RE: Do any of the computer speed up sites work?
Is it your computer that's slow or "the internet" that's slow? If your computer is slow to start up, etc., the ideas of cleaning up olds files, defrag, deleting temporary internet files, etc. will help. In addition, you could go into msconfig under the startup tab and uncheck most of those that don't need to start when you boot up (that's almost all of them, except your antivirus and the like).
If it's not that, but "the internet," then investing in a newer router may help. What kind of router do you have?
RE: Free Camping in Washington DC?
Nothing is free in the DC area.
On the contrary - there are LOTS of free things in D.C (think all of the monuments, Smithsonian, National Zoo, etc.), but camping is not one of them. I agree with others who would discourage parking in the city. Despite its pristine appearance, it is not a nice city - much crime
RE: 7" portable LCD TVs?
Are you sure you want something with a tiny screen? Most college kids consider their TV time to be a social activity. Maybe a medium-size flat screen would be a better investment. Or wait until she gets a chance to talk to her roommate(s) about who's bringing what. Often, the kids will each bring one of the major items (TV, fridge, rug, whatever).
Actually, they do have a TV in their apartment, and they do watch that. She also spends time watching online stuff (including Netflix and shows they don't get) on her computer. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of the latter - time when she might want to watch something her roomies are not watching or when she might be in her room and not want to be in the living room.
Thanks, Gene, for your input. That's the kind of thing I am looking for.
FWIW, I am aware of the sales on this item, which is part of what has caught my interest. But I don't want to waste the 50 bucks.
Any other experienced users out there?
7" portable LCD TVs?
Thinking about one of these small portable TVs for DD at college. I have only seen them advertised, I have never seen one demonstrated. Anyone have experience with one? Are they worth it? Do they work well?
RE: Best Free Antivirus Software
AVG 9.0 had not picked them up.
MSE does not seem to be as intrusive as AVG - doesn't seem to slow the computer down as much when scanning.
Not normally a Microsoft supporter but so far I am well pleased with MSE
Ditto. I had been an AVG fan for many years, but I am very happy with MSE. I can actually work on my computer while scanning now - something that was next to impossible with AVG scans.
RE: Never again Directv rant
You rant Direct this week and it will be someone ranting Dish next week seems like it goes back and forth.
I wonder how long it will be until "for our convenience" they merge the two.
Unlike satellite radio, and I am at a loss as to why, regulators actually refused a merger of Dish and Direct a few years back because it would decrease competition. Aren't the cable companies the real competition?
RE: FireFox most vunerable browser
The article looks like it was sponsored by MS. I'll stick to my FF.
Ken
Study paid for with Microsoft money.
Rather than lob baloney as to who funded what, I decided to take a look at the actual study and the company that produced it. The company is a website security vendor and the report was independently produced by them. Of course I am sure it is self serving to their business but I could see no indication as to why painting a particular browser as more/less secure than another would help them since they seem to focus on the server side.
As I alluded to in my earlier post, it does indeed matter who pays for a study and what they are trying to prove. Usually whatever the sponsor is trying to prove is proven - funny how that works. As noted in the post below yours, Warwords, this study is far from scientific, is fundamentally flawed, and the company performing the study does indeed have something to gain by painting one browser as superior to another when the alleged superior browser maker is paying them. The only bologna being flung around here is from the sponsor and writers of the OP's linked article. FWIW, I am a fan of Firefox, but I do like IE8 very much and use it often. I am especially fond of IE8's Inprivate viewing options and filters and Smartscreen filters.
RE: FireFox most vunerable browser
This was the best part of the article:
"Typically problems fall into the PICNIC variety -- Problem In Chair, Not In Computer"
I had never heard of the acronym PICNIC - but I like it! :)
Dave
I like it, too, and can't wait to use it with my boss. (He's not the problem, but many other employees are. Most of my "tech support" calls simply require me to estart the computer!)
RE: Is everyone using Skype ?
I should have been more precise. I was revering to the webcam capability.
Clint
OK...that really depends on your webcam, not on Skype....
RE: FireFox most vunerable browser
You always have to consider the source and what they were trying to prove in any study. I'll let you do your own research, but to give you a head start, just start looking into who Cenzic really is and you'll find both of those questions answered. Then put the study in context. Interesting side note - why was Google Chrome not included in the study? Lastly, I agree with LW - security has a lot more to do with what's sitting in the chair than what's sitting on the desk.
(Edit corrected typos)
RE: Is everyone using Skype ?
We do use Skype, but for our main purpose in using such a service, we use Windows Live Messenger. We mostly use it to video chat with our daughter in college, and WLM just works better for us.
RE: WINDOWS LIVE MESSENGER Webcam
I have that program, too, and I'm trying to help but I need to wait until one of my contacts is on because I don't remember how I do it. It seems like there is a little "bigger/smaller screen" icon, maybe in the lower left corner? Next time I'm on, I'll let you know.
RE: No sound after installing Vista SP2
If you are getting sounds the driver is present. Go to the control panel and go through all the tabs and buttons for sounds and audio devices. Make sure the volume controls for all the audio types are not set all the way off, the volume controls you get when you double click the speaker icon.
Yes, I have even gone to the driver, etc. Nothing is clicked all the way off, and in fact when Pandora was on (with no sound) the little sound bars on the control panel were moving up and down as if I had sound....
Just for the record folks, as someone pointed out I hadn't made note of this: I am a technician, alhtough not certified A+ or anything. This problem isn't anything I would check as a tech. And it is only a problem when SP2 is installed - when I restore pre-SP2, the problem goes away. The driver is the same, and all settings in the audio control panel are the same.
RE: No sound after installing Vista SP2
No dice, my friends. I checked the driver version, reinstalled SP2, went back and checked the driver version. Same version, same date. SP2 does not appear to change the driver. Remember, I DO get the nice little system sounds (Windows coming on, going off, etc.) but I do NOT get any sound from programs or the internet. SP2 also adds a volume control to the tray - normally only the Realtek control is there.
RE: No sound after installing Vista SP2
I do have the cd that came with the MB. I'll give that a try. I don't understand why an MS update would even have anything to do with my audio driver, though. But, alas, it does seem to be the case. I reinstalled SP2 just to make sure some little thing didn't install the first time causing the problem, and lo and behold the same thing happened.
Of course, the other consideration is that I have downloaded and installed all updates (with few exceptions) as they've come from MS so in one way SP2 is redundant. Isn't the point of a service pack to bundle all of the updates together in one package?
FWIW, the updates I choose not to downlaod are any related to windows mail (or whatever they call it these days) and IE 8.
RE: No sound after installing Vista SP2
Not surpringly, I got more replies here so far than on the tech support forum I use! (FYI, I built this system myself this spring, so I'm not a total idiot.)
djevins, I did check the drivers before I restored. Nothing bad there (and I do know the first rule of being a computer tech - check the most obvious thing first). In fact, fxstohio is right about the Realtek updated driver - I did that once (and didn't intend to do it with the SP2) and had to uninstall it to get sound again. It does not work on my system, but the original driver that came with the MB (Asus) does work.
My updates are set to notify me when they're available and I do decide sometimes that I don't want some. However, in SP2 I don't see a way to decline parts of the pack - it's all or nothing. I'm sure I can live without it, and I'm sure the boys in Redmond will come up with a fix when find out about it, but I do like to stay updated, especially for security reasons. Is there a way to not take parts of SP2 (like the audio drivers)?
