IT News - November 2007

Friday, 29 August 2008 12:39 Last Updated on Sunday, 26 October 2008 19:40

IT NEWS, TIPS AND ADVICE - NOVEMBER 2007

Welcome to the latest article:

Latest Support Issues - Upgrade or Replace?

This month I have had more than the usual number of PCs that needed to be upgraded or replaced. Mostly this was due to failure due to the power issues as a result of the recent storms. Please see last month's article for a discussion about how to reduce your exposure to this kind of problem. Even if your PC doesn't suddenly fail you will be looking to upgrade / replace your PC every 2 to 3 years.

So, what do you do when your PC no longer works? Well, as a support engineer my first question following any request from a customer is: What do you use your PC for now, and what do you think you'll be using if for in the future? This is much more important than: How much is your budget?! It is important that after the change the PC continues to meet current demands and is well placed to meet future demands.

Fortunately, most of the time, these needs can be met by an upgrade of the current PC. Assuming that the hard disk (where the existing programs and data are stored) and CD/DVD drives are OK then the upgrade typically involves replacing the motherboard, processor and memory.

The upgrades I have completed this month have all cost less than 300 Euros and the PCs now have specifications equal to PCs costing nearly 600 Euros. The downside is that you don't have a new case, monitor or keyboard but, if you are happy with what you have, why change? Although, in most cases, the software will have to be reinstalled, the data (your files, photos and music) will still be available with no need to transfer from the old PC. And, of course, the computer is in English and not Spanish.

Don't get me wrong, major changes to or replacement of your PC is not easy or cheap: not least because of the need to reinstall software (if you still have it!) and the settings, favourites etc. However, if just reinstalling Windows can improve performance, imagine if the PC now has up-to-date dual core processors with modern, fast DDR2 memory?

As a final point: those who know me will know that I am not a great advocate of laptop or portable computers unless the mobility is required. This is because of the lack of upgrade opportunities offered by laptops: when they suffer a hardware failure or just become old and slow the question often becomes not "upgrade or renew" but "how much is a new laptop".

CDs only last 10 years

With more and more of us storing our files, irreplaceable photos and music collections digitally it is important that we maintain a regular backup. This is a topic I will address in more detail in future issues but, for now, let's assume that we regularly backup to CD or DVD.

The problem is that the disks that we are using will not last forever. It is a little-known fact that CDs can only be expected to last 10 years and DVDs for even less! The solution is to backup regularly, store correctly and not to rely on old archives.

The good news is that there will soon be available disks that last 20 times longer at an expected price of 4 Euros per DVD disk. In the meantime, I advise making copies of any important / irreplaceable disks that are over 7 years old.

Nanoscale computer memory retrieves data 1,000 times faster

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have developed nanowires capable of storing computer data for 100,000 years and retrieving that data a thousand times faster than existing portable memory devices such as Flash memory and micro-drives, all using less power and space than current memory technologies.

This new form of memory has the potential to revolutionize the way we share information, transfer data and even download entertainment as consumers,” Agarwal said. “This represents a potential sea-change in the way we access and store data.”

Ritesh Agarwal, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania.

Free Software (Worth Every Penny)

Microsoft Photo Info

The software that came with your camera already allows you to add information to each photograph such as a title or a category. If this isn't enough for you then click on the link above and download Microsoft Photo Info: it's FREE.

With Photo Info you can add and change your "metadata" of all of your photos. With this program you can also:

Add a star rating

Add hover tips

Add copyright notices

In XP you may need to download .Net Framework 2.0 or later.

Windows Shortcuts

While working with clients' on their PCs I frequently perform some task or other with a click of the keyboard that surprises them: how did you do that?! These are shortcuts that I have picked up over the years and use without thinking so I am quite flattered when people seem impressed with them. When I think of the time that I have saved over the years it seems an obvious thing to include in my monthly article.

This table gives a list of my favourite Windows shortcuts that allow me to spend more time doing what I want and less time getting there! In future articles I will list similar shortcuts for programs and applications.

These are particularly helpful for touch typists who like to keep their hands on the keyboard and not on the mouse. This was supposed to be a top 10 but I couldn't bring myself to cut any more out! Please take the time to read through the list because I am sure you will find something useful here!

Action	Keystroke

Select the menu bar in the active program so that you can use the arrow keys to navigate through the menus and the Enter key to display one	Alt
Switch between open programs	Alt + Tab
Close the current program (useful for those 'popups' without a close button or cross).	Alt + F4 (in a program)
Insert a CD/DVD without triggering Auto play or Auto run	Shift + Insert a CD/DVD
Highlight the name of a selected item for renaming. Also works in many programs including Excel to edit cells.	F2
Refresh an Internet Explorer / Firefox page or other window	F5 (or Ctrl + R)
Cycle through the elements that can be selected in a screen or window	F6
Display a shortcut menu for an item (like right-clicking with the mouse)	Menu Key (Next to the Ctrl key)
Open the Start menu	Windows Key
Show the desktop. Press the combination again to return your open programs as they were before.	Windows + D
Open File Explorer	Windows + E
Open System Properties	Windows + Pause
Copy what is displayed on the screen to the clipboard	Print Screen
Copy only the live window to the clipboard	Alt + Print Screen