Owner: Money Saving Tech Tips URL:http://money-saving-tech-tips.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 17:55:12 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Tips on saving money on tech based on 30 yrs experience. General tech info. Meanderings on life, tech, parenting, relationships, counseling. Site statistics:Click here
Stuff Running on Your Computer You May Not Know About. 2008-05-28 19:35:00 This information is based on the IT Security blog post "10 services to turn off in MS Windows XP," by Chad Perrin. I got the information through ZD.Net and TechRepublic. You should consider joining both to keep up with a lot of the technical issues. Keep in mind that you may not want to turn any of this stuff off but if you are reasonably technical you may wish to close some of these holes. Read more:Computer
AVG 8.0.100 Free Incompatible with Google Desktop 2008-05-21 21:09:00 Heads up, your AVG 7.5 version is going to bug you to upgrade due to it's nearing demise. I upgraded to the 8.0.100 after wading through the sales pitch for their paid version. I did the reboot and all the crap they ask you to do. I then tried to get on the web via Explorer 7.0 and could not get on the net. I uninstalled AVG 8 and got on the net no problem. I discovered a site noting an is Read more:Desktop
, Google
, Google Desktop
A Good Use for old IDE Drives 2008-05-21 13:57:00 This relates to my post about backing up your data. If you have some old ide drives laying around and are comfortable with a simplistic installation, read on. This description is right off of the Amazon site and their box has a full one year warranty from Netgear. My experience with Netgear and their service and warranties has been very positive. If you want to live a little closer to the edge, th
Dirt Kills--Clean your computer! 2008-05-09 14:04:00 Here is an immediate money saving tech tip. Clean
your computers. I have a clean environment, no dust, no fumes and no contaminants. However, when ever I open one of my boxes I am amazed how much dust and ensuing dust bunnies are in the computer. Heat kills! The more dust on your board, the more likely you are going to fry a component. I even run a Heppa filter and I get the darn dust bunnies.Firs Read more:Kills
Ezonics Golf Scope / Range Finder (EZ-628) 2008-05-05 09:41:00 If you aren’t a golfer, STOP HERE, READ NO FURTHER, you will be bored to tears. If you are a golfer, check this out. It works, it is easy and it is small and really, really inexpensive. I bought one for my technophobe wife/avid golfer. She likes it and found it fairly easy to use. You put the bottom line at the base of the pin and the top moveable line at the top of the pin and get a very reason Read more:Finder
, Range
, Scope
What’s in your wallet, basement,garage? 2008-04-28 12:50:00 An article in Wired magazine entitled “Waste Management” hit too close to home the other day. A daughter was writing about the enormous collection of computers and related paraphernalia that her father collected. She and her brothers had to help him divest himself of the collection when his building was sold and he had to move. Sadly I see my self in this tawdry little tale. Admittedly I have Read more:wallet
Are you sure you’re Backed Up? 2008-04-23 13:06:00 I had a guy out to clean the gutters the other day. He said he hadn't called me because he lost his entire customer data base. He is presently reconstrucing everything from old invoices and memory. His experience is not unique. Even if you don't run a business, think of the number of irreplaceable photos you have on your computer. There are no negatives to reconstruct those photos. A back
Online Credit Card Protection 2008-04-14 08:24:00 Being a bit paranoid, I was always nervous about putting my credit card information on line for purchases. I got a specific credit card with a low limit to protect myself. I only used that card for online purchases. Then the credit card company bumped up my low limit by a factor of 10 due to my paying my bills on time and defeated the whole purpose of lower liability. I know they claim you Read more:Protection
S is for Silence by Sue Grafton 2008-04-12 11:15:00 I have not read Sue Grafton’s books in order. Some of them I have liked a great deal and some have left me feeling so-so. I don’t know if this particular book veered from her style since I didn’t read the two prior to it. Bouncing back and forth from the 50’s to the present and presenting in depth looks at a wide range of characters could be confusing. I liked it and felt this book was a b
Off The Chart by James W. Hall 2008-04-12 11:14:00 SciFi is my first love but I find to keep some perspective on reality, I need to read other books. James
W. Hall writes about as other as I can imagine. This guy writes a story that can keep you up at nights. Thorn, his main character in his books I have read*, is a dyed in the wool lone wolf. He makes lone wolves seem social. Thorn gets into bizarre situations and works his way through them. This Read more:Chart
Any OS out there? 2008-04-10 09:25:00 This is more of a request than a blog. I mentioned in an earlier blog that I refurbish used computers for donation purposes. I need OS for those computers. If you have any unused Win98 or newer operating systems that you are not using, would you like to donate them to a good cause? Legitimate only please. CD and activation code is needed.Why you may ask?I get computers from former clients and
Computer Cleanup by CCleaner 2008-04-01 10:24:00 Crap Cleaner is a registry cleaning tool. The following is from filehippo.com CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less than a second to run) and Free.Cleans t Read more:Cleanup
, Computer
Digital Photo Viewer 2008-03-30 13:45:00 A technophobic friend of mine was expressing frustration over his inability to find a slide projector. From the old school, he is going to do some sales training and has 95 slides he wants to use. Trouble is, nobody has a slide projector and his son told him the young guys would laugh at him for using it, even if he could find one. He does not have a computer, let alone a laptop so PowerPoint is o Read more:Digital
, Photo
, Viewer
Free Books 2008-03-29 15:58:00 Free Books
