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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Gadwin Print Screen Free Program

Back in February I recommended this very useful program "FREE GADWIN PRINT SCREEN FREE PROGRAM".

I have been using it eversince, just about everyday. I love it, therefore, for those who never read the post and downloaded the program, I decided to post it again. Here goes:

Here is a great free useful print screen software that enhances the operation of your "Print Screen" key in your keyboard:

Gadwin PrintScreen allows much more flexibility. Usually when you hit the Print Screen button it loads the current screen into your clipboard. To save the image you have to open up an image-editing application, paste it, then save the file. Gadwin's free PrintScreen streamlines this whole process. It sits in your System Tray, and you can set a number of options. When you hit print screen (or whichever button you specify), you can choose to save the screen directly to a specific folder.

Gadwin PrintScreen captures the contents of the screen with a single keystroke. The captured screen can then be sent to the printer, or saved to disk as a file in 6 different graphics file formats.

Gadwin PrintScreen can capture the entire Windows screen, the active window, or a specified area, when the hot key is pressed. The hot key defaults to the PrintScreen key, but users may also define other keys to initiate a capture. Gadwin PrintScreen allows you to e-mail the captured images to recipients of your choice.

All this is free software. However Gadwin Systems Inc. also offers a more powerful version which combines the power of a first-class screen capture application with an advanced image editing and annotation utility - wrapped into one easy-to-use tool. Gadwin PrintScreen Professional is versatile and extremely easy-to-use.

In order to download either program, go to:

http://www.gadwin.com/

Select the "Download " tab then scroll down to either "Gadwin Print Screen Professional Version 4.5" or the free "Gadwin Print Screen Version 4.3" and download whichever you want. Full description of the program is outlined.

I use this program almost everyday, it is so easy and practical.

George Freire

Avira AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus Program

I have in the past recommended some antivirus programs, which I have used with success, such as ClamWin, Avast etc.

These are good programs and they are free. About a couple of weeks ago, in one of my research trips through the Web I came across some interesting information on another free antivirus program called

"Avira AntiVir Personal Free Antivirus".

I went to their website:  http://www.free-av.com/

and downloaded the program. I must say that it is far superior than any antivirus free program I have tried.

The description of the program is as follows:

Avira AntiVir Personal - FREE Antivirus is a reliable free antivirus solution, that constantly and rapidly scans your computer for malicious programs such as viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, hoaxes, worms, dialers etc. Monitors every action executed by the user or the operating system and reacts promptly when a malicious program is detected.

Avira AntiVir Personal is a comprehensive, easy to use antivirus program, designed to offer reliable free of charge virus protection to home-users, for personal use only, and is not for business or commercial use. Available for Windows or UNIX.

They also have  "Premium" and  "Security" versions of the program, which if you want them, you'll have to pay for it, however, the free version really has most of the features that everyday computer user needs, no more no less.

If you go to this address: http://www.free-av.com/en/products/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html

You can also download the program and also see the features covered by the three versions referred above.

Try the free version and compare it against other security programs you may have installed in your computer, AND if you still run your computer without antivirus protection, (believe you me there are many users in that category), please, please, install this program. You will not regret it.

George Freire

Friday, September 25, 2009

Microsoft "Fix It Solutions Center"

We all from time to time have problems related to Microsoft Products, such as :

Widows
Internet Explorer
Office
Email and Messaging
Windows Media Player
Windows Media Center

Such problems may be pretty simple to correct, but many times, such problems can be exasperating because
"Windows" is a very sophisticated program with thousands os hidden files that only those who are true experts can see and somehow debug..

Some of you may not know that Microsoft has a web site that is extremely helpful and can help you correct such problems.

The site is called as the title above indicates "FIX IT SOLUTIONS CENTER".

The site address is

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_fixit_main#tab0.

If you click the above address you'll be immediately be  "transported" to this site. Once there, first select the  "About Fix It" on the left side tab of the page in order to understand how it works.

After that, select the product you are having problems with, (which are all described on that same tab). When you do so, the right side of the page opens up and shows a series of most likely problems that can occur with the product.

