Did you know that today is the official “Clean Out Your Computer Day?” Every 2nd Monday of February has been designated as such by the Institute for Business Technology. What a brilliant idea.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a pro at quickly getting a smooth, fast running computer to run slow. I tend to download different programs to try out – some trials, some full versions. My desktop tends to collect a zoo of shortcut links – so many that they are no longer “shortcuts” since I need to wade through a ton of shortcuts to find the shortcut I’m looking for!
What are Some of the Main Reasons Your Computer May be Running Slow?
Extra programs/services could be loading when you boot up your computer that you don’t need.
The Windows registry, which stores settings and options for the Windows operating system gets overloaded with unnecessary references which can cause your computer to crash or freeze.
Security threats can cause issues with your computer.
Temporary and history files divert your computer’s processing power and should be discarded frequently.
Hard drives and RAM (system memory) get fragmented which make it harder for your computer to open files and start programs.
I have tried various “free trials” for computer clean-up programs. They seem to work great and give me an entire laundry list of all the problems I have. Then they fix only five and say that’s all the trial can do for me. What a disappointment. So I obtained a copy of System Mechanic from the folks at Iolo.com to review their product and report back to you if it helped my computer.
To no surprise, I received a system status of “poor.” I knew this was the case because my computer runs sluggish and takes a long time to boot up.
What I didn’t realize was how bad off my poor computer was. I had over 412 registry problems, 15 vulnerable security issues, and 1 GB of system clutter! Yikes!
To further enhance my computer’s effectiveness, I found that I could turn off programs and services I didn’t use much:
I have to admit, I love diagnostic tools like this – and System Mechanic 9.5 is full of over 40 useful tools that you can use automatically or as needed:
OK, you’re probably wondering how did my computer fare through all of these tests and pokes? Here are my final results after running the complete diagnostics twice, the same day I loaded the program:
As you can see, I was able to recover nearly 1 GB of hard drive space and 222 MB of RAM, fix over 400 registry problems, repair 15 security vulnerabilities, and take care of 7 start up problems. Phew! That’s a lot of fixes!
System Mechanic 9.5 is the number one selling PC tune-up software on the market. They have repaired over 70 million computers since 1998. System Mechanic retails for $49.95 but is currently offered for $24.95 at Iolo’s website for a one-year licence. System Mechanic call also be purchased at Costco, Sam’s, Target, Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, etc.
A Mom’s Perspective
I shudder to think where I was headed with my computer had I not been able to fix a lot of these issues now. I was already starting to have some strange problems with my computer before I tried System Mechanic 9.5. My hope is that those issues are far behind me. As with kids, if you don’t nip things in the bud right away, you’ll have larger problems later. Take the time today or this week to clean up your computer. Keeping your computer in check will help increase the longevity of your computer.
Well, after loading the System Mechanic software, retreiving all the drive and memory space, and fixing registry, security, and start-up issues in under 15 minutes, I feel as if I have saved several hours of work. Time for a long lunch!
Love is in the air! Can you believe Valentines 2010 is already upon us? My daughter finished addressing her Valentines for her 1st grade friends last week. Thank goodness for kids – they’re great at creating excitement around holidays and making them last a little bit longer.
While at the Consumer Electronics Show, I stumbled upon a few fun accessories that I thought I’d share with you. Gadgets are great, but sometimes you just need to dress them up a little and show off your personality.
Hard Candy Cases
The folks over at Hard Candy Cases are great. I loved meeting them and loved their enthusiasm for their products. I also loved their product. They snapped on a great bright pink Hard Candy Case on my netbook and o la la, my boring black netbook never looked so good.
The case fits on securely and snugly – there is no wiggle room, it’s on tight. It is designed with open slots so the venting slots on the computer can breathe. The cover not only looks cool but it is made out of a Polycarbonate shell that protects your netbook from bumps & scratches. Hard Candy Cases are available for various Asus, Acer, 13″ Macbooks, HP netbooks. Prices for Hard Candy Cases range from $29.99 to $49.99 with new designs on their way. Hard Candy Cases can be purchased at http://hardcandycases.com.
Love them! Maxell makes several kid oriented headphones that are fun, colorful, and offer volume level protection. Knowing I had young kids, Maxell sent me a set of headphones. My four year old tried the Kids Safe Headphones and my daughter claimed the M&M’s Sweet Sounds headphones.
The Kids Safe Headphones come in black with gray. However, they can be customized with either pink or blue disks to make the headphones more fun. My son asked for the blue disks right away to match his own style.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have never bought kid headphones before. My poor kids just suffered with adult headphones. Adult headphones were always slipping off because they were too big or too heavy. Ear buds never worked well either.
My kids were delighted to have fun, brightly colored headphones that fit their heads well, were lightweight, and customizable. For me, there was less work because I didn’t have to constantly readjust the headphones to their small little heads. In addition, I had some peace of mind knowing that both sets of headphones had volume levels that are kid safe – meaning that if they can’t turn the volume up too high so that it would damage their ears. If you haven’t purchased kid-sized headphones, they’re worth the money. The M&M’s Sweet Sounds Headphones retail for $14.99. The Maxell Kids Safe Headphones retail for $12.99 and and can be purchased from Maxell.com.
Otter Box Cases for Your Phone
At last! A phone accessory manufacturer that understands me. Otterbox began making their boxes for people like me. Their website states ”Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle and like our customers, we’ve been there too!” So profoundly said. Sign me up!
