5 Sure-Fire Tips for Buying a New Computer

So you're thinking of buying a new computer...

Where do you start? There are so many brands and models of computers available, and it can all be a little overwhelming when you start to look around.

How do you decide what type of computer you need? And perhaps more importantly, how do you decide what the best value is?

I have sold computers professionally for almost 20 years, and there are certain "tricks of the trade" that most computer stores and salespeople use. Knowing these secrets can make your decision easier and will help you buy the right computer for your needs.

1. Buy What You Need, Maybe a Little More

One of the most important things you can do when buying a new computer is make a list of the things that you will be using it for. There are so many different models - with different capabilities - that you can easily buy more, or less, than you really need if you don't.

If this is your first computer, this can be a little tougher. Until you've used a computer, it's hard to know exactly what you might want to do with it beyond the obvious, like connecting to the internet.

Regardless, you should think about some of the things you might want to do. Some possibilities include:

Connect to the internet

Play games

Digital photography

Digital video

Type documents

Accounting

Design websites

Programming

Digital scrapbooking

Geneology

Some of these things need more power than others. For example, connecting to the internet really doesn't need a lot of power. Even the most basic computer available will probably work just fine.

Digital video and many games need a lot more power. If you don't get a fast enough computer with enough memory, you'll be disappointed with the performance.

Knowing what you're going to be using your computer for will help your salesperson, whether they're on the phone, the internet or standing in front of you, recommend the best system for your needs.

As a general rule you're always better off buying more power than you need rather than less, but buying too much can be a waste of money.

2. Warranty Considerations

Computer warranties are one of the most confusing and obscure parts of your purchase. Most manufacturers have cut back on their customer service to the point where poor service has become a given.

The three most common options are onsite, carry-in or manufacturer's depot service.

Onsite service can be helpful, but think about whether you want to have to be available for a technician to come and diagnose your computer, and possibly have to come back with parts at another time.

Carry in service is a good option, but find out whether the service center is factory authorized for warranty repairs, as well as whether the technicians are all certified.

Shipping your computer to a factory service center can take a long time - sometimes a number of weeks. It also creates risk that your computer will be damaged or even lost in shipping. In some cases, the manufacturer will even replace your computer with another unit and ship it back to you, rather than repairing it. This can result in your losing any information that was on your system and having to reload all your software.

Another aspect of the warranty to find out about is technical support. Find out if the computer manufacturer offers a toll-free phone number and what the quality of service is like.

The better computer salespeople will be honest about this and tell you if a company's service leaves something to be desired. You can also do some research on the internet - most of the computer magazines like PC Magazine and PC World have annual customer service comparisons that rate the larger computer companies.

Always find out how the warranty is handled before making your decision. Even if it doesn't influence your choice, knowing what to expect if something does go wrong will save some nasty surprises down the road.

3. Can You Negotiate the Price Down?

A computer is a relatively large investment - anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Many computer buyers expect that there is a significant amount of "wiggle room" on the price.

The reality is that most computer hardware - the physical pieces like the computer, monitor and printer - is sold at very low profit margins. Often, computer systems are even sold at or below the dealer cost. When you're buying a computer, it never hurts to ask for a better deal, but don't be surprised if you only get a few dollars off, if anything.

Over the close to 20 years I sold computers, I watched the profit margins go from over 40% to less than 5%. It's almost embarassing to offer a $20 discount on a $2500 computer system, but that could mean the difference between making and losing money on the sale.

What you can do to get the best price is to do some comparison shopping. Most computer stores offer price-matching guarantees, so if you find your computer for less at another store, most dealers will match or beat that price, even if it means they lose money.

4. How Do Computer Stores Make Any Money?

You might be wondering how these computer stores make any money if they're selling computer for so little profit.

Their money is made on add-on items. The highest profit areas in most computer stores are cables and "consumable" products such as printer ink and paper.

Printer ink is a huge money-maker for most computer stores (even more so for the printer manufacturers). Why is this? Once you've bought a printer, you're going to have to replace your ink at some point, and continue to replace it as it runs out.

