Some really great Freebies!

Some of the best software out there is available for Free!! I have listed a few favorites below and also a link to PC Worlds list of 100 favorites. There is really no need to spend any money at all on software with all the opensource and freeware available to us. We are all guilty including myself on sticking with the name brands when hey the generics will do just fine.

GIMP a free photo editing program is just as good as photoshop, and how much is photoshop?????? Gimp was created by two Berkeley students more than 10 years ago and it is available for almost any operating system. You can do the basics such as crop, color correction, re-sizing plus the advanced stuff like retouching, painting, layering and EVEN animation support. To download your free copy of Gimp simply click here http://www.gimp.org/

OpenOffice is almost identical to Microsoft office. It has all the same applications, like word, excel and even opens word documents. Openoffice also works with PDF files. Again Openoffice is free and is available for just about all operating systems. You can download and read more about it here http://www.openoffice.org/

Avast has a great internet security suite that includes a firewall, antivirus, anti-spam and malware. My favorite tool of Avast is the boot scan, Avast will scan and clean your computer in DOS mode which many trojans will hide. Avast has a professional version and a free home version. After downloading just register for free key and you are good for one year. You can download avast here http://www.avast.com/

Ccleaner is one of my favorite free utilities. I can not imaging living without this program! I run this tool just about every single day as it cleans all the crap that my computer will pick up on the internet while surfing, downloading and shopping. This utility even cleans out temp files, empty's your recycle bin and gets rid of some virus and trojans. It is super easy to use and just takes a moment to speed up your computer. You can download ccleaner here http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner

This is just a small list of a few of my favorites but you can find a list of 100 here at PC World.

I also have a internet resource page on my web site with a few of my favorites listed at http://www.computer-gal.com/resource.htm
This page has a lot of great tools for repairing a virus infested computer. You can scan your computer online for free and download some of the tools listed above to keep it clean.

Do you have a favorite? If so let me know and I will provide a link.....

Thanks again to my readers/customers and Oh Happy New Year!!!

Computer Gal

Post I received regarding a SVCHOST.EXE Problem

Our two home machines (XP-home and XP-pro) both start a SVCHOST task that uses 100% of the CPU from startup until the task is canceled. I applied HotFix KB927891 on top of SP/2 with no effect - I also stopped MS Automatic updates - no effect.Canceling the looping SVCHOST has no adverse effect I can see. I ran AVG free virus scan, no problems.Any idea where I look next?Thank you.


December 9, 2007 9:27:00 AM EST
Blogging with Computer Gal said...
Hi,Sounds as though you have a bug that has attached itself to the svchost.exe. As you know by now it is one of the most annoying as it pretty much brings your computer to a stand still, and is dangerous to your pc running it at 100%.I would recommend restarting your computer in safe mode, by hitting the F8 key upon reboot. You should receive the safemode boot screen and choose the option of safe mode with networking.Connect to the internet and scan your pc with one of the free online scans such as bitdefender found here http://www.bitdefender.com
then I would download cleaner which is a wonderful free utility that cleans your pc of alot of the crap downloaded while on the internet, cleaner is available from file hippo here http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner I would then uninstall AVG and try Avast. I have had much better luck with Avast keeping a pc safe than AVG lately. You can find Avast and all the other mentioned utilities on my web site on the resource page here http://www.computer-gal.com/resource.htm After doing the above simply reboot normal and your problem should be solved :)Good Luck and let me know how it goes...Computer Gal
December 14, 2007 9:03:00 PM EST

Holiday Deals by Parallels for Mac

Computer Gal's has partnered with many companies in order to bring a number of great deals to our customers. Parallel is now offering Computer Gal's customers the following great offers!






Don't delay
Offers valid November 19th through December 27th, 2007.

Computer Gal's
http://www.computer-gal.com/

Device Drivers, what are they and how to update

Device drivers can be a nightmare. Have you ever reinstalled your operating system and afterwards realized none of your components were working? The reason being is that all hardware must have a compatible software or at least a particular file called a driver, that lets windows know what type of hardware you have. This file enables the hardware such as sound, modems, network cards and even your video to work properly. The easiest way to check to see if there is any conflicts or other problems after installing is to enter the control panel, then system and then click to open device manager. Once open you will see a list of all hardware installed on your compluter. Normally any issues are expanded in their category with an explanation point or red x. Sometimes you can click on the problem item and delete it and upon rebooting windows will find the correct file and install correctly. If this does not solve the problem you will need to locate the software that you received when you purchased the computer or the component and re-install. If you can't find the software, there are a few places you can look on the web.

