Ask Presario

Disabling the 'Do you want to restart now?' message after Windows XP Pro Automatic Update

2008-11-16T09:56:00.007-06:00

One of the most annoying features of using Windows AutoUpdate is the popup warning box that asks:

If you are in the middle of working and cannot reboot, clicking cancel repeatedly on this warning can get really frustrating.

On top of that, some Windows updates AUTOMATICALLY reboot your computer. If this happens while you are gone and you can't remember what was open on your computer - too bad.

Luckily, there is a way to both disable the automatic reboot as well as increase the amount of time between the warning boxes.

For instructions including screenshots, visit http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/disable-restart-now.

- Presario

Firefox 3.0 Hangs

2008-11-04T13:25:00.002-06:00

I am an avid Firefox supporter, but the computer tech in me knows that for the sake of stability you never run towards a major release of a software right away. Personally, I prefer to let all of the other people work out the bugs and issues with a new version of the software - especially if my old version is running fine.

However, I started having so many issues with the old Firefox 2.x version, that I decided to break the norm and upgrade to Firefox 3.0. I did the test on my laptop first, and was surprised to find that there were no hiccups like I had when updating from Firefox 1.0 to 2.0 back in the day. However, my laptop is not anything like my production machine which I use for EVERYTHING - so I was still nervous.

Finally, I decided to roll the dice and updated my production machine. All of the bugs and issues I was having with 2.0 were corrected, and I was actually EXCITED about the features in the new version.

Then all of a sudden I noticed a major issue; when I reopened Firefox all of my tabs did not save. This was one of the main things I LOVED about Firefox; being a developer that works on multiple projects at the same time it is a very handy feature. At first I ignored it, but as Firefox started to hang, freeze, and lose my tabs repeatedly - it started to frustrate me.

After doing a little research on Google, I ran across an article on the Mozilla support site that talked about resolving FireFox hangs. What a life saver!

This article may have made the difference from me reverting back to FireFox 2.x, or trying out Google Chrome. Hopefully it will help you too:
h ttp://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+hangs#Duplicate_Session_Restore_files

- Presario

Outlook Not Closing

2008-09-14T10:40:00.003-05:00

Since I have upgraded to Outlook 2007 quite some time ago, I have had a problem with Outlook not closing on exit. This is an issue because I also receive my mail on my Samsung BlackJack II, and if Outlook grabs the message off the server first - no email is pulled down on my phone. The only solution I knew of was to go into the task manager and end the process manually.

The crazy thing is that this issue only happened about 75% of the time; sometimes Outlook would close correctly without any problems. I knew there had to be an alternate solution to the end process trick, or at least a better way to resolve the hanging process completely. Therefore, I did some research and found a handy little page that sheds some light on the issue.

Slipstick Systems:
OUTLOOK.EXE continues running after you exit Outlook
http://www.slipstick.com/problems/close.asp

Hope this helps if you are having the same issue!

- Presario

Adobe Illustrator CS3 Will Not Let You Save

2008-07-30T23:40:00.005-05:00

When working in Adobe Illustrator CS3 last night, I hit the ultimate point of frustration when my application refused to allow me to save any document in .AI (native Illustrator) format. I just finished working on a magazine ad for a client, and all of a sudden a rush of fear overwhelmed me as I thought I was going to lose all of my work.

After doing some research on the web, I came across an article on the Adobe Forums that had several workaround solutions. After implementing them successfully, I thought I would share the information.

One of the issues seems to be a compatibility problem between Zune and Adobe Illustrator CS3. Microsoft explains it as the following in the article located at http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb403151&sliceId=1 :

"The Zune Team has investigated this issue. The issue is that Zune(2.1 and greater, along with many other applications) send input (via virtual keys) prior to setting foreground window. Zune does this at startup...and when a device is connected. Most apps use a specific virtual key for this, and in this case after the adobe app gets this key it will fail to save.

We have contacted adobe support with this information along with a sample repro to allow them to resolve the issue with input handling.

_Zach Johnson(zjohnson@microsoft.com)
Zune Product Team"

Here are some workarounds until they figure it out:

1. If you have the Zune Software and Illustrator open at the same time, it could be as simple as exiting out of Zune and then trying to save.

2. If that doesn't work and you are in Illustrator and have Zune running, and cannot afford to lose your progress: open up task manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL), go to "processes", kill any Zune processes running.

3. If that still doesn't work, try saving the file as an EPS. You can also save the Illustrator file and make sure that you uncheck "Create PDF Compatible File" in the save options dialog box. Reboot, kill all of the Zune processes as described in step two, open up the Illustrator or EPS file, and resave.