Most chain computer stores and office supply stores that carry a large selection of ink cartridges make more from ink than they do from the computers themselves.

Cables also have huge markups. A cable that costs the store $2-3 will often sell for $20-30. That's ten times their cost!

If you're buying a new computer, you will likely need to buy some cables. Some items - printers, for example - don't often include the cables needed to hook them up.

Many printers also come with "starter" ink cartridges that are only half-full. You might also want to pick up some extra ink cartridges.

This is where you should be able to negotiate a better price. Don't expect the salesperson to throw them in for nothing, but they should be willing to offer you a better price. After all, if you're happy with their service, you'll probably continue to buy your ink, paper and other products from that store in the future.

5. What Software is Included?

The last secret of buying a new computer has to do with the software that is included. Most new computer systems include quite a few programs and sometimes the value of the software can be quite high.

Something to watch out for when looking at the included software is "trial versions" or "limited editions".

Many programs that are preloaded are either crippled versions that don't have all the features of the full program, or trial versions that will only run for a certain amount of time before they expire.

Computer are often sold with trial versions of the following types of software:

• antivirus
• firewall
• MS Office or other office suites
• Accounting - both business and personal

The computer manufacturers generally don't make it easy to tell whether the software on their systems are trial versions or limited versions. This is a question that you should specifically ask if you can't find the answer in their promotional information.

If you're buying a new computer with trial versions of the software, keep in mind that you will need to pay to continue using it after the trial period is over. This is an added cost that you need to consider as part of your overall budget.

These five "secrets" of buying a new computer are fairly common sense, but they are not always made clear up front. Knowing what to ask will help you in two ways. First, you can be sure you are getting the right computer for your needs.

Second, if the salesperson or company that you're dealing with explains these things to you without being asked, you'll know you're dealing with someone who is honest and upfront.

Knowing you can trust the people you're dealing with is an invaluable feature of your new computer system.

John Lenaghan offers easy-to-understand advice at the Computer Help Squad website. Sign up for our newsletter and receive your free report "5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet" at Computer-help-squad.com

http://www.doityourself.com

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How Fast is Your Internet Connection

Have many free services web that test the speed of your internet connection, I am collect the popular site test the speed of your internet connection.


* Speedtest.net is a free broadband speed test with servers located all over the world. Compare your results with others and easily share them. Global Stats : How does your ISP perform compared to others, Analyze broadband speeds around the world, Moving? See which ISPs rank best at your destination.

* Promos.mcafee.com/speedometer find out how fast or slow your Internet connection is with our Internet Connection Speedometer. You could be using your network connection at work, or at home using a dial-up modem, ISDN connection, a cable modem, or a digital subscriber line (DSL). Whatever the device or technology you're using to surf the Web, we'll tell you the speed of your Internet connection

* Performance.toast.net this tool is used to test your internet connection speed. You can test both upload and download speeds. Result will display average bandwidth result from other ISP users that use this testing site. This will give you something to benchmark your broadband internet.

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Get Firefox 3

Can a browser really make the Web better? Yes ! Download the new Firefox 3
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Download Firefox now and get a faster and safer web.

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Put a Firefox Buttons & Firefox Banners on your website and help to spread Firefox all over the world.
Download the new Firefox 3.1 Alpha 2 Shiretoko for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Faster than Google Chrome.

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Protecting Your Identity

No matter what you do online, there is always a risk that someone could glean enough private information about you to usurp your identity. Your financial credit affects nearly every facet of your life, so in order to maintain control over your information, the following tech tips are in order. There are several types of information that are appealing to thieves:

1. Credit card numbers
2. CW2 security numbers
(those 3- or 4- digit codes on the back of your credit cards)
3. Credit reports
4. Social security numbers
5. Driver’s license numbers
6. ATM cards
7. Telephone calling cards
8. Mortgage information
9. Dates of birth
10. Online passwords
11. PIN numbers
12. Home/business addresses
13. E-mail addresses
14. Phone numbers

