Perhaps you’ve seen the TV commercials featuring the obviously technically non-savvy mom complaining about how slow her computer is. To the rescue comes her obviously much smarter smarmy son, who fixes her computer’s problems with a single click of the mouse. Or, the...

[This is an updated version of a previously-written column] We looked last week at ways to speed up computers running Microsoft Windows. I received so many good responses to the article that I’ve decided to present you with a few more easy-to-implement Windows tweaks....

[This is an updated version of a previously-written column] Microsoft’s Windows operating system is by far the most widely used operating system in the world, dominating the market to the point that most folks don’t even know that there are any alternative ways to use...

I am honored once again to teach a computer class at the Norman Public Library. For one evening only, September 15 at 6:30 pm, we will dive headfirst into the dark underworld of computer and Internet security. It’s always a fun journey. The goal of the class is to...

"You are sending me spam email," I recently wrote to one of my customers. Of course, he had no idea he had sent me an email promoting assorted "enhancement" products, but, nonetheless, that's what happened. He also had no idea he had sent the same email to everyone in...

Have you ever wanted to move your desktop computer from one location to another, but weren’t sure where to start? With a little planning and knowledge, the chore of moving and setting up your own computer can be a trouble-free and rewarding experience; here’s how. The...

Now, don’t go getting all snippy about the title of this column. I’m not specifically referring to your own, personal stupidity, per se, but rather, the stupidity that seems to crop up all too often in the world of computers and the Internet. The issue at hand is that...

Things have certainly come a long way since 1988, when the first stand-alone audio CD recorders outside of CD manufacturing plants started showing up. At that time, do-it-yourself CDs were the province of the rich and famous, as the burners weighed 600 pounds and cost...

Have you ever found yourself staring at a TV commercial, unsuccessfully trying to understand what the perky little nerd on the screen is saying? Why is it that tech retailers throw around acronyms and technical terms without explaining what they mean? Take, for...

A large part of my job is helping my customers deal with virus-infected computers. All the antivirus programs in the world won't help if you click on the wrong thing, and some folks, believe it or not, will click on anything. This week brought me the opportunity to...

Perhaps you've heard of the recent controversy involving Google and their Google Street View project. It seems they have been grabbing data from wireless networks without permission. Is Google guilty of stealing? Read on and decide for yourself. If you've never heard...

I work on computers for a living and I love my job. I enjoy taking a customer’s computer and turning it into something they can actually enjoy, instead of being mad at it all of the time. One of the biggest parts of my job is taking complicated and convoluted computer...

“What happened to my computer? What made it stop working?” I hear this sort of question all the time. Sometimes, I have a logical, easy-to-understand answer. Other times, my answer sounds something like this: “I know it sounds crazy, but, sometimes, Microsoft Windows...

Have you ever wanted to track down someone’s whereabouts, but didn’t know where to start and you didn’t want to pay a high-priced private investigator? To the rescue comes the Internet, which is brimming with ways to find long-lost relatives or investigate shady...

Power surges and failures were commonplace this week as crazy storms and tornadoes ravaged our fair state. Power failed at The Norman Transcript, forcing the use of gas-powered generators. A power surge also killed one of the computers that make the plates for the...

I am often asked, "Is Facebook safe?" Facebook, the most popular social networking website in the world, long ago knocked rival MySpace off the number one perch and now boasts more members than the entire population of the United States. Just like the U.S. population,...

If you’ve read my columns for any length of time, you’ve seen my rants about the importance of backing up the files on your computer. I hate being the one that has to tell someone, “Your computer’s hard drive is dead. Too bad you didn’t have your files backed up. Say...

"My computer is so slow." If I've heard that complaint once, I've heard it a thousand times. In fact, sluggish computer performance is probably the number one computer complaint of all times. Care must be taken, though, to distinguish between slow computer performance...

I know someone who is building a nice home in the eastern outskirts of our fair city, on a remote acreage that requires a personal visit from the local electric meter-reader person. The home sits on top of a rather steep hill and, because of locked gates and such,...

From the “You’ve got to be kidding” department comes a story that I’ve been following for a while, one that should make anyone think twice about using company or school-issued laptop computers. It seems that the Lower Merion School District of Philadelphia has issued...