In many cases, devices such as printers, graphics adapters, sound cards, network devices, USB peripherals, mainboards, storage devices, and so on, will be supported natively by newer versions of the Windows operating system and may be found using the searchable Microsoft Update Catalog.

At the end of this article I have also listed links to the most common manufacturer's updated drivers available for download.

Microsoft also has a device driver kit that may help found here

There is also a website I use quite frequently titled driverguide.com. This site is a database of drivers uploaded by users such as yourself that contains hard to find drivers that has saved me many of times. The link is www.driverguide.com and requires a free registration to use.

Notebook and desktop computers
Company name
Web site for drivers
ABS
http://www.abs.com/support/index.asp
Acer
http://global.acer.com/support/download.htm
Apple
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
Compaq*
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/static_software_select?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&
Dell*
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen
E-machines
http://www.emachines.com/support/
Fujitsu
http://www.fujitsu.com/global/support/
Gateway
http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/dlcenter.asp
HP*
http://www.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html
IBM*
http://www.ibm.com/products/finder/us/finders?pg=ddfinder&trac=SU1
Lenovo
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=HOME-LENOVO
NEC/Packard Bell
http://nec.com/cgi-bin/support/support.cgi?cat=download
Toshiba
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_modSel.jsp
Samsung
http://www.samsung.com/support/index.asp
Sony
http://esupport.sony.com/perl/select-system.pl?DIRECTOR=DRIVER&ref=http%3A//www.sony.com/index.php
Graphics cards
Company name
Web site for drivers
3Dlabs
http://www.3dlabs.com/support/drivers/
ARM
http://www.arm.com/support/downloads/index.html
ATI
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=27
Intel
http://www.intel.com/support/index.htm?iid=home+hdr_nav1_support
Matrox
http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers/home.cfm
Nvidia
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
SIS
http://www.sis.com/download/
VIA Technologies (S3)
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2
XGI Technology
http://www.xgitech.com/sd/sd_download.asp
Network devices (wired and wireless)
Company name
Web site for drivers
3Com*
http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/downloadsindex.jsp
Cisco
http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/
D-Link
http://support.dlink.com/downloads/
Linksys
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Content_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1115416835852&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper
Lucent
https://support.lucent.com/portal/productIndex.do
Netgear
http://kbserver.netgear.com/downloads_support.asp
Nortel
http://www130.nortelnetworks.com/go/main.jsp
Third Party Keyboards, Mice and other Input Devices
Company name
Web site for drivers
APC*
http://www.apcc.com/tools/download/index.cfm?isocountrycode=US&tsk=
Cherry
http://support.cherry.de/english/new_download.asp
Keytronic
http://www.keytronic.com/home/keyboards/support/drivers.html
Logitech*
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/downloads/finder/US/EN,CRID=270
Microsoft Mouse and Keyboards
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/Download.mspx
Targus*
http://www.targus.com/us/support_downloads.asp
Printers
Company name
Web site for drivers
Avery
http://www.avery.com/us/software/index.jsp?wtloc=ftr
Brother
http://www.brother.com/E-ftp/softwin.html
Canon*
http://www.usa.canon.com/opd/controller?act=OPDDownloadDropDownAct
Dell*
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen
Epson
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/SupportIndex.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes
HP*
http://www.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html
Kodak
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2/3/10/7895&pq-locale=en_US
KonicaMinolta
http://konicaminolta.com/support/index.html
Lexmark
http://www.lexmark.com/lexmark/sequentialem/home/0,6959,204816596_652569478_0_en,00.html
Okidata
http://www.okidata.com/mkt/html/nf/Drivers.html
Samsung
http://www.samsung.com/support/productsupport/download/index.aspx
Xerox*
http://www.support.xerox.com/go/prodselect.asp?Xlang=en_US&metrics=HDR
* If you are outside the US, you may need to select a different country to get the correct driver in your language

Ok, well I hope this helps some of you get your computer working perfectly, or well, working anyways...........

until later.........