It was also noted that the programs 'Avira' and 'NOD 32' have a similar issue with Illustrator. If you do not have a Zune or the above options do not help, try exiting these programs before saving.

The full article is located at http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3c05392c.

- Presario

Unable to Start a Program with an .exe File Extension

2008-07-30T00:05:00.003-05:00

I was working on one of my client's laptops and ran across an issue where none of the files ending in .exe were working. In trying to find a solution, I ran across an article that had some great information on fixing this issue.

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/exefile.htm

If you ever run into this problem, then I hope this resource helps.

- Presario

How to Pick a Flat Panel TV

2008-07-03T11:31:00.003-05:00

One of the questions I get from friends and family is, "What is the difference between Plasma and LCD TVs?" I found an article on MSN that does a great job on explaining the pros and cons of each.

How to Buy a Flat-Screen TV

- Presario

PC World - 15 Great, Free Security Programs

2008-04-14T02:52:00.002-05:00

Hello,

Well - I just found out that my favorite firewall program that I have been using for the past seven years, BlackICE, will no longer be supported by IBM after September of 2008. In my search for an alternative, I came across a great article on PC World's website called '15 Great, Free Security Programs'.

Here is the link:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133631-page,1-c,privacysecurity/article.html

If you asked me three years ago if there was any free software that really works, I would have probably looked at you crazily. However, after three years of using the completely free Avast Home Edition - I have to admit that there is such a thing as good, free software. This article reaffirms my newfound faith in free software.

- Presario

Getting the Most Out of Your BlackJack II

2008-03-09T20:55:00.002-05:00

First let me give you my opinion of the BlackJack II. I will start by saying that I originally started as a Blackberry user - all the way from when they put out the first 'blue' Blackberry several years ago. I upgraded my Blackberries with each new model until Samsung came out with the BlackJack, which was basically a Blackberry with the entertainment features (MP3 player and Camera) that Blackberries were missing at the time (this was before the Blackberry Pearl came out.) I had to say that some of the features that Windows Mobile missed out on almost made me go back to Blackberry, such as the lack of ability to sync MS Outlook Notes and the inability to copy and paste phone numbers from emails and notes. However, the MAIN feature that convinced me to stick with the BJack is the Internet Connection Sharing - which allows you to use your BlackJack as a wireless modem (with pretty decent connection speed.)

When I started looking for an upgrade a little over a year later, I took another look at the new Blackberries that had added the entertainment features the original Blackjack capitalized on. RIM finally caught on that mobile entertainment was crucial to the success of their phones, so it made the decision a little more difficult than the first time I purchased my original Blackjack. However, Samsung also stepped up their level by adding features missing the original BlackJack such as a bigger battery, an improved keyboard, a bigger screen, and adding GPS capability. Again, the deciding feature was the fact that RIM hadn't found a way to add 3G and match the speeds of the Internet Connection Sharing options Samsung was able to provide by running Windows Mobile. Therefore, I decided on purchasing the BlackJack II instead of the Blackberry Curve 8310.

Although the BlackJack II is a beautiful phone with great features, it does have its flaws. They still haven't fixed a lot of the issues such as the lack of copy and paste, but the phone does come with software to add to ActiveSync to synchronize you notes. After spending hours going through uncountable amounts of tips sites and message boards, I decided to put all the BlackJack II tips, tricks, software, and helpful information that I use in one place for my fellow BlackJack II owners. So here you go!

Saving Battery Life
The full list of things you can do is available at http://wmexperts.com/articles/howto/how_to_increase_battery_life_o.html, but the following are the things that I actually implemented and saw a big increase on battery life:

Limit Your Telenav GPS Usage Without a Power Source and Turn it OFF When Your are Finished Using It
I was so exciting about the GPS functionality when I first got the BlackJack II that I used it for everything. But I quickly noticed that GPS usage DRAINS your battery life so quickly that you are lucky to get a trip too and from your destination without running out of power. My advice - if you are in a car, use your cigarette lighter charger when using your GPS. Another thing that got me was forgetting to end your trip and exit Telenav after your reach your destination. Even though you are finished using it - GPS will continue to drain your battery if you don't exit Telenav.

Screen Brightness: The brighter the screen, the more power it takes. Reduce the screen brightness to as low as feasible in your light situation. If you are outside in direct sunlight, then you will probably need close to 100%, but the moment you go inside change it back to the 20% - 40% range.

Lowering the time the phone turns off the screen backlight will also give you extra battery life. I have my phone set to turn off the backlight after 1 minute.

IR Beam: The Infrared beam is usually on by default, always searching for something to connect with. Sometimes, depending on your phone, taking this one step of disabling this will add an extra hour or more of battery life to your day. This is simple to do. Click on Menu / Setting / Connections / Beam. Then uncheck the box "Receive all incoming beams".

