SHORT: Missing boot drive
You finally upgrade your motherboard and processor, but you can’t boot. In fact, you can’t even see your harddrive in the BIOS or the OS installer. What the heck is going on? Well, the explanation gets hairy… But thankfully, there are two solutions, and one of them is...
Erase your Google Search History and make Google more Privacy-Friendly
Everybody uses Google these days for all kinds of things. If it isn't search, it's Google Maps, plotting the fastest route to your vacation destination, checking the weather, or letting your Android phone track your every movement to make Google Now services "useful"....
How to Block Apple Bonjour on your Local Network
Bonjour is Apple's way of doing zero-configuration networking. It's a bit of software that does three things: Service discovery on the local network (LAN) IP address assignment/sharing Hostname resolution Normally, things like IP address assignment are handled by...
How to Easily Resize and Crop a Single Image in Windows
Note: For resizing and posting or e-mailing many images at once, see: How to Easily Resize Images in Windows There is another little problem I see a lot: How does one resize and/or crop an image to a specific custom pixel size in order to post it online somewhere, or...
I shared a link on Facebook, but no image shows up
Ah, yes. Facebook and images! You know the drill: You share a link, and you expect that an image from the page you shared will show up. But, it doesn't. This is especially true if you're sharing a link from a lesser-known site, like perhaps your own blog or online...
Browser Fingerprints: What they are, how they work, and what it means to you
You may have heard of browser fingerprinting and its security implications. Then again, maybe not. In either case, you probably haven't heard the whole story. A browser fingerprint is when, by visiting a web site, that site can generate an ID (or fingerprint) that is...
Reinstall all your programs at once with Ninite
You know the drill. Your puter crashes, or you want to reinstall Windows, or you upgrade to a new version and do a clean install... You can restore your data easily enough from a variety of backup methods, including Windows' own Backup and Restore feature. But then...
Why Yahoo is Rejecting Your Mail
Oh frabjous day! At long last, I have managed to figure out why Yahoo enjoys rejecting lots of mail that is sent to its users. You have probably encountered this problem before, especially if you happen to manage any kind of mailing list that sends HTML messages to...
Why Movies look like Soap Operas on your new TV – and how to fix it
You buy a new 400" TV. You hook it up, and pop in a DVD or Blu-ray disc. You expect to enjoy a glorious movie-watching experience, but instead, your movies look like TV shows or soap operas. What gives? As it turns out, the problem is your fancy new TV. Get ready for...
Make Your DVD or Blu-ray Player Region-Free
This one is a lot of fun: You borrow a DVD from a friend, or you buy one online somewhere. You stick it in your player. And then, disaster strikes! You get a message like "Region not allowed", and the movie won't play. WTH?! Welcome to the glorious world of Region...
Why the Responsive Web Site Design is Dying
Oh boy... This is one of those topics that everybody loves to talk about. People either love it, or they hate it. I'm talking about so-called "responsive" web design. A responsive web site will automatically adjust its layout based on the screen or device being used...
An Intro to Mail Servers and How E-mail Works
Everybody uses e-mail. It's great. Not everybody understands exactly how e-mail works, and even fewer people have ever tried to set up a mail server. For those of you who have, I can pretty much guarantee you that you're doing something wrong. Even if you aren't...
Bad Computer Power Supply? Maybe not!
You know the drill: You turn on your puter, and it doesn't boot, beep, or do anything else. What it does do is power itself off again after a second or two. Or... Your puter works fine, but it spontaneously enjoys turning itself off. Whatever could be the matter?...
How to Clean a Laptop with a Noisy Fan
One day, you turn on your laptop. Maybe nothing happens, or maybe you get some error message about fan speed, or maybe you just get a “system halted” message. Then again, perhaps your computer works just fine, but it’s starting to sound like a vacuum cleaner because...
How to Clean the Inside of a Desktop Computer
One day, you turn on your computer. Maybe nothing happens, or maybe you get some error message about fan speed, or maybe you just get a "system halted" message. Then again, perhaps your computer works just fine, but it's starting to sound like a jet engine because the...
Work smarter, not harder
And now for something completely different... The greatest "technology" you own is one you probably never even think about, although you do think with it: your brain! Your mind is capable of solving all sorts of problems. Usually, you use your brain the old fashioned...