Microsoft, in their infinant wisdom, has removed some features from Windows 7 that were in previous versions of Windows. The idea, according to Microsoft, is to try not to clutter Windows up with stuff most people don’t need. Those that need that stuff can download and install it. So, thanks to this philosophy, Windows 7 doesn’t come with Windows Messenger, Photo Gallery, or Movie Maker. But you can download and install them by going to http://download.live.com.  By the way, these downloads aren’t restricted to Windows 7. If you have XP or Vista, you can download these as well.

Something else Windows 7 doesn’t come with is an email client. Windows XP came with an e-mail program called Outlook Express. By the way, don’t confuse Outlook Express with Outlook. They are two different programs. When Windows Vista came out, Outlook Express had not only been given a makeover, it had a new name. The new name was Windows Mail.

Don’t worry that Windows 7 doesn’t come with an e-mail client, there are lots of options. When you purchase a new computer with Windows 7 on it, if you get Microsoft Office with it, you will have Outlook unless you got the Home and Student version of Office.

If you didn’t get Office, or you got the Home and Student version of Office, no problem. If you want to,  you can read your e-mail on the web. If you don’t like that, then there are a lot of great free e-mail programs out there, and a lot of them are free. Our two favorite ones are Thunderbird and Windows Live Mail.

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If you use Outlooks Calendar feature, you may have wanted other people to be able to see your calendar. Or perhaps while travelling, you would like to access your calendar while you are away from your computer. Or maybe you want to be able to access your calendar from any computer in your home or business.

For a small or medium business, you should have a server with Microsoft Exchange on it. This not only allows you to see your calendar from any computer, it allows others to see your calendar and schedule meetings with you. It also can be set up with Remote Web Workplace which allows you to access your calendar and e-mail from remote locations.

But home businesses and home users generally don’t have servers with exchange. What are the options for them? For a home business, especially if you travel a lot, the best solution might be hosted exchange. This gives you all of the features of Exchange without having to have your own server. It’s not free, but it’s not very expensive either. For example, Sherweb provides a hosted exchange service for $8.95/month for each mailbox. If you have a smartphone with a calendar, you can directly sync up your phone’s calendar with Exchange.

If you are a home user, or you are looking for a free solution to this situation, you have some options.

Outlook has a feature in it that allows you to publish your calendar to the Web. However, this feature simply doesn’t work very well.

You probably know that Google, Yahoo, MSN/Hotmail, and others provide free calendars. You can synchronize your Outlook calendar with one of these free calendars. Then you can access the free calendar when you are away from your computer. For example, you can download and install Google Calendar Sync. Then you can synchronize your outlook calendar to your Google calendar before you leave and access your Google Calendar while you are away. You can make changes to your Google Calendar while you are away. You can also download Google Sync to your mobile phone and synchronize your phone’s calendar to Google Calendar.

Programs like Google Calendar Sync, however, are not without their problems. You can end up with duplicates. Old appointments can magically come back. Back when I was using Google Calendar Sync, I once had a reminder for a year old appointment come up. That was some time ago. I haven’t tested the latest versions of Google Calendar Sync, but I hope they have fixed the problems. For more information about Google Calendar Sync, click here.

There are other programs on the market that help you share your calendar as well. Products like WorkgroupShare allow people on the local network to share their outlook calendars. But these types of products generally only work on the local network, so if you are travelling, accessing your calendar, or someone else’s, isn’t that easy. Products like WorkgroupShare aren’t free either. For a 5 user license, it’s $175.

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We talk about wireless computers, but how wireless can a computer really be with today’s technology?

On a desktop system:

Your mouse and keyboard can be wireless.
Your internet can be wireless.
Your speakers, headphones, and microphone can be wireless.

But that’s pretty much it.

You still have to have a power cord going from the A/C outlet to your computer.
Your monitor needs a power cord and it has to have a cord going to the computer.

The closest thing to a wireless computer is a laptop. But it’s not totally wireless because you still need a power cord to charge the battery. But when the battery is charged up, it’s completely wireless. New technology is in the works for wireless power so that they power cord to your computer and monitor could be eliminated. But that technology is still years away.

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Want immediate help with your computer without having to wait for someone to come to  your home?

Or perhaps you want to save some money.

Or maybe you would like both?

We provide remote online support at a discounted rate.

We can fix many problems remotely saving you money over an onsite appointment. All you need is a computer that boots and can get on the internet.

For remote online support, click on the button to the left where it says Online Help.

When you click this button, it will initiate a chat session with us. From there, if you want us to, we can work on your computer remotely.

Note that you should be on the computer with the problem when you click the button. If the computer with the problem cannot access websites, but your e-mail is working, we can send you an e-mail that will initiate a connection as well. Just call our office at 512-267-5913.

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The short answer is, yes. However there is a but. Windows 7 does start up faster and seem to operate faster, but only a little bit. The difference is not huge.

If you are running XP on your system, we do not recommend upgrading to Vista or Windows 7. It’s better to purchase a new computer with Vista or Windows 7 on it. If you are running Vista, upgrading to Windows 7 should be OK.

If you purchase a new computer with Vista on it, you are entitled to a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out in October. If you are planning to purchase a new computer with Windows 7 on it, make sure you check out our article on buying a new PC.

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Have you ever noticed that when you laptop is plugged in the screen is brighter than when it’s running on battery power? It’s true. This is done in order to conserve battery power. Of course, when the screen isn’t as bright, it may be hard to see. And if you move into sunlight or a very brightly lit room, it may be difficult to see the screen.

