Observations on the world and its inhabitants
The first rule of computing is backing up you data. This means keeping a copy of your data in a place where you can recover it. I’ve dealt with backup strategies before. So, this blog is not about that. I’m talking computer backup. This is the software that runs the whole computer and anything that ...
The following assumes that you have a sufficiently powerful computer that has been upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 8. What I’ve discovered is that W8 being so cool, leaves behind much of the W7 installation’s old files. This is a precautionary measure – which should not be relied on 100%. Upgrading from W7 to ...
This has been a pesky error that drives people nuts!! But there’s a simple solution that I’m documenting here, in case I need to refer to it again.
This is about lots of things – spending money, getting things done, getting it right and when I’ve gotten them wrong. I’ll focus on some things that I’ve purchased over the years. I’ll start with so-called ‘computers’. It’s a funny term because some people have images in their minds of desktop computers, others think of ...
Recently on my jaunts through Scotland and London, I was in awe at various statues. Yes – I said statues – what’s the problem? You read it correctly the first time around. But it’s something that I become preoccupied with intermittently over the last 4 years whenever I travel. Just so your wild imagination doesn’t ...
Recently a colleague at work asked me about ‘a wordprocessor’ for her computer. She was about to get ripped off by some ‘computer-guru’ who was about to dent her account to the tune of £190 for a brand new Microsoft Office 2013 suite. Don’t ask – it was some botched job on her computer. It ...
Actually this is about me ‘saving myself’ using Google Drive. What happened? I was searching madly for a file on my computer starting with filename: 2011_12_ that was in a certain folder. It wasn’t there!! Panic was about to set in. Well, I’m exaggerating a bit cuz few things cause me panic. :) Bingo!! Brilliant ...
I’m often asked by so-called friends, family and work-related folk “Which computer is a good buy?” When I go, “I don’t know?” – some look disappointed whilst others take on a look which suggests, “You mean you call yourself an IT expert and you don’t know what computer is best?’ – at which point I ...
In recent weeks the hype about Samsung Galaxy S4 has grown to maddening proportions. There were leaks about the phone in China and other parts of the world. It was reported that HTC were so worried that they gate crashed the launch of the S4 to promote their own stuff. Well the fever continues as ...
Now you know. [scribd id=127449438 key=key-4p0ug721jmr5ozbgjt0 mode=scroll] Full credit to HackCollege.com with this graphic.
This is not a joke or paradoxically intended to be jokey. This is a summary of reasons why I suffer and sack fools who distribute my private email address. I thought I’d put this together so that I can hyperlink it to those who are let into my inner circle – who may at some ...
Immediately I can expect that people reading this will be further driven to think that I have OCD or that I’m terribly organised and IT proficient etc. I’m not into a debate today, on how people take small pieces of information and build pictures of ‘reality’ in their heads. Today I’m giving a tip, not ...
This is brutal – as you might have come to expect. This is the situation. You send an email to someone. You double check that it’s left your email box and it shows as ‘sent’ in your sent box. You wait on a response. There is no response or acknowledgement after several days, which is ...
This guide assumes that your phone has been previously upgraded to Froyo and can go into clockwork mod recovery mode. Read and digest all information at http://www.slimroms.com/ – and note that you take all risks, and cannot sue anyone because no liability is accepted. This is not for those who cannot concentrate, innovate and carry ...
Cutting straight to the chase, SyncPlaylist is a tiny piece of software that works in Windows systems that enable you to create playlists for a USB drive that you use in your car. SyncPlaylist will also enable creation of playlists that work straight off the USB drive. So if you’re carrying music to a house ...
Backing up of data on a computer is one thing but backing up of a website such as this one and it’s database is another. Websites do crash and even with the best security are vulnerable to attacks from hackers or to host server failures. Whilst these events are extremely rare, the consequences can be ...
As the 3rd May 2012 approaches, there is a greater chance that a whole load of dummies are gonna be ripped off here in Britain. What’s so special about 3rd May, you may be wondering and scratching your head. Well, Samsung having rocketed to pole position as world leader in mobile phone sales (beating back ...
Say you want to set up for an email to be sent at a certain time, in the future, but you don’t want the hassle of having to remember or do this manually. Say you’re a control freak or a pretend one and you really need to know when your ‘victim’ opens your email that ...
I’m a shameless walking talking advert for anything Google. I mean Google is about the most secure high quality and free email service you can find. So, I’m about to show you a cool trick – how to send and receive emails on a non-google email account using google email (aka gmail). This is a ...
I don’t carry a paper diary. I therefore don’t have to worry about reaching for pen and diary or about losing a diary. All my activities are recorded on Google Calendars which live on Google and on my Android HCD (aka handheld computing device). If I lose the HCD by some stroke of misfortune, I ...
Yep – this is the news for those caught out by the Dummy Market! You, not knowing yourselves will be in tears if/when you see the Samsung Galaxy S3!! I’m punching the air about this. In my write up of the comparison of S2 vs Iphone4 in August 2011, I had concluded that S1 was ...
To most people Kindle is an A5 sized electronic device (left) that holds ebooks and other e-content. What I have discovered is that most people I’ve met don’t know that you can read Kindle content on computers and mobile phones. In fact Amazon Kindle allows you to install their Kindle Software on several devices and ...
Another Rockian’s email account is hacked.. and spewing porn adverts at me. Well I guess it is not just a Rockian thing. Dohtishness and laziness flourishess outside of the Rock too. Everybody goes “Oooooh.. but I had a really strong password” and in my mind I say “Bollocks!!”. The guidance from Wikipedia is good (and ...
This is a good IT tip for people who want to save hard disk space, in situations when you have a large file that needs to be in two (or more) folders. Normally if you duplicate a file to another folder in Windows you will use double the space used on your drive. Makes sense, ...
The ‘dummy market’ is about exploiting people who don’t know, don’t think and don’t explore options – for whatever reasons. They find life is too complicated, too short, and everything is too much effort. They want it now and they don’t want to think too much about it. They’re unable to or don’t want to ...
I had mentioned this application some time ago. I’ve now got the hang of it after some experimentation and I share the tricks here. You can use this application to sort all your files. Picasa will not do this stuff. However, Picasa becomes easier and more efficient to use after sorting the Robobasket way. Robobasket ...
Over the last week there has been excitement in the media about the speed of light barrier being broken by speeding neutrinos. This in essence means that the laws of physics as written/discovered by Einstein may have to be re-written. A neutrino is a very tiny particle with a very low mass – lighter than ...
Q: What exactly is Skype? A: It’s a piece of software that functions as a telephone, on a computer. Q: What is software? A: Software is a computer programme or more commonly known these days as an ‘application’. Q: What’s a computer? A: It’s usually an electronic device that processes information and carries out instructions ...