Computer Gal
www.computer-gal.com
www.computer-gals.net

Who is Computer Gal?

Good Morning everyone,

It's been awhile since I posted the who, what and where's of Computer Gal's. Computer Gal's is owned by Sherry Benson and located in Central Florida. Computer GAl's has several web locations as we serve two customer bases. Our consumers will find links and product information at www.computer-gal.com and our business partners will find information that caters more to their business at www.computer-gals.net.

Both sites are really under construction and since we are in the technology field, they probably always be as technology changes daily. Computer Gal's also has an ebay store located at http://stores.ebay.com/Computer-GAL. We will be adding a secure shopping cart / checkout system to both our websites for easier product purchasing by the first quarter of next year. eBay fee's have raised to such a high rate it is difficult to keep our prices as low as we like. For an example if an item is $10.00, ebay will get around $2.00. I would rather sell it on my site for $8.00, and I'm sure you would rather that too.

We buy our items wholesale or via liquidation and are able to offer our products at a savings at about 50%. The same items that you find on the shelves at Best Buy and Circuit City we also have new in the box for half off.

Computer Gal's is a Microsoft Certified, Certified Microsoft Partner and Certified Microsoft System Builder. This allows us to offer Microsoft products at a reduced rate as well. This is especially helpful for our business partners as we can save them a great deal as well as finance the entire expense over a couple years for new start ups.

We are currently working on a promotion titled buy local. This promotion allows you to redeem valuable coupons for some really cool items when purchase certain Microsoft products. We will be posting more about that in the next few days.

Ok, so that should catch up our new readers on Who is Computer Gal!

until later.....

Computer Gal

Free Laptop Shipping Special till November 16th

Great News!

Free shipping on all our laptops until November 16th! Now is the time to save.



http://www.computer-gal.com/computers.htm


Don't forget Computer Gal's also acts as a broker and can locate just about anytype of computer hardware or software that you need. We negotiate lower prices for our customers with guaranteed quality.

The Association for Women in Computing

Another great site for those of us in the technology field. Even though it is a Association for women it is worth visiting by my male colleagues as well. I have pasted the description and link for you below.

"The Association for Women in Computing is a non-profit professional organization for women and men who have an interest in information and technology. The Association is dedicated to the advancement of women in the technology fields.
You will discover a camaraderie in our group that you won't find in any other professional organization."

http://www.awc-hq.org/

Check it out...

Computer Gal

Is something in the water?

Boy, oh boy. Right after my last post about Mr. now blocked, I quickly was able to block another. I finally started to calm down some and that all so familiar outlook tune that we all know and love chimed to let me know I have a new email. I click over to see if it was something I needed to address, and another ebay customer thought I needed to know his thoughts about one of my products. I have an older game listed that is still sealed in the box. I listing title is rare xxxx game still sealed. Well, this guy emails me and says "Rare...hahahahahah, your a joke". You can download this game anywhere on the web. Hahahhahah you don't know what you are talking about....slober, slober. Well, I was like....Dear Mr. new blocked, yes this game can be downloaded for free and holds a value of $0 when downloaded. The game sealed in the box with all the contents is valuable to collectors, therefore it is rare and will most likely increase in value. I closed by thanking him for taking time out of his busy day and let me know his thoughts.......................

Now is it me, or do people think it is necessary to email people they don't know and call them names and tell them that they are a joke and a idiot (later emailed again by Mr. Block #1 calling me an idiot) .

I have done nothing to these guys, nothing at all. The first guy I shipped his product out the next day and followed up with him until I thought he was satisified. The second guy, never even sold him anything, don't know him from the man on the moon, just a email with hahahahahahhaha you are a joke.

So.............to solve the problem I am not opening any emails today

Oh well, maybe not tomorrow either.....


Till then

Computer Gal's

What has happened to people?

I tell you, I get so sick of people walking all over me sometimes.