Compromised Accounts

When any of account is compromised, close it immediatelyWhen any of account is compromised, close it immediately. E-mails can “phish” for information about you. If an e-mail sounds like it is from Pay-Pal or your bank telling you there is a security concern, and you should click the embedded link to go the site to correct it, DON’T! These links are often tailored to take you to look-alike Web sites designed to trick you into entering your personal information directly into the malicious hacker’s computer. What you should do instead is open your Web browser and manually type in the link to the Web site you wish to visit to check on your account (don’t ever cut and paste a link). This is the only way you can be reasonably certain you won’t be misdirected to someone waiting to prey on your information. Sometimes it isn’t even your fault. The security at some companies that have your personal information is lax and vulnerable to a malicious hacker attack.
Low Tech Backups

In any case where you suspect that your information has been stolen, you need to be prepared and to have organized your paper bank records for at least one year. You will need to prove your account balance to the financial institution’s fraud department as soon as possible. Detailed steps to take if your ID is stolen can be found at the following links:

* The plan to follow if your ID is stolen
* (FTC document) “When bad things happen to your good name”
* U.S. Department of Justice ID theft kit
* Identity Theft Resource Center

Online Passwords

biggest Achilles’ heels are online passwordsThe biggest Achilles’ heels are online passwords. To protect yourself, always use combinations of upper and lowercase characters (including symbols and numbers) so that hackers who concentrate on commonly used words in the dictionary won’t guess it easily. Use longer words with more characters and combine two words together with a symbol. You may even want to use words from two different languages so that automated password guessing tools won’t work.

Computers aren’t the only way thieves can get your personal information. Telemarketers are often hardworking people, but there are those who are persistent for the wrong purposes. If someone calls you and hassles you to give them your personal information, don’t! Even if they sound legit, you never know to whom you are talking to over the phone.
Voice over IP Privacy

Voice over IP PrivacyThe Bush Administration is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to order Net telephony providers to comply with a law that would permit police to wiretap conversations carried over the Internet. Unlike regular voice calls, where wiretaps would have to physically connect to the line, VoIP could be tapped anywhere at anytime. The problem that forces us to sacrifice our privacy and rights stems from the FBI’s belief that Internet telephone calls are a national security threat that must be countered with new police wiretapping rules. The way this would work is that the FBI would require broadband Internet providers to provide more efficient, standardized surveillance facilities, effectively changing the way Internet providers do business.

The reasons for these changes are because a terrorist could potentially use VoIP to circumvent legitimate wiretaps from calls being placed over the Internet. If terrorists can evade lawful electronic surveillance though technology, it puts everyone at risk. The real trick is to find a new way in which to effectively trace Internet phone conversations. The federal government is funding the development of surveillance tools through scientific projects that would allow police to identify whether suspects have been using VoIP to communicate secretly.

VoIP communications are hard to track. Think about the great expanse of the Internet where traffic can go literally anywhere. Vonage and ATT phone adapter boxes are portable and can be installed virtually anywhere in the world. You can take your box, plug it into the Internet halfway across the world and still receive calls on your local phone number.
Anonymity

Internet Anonymity If that’s not enough, there are a number of services on the net that make your Internet traffic go through a special service that removes all tracing information, making you invisible or anonymous to the world. When such services are used, it becomes almost impossible to wiretap a call. The only way around this problem is to work with the VoIP providers directly by placing tracing information embedded within the VoIP call itself. In this way, if traffic is routed through an anonymous server, there is still a way to find out who the call is coming from/going to and trace the people on each end of the call. Privacy advocates, however, are infuriated by the federal government’s initiatives to have the ability to tap our VoIP calls at will. They see this as a direct attack on our privacy. VoIP providers are nonetheless working with the FBI and FCC to facilitate the approval of wiretapping requirements so that the Internet does not become a haven for secret communications between terrorists and spies.
Conclusion

Everything you do online can be tracked whether it is making a purchase through a website or calling someone using your internet phone adapter—you must be very careful not to give out personal information that could potentially be used against you.

We live in a wired world, and finding anonymity amongst the digital media is difficult if not impossible. Keep records, burn information on CDs that are not readily accessible over your home network or local computer. If you are detail-oriented about your personal information, you can save yourself many headaches later on.

