I wrote a few days ago about how important it is to have an anti-virus program installed on your PC. I then posted about how important it is to have backups of all your data. I want to add the next important thing you need... a recovery disc.
Why? What is it?
A recovery disc will either come with your PC, or if it doesn't, there are usually instructions in the box or on the PC that tell you how to make your own. You need to do this right away when you buy your new PC... before you install anything, or use anything. This recovery disc is used later on to automatically reset your PC back to day one from the factory. In the future, when you boot off it, all your personal data will be gone and all your programs you installed will be too.
Why would you want that? Isn't a backup a better option to restore a PC?
Yes and no.
Yes, you want to restore your PC with your backup files if you are recovering from a disaster / crash / virus and plan to continue using the computer. But what if you bought a new PC and want to sell or give this one to a friend, relative, or charitable organization? I don't think you want to give them all your personal information. Even if you manually delete all the info yourself, I bet I can still find personal information on it that you missed. -- An alternative is to just format the drive, but now your PC / laptop is useless. Without Windows installed, there isn't much that the recipient of your computer can do with it.
Okay, now you may be wondering what you can do if you want to sell/give your PC and didn't make (or lost) those precious recovery discs. You'll have to either contact the manufacturer of your computer for the discs (probably cost you $40-50), or see if you can find them on eBay. Be warned though if you use eBay... the discs need to be a PERFECT MATCH. Not all Toshiba Satellites use the same recovery disc... same with Dell Inspirons... no matter what brand, you need the exact matching disc for your model number of computer.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Video Chatting
I live in Georgia. My folks live in Minnesota and Tennessee. Birthday cards are always welcomed; letters too. Phone calls are great because you get to carry on a dialog. But video chatting is the best! My little boy can see his grandparents and show off his newest artwork or clothing Mommy bought him.
Right now most people have heard of Skype. It is a great video chatting program. There are even a few TVs now that have it built in. Facebook now offers video chatting built-in (it uses Skype).
A really good alternative (that I highly recommend you try) is Google Talk. And to compete with Facebook, Google+ has a video chat service as well (called "hangout") that goes one-up on Facebook by supporting multiple people in the video chat at the same time. Very cool.
I hope to get my family to convert from Skype to Google Talk. Then I can walk around the house with my tablet and chat with them as Skype isn't yet available for Android tablets.
Right now most people have heard of Skype. It is a great video chatting program. There are even a few TVs now that have it built in. Facebook now offers video chatting built-in (it uses Skype).
A really good alternative (that I highly recommend you try) is Google Talk. And to compete with Facebook, Google+ has a video chat service as well (called "hangout") that goes one-up on Facebook by supporting multiple people in the video chat at the same time. Very cool.
I hope to get my family to convert from Skype to Google Talk. Then I can walk around the house with my tablet and chat with them as Skype isn't yet available for Android tablets.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Audio Formats
My last post was about what I use to grab my audio CDs and put them on my PC.
A question that will possibly come up is "what format should I save my music to?"
I personally recommend that either you use a lossless format (my preference is FLAC), or if you need it to be in MP3 format for an older music player, then use MP3 320kbps CBR.
Keep in mind, that using a lossless format means that you have 100% of the audio data. You can always use those files to create lossy files (like MP3) at a later point. For example, I make CDs with 50 MP3 96kbps songs on them to play in my motorcycle CD player. Since I'm flying along at 65 mph, I don't need the real high quality MP3 formats... instead I want more music variety for the long rides without repeating the songs.
A question that will possibly come up is "what format should I save my music to?"
I personally recommend that either you use a lossless format (my preference is FLAC), or if you need it to be in MP3 format for an older music player, then use MP3 320kbps CBR.
Keep in mind, that using a lossless format means that you have 100% of the audio data. You can always use those files to create lossy files (like MP3) at a later point. For example, I make CDs with 50 MP3 96kbps songs on them to play in my motorcycle CD player. Since I'm flying along at 65 mph, I don't need the real high quality MP3 formats... instead I want more music variety for the long rides without repeating the songs.
Music CDs
Along with putting all my videos and photos on my PC. I have all my CD music on my PC as well. I did this so I can stream any of my albums to the big stereo system in the living room, or using Google Music I can stream them to my Motorola XOOM tablet.
There are hundreds of programs that will take your music CDs and "rip" it to your computer. But few can actually ensure you are getting an error-free copy (CDs often get scratched). This is where dBpoweramp walks away easily as my favorite CD ripper. Their dBpoweramp Music Converter product costs $38, but is well worth the money because it checks the data ripping from the CD against a database to see if your files are identical to what others are ripping off their CDs. If it isn't, it will try again and again to get a solid error-free copy of the audio. The other excellent feature (and also makes it well worth the money) is that it checks against 3 databases to properly identify your CD and name all the audio files. Other rippers I've used might check against one database and they weren't always right.
