Keeping Your Computer Clean and Mean

After a long day of working on the computer and doing my Entrecard drops, I prepare to shut down the computer for a well-deserved rest. However, there is one more chore for it to perform and that is it’s nightly cleaning. I open the utility, it scans all the files and browsers, and it finds the usual 52+ MB’s of junk. This is just from one day of use. Can you imagine what it would be like after a month? These files take up valuable memory in your computer, not mention slowing it down.

To help combat this, back in 2004, I stumbled upon a utility program that seems to work wonders. It not only cleans-up and deletes unwanted files from the hard drive and registry, but it can also defragment them. I have to admit, after the first time I used this software, I saw a tremendous difference in speed. After all, it had cleaned-out almost 3 GB of junk so, obviously the computer is going to run better. I just love the way I have to state the obvious. Back to the point, the one thing I would double check before you clean your computer is, unless you want to clear-out all your restore points, make sure that the Restore Point box is unchecked.

Another great feature to look at, especially if you lease your computer and need to return it, is the ability to securely delete files. The following is taken directly from TuneUp Utilities:

TuneUp Shredder uses a method developed by the US Department of Defense to ensure that files and folders are permanently removed from your hard disk, so that your sensitive data can no longer be recovered, even with the use of special software.

Besides cleaning unnecessary files from your computer, TuneUp Utilities allows you to do a few other things you might be interested in…

• manage running processes


• edit your registry


• rescue center, in case you make a mistake


• display system configuration and performance


• change window and program settings


• adjust system appearance


• customize your startup applications

In 2008, they began to allow you to use the program on up to three computers. So, if you are a multi-computer household, you no longer have to purchase the program for each separate computer, which can be a huge savings. So, if you are interested in keeping your computer a lean and mean computing machine, then why not take TuneUp Utilities for a free, 30-day test drive. Do what I did and see if you like it, before purchasing it.

TuneUp Utilities 2010

Sharing Ideas

I have gotten a few good ideas from those who have commented on my previous post and, because I feel that part of the world of blogging is sharing ideas and helping each other, I am going to devote this post to sharing those resources with you. Also, it's a way to be really lazy and not have to come up with something to write about.



wrote...
I am a big fan of "Print Screen" many times free websites or free trials will allow you to make things but they charge you to save the file. You can just click Control & Print Screen (above the backspace button). Then you can just paste it into any photo software...even Paint. The last step is to just crop the portion you want and save it. Then you have a great banner ad or any size ad for free.
bannersdesignerpro.com (No longer active as of 12/29/2017)



wrote...
being a LINUX user I use GIMP, however I have paintshop pro on my windows machine, I prefer GIMP it has more things available to it and its open source which means FREE and you can find add ons and extras. This is the main page check it out gimp.org

Thank you for your great ideas!

My New Toy

**Just to let you know, this is not a PPP article**

As you no doubt have noticed, I have been playing around with the design of my header. I have always wanted to do something with it, but I have not had the tools necessary to attempt a change. Well, as I was surfing through the Internet on Friday, I came across a program that has really impressed me and I would like to share it with you.

I have always wanted to have Photoshop but, unfortunately, I don't have $700 lying around. I mean, if I had that kind of money to spend, do you think I would have these ads plastered all over my site? So, I went looking for free photo editing software and I finally came up with a winner. The software is called photoscape and I am having a great time playing with it. I have downloaded a lot of other programs in the past, but this one actually seems to work. I have been playing with it the past few days and I must say that I am impressed with what this program can do. Now, I know it does not even compare with what Photoshop can do, but for free...well, I can live with it.

I have currently only been in the editing portion of the program, but I can now re-size and add text to my pictures without having to go to various websites to have it done. This program can even take screen shots of either the entire screen or whatever portion you choose. Anyway, so far I am pretty pleased and I plan to do more experimenting ( as noted in the above picture). So, if you see changes from time to time, you will know what I am doing.

If there is anyone doesn't have a photo editor and would like to have one, you might want to give this one a test drive and please let me know what you think.

Which Tax Preparation Software to Choose

What with tax time just around the corner, I went on my annual December pilgrimage to purchase TurboTax on Amazon. Imagine my surprise when I got there and saw the reviews. I couldn't believe that they were charging $9.95 for printing an additional return. You see, I don't like to pay the extra and e-file (although this year, it is included in the price), so I print out my returns and send them the old fashioned way...pony express. Since I also like to print a copy for my records, there was no way I was going to pay extra for that privilege. So, I started shopping around for an alternative and I discovered H & R Block's TaxCut. People seemed to like it, so I kept it in the back of my mind.

When I went back about a week ago, I discovered that because of the outrage of the customers, TurboTax (TT) rescinded its pay-extra-for-printing charge, but it was still almost ten dollars more than TaxCut(TC) and I would have to pay for shipping. I was in a dilemma, because for the past seven years I have been using TT and I have been quite satisfied with the product. (I used to do our taxes by hand, but I guess I'm just too lazy these days and like to rely on a program to do it for me). Anyway, because of their greedy little ways and the fact they are more expensive, I have elected to go with TC this year. As a matter of fact, I just got the email this morning saying that it has shipped.

So, the reason for this rambling? Well, on top of it being a way to update my site, I am going to let you know if it is worth trying or not. They say that you can export all your TT data to TC, so I'll let you know if that is the case. I won't go into the nuts and bolts of using the program, but I will give you a quick review to let you know whether it is an option for TT.

My Review of H & R Block's Taxcut

Amazing Speech Recognition Software

If your constant companion is your digital recorder, you know how time-consuming it can be to transcribe all your ideas from the recorder to your computer. You can free-up some of your valuable time and let Dragon Naturally Speaking do the work for you. For a limited time, you can use this $50 Coupon Code- DNSMSBG -Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred coupon to order this amazing voice recognition software. Just sync your Nuance-certified digital recorder to your computer and all your words are transcribed to your computer with an incredible 99% accuracy. Use it to dictate all your letters, memos, emails; all without those wonderful spelling errors.

You can also use it to control your computer applications such as, Microsoft Word and Outlook Express. You can even use it to surf the internet; it's compatible with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and AOL. Just speak into the included headset microphone and Dragon Naturally Speaking does the rest.
From now until December 31, you can use one of these valuable coupons and get 10%-20% off the purchase of this system.

• $50 Coupon Code- DNSMSBG -Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred


• $25 Coupon Code- DNSMSBG -Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard


• $25 Coupon Code- DNSMSBG -MacSpeech Dictate

Business owners, remember if you purchase before the 31st of December, you can deduct it off this year's taxes and get an edge on next year's competition.