Once upon a time an employee of mine was showing some emotional distress. She told me that her live in boyfriend had left her because she couldn’t deal with her having a child. (Kid was 3 so it wasn’t like he was a surprise) She felt she could deal with the problem but she just didn’t know what to tell her child who wanted to know what happen to the boyfriend. I wrote “Mommy’s
Validation 2008-03-28 10:55:00 Validation is a strange thing. Sometimes it gets you free parking. Other times it means you discover that what your doing means something to someone else. One of my blogs was to question who reads what I write, why do they read it and what would they like to see. I got zip, zero, butkus responses, comments or notice. It makes you wonder if your counter is being bumped by google just to Read more:Validation
Recycle that Rascal! 2008-03-25 15:51:00 Recycle that PentiumBesides boat anchor there are some good uses for old computers. Set up a dedicated screen saver machine. You load up your photos and set a screen saver to run continuously. Since you already own everything it is way cheaper than even the cheapest digital photo frame.If you are feeling philanthropic, there are many lesser known local charities that provide computers for th Read more:Rascal
, Recycle
Cheap & Good Phone, How Unique! 2008-03-11 08:30:00 I had a 25 year old trimline phone die recently. I searched and found that it is still made. I found it at Kmart for $9.99. It isn’t as heavy as the old one and doesn’t feel as durable but it works just fine and at that price if it doesn’t I can just pitch it. They had it in bisque and black. I like to have some corded phones around for when the power is out. Cordless is great the rest of th Read more:Cheap
Emergency Night Light 2008-03-10 10:34:00 I am a believer in night lights. Perhaps innate clumsiness feeds that belief but when the kids were little and I jumped up at the slightest nighttime provocation, it was reassuring to be able to see the nefarious hot wheels prior to stepping on them rather than pulling the impalement out of my foot after the fact.This has led to a long line of plug in nightlights. One of my periodic, paranoid Chri Read more:Emergency
, Night
Smoke Detectors, Don’t Procrastinate! 2008-03-05 09:50:00 Get off your duff and check your smoke detectors. If they are part of an overall alarm system, take the time to alert your alarm company and test them. Death overall kind of sucks but death by fire strikes me as too gruesome to even think about. So to avoid being a statistic check your smoke detectors. If you need new ones Consumer Search rates the First Alert Ultimate Series Battery-Powered Smoke
Wireless N Router 2008-02-24 10:36:00 TRENDnet TEW-631BRP Wired: IEEE 802.3 (10Base-T), IEEE 802.3u (100Base-TX) Wireless
: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft) Wireless N-Draft Firewall Router
– Retail $79.99. www.newegg.com has it for $69.99 with a $30 rebate and free shipping. Consumer search ranked it as #3 in best routers for the money and it has a 3 year warranty to boot. I’ve used TRENDnet products and fou
The Car Rental Discount Myth 2008-02-17 11:59:00 Renting a car seems so similar to playing the slot machine. You are hoping to hit the ultimate combination and be a winner. Your odds of success on car rental may be similar to your slot machine odds. Wanting to rent a car I went to Expedia and did a search. I input the airport, the dates and followed the prompts. I got several companies that ranged widely and wildly in price. I went to P Read more:Discount
, Rental
Suicide Is Not an Answer 2008-02-13 12:17:00 Recently an acquaintance of mine committed suicide. The despair and lack of hope that lead to suicide must be overwhelming. Alcoholism was a contributing factor to the suicide. A perceived monumental personal life disappointment combined with a final DUI seems to be what triggered the suicide. Facing the loss of freedom and probable loss of employment seemed insurmountable and that appea Read more:Suicide
Nice 20” LCD Monitor/Nice Price $206.00 with free shipping. 2008-06-03 12:58:00 Envision Professional Series G2016wa2 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor
- 1000:1, 5ms, 1680x1050, HDCP Supported DVI-D - Black - G2016WA2A buddy’s monitor died last week. He called for some troubleshooting ideas and after I had him connect it to his laptop and still no picture he decided a 5 year old monitor was due for replacement. I found this one at buy.com and recommended it to him. The three
New Marketing & Web Firm in MA 2008-06-05 09:04:00 A friend of mine has just partnered up with a friend of hers in a new partnership. I based my businesses on relationship selling and support. I felt that if I could establish a rapport with my clients I was better able to meet their needs. Oddly enough I felt that ethical considerations should always be part of my business life. Knowing Maryellen I feel that I can comfortably recommend doin Read more:Marketing
Jabra SP5050 Bluetooth Speakerphone—A winner! 2008-06-13 07:48:00 Like many out there, I am addicted to my cell phone. I got a 3megapixel phone to get the best possible photo (of course 6 months later a 5 megapixel is out), I put some songs in it (just because I could) and I even use it to make calls. I have a JabraBluetooth
headset that works perfectly fine, except I feel like even more of a geek than I am when I wear it. Even though PA hasn’t instituted a h Read more:winner
Email Funnies 2008-06-18 10:47:00 I get a lot of "funny" emails. Some are and most aren't. This is a funny one and I will consider it philosophic.1. A day without sunshine is like night.2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.6. He who laughs last thinks s Read more:Email
, Funnies
DSL vs Cable, is there really any comparison? 2008-07-02 15:33:00 This is my first venture into paid blogging so here we go. Best Buys.com is doing a series called “Fine Print Revealed” that shines the light of comparison
shopping on different products, services and technology. A comprehensive list of those articles are found here: Best Buys Comparison ReviewsOne of the comparisons they feature compares DSL and Cable
. Having had both experiences in a
Recommend Site To A Friend
