If you're looking for a new screensaver for your computer, one thing you DON'T want to do is go searching on Google for "free screensaver". Just about everything that comes up in that search result will be loaded with spyware, and could really mess up your computer.
Incidentally, screensavers have really gone through an evolution. With the original (really old) CRT monitors, you had to have a screensaver to avoid having the icon images burned into the screen. Then, with the newer CRTs, the problem of phosphor burn was no longer an issue so you didn't really need a screensaver other than to have something interesting on the screen when the computer wasn't being used. Now, with almost everyone using the new LCD monitors, screensavers are again necessary to avoid the icon burn-in problem.
I have recently found a few great screensavers that are safe to use, and free. They also are all along the "clock" theme. Here they are:
The first one is called PolarClock. (download) This is basically a black background, and a series of incomplete circles. Each circle represents a component of the date and time, and the circles complete as time passes.
The next one is called Fliqlio. (download) This one just resembles a big digital clock that occupies your entire screen.
And finally, we have WorldClock. (download) As the name implies, this is a selection of clocks, and each one resembles a different time zone.
In this week's video, this little kid hasn't quite gotten the hang of drinking from a hose -
Even with Windows Vista, Microsoft continues to use its flawed activation procedure, annoying and frustrating customers (but when was that ever an issue for Microsoft?). More details here.
Without a doubt, Microsoft Office is the choice of most businesses and individual users when it comes to word processing (Word), spreadsheet (Excel), and presentation (Powerpoint) software. When virtually everyone uses a particular program, you might find it difficult to use something completely different. If you send a file to someone else, they need to be able to open it. So most people just use Office to avoid compatibility issues, even though it is expensive and sometimes rather slow.
However, there are alternatives.
Lotus Symphony is a suite of applications that includes document creation and editing, digital presentation, and spreadsheets - much like Office. One big difference is that Symphony is free. And you can use Symphony to create or edit documents in Word, Excel or Powerpoint format - so anyone with Office can still open your files. I have not used Symphony, so I don't know how it compares in speed.
Another option is Open Office, which is also free. Again, this software is compatible with the programs in MS Office. I used Open Office a few years ago, and it seemed to be pretty slow. However, that may have been the fault of my computer. Or, more recent versions may be faster. The advantage of Open Office is that there are more software choices - this group includes programs for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, drawing, database and advanced math.
There are other alternatives as well, depending on your preferences. CNET has a good article on this, as well as a comparison chart, here.
This doesn't look like a Photoshopped image, so I think it is probably an actual motorcycle (you can click on the picture to see it larger). But it raises a few questions for me.
1. How could anyone ride like that for any length of time? 2. Why would anyone want to? 3. Your arms are already outstretched - how do you make a turn, since one arm would have to go even higher? 4. Is this street legal? Should it be?
I have written here before about Comcast, and their reputation for "less than stellar" customer service. If you are still considering them for your ISP, I recommend that you read about this recent customer's experience. It involves a 75 year-young woman, and a hammer.
Question: I recently had my computer hard drive replaced. Now, whenever I click on a movie file, it opens in Windows Media Player instead of RealPlayer. How do I get my movies to open in RealPlayer instead?
What you need to do is change the file association.In other words, whatever type of file you are trying to open is currently associated with a particular program (in this case Windows Media Player), and you want to associate it with a different one (Real Player) instead.The file type is designated by the extension, which is the 3 letters (or numbers) after the "dot".For example, if you double click on a photograph file named "birthday.jpg", then the program that opens up and shows you that picture is the program you have associated with the ".jpg" extension.
Let's say for example you want to view a movie file with the extension ".avi" (this is a common video file type).First, you have to find that file on your computer.But don't double click it - instead, RIGHT click on it and from the new menu, choose "Open with".Then, click on "Choose program".This will open a new window with a list of programs.You should see RealPlayer there.Click once to highlight it, then put a checkmark in the box that says "Always use the selected program to open this type of file".Then click OK.Your movie file will open in RealPlayer, and that type of file will open in RealPlayer from now on.
This week's video...I don't quite get the practical value of this skill, but he is obviously very good at it -
This quiz came from one of the blogs that I read on a regular basis. Try to answer all the questions before looking at the answers.
Who said it?
1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
A. Karl Marx B. Adolph Hitler C. Joseph Stalin D. None of the above
2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."
A. Lenin B. Mussolini C. Idi Amin D. None of the Above
3) "(We)...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."
A. Nikita Khrushev B. Jose f Goebbels C. Boris Yeltsin D. None of the above
4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own...in order to create this common ground."
A. Mao Tse Dung B. Hugo Chavez C. Kim Jong Il D. None of the above
5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."
A. Karl Marx B. Lenin C. Molotov D. None of the above
6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."
A. Pinochet B. Milosevic C. Saddam Hussein D. None of the above
Do you know how easy it is to make a blog? Just about anyone can do it. This site that I use is actually owned by Google. All you have to do is go to www.blogger.com and sign up for a free account, then start publishing your material for the world to see.
