If your computer is slow, do you think about defragging it?  Do you even know what defragging means?  Defragging or putting your computer through the defragmentation process allows your computer to access your most-used files faster.  Essentially, the computer will put your everyday files and applications, such as e-mail and Microsoft Word. physically to the front of your hard drive where it is faster for the CPU to read and access that store info.  Those programs and data, i.e. scheduled tasks and control panel, that you hardly use will be re-allocated to the back of your hard drive.  In sum, the defrag utility that Windows contains by default allows your computer read your files faster.

Please note that if your computer is running slowly, chances are defragging might not help.  A slow computer could mean possible viruses, spyware, or a failing hard drive among other things.  If your hard drive is failing, defragging could only further exacerbate this damage and should be avoided.  The best way to find out what to do with your computer is to get it diagnosed by a computer service technician.

An overheating laptop can be a tricky thing to fix.  If you’re laptop gets burning hot or turns off by itself while in the middle of a document, chances are your laptop is overheating.  Why does it shut itself off?  The computer’s processor has a sensor that detects the motherboard is getting too hot for its own good, and shuts off the computer to prevent any further damage.  You might also receive a message the next time you turn your computer on that warns you of exceeding the threshold temperature.  You might also get a fan error which is a clue that your laptop is running too hot.

What do you do? 

Here are the top 5 fixes for overheating laptops, ranging from conservative to aggressive repairs:

1. Blow from the outside: Spray compressed air via the ventilation and fan holes of the laptop.  This will push out dust and debris to increase better ventilation and air flow.
2. Install a cooling plate:  Buy a generic cooling plate which has its own fans, and place it underneath the laptop for a low-cost, quick fix.
3. Internal blow and processor cooling:  Open up the laptop and spray all dirt and debris away.  Also, applying thermal paste on the processor can cool the heat sensor so the laptop doesn’t turn off.
4. Replace the fan:  If the fan is not working or if its contacts are wearing thin, replace it.  It can help better circulate hot air through the vents.
5. Replace the motherboard:  Anytime your laptop starts overheating, the motherboard takes its toll by having its surface and contacts thinned out.  Although trying the above 3 options will help, it still might help a badly, overheated motherboard.  Replace the motherboard and fan to have a sure fix. 

It is wise to take quick action if there are signs your laptop is overheating.  The more time you wait, the more aggressive your fix might have to be.   If you have to open up your laptop, you might need to seek a certified laptop professional if you are not comfortable with this computer repair.

As you receive loving Valentine’s emails and electronic postcards, you might also receive a worm!  There is currently a worm outbreak today, including electronic greeting cards.  Be careful what you click as it might download malware to your computer, further infecting your files.  Not only do you get a worm, but your computer becomes part of a storm worm variant where it can, in turn, spread the worm to other computers.

Past Valentine’s worms have included “The I Love You Virus” which was pretty nasty for 1 or 2 years.  If you notice any subject with “Love You” or Valentine’s-related, be sure to double-check who it is coming from.

Sometimes, when these viruses or worms get too bad, you’ll require the help of a professional computer technician to further help.  Please be alert to prevent such malicious content.

Ad-ins are tools or added functionality that allows your to customize your Internet browsing experience.  The common ones are Google Toobar or Window Live Toolbar.   Add-ons, or plug-ins, are typically found in Firefox, but we’re here to give you some tips on finding cool add-ins for Internet Explorer.  

Below are the most useful ad-ins for Internet Explorer: 

• Quero Toolbar - Customizable Ad pop-up blocker
• Feeds Plus - Combine news feeds together
• Inline Search - Mimics Firefox’s search capabilities
• StumbleUpon - Share sites with others
• McAfee SiteAdvisor - see if the site your visiting is safe

Check out the ad-ins.  They are all free and safe to use.   Enjoy your new tricks!

Have you heard about the Blackberry outage on Monday?  For 3 hours, there were no e-mails for Blackberry users!  No e-mails is like not having TV when Prison Break or the Super Bowl is on!  That’s tough.  So, what does this mean for you as a BB user?  Does this mean you will have more outages in the near future?

Not likely.  The reason for the outage was because the backup failover process didn’t work as planned.  Well, that’s at least what Research in Motion claims.  Something probably went wrong with a back-end program or switch or something not good.   In any case, this affected all of the phone providers according to ATT and Verizon.

Well, look at it this way - 3 hours of outage is better than constant intermittent connectivity with Treo devices!  Any time we can get a cheap shot at Treos…

With all of the hype of Vista’s buggyness, Windows XP is looked at as the dependable operating system.  Thus, Microsoft went a step above to ensure all of the latest patches and updates are built into its new service pack 3. 

What’s in SP3?  All of the current updates after SP2 plus the following:

• compatibility with Windows Server 2008
• detailed error reporting to fix issues
• ability to network with routers better
• enhanced security and stability

You may view the full white paper for SP3’s details.   Please note that SP3 does not include the newest Internet Explorer 7.  This is nice since you are not forced in having this latest version as some do not like the interface or bloated security.  Instead, the service pack simply updates the latest version you have whether Internet Explorer 6 or 7. 

