Email Newsletter - 07-02-08

Castellini on Computers Free Weekly Email Newsletter
July 2, 2008

Visit HelpMeRick.com ANY time to learn about your computer!
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In this week's issue. . .

*** Tip of the Week

*** Geek Speek of the Week - (Simple definition of common computer terms)

*** Computer News...and comment

*** Last week's Poll results

*** Email of the week
One more week to the release of the new iPhone 3G. I, Rick, have decided to leave Sprint and go back to AT&T and get the new iPhone. They added all the features that I thought were missing in the first generation machine, so I'm taking the plunge. I will keep you informed via the newsletter and web site on how my experience is with the iPhone. If you plan on joining me, or already own an iPhone, let me know about it by leaving comments at HelpMeRick.com.

Look for a new video this week of me catching up on email that has been sent. If you asked a question via the web site this week, it will be answered on this week's installment of Rick answers his email. For now, sit back and enjoy this week's installment of the newsletter!

READ ALL PAST ISSUES OF THE NEWSLETTER HERE

Email your questions to us and we will answer them via a weekly YouTube video or on our daily website updates!

Custom Computer Help from Rick and Adam

We have been posting a new how-to video every week since November 2006 and the feedback has been tremendous. Now YOU have the opportunity to get your own customized video tutorial about a topic that you are having trouble with or just want to learn.

To learn more, visit: www.HelpMeRick.com/videohelp

Tip of the Week

Firefox 3.0 Bookmark & History Search - Video Tip

Firefox 3.0 was released last week after a long development period. The Mozilla folks put together an extremely good package and made genuine improvements in speed and features...a rare accomplishment in today's software arena where programs get larger and less usable. The feature I use the most, so far, is the incredibly fast searching of both my browsing history and my bookmarks. Firefox built this feature directly into the address bar and the results are nothing short of magical. I promise that once you try it and see the power, you will never look back. The short how-to video below demonstrates exactly how useful this feature is and how quickly you can master and start using it.
Let me know what you think of this new Firefox feature and what features you have found to be your favorite by leaving a comment below.

Watch this week's tip of the week by clicking here.
Geek Speek
I think computer users like to say the word defrag, yet most have no idea what it is. Defrag is short for defragment. Hard drives can scatter data around a large hard drive over time, thus the origin of the word fragment. On older computers, 10 years plus, anything that could be done to increase speed and disk access was done.

Defragmenting a hard drive is a process carried out by a utility program that hunts down and places like minded data together...the closer in proximity the data pieces lie, the faster they can be accessed.

Defrag is NOT a troubleshooting tool and will not fix any problems on your computer. The best you can hope for after a defrag ( a process that can take hours) is that your computer is slightly faster, although you probably won't notice.

DEFRAG

Computer News...and comment

Microsoft trying to get past Windows Vista as fast as possible
A letter from Microsoft senior vice president Bill Veghte stated that customers want to see a predictable schedule for the release of Vista's successor, currently dubbed Windows 7. In the letter, Mr. Veghte says to expect the new version of Windows in early 2010. That's just 18 months away from now which would give Vista the shortest reign of Windows versions since Windows Me.

Zonbu changes gears

I wrote extensively about Zonbu last fall and earlier this year. Zonbu is a company based in California that customized their own version of Ubuntu Linux. Then they created a small desktop computer and an inexpensive laptop and sold them at extremely low prices if you paid for their monthly support service which included online backup and 24 hour support.
A recent visit to their site revealed that Zonbu isn't selling their own computer at the moment, but instead encourage users to download and use Zonbu on their won computers and they have added a few hardware manufacturers that are carrying Zonbu computers. Check it all out www.zonbu.com

California joins 5 other states in banning cell phone use while driving
On July 1, California enacted their version of a law banning the use of cell phones in cars if you are driving. First offense for using a cell phone while driving is $20, and then $50 for repeat offenders. Like Connecticut, New York, Utah, and Washington, California drivers can avoid the fines and the problems if they use a hands-free system like a Bluetooth headset or similar devices.

Browser troubles

Your browser is your link to the web. Whether you use Internet Explorer (AOL, Earthlink and Juno users use Internet Explorer), Firefox, Safari, or Opera, many of you aren't using the latest versions. A study released this week found than only 50% of Internet Explorer users use the most current version compared to 92% of Firefox users using the latest version.

The translation being that if you aren't using the latest version of your chosen browser, you are putting your computer at greater risk of problems from spyware or viruses.

Poll Results

What operating system do you use on your primary computer?

Next week's poll:
Why don't you backup your data?

Log on to HelpMeRick.com and VOTE!!

Windows 95-98 1%
Windows Me (not same as Win 2000) 0%
Windows 2000 2%
Windows XP 69%
Windows Vista 15%
Mac OS 10.x 7%
Linux 4%
Other 1%

Email of the week
Hello Rick,

How do I password protect a folder in Windows XP?

Stanley

----------------

Hi Stanley,

Good question and thanks for asking. Probably the best and easiest way to password protect folders on Windows XP or any operating system is the freely available TrueCrypt. program. You can find it at http://www.truecrypt.org/

Have a good week.

Rick

Castellini on Computers & HelpMeRick.com ©2008

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