Computer Tips for College Students
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Do I really need a large computer monitor?
- Larger monitors can increase user productivity. Different studies have shown that people performing certain tasks complete the given tasks more quickly on a larger monitor. From personal experience I can firmly say that using a program like Microsoft Outlook on a 22” monitor is significantly more functional than on an older 17” or 19” monitor.
- Newer monitors are brighter and sharper. Over the last several years LCD panel technology has made significant advancements. In addition to being larger, newer generations of LCD monitors are also sharper, brighter and have better resolution which can reduce eye strain from computer use.
- Large monitor prices have decreased substantially. It is now common to find good quality 22” LCD monitors in the $200 price range and some bargains can be found for less than $200. There are a wide range of 23” and 24” monitors currently in the $250 – $325 range. Depending on your needs you can also find larger (how about a nice 30” monitor?) displays and some with additional adjustments for business and professional use at higher price levels.
- Watching movies and videos. As online videos, television programs and movies have become increasingly common on the Internet more people are watching video programming on their computers. Having a larger, brighter display makes this all the more enjoyable.
- Large computer monitors look really cool. Of course, at the end of the list there is the “Coolness Factor.” Aside from being functional and boosting productivity these things look really slick. And if your computing experience dates back to the days of 12” green or amber monochrome monitors like mine does, then you will definitely have an appreciation of the latest generation of large, widescreen computer monitors.
Microsoft Outlook Data Backup Utility
The good news is that Microsoft offers a free data backup utility called Personal Folder Backup that allows you to create a complete backup of your Outlook data and place the backup in the folder of your choice, with a file name of your choice. As an example you can create a folder call “Outlook Backup” inside your “My Documents” folder. Every time you create a back up copy of your Outlook data you can save the file in this clearly labeled folder. Then when you want to back up your Outlook data to an external hard disk drive, DVD or an online data backup service you know exactly where to find it.
The Outlook data backup utility installs a “Backup” selection on the “File Menu” on Outlook’s Menu Bar. But it also gives you a configuration option so that the utility will automatically remind you to make a backup of your Outlook data at an interval that you choose. If you want to make a back up every week set the interval for seven days; if you want to make a back up every month set the interval for thirty days.
Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts
Page Navigation Shortcuts
These shortcuts allow you to navigate quickly around a web page, most with only a single keystroke.- Spacebar — Page down one full screen at a time
- Shift – Spacebar — Page up one full screen at a time
- Down Arrow – Scroll down
- Page Down — Page down one full screen at a time
- Up Arrow – Scroll Up
- Page Up — Page up one full screen at a time
- End – Go to the Bottom (end) of the page
- Home – Go to the Top of page
Pages, Tabs and Bookmarks
These useful shortcuts help you quickly perform different common tasks within Firefox, manage Tabs and access bookmarks.- F5 — Reload the current page
- Alt + Home — Go to home page
- Ctrl + L — Go to the Address bar
- Ctrl + K — Go to the search box
- Ctrl + = — Increase the text size, zoom in
- Ctrl + - — Decrease the text size, zoom out
- Ctrl + P — Print the current page
- Ctrl + H — Opens the Browsing History in a column on the left
- Ctrl + T — Open a new tab
- Ctrl + W — Close current tab
- Ctrl + Tab — rotate forward to the next tab
- Ctrl + Shft + Tab — rotate back to the previous tab
- Ctrl + 1-9 — Choose a number to jump to that specific tab
- Ctrl + B — Open Bookmarks Column on Left
- Ctrl + I — Close Bookmarks Column
- Ctrl + D – Create a bookmark for the current page
Mouse Shortcuts
Here are six mouse-related shortcuts for when you already have your hand on the mouse. These shortcuts include the scroll wheel and utilize the clicking function (middle click) of the scroll wheel.- Shift – scroll down – Go to the previous page
- Shift – scroll up – Go to the next page
- Ctrl – scroll up — Decrease the text size, zoom out
- Ctrl – scroll down — Increase text size, zoom in
- Middle click on link — Open the link in a new tab
- Middle click on a tab — Close the tab
What is a Netbook Computer?