By Stewart S. Miller
http://www.geeks.com/

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Keeping Windows Clean

Windows is a living entity. Protecting Windows and keeping it clean from malware (malicious programs) is a full time job these days. Windows users are often frustrated by Microsoft’s continued efforts to make its operating system secure against hackers because patching Windows seems like a full-time job. The real question here is what do all these patches mean to you? Microsoft releases “critical” alerts on a regular basis designed to protect Windows from hacker attacks. The most severe vulnerabilities deal with security bugs that allow hackers to gain complete control over your computer. Some of these flaws exist in the way Windows Media Player and MSN Messenger process certain files.

Microsoft has also identified bugs in how Exchange (its Internet Mail Server Software) and Office allow hackers to execute hostile code on vulnerable systems. These patches are supposed to prevent a hacker from gaining unauthorized access to certain sections of a Web site. Another bug in the Windows Shell Component may permit a hacker to cause an affected system to stop responding. These vulnerabilities make it possible for hackers to spy on your PC. With the advent of Service Pack 2, it seems like updates are a seamless process that simply execute in the background. The problem with this “easy” method of installation is that you, as the user, need to know what is being changed on your computer. This is why I recommend you always view the list of updates before allowing Windows to update your system.
Security Updates

One Microsoft security patch update includes a change to the functionality of a clear-text authentication feature of Internet Explorer. This update removes the ability to handle user names and passwords in HTTP URLs, HTTP with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), URLs, and HTTPS URLs. An example of the type of URL that is no longer supported would look like: http(s):// username:password@server.com If you think your version of Windows is too old to be affected by these security concerns, think again. Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows Millennium Edition are all critically affected by these security vulnerabilities too. If you are running Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP6a or Windows 2000 Service Pack 2, update support ceased at the end of last year. Microsoft encourages those users to migrate to a “supported” version of Windows to prevent potential exposure to these security vulnerabilities.
Protection Settings

Set your Internet and local intranet security zone settings to “high”You can take steps to protect yourself from future attacks. Set your Internet and local intranet security zone settings to “high” so your computer will prompt you before running ActiveX controls and active scripting in these zones. Setting your browser security to “high” applies the highest level of protection from unsafe content that comes across your network. If this setting causes some of your sites not to load properly, you can add those sites individually to your list of trusted sites. However, you should only do so if you are sure that the site is safe to use and is hosted from a company or entity you trust. As a final note, there is a free program that I highly recommend you download called the “Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer” (MBSA) tool that verifies when a security update has been applied to your system. It lets you scan your system for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations.
Firewalls

Once upon a time, a firewall was your best answer to protecting your computer from hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities in Windows. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case now. Nowadays, most users are attacked by just browsing the Web. Hackers host Web sites that contain code to exploit vulnerabilities in your operating system such as infect you with a virus, spyware, or even take complete control of your computer. Hackers can alternatively compromise a Web site for the purpose of misdirecting you to click on malicious content. Hackers can’t “force” you to visit a specific site, but they can trick you into clicking on a link that invites malicious content into your machine.

Windows XP SP2 has an integrated firewall, previously known as the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) that defends you against hackers who are trying to access your computer from the Internet without your permission. When a hacker attempts to connect to your computer via an “unsolicited request,” the Windows firewall blocks that request. Windows will actually ask your permission if you wish to “unblock” and allow connects to programs you actually want to run such as instant messaging and multiplayer network games. When you unblock those connections, the Windows firewall creates an exception so that the firewall won’t ask any more when your program needs to receive information to function. You don’t have to use the Windows firewall. You can install and run any firewall you wish.