Early beta tests have shown this SP3 will increase Windows performance by 10%.  Further, a lot of users will enjoy just having to download 1 service pack versus 100+ updates individually that have been released since Windows SP2.  This will save a lot of time.

External hard drive backups are becoming very popular.  The USB or firewire devices offer easy ways to back up your important files, music, and pictures.  However, are these external hard drives a reliable solution?  Yes, but they will fail over time. 

External hard drives are essentially regular desktop hard drives, or laptop hard drives for the smaller ones, with a plastic enclosure around them.  So, as true with any hard drive, it has moving, powered parts that will fail eventually.  Hard drives have an average life of 3-4 years with some drives failing in the first year and others lasting beyond 7 years.  That means that you should not hold all your eggs in one basket.  In other words, don’t rely just solely on your external hard drive to store your important family pics or business documents. 

Since these external hard drives will ultimately fail one day, it is wise to have your files on your computer and to just make a copy of them on your external hard drive.  That way, if your computer drive or your external hard drive fails, you’ll have a backup on the other one.  If your computer cannot store all of your files, then you should consider having a second backup external hard drive where you can store you primary external hard drive’s files.  You can copy the files over quarterly or every 6 months and then just turn off the external hard drive when it’s not in use.  This will give your backups reliability and longevity.  And you will have peace of mind.  Also, you will save in the end by avoiding data recovery costs and ensuring your important files are saved.

Some folks are still using Microsoft’s Picture It Publishing 2002 or 2001 for viewing and editing pictures.  It’s a simple and easy interface to navigate so those who use it feel like the big fish in a small pond rather than the small fish trying to figure out all of the commands and buttons within Photoshop or Illustrator.  That being said, it is common for such an older program to have bugs when trying to run it on a computer that is later than Windows 2000.  This program was specifically made for Windows 2000 so any users on Windows XP or Media Center will have to jump through a few hoops before it will work perfectly.

One common issue Picture It Platinum users are seeing is that the program will close right when you start the program.  Cause:  Computer has more than 850MB and cannot properly allocate it to the program.  Resolution: Download the pipcore6.dll update.

Another common issue is the program hangs when editing or moving images.  Cause:  Video resolution is too high or video drivers are outdated.  Resolution:  Reduce display setting by going to Start->Settings->Control Panel->Settings and reduce to 16 bit and 800 by 600 pixels.  If you’re still having issues, update your video driver software by going to your computer manufacturer’s website.

These types of computer issues are common when still running a program that is from 2002 or before.  If you’re running an older program and experience freezing or some buggyness, you can go to the manufacturer’s website to see if there are any software fixes.

Choosing an Internet provider in New York City could be a daunting task.  There are so many options out there.  We’re here to break it down in simple terms.

For residential users, you have the big boys, TimeWarner RoadRunner Cable and Verizon DSL.  Then, you have the rest, including RCN.  The first thing you should do is to find out if your building uses TimeWarner.  If it does, see if there is a building discount since this is present sometimes.  If not, then you should weigh between Cable or DSL. 

What’s the difference?  Well, the cost is just about similar nowadays when you bundle your phone and/or TV bill with your Internet bill.  The big difference is that Cable is a shared medium so if your building is heavy RoadRunner Cable users, you might not get the full speed all the time that you paid for.  DSL gives you a direct line to your building and is the speed you pay for. 

What about Verizon FIOS?  You have to see if it’s offered in your area first.  If it is, check out the price based on the speed with DSL and Cable.  It is typically more.

For business users, there is Verizon DSL, Roadrunner Cable, Covad DSL and T1, and others.  The next step up from DSL and Cable is T1 speed which goes for a minimum of $450/month.  It is much faster, but the key is to see whose network the T1 provider is using.  You want to make sure the Internet provider is not using 3-4 different networks to get to you.  See how many of these hops it takes because the less means faster service when it comes to Internet maintenance and repairs.

The New York Giants have pulled off the most improbable upset in Superbowl history.  They defeated the powerful New England Patriots, stopping them one game short of their almost 19 wins and 0 loss undefeated season.  Now, they are 18-1 and the Giants are champions!

Now, on to the commercials.  Where can you go on the Internet to track down all of the commercial download and reviews?  We’re glad you asked. 

Here are the top websites for Super Bowl ads:

1. Devlib - Check out this year’s and former Bowl commercials.  They even have banned ones.
2. uTube - The master of videos, you can expect good resolution and voting going on here.
3. NBC - Here you may find the 10 best Super Bowl ads of all time.
4. CBS - A nicely, organized quarter-by-quarter preview off all the ads from last years’ big game.

If interested, the Giants will be hosting the ticker-tape parade tomorrow, Tuesday, at 11AM on Broadway at Battery Place and will continue north towards Chamber Street until it reaches City Hall for the ceremony.  Congratulations to the 2008 NFL Champions - New York Giants!