Category Archives: Personal computing

Recover Your Wireless Key

Posted on October 25, 2011 by David Rier

Here’s a nightmare scenario: You lose the connection to your wireless network and don’t know the security key to re-connect to it. What do you do? Do you rebuild your wireless network and reconnect all its PCs and devices with … Continue reading →

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Keep Your Drivers Up-to-Date

Posted on October 11, 2011 by David Rier

A personal computer system is made up of a number of components and connected peripherals. Each of those pieces (components and peripherals) has a piece of software called a driver that monitors and controls the unit’s interaction with the operating … Continue reading →

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Do It Again

Posted on October 5, 2011 by David Rier

Some computer tasks are very repetitive. That is, the task involves the exact same set of entries, button clicks, etc. every time it is accomplished. You can run through such tasks over and over again. However, there is a better … Continue reading →

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No More Typing!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by David Rier

While the title above may be an exaggeration, it is possible to greatly reduce the need to type your documents into your PC. I know that I’m not the fastest typist out there, and I only use about 6 of … Continue reading →

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Make Your Documents into PDFs

Posted on September 20, 2011 by David Rier

Not everyone uses the same software or even the same version of a program. As an example, the default format for Word 2010 is a .docx document. Older versions of Word, like 2003, use the .doc format. If the Word … Continue reading →

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Remote Access and Support – TeamViewer

Posted on September 6, 2011 by David Rier

If you have ever tried to provide help or support to computer user over the phone, you know that “using them as your eyes” is not the greatest. People assume things about how their computer is working and/or misinterpret what … Continue reading →

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Free Translation Software

Posted on August 30, 2011 by David Rier

Although English is currently the international language of business, not every document or Internet screen is in English. To deal with this, you need quick and accurate translations to and from English. There are translation services available that charge by … Continue reading →

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Free Internet Information

Posted on August 23, 2011 by David Rier

Sometimes a network administrator needs to get Internet-related information. The web site Network-tools.com (http://network-tools.com) gathers a number of Internet tools together on a single page to help in this area. Use of the site and its tools is free. Some … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday to the PC

Posted on August 9, 2011 by David Rier

A few dates, like the first moon landing, are apparently historic as they are happening.  Most important dates in history just happen and become “historic” with hindsight. Thirty years ago (on August 12, 1981 to be exact), the IBM PC … Continue reading →

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Process Explorer

Posted on August 3, 2011 by David Rier

Sometimes your PC seems to be running slowly and you want to see why.  You press Alt-Ctrl-Del, choose the Task Manager and look at the Processes tab there.  Does that help?  The answers to that question are “maybe” and “a … Continue reading →

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