Is it really December already? Wow that year really passed by quickly! Hopefully next year the world will settle down a bit and we can get back to what might be something like normal, fingers crossed.
One of the things that has changed this year is Microsoft’s flagship operating system has been upgraded and if you have a qualifying computer, you can download it for free. Read this entire article »
As I am sure you are all aware the SIP card is used to get medical services here in Spain. The SIP card comes in a few different styles, but all do the same thing. As I understand it, your local medical centre will contact you using the phone number registered with your SIP card to arrange for your attendance for the COVID-19 vaccine. If your phone number is out of date or incorrect then they will not be able to contact you as easily. Thankfully its straight forward to ensure your correct details are registered to your SIP card without the hassle of booking an appointment at the health centre to get them to do it – you can do it all from the comfort of your own Internet connection. Read this entire article »
Ever since Windows 8, we have have been able to select the lanaguge that we would like our computers and laptops to display. Before that, in order to legally change the language of your Windows computer it was necessary to reinstall the operating system with a version of the language that you wanted. Read this entire article »
It’s a question that I’m asked regularly and it’s not an easy one to answer. In order to give an unbiased opinion as to which one I would recommend, we need to firstly determine what you mean by “best”. You see, for some people best means ‘cheapest’, for others best means ‘easiest to use’ but for most, I suspect, best means ‘the most efficient at protecting against viruses’. Read this entire article »
Ok, so here we go again! As you know I love ‘home automation’ and since I’ve taken possession of a few Amazon Dot’s, I’ve been so impressed with how easy Alexa is to talk to that I have started to investigate what else she might be able to help me with.
So, the first thing I found she could do was use a ‘smart plug’ to enable her to be able to turn things on and off. In our bedroom we have a couple of bedside lights – and now we also have the HS100 from TP-Link; this little gadget plugs into any wall socket and allows you to plug anything in to it – once configured the smart plug can work with your mobile phone or tablet OR Alexa! Yes, you’re right, so now as I walk into the room I can demand “Alexa turn on the lights in the bedroom” and after a second or so I hear a reassuring response of “Ok” and then the lights turn on – magic! Read this entire article »
Ok, well this one has been in the news quite a lot recently – as in how Facebook may have been playing fast and loose with your personal information. It’s a great one for the conspiracy theorists of course but there is a reasonable amount of truth in the stories, of course the devil is in the detail. Did most of the people who had their personal information used give their concent by signing up to the Facebook third party apps in the first place? I guess we will never really know the full truth of it all, but whilst we ponder, there is something positive that you can do to discover exactly what information Facebook store about you and your friends by using their new service which allows you to download and view all of this information. Read this entire article »
We all use the Internet. Whether we realise it or not the Internet has become such an integral part of our day to day lives. Most of us use computers (PC’s, laptops, tablets, smart phones) to look at information stored on web pages, this is called browsing or surfing the Internet and one of the “tricks” that computers use to try to speed up this process is a copy of the information you download on your computer, when you go to a website, on your computer. This is called cache (it’s pronounced “cash”). Read this entire article »
This month we finalise the series in which we have reviewed various ways that you can speed up your computer, we have already covered identifying and replacing the hardware in your computer and this month we will look at the software options you can use to get the most out of your computer. Read this entire article »
This month we continue with our audit of your computer, trying to help figure out how you can get the most out of it for the least cost. Last month we looked at the version of your operating system and the amount of RAM in your computer, this month we look at your CPU and storage. Read this entire article »
This month and over the next few we will look at ways in which you can squeeze extra speed out of your computer, both ways that you can do yourself at no extra cost and the most effective way that you can figure out where to spend your money.
Read this entire article »