Get Windows 8 For Dummies E-book free from Dell

If you have Windows 8 and were just as confused as I was when I tried Windows 8 yesterday, then I have good news for you. Dell is giving away one free copy of the E-book Windows 8 For Dummies if you fill out a basic form. I've already got my copy saved to my hard drive ready to send to my Kindle app. If you want to get your hands on it too, then head to Dell's website and grab it.

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I tried Windows 8...

I've read a lot about how much people hate Windows 8 but I have never read much about how it actually works. I've seen screen shots and promo videos, but those never tell the true story. I read how Valve hates Windows 8 calling it a "disaster" but I've never seen videos from games played on Windows 8. Honestly I haven't even used Windows 7 that much. I primarily use Macs but I did buy a Windows 7 laptop last year for my wife and I have been using it more and more recently. I am not a fan of Windows...at least on the desktop platform. I love Windows Phone and currently use a Nokia Lumia 900 so I'm not a total hater of Microsoft nor am I a fanboy of Apple and Macs. So I decided to try out Windows again because the newest OS is so radically different.

So my experience with Windows 8 was disappointing. Not because I didn't like the operating system. In fact, I spent less than a day with it so I can't even say I have much right to judge it. The reason I spent less than a day with it is because I was running it on my MacBook Pro. Windows 8 doesn't currently support my graphics card on my MacBook Pro so everything was laggy and stuttered through all the animations. I'm not saying that the OS was slow, just the graphics and animations. I couldn't even tell you if the OS was fast or slow because the graphics card couldn't keep up. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, just imagine trying to do an everyday task while opening and closing your eyes every second. It would be incredibly slow to try and type this blog if I did that. That's how my experience was with Windows 8.

For all the things I experienced, I actually really liked it. I loved the new keyboard shortcuts and the hybrid legacy Windows desktop and the new Start screen. The fact that you can run almost any program from previous version of Windows and you get the great atmosphere of tablets and smartphones in the new Windows Store and the apps. Now you can download almost anything you want from the Windows Store. Having a central location for finding the best that Windows 8 has to offer is huge and I believe that will have a huge part of the success of this new operating system. Even if you hate the new look and feel, you can't ignore that.

Now I haven't given up on Windows 8. I will be installing it on the laptop I mentioned earlier, my wife's computer. I will use it almost exclusively for about a week or two and then I will write a proper review (at least my thoughts) on the latest Microsoft has to offer. Until then you can visit my YouTube page at chucklesthetechie.

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Windows 8 now available

Microsoft's newest version of their desktop operating system, Windows 8, is available for download or you can have it shipped to your home or office. If you are upgrading and choose to download the OS you will pay only $39.99. If you want a physical copy of the OS then it will cost you $69.99 to have it shipped to you. If you are unfamiliar with what's new in Windows 8 head over to their website.

Tablet running Windows 8

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Google Chrome is my browser of choice

Internet Explorer has been a dominant force in web browsers for over a decade. It is the only web browser bundled with the most widely used OS in the world, Windows. The fact that people don't have to download it makes it the obvious choice for most people. Many websites require that you be on a certain version of Internet Explorer in order for them to display properly. Corporations use it almost exclusively because network administrators don't need to download and install it on thousands of computers. It is just convenient! However, convenience doesn't make it the best web browser and since the introduction of HTML 5 the need to have IE for certain sites is almost gone. So I decided to check out the different browsers available, try them out, and see which one I like best.

I have two laptops: a PC and a MacBook Pro. On both of them I have replaced the built in web browser with Chrome. There are three main reasons why I use Chrome: speed, simplicity, and security.

Speed
Chrome is the fastest browser, period. It has hardware acceleration which helps render graphics in webpages much faster than a standard browser. Internet Explorer 9 is a huge improvement over previous versions when it comes to speed. In fact, it beats Chrome in several speed tests. However, Chrome still has the edge, but IE 9 comes close. Chrome will load web pages considerably faster than other browsers regardless of how fast your internet connection is.

Simplicity
The most convenient thing about Chrome is the simple user interface. There is no fluff and the menus are straightforward. If you want to expand the functionality of Chrome, you can download extensions which give you new features. One of my favorites is AdBlock which can remove ads from web pages. The extensions are automatically added to the browser window next to URL bar. Speaking of the URL bar, now it is also the search bar. Google eliminated the search bar and consolidated it into the URL bar. Now you can just start typing and it will automatically search using the Google search engine. You can change your default search engine if you prefer something different.