If you see in any of the described problems areas common with your problem or problems, click on it and a new page opens. In this page you'll see the steps you need to take in order to solve the problem, BUT EVEN BETTER, you are asked if you want the "Fix It Slutions Center" program to do it automatically for you!!

If you click yes, (and who wouldn't...), like magic the "Fix It Solutions Center" will do it for you.

One word of advice here: You must follow a few instructions, and click here and there for the solution program to run.

Even if you are not experiencing any problems now, I suggest, (just for the sake of familiarizing yourself with "Fix It Slutions Center"), that you go to the site and read the instructions.

I hope this will be, (for those who did not know about it), a great tip that will help you solve many problems that sooner or later you'll be faced with when operating your computer.

George Freire

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

How to post a comment or ask a question

This is the best way for you viewers to ask questions or post comments:

At the end of each post, there is a gold colored word "comments".

If you click on it a window opens where you can type your question or comment.

After you are done writing, just click the "Publish Your Comment" tab.

After you are finished, the word "comments" will be shown with a number behind it, such as

"1 comment".

To read the comment all you have to do is click on it again.

George Freire

Monday, September 21, 2009

EssentialPIM 3.1

I came across a nice program that can be used by those who keep busy schedules and need reminders, time management etc.

You can download this program "EssentialPIM 3.1" from CNET.com at the following address:

http://download.cnet.com/EssentialPIM/3000-2074_4-10362881.html

Here is the CNET Editor's review of the program:

While there are plenty of programs that help manage your daily tasks, many are terribly expensive. EssentialPIM offers a free way stay organized, and we found it to be a fairly effective program.
This freeware heavily mimics the display and functionality of the popular Microsoft Outlook program. This, however, is not a bad thing. In fact, it makes EssentialPIM very intuitive thanks to the toolbar along the left side that allows users to easily cycle through the calendar, to-do list, contacts, notes, and trash. Inputting data into any of these fields is fairly easy. Anyone with prior experience with time management software will leap right into creating reminders on the calendar, recurring to-do events, and more. The menus that create such items flow well, with versatile pull-down menus, fillable fields, and dates.
We had a simple time managing nearly all aspects of this program, but we did find that although the program is listed as free with no limitations, the freeware version lacks numerous features found in the paid version. Users looking for advanced features to sync with other programs, add advanced encryption, and filter task lists and events won't find those features in the free program. Still, if users don't need these options, EssentialPIM covers the basics and its price cannot be beat.


I downloaded this program and have been using it. I like it and it reminds me of all my daily chores in an easy and interesting way.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

How To Squeeze A Toner Cartridge To The End And Be Able To Print A Lot More Pages

My friends,

This comes from my personal experience. I am talking about those expensive toner cartridges used mostly in laser printers. It does not matter which brand of printer we are talking about, be it HP, Brother, Canon etc., etc.

If you have the proper software for your laser printer completely installed in your computer, when the toner in the cartridge is near the end, some kind of a "Pop-Up" window will show up to tell you that it is time to replace the toner cartridge.

At $70.00 or more a pop for these cartridges, if you do a lot of printing, it can be quite expensive. Here is a little secret that I found out by asking myself : "is this cartridge finished or is there still some life in it?".

So, I pulled out the toner cartridge from my Brother laser printer DCP-7040, shook it out side ways a few times and re-installed it.

Guess what? I have since then printed more than another 100 pages and the "Pop-Up" window telling me to replace the cartridge has not made its presence yet...

Sure enough I have a new cartridge readily available, but in the mean time I'm still using the old cartridge and saving money.

This will work with other laser printers too, the reason being that by default (in order to make a fast profit), when the toner powder reaches a certain low level, the software is set up to tell you to replace it.

Of course the printer manufacturers make most of their money by selling us toner and ink cartridges at extremely bloated prices and they want you to replace them as often as possible.

Next time your laser printer tells you that the toner cartridge needs replacement, try this trick and you'll see that there are still many more pages that can be printed with the old cartridge.

