Multi-core processing is one of those terms that geeks love to use when they tell people about their computers because having multiple cores means wonderful things. Let’s start on what a processor is: A processor is a component that processes instructions from the different programs and makes outputs. That’s obviously a simplified explanation, but that’s what it is and what […]
More Cores is the Key to Multitasking
Why Does Microsoft Keep Changing Stuff?
If you know me—at all—you know that I use a lot of different forms of technology, from different providers. This gives me the foundation to be able to tell you authoritatively that it is not just Microsoft that keeps changing stuff. Let’s start by saying that, although a horse and buggy is an adequate way to get around and […]
How to Contact a Professional
I want you to feel comfortable and confident in dealing with a lot of your computer conditions. But there is a point when you should NOT try to do it yourself. That point is where you don’t feel comfortable, and when there is too much to lose. Most computer problems that people have are NOT hardware related, they’re software […]
How to Save a Document to PDF
PDF, or Portable Document Format, is extremely popular, because if you save a document as a pdf, it can be read by any operating system. The most popular and well-known pdf reader is Adobe Reader, but there are others as well, and you can find them by searching on “pdf reader.” PDF documents are identified by this familiar icon. But […]
This Thing Called the World Wide Web
I remember when there was no World Wide Web, when the Internet was not called the Internet. For today’s emerging generation of computer users, however, computer use IS the Internet or the Web. The journey from a room-sized machine churning out processed data to global information access from a handheld device weighing less than a pound probably does not fascinate […]
What can I get rid of, and how do I NOT mess it up?
I had a reader question on this subject, and this is a very good question. There are things that DO need to be on your computer, and things that DON’T. Knowing the difference between the two can determine whether or not your computer still runs after you’re done fixing it. These instructions pertain to Windows operating systems. If you need […]
RAM–What “Ewe” Need to Know (pun warning came too late)
what it is–in real people’s terms RAM stands for for Random Access Memory. It’s not storage, and it’s not the hard drive. It’s the thing your computer uses to keep track of stuff it’s working on right now or very recently. Your computer can’t start without it; if you don’t have RAM installed, it simply won’t complete the startup process. […]