic rule is that you should NOT publish a document if you don’t want it appearing in search results. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on September 22, 2009
Skype recently became the number 1 IM application. It is installed on 17% of computers according to data released by performance network.
Since many MSN Messenger ‘users’ may not even be aware the application is running – several Microsoft products have been known to set up Messenger automatically as part of their overall installation processes – Skype’s gains are even more remarkable as it typically requires that the user make a conscious choice to seek out and install the program.
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by Matthew on September 22, 2009
We have heard over at TG Daily that Windows 7 for netbooks won’t be crippled. There have been worries in the last few months that certain functions would be sucked out as well as a limitation on how many applications could be loaded.
The reason for the functions being sucked out was due to pricing. Netbooks tend to be cheaper devices and if a good pricing arrangement couldn’t have been worked out then either the netbook would go up in price, or to get the price lower, various functions would be removed. I guess they came to some agreement but as of yet, I have no clue what that is. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on September 17, 2009
If you plan to get a serious amount of storage for your PC and have a ton of cash to spend then check out the Super Talent 2TB SSD (solid state drive) that has been launched. Having 2TB of capacity makes it the largest SSD in the world. The drive is named the RAIDDrive GS and the 1TB model costs $4,999. It is unknown at the moment what the 2TB model will cost, but as the 1TB version is already $5K, don’t expect it to be cheap.
The Super Talent RAIDDrive supports sequential read speeds of 1.4GB/s with write speeds at a slightly lower 1.20GB/s. As the name suggests, the RAIDDrive works with flash chips in a RAID mode that allows the speed to be boosted. Also a 1GB DRAM cache helps speed things up too. [click to continue…]
by Matthew on September 16, 2009
Google Labs have unveiled a new service named Google Fast Flip. It is designed to enhance the online news reading experience by putting the information on the screen in a more traditional format. When searching for a subject a number of pages relating to the search are loaded up and Fast Flip lets you scroll sideways through them.
By showing a number of news pages on screen, it allows you to “thumb” through the news in a closer way to how you would if reading a news paper. [click to continue…]