Zone Alarm is an excellent firewall that is very popular. Zone Alarm offers both paid and free versions that can protect your computer as much or as little as you desire. An even more comprehensive program is Norton Internet Security 2005 that touts its ability to hide your PC on the Internet so hackers can’t find it. The Mac also has an integrated firewall, just like Windows. However, Norton also makes a comprehensive security solution for this platform as well in the form of Norton Internet Security 3.0. The best part of Norton Internet Security 2005 for the PC is its integrated “Intrusion Detection System” that automatically blocks suspicious traffic. Not only does this product block suspicious incoming connections, but it lets you configure your “outbound” Internet connections too. This is advantageous, because if you do get infected with spyware, Norton will alert you that a program on your system is attempting to connect to the Internet and asks you if you really want this program to connect. By giving you the opportunity to block these connections, you can effectively thwart malicious spyware from doing its evil.
Intrusion Detection

Apple’s Macintosh has its own version of this type of Intrusion Detection with a program called, “Little Snitch” that effectively asks your permission any time a program wants to connect to the Internet. Although the Mac seldom becomes infected with spyware, it is a handy utility to have so that you know exactly what your computer is doing on the Internet.
Frozen Images

Now that your computer has been through its trial by fire(wall), the best answer is to simply put your computer on ICE! If you have resigned yourself to the fact that, no matter what you do, your computer is going to get infected, then use a program called “Deep Freeze”. This software for both Mac and PC lets you configure your computer with all the programs you need and then “freeze” your configuration. If a hacker infects your computer with a virus or spyware, Deep Freeze makes the damage simply disappear. All of your settings, files and programs are completely restored to their original configurations every time you restart your computer. This makes it possible for you to avoid problems caused by software conflicts, registry and operating system corruption, lost network and Internet connections, as well as a host of problems caused by simply connecting to virus-ridden network sites. The only catch is that you have to store your personal documents on a separate drive that does not “revert” each time you restart your machine. You have to imagine this program literally resets your computer to a frozen state that you specify. However, if you create a word document, it would be lost if it were on that drive. So, remember to keep a separate drive with your personal files and you’ll have a computer that won’t ever become infected or go down. Now, all you have to worry about are mechanical failures.
Conclusion

Finding ways to prevent hackers from accessing Windows is difficult because your operating system is always in a constant state of flux. Every time you turn on your computer, browse the web, or get a Microsoft update, your operating system changes. If you want to prevent all changes from taking place on your computer, freeze the computer—but then you can’t make any changes to your operating system at all.

There are good and bad points to both approaches—but in a world where having a functional computer is a necessity—this Tech Tip will keep your system running.

By Stewart S. Miller
http://www.geeks.com/

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6 Tips for that Perfect Burn

For many, DVD writing (or “burning,” as it is commonly called) can end up being an expensive trial and error process, especially when burning video for playback on set-top DVD players. This Tech Tip is intended to eliminate the need to spend that hard earned money in order to achieve that “perfect burn.” Please note, as with many things computer-related, many people hold strong opinions of certain subjects, and this is definitely one of them. This tip simply enumerates what we have found to work for many people. While this Tech Tip deals largely with DVD video playback compatibility, we at Geeks.com encourage you to use your DVD burner responsibly and to observe all copyright laws for the area in which you live.

Tip #1 - It all starts with media...

The bane of the DVD burning The bane of the DVD burning enthusiast is “coasters.” This is what bad DVD burns are commonly referred to because this is about the only use left for a DVD disc that suffered a bad burn. With high quality media, you are apt to get less “coasters” per pack of media. The consensus of many is that one of the best brands of media available are the discs made by a company called Taiyo Yuden. Many also have success with “major brand” media such as Memorex, Maxell, TDK, Verbatim, etc. They might cost slightly more than standard or “no name” media, but if you are seriously after the highest write quality and playback performance, it pays to at least consider purchasing them. Not only will higher quality media burn better initially, but they will better retain their burn down the road. A note about Taiyo Yuden is that it is frequently blank (that is, it is not branded on the non-writing side as “Taiyo Yuden”).