The Net book computer has captured many people’s interest for two main reasons – size and price. Based on size and weight a Netbook fits somewhere in between the smartphone and the laptop computer. Key factors that differentiate a Netbook computer from other portable computers are:
Size — Most Netbook computers have a screen size between 7” and 10” measured diagonally. They are larger than a smartphone, which have screens not much bigger than 3” diagonally, and smaller than a laptop computer which range between 12” and 17”.
Price – Netbook computer prices range from $250 to $800 with an average price in the $350 range. This price can increase if you add an external CD/DVD drive
or a larger, extended life battery. Most Netbooks come with 1GB of RAM. Upgrading to 2GB if needed will also add to the cost.
Weight – The other aspect of a Netbook computer being “smaller” is weight. Most Netbooks weigh in at around 2.5 pounds. A smaller screen means a lighter screen and a smaller and lighter battery to power the smaller screen. The weight of most Netbooks falls in the 2 – 3 pounds range however adding a larger, extended life battery can add as much as half a pound to the overall weight.
CPU or Computing Power – Most Net book computers use a CPU from the Intel Atom CPU line. These “brains” are less powerful than the Intel P4, Core, or Core 2 CPUs or the AMD CPUs that are in most laptop computers. While these CPUs provide less computing power they also require much less electrical power resulting in smaller, lighter weight batteries and cooler running Netbooks. UPDATE: Intel released its latest versions of the Atom CPU in early 2010. Be sure to check out the post on “New Intel Processor for Netbook Computers”
Optical Storage (CD/DVD) – Internal CD or DVD drives are not included in a netbook computer. External drives can be connected through USB ports for loading software or transferring data to another computer. External optical drives are not included in the base cost of most Netbook computers.
Based on current technology a Netbook computer is an ultraportable computer:
- typically weighing 2.5 pounds Netbook Computer
- having a screen size between 7” and 10”
- including a wireless networking adapter (g/n) Netbook Computer
- having no internal optical (CD or DVD) drive
- typically running Windows XP Home
- utilizing a lower powered CPU such as the Intel Atom CPU.
The Net book computer has captured many people’s interest for two main reasons – size and price. Based on size and weight a Netbook fits somewhere in between the smartphone and the laptop computer. Key factors that differentiate a Netbook computer from other portable computers are:
Size — Most Netbook computers have a screen size between 7” and 10” measured diagonally. They are larger than a smartphone, which have screens not much bigger than 3” diagonally, and smaller than a laptop computer which range between 12” and 17”.
Price – Netbook computer prices range from $250 to $800 with an average price in the $350 range. This price can increase if you add an external CD/DVD drive
Weight – The other aspect of a Netbook computer being “smaller” is weight. Most Netbooks weigh in at around 2.5 pounds. A smaller screen means a lighter screen and a smaller and lighter battery to power the smaller screen. The weight of most Netbooks falls in the 2 – 3 pounds range however adding a larger, extended life battery can add as much as half a pound to the overall weight.
CPU or Computing Power – Most Net book computers use a CPU from the Intel Atom CPU line. These “brains” are less powerful than the Intel P4, Core, or Core 2 CPUs or the AMD CPUs that are in most laptop computers. While these CPUs provide less computing power they also require much less electrical power resulting in smaller, lighter weight batteries and cooler running Netbooks. UPDATE: Intel released its latest versions of the Atom CPU in early 2010. Be sure to check out the post on “New Intel Processor for Netbook Computers”
Optical Storage (CD/DVD) – Internal CD or DVD drives are not included in a netbook computer. External drives can be connected through USB ports for loading software or transferring data to another computer. External optical drives are not included in the base cost of most Netbook computers.
Mass Storage (hard disk drive) – Netbooks offer either a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) that have a capacity between 60 GB and 160 GB, or lower capacity solid state drives (SSD) with capacities ranging from 16 GB to 64 GB of flash memory.
