Part 1: Type Text without Pesky Touchpad Interference
Don’t you hate it when you’re typing and your hand accidentally brushes the touchpad, moving your cursor to another (and often unknown) spot on the page? Here’s a trick that lets you disable your laptop touchpad for uninterrupted typing.
TouchpadPal 1.3 by DeSofto is a free utility that disables your touchpad when you’re typing and works with Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Worth a try! Click here to download TouchpadPal 1.3 for free.
Part 2: Fast Track to Windows 7 Program Search
There’s a little-known way to open applications in Windows 7 without having to hunt for the programs in your start menu or on your computer. This can be done by hitting the windows key, followed by the first 2 or 3 letters of the program, followed by enter. This lets Windows 7 do all the search work and frees you from reaching for the mouse pad. Not having to take your hands off the keyboard to open another program saves time.
Those of you who want more control over your music streamed online should check out Spotify.
Described as a cloud-based, free version of iTunes, Spotify is an online music-streaming service that offers selected music from a 15 million track catalog and lets you build your own playlists with any songs you want. Extremely user friendly, Spotify immediately syncs with online copies of your iTunes collection at first boot up and allows you to post music links to your Facebook wall and via twitter.
Unlike Pandora, which offers “stations” of your choosing, Spotify focuses on streaming individual songs, playlists and albums. It offers a search engine for you to enter your desired genre.
You get the occasional ad with the free version. The Unlimited package for $4.99 per month eliminates all ads, and the Premium $9.99 per month package gives superior audio quality, lets you hear albums before they’re released and will cache songs for offline playback on your computer, smart phone or other device.
Take a look at Spotify.com.
Word on the street is that users of Samsung’s newest phone, the Galaxy Nexus, are experiencing the best Android experience ever. Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, has breathed new life into an already lively platform.
Galaxy Nexus’s highlighted features include:
• Face Unlock (lets you unlock your phone just by looking at it)
• Easy-to-read data usage (limits on data usage; instant access to current usage)
• A panoramic camera
• Ability to have multiple web pages open at once
• Improvements to auto –correction and touch recognition
• Voice dictation of emails and texts
While not necessarily better than the iPhone as a whole, the Galaxy Nexus does have a faster camera with higher resolution, as well as more RAM, than the iPhone. And don’t let its colossal screen fool you – the phone is wide but lighter and thinner than the iPhone.
Check out Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus at Google.com/Nexus.
If your computer is running slowly or it’s getting a lot of pop-ups, it may be infected with a virus, spyware or malware, and your immediate attention to this is crucial.
When those of us at DCG are asked to work on an infected PC, we deploy these tools in the following order: Malwarebytes, followed by CCleaner, and finally Combofix.Here’s how they work:
Malwarebytes: This fairly fast malware remover takes about eight minutes to scan your computer and can determine the difference between truly dangerous applications and those that don’t pose a threat. Find Malwarebytes at Malwarebytes.org.
CCleaner: This utility for computers running Microsoft Windows cleans out the “junk” that accumulates over time and could cause potential problems. It protects the privacy of the computer’s user by cleaning browsing history and temporary internet files and cleans unneeded files from various programs. This in turn saves hard disk space, removes unneeded entries in the Windows Registry, and helps to uninstall software. Download CCleaner at Piriform.com.
Combofix: This was designed to scan a computer for known malware and spyware and remove them. After Combofix finishes, it creates a report that can be used to search and remove infections which are not automatically removed in the process. Get Combofix at Combofix.org.
These tools are free and a must-have when cleaning up your computer’s hard drive.
Got a new Kindle for Christmas? Be sure to take advantage of Amazon’s new Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.
Amazon Prime members now have free access to over 5,000 Kindle e-book titles from 11,000 U.S. libraries. Using Amazon’s Whispersync wireless network, members can borrow one book per month by going to the “Kindle Owners’ Lending Library” section of the Kindle Store on their Kindle device. Books that are available to be borrowed have a Prime badge next to them and also appear when browsing the Kindle Store. Borrowed books can be downloaded to any Kindle device connected to your Amazon account (but not to any smartphone or PC apps).
Highlights, notes and bookmarks can be used in borrowed books – they will be stripped when the loan expires, but will be saved to your Amazon’s account should you ever borrow the book again. When the loan on your current book is about to expire, Amazon prompts you to return the book and select a new one.sdfdgdfgdfdf
Participating libraries can be found by searching OverDrive, a full-service digital distributor of digital content.
