If you ever notice your computer doing strange things; pop ups constantly, your desktop changing pictures or Internet Explorer going to pages you didn’t want to go to, then you probably have spyware.  Spyware is software that has been loaded on your computer, probably without you knowing, that sort of watches what you’re doing and constantly makes changes on your computer that you usually don’t want.

Spyware is one of the most difficult things to remove from a computer.  It can be tougher then a lot of virus’.  There are several programs out there to remove spyware, some actually are spyware.  Lavasoft makes a great program named Adaware that will search through your computer and remove a lot of it.  It’s pretty easy to use.  Just make sure you get all of the update before you run a full scan on your computer.

There is a free version of Adaware available, you can get it from download.com.

Over the weekend Google announced they are making a new web browser named Google Chrome.  They want to innovate the web and add value to the users with this new browser.  The beta of the browser is supposed to be out today but as of this writing it is not available.

Some of the interesting features are:

• Tabs on top of the address bar, instead of below.  This basically will make every tab their own browser.  So if one tab causes a crash, only that tab will crash, not the whole browser.
• Google will constantly be updating the browser with blacklisted sites.  These are sites that might contain malware of viruses.

There are quite a few other features they initally talk about but it mainly has to do with the programming of the browser and how it is ran.

Visitmo.com recently launched a new section of their site called One Tank Trips. The purpose of this site is to show places you can go in Missouri on just a tank of gas. You basically enter your starting city and it will tell you places in Missouri that are only a tank of gas away.

http://www.visitmo.com/onetanktrip/

As Windows XP’s life-cycle is coming to an end for OEM and Retail on June 30th, Microsoft is forcing everyone to switch to Windows Vista. However as you switch to Vista, you may have noticed that there are many different editions available. We’re going to go through the editions and point out the differences so that you can make the best choice for your business.

32 bit vs 64 bit

The first thing you’ll notice is that you can choose between 32 bit and 64 bit of Vista for certain versions. In general, you will have better compatibility with the 32 bit version. However there are some reasons why you would run 64:

• You can run more than 4GB of RAM. For most users, running 4GB of RAM or less is fine.
• 64 bit is faster.

Reasons why you might not run it:

• Application compatibility problems. A lot of the issues have been fixed as of this writing. However there might be older programs or printers that might not work with the 64 bit version of Vista. Your best bet is to check with the vendor that makes the application and make sure that it runs on 64 bit Vista.
• Existing 32 bit drivers will not work. This means you will have to download the drivers for printers, scanners, cameras, etc. and you will have to get the 64 bit version. If it exists..

Windows Vista Basic

• Not meant for businesses
• No remote desktop
• Not meant for laptops

Windows Vista Home Premium

• Not meant for businesses
• No remote desktop
• Prettier; Has Aero desktop (3D)
• No Windows Backup features built in

Windows Vista Business

• Meant for businesses
• Includes Windows Backup
• Has remote desktop

Windows Vista Ultimate

• Fail-safe; contains everything that is in all the other editions

Summary

So as you can see, most business will either want to run Windows Vista Business or Ultimate. Personally I will recommend 64 bit for a new computer, even though I have had some issues with driver compatibility however they have been fixed within the past year. The main reason I suggest 64 bit is not because it might be useful now but in the future. Applications will progress towards 64 bit and they will be faster.

Have you ever wanted to take a picture of your screen to show some one? Taking screenshots is actually very helpful to your tech company. If you can take a screenshot that shows exactly what the error is it will help them solve your issue easier and sometimes faster.

To take the screenshot is actually very easy, all you have to do is hit the “print screen” key on your keyboard. Once you do that the screenshot is copied to your clipboard. At this point you have many options of what to do with the screenshot. You can put it in Word, Paint or even directly into an email. Once you decide what you want to do with the screenshot, all you have to do is paste it (Edit -> Paste). You paste it just like you are pasting normal text that you have copied. Once you hit paste, your screenshot will appear.

