Your First Tip

You may have heard about an email program that is included with Windows XP called Outlook Express. In Vista, it is called Windows Mail. In Windows 7 it is called Windows Live Mail. They all do generally the same function but each has subtle and some not so subtle differences.

So don't look for Outlook Express in Windows Vista or Windows 7. You will spend a lot of time and not find Outlook Express.

Also, you can choose to use a "web mail client" such as yahoo mail, or hotmail, or similar.

Have a great day and enjoy the weather.

Dave

For Franklin in Technology Spring 2010 Alumni

Hello folks. I enjoyed my time assisting our instructor, Barbara. And you all were great students. I appreciate the opportunity to be of help to you all.

Should you want individualized instruction, please feel free to call me and leave a message at 888-282-4449. We can cover more skills in depth, and take a look at those social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. My rates are reasonable, and as always, seniors are welcome. Please note that my personalized instruction is independent of the Franklin in Technology group.

Again, thanks for a great Spring 2010. I look forward to helping you discover more about your PC. In the meantime, feel free to check this blog site often for more updates and tips. And you can also contact me with the yahoo email id we used during class.

Sincerely,

Dave

So What's New?

My sister in law wanted her HP all in one installed on the laptop I sent her. She lives on the west coast. Bottom line I was able to load drivers and have her" plug the USB cable into the laptop and we were successful in getting the printer installed on the laptop. Remote control really works well.

Other than that, all is pretty good. I am assist-teaching some computer courses given by the Franklin In Technology group, a part of the parks and recreation department of Franklin Twp, Somerset County, NJ. I have some more clients to assist, and potentially more to come. So right now, things are looking up.

Oh, I did install a Windows Home Server for a local business client here. The installation went pretty well. It's worth looking into (as I said previously) for small businesses and home networks. Well worth it.

Peace,

Dave

Laptop Re-born

So since I got my new laptop, I spoke with my wife and we decided to send the old laptop out to her sister on the west coast. And, of course, I decided to format the drive and reload the o/s since we have the original reinstall discs from Dell.

This started about a 4 day saga involving about 5 hours of phone calls with Dell (side note, any dells purchased prior to 2004 have lifetime free tech support, so don't recycle yours just yet). Well, today after 12 hours of being shut down, the old laptop decides to finish the install. And after an almost full day of research & using their drivers cd, I have the machine 99% functional.

Anyway, it's almost ready to ship.

Peace,

Dave

http://www.davepickel.com
http://www.seniorspchelp.com/

Adjusting to Win7

It's really all good. So far I am not experiencing many issues. Boots fast, works fine, lasts a long time.

Just thought I'd write real quick. It is getting late here on the east coast and I have to visit a client tomorrow.

I did some preliminary checking tonight on some coins I have. The result are amazing. If I am correct in looking these up on eBay, I have over $ 5000.00 in collectible coins. NICE!!

Anyway, all for now. I am going to watch some TV.

Peace,

Dave


http://www.davepickel.com/
http://www.seniorspchelp.com

Small Business Solution-Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server Solution

Microsoft apparently now agrees with me. They are advocating use of Windows Home Server for businesses and offices of 10 PC's or under. See Microsoft's website at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/soho/default.mspx

I am working on putting together a "platform" of software and services using WHS for Small Offices/Home Offices that fit the 10 pc or less criteria. Stay Tuned.

Peace,

Dave

http://www.davepickel.com/

The New Year

Windows 7

I got a new laptop with Windows 7 on it. I like it. I am recommending it to my clients. It is not too different from Vista so Vista users won't be totally lost. XP users will have a steeper learning curve but will still benefit from upgrading to 7. I recommend if your pc can handle the upgrade, then proceed. If not and you are ready to upgrade your hardware, buy a new pc with Windows 7 already installed.

Remote Control Programs

Why do you need to know about them if you don't do desktop pc support? We all have friends and relatives who are constantly asking us to fix pc problems. With remote control programs we can fixe many of these problems without going to their homes or offices. This saves a LOT of travel time and money, especially if we aren't getting paid for our services.

I use a program called logmein (that's log me in) for more permanent remote control that may require me accessing pc's without the owners being present. All of my clients have agreed to allow me access to their pc's when they are not present. I can do repairs, training, and routine maintenance.

For situations where the client may want a less permanent program, I use either crossloop, or Fog Creek Software's copilot program. Crossloop is part of a pc help site that connects pc technicians to users in need of help. The crossloop remote control (screen sharing) software will work without having to create a login id on crossloop. Fog Creek Copilot software is free to use on weekends. And, you can get a $ 5.00 day pass during the week.

All of these programs work very well.

Peace,

Dave

http://www.davepickel.com