More of Steve’s favorite wastes of time.
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This week’s post is a collection (okay, a hodgepodge) of ways my PC annoys me, with, of course, work-arounds.
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By Steve Bass
Internet resources
to help me (and maybe you) get the best deal on gasoline
— and better mileage.
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By Steve Bass
PCs are annoying. They do unexpected things and act like
little children. I know, because my computer’s always
troubled — and from the e-mail I get, so’s yours.
This week: Solutions for some of the computing troubles
and annoyances you’ve asked me to fix.
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3 great new videos, a cool game that will frustrate you and the return of the typewriter.
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By Steve Bass
There’s nothing you can do to prevent a third party from
exposing your e-mail address. But there’s a handy trick to
monitor if a company you’ve given an e-mail address to is
using it to spam you. And then block it so you’ll never
see it again.
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By Steve Bass
That’s this week’s main topic: The sites I regularly visit
with daily bargain-priced products, those with coupon
codes for discounts or free shipping, and the tools to
make bargain hunting easier.
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By Steve Bass
I found a
sure-fire winner for letting home users make free calls
within the United States and pennies per call overseas.
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By Steve Bass
I’m surprised how many people aren’t taking advantage of
the Internet’s wealth of truly wonderful, enjoyable,
educating, entertaining — and free — podcasts.
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By Steve Bass
Have $100 to burn? (Gawd, I certainly don’t.) If you do, splurge on iGrill’s fancy probe. It’s another thing specially designed for Apple aficionados.
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By Steve Bass
It’s unavoidable. With a desk covered with business cards, flyers, and dozens of flash drives filled with product information, CES is still on my mind. And because it is, here are more short takes on products you might find useful. Or not.
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By Steve Bass
I found a handful, maybe a dozen, innovative and smart products in out-of-the-way booths, and a few “oh, wow, I gotta have that” gems. I’ve got a few to tell you about this week — like the gizmos that help you save energy at home and earbuds that’ll knock your sox off.
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By Steve Bass
Fix Up Your Browser
I can’t get enough of the handy-dandy freebies that clump onto Firefox (and Internet Explorer) and make the browsers smarter and easier to work.
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By Steve Bass
You’re at Starbucks, busy working on your Facebook page. Bad news: The guy at the next table is a hacker, and he’s also working on your Facebook page. Sit tight, I have a few ways for you to make yourself invisible to hackers.
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By Steve Bass
Commercials are loud now, louder than I can ever remember…what can you do about it?
Worried your toddler (or for many of you, your great-grandchild) may reach up, grab your large-screen TV, and get bonked on the head? Or maybe you live in California or Nebraska (Nebraska?) and you’re frazzled thinking about earthquakes…what can you do about it?
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By Steve Bass
Okay, yes, you already have a security tool. But I have three smart, free, no-fuss browser tools that’ll give you an extra edge against cyber criminals.
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By Steve Bass
On March 21, 1991, I stopped using Norton’s security programs.
But I like to see what the dark side is up to, so I recently switched back to Norton. And I’m really happy I did.
Of course, knowing how you always like to hear the dirt, I’ll tell you the back story.
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By Steve Bass
Listen to this concession: “Okay, yes, once you’ve used a two-monitor setup, going back to a single monitor sucks.”
That from my wife who last year resisted using a second monitor. It’s so darn quaint when she admits she’s wrong.
Judy found that out when I brought home a friend’s PC for repair, needed a monitor, and borrowed hers. (First rule of computing: Use someone else’s equipment whenever possible.)
The repair was taking longer than I expected — funny how computers do that to you — and, my pobrecita was feeling deprived.
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By Steve Bass
Sure, there are God-only-knows how many Registry fixer-uppers that purport to get your computer back on track. And every few months, a slick magazine will promise that its 20 Secret Insider Troubleshooting Tricks article will restore your PC to pristine condition. The nerve of those annoying insiders keeping secrets! (Here’s a revelation: I used to be one of those insiders)
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By Steve Bass
For the last year or so, Google Voice (formerly called Grand Central, a name I loved) was available only if someone invited you. Yeah, I know; I never did. It’s now open to everyone in the United States (stop whining) and I suggest you look at it.
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By Steve Bass
No doubt, watching a TV show or mobile in high definition is miraculous. The picture is sharper than sharp (so much so that like it or not, you can see the pores on an actor’s face).
I’m a DirecTV subscriber, but I’m too cheap to pay their extra fee for high definition service, so I decided to try an HDTV indoor antenna.
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By Steve Bass
A while back I gave you some advice for calibrating your PC monitor or high-definition TV. I thought it was pretty good stuff, but the very foundations of the Internet began to rumble and experts started writing. (I never know who’s reading my newsletter.) Here’s what I learned.
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By Steve Bass
It’s not like I have anywhere important to go to, but I still hate to wait. That’s why I’m enjoying USB 3.0.
Let’s get the numbers out of the way; then I’ll talk practicalities.
USB specs are inflated… they always are. USB 2.0 is rated at 480 Mbit/s (about 57MB/s) while USB 3.0 is 4.8 Gbit/s (572 MB/s). In the real world, the only users getting these speeds are the marketing people who dreamed up the specs. On my PC, USB 2.0 moved files at 25MB/s and USB 3.0 can get up to 55MB/s.
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By Steve Bass
I think we’ve got the razor-blade method of marketing printers figured out: Sell the printer for a couple of bucks, then gouge and exploit us on cartridges. I hate it.
Lexmark makes its money the old-fashioned way. It sells printers at higher-than-competitor’s printers, but then sells the ink cartridges at reasonable prices.
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