Using Print Screen will take a screen shot of your ENTIRE screen and everything on it. If you only want to take a screenshot of just one window on your screen you can hold down Alt and press Print Screen at the same time. This will take a screenshot of just your currently active window.

Firefox is attempting set a Guinness Word Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. They are getting people to pledge that they will download Firefox on one day which is June 17, 2008. On that day Firefox will be releasing Firefox 3 final for download.

http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord

There is an apparent problem with Macbook Pros and their batteries. I noticed one day that my laptop was uneven. I looked under it and I noticed that the battery was sticking out. Once I took the battery out I noticed that it was bulging at the seams. I took it up to the Apple store to see if they would replace it even though I didn’t have a warranty. Fortunately they were able to replace it for free under their repair program. I actually got a brand new battery from them two days later. It seems there are a lot of people having this problem, maybe it’s time for a recall.

Not more than a couple hours ago Apple announced it’s next generation of the iPhone named iPhone 3G. It will hit the streets July 11th and the prices will start at $199 (must cheaper then the first iPhone). The new phone along with 3G will have GPS capability via Google Maps. Here’s a list of changes that the new phone has:

• Slimmer
• Available in white/black
• No more recessed headphone jack
• All metal buttons
• 3G / GPS
• Comes in 8/16 GB models
• 5 hour talk time
• New USB wall charger

3G is the third generation digital mobile network. It can provide advanced features such as high speed internet, global roaming and multimedia access. Apple is planning on releasing this phone to 70 countries within the next few months.

Along with the announcement of iPhone 3G, Apple is also releasing its iPhone 2.0 firmware on July 11th. This firmware will run on the current generation iPhone, iPhone 3G and it will also run on iPod Touchs for a small upgrade fee. A lot of the new firmware’s feature are geared towards businesses. The iPhone will now support Exchange Server. This means if you have an Exchange Server, your phone can now connect remotely and have email, contacts and calendar events pushed to it. It also supports Global Address Lists, Remote Wipe and much more.

Another major update is the App Store. The App Store will contain applications that are developed by 3rd party developers. You will also be able to deploy software to your employees through Apple’s App Store.

Contact Searching which is one of the updates that a lot of people were waiting for is also going to be available.

Apple has a White and Black model to choose from. I believe the white model is only available if you buy the 16GB version for $299.

Many people don’t know it but St. Louis has many great programs for recycling.  In 2002 a new program was launched for electronic recycling called e-cycle.  One of the greatest things about this program is that almost everything you recycle with them is free.  They do have a charge for things like monitors however the charge is only about $5.00.  There are numerous location throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County.  E-cycle’s website offers a search so that you can find the closest location to you.

Below is a list of the different things that you can recycle at these locations. Remember to use the search to find the location that will recycle the items you have.  Some locations only accept certain items and some have different pricing.

Computer Peripherals

• CD, CDRW drives
• CPUs
• Hard Drives
• Laptops, notebooks
• Monitors
• Printers
• Routers, Switches and Hubs
• Scanners
• Servers
• Zip, DVD, floppy drives

Office Equipment

• Adding machines
• Copiers
• Fax Machines
• Multifunction machines

Communication Equipment

• Adapters, chargers for phones
• Answering machines
• Cell phones
• Corded phones
• Cordless phones
• Pagers

Miscellaneous

• Battery back-ups
• Data cartridges
• Digital camera
• DVD/video players
• Electronic game devices
• Pocket PCs
• Rechargeable batteries
• Televisions

So if you have any old electrics that you need to get rid of, remember to please recycle it instead of throwing it away.
http://www.ecyclestlouis.org

Paint.NET is a free image and photo editing software made for Windows.  It was originally intended to be a replacement for Windows Paint but has grown to become a powerful yet simple photo editing tool.  It has been compared to other photo editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop and GIMP.

Paint.NET features layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.  There is an active online community of users that can provide help,  tutorials and plugins.

So if you’re looking for an easy way to manipulate photos and you don’t want to pay for Photoshop, then Paint.NET might be for you.  There is a free download available from download.com.