Make sure you don’t cancel your Prime membership – all access to any borrowed books on your Kindle will be lost.
Go to Amazon to learn more.
Finding the iPad’s price tag too hefty? Check out the Kindle Fire, a viable alternative to the iPad at a fraction of the cost.
Priced at a mere $199, Amazon’s addition to the tablet market is getting some rave reviews and ranks high on a lot of wish lists. The Fire performs many of the iPad’s functions, though on a smaller scale (less memory, shorter battery life, physically smaller, etc.). Built with a 7″ screen, it has access to with roughly 8,500 apps and links seamlessly with Amazon’s book services and digital music, video, and magazine collection.
The iPad has larger screen, camera, microphone, calendar, maps, GPS and built-in cellular connectivity – none of which is found on the Fire (which is Wi-Fi only). But for those who simply want to check their email, browse the Internet, play games and read books and magazines, the Fire is an excellent, cost-friendly option. Visit www.amazon.com/KindleFire for more information.
It’s a New Year, so who’s NOT thinking about taking off a few pounds after the holidays! Tim Ferriss’s 4-Hour Body book is a bit thick and intimidating in size (550 pages), but it contains in the first 150 pages, a very easy to follow weight loss plan — that even I was able to follow! I started the diet in March and, by July, I had lost 30 lbs. Quite a few people who know me have asked me about the diet, so I have decided to put together a “do – don’t do” list that will help others get started. If you decide to go for it, I hope you will let me know how it’s going, or if you get “stuck”, email me – I’d be glad to help you out.
Number one on the list below is Tim’s rule that you need to eat within 30 minutes of waking up. Tim goes into more detail on page 95 of his book in the section titled “Mistake #1: NOT EATING WITHIN ONE HOUR OF WAKING, PREFERABLY WITHIN 30 MINUTES – so you will want to check that out. I am just not a “traditional breakfast” eater (2-3 whole eggs required), so I go with specially formulated (made with cold filtered whey protein isolate from grass fed cows – no dairy) chocolate or vanilla shakes (30 grams powder mixed with ice and water) – very fast, and very easy. Supermarket and GNC protein powders won’t work because they use dairy-based protein. Get the right protein here: EnergyFirst Protein Powder.
Tim recommends a pretty complicated vitamin regiment – he calls this the “Four Horseman of Fat-Loss: PAGG.” Don’t even try to decipher all the different supplements and dosages to make up the PAGG stack. Just order yours here: Order your PAGG stack from Amazon.
If you can’t commit to measuring and recording your progress once per week, don’t bother doing the diet — really. Some weeks, you will lose pounds, other weeks you will lose inches or body fat. If you are not measuring, you will become unmotivated and quit. You need to record your weight, neck, arm, waist, leg, and body fat measurements each week on the same day and time. Doing so creates a “game worth playing” and increases the certainty that you will succeed. This is a hassle without the right tools, so get these: Caliper & Tape Measure from Amazon.
Don’ts
- Don’t skip breakfast.
- Don’t exercise too much – it really won’t help. (20 min per week is ok)
- Don’t drink any soda – diet or otherwise.
- Don’t eat anything white – no rice, no potatoes, no bread.
- Don’t eat any dairy - except on your cheat day.
- Don’t eat fruit – except on your cheat day.
- Don’t try to restrict portions or calories.
- Don’t drink beer, white wine, or spirits – except on your cheat day.
Do’s
- Do cheat one day per week – really! You can eat anything/any quantity you want and the cheat day serves as an important metabolic reset.
- Do record your weight, measurements, and body fat every Saturday morning.
- Do eat all the salads and vegetables you want.
- Do drink lots of water – especially on your cheat day.
- Do eat at least 20 grams of protein per meal.
- Do drink unsweetened Ice Tea and Coffee, and of course, water.
- Do add cinnamon to coffee – but no cream, sugar or sweetener.
- Do Eat out at Chipotle for lunch – no rice, double beans – the perfect 4HB meal!
- Do eat beans/lentles/legumes with every meal.
- Do drink red wine – it’s permitted on the diet!
Remember, you are not eating carbs anymore, except the “slow carbs” contained in beans/lentils/legumes; so you may need to eat larger portions than you are used to. If you feel like sneaking while on this diet, you are doing something wrong — most likely, you are not eating enough food. Tim says, “Expect to eat two to three times as much volume, and assume you should (p.88).” Finally, it is worth repeating, failure to drink water inhibits weight loss; so drink more than you are used to, especially on your cheat day.