Why a Five Year Old Computer Is Slower Than a New Computer
Deferred Computer Maintenance
Some of the declining performance in a five year old computer may be maintenance related. Over time “junk” (a technical term) builds up on a computer and is not easy to remove. As programs are installed and uninstalled, files are added, modified and deleted, and email data is added, modified and deleted, pieces of programs and data can be left behind. Old, unused programs and numerous Windows “temp” files can also be scattered around the computer. After five years the amount of the most difficult to remove junk can become significant and out of the reach of PC maintenance utilities..Reinstalling Windows
One option is to perform what is known as a “clean install” of Windows. In this process you back up all your data and hardware drivers, reformat your hard disk drive, completely re-installed Windows, install all necessary Windows updates and Service Packs, re-install all your software and then transfer your data back on to the computer. This normally requires from 3 to 5 hours and can take potentially longer if you don’t have all the drivers and software. This will wipe out any built up “junk” on the system. But you will still have the same old hardware (CPU, RAM, memory bus, graphics processor, etc).Computer Component Upgrades
Another way of addressing the performance challenges of a five year old computer is to upgrade some of the components with newer, faster ones. This could cost $100 – $300 or more. However, many of the basic system components such as the CPU speed, RAM speed and memory bus speed cannot be modified. While partial solutions such as increasing RAM from 512MB to 2 GB can make a performance difference, the upgrade will have limited impact in a five year old computer. Hardware upgrades on a system this old may be a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Some of these items were addressed in my earlier tech tip Ten Downsides of An Aging Computer.Computer Components That Impact Performance
There are a number of different hardware components in a computer that impact the overall perceived “speed” of the system. Here is a more detailed look at some of these components.- Slower CPU – let’s start with the brains of the computer. Current mid-range CPUs such as an Intel Core2 Duo will have roughly 20 times the processing power as the Pentium 4 that was common five years ago.
- Too little memory (RAM) – five years ago it was not uncommon to have computers with only 256MB or 512MB of RAM installed. Today most computers are sold with at least 2GB of RAM and some have as much as 6GB or even 8GB.
- Slower Memory Speed – like so many other components RAM has a rated speed for how fast data can be written to and read from the RAM modules. This speed has more than doubled in the last five years.
- Slower memory bus – the memory bus is the communications channel that the computer CPU uses to talk to RAM (memory) and other system components. Current mid-range computers use a memory bus speed that is at least twice as fast as what was common in computers made five years ago.
- Slower hard disk drive – Both the speed and capacity of hard disk drives has increased since that five year old computer was built. Using higher rotational speeds, data caching and newer technologies for higher data density, current hard disk drives offer significant performance benefits over most drives that were installed in computers five years ago.
- Older USB v.1.0 ports – USB or Universal Serial Bus ports are used to connect most peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, external backup drives, keyboards and mice to computers. Some computers made five years ago used the older USB 1.1 standard for these ports instead of the current USB 2.0 standard. The current USB 2.0 ports transfer data over 30 times faster than the older USB 1.1 ports.
- Slower graphics and video processor – Computers use a separate processor for handling most graphical data including photos, web pages, and video. Older computers have graphics processors that were significantly less powerful than current technologies.
Top 20 Easy Steps to Keeping Your Windows Computer Running Its Best
1. Security Software — Use Antivirus and Internet Firewall s
oftware. Using an Internet Security Suite is the most effective solution.
2. Expiration of Security Software – Do not let your security software get out of date or let your subscription lapse. Most security software is based on an annual subscription basis. If your subscription runs out you are not protected against new viruses, spyware, Trojans, etc.
3. Multiple Antivirus Programs — Never run more than one antivirus program, firewall program, or internet security suite. They will conflict and cause a number of problems and effect system stability.
4. Regular Virus Scans — Run a full system scan for viruses and spyware every week. Most software can be configured to do this automatically. If you are experiencing unusual pop ups or browser windows opening, or believe that activities are running on your computer even when you do not have any programs open, it might be good to run a full manual scan.
5. Windows Updates – Install updates for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office as they become available from Microsoft.
6. Defragmenting – For optimum performance your hard disk drive should be defragmented every month or two. Not as necessary with computers running Windows Vista as this is done automatically in the background.
7. Cleaning — Desktop computer vents should be checked for dust periodically. If the vents are clogged with dust or pet hair the computer may run significantly hotter which can damage the system. Check both front and back vents. Clean with a vacuum if dusty, but turn the computer off first.
