The Computer Guy

A credible rival to MS Office, OpenOffice.org includes powerful applications for making text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, and databases, as well as HTML and XML documents. Not only does it let you edit basic documents, such as letters and faxes, it also handles equations and complex and multipart documents with bibliographies, reference tables, and indexes.

The interface is similar to that of MS Office, and even advanced Office users will find almost everything they're used to: templates, collaborative features (versions, recording changes), macros, and even a programming language. OOo, as it's known, lets you open and save documents in formats as diverse as MS Office formats, PDF, HTML, and XML. It can also import files from those formats, as well as WordPerfect and others. However, it normally saves files in the open-standard Oasis OpenDocument XML format, for maximum compatibility with other applications.

So, if you want to save money, go with Open Office for your Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Mozilla Thunderbird for your email client (with Sunbird) which will replace Outlook, and Scribus which will replace Publisher and I just saved you about $300.

www.openoffice.org
www.mozilla.org
www.scribus.net

You know when you are infected with a virus or malware because your computer is just not acting the way it did yesterday. Here are some easy remedies to get you back on the internet:

Symptom - No Internet Connection

This is very common but it could be one of three potential problems. It could be your internet service, it could be your computers network card (hardware issue) or it could be and most likely is a virus.

The first step is to verify internet access. The easiest way to determine this is by using another computer. If one is working, then the internet itself is fine and you can now summarize that it is related to that specific computer. If you do not have another computer in the house to check with, you can also verify the lights on your DSL or cable modem box. It should have 3-4 solid lights and one light that is blinking. If you have more lights off than on or any that are solid red, you have a problem and it is NOT your computer. This would be your internet provider. This would require a phone call to your internet provider.

The Franklin Public Library is once again filling up the computer lab with classes. These classes will be taught by Joseph Schoen, The Computer Guy. We will be offering classes like, Digital Camera Basics, Digital Computer vs Digital Camera, Social Networking, Surfing the Internet, Photoscape Image Manipulation, CD/ DVD Burning Basics, The Digital Age—Are You Backing Up? For more information, time and dates, please contact the Franklin Public Library at (414) 425-8214.

I have recently been asked and debated about whether a user should do a full system back up (which includes the operating system, settings, etc. ) or a partial back up (which includes my documents, my music, my pictures, desktop , favorites and if you still use outlook, the .pst file). I can tell you my choice with no quiver of a doubt, do only a partial back up. Why? Keep reading to find out.

Why Should You Do A Back Up?
Most reasons to do a back up is in case something happens to your hard drive. It could be because of software issues or hardware defects. Did you know that I rarely replace hard drives because of hardware defects? What I mean is, about 75% of the time when your system crashes, starts slowing down, you get the blue screen of death, windows will no longer boot, etc. is because of a software issue. It could be caused by the wonderful product called Windows or your system has been infected with yet another dreaded piece of spyware or a virus.

Where Do Virus/ Spyware Lurk?
So, the question is, what do viruses effect the most and where do they hide out? I can narrow this down pretty easily for you and tell you where it is not (usually). This is in a spot called My Documents. This is too easy for you to find so why would the virus hide itself there? A virus and spyware is usually hidden in the program folder, windows operating system folders or in hidden folders that normal users don’t even see. These are all folders that are being backed up in a full system back up.

Full System Back Up VS Partial Back Up
If you are doing a full system back up and you have a hard drive failure AND you have no virus/ spyware on your machine, you are okay and life will be good again shortly. Usually, though, you have to install the operating system anyway, then install your back up. This usually takes several hours to complete. Sometimes up to 3-4 hours to complete

If you have a slowing computer, system crashes/ freezes or you know your infected, do a full system recovery, add your additional software and then copy your basic files directly to your documents and you are done. You have just saved yourself 1/2 of the time, cleaned up your computer from the old software that you never use anymore, and are less frustrated.

I have added another page to the website marked free software.

This will contain all the free practical software you can use on your computer. Free sometimes comes with risks, so let The Computer Guy take the risk and find the right software for you.

You can alsow download the paper version which gives you a little more insight. Right Click Here and choose save target as. Then save the document to your computer. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document.

Keep checking back as I will be adding more. I am currently working on the review of free photo editing. This one will be much bigger and more in depth.

Got questions about a particular software program you want to try, let me know about it!

It seems as though these are becoming more difficult to find and I know I still use XP so I have made service packs 1, 2 & 3 available on my main site. You go to it directly by clicking here. Hope this helps some of you.

Are you looking for a large gaming machine and a fraction of the normal price? Then look no further - or should you?

Let us first look at the quick specs: (price as shown is $1699)

Processor Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor - newest Intel processor. It is the first Toshiba to have one and I will say, it does pack a punch.

Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Memory 4GB DDR3 1066MHz memory - for this type of machine, I would like to see more RAM. You can add more, going up to 6gb with add an extra $200 to the price making this machine $1899.

Display Size 18.4" widescreen
Display Type HD+ TruBrite® TFT LCD display
Display Resolution Supports 720p content, 16:9 aspect ratio, 1680x945 (HD+)
Graphics Engine NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 250M
Graphics Memory 1GB GDDR5 discrete graphics memory

Hard Drive 704GB: 64GB SSD (Serial ATA) + 640GB (5400rpm, Serial ATA)
Secondary Hard Drive Size 640GB 2nd HDD

Optical Drive Blu-ray Disc™ ROM and DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash®

Other Specs:
Webcam Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
Wireless Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth® V2.1 + EDR

Inputs and Controls CD/DVD Buttons (Play/Pause, Stop, Prev Track, Next Track),
Premium US LED backlit keyboard (Black),
TouchPad™ pointing device with multi touch control,
TOSHIBA eco utility™ (Energy-saving mode), Mute button, Media button

Battery High Capacity Li-Ion (8000mAh, 12-Cell)
Battery Life Up to 3.3 hours

Weight Starting at 9.70 lbs. - A little on the hefty side, but then again, this is more of a desktop replacement than a portable laptop.

Standard Limited Warranty 1-Yr Parts and Labor, 1-Year Battery

Now, looking at this laptop, it packs a wallop. This could replace most desktops. However, I have been slightly disappointed. Why?

Well, in the past 1.5 years, I have seen maybe 3 Qosmios. All with different issues. In the past month, I have already seen 3, and 2 of them had the same issue. All users have had their laptops for about 1 - 2 months. One of them had a bad display, 2 of them had a bad graphics card. Could this be a huge issue? At this point it is hard to say. The laptop is too new for us to tell. But, if I were to purchase one today, I would get the extended warranty. More on that in a bit.

From the service side of this machine, I like it. Specs on the machine are great, especially for the price. If you compare it out to some of the other name brand machines, you will find this beats almost all of them.

I like the style of the machine (how it is put together). The fact that under neath the keyboard, most of the circuitry is covered by metal and plastic to prevent accidental spills from damaging the system board. The light up keyboard is a nice feature for use in dimmly lit areas. The fact that the hard drives are well secured with additional screws mounted to the chassis of the machine, not just the cover to protect it. Also the fact that it uses a solid state drive which reduces the chance of data failure due to movign the laptop while you are working on it. This laptop also has two heat sinks with 2 fans for cooling but I would not recommend using the laptop on your lap for long periods of time. IT WILL OVER HEAT. The more powerful the laptop, the more heating has a potential issue. Recommend using at like a desktop (on a flat surface) or with a cooling pad.

Even though I like this unit, I would still be careful. If you are going to get this unit, I recommend purchasing the extended warranty (through Toshiba - not the store) for the duration of the investment (3 years).

For a more detailed review please check this out.

For a long time now, people have asked me: "PC or Mac?" This question is usually raised while I am there fixing a problem. The next question that is asked is "I heard that Mac's don't get viruses, is that true?"

Well, here is an excerpt from Macworld Magazine:

Macworld - When it comes to security, using Windows can feel like living in the heart of a big city--the kind of place where you can install all the locks and alarms you want, but you still worry. The vast number of computer users who run Microsoft operating systems form the biggest, juiciest target cybercriminals could dream of. Which is why there are more than twenty-two million unique examples of Windows malware out there.

Using the Mac, by contrast, is like living in the country. Even if you don't arm your home like a fortress, chances are vastly lower that anyone will break in, simply because the Mac is a much less attractive target to bad guys. Documented examples of OS X viruses and spyware doing damage to real Mac users remain astoundingly rare. So while OS X security software such as Norton Anti-Virus certainly exists, a high percentage of Mac users do without it.

Which is not to say switching to the Mac means you should stop worrying about Internet risks entirely. Like any operating system, OS X isn't hacker-proof: Apple regularly releases fixes for newly-discovered vulnerabilities, and is sometimes criticized for moving too slowly to do so. And some threats and annoyances, such as phishing and spam, aren't platform-specific.

For more Macintosh news, visit Macworld.com.
Story copyright 2009 Mac Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.

So, the long of the short is, both computers are vulernerable to attacks. For the time being, most hackers/ programmers attack the biggest pockets, the most users and at this time it is PC users. HOWEVER Macs can and do get infected as well. SO BE PREPARED with either machine that you decide to go with.

So please, don't make a purchase over this single issue. If you have questions, please ask.