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Showing posts from June, 2008

Getting the most from your PC

Ever wanted to do more with your PC. Here's a list of software that I think will help you get more use out of your PC - be it for fun or productivity, but mostly fun :) NB: Most of this software is free for personal use only (not for commercial or business use unless you pay for the commercial licence accordingly). Web Browser Firefox Version 2 - although version 3 is already out, Firefox V2 has a lot of useful add-ons that make its functionality a bit more versatile. I am sure V3 updates are not far off though Update: 17/7/2008 - Just tested the add-ons below on Firefox version 3 and it appears that most of them have been updated to work with the new version. The time has come to move (cautiously) to the new version :) . Also available for MAC. Firefox Themes Noia Extreme 2.0 (or above) Firefox Add-Ons Video Download Helper - ever wanted to download that video from YouTube to show your friends or family? This little add-on makes it a breeze to do just that. Pi

AVG Antivirus - Friend or Foe?

Many of us have been hit by a computer virus at some point in time. The solution is simple, stop visiting 'dodgy' websites, stop opening suspicious emails and definitely - invest in a good security program. Now, here is the most common answer I hear when I ask if a user has antivirus protection - "I have AVG antivirus, and it's free". This is all good and I have nothing against getting free stuff, but the question is "How effective is AVG antivirus?" I am all for free and open source products (mind you, not all free software is safe so be mindful of this), but when it comes to PC security is this 'free' software good enough to keep 'nasties' off my PC which may be trying to hack into my banking details or key log my credit card info - is this 'free' software going to do the job well enough to protect me? Based on all the blurb that I have read and user reviews, AVG Free appears to be the best bang for buck antivirus (seeing

Hewlett Packard HP2133 Mini Note Ultraportable Notebook

After months of waiting and putting off the purchase of the Asus EEE PC, the long awaited Hewlett Packard Mini Notebook has arrived at my favourite tech place. At first looks, it is a formidable unit with a nice sturdy shell, unlike my Sony Vaio VGN-TX46GP notebook (which I have nothing against, bar the flimsy feel of the screen - its paper thin). It sports a light gunmetal finish and pretty much feels like a large aluminium cigarette tin. I was initially stumped as to where the on button was but soon found it on the front of the unit (near the headphone jack). With much deliberation, umm'ing, arr'ing and figuring out where I'd whangle the AUD$999 to pay for it, I decided to purchase this little beast to have a play with at my leisure. Upon getting it home, I unpacked the unit and found very little in terms of anything in the box - 1 x HP2133, 1 x battery, 1 x power cord, 1 x power supply, 2 x booklets and some packaging. The front of the unit sports the po

Speed up copying of Large files in Windows Vista

You may have noticed that Vista has a tendency to take time calculating the size of the file when copying. This is caused by a new 'feature' called Auto Tuning which by default is set on by Microsoft. To disable this feature, do the following... 1. Open up a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges 2. Type in ... netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled 3. The prompt should read... OK 4. You may have to restart the PC for the effects to take hold. If this does not solve your problem, the autotuning feature can be re-instated by typing... netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal.