back it up

February 1, 2012

How ofwoman on laptopten do you back up your documents on you computer?

What’s a back up?  Well a backup is a copy of all the precious stuff you keep on your computer, like letters and photos.  I suspect most people don’t bother.

Well one day you may live ro regret not bothering. Computer hard drives can fail, and you can lose all your stuff.  I have come across some cases where this has happened, and its heartbreaking.  It can also be hugely inconvenient.

Making backups is a pain, but it’s a far bigger pain to lose all you stuff!  It may never happen – but it might.

How do I back up my stuff?

If you only have a few documents or pictures, an occasional back up on a memory stick will suffice.  Or you could copy them on to a CD. There are plenty of online back up solutions available these days, but beware, if they offer free space it may not be enough for all your stuff.

The best way is with a portable hard drive.  These cost from £60 or so, and you can have it permanently plugged into your computer and set it to back up every day, week or month.

But whatevere you do, don’t do nothing.  Its not worth it!

At PC Care, I can offer advice and supply the right solution for you.  And I will set it up for you as well.  www.pccare.me.uk

Preserve your memories for ever with TimeTracks

November 12, 2011

Timetracks logoHere’s a great new idea.  Wouldn’t it be amazing to hear your loved ones talk about their memories in years to come when they are no longer around?  Or perhaps you would like to give your loved ones a gift of your memories to cherish for generations to come?  TimeTracks does that.  You, talking about your life and the music that you enjoy. Re-live special moments, remember the songs that brought those memories to life. Your life, your music.  Preserve your memories forever with a Timetracks CD.  25% discount on the first five orders for this exciting new venture. Find out more on the Timetracks website

Shut it Down!

June 27, 2011

People often ask me – should I turn my computer off? The answer is Yes!. It’s very tempting just to shut the lid on the laptop, or leave the PC humming away all night. The trouble with doing that is that you don’t give the computer a chance to clear itself out. As a result it gets slower. It’s a bit like sleep. If we don’t get enough sleep, we don’t work so well in the daytime. Same with the PC. So by all means close the lid or “hibernate” the computer when you are leaving it for an hour or so, but overnight, or any long period, turn it off. Your computer will love you more and hassle you less!

How it all began…

May 4, 2011

A Revelation With An Incredibly Big Message (IBM):

Well, you might have thought that you knew how the Internet started, but here’s the TRUE story …..

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband: “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?”

And Abraham did look at her – as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said: “How, dear?”

And Dot replied: “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighbouring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew To The People (HTTP)

But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham’s drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham’s business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted for insider trading.

And the young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drumheads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say: “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.”

And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known. He said: “We need a name that reflects what we are.”

And Dot replied: “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.”

“YAHOO,” said Abraham. And because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside.

It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE)

And that is how it all began.

A KISS would help

March 29, 2011

KISS – or “Keep It Simple, Stupid”, is a phrase that every software developer and PC manufacturer ought to know, perhaps especially Microsoft.

As  I visit customers to help them with computer issues, it’s increasingly clear to me that the average person does not stand a chance.  Computers abound with warning messages which are mostly quite insignificant, but which baffle and worry the average user.  Automatic updates of anti-virus programs, or of things like Adobe Reader, flag up notices which are worded in such a way as to scare the pants off anyone who’s knowledge of computers is below GCSE level – which, let’s face it, is a lot of people.

The Government is keen to get older people online.  Well, give them a simple computer with clear and large buttons which make it foolproof and easy.

When it comes to software, like Microsoft Word or Windows Live Mail, the options and alternatives available are truly mind-boggling.  Very often, all people want is to write a letter or send an e-mail.  Options for text style, colour, font, boxes, shapes, lines and all the rest are completely irrelevant.  Give them a simple screen with the minimum of choices.

I don’t want to  be patronising to the many older people who are quite happy with the current state of affairs and enjoy all the options available.  But it isn’t just older people who get confused. In the course of my work I have met many people, men and women, older and younger, who admit to being “computer phobic” and are befuddled by all the funny ways of the latest hi-tech gear. I am simply arguing for an alternative for those who feel that way.

