New PC Laptop Options

Hi Dori -

Good to see you the other day.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking at new laptops.

Software:

Windows 7 is a must Vista is absolutely NOT acceptable Don’t bother with additional virus/security software – Microsoft now has their own & it works very well (freely available at http://microsoft.com/securityessentials)

Hardware:

The cheapest laptops will be 15″ in size. This is a good overall size – but not ultraportable. Ultra-portable laptops are called netbooks (less than 12″) – and they are pretty cheap (~$300) – but the small screen makes them cumbersome.

Processor – Intel Pentium. Celeron okay, Dual Core better, Core 2 Duo the best (and most expensive) Memory – at least 2GB Hard Drive – at least 160GB Webcam – Yes Wireless – It will be included – there isn’t a laptop out there without it Optical Drive – DVD Burner (most likely included – pretty standard, too)

Battery:

For a large 15″ laptop, don’t expect to get more than 2 hours out of a 6-cell battery. Batteries are an expensive upgrade.

Cost:

For a basic 15″ laptop meeting the criteria above, you should spend around $500.

I’ve seen some good deals, like this one:

http://www.buy.com/prod/gateway-md7330u-laptop-intel-pentium-t4200-2-0ghz-15-6-hd-ultrabright/q/loc/101/212634346.html?adid=17580

But this one requires a 7 Upgrade.

A good place to check for deals is:

http://dealnews.com

Best,

hunter greene Brainspiral Technologies, Inc.

Change Name in Apple Mail

If you want to change you name in Mail:

Open Mail Go to the Apple Menu, then Preferences Click Accounts Click an Account on the left. Under ‘Full Name’ on the right, change to whatever you like. This field appears in the ‘From’ field when you send out email messages.

Close the Preferences box. You’ll be prompted to save the changes – hit OK.

hunter greene Brainspiral Technologies, Inc.

What is an optical drive?

An optical drive is a generic term to refer to drive that can accept CDs and/or DVDs. The come in a variety of speeds and capabilities. Compare: Drives that can read CDs only Drives that can read DVDs and CDs only Drives that can read DVDs and CDs and burn CDs Drives that can read DVDs and CDs and burn DVDs and CDs

And then there are the different types of CDs and DVDs CD-R DVD-R DVD+R Double Layer DVD-R Double Layer DVD+R

The best drives are those classified as dual format double layer DVD burners. They’ll do just about anything.

And now there are Blu-Ray optical drives. They’re expensive, but they’ll be a standard soon. Blu-Ray discs have replaced DVDs are the new high definition (HD) video format.

hunter greene Brainspiral Technologies, Inc.

About WordPress Categories

Hi Nicole -

Good question – and a very simple response.

Every WordPress post (listing, agent or page) requires that at least one category be selected. If you uncheck ALL the categories, the software will either revert back to the previously selected categories or select some others it ‘thinks’ are relevant.

So if you don’t want a post to appear in any category, you actually have to put it in the ‘Uncategorized’ category (yes, it sounds odd to categorize something as uncategorized, but that’s the way it works).

Hope that information helps,

hunter greene Brainspiral Technologies, Inc.

AVG 8.5 Expiration & Upgrade

Hi Mike -

The free version is more than adequate. It’s available for download here:

http://download.avgfree.com/filedir/inst/avg_free_stf_en_90_698a1730.exe

We have also found that Microsoft’s new Security Essentials is an excellent alternative for both anti-spyware and anti-virus protection.  It isn’t a big resource hog & it’s free.  Check it out on Microsoft’s Web Site.  You must have a legally licensed copy of Windows XP, Vista or 7 to use it.

If you want to try to download & install it yourself, great. Otherwise, you can call me & I can remote into your machine & do it for you.

Best,

hunter

On Nov 5, 2009, at 1:26 PM, Mike Meehan wrote:

> Hi Hunter I’m being asked to update my AVG 8.5 to AVG 9.0 for > $49.00 is that what I should do? Mike