Most manufacturers, “major brand” and “no name” alike, usually do not actually make their own media, but they contract out to third party manufacturers to make their media and print their brand name on it. This may actually result in your having two spindles of media with the same name printed on them and actually have them made by two completely different companies. Because of this, many prefer to buy their media based on the actual manufacturer of the media (by a method known as “Media ID”). Two recommended ways of checking the media ID, or “manufacturer ID,” of your media is to use Nero’s InfoTool or the excellent third-party tool, DVDInfoPro. Something else to consider, is that many have found that DVD burning drives are quite finicky when it comes to media, particularly cheap, no-name media. What this means in practical terms is that the more inexpensive media may not work in their drive or may burn at a reduced speed. For example, you may find that a spindle of 16x DVD discs that you bought may only write at 4x or 8x on certain 16x drives. Sticking to higher quality brands helps you to achieving the best possible write speeds while maintaining the highest level of burn quality.

Tip #2 - Check your drive manufacturer’s website for firmware updates...

upgrade current DVD drive with newer firmwareMany users, especially those who may be more technically challenged, may neglect to upgrade their current DVD drive with newer firmware. Firmware is special instructions written onto a built-in chip on the drive that tells it how fast to burn, how to work with certain media, etc. The nice thing about firmware is that it can be upgraded to newer versions to enhance the features of the drive. Manufacturers commonly release new firmware for many reasons, such as media compatibility or better/faster drive performance. As an example, BenQ has released newer firmware for their DW1620 drive to improve the compatibility with certain 16x media (among other things). For newer firmware for your drive, check the manufacturer’s website. Firmware is generally very easy to apply and can improve your drive’s overall performance. Note that if you purchased a system with a DVD burner already installed, it may be an OEM version, and firmware may be difficult to find for this type of drive. There is one caveat on updating your firmware as well: be sure to use the firmware designed for your drive because if you use the wrong firmware, you can kill the drive and invalidate your warranty.

Tip #3 - If burning video, be sure the format you use is supported by your standalone DVD player...
standalone DVD player

Not all standalone players support both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW formats. Check your player’s manual to see exactly what formats it supports before you spend money on media. Generally, older players have more readability issues then newer players. Videohelp.com is an excellent website for finding such information as your player’s model number, what media to use, what formats your player can use. You will also find many great guides and excellent software. One word of caution: no matter the player, for video you want to generally avoid using a re-writable (DVD-RW/DVD+RW) media. This type of media is best suited for data (although many standalone players do support this kind of media, some people have still encountered video playback issues).

Tip #4 – Nero is your friend...

Nero is your friend...

When it comes to DVD media, the consensus is that Taiyo Yuden is the best media to use. Just like media, the consensus of many is that Nero’s (formerly Ahead Software) Nero Burning ROM is the best burning software you can currently use for your DVD burner. The good news is that the standard version of Nero is packaged with many burners and is usually fine for most burning needs. Nero also offers a more advanced version called Nero 6 Ultra Edition with features such as video authoring for users who want to get the most out of their burner. Because of Nero’s popularity, many third party software packages automatically tie into Nero’s burning engine for making actual burns on the DVD drive. Other companies also offer excellent software packages as well (such as NTI and Roxio), but Nero has quickly taken the lead in this area in the last couple of years.
Tip #5 – Advanced tip: Bitsetting...

Advanced tip Bitsetting...This advanced tip is for those who may be having video playback problems with DVD+R/RW media playing properly on a DVD standalone player. When a DVD standalone player plays back a disc, it looks at a set of “low level” information to tell it what kind of disc it is (for example: DVD-ROM; DVD+R, etc.). Some older standalone players will only play back discs marked in this area as DVD-ROM. They may physically have no problems playing back a burned disc with video, but their firmware instructions are telling them not to (because it is not marked as a DVD-ROM in this area). There are two work-arounds for this type of issue. The first is to actually update your standalone player’s firmware (see the videohelp.com website we mentioned earlier for information on how to do this and if an update is available). The second is to have the burned disc report that it is a DVD-ROM rather than a DVD+R/RW disc. You can do this with a nifty feature called bitsetting. Many drive manufacturers do support bitsetting or “booktype change” on +R/RW media. The method of changing the booktype of your media depends on the manufacturer of the drive. Some offer a utility to manually change it, while others will automatically change the booktype to DVD-ROM prior to actually burning your files onto the disc when using the proper burning software. While this tip may be more advanced than what you may be looking for, it does help solve some of those nagging compatibility issues some may still face.
Tip #6 – Advanced tip: When all else fails, burn your DVD in Nero using UDF 1.02...

