Post Archives

Upgrade Several Computers To Windows 7 For A Low(er) Price

If you have several machines you want to upgrade to Windows 7, such as your desktop, laptop, family computer, etc., rather than purchasing individual Windows 7 licenses for each, take a look at the Windows 7 Family Pack. This package includes 3 upgrade licenses of Windows 7 for the current MSRP of $150. If you [...]

Computer Repair And Magnetic Screwdrivers

For a long while, I would never use a magnetic screwdriver when working on a computer. I had an experience where a motherboard was working prior to the ‘repair’ and not working after. I had taken the usual precautions so I did not believe it was due to static, rather the magnetic screwdriver I was [...]

Windows Live Movie Maker Tutorial (Video)

To note up front: This is for Windows Live Movie Maker and not the older Windows Movie Maker.
WLMM is something which is a separate download in the Windows Live suite of applications. It does not come bundled with Windows 7 but can be added in easily.
The last time I tried this software it was in [...]

On Screen Hard Drive Activity LED

You are probably very familiar with the hard drive activity LED that seems to constantly be blinking on either your desktop or laptop case. As a better alternative to this simple indicator, FloatLED puts this information directly on your desktop.
Something FloatLED does that your case light cannot is it can tell you want drive is actually [...]

ICQ For Sale, Only 300 Million (What A Deal!)

ICQ, that instant messaging service that everybody used to use in the U.S. back in late late 1990s will be put up for sale for 300 million US.
If you hadn’t heard, AOL will be splitting from Time Warner and will once again become an independent company. This will be occurring on December 10, 2009. ICQ [...]

Has Social Networking Jumped The Shark?

There is no doubt that social networking is an improvement in the way we communicate on the internet, as it allows for people to connect in ways not possible prior to it. For example, Facebook allows to search people by name; this is much easier compared to connect with old friends, family members, acquaintances, coworkers [...]

Force Saving A File With A Certain Extension

Sometimes, particularly with plain text files, you want to save a file as a certain extension. For example, you might want to save a text file with an INI or an XYZ extension.
One option you have for doing this in the Save As dialog box is changing the option in the “Files of type” drop [...]

What is Microsoft Thinking With The Windows 7 Commercials?

Windows 7 is out, and along with it a whole new batch of commercials to tell us how great it is. I’m not going to bash Windows 7, which by all accounts seems to be a huge improvement over Windows Vista. However, Microsoft’s advertising department thus far is living down to its reputation.
First, we have [...]

Quake Live (With Video And Scheduling Update)

This is an update to Want To Shoot Rich In The Face?
Quake Live is an FPS style game that’s completely in-browser, and that means it’s cross-browser/cross-platform compatible.
The plan here is to schedule an event to get a bunch of PCMech readers (yes, that means you’re invited) into the game to see if you guys [...]

Does Internet Addiction Disorder Exist?

Internet Addiction Disorder, commonly abbreviated as IAD, is a disorder that is not officially classified by medical science at present. I want to make that clear right up front.
However it may, if you can believe it, exist in the next edition of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) which will be published [...]