Security
Until recently, Chrome was the most secure web browser. However, IE 9 does beat Chrome in this category. But, with the advent of extensions you can help your security by downloading web page ratings and more. The security for Chrome is very tight and it serves my purposes just fine. I use online banking and use online shopping sites like Amazon.com and Ebay. You should feel comfortable doing the same with this browser.

So there you have it. My reasons for why I love Google Chrome. IE 9 is a great browser and I will probably switch to using IE 10 when it is released, but until then I will speedily surf the internet from Chrome.

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Tips For Creating Better Passwords

More and more websites are requiring more complex passwords to create an account. Your cat's name is no longer a good option (it wasn't a good one in the first place) for a password to create an account. Google requires a password that is at least 8 characters long with at least 1 number and 1 upper case letter. For example "newyorkjets15" is not a good password, but "NewYorkJets15" is a good password.

The reason websites are requesting more complex passwords is that it is much harder to use "brute force" to get into an account. "Brute force" is simply a term of using a program to try every possible password containing a certain amount of characters. The simpler the password, the less time it takes for the program or "bot" to figure it out. If you add a capital letter to an existing password it effectively doubles the difficulty at guessing the password.

So how can you create a more complex password and still remember what it is? Well, one trick I use is to mover the position of one of your hands to the left or right by one letter. So "Pickles123" becomes "Oucjkes123". I moved my right hand over one letter to the left, so P becomes O, I becomes U, K becomes J, and L becomes K. This allows your mind to remember your old password of "Pickles123" but makes it unique and complex. Another trick is to use what is called a passphrase. A passphrase is just what it sounds like, a phrase you will remember like without any spaces. For example, "Ilovemywife09" is a simple to remember password but it is long enough to be complex. The "09" being the year you were married adding a little more complexity to the passphrase. Make the numbers something you can remember but try not to use things that can easily be researched online or in a library, such as a birthdate or part of your SSN.

There is more and more identity theft occurring and you should take your online presence very seriously. My friends just recently had their identities stolen on their tax returns and up until this past week they still hadn't filed their taxes. Protecting yourself can be simple and I hope that this post has helped you realize that creating passwords are easy.

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5 Must Have Free Windows 7 Programs

If you just bought a computer or you just don't want to spend money on quality programs to get you started then this is the list for you. Let's go!

Open Office (Productivity Suite)

If you don't want to drop $130 for Microsoft Office, Open Office is a great substitute. It comes with its own variations of PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access and more. It's everything you need for school or work without spending a dime! How is this possible? Well, Open Office is...um...open. It is open source which means anyone can input their ideas into the software to make improvements. It's all managed by Apache Software so it is very professional.

Cost: $0

Gimp (Photos)

Photoshop can cost you hundreds of dollars. If you are just a recreational photographer or a professional, Gimp is the best free image manipulation program out there. It is laid out very similarly to Photoshop but is completely free.

Cost: $0

VideoPad (Video Editor)

I just recently discovered this one and so far it is the best I can find for free. It has many powerful features but my favorite is that you can save your video in a variety of formats without downloading extra stuff. It's relatively slow, but it's free! Look at spending at least $60 for something similar or hundreds of dollars for professional quality video production software. I prefer free.

Cost: $0

Audacity (Audio Editor)

Being a huge sound guy myself, I love using ProTools for recording and editing any type of audio. The problem is that ProTools costs at least $300 to get started. This is where Audacity comes in. Audacity allows you to record and edit multiple audio tracks in many different types of formats. It's easy to use interface and powerful features make this a no brainer for editing the audio from your home movies or recording voice-overs and adding that extra flare to your videos.

Cost: $0

avast! (Anti-Virus)

I didn't forget to capitalize the title of the software, that's just how it's spelled. Anyway, I mentioned in a previous post that I personally use avast! for my anti-virus needs. Why? Because it the best, free anti-virus you can find. 

Cost: $0

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How To Change Your Default Search Engine In IE 9

For most beginner computer users the most commonly used web browser is the only one bundled with Windows, Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer's default search engine is Microsoft's Bing. Say what you will about Bing, I personally like it, but many people will want to change it to some other search provider like Google. In this video I will show you how to change your default search engine to Google.