8. Recyle Bin – Empty the recylce bin on a weekly basis, if not more frequently. Deleted files are not permanently erased until the Recyle Bin is emptied.
9. Spam Filtering — Use a Spam filter for all incoming email and check periodically to make sure that the filtering is set to the correct level – not too low.
10. Attached Files in Spam — Do not open email or email attachments unless you know who they are from. Not all spam filters are perfect and some junk will get through. Never download an attached file from an email that you weren’t expecting to receive.
11. “Unsubscribe” in Spam — Never click on “Unsubscribe” on an email that you suspect to be spam or junk mail. This will just tell spammers that your email address is active and you will likely end up getting more junk mail.
12. Exe Attachments – Never click on an email attachment with an .exe file extension such as “myfile.exe”. These are program files and clicking on them will begin running a program that could be nasty.
13. Browser Toolbars — If you add a toolbar to your browser only use one. Multiple Toolbars can slow your browsing and add duplicate functionality.
14. Pop Ups – Never respond to an unwanted pop-up by clicking “OK.” If you don’t know where it came from, you don’t know where it will take you or what “OK” actually means.
oftware. Using an Internet Security Suite is the most effective solution.
2. Expiration of Security Software – Do not let your security software get out of date or let your subscription lapse. Most security software is based on an annual subscription basis. If your subscription runs out you are not protected against new viruses, spyware, Trojans, etc.
3. Multiple Antivirus Programs — Never run more than one antivirus program, firewall program, or internet security suite. They will conflict and cause a number of problems and effect system stability.
4. Regular Virus Scans — Run a full system scan for viruses and spyware every week. Most software can be configured to do this automatically. If you are experiencing unusual pop ups or browser windows opening, or believe that activities are running on your computer even when you do not have any programs open, it might be good to run a full manual scan.
5. Windows Updates – Install updates for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office as they become available from Microsoft.
6. Defragmenting – For optimum performance your hard disk drive should be defragmented every month or two. Not as necessary with computers running Windows Vista as this is done automatically in the background.
7. Cleaning — Desktop computer vents should be checked for dust periodically. If the vents are clogged with dust or pet hair the computer may run significantly hotter which can damage the system. Check both front and back vents. Clean with a vacuum if dusty, but turn the computer off first.
8. Recyle Bin – Empty the recylce bin on a weekly basis, if not more frequently. Deleted files are not permanently erased until the Recyle Bin is emptied.
9. Spam Filtering — Use a Spam filter for all incoming email and check periodically to make sure that the filtering is set to the correct level – not too low.
10. Attached Files in Spam — Do not open email or email attachments unless you know who they are from. Not all spam filters are perfect and some junk will get through. Never download an attached file from an email that you weren’t expecting to receive.
11. “Unsubscribe” in Spam — Never click on “Unsubscribe” on an email that you suspect to be spam or junk mail. This will just tell spammers that your email address is active and you will likely end up getting more junk mail.
12. Exe Attachments – Never click on an email attachment with an .exe file extension such as “myfile.exe”. These are program files and clicking on them will begin running a program that could be nasty.
13. Browser Toolbars — If you add a toolbar to your browser only use one. Multiple Toolbars can slow your browsing and add duplicate functionality.
14. Pop Ups – Never respond to an unwanted pop-up by clicking “OK.” If you don’t know where it came from, you don’t know where it will take you or what “OK” actually means.
15. Spam Links — Never click on a link within a suspected spam email – just delete the message immediately.
16. Pop Up Blockers — Do not download, or install Pop-Up blocker programs. Both Internet Explorer and Firefox provide this capability so additional software is unnecessary.
17. “Free” Programs – This can get a bit tricky in defining what is “safe” and not. Try to only download and install “free” programs from well-known publishers and manufacturers and trusted sites such a www.download.com and www.tucows.com.
18. Be Diligent — Keep all components (software programs, browsers, security software, Windows, hardware drivers) up to date.
19. Data Backup – Be sure to back up your data regularly & make sure you are backing up all of your important files.
20. Verify Your Backup – Check your backed up files periodically to make sure all data is actually getting backed up.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)