This guy buys something off me on ebay. I always mail my packages with tracking, but.......this day I ran out of ink and carried it into the post office instead of using my program which includes all the bells and whistles. Well, this guy asks me about the product and dumb me hinted that I didn't have tracking, because of this, and this, (which he didn't pay for anyway) and well, I think I was played. He tells me a few days later he didn't get it, so I promplty apologized and tell him I will mail another. No, he says he changed his mind, so I refund the total purchase plus shipping promptly. I log onto ebay this first time this weekend, and now the guy has given me a neutral for not mailing the package. I MAILED THE PACKAGE! I paid for the item, paid for the shipping and all those wonderful ebay/paypal fees and then refunded him total amount and he gives me a neutral, hinting that I never mailed the package. Over 1,000 sales and I didn't mail his lone package. Why??

Well, had to vent, as, you guessed it no sales since the neutral as now I am labeled as a ebay seller that sells and then what...refunds? So, thank you Mr. player, your blocked.

Have a nice day :)

computer Gal

Computer Gal's run with Vista

Hello all,

I have been using Vista for a couple weeks now and so far no problems. I have read horror stories including this one

"Dutch Consumers’ Counsel advises against Vista - After more than 5000 complaints from consumers about Vista in a month of time, the Dutch Consumers’ Counsel decided to talk with Microsoft. MS didn't comply with their requests so they are now advising consumers to choose XP rather than Vista. Read more..."

I personally have had no problems whatsoever. Now granted, I have not installed any software that may be considered not compatible, (which is the reason many have problems with any given operating system upon release other than hardware)so I am pretty much running a clean install with a few other Microsoft Products, but still enough to test some of Vista's features. Vista is different, but in a good way. Explorer in my opinion is easier to navigate for viewing and sorting files and documents. Vista has some noticable differences in control panel and other system utilities that have been written about many times, so won't go over those again, but so far no problems there either. I'm using a Dell Optiplex P4 with 1gb of ram and seems to be sufficient for surfing and daily tasks.

I will continue to load up my old pc and keep you updated as to how Vista handles the stress of a Computer Geek and her library of software.


Computer Gal

Microsoft Financing Now Available!

Hello everyone!

Great News....Computer Gal's is now able to offer our customer financing for their Microsoft purchasing. The transaction must be a total minimum of $3,000.00. Additional purchases may be financed, providing credit approval, but must be a total minimum of $3,000.00. Computer Gal's is planning a rather large mass market business advertisement campaign and the financing program is perfect. Our temp home for our Microsoft specials is www.computer-gals.net, and our normal web site is www.computer-gal.com. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Till later....

Computer Gal

Great Free Utilities to Clean up your PC

I was reading a great article on Techrepublic today and it reminded me of two great tools that I use on infected / bogged down computers. I also use these tools on my personal computers almost daily. Autorun is a great tool that allows you to see all services and programs that start up when your computer does. Don't you hate when you turn on your computer and it takes 15 minutes due to all the program launches. Do you really need all those programs to start when you first turn on your computer. Isn't it easier to just call up these apps when you need them. If so, this program is for you. It is a based on the msconfig tool, but lists everything. You can download and read more about it here

The other program is Cleaner, and it is one of my favorites. This great tool cleans up all the temp files and a whole lot more. I use this program every day and it keeps my system running at top speed. Definately a must have. You can find it and more info here

Know of all great tool that you would like me to review? If so send me an email at sherry@computer-gal.com and I will give credit to you if it is listed.

Thanks again readers/customers!

Computer Gal
www.computer-gal.com


The techrepublic article that reminded me of these tools is found here

Free Build A Website that Sells ebook

Hey Computer Gal has found another great freebie available for a limited time only.
"Build a Website that Sells" 10 Easy Ways to Grow Your Website, ebook from from Entrepreneur magazine. This 52-page e-book in PDF format includes tips, techniques, and tools to help you design an effective and engaging Web site, generate more Web site traffic, maximize search engine results, provide a more secure online experience, and much more. This book is only available for a short time so download your copy today.

ebook found here

Until later.......

Computer Gal

Vista Promotion Available Now at Computer Gal's

Don't forget that now purchasing one of our computer's with Vista enables you to earn some really great free items. Please review the banner below for more details.

IBM Lotus Symphony Free Download

Great News!

Ibm Lotus Symphony is available as a free download here http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.jspa

IBM's Description: Richly-featured productivity tools that are intuitive to use and compatible with your files. Provided at no charge for your home, school or business.

IBM Lotus Symphony Documents
Versatile text editor or word processor.
What can I do