A look at Windows 7's calculator

Did you know that Windows 7's calculator has been updated, and made more advanced? I sure didn't! Windows 7's calculator can now calculate mortgages, convert units, calculate fuel mileage, be a scientific calculator and statistics calculator with just 2 clicks.

To do this, open up the calculator. First click "View," then click one of the options. I'm going to show the "Mortgage" calculator located under the "Worksheets" tab. Let's say I purchased a house for $68,000, made a down payment of $3,000, and could pay it off over 15 years at an interest rate of 13%. I entered it in the appropriate boxes and hit calculate. I would pay $822.41 per month.

This calculator is much nicer than the ones used in earlier versions of Windows, and I hope you think so too.

Technical Terms of the Week

November 29 - December 3's terms are:

1. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - FAQ can be pronounced as "fak" or spelled out as F-A-Q. It is a page of a website that asks and answers common questions asked over time. FAQ's can be written on just about any topic on a website.

2. Domain - A domain contains a group of computers that can be accessed and administered with a common set of rules. It is also the web address of a website. For example: Hoogland's Computer Service's domain would be hooglandscomputer.com. It does not contain "http://" or "www."

3. End User - A person who uses software or hardware after it is fully developed. In other words, You! You are the end user of the computer you are currently using.

How to use two computers at once

Consider this: You just bought a new computer running Windows 7. Your old computer has all of your information and programs from the day you started using a computer. You don't know where the discs of all your programs are, and you have no idea how to transfer your information from computer to computer. Well, here's the solution. A virtual machine.

You're probably thinking, "What the heck is a virtual machine?" A virtual machine is a computer (operating system, like Windows XP) running within a computer (operating system, like Windows 7). How this works is your old computer makes a virtual image of itself (like a hard drive copying itself to your computer as a huge file of all your information). The virtual image will then run in a program called VMware, and it will allow you to use your old computer like you were sitting at it (but your on your new one). You can easily switch between computers, by minimizing the Virtual Machine, and then you can use the actual computer you are sitting at.

The setup process is fairly easy, and it's free for home users; businesses will have to pay a few bucks for it.

For more information on VMware, visit http://www.vmware.com/.

Technical Terms of the Week

November 1-5's Technical Terms are:

1. Defragment - This process helps your computer run smoother, and it clears up more space on your hard drive, so you can have more documents, pictures, e-mails, etc. on it. Defragmenting actually helps your hard drive. After the process is complete, your hard drive may sound quieter than it has been.

2. Ad-Hoc Network - An Ad-Hoc Network, in translation, means "for this purpose." It uses a computer's wireless card to allow other computers to connect to the computer supplying the connection, making it able to share files with the computers connected to it.

3. Remote Access - The ability to access your computer from a remote location (e.g. - work computer at home). Programs like PC Anywhere, TeamViewer, LogMeIn, and Timbuktu allow you to control your remote computer from the computer you are sitting at.

Windows 7 tip: Shake your desktop free of clutter

Have you ever had your desktop full of open programs? Well, this simple tip will help you get rid of that clutter. In Windows 7, there is a feature, called "Aero Shake," that allows you to close all programs, and then reopen them when you need them again.

To do this, simply click on the title bar of the program you are using (located next to the minimize, maximize, and exit buttons), and shake it quickly back and forth until the other programs minimize. To reverse this process, simply shake the title bar again until the programs reappear.

There is also a boring way of doing this: Hold the Windows key + Home key. But, that is not as fun!

LimeWire is no more

Last Tuesday, October 26, 2010, LimeWire received a court injunction to stop their file sharing features immediately.

Even though they are out of the "file-sharing business," they will continue to use the other aspects of their business, however. They are currently working on a new piece of software that, they promise, will obey copyright laws. It will contain a music catalog (like iTunes), a desktop media player, mobile apps, and streaming music (like Youtube).

Lime Group has not made any known deals that they have struck, as far as the new service goes. They are far in the development stage of the software, but they do not yet have a launch date. And who knows, someday LimeWire might be the new iTunes!

Do you think your internet connection's fast?

Think again. By now, I'm guessing most people have high speed internet, or Cable/DSL. You're quite acquainted with it because it's fast, and it gets what you need on the internet done without having to wait an unreasonable amount of time. Well, now that reasearchers at the Terabit Optical Ethernet Center, or TOEC, at the University of California, Santa Barbara are developing the Terabit Ethernet, your Cable/DSL internet may not seem as fast as you think.

Today's Internet can't handle the increase in internet users and content over the next 10 years. Right now, the most common speed of internet connections is 100 megabytes. However, the fastest speed you can get is 1 gigabytes speed. By the year 2015, TOEC will have developed the Terabit Ethernet, running at a speed of 10,000 megabytes, or 1,000 gigabytes. Your internet connection will "fly," loading pages faster than ever seen before.

In order to be able to run 1 Terabit connections, scientists must develop a compatible network card for your computer, network switches and routers to send the signal, and Cable companies to send the signals. On top of all that, where does it all come from before the Cable companies? It comes from its source, a server holding all the pages and images of a website. Scientists at TOEC will also need to build an energy-efficient way to power and cool the systems.