Good luck, and I hope you will create a response to this post if I left something off that you think will help the rest of us!
Brent’s Stats:
| Before 4HB diet Weight: 190 lbs Body Fat: 31.4% Waist: 39.625 inches |
After 4HB diet Weight: 157 lbs Body Fat: 12.1% Waist 32 inches |
Network firewalls and antivirus software are staples of any business place. But a third and equally vital safeguard has become just as important: Web filtering.
Over 41 percent of small businesses, as well as two-thirds of large companies, use web filtering, according to research firm IDC. At its most basic level, a web filtering tool blocks certain URLs that companies don’t want employees drifting onto. With the surplus of sites like Facebook and Twitter, companies are in dire need of limiting the usage of its networks in order to keep their employees on task and networks secure and threat-free. web filterers not only stop inbound threats such as spam and viruses, but also outbound threats that can potentially leak confidential information.
Smaller organizations typically start with products that have multiple functions – business-friendly routers with integrated firewalls and built-in unified threat management are best.
One web filtering product I recommend (here comes my shameless plug) is DCG’s own BlaskguardTM Internet Filter. On top of getting completely secure Internet content filtering, BlaskguardTM provides daily reporting, including top 10 websites visited by hits or bytes transferred; top 10 violators by user name, machine name or type; hourly and daily Internet usage graphs; and tracking of file sharing applications and non-web protocols. 100% guaranteed-take a look at DCG’s Internet Content Filter.
Dear Brent,
It has become nearly impossible for me to have a decent conversation on my cell phone. With the constant feedback, dropped connections and delays in voice travel, I dread making or answering calls on my cell and can’t depend on it for data. Is there something I can do to improve my reception?
There are two different devices you can buy to address this problem: femtocells and repeaters (also known as boosters). They work, but they’re expensive.
Femtocells, sold by AT&T and Verizon, connect to a home network router and use your wired broadband connection to move voice calls and data services to and from your carrier’s network. Femtocells don’t rely on the carrier’s towers at all and provide immediate five-bar coverage across an area of up to 2500 square feet, regardless of how far you are from a cell phone tower. Femtocells can be configured to recognize only the phones you authorize, eliminating the ability of neighbors to tap into your service. Femtocells can only be used at the address where it is registered, which could enable carriers to offer other services, such as 911.
AT&T’s solution for any 3G device is the MicroCell for $150 plus other fees imposed by the carrier. For $250, Verizon sells the Network Extender which also supports 3G data and voice and is compatible with all Verizon Wireless phones as well as some headsets.
Unlike femtocells, repeaters/boosters depend on cell tower signals to amplify and rebroadcast stronger signals and work independently of carriers. They are manufactured and sold by third parties and, while they do reach across a larger area than femtocells, cannot be configured to recognize specific phones. Repeater kits pricing depends on how large an area you want to cover and can range from $169 to $399; kits that cover areas larger than 2500 feet can cost up to $600.
Visit www.att.com or www.verizon.com for more on these products.
Bill Gates said it best: “Once you have that large display area, you’ll never go back, because it has a direct impact on productivity.”
He was, of course, referring to the advantages of having multiple monitors connected to his computer. And if anyone knows about how to get the best out of a computer, it’s Bill Gates.
More and more people are hooking up dual monitors to their computers because of the dramatic effect it has on their efficiency. Many view their added monitor as an inexpensive, simple way to upgrade their PC without the burden of any new, expensive hardware.
The benefits of two monitors are vital to improving your workflow:
Multitask. Two monitors afford you the luxury of multitasking. Have your email open on one screen and instantly receive messages while you navigate a website or complicated spreadsheet on the other. Skype with a colleague on one screen while looking at various websites on the other. View one large document across both screens without shrinking it down to an impossible-to-read size. The opportunities are endless. Dual monitors eliminate the annoying, incessant clicking between browser windows.
View with Ease. Ever view two different documents side-by-side and get frustrated at how far down you have to shrink them in order to do so? Having two monitors allows you to look at those documents in large, easy-to-read fonts vs. shrinking them down to fit side-by-side on a solitary monitor.
Save Paper. Instead of printing out large, cumbersome spreadsheets in order to see them in their entirety, you can view different parts of these documents on two different screens, presenting the entire document in one snapshot.
It’s relatively cheap and easy to install two monitors. Most of today’s graphics cards and motherboards support two monitors. And with monitors costing nearly seven times less than they did 10 years ago, it’s the cheapest upgrade you can get!
DCG Site
Dependable Computer Guys, Inc