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5 Basic Things Everyone Should Know About Their Computer

1. Backup your files
This is something simple that can help you in the event of a catastrophic failure of your computer. In the event that your computer gets a fatal virus or your main hard drive fails from use, having a complete system backup will be crucial to restoring all your personal or work files. Before you start you will need a few things: an external hard drive and backup software.

An external hard drive is where you will store your backup image that you can use to restore your computer in the event of a fatal error or system crash. They are very cheap and you will most likely be able to purchase one with enough storage to make a complete system backup for less than $100. Setup of the hard drive couldn't be simpler, just plug it in and Windows 7 or Mac OS X will do the rest.

As for backup software, you can purchase software that will give you some advanced features. But for now we will just use the free software included with Windows 7 and Mac OS X 1.6 or later. For Windows you will use Backup and Restore. For Mac you will use Time Machine. These can be setup to automatically backup your system an any interval you need. For example, you can set it up to backup your system every day or every month. I would recommend that for most people every week should be fine, but if you rely heavily on your computer for keeping financial records and banking you may want to backup daily.

I will be posting a more in depth tutorial on how to do this step by step at a later time.

2. Use internet security software
Internet security is very important in keeping your private information exactly that, PRIVATE! Windows 7 has a built in suite of internet security options including a firewall and antivirus. What is a firewall? A firewall is simply a security fence for your computer. It only allows certain types of information from certain locations on the internet to be received. This helps with deterring hackers from getting into your system and stealing your information. The antivirus software will scan downloaded files to make sure they are safe to store on your computer. If you feel your computer is running slowly, I would run a virus scan using your antivirus software. The built-in security suite for Windows 7 can be found in the Control Panel in your start menu.

In addition you may want to get a third party internet security suite to add an extra layer of protection for your computer. You can purchase popular software such as Norton or McAfee internet security. I personally have a second antivirus program call avast! which can be downloaded for free. I find that the built-in security combined with avast! is adequate protection that will not noticeably slow your computer down. Links to purchase or download recommended internet security software will be posted at the end of this article.

3. Setup power saving features
Everyone is going green these days, but going green can actually save you money. I know a lot of people that leave their computers on and running all day, every day. That can add more than $40 per month to your electric bill depending on the computer! Why don't you just visit your control panel and set up some power saving options. If you feel the need to keep your computer on all the time you can make sure to use less power by making your monitor turn off after a few minutes of idle time, or put your computer to sleep after a few minutes of idle time. I have my desktop set up to turn my monitor off after 5 minutes of inactivity and to put the computer to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity. To get the most savings on your electric bill, just turn off your computer when you are done with it.

4. Clean up and organize your desktop
Just like everything else in your home or office (file cabinets, closets, workstation etc.) organizing your computer can help you save valuable time. The most common problem I find with most beginner computer users is that they have a very cluttered desktop. I'm going to give you a few tips to help organize and make your computer use more efficient.

First is folders. Most families have multiple users using only one user account on the computer. Make folders on your desktop dedicated for each person where they can store their own things like pictures and videos. Also, organize your work or financial documents in folders by Month-Day-Year. Use hyphens between the month, day, and year because Windows will not allow you to use forward slashes in folder names.

Second is to delete all program shortcuts from your desktop. Program shortcuts can be identified by an arrow in the bottom right corner of the icon. When deleting these shortcuts you do not remove them from the computer. Instead of using the desktop shortcuts, use the new search feature in Windows 7. Just click on the start button and type whatever program you need to use and it will show up almost instantly! You can also use "Pin to Taskbar" for the most frequently used programs such as media players and web browsers.

Organizing your desktop not only makes things easier to find and more efficient, but it will also help with your computer start up time. It won't be a huge improvement in boot up speed but you will notice the difference.

5. Remove unnecessary programs from automatically starting after logging in
There should be only a couple things that should start automatically when you log into your computer. Those should be your internet security suite and Windows Update. Everything else will dramatically slow down your start up time. I have several friends who have half a dozen programs loading when they first log into their computer and it takes up to 10 minutes for Windows to finish loading before they can use it! If you only have those things you use everyday without actually using them everyday (software updates, antivirus, firewalls, etc.) then you will have much faster start up times. Keep Spotify and Facebook chat set to "Do not start automatically when Windows starts" and only start those programs when you need them. You may just need to pay some bills quickly before you go on a trip, so why would you need to load your favorite chat program when you just want to visit your online banking site?

Links
Norton Internet Security
McAfee Internet Security
avast! Antivirus Free

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