It started out as the Status Bar. Some Windows veterans may still refer to it that way, but somewhere along the line the name changed: Notification Area. It’s that spot on the far right of the Windows taskbar that overflows with teensy icons — or not, depending on how it’s configured.
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June 25, 2014Wee Li’l Icons All in a Row
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June 20, 2014I’ve Never Filled Up a Hard Drive
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June 9, 2014Wi-Fi All Over the HouseMost people set up a home network that includes a Wi-Fi base station. Smart move: Given today’s portable gizmos, it makes sense for them all to gang up on the local network and eschew those mobile data surcharges. When the Wi-Fi network doesn’t reach everywhere in the house, extend it with a Wi-Fi extender. May 21, 2014Windows Messed-Up LibrariesHere’s an over-used computer term: Library. You can have a programming library, a library of common routines, a library of media files, or even a location that charges late fees when you borrow books. That’s not what most people refer to when they think of Windows and libraries. May 14, 2014The Alt+Keypad Trick – RevisitedThe Macintosh does it easy. Accented letters and symbols are made readily accessibly by using keyboard shortcuts available anytime you use a Mac. The PC? Well, you’re kinda screwed.
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April 30, 2014Have You Been Hacked Yet?I hope you haven’t suffered the indignity of being hacked. Easy passwords are easy to steal. It doesn’t surprise me when I see some spam email from a friend’s account, but it does surprise me when that friend is someone I figure should know better. April 18, 2014The SSD TransitionThe main storage device in your next computer will not be a hard drive. Oh, yeah: You’ll call it a “hard drive,” but in fact it will be a digital hard drive. The proper term is SSD. March 28, 2014Some Hard Drive CleaningRecently I received an email from a reader. He was concerned about duplicate files all over his hard drive. How many duplicate files? Oh, about 89GB worth.
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March 17, 2014Say “Hello” to EnzoLast week, my faithful PC Monster X took a dive. His USB circuitry wouldn’t recognize the mouse or keyboard, effectively ending his very productive lifespan.
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March 14, 2014File BasicsConsider the file. It exists. It’s a container into which you put digital stuff. Yet it’s amazing how many people don’t fully grasp the concept of a file. Allow me to bore you with further details.
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After installing what seemed like a flood of new software on my main computer, I dutifully checked the hard drive capacity. Yep: I was still well under 50 percent.