Internet Browsing: All the while you are browsing the internet, you are putting heavy use through your data connection. You must be aware of the time spent browsing the net, vs how much longer you need to stretch out your battery life that day before plugging in. Browsing PDA optimized websites instead of the full graphical versions of the websites will help reduce the amount of data needed to transfer, which will get you the information you are looking for faster, which will, in turn, hopefully save some battery life for you. Most importantly, make sure you close your browser as soon you are done.

PHM Registry Editor - http://www.phm.lu/Products/Smartphone/RegEdit/
You will need this utility to be able to use some of tricks I mentioned below. It allows you to view you mobile phone's registry. WARNING - editing the registry incorrectly can cause damage to your phone's OS. Use at your own risk - AskPresario.com is not liable for you messing up your phone.

Enabling Internet Connection Sharing for the BlackJack II
You guessed it, it is not enabled by default. I almost took the phone back until I found this hack. The instructions, and files can be found on this post at Howard Forums.

Basically:

Download the BJ.WM6.ICS.Enable.cab file
Download the secpolicies.cab file
Transfer both cab files to your My Documents folder
Install secpolicies.cab and reboot
Install BJ.WM6.ICS.Enable.cab and reboot
navigate to \My Documents and click on Certs.cab and reboot

Easy Mod to help dial Vanity Numbers from you QWERTY Device i.e. 1-800-FLOWERS

You will need the registry editor program for this one. I got it off of Howard Forums - and it worked on my BlackJack II. The goal is to replaces the AT&T Logo on the Dial screen with a picture of a standard phone dial pad when you are dialing and on a call.

First you need to copy these one of the following two files to your /windows directory
dialpad.jpg
carrierlogo.gif

Then use the registry editor to navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Shell/Rai/:MSCdial/BannerImage

Modify the bannerimage settings and change the file name to dialpad.jpg or carrierlogo.gif (depending on which one you chose.) Save your changes and reboot your phone. You phone might give you a warning when you hit save, but it worked fine for me.

Dial a number, and you should see the dial pad where the carrier's logo was. When you actually connect there should also be a different dial pad displayed.

SRS WOW XT Audio for your Windows Mobile Handset - Allows you to adjust the volume on your headset. Although this makes your music sound too "tinny" for my taste, it helps boost the volume for the ringtones and GPS voice. You can just turn it off when you are listening to music. Make sure you reboot after installation to get it to work.
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/news3756.html

Deleting Duplicate Contacts in Outlook 2003/2007

2008-02-24T23:07:00.003-06:00

I just purchased a new SmartPhone (the BlackJack II) a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed that when it first synced with my Outlook 2007 - it duplicated all of the contacts. With over 900 contacts saved from over the years, I did not want to have to go back and delete all of the duplicates. It seems like this is a common problem, because Microsoft had a workaround solution on their website.

Disclaimer: This solution permanently deletes records from you contact list. Take extreme precaution that you delete the correct records. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK - AskPresario.com is not liable for any data loss that may come from the use of this solution.

How to Delete Duplicate Items

Use the following steps to duplicate items:

1. Go to your contacts section. In Outlook 2007 and in Outlook 2002, point to Current View on the View menu, and then click to change the folder view to a table type view. In Outlook 2003, point to Arrange By on the View menu, point to Current View, and then click to change the folder view to a table type view. An example of a table view is Phone List, By Category, or By Company. The card views such as Business Cards, Address Cards, or Detailed Address Cards will not work for this solution.

2. Right-click a column heading, and then click Field Chooser.

3. From the list at the top of the Field Chooser, click to select the All fields.

4. Drag the Modified field to the table heading.

5. Verify that the duplicate items have a unique date from the original set of items. If it is unique, click the Modified heading so that the items are sorted by this field.

6. Click the first item in the set that you want to delete, scroll to the last item in the set that you want to delete, and then click the last item while you hold down the SHIFT key.

7. Press DELETE to permanently delete all selected items. This is not reversible - so make sure that you are deleting the duplicates - not the originals.

How to Remove Content Advisor Password in Internet Explorer 6

2008-01-27T23:40:00.000-06:00

Last week one of my customers accidentally turned on Internet Explorer's Content Advisor, and in helping them find a solution I came across and article on http://www.pchell.com/support/contentadvisor.shtml. I decided to share this knowledge with my AskPresario.com readers in case they ever find themselves in a similar situation.

The following steps will remove any password set in the Internet Explorer Content Advisor and allow you to reset the program to its original state using the Registry Editor. This is for advanced users only - use at your own risk. I have only tried this in Internet Explorer 6, although the original article mentioned it works in IE5 as well.