I suppose I should be grateful.  The mysterious ways of computers, and their tendency to go wrong, does keep me in work.  Bring on the calls!

Firefox 4 released

March 24, 2011

The new Firefox 4 web browser has been released. This is an alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.  I used to use Firefox a lot, but I found it gradually slowed down and in the end didn’t seem to load websites properly.  So I switched to Google Chrome.  Chrome is certainly very fast, but I now discover that it sometimes has problems with Flash.  Flash is used by a lot of websites, including my own.

I found that Chrome did not always recognise a UK keyboard, for instance putting ” when you key @ in e-mail addresses on forms.  Now I am finding that Flash seems to crash frequently in Chrome.  There are obviously some issues the developers need to look at.

So I have downloaded Firefox 4 and will give it a try.

If you have always used Internet Explorer, why not try one of these alternatives? They are free, easy to download and install.

Some links:

News about Firefox 4

Firefox 4 download

Google Chrome

Busy virus scene

March 22, 2011

The virus scene has been busy lately.  Amid reports on the BBC website that a rogue advert had caused a huge number of viruses, I have been quite busy sorting them out.  Viruses are incredibly nasty things, and sadly not all anti-virus programs will catch all viruses.  I often have to scan with several programs to get the thing off.  The moral of the story – be careful where you click!

If your computer has a virus and you want some help, visit my website and give me a call!

Computer scam—beware

February 18, 2011

There is a very prevalent deception going around at the moment whereby you receive a phone call from someone purporting to be from Microsoft or similar.  They ask details about your computer and say you are infected with a virus.  They may ask you to look at some entries on your computer (in the “Event Viewer”)  which seem to suggest you have a problem.  In fact these entries are quite common and not usually significant.

Then they invite you to click on  certain websites and download files.

Please be aware that these are not genuine calls, but criminal activity.  If you comply with their requests your computer could be taken over or infected with a virus.

If you receive such a call (often sounding like it is from India),  simply hang up! I had one of these calls yesterday. After listening to what he said, I advised him to go and get a decent job!

If you think you may have fallen foul of one of these calls (and many people have), get in touch and I can check your computer for malware or other issues. You might also be advised to change any passwords on e-mail or internet banking.

A Christmas break

December 22, 2010

PC Care is now closed for the Christmas and New Year period.  We all need a break from time to time!  Holidays are really important to me, and I think they should be to all of us.  Life is too short to keep working all the time.  I am looking forward to some great times with the family this Christmas time, and I wish you the same.

Computer work has really hotted up over the last few weeks.  Don’t know why.  It was similar last year.  When I started the business in November 2009 until about Jan/Feb 2010, it was all go.  Then  it settled down a bit.  Maybe this year will be the same.

Christmas is a wonderful time, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the man who was God, and who changed the world.  I hope you will find a place for him in your world this Christmas.

See you in 2011!

What is a “friend”?

October 7, 2010

So Facebook has decided to offer us “groups”. Apparently we’ll be able to sub-divide our friends into groups, so that we can share perhaps more personal information with just a closer group of friends, rather than all of them.  That sounds a good move.  There are too many stories about people putting too much stuff on FB and then getting caught out, for example, saying things like  ”my job is boring”, and getting fired as a result.  Now your boss won’t be able to see such defamatory comments.  Also, the definition of a “friend” on FB is rather wide.  I have a lot of FB ‘friends’ whom I don’t know that well, and sometimes they put things on their status that they might not say in front of me!

“Groups” is a welcome development by Facebook.  Its now the biggest social network in the world, with, I’ve heard, more members than a small country! But even so, people should be aware of the dangers of putting too much information about themselves online.  So, well done to FB for a long-overdue enhancement, but still, be careful what you put online, it may come back to bite you!

Here at PC Care, I offer website, blogging and social networking services and consultation in Worthing and surrounding areas, as well as PC and laptop servicing.


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