There are many thousands of people uploading material on this site every minute, and that includes pictures. One interesting thing to see is JUST the pictures, in slide show format, as they are being uploaded. You can now see this here. It is just a continuous slide show of unrelated images from every category. It's about as random as you can get!
If you see a picture that is particularly interesting, you can click on it and go straight to the blog where it is posted. Blogger filters out objectionable content in this service, but they also have the disclaimer that some inappropriate material may slip through by accident (I have not seen anything like that though).
This week's video is just two guys doing a funny comedy act. Wow, they are pretty funny and there is no vulgarity involved - how did that happen?
One of the biggest threats to computers around the world today is the wide proliferation of botnets. This is an abbreviated term for a network of computers that are all acting in "robot" fashion - following their programmed instructions to do damage and create chaos.
Imagine if your computer got secretly infected with spyware that ran in the background undetected. That spyware caused your computer to, on command, send out thousands of spam messages while you were at work during the day. You come home at night and everything is fine (or appears to be fine anyway). Unless you had a program designed specifically to catch this kind of activity, you would not be aware of anything being wrong - so it would continue unrestricted.
Now, imagine hundreds of thousands of computers just like that around the world - all programmed to perform a specific malicious action at the same time. This use of large groups of "zombie" computers has become the favorite tool of spammers and other scum. It's a good reason to have a quality antivirus and antispyware program running all the time. In the meantime, you can check and see if your computer is connecting and doing something online without your knowledge. Here's how:
Click Start - Run and type "cmd" (without the quotes) in the text field and hit OK.
In the new window, at the cursor prompt, type:
netstat -b 5 > activity.txt
After a couple of minutes, click Ctrl + C.
Go back to Start - Run and this time type: activity.txt and click enter. This should bring up the activity file in Notepad. Look through there and see if you see any unusual program connecting to the internet without your permission.
This week's video - just some idiots falling down a hill
The computer that I currently use is a Dell Dimension 4550 and was purchased in March of 2003. My industry standards, that is getting pretty old. It has gotten loaded with tons of software over the years and gradually become slower and slower. Now it is at the point where I have decided to wipe everything out (reformat the drive) and reinstall Windows XP.
Really, this is a good thing to do for your computer from time to time anyway. It basically takes your computer back to the state it was in on the day you purchased it. Of course, no one ever wants to do this because it's a pain trying to be sure that everything you need is saved to another drive. I have made lists and double checked, so I think that anything important enough to save is backed up. Now I am going to physically open up the case and blow out the dust, dog hair, and other various foreign particles that collect inside there. The reformat process will begin shortly after that.
I say all this just to let you know that if you don't see a new blog post here on Monday, you will know that something went wrong and I am probably sprouting additional gray hairs this weekend.
Update: All went well - computer is back up and computing much faster than it was previously.
Sometimes you work a lot and you deserve a break. This week, we showcase some websites that are designed to give you that break from work that you so richly deserve. Of course, they might also end up wasting a lot of your time. But at least you'll be having fun! Thanks to my friend Gizmo for the information about these sites.
Side note: I don't know why, but this blog post took me hours to finish.
World Clock I found this site very interesting. This World Stats Counter shows current statistical figures for world population, births, deaths, deforestation, and much more. Except for population and earth temp, all stats reflect the growth since the beginning of the selected time period. Hint: click the "Now" button to reset several categories to zero, and see how quickly the numbers rise.
You control gravity This is a fun little diversion. Drag the circles and the levers around, and adjust the angles of the levers, to control the direction of the bouncing balls.
Line Rider Draw the line from top left to bottom right, then click the Play button and watch the little guy ride his sled down the slope you just created. My guy died multiple times at high speeds.
Scene switcher I am not sure exactly what this is because the site is not in English, but it seems like an advertisement for a kitchen manufacturer. Click and hold the mouse for a panoramic view of the different scenes.
Fake or Foto? Do you think you can look at an image and tell if it is a real photo, or if it is computer generated? Take this quiz and find out. I got five out of ten correct.
Icon's Story Every wonder what your desktop icons do at night while you are sleeping?
Your birth date Everything you ever wanted to know about the day you were born. I didn't really care to know the date I was conceived, but it was interesting to find out that I share my birth date with Paul Revere and J. Edgar Hoover.
Only Riddles If you like figuring out riddles, this is the place for you. Example: Which does not belong in this group: Apple, Grape, Banana, Cherry, Pear. (Answer: Banana - it's the only one that you have to peel before eating). Just keep hitting the Home/Refresh link to get a new set of riddles.
Optical Illusions Nothing here but things to trick the human eye. I particularly liked the Mona Lisa test.
Cool Illusion This one is amazing! I still don't get how it works. First you see some pink dots in a circle. Then you see a green dot that isn't really there. Then all the pink dots disappear, and only the green dot is left - even though the only dots there are actually pink, and they never did disappear! You have to try this one!
Falling Sand Game Draw lines to see how you can control the falling sand.
Slow motion videos Lots of common things shot with a high-speed camera and then played in slow motion.
Kitten band Complete nonsense, but it will make you smile.
Windows Sounds mix Whoever created this knows Flash and Sound Recorder very well. And has way too much free time.