This suggestion requires the use of the Registry Editor (REGEDIT.EXE or REGEDT32.EXE). Changes made to the Windows registry happen immediately, and no backup is automatically made. Do not edit the Windows registry unless you are confident about doing so.

Microsoft have issued the following warning with respect to the Registry Editor:

"Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to re-install Windows to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk."

1) Click on Start and choose Run.

2) Type in RegEdit and select OK.

3) Now click on the little plus sign to the left of H_KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

4) Continue to click the plus sign at the left of the each of the following named keys: Software, Microsoft, Windows, Current Version and Policies.

5) Now click on the Ratings folder.

6) In the right pane of the RegEdit window, you'll see an icon called Key. Click on it and press Delete.

7) Next, choose Registry and then Exit to exit RegEdit. You've just deleted your original Content Advisor password.

8) Restart the computer and run Internet Explorer again.

9) From the top menu in Internet Explorer, click on Tools, Internet Options (IE 5 or greater only).

10) Click on the Content tab and click on Disable. When asked for a password, don't enter anything; just click on OK. This will disable Content Advisor because there's no longer a password.

Reference: http://www.pchell.com/support/contentadvisor.shtml

BaseCamp - Project Collaboration for Web & Graphic Designers

2007-11-04T09:14:00.003-06:00

I was a guest speaker at Westwood College earlier this week, talking to a group of about 50 graphic design students. It is always fun speaking to students that are about to graduate, because they ask the questions about processes that we sometimes take for granted.

Anyways, one of the students asked me after the session was over about how it is I manage my projects. He mentioned that most people in the industry use programs such as Microsoft Project, but the learning curve and price on the software is pretty steep for independent freelancers and small design shops. In return, I also reminded him that MS Project also deals mostly with resource management and in-house project collaboration - but designers and developers have the most problems with communicating with their clients. Therefore, I recommended to him a web based software we started using a couple of months ago called BaseCamp.

What is BaseCamp? In their words, "Basecamp takes a fresh, novel approach to project collaboration. Projects don't fail from a lack of charts, graphs, stats, or reports, they fail from a lack of clear communication. Basecamp solves this problem by providing tools tailored to improve the communication between people working together on a project."

In other words, BaseCamp allows you to provide a method for passing messages, files, group writing, project milestones, to-do lists, and updates and changes to and from members working on the team AND the client - while at the same time automatically keeping an audit trail that is time-stamped and dated. This eliminates problems with documents and communication getting lost in email, takes away the clients and project members deniability for hiccups in the process, and keeps the project lead organized.

BaseCamp doesn't require any kind of software installation or hosting; they store all of the information on their secure servers. The software being web based allows you to be able to use BaseCamp from any computer with internet access, and allows your development team and clients to use it at no additional charge to them. It also allows them to automatically provide updates and new features without you having to manually install them.

The signup process is simple, and they can have you setup with a 30-day free trial account in minutes. Once you finish the trial you have the ability to upgrade to a variety of packages, dependent on how many clients you would like to manage and the features you would like to use. The larger packages are popular because they have a time-tracking module that allows you to track and report the time spent on various aspects of the project.

Clients love it, my developers love it, and as a small business owner it has made my world a whole lot easier. I recommend BaseCamp to graphic designers, web designers, illustrators, programmers, and just about anyone who is looking for a way to streamline communication and manage projects.

Logitech mm28 Portable Speaker - A Must for MP3 Players and Laptops

2007-09-23T10:46:00.001-05:00

Hey There!

Ok – I found a new gadget and I had to share. This speaker is a must have for anyone with an IPod or portable music player. It is a portable, battery powered or plug powered speaker that you can hook to your portable mp3 player, portable CD player, and/or laptop to give it full sound!

I just bought a couple of Zune MP3 players (Microsoft’s version of the IPod) and was looking for something to let me play music out loud. I received the information about this deal in one of my emails, read the reviews on it (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1979218,00.asp and http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/logitech_mm28/index.shtml) and decided to order two from Buy.com (Click Here to See It).

Since my Zune’s haven’t come in the mail yet, I hooked one up to my BlackJack phone and fired up some music from there. Wow! I like them so much I am ordering one more to keep in the kitchen! Can’t beat the price - $14 with free shipping on Buy.com, and you can pay $5.00 more and get a 2 year warranty (they were around $60.00 when they first came out.)

Pros: Great sound and will boost anything with an phones or audio out jack. Ultra-Portable – About 10 inches wide by 1.25 inches thick runs around 30-40 hours off of 4 AA batteries or forever on an AC Jack. It has a nice built in plastic protective case for the speaker that turns into a stand when opened, and the audio cable is stored in the back of the unit.