This is a tip some have found to help with many playback issues. If the video DVD you burned does not play, or you get a "Disc Error", try burning the disc using UDF (Universal Disc Format) 1.02. If you have a somewhat older standalone DVD player, there may be a chance that it cannot properly support the newer versions of UDF (burning software, such as Nero usually use the newer version of UDF when burning DVD video). This “last resort” tip has helped many with seemingly insurmountable DVD video playability issues.
Final Words

Following these tips, and taking the initiative to do some research on the subject, will ensure that you’ll be quite satisfied with both your DVD writer as well as anything you create with it. While we have found that some people may be quick to blame the DVD drive or the DVD media as the source of a problem, this may not necessarily always be the case as we’ve seen with tips 5 and 6. It is our hope that these Tech Tips will help you make that “perfect burn.”


by Miguel Fernandez
http://www.geeks.com/

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How to make My Computer' open in Explore mode with folder list

In My Computer click Tools menu, and then click Options.

Click the File Types tab.In the list of file types, highlight "(NONE) Folders"

Click Advanced button, In the Actions box, highlight "Explore" Click "Set Default"

http://freepctech.com

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Compress Files

What Is WinZip?

When transferring files from computer to computer via cable, disk or Internet, it is often necessary to "compress" files to make them smaller so they can be sent more quickly.

The files are not damaged or changed, just stored in a different way. A good analogy is to think of it like taking a large letter, folding it up and putting it inside a small envelope. You send the envelope which now takes up less space, but at the other end the envelope can be opened and the large letter folded out again.

This is the advantage of using compressed files. You take a large file or group of files, compress and place in one small compressed file, then send. At the other end the contents can be "extracted" back to their original size and used as normal.

WinZip is the most well-known of many programs able to compress files, in this case to what are known as Zip files with the filename extension .zip

Installing WinZip

You can download a trial version of WinZip from www.winzip.com

After the trial period is over you will be reminded to purchase a License to continue using the program.

Choose a site to download from and click Download Now. Choose to Save To Disk and choose a location on your computer to save to.

Double-click the winzip file you have downloaded to begin installation. Click Setup then OK to install to your Program Files folder. As you proceed through the setup options you will need to click Next to move on to the next screen.

Click Yes to agree to the License Agreement. You can now view or print a Quick Start guide if you wish to. Choose Start with the WinZip Wizard.

Choose Quick Search and after a few seconds WinZip will finish making a list of your folders. The setup will also need to associate WinZip with various filetypes. When WinZip Setup has finished, click Close.

Using WinZip

To start the program, double-click the WinZip shortcut on your desktop, or alternatively click on the Start menu then All Programs > WinZip > WinZip.

Click on Use Evaluation Version. You should now see the WinZip Wizard, which helps you perform the most common tasks associated with WinZip. Click Next and for this example, Create A New Zip File.

Choose a filename such as "ZipTest" which will be saved to the default folder, or use Browse to choose a different folder, enter the filename and click OK.

Click Next. Use the Add Files button to add the files you want to compress, or you can click and drag them into the empty box. When you have added the file or files you want to compress into this Zip file, click ZipNow then Finish.

WinZip will close and if you now look in My Documents or whichever folder you specified earlier, you should see a .zip file called "ZipTest". To open this or any other Zip file, in Windows XP you can double-click it as if it were a normal folder. From here you can drag the files out, which will extract them so they can be used as normal.

Alternatively, right-click the file and choose Open With WinZip. Click Evaluation Version and you should see the Wizard again.

Click Next then UnZip or Install from "ZipTest.zip". Click Next and choose a folder to extract the contents of the Zip file to (the default location is a folder called Unzipped in My Documents).

Click Unzip Now. In the folder you specified you should now be able to see the files you originally compressed in the Zip file, extracted and ready to use again. Click Finish in WinZip to close the program.

More Help

For more information about WinZip's other features, read the QuickStart guide or click on Help from within the program.

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