You see? I just saved you a bunch of money.

George Freire

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Simple Sticky Notes

What is Simple Sticky Notes? It's a simple, easy-to-use, absolutely free, fast and efficient taking notes software.
Simple Sticky Notes is 100% safe and ads free.
Here are the features of Simple Sticky Notes;

•Full unicode support

•RichText support

•Colourful and Transparent notes

•Printable

•Snap to desktop edges

•Hide/Show all notes option

•Automatic updates

and more...

(The following comments concerning this program are from Mr. Preston Gralla,os PC World) :

Simple Sticky Notes lets you create sticky notes on your PC. They're just like the Post-it notes that litter people's offices--but more private and not so unsightly. It's incredibly easy to create them. Double-click the program's icon in your system tray, and it creates a note for you. Type in what you want to remember, and you're done. You can drag the note to any spot on your desktop.

Easy as it is to use, Simple Sticky Notes has plenty of options. Want to change the font or the font color? You can do that, as well as making the text bold or italic. How about changing the note's color? Yes, you can do that, and you can also change the transparency of it as well. You can also hide the notes, print them, and even automatically send their text via e-mail.

Overall, Simple Sticky Notes is straightforward and simple to use, and it won't waste your time. And since it's free, it won't waste your money, either.


To download this simple but useful program go to:

http://www.simplestickynotes.com/

Just copy and paste the above address to your browser and download it.

I hope you'll enjoy it, I use it all the time.

George Freire

Saturday, September 5, 2009

BACKUP AND RECOVERY OF YOUR COMPUTER HARD DRIVE IS NOW EASY TO PERFORM

Not long ago, two weeks to be precise, the 500 GB hard drive of my "super computer" I built almost two years ago started giving me a feeling that it was getting "tired out", this in spite of the fact that I always keep this computer in the best top shape possible.
These things happen, hard drives may last almost forever but sometime they surprise you and say, "buddy you better do something because I may quit all of a sudden".
Well, I have in this computer everything, I mean everything, from my finances to pictures and music collections business documents, drawings from jobs designed when I was still working, etc. etc.
In spite of the fact that of course, I have an external drive where all these files are completely backed up, the problem was that you cannot back up software installed in your computer and much less your OS (in my case Windows Vista).
If the hard drive would all of a sudden give its last breath, I would not lose these files, but all the installed programs, (and there are quite a few), and the Windows OS would all be lost in a split of a second.

There are several programs on the market that make it possible to completely make an image of your hard drive on another separate internal or external drive and thus save all your programs and OS in just the same way they are installed in your main hard drive.

However, with most of these programs to do this is quite complicated, time consuming and many times exasperating, therefore I explored and studied a lot of information which is available on the internet about such programs. I found out that there was one, (or so they said), that made all this extremely simple even to those people who are not very computer savy...

I went one step further and discussed the matter with people who know and had the experience about such matters and most of them said that this program was indeed excellent.

Well, I bought it, paid $39.95 for it and my friends, it was the best investment I made. The program is called "ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE HOME 2009".

I was able to completely create an exact copy of my hard drive,(this is called cloning), transfer it to a new internal hard drive, and then pulled out the old almost dying main hard drive and replaced it with the new copy.

When I turned the computer on I kept my fingers crossed, because I did not know wether it would work. To my surprise the computer started and operated as if nothing had happened.

Time spent in doing all this? it took about 2 hours to clone the old driver to the new driver and about 20 minutes to take out the old and install the new! that was it.

But this is not all, now with this program installed in my computer, it automatically keeps a clone of my hard drive on an external drive, and keeps it to date on a weekly basis, all software installed, OS and all files. I don't have to worry anymore if my hard drive fails, (I hope it will last a long time), but I know that if it happens, all I have to do is to get a new one and transfer everything back again.

ACRONIS is available in any computer or electronics store such as Best Buy, (that's where I bought it).

For what it's worth, I hope this experience of mine will be able to save some of you readers, future problems with your hard drives. One thing for sure, hard drives do not last forever...

Have a good week-end,

George Freire