Cons: The audio cable is really short to allow it to store in the back of the unit, but this can be easily solved by picking up an extender at radio shack. For an audiophile like me there is not a lot of bass, but the sound quality is still nice for the size of the speaker. I like it so far – so these are minor things that don’t really affect my suggestion to get one!

Click Here to Buy it From Buy.com!

Fixing Corrupt XP System Files

2007-09-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

I created this post because I have been using this fix for years, and thought it was worth sharing. Note that this only fixes corrupted system files that have not been hacked and patched by a lot of third party programs, so it works 70-80% of the time without any further diagnosis.

You will need:

1. To be running the Windows XP operating system
2. A Windows XP CD that is the same version as the one you are running (for example you can't use an XP Home CD if you are running XP Professional.)

Directions:

Place the Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD drive
Click on the Start Menu
Select the Run Option
Type in sfc /scannow and hit the enter key.

The interface should load, and give you the option of repairing your system files. Again, if you have made a lot of manual registry modifications or installed programs that made a lot of changes to the system files, this may not fix your issues.

- Presario

Microsoft Offers Office 2007 Ultimate Edition to Students for $60

2007-09-15T18:41:00.000-05:00

Microsoft is offering Office 2007 Ultimate edition to all students who are actively enrolled at an educational institution and have a valid e-mail address from the institution for $60. The normal price for this package is around $500. Details are available in official press release. This offer ends 4/30/2008.

The suite includes:
Microsoft Office Word 2007
Microsoft Office Excel 2007
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager
Microsoft Office Access 2007
Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
Office OneNote 2007
Office Groove 2007
Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007

Click Here for the official home page for the offer.

- Presario

Windows XP and Vista (32 Bit) Have a 3 GB Ram Limitation

2007-08-16T09:46:00.000-05:00

After receiving my shiny new Dell Dimension 9200 desktop with 2 GB of ram pre-installed, I decided to look up the specs and see how much was the maximum amount of memory it could hold. It turns out to be 8 GB, which was impressive since my laptop's max is 2 GB.

So, after running into some lag in opening my web designer cocktail of applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Fireworks, and DreamWeaver all at the same time), I went up to my local computer store and purchased an additional two sticks of 1 GB ram to boost my total memory to 4 GB. I took a look at the bios after installation and everything seemed to be fine - 4 GB being reported. However, when I booted into Windows XP and checked the system properties, it was only reporting 3GB! Excuse me? What happened to my extra gig of memory?

After about an hour of adjusting things and rebooting, I decided to give good ol' Google a try. In doing some research I discovered that both Windows XP and Vista (at least the standard 32 bit versions) only support 3 GB of ram. It is funny, because a lot of computer manufacturers know this but will happily sell you extra ram above 3 GB so they can make their money. Supposedly the 64 bit versions of both operating systems support up to 8 GB, but there is not a lot of driver support for the 64 bit environments yet.

I thought I would write this article to give people forewarning that purchasing anything above 3 GB for your XP machine is a waste of money.

If you want all of the technical reasons why or a more detailed explanation, I found a good article located at http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

- Presario

Word and Outlook 2007 Initialzing Root Folders

2007-07-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

Recently when using Office 2007, I noticed that every time I went to save a document Word would give me the message "Initializing Root Folders" and freeze for about 20 seconds. I also noticed it was doing this when saving an attachment in Outlook 2007 as well. After doing some research on the internet, I found that this happens when you have a network drive mapped that is not connected. It was such a simple solution I decided to post it here.

Solution:
- Right-click on the My Computer icon on the Windows desktop or Start Menu
- Left-click on Disconnect Network Drive
- Disconnect any mapped drives that are not currently available.

I hope this saves someone else the frustration I experienced.

- Presario

Article Update: Buying a Laptop 101

2007-07-20T00:24:00.000-05:00

I wrote an article back in January of 2005 about what to look for when purchasing a laptop. This was in response to the fact that out of all the questions people ask about technology, this question is the one that is asked the most. To this day I still get this question the most - and the article was so popular that I decided to write and updated version.

Since there are so many uses for laptops, it is worth noting that my suggestions are for someone who is planning on using their laptop for running processor and memory heavy programs - such as those needed for web and graphic design. These specifications might also do well for a person who likes to have a lot of programs open at the same time, which takes a lot of processor power and memory as well.

Let's start with the physical memory. A lot of people look over the memory and focus on the processor speed, but it is just as important. For a laptop that is used for graphic design, it is very important to load up on memory to avoid unnecessary lag. The least expensive route is to purchase a laptop with the average amount of memory (which is usually around 1 GB.) Then, use a website such as www.crucial.com or 18004memory.com to order additional memory to boost it up to at least 2 GB. Laptop memory is really easy to install; usually it is a simple as just removing a couple of screws and a panel on the bottom and snapping it into place. If you are not comfortable installing the memory, you can order most machines preloaded with larger amounts of memory or have your local computer shop install it for you.