There are hundreds of programs that will take your music CDs and "rip" it to your computer. But few can actually ensure you are getting an error-free copy (CDs often get scratched). This is where dBpoweramp walks away easily as my favorite CD ripper. Their dBpoweramp Music Converter product costs $38, but is well worth the money because it checks the data ripping from the CD against a database to see if your files are identical to what others are ripping off their CDs. If it isn't, it will try again and again to get a solid error-free copy of the audio. The other excellent feature (and also makes it well worth the money) is that it checks against 3 databases to properly identify your CD and name all the audio files. Other rippers I've used might check against one database and they weren't always right.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Home Videos to DVD/PC
I have some home videos on VHS tape. I could have used one of those video capture devices you connect to your PC to record a digital copy of them, but I didn't have a VHS player to begin with.
Since I needed to buy a VHS player anyhow, I went forward and bought one with a DVD recorder built in. The theory being that it'll probably make a better copy of the VHS tape than running analog cables over to my PC. After all, it is all enclosed (less likely to get RF interference) and already factory calibrated.
The couple dozen tapes I recorded from VHS to DVD have turned out great. I'm very satisfied. I bought the Magnavox VHS/DVD recorder at Walmart.
I keep the VHS tapes and their DVD copy together now in storage. To get the DVD video on my PC to stream to the TV or put online, I use a free program called VOB2MPG. It is very simple to use and doesn't re-encode the video (which would cause a loss in video quality).
When I need to split up the video into separate videos (because the original was a collection of video shoots), I use Avidemux. It is much better and easier to use than VirtualDub (my old favorite).
Since I needed to buy a VHS player anyhow, I went forward and bought one with a DVD recorder built in. The theory being that it'll probably make a better copy of the VHS tape than running analog cables over to my PC. After all, it is all enclosed (less likely to get RF interference) and already factory calibrated.
The couple dozen tapes I recorded from VHS to DVD have turned out great. I'm very satisfied. I bought the Magnavox VHS/DVD recorder at Walmart.
I keep the VHS tapes and their DVD copy together now in storage. To get the DVD video on my PC to stream to the TV or put online, I use a free program called VOB2MPG. It is very simple to use and doesn't re-encode the video (which would cause a loss in video quality).
When I need to split up the video into separate videos (because the original was a collection of video shoots), I use Avidemux. It is much better and easier to use than VirtualDub (my old favorite).
MediaInfo
As I posted before, I have a lot of music, photos, and videos on my PC. Before I stumbled unto PS3 Media Server, I was trying to use Windows Media Player to stream to my Playstation 3. However, a lot of the files wouldn't play on the PS3. I couldn't figure out why.
Then I saw on Sony's website their list of compatible file formats. My problem was that I couldn't what format the data in my *.mpg video files were in.
I found a free program called MediaInfo that tells you everything you could ever want to know about the contents of your media file. It showed me which *.mpg files were in MPEG-1, 2, or 4 format. A really useful tool for troubleshooting.
Then I saw on Sony's website their list of compatible file formats. My problem was that I couldn't what format the data in my *.mpg video files were in.
I found a free program called MediaInfo that tells you everything you could ever want to know about the contents of your media file. It showed me which *.mpg files were in MPEG-1, 2, or 4 format. A really useful tool for troubleshooting.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Digital File Cabinet
I used to get a bill in the mail, write a check, mail it in and file the bill in the file cabinet.
Now I get the bill, go on my bank's website, pay the bill with online bill pay, scan the bill into the PC (as a PDF file) and then shred the bill.
I like it.
No more stamps to buy. It's easy to schedule the payment to just a couple of days before the due date (if you are on a tight budget). I can track past payments online by payor very easy. I can search for any bill or statement without having to rummage through a file cabinet. And it nice to be pretty much paperless.
Most all banks and credit unions provide online bill pay. If yours doesn't, I'd suggest you open an account someplace that does. If you are looking for a recommendation, Clark Howard suggests a credit union. The best one in most people's opinion is USAA (if you are eligible).
You can use any one of the many scanners available at your local electronics or online store. However, most of them do not support automatic scanning of both sides of your documents. The one I bought (and it was pricey at nearly $400) is the Neat ADF Scanner that comes in their NeatDesk package. I don't use the management software (NeatWorks). I only use it to scan to PDF files. The management software is geared towards business use. This scanner is fast and scans the front and back of the document at the same time. Very slick.
I categorize my scanned documents in folders and subfolders on my PC. I use the document's date + a couple word description for the document's file name.
Anyhow, that's how I do it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)