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2008 February

Amazon Is Having An Apple Laptop Rebate Sale

Amazon is having a rebate sale on some of Apple’s laptop computer systems. But you have to hurry since the sale ends on March 11th, 2008. Even the new Mac Air has a small rebate of $50! Here are some of the sale items:
Apple MacBook Pro MA895LL/A 15.4″ Laptop (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, [...]

Intel 915 Users Were Burned By Vista?

Most of us have already read he reports about the release of the memo’s from Microsoft in which there is much discussion about Vista and Vista Capable computers. These memo’s were released by the corut after it was decided that a class-action status would apply to all who purchased Vista Capable computers.
But there is one [...]

Microsoft Cuts Vista Pricing

Depending on which news articles you read, Microsoft is going to lower the pricing on their Vista operating system between 20% to 40% or more. One source in silicon valley states the cuts will be as high as 48% on some products. The versions which will feel the cuts are Home Premium and Ultimate. Only [...]

Test Your Anti-Virus Program With eicar

I had a client ask me an interesting question yesterday afternoon, in that they wanted to know if there was a safe way to test their anti-virus program. The eicar test virus has been around for many years and is a simple way to confirm that your AV program is in fact working. On the [...]

You May Need To Activate Windows Vista Again After Installing SP1

I thought I would mention this and also provide a link to the Microsoft article referencing this fact. Will you have to reactivate your copy of Vista after installing SP1? I did. Microsoft mentions the following circumstances in which you may need to reactivate:

Cause 1: Changes to hardware or to hardware device drivers are detected
[...]

More Logos From Microsoft - Clarifies Vista Certified Stuff

Now that a court has decided that a suit against Microsoft revolving around its Vista Capable logo has gone to class action status, it seems that Microsoft is now clarifying some of the logo’s that you may see. There are logo’s for both hardware and software plus a logo for Vista Basic. Hopefully this clarification [...]

Google And Lack Of Clicks Add To Recession Fears

There doesn’t seem to be any good economic news lately including a new report about Google and shrinking revenues. It seems that in a recent survey the search giant has suffered a reduction of about 7.5% in the number of clicks people are making on Google Ads. Because of this, Google is suffering a dip [...]

Why Is This So Hard To Understand, People? We Need Info!

This morning I received a comment in which the writer stated he had a new PC using Vista and he tried to record a show and the system froze and would not come out of sleep mode. Also with a question as to why is this? If this was an isolated incident I would not [...]

Digital TV - Everything You Need To Know + $40 Saving Coupons

Unless Congress has a mental break down and extends the date for all digital TV signals, there is only about 356 days left before the big change. Most of us have seen the local advertisements with some vague advice about how to handle the change over. But the feds have a very good site for [...]

In The Beginning XP Sucked As Bad As Vista - Oh Really?

I really had to laugh when I read Ed Bott’s article about when Windows XP  originally came out and all of the complaints users had at the time. It is also funny to read his take that many users proclaimed they would not upgrade to Windows XP from either 2000, 98 or whatever they were [...]

Lenovo ThinkPad X300 - Stacks Up Well Against Mac Air

The Lenovo ThinkPad X300 is one of the first full size laptops to go up against the thin of the thin, Mac Air. Though the X300 isn’t as thin, it does offer some hardware features that the Mac Air can’t handle because of its thinness. But the X300 still fits inside a standard interoffice [...]

FCC To ISP - You Will Be Spanked

The chairman of the FCC has stated that the agency is ready to punish some of the ISP’s that secretly control users web traffic. Though not specifically mentioning any names [Comcast], it is fairly common knowledge that one of the big cable providers was caught doing just that. Consumers have complained to the FCC that [...]

Google Explains Its Success - It Really Is The ‘Secret Sauce’

There is no doubt that Google is one of the most successful technology companies in the world. The secret of its success as described by Hal Varian, Chief Economist for Google, explains why Google really owes its success to the ’secret sauce’ it is using. In his report he states:
It seems that a lot of [...]

Defrag Your USB Drive - Yes or No?

I recalled several months ago one of the loyal readers, I believe it was Don Naphen, who asked whether defrag a USB drive would improve performance. I responded that to defrag of a USB drive was not necessary which I still feel is correct. But during the past several months I have read in some [...]

Asus Eee PC: All I Need For Daily Computing

For the past few months I have been looking around for a new laptop system to supplement my full sized laptop system. I had also previously mentioned my fondness for the old IBM Z50 which I really enjoyed using. So when I saw the Asus Eee PC yesterday, I was immediately drawn to it. So [...]

Hello Dell - We Need Some Help Here Please

Beside spending my time here at LG pounding on the laptop keys to present articles here, I also write computer related articles in a local newspaper in California. Part of my article process includes a feedback section in which readers can post their problems. I recently received this question from a reader on 02-17-08:

Dear Ron,
Thank [...]

A Car That Runs On Air. Is It For Real?

Looking for the cutting edge in fuel efficiency? Want to have a car in your garage that uses a renewable source? Well the Air Car may be just for you. This futuristic vehicle, dubbed the Air Car, makes some pretty hefty promises:
The Air Car is a new generation of vehicle that finally solves the motorist’s [...]

Security Updates As Of February 24, 2008

Make sure your system is up to date and that you have the latest protections in place.

AVG anti-virus: 02/24/08
Norton anti-virus: 02/20/08
McAfee anti-virus: 02/20/08
Lavasoft Ad-Aware: 02/18/08
Spybot Search and Destroy: 02/20/08
Microsoft Windows Defender: 02/20/08
Nod32: 02/23/08

Updates as of February 24 , 2008 6:00am CDT.
Tags: avg, norton, mcafee, lavasoft, spybot, defender, nod32

Another Reason Not To Fly GO! Airlines

Back in October 2007, my wife and I had an unfortunate incident while trying to fly from Honolulu , HI. to Kona, HI. aboard a GO! airline flight. So when I read about two GO! airline pilots suspected of falling asleep during a flight to Hilo, HI., I wasn’t surprised. For thos of you who [...]

500 Million Downloads Of Firefox? Enough, Already!

Most of you already know that I am a die-hard Firefox user and have been for many years. The only time my computer sees IE is when I am forced into it when a site won’t function properly in Firefox. But today when I read everyone shouting the fact that Firefox has gone over the [...]

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