As far as the processor speed I would suggest a 1.6 GHZ or higher Intel Core Duo 2 processor or a 3.0 GHZ or higher Pentium 4 processor. You will get better raw performance out of the Pentium 4 processors, but the Intel Core Duo 2 processors usually make the laptop lighter and allow it to have a better battery life. The AMD processors are supposed to be even better in performance than the Intel processors, but I haven’t personally used AMD processors in a long time so I cannot recommend them. Stay away from the Intel Centrino or AMD Duron processors, because in my experience they won’t have the horsepower you need to run the heavier applications without lag.

Another thing to look out for is to make sure the laptop does NOT have an integrated graphics card. In a recent trend, computer companies have tried to save money on the manufacturing of laptops by using a software based (integrated) graphics card. Using this card also allows them to make the laptops smaller, lighter, and make the battery last longer. With integrated cards instead of allowing the card to have its own memory, it alternatively uses your system memory. The two drawbacks are that these type of cards affect both the load on your processor (which makes your computer run slower when running graphic heavy applications) and soak up your system memory (which also takes away from your applications.) I made this mistake when ordering my current laptop, which is a 1.6 GHZ Intel Core Duo. Even after maxing it out with 2 gigs of memory, I still experienced lag when running the dual monitor display and my Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash programs at the same time (standard for my design needs.) The laptop I had immediately before it had a 3.0 GHZ Pentium 4 Processor, a dedicated graphics card and 1.2 gigs of memory. Although the older laptop was physically a lot heavier - it could handle the dual display and the same amount of programs with no problem.

The last thing to note when looking for a laptop is the amount of storage (hard drive space.) For a graphics design machine I would suggest a minimum of 100 GB of space, but I would purchase the largest size hard drive you can afford. With operating systems becoming more space hungry (such as Windows Vista) and as programs begin to require more space as well, there is no such thing (theoretically) as having too big of a hard drive. However, since upgrading from a 100 GB hard drive to even a 160 GB hard drive is a lot more expensive on a laptop than a desktop, a cost effective alternative is to get a portable external hard drive. These are usually small enough to fit inside your laptop case, and can give you quite a bit more storage space. They also add redundancy in case your laptop crashes because you can plug them up to any computer with a USB port.

These specifications should get you started on choosing the right features for your laptop.

- Presario

What is a Strong Password?

2006-08-10T08:25:00.000-05:00

Technology is pushing for everything to be online, which means that access to all of our private information is out there for the cyber-terrorist to try to break into. This article will help you understand the importance of 'strong passwords' as a way to help protect your online information.

Many people try to fight the movement to doing business online by simply doing things the traditional way. However, companies are making it harder to do so by doing things such as charging additional fees to speak to a person or pay your bill at their physical location.  This is because doing business online is much less expensive that paying a teller or telephone customer service representative to deal with customers.

So how can you go the extra step to protect yourself?  The answer is to use strong passwords for your online accounts.  A strong password is a password that contains a combination of numbers, letters, and even symbols.  The less traditional the password is the ‘stronger’ it is, therefore it is harder for a criminal to guess or crack.  Many people make the mistake of using common words, phrases, or things that can be easily associated to them like pets and children’s names.  However, there are many programs that criminals use that will guess things such as common phrases, words, and names to gain access to your information.  Simply adding numbers to the password (such as douglas1213 instead Douglas), or replacing letters in the name (such as h3l3n22 instead of helen22) makes the password less likely to be compromised.

Café Press – T-Shirt, Hat, Coffee Mug, and Promotional Printing with no upfront costs!

2006-05-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

When I am designing websites and creating a brand for my clients at Presario Productions, I often get clients who have a small budget for ordering promotional products.  These clients range from youth groups who don’t have a large amount of money to order t-shirts for its members to small businesses that can’t afford to order the 500 piece minimum for several different types of promotional items such as stickers, pens, and buttons.  I ran across a website that provides a solution – CafePress.com.  This article is my review of their services.

CaféPress.com is a company that allows you to setup a FREE ‘shop’ in which you can offer any of their over 80 products branded with your logo or graphic – all without any upfront cost.  You upload your logo in the administration panel, and then you can choose which products you would like to appear in your store.  It is easy to setup – I setup my CafePress shop with 10+ products in about 15 minutes.  You can see it live at http://www.cafepress.com/presarioprod.  Go ahead and purchase some Ask Presario items while you are there if you would like!