Technical Terms of the Week

1. Buffer - Contains data that is stored for a short amount of time, typically in the computer's memory. Buffering is used to improve several areas of a computer's performance. Without buffers, computers would be a lot slower, and a lot less efficient.

2. Trojan Horse - Like the story in Greek mythology, a Trojan horse is accepted, like a gift, into your computer, and when you activate the file or program, it attacks your computer. Trojan horses can come in various forms: games, programs, and files. To prevent this virus from affecting your computer, scan your computer with an anti-virus program frequently.

3. LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network limited to a small area, for example, your house. Businesses use this mainly to share information. A LAN is run from your network connection.

Every Friday we will be posting the "Technical Terms of the Week." It is our hope that over time, you will be able to better understand the technical terms of the computer world.

How to keep your wireless network from being hacked

Wireless networks are not near as secure and encrypted as a traditional wired network. This is because a wireless network can be accessed anywhere in its broadcasting area. This means that a wireless network has more vulnerability to be hacked. Hackers can do terrible things to your computer, such as implant viruses, worms, spyware, malware, adware, and weird pop ups. They can even make your computer quit working altogether.

To prevent this from happening, make your wireless network as secure as possible. Following are a few possible options to make your wireless network as secure as possible:

• Antenna Placement - Set your wireless access point, or router as far away from a window as possible, if possible. The best place for a wireless device is in the central (middle) location of a building.
  
  
• Set the Security High - Most wireless devices come with security. Whether it be WEP, WPA, WPA2, or Radius, any security is better than no security. I would recommend always having security on your network; never go without it.
  
  
• Disable DHCP - Basically, DHCP is the automatic assigning of protocols, or "numbers." By disabling this, the hacker will have to find the correct protocols in order to hack your network. This will take the hacker a very long time.
  
  
• Hide your SSID - Standing for Service Set Identifier, SSID is the name of your wireless network. By disabling this, the hacker will have to manually enter your SSID.

These simple steps are guaranteed to keep those hackers out! If you have any questions on how to do this, you can call me, Treyton, at 701.850.0166. If I do not answer, leave a message, and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Windows 7 vs. Windows Vista

On October 22, 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7, the successor of the joke-of-an-operating-system, Windows Vista. Some may disagree, and as a matter of fact, I disagree, but I did agree when Vista first came out. After three some years as a Windows Vista user, I became quiet acquainted with it.

Now a Windows 7 user, I've moved more over to its side, rather than Vista's. Here's some reasons why:

• Windows 7 had little (to no) bugs that needed fixing, whereas Windows Vista didn't run smoothly until mid-2008, over a year after it was released.
• Windows 7 has a much more friendly-user interface. Windows Vista needed twice the configuration that both Windows XP and Windows 7 needed to personalize it to your liking.
• Windows 7 is evolution. Windows Vista is revolution.

The first two reasons are factual, but the third one is an opinion, but it's an opinion made by many people, including myself. Windows Vista was released mainly to steer people away from Windows XP, because Windows XP had been around almost six years before Vista was released. Now, in my opinion, I think Windows Vista was released in its "development" stage, rather than its "completed" stage.

However, Windows Vista did have a few pros:

• Windows Vista had a new design, much better than Windows XP's.
• Windows Vista (like all other OS's) came with a wider range of hardware support.
• (After a year or so) Windows Vista became more popular than Windows XP.

Being that Windows 7 is the newest "next big thing," Windows Vista will become like Windows 98, obsolete, just like Windows XP will.

What to know if you want to have a gaming computer

If you've used a gaming computer before, you know that it has to be fast, reliable, and be able to run your games smoothly. But what about the rest who have not had a gaming computer before? This article may be a great helper for those who want one.

Before we start talking about new computers, let's start with your existing computer. Believe it or not, you might not have to change a single thing to make your computer a gaming computer. Check to see if your computer has the following components, and if it does, you have what is minimum for a gaming computer. If you don't know how to check this, contact your hardware manufacturer.

Minimum requirements:

1. CPU (Processor) - At least Pentium 4 or Athlon with 2 Ghz speed.
2. RAM (Memory) - Minimum of 2 GB (233 Mhz or faster).
3. Video - At least 256-512 MB, 1024 MB HD card recommended.
4. Hard drive - 250 GB SATA 7200 RPM (Western Digital Caviar or Seagate Barracuda).
5. Power Supply - 350 watt or better recommended.
6. Cooling System - At least 3 fans (including CPU fan).

If your computer meets these requirements, start gaming (or consider upgrading your hardware)!

Now, for those looking into a new computer, here's a setup that will cost under $600!

1. Motherboard - Asus M4A785TD-V Evo ($100)
2. CPU - AMD Phenom II X2 555 3.2 GHz ($90)
3. RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM ($85)
4. Video Card - Diamond Radeon HD 5670 1024MB ($130)
5. Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB ($70)
6. DVD Burner - LG GH22NS50R DVDRW Drive ($25)
7. Case - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case ($35)
8. Power Supply - Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450-Watt ($55)
   

   TOTAL COST: $590 (USD)