Otterbox carries four series of defense for your phone: Impact, Tandem, Commuter, and Defender. All four series offer protection and style — though it ranges from lighter materials all the way up to “practically indestructible.”
I arranged with Otterbox to try out a couple of the cases. I ordered the “slim and tough” Commuter series case in black for my husband and the “practically indestructible” rugged case for myself — in pink of course!
I have dropped every cell phone I have ever owned. My first cell phone I had to actually smack it first in order to hear the caller – a result of dropping the phone a few too many times. My current phone – who knows what I did. It only works on speakerphone. So if you wonder why a woman is annoyingly talking on her cell using her speakerphone, introduce yourself. It’s probably me!
Could the Otterbox hold up to my relentless dropping and fumble-handedness? Well, I think so. I say that because I’m afraid to drop my phone on purpose. It has to happen naturally. But I will say that they case is the strongest I’ve ever used and I feel very confident it will hold up to the test…when that day comes (and it will!).
Otterbox cases start at $19.95 and can be purchased directly at Otterbox.com.
Today Apple announced its newest, long anticipated and highly gossiped product, the Apple iPad. Rumors about the new iPad have been running rampant on the Internet as Apple fans and technology commentators quickly spread any gossip to help satisfy curious and die hard Apple fans.
Steve Jobs presented the new Apple iPad to a packed room full in San Francisco. Reporters hung on every Steve Job’s every word. Steve Jobs heralded the new iPad as “phenomenal,” “unbelievably great,” and ”way better than a laptop, way better than a smartphone.”
The iPad is only 1.5 lbs, a half inch think, and has a 9.7 inch screen. With all of it’s capabilities, the iPad is surprisingly affordable. It is available in either a 16 gb of flash storage ($499), 32 GB ($599), or 64 gb storage ($699). Later, Apple will add 3G to the iPad which will ad an extra $130 to the price. The battery is estimated to last 10 hours and is WiFi enabled.
What Can You Do with the Apple iPad?
Read- it is an ebook – displaying books, magazines, and newspapers — in color
Write – emails on a pop up touch keyboard
Surf – the Internet comfortably and with the ability to see a full screen view of a web page
Keep your Calendar – track all your appointments
Showcase your Pictures- in true Apple form, flip through your pictures, enlarge them with your fingers, change their orientation just by rotating the iPad, set slideshows to music, etc. In addition, you can use the iPad as a digital picture frame when it is sitting in its docking station. Pictures can be imported, sync’d with your computer, downloaded from e-mail, or uploaded from your camera via the Apple Camera Connection kit.
Watch Videos- YouTube, TV shows, music videos, podcasts, you name it
Store Your Contacts – and click on “map” to find their addresses
Search Maps – to find business close to your location. Street level views are available from Google, giving an incredible view of the business/address you are looking for.
What Content Can You Get for the iPad?
Many of the apps available in Apple’s App store is available for the iPad. The iPad includes an iPod and music can be downloaded from iTunes. A new storefront called iBook will allow you to browse for books and magazines to download.
A Mom’s Perspective
Steve Jobs believes the new iPad is “so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone.” The iPad does seem to bring about a closeness to a person’s online experience as the device is small, lightweight, and is all finger controlled. It’s very much like using the iPhone, just amplified in size.
I would liken the iPad to a netbook and eReader, only more convenient due to its touch and orientation manipulation. The iPad ties up a lot of neat features in this bundle that make it very enticing. However, on the flip side, there are some visible oversights that are important to note if you’re thinking the iPad will act as your new netbook. Specifically, the iPad does not include:
multi-tasking capabilities
a file manager to manage your files
GPS – so you still need to cart around your GPS during travel
Apple is prepared an open development kit for the iPad, just as it did for the iPhone. Expect many new apps to be developed in the future. I also see the iPad as a very instrumental remote for future apps to help you control your music, movies, pictures, lighting, and numerous to personalize your home.
Interested in learning more? I’ve included some video footage which shows Steve Jobs presenting the iPad this morning…
Lori Cunningham: While preparing for CES, Nuance Communications alerted me about their two products, Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search. Both products are available on the iPhone and iTouch and allow you to speak into your phone and the software will translate your words into text. Laura Heuer, from MomTechnology.com reviewed the Dragon Dictation for us so we could see how well the talk-to-text technology works. By the way, if you act fast, you can get this app freefrom iTunes.com!
Dragon Dictation
Dragon Dictation is a great new application for the iPhone that allows moms to speak their e-mail and text messages into their phone, rather than typing them. Wow, now that sounds like a time saver!
Messages spoken into the phone are saved to the iPhone clipboard, allowing moms to easily paste their voice message into other apps, including Facebook and Twitter.
Dragon Dictation states that a person can speak something five times faster than typing it. Using this app should greatly aid moms in writing e-mails, texting kids and friends, making appointments in their calendars, creating grocery lists or “to do” lists, making mental reminders, updating social sites, etc.
I reviewed Quick Voice Pro and wished that the thirty second recording time would be longer. Dragon Dictation made my wish come true!
Voice to text
Talk for approximately a paragraph and have it in text ready to email, post, save as a note or send as a message!
Ahhh, so simple.
I love the idea of having my voice turned into text! Now I have three more wishes…. even longer talking time, grammar help and direct link to Wordpress app.
How it works Press and record! Send to..
Try it out for yourself. But hurry! Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search are now available for free on iTunes.com for a limited time.