The thing I like about this company is that you can either sell the products for their ‘base’ price, or you can set your own price above their base price to make a profit.  This prevents you or your organization from having to buy 40 t-shirts upfront through collecting the money ahead of time or tracking people down after the t-shirts are ordered to get your money back.  Instead, your members purchase the t-shirts through your online store, and CafePress takes care of creating them, billing the customer, and shipping the product.  There is no minimum order, and if you want to order in bulk – you can do that for a discount through your administration panel.

CafePress is also ideal for independent artists, writers, and anyone with a fan club as well.  Using your CafePress online shop is a way for you to offer your fans ways to purchase items with your logo or graphic on it, which helps you brand yourself and spread the work about your talents and career (for more information see the free e-book ’25 Ways to Market and Brand Yourself’ available at www.presariopublications.com.)

If you decide to sign up for a CafePress shop, I would appreciate it if you would use this link or the referral number 5449525 so that I can get credit for referring you.  Good luck and have fun!

What is RSS?

2006-04-30T02:19:00.000-05:00

What is RSS?

Those AskPresario.com readers that visit the site often may notice that just recently I added two new features to the right sidebar. These features are the ability to receive notifications about new AskPresario articles via email and the ability to subscribe to the AskPresario RSS feeds. After thinking about it for a second, I realized that since most of the people coming to the site are looking for technology help – they might not know what RSS is. Therefore I decided to do this article to shed light on the subject.
First let me give the technical definition. According to Wikipedia, RSS is a family of web feed formats specified in XML and used for Web syndication. RSS is used by (among other things) news websites, weblogs and podcasting. The abbreviation is variously used to refer to the following standards:

Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)

Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0)

RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0)

Real-time Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)

Now for the simplified definition. RSS allows website owners to provide summarized versions of their new content with links to the full content. RSS is now used for many purposes, including marketing, bug-reports, or any other activity involving periodic updates or publications. Many corporations are turning to RSS for delivery of their news, replacing email and fax distribution. On Web pages, web feeds are typically linked with the word "Subscribe", an orange rectangle, , or with the letters or .

A program known as a feed reader or aggregator can check a list of feeds on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that it finds. It is common to find web feeds on major websites and many smaller ones. Client-side readers (programs installed on a local computer) and aggregators are typically standalone programs or extensions to existing programs such as web browsers. Web-based feed readers and news aggregators require no software installation and make the user's "feeds" available on any computer with Web access.

For more information on RSS feeds and the history of this format, visit the Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol).

Something for the Mac Lovers

2006-04-26T03:58:00.000-05:00

I have gotten some emails complaining that Ask Presario does not contain enough information for Mac users. Hey – I will admit that! It is not because I don’t know anything about Macs. On the contrary – I actually use to do a lot of installation, upgrade, and repair work on Macs in my tech days. However, I am just not a big fan of them. Even though I am the first to admit that Apple has made leaps and bounds in both their operation system and PC compatibility issues, I guess I am just a die-hard PC man. However, I came across a Blog that does love Macs, and they even wrote an article for PC people who are moving over to – or thinking of moving over to Apple. So for you Mac people, I am including the link here to the article called ‘Switch from Windows XP to Mac OSX with ease!’ The site address is idiosyncrasies.org, and they have a whole section of their Blog for Mac people.There – don’t say I didn’t do anything for you Mac lovers.By the way, as much as I don’t like Macs – the new 1 inch thin, 17 inch screen Apple MacBook with the Intel Duo Core Processor(image placeholder) has caught my eye. Will it replace my 17 inch Toshiba Satellite? Not until I feel like dropping $3,000 on a new laptop.

VoIP Digital Telephone Service - Skype Recommended

2006-04-25T05:08:00.000-05:00

As a technology person I have been following the world of instant messengers, internet telephone services, and video conferencing for quite a while. Until the past three to four years, the quality of these services on a consumer has been good enough to use as a fun tool, but not really good enough to replace traditional communication. High prices, tacky interfaces, dropped calls, long delays, distortion, and lack of features plagued most of the software out there. But since broadband internet connections have become more affordable and popular, companies have been putting more effort into investing into the Voice Over IP (VoIP for short) services. Companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL have even expanded their instant messenger programs to include VoIP features. This article reviews my favorite service - Skype.

When I started doing business overseas, the idea of using a service called Skype was presented to me as an alternative to expensive landline rates. At first I was doubtful and didn't want to go through the hassle, but after about 10 minutes it was setup and ready to use. Once I started using the service, I quickly became a fan and started using it for calls to regular phone numbers as well.

The things that make Skype so popular with digital phone users is that it is free to download, easy to setup, easy to use, and has a simple interface that isn’t bogged down with advertisements or spyware. All you need is a computer, an internet connection (high speed is recommended), and a headset and microphone (I started off using the inexpensive Logitech Internet Chat Headset ) and you are ready to go!