This week's video - why every kid should have a pet!
I love to walk, and I hate for something to come up that messes up my walking routine. Here in Florida we have some great thunderstorms, so that can be a hindrance (only sometimes - I have been known to keep walking in the rain). In the summer I have to wait until around 6 pm or so when the temperature has dropped a bit; collapsing from heat exhaustion is not my idea of a good walk.
I have a 2-mile route and a 3-mile route. If you're a walker, you can identify with this - you want to know how far you actually walked that day. How do you measure the distance? Oh sure, you could do the old-fashioned thing - drive your walking route in the car and measure it on the odometer. But that's not absolutely accurate (and don't you know that when you drive your car you are destroying the planet by causing global warming?).
Instead, I use technology (probably not a big surprise there). Almost everyone uses the internet to get directions to an unfamiliar address now (Mapquest, like Google, has become a verb). Now you can use the Google Maps site along with a hack for measuring distance. It is called the Gmaps Pedometer.
First, enter the zip code of the city where you want to walk. Then zoom in so that you can see your walking route. Click the button that says "Start recording", and just double click the starting point of your walk. Double click your way through your entire route, and when you get to the end, you will see the total distance covered.
This week's video shows a little kid having a really good time!
Looking for a new internet provider? If you are considering Comcast, think again.
Comcast advertises high speeds and great service. What they don't tell you in their initial advertising is that they limit your use of the internet. What is that limit? They won't say, and you won't know until you exceed the limit and get cut off.
This generally would apply to the user that downloads large files each month. However, since Comcast will not specify "how much is too much", no one really knows what the limit is. If you have other choices, you would be better off to go with an ISP that lays out all the rules clearly. It is much easier to stay within policy if you know what the policy is.
You probably already know that I am a fan of Google Earth. What an amazing program - you can have virtually a "treetop" view of just about any place in the world. And this great program is also free.
But there's more...Google Earth actually has a flight simulator program built into it! That means you can have the controls of a virtual airplane (your choice of an F16 Fighter, or a more comfort-oriented SR22 4-seater). You can choose where you want to fly, and since this is inside the Google Earth program, you appear to be actually flying over whatever city you choose. To start flying, open Google Earth and then hit Ctrl + Alt + A.
It takes a little practice to avoid flying the plane in uncontrolled loops and crashing into the ground. But if you are interested in flying, or just want to see what it is like to fly over your city, it's worth a try. You can see the various keyboard controls here.
Note: you have to have the most current version of Google Earth in order to use this feature.
This week's video is a hand-shadow puppet presentation. Big deal, you say? Just watch it.
Think about this...if you receive an email that is designed to infect your computer with a virus, the worst thing you can do is to follow the instructions in the email. Sometimes that is easier said than done, because the creators of these virus emails can be very clever.
One method that they use is to pretend that the email is from a friend who has sent you an "e-card" - an electronic greeting card. Of course it all sounds very innocent - just click on the link in the email to get your e-card. However, what you don't realize is that clicking on that link is actually taking you to a malicious website, or downloading a virus or spyware to your computer.
Personally, I really don't like the whole e-card thing anyway. I certainly never click on a link that is embedded in one of them. If you really want to see what it is, open your web browser and type in the address of the e-card website manually, then find the area on the site where you can "retrieve" your card. Then, enter the retrieval code manually. If the email was legitimate, you will get your card that way. If it was a malicious email, the worst that will happen is that the code won't work.
This week's video shows what is great about all those beauty pageants. Not only do they show off the physical appearance and individual talents of the contestants, they also demonstrate the ability to answer a question coherently. Or the inability, as demonstrated by Miss Teen South Carolina. Update: Miss Teen South Carolina appeared on the Today show, and explained what happened. She was actually an Honors Student in high school.
Just about everyone that uses Windows has had this annoyance. Windows has some important updates to do, so you download them while you are working on something else. At some point the Windows Notification pops up and says that the updates have been installed, and you need to restart your computer for the updates to take effect. You have two options: Restart Now, or Restart Later. You choose "Later" because you have some work that you have to get done now.
A few minutes later, the reminder pops up again to see if you want to restart yet. Again, you choose "Later".
A few minutes later, guess what...the reminder again. Don't you wish you could just tell it to not remind you any more, and to trust you to do a restart at some point? You can.
To get rid of the Windows Restart Nag, click Start - Run and type "cmd" (without the quotes) in the box and hit Enter. In the next screen, type this:
sc stop wuauserv
and hit Enter. Then just close that window. No more nags! Now, don't worry - you will still get Windows Updates. You just won't be reminded to restart the computer afterward. So you have to remember to do a restart eventually. I'll bet you can handle that.
I think one of the funniest things about men getting older is when they go bald and try to hide it with the combover. Don't they realize they aren't fooling anyone? This week's video shows a guy who does a combover that actually might work - as long as no one takes a real close look.
If you are reading this, you probably already know me. I did business as The Computer Tutor in Maine for about seven years, then in August 2006 my family and I moved to the Gulf coast of Florida. Now I am the Computer Tutor for Pinellas county.