What you may not know is that you can adjust the screen brightness of your laptop with a simple key combination. What keys you use to do this varies by manufacturer. On a Dell laptop, for instance, there is a key on the keyboard  labeled “fn” in blue. Press and hold this key down. Now if you want to turn the brightness up, start pressing the up arrow. To turn it down, press the down arrow key. Each time you press it, it goes up or down a little.  You can press it several times in a row to change it a lot.

Some Dell models may use slightly different keys. Look for keys with symbols in blue. Those are the ones that go with the “fn” key. Look for a picture of a sun with a plus or minus sign. The sun with the plus sign, in combination with the “fn” key will turn the brightness up, and the one with the minus sign will turn it down.

The keys for different manufacturers may vary, but look on your keyboard for these special symbols.

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When you see UPS, you probably think of United Postal Service. Most of us do. But there is another UPS you should know about. The Uninterruptable Power Source. Some people call it battery backup. A UPS does 2 things for you.

First, it is a surge protector protecting your electronic devices from power surges. Any expensive electronic device you have, especially computers, should be connected to surge protectors. Not all power strips are surge protectors and not all surge protectors are created equal. Any time you purchase a surge protector, make sure it has a connected equipment guarantee that says they will pay for any equipment that was connected to the device and damaged by lightning.

Second, if the power goes out, any electronic device connected to it will not lose power and can continue to run for a while. How long depends on the UPS and what’s connected to it. In the case of a computer connected to a UPS, you can set it up so that if the power goes out and stays out for more than a certain number of minutes, your computer will automatically shut down. So even if you aren’t there when the power goes out, your computer will safely shut down.

All servers should be on a UPS. Any computer that is critical to the operation of your business should be on a UPS.  Any computer that is important to you, or contains important data should be on a UPS.

You might be asking, what’s the big deal if the power goes out when my computer is turned on? The big deal is that it is very possible that you could lose data, or it could render your computer unbootable. It all depends on what the computer is doing when it loses power. If a file on the computer is open when the computer loses power, it could corrupt that file. If that file is a critical data file, you better have a backup. If that file is a critical Windows component like the registry, it can render your computer unbootable.

You can go down to Walmart and get a UPS for $50. But don’t get those cheap ones. These cheap UPS units don’t last very long. A decent UPS is going to run you at least $100 for something that will run one PC. Good brands of UPS include CyberPower and Opti-UPS. Good places to purchase UPS units are Frys Electronics and Altex Electronics. Because UPS units weigh a lot, purchasing online may require very high shipping costs. When shopping for a UPS, get one that provides at least 1100VA/550w of capacity and at least 1000 joules of surge protection.

Most UPS units have two different types of outlets. Some are just surge protection meaning anything plugged into those plugs will be protected against power surges, but will not be on battery backup. Other outlets offer both surge protection and battery backup. Plug your computer and it’s screen into battery backup outlets. Any other plugs can be plugged into the surge protection only outlets.

You will generally need to connect your UPS to  your computer using a USB cable that comes with the UPS unit. This is so the UPS can communicate with the computer and tell it to shut down if there is a power failure. These UPS units come with a CD with software on it. Be sure and install the software. The software is what allows the UPS to talk to Windows and shut the computer down if there is a power failure. You can configure the software as well.

Be aware that if the power goes out, your UPS is going to beep at you.

And by the way, a UPS, like all surge protectors, should be replaced every 3-5 years. A good rule of thumb is when you get a new computer, get a new UPS or surge protector.

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No, a bell didn’t go off. Bing is the new search engine by Microsoft.

As you know, a search engine is a searchable index of websites on the internet. Places like Google and Yahoo help you find what you are looking for. Microsoft’s old search engine was called Live Search, but it wasn’t very good. So now Microsoft has rolled out Bing.

When you first go to bing.com, the first thing you notice is that it looks very pretty. Each day they have a different high quality picture. If you are on dial-up, don’t bother with Bing. That picture will take too long to download. Although the picture is nice, personally I would rather have a page that loads quickly rather than looks nice.

As you type in your search terms, it tries to help you by making suggestions. Of course, Google does that too. When you click the button to actually do the search, Bing is very fast to return results. I am not sure yet if it’s fast because it’s new and not very many people are using it yet, or if it will be fast for the long haul. But right now, it’s really fast.

When you get your search results, it looks like most any other search engine. The nice thing here is that on the left in a column is shows you some related searches that might be helpful to your search. For example, if you typed in “External DVD Burner”, you would get a lot of results of DVD burners at online stores and so forth. Over in the column on the left are some other relates searches that include “Best External DVD Burner” and “External DVD Burner Review”, and so forth. Very helpful.

Up at the top of the screen in kind of the style of a menu, you can tell it what you are looking for like images, shopping, etc. Just like Google.

Overall, so far Bing looks pretty good. You might want to go to bing.com and check it out.

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In our May 12th newsletter, we told you the likely release date for Windows 7 would be October 23rd. Microsoft just announced the official release date and it turns out we were wrong. The official release date is October 22nd. We were off by a day. Actually, that was a pretty good prediction.

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When I talk about enterprise security, I am not talking about the red-shirted soon-to-die crew members aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek. I am talking about security software that is targeted towards businesses. Traditionally, you purchase security software for each computer. To put that software on each computer, you have to physically sit down at each computer and install the software.

The big advantage to enterprise software is that it makes installing, administering, and maintaining the software on a lot of computers much easier. For example, the enterprise version of Vipre can be installed on a server. If the computers on the network are configured correctly, you can just tell the software on the server to go install itself on all of the computers at the company. What’s even better is that, at any time, you can keep track of all of the computers right there on the server. You can see if they are up to date, scanning, results of the last scan, which ones are infected, and with what, and much more.

Enterprise versions of software save businesses time and money.

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