Since EBay bought the company a few years ago, the service has gotten even better. For an incredibly low cost (compared to cellphones and traditional home service) you can purchase pre-paid minutes to call regular phones from the Skype interface and have your calls forwarded to another number when you are not on Skype. The service is even easier to setup, use, offers more features, and they have recently added a video camera service to allow surprisingly clear video conferencing. The features don’t stop there - Skype also allows you to purchase an incoming phone number and voicemail – which allows you to use the service as a regular phone system.

Skype has become so popular that there are tons of Skype accessories available (click here). One of the most popular types of accessories are the USB telephones you can hook up to your computer to use with Skype, such as the US Robotics USB Internet Phone. There are also adapters that allow you to use traditional phones with Skype such as the Skytone Adapter by Radian Works. For home offices, they even have accessories called digital call centers such as the Actiontec VoSKY Skype Call Center that will allow you to use Skype from your cellphone.

Since I decided the VoIP is the way that I wanted to go permanently, I checked out all of the Skype competition. There are a lot of companies out there offering similar services - however, I am comfortable with my choice and now use Skype for my business telephone and a majority of my day to day calling.

Ask Presario Back in Business

2006-04-16T05:31:00.000-05:00

It's back up!

After a long hiatus due to a combination of hackers hitting the AskPresario.com website and my focus on some of my other projects, I have decided to give it another shot. Luckily Blogger.com has the option of sending you a copy of the articles when you post them, so luckily I was able to salvage the old stuff from the website. Even though some of the articles date back to almost two years ago, they contain some good information that is still valid.

Anyways, I will try to post some update tips to the website soon. For now, check out some of my most recent projects that I have been involved with:

Presario Productions
Web Development, Print Marketing and Technology Consultation Services

Presario Publications
E-Books, Copywriting, and Press Release Writing Services

Presario Domains
Web Hosting and Domain Name Registration Services

MillionPets.com
Making History One Pet at a Time! A place for pet owners to show their love for their pets.

WhoIsAlastair.com
A site dedicated to the people with the first name Alastair.

Have Fun!

Cleaning Laptop and LCD/TFT Screens

2006-04-16T02:13:00.000-05:00

I actually have had a lot of people ask me in person about the best way to clean a Laptop and LCD/TFT Screens, but it never dawned upon me to put it on AskPresario.com until I received an email about it. This article should shed some light on the subject.
The best way is to go to your local computer or office supply store and get a lint free, microfiber cloth. I have used several, but my favorite is a set of products made by Kensington called 'Screen Guardian'. Their microfiber cloths are safe to use dry to remove dust and lint, or you can get their additional liquid cleaner that comes in a spray bottle. Unlike some of the others I have tried, I haven't had any problems with streaking with the Kensington products.Do NOT use paper towels or any rough cloth on your screen, because this can cause major damage. Be careful in using hash chemicals like standard soap and glass cleaners, because these can leave permanent streaks on your screen. With hundreds of dollars at stake, it is best to make the investment of a few dollars and buy the correct tools to do the job.

Launching Your Favorite Programs Quickly

2005-07-17T01:31:00.000-05:00

I am a man of conveniance, and I like to access things on my computer quickly. Therefore, inspired by PC Magazine writer Scott Dunn's article, "Six Windows Tweaks I Couldn't Live Without," I have written this Ask Presario article on two ways to launch your favorite programs quickly.

Option 1: Use Keyboard launches:
Did you know that you can assign a keyboard shortcut for the files and applications that you launch many times a day, such as the Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer? Simply right-click an application shortcut in the Start menu or on the desktop and choose Properties. Click on tthe Shortcut tab. Click in the 'Shortcut key' box and press your desired shortcut keys on your keyboard. Windows requires that your shortcut use at least two modifier keys ( Ctrl, Shift, or Alt), unless you press a function key (F1, F2, F3, etc.) or a key on the numeric keypad. Click OK, and your new keyboard shortcut is finished. If you change your mind later on, just return to this dialog box, click in the 'Shortcut key' box, and press Backspace. Then click OK and restart Windows.

Option Two: The Quick Launch Bar
My favorite way to access programs is via the Quick Launch bar. (If you don't see it, right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars, and make sure Quick Launch is checked.) Drag any application, folder, or document icon to the toolbar to create a tiny icon that launches that item. I prefer to limit the Quick Launch toolbar to between six and eight icons to keep it from becoming cluttered and to make spotting individual icons easier. Keeping Quick Launch small also allows more room on the taskbar for other items. To make sure your icons don't move or get accidentally deleted, you can right click on the taskbar and choose the option, "Lock the Taskbar."