ZOMG! Using Robots to Play With Kittens Online Is the Best Timewaster Ever

Essential Tech Tips

Speedy Hard Drive = Speedier PC
Other than adding as much RAM as possible, a quick, relatively cheap way to gain noticeably better performance from your aging PC is to upgrade the hard drive to a faster model. The faster a hard drive spins (measured in revolutions per minute or rpm), the more quickly it can access data and pass it back and forth to the processor. For desktop computers, you should get at least a 7,200 rpm drive, although 10,000 rpm is ideal. For laptops, 5,400 rpm (standard on new machines) should do the trick, but 7,200 rpm is recommended. As always, before buying, check to make sure your computer can handle the specs of whatever drive you select.

Essential Tech Tips

How to Shut Off Startup Programs (Windows)
You might not even realize it, but when you first log onto your PC, dozens of programs and services are starting that you most likely don't need. Some rear their ugly heads in the system tray (that little collection of icons next to the clock in Windows), but others run quietly in the background with you none the wiser.

Now, don't get scared, these instructions will take you to corners of your operating system (OS) you may not have seen before, but follow our instructions below and you should notice slightly quicker performance and potentially much faster boot times.

Essential Tech Tips

Find Your Phone
We've all been there before: you can't find your phone, and there's no one around to call it, so that you can track it down. I Can't Find My Phone is your friend when you don't have a real one at the ready. Type your number into the site and it will give your phone a ring, before reminding you to have a great day.

Essential Tech Tips

Stymie Thieves by Password-Protecting Your Laptop
At a minimum, you should have a non-guessable password -- one with a combination of words and numbers -- for logging in to your laptop. Disable auto-login for all accounts, and require a password to wake your laptop from sleep or standby. If you're on a Windows machine, go to Start/Control Panel/Power Options and make sure to check the box for "Prompt for password when computer resumes from standby." For a Mac, go to System Preferences/Security and check the box beside "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver." Then, get in the habit of closing the lid of your laptop every time you physically leave it, even if you think it will just be for a few seconds. That's time aplenty to have your stuff swiped.

Essential Tech Tips

Download Free Kindle Books
Among the thousands of books and periodicals available on the Kindle Store, there are hundreds of free, or extremely cheap, items listed. To find them, go to the Kindle Store, via your Kindle or Amazon.com, and type "-domain" (minus the quotes) in the search bar.

Essential Tech Tips

Save a Soaked Cell Phone
All is not necessarily lost if your cell phone ends up in the drink. If your phone gets doused, do the following as quickly as possible:
1. First off, do not try to turn on the phone if it's already off, or if it's acting funky.
2. Pop out the battery.
3. Dry off the outside as much as possible. Some sources recommend not shaking the phone, as that can actually cause water to travel inside the phone. However, we've heard the opposite, as well. (But don't do it too violently as you don't want to chuck it.) Don't bother trying to disassemble the phone to sponge out any water, as you'd just risk causing further damaging.
4. Put both your phone and the battery in a bowl of dried rice, which, like the rice in salt shakers at restaurants, will slowly draw out the moisture and humidity. You'll have to leave it there for a day or two before testing it. Alternatively, you can put the phone near a source of heat (e.g., on a shelf above or near a heater), and let it sit overnight.
5. Cross your fingers, put the battery back in, and test your luck.

Essential Tech Tips

Download YouTube Videos to Your iPod
Download YouTube, and similarly Flash-based, videos for use on your iPod. Using Firefox, install the free VideoDownloader extension. Then download and install the free Perian codec for Quicktime from Perian.org. Videos ending in .flv will download to your desktop, where you can then open and export them to your iPod using Quicktime.

Essential Tech Tips

How to Opt Out of Targeted Ads: A Guide
Google Ads has the easiest and most navigable page of the bunch. Simply click the opt out button in the middle of the Ads Preferences page. Turning off targeted ads on Yahoo! is just as easy. Open the Ad Interest Manager and click "opt out." Our parent company, AOL, does offer a one button solution for turning off data collecting cookies too, but you'd be hard pressed to find it on your own. Scroll down through the AOL Advertising Privacy page to opt out -- but before you go, click a site ad so we can feed ourselves.

Essential Tech Tips

iPod Battery Myths Debunked
If you leave your iPod in a drawer fully charged, it will drain in about a month. That being said, because the batteries do tend to degrade if they aren't charged with some frequency, it's best to give it some juice every few weeks or so -- even if you aren't using it.

You don't need to instantly charge your iPod's battery upon first purchasing one, nor leave it on a charger for a set period of time. If the battery is full, use it. If it's near empty, charge it if you like, but you don't need to "prime" the battery.

Essential Tech Tips

How to Scrub Your Old PC's Hard Drive
Before you ditch your PC, be sure to completely clear all of your personal info from the hard drive. Unfortunately, simply deleting things doesn't really erase them. (They're still somewhere on your hard drive). So, short of smashing your computer with a hammer, use a program that overwrites the entire drive several times with unreadable gibberish, such as Summit Computer's free Hard Disk Scrubber 2.

Essential Tech Tips