CHRISdotTODD

With the high cost of Photoshop, I don't have it on every computer I use. This can be an inconvenience when I simply want to view some (Photoshop) PSD files. With the Free File Viewer utility, I can now preview PSDs without having Photoshop installed. Free File Viewer will also allow you to view many other file formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, DivX, and FLV. One note of caution, during the install you will be offered several other software "deals." It's likely you will want to decline each of those.

A friend recently asked for a recommendation on buying a new computer. Admittedly I'm not near up on hardware as I once was. With that in mind, I knew my recommendation would be better than what he could do on his own. Here's what he asked: I need to get something sound & reasonable to replace it. Our needs have changed since last purchase and we are looking for something with lot's of room for photos & music along with some games my wife likes, (mostly puzzles & sim games, not huge graphics with blood & guts) , just basics. And my reply: I usually buy low-end PCs, and they've worked fine for 3 to 5 years. First some guidelines: Always understand what you want to accomplish first (which you've explained). Buy something that you can get help when needed, which typically means avoid Apple despite the buzz. Buy feature and function over brand. For example, I've bought many eMachines over the years, and they've done fine. If you have extra bu

With the release of Windows 7, there are new keyboard shortcuts to learn (as I'm sure some actually came in Vista). One day I'll duplicate the shortcuts cheatsheet I had created for Windows XP , but in the mean time, here are a couple that I've started using. Toggle through open windows Most of us are familiar with Alt-Tab to toggle through your open windows, and Alt-Shift-Tab to toggle in reverse order. Some of us used an add-on to XP to display a thumbnail of the window as you toggle. With the familiar Alt-Tab in Windows 7 you now see thumbnails without the add-on. But if you want to see a bit more detail of what's contained within each window, try Windows key-Tab and Windows key-Shift-Tab to get a better view of the windows as you toggle through them. Set window position Using the Windows key with the arrow buttons allows you to position the active window on the screen. This works great when you want to view two windows simultaneously. Click on the window you want

I had a recent issue with my Chumby, and I couldn't get it back on the network. It took me two steps to get it working again: resetting the Chumby and then manually reconfiguring the network information. Here's how to do a Chumby One Reset: Power off (disconnect power). Press and hold the touch-screen with your finger. A message appears, telling you to continue to hold if you want to get to the Special Options. Continue to hold -- it takes a while. When you finally reach Special Options, release your finger. Select Restore Factory Settings. Confirm OK.

With the recent security scare with LastPass , some may fear that it's less secure than RoboForm or other password managers. In fact though we have no evidence that indicates it's less secure. Even if data is compromised, it still doesn't mean it was less secure -- it just indicates that it was the target of an attack. Every time we install software on our computers, we're making an assumption that the software is secure. Unfortunately we can never know if software is truly secure; we only know of reports that indicate software has been tested and no security issues have been detected. So the real decision on security should not be one based security tests. Rather you need to ask these questions. Is it in the companies best interest to take security seriously and devote resources to it (and have they)? What's the likeliness that they would be a target of attacks? If attacked, are they prepared to respond? Take for example Microsoft Windows vs. Apple OSX. With the ma

I recently got a new Windows 7 machine, and when I tried to use Recent Items, there was nothing listed. Worse, when I went to configure it... it was set at 0, it was greyed out and I could make any changes. As it turns out, there's any easy fix for this. Go to the Properties dialog: Click Start | Right-click and select Properties Go to the Start Menu tab Click the two check boxes within the Privacy section (items and programs) Click Apply Click the Customize button At the bottom of the dialog you can now adjust the number of items to display as well as the recent programs.

In IE 9, the Menu and Status Bars are missing. In most cases, you can hit Alt and the Menu Bar displays. From here under the View Menu you can enable the Status Bar. In some cases, you may have an Add-On that intercepts the Alt key, so you have no access to the Menu Bar. If you can identify and disable the Add-On, then you can once again access the Menu Bar when necessary. For some of us, we either do not want to disable our Add-On and/or we want the Menu Bar to always to display. With a few Registry entries, you can do just that. Launch Regedit (Run: regedit) Find the following key:" HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft" Right-click Microsoft and create a new Key Name the new Key "Internet Explorer" Right-click your new Key (Internet Explorer) and create a new Key Name this new Key "Main" Right-click the "Main" key and create a new DWORD Name the new DWORD "AlwaysShowMenus" Set the value of the new DWORD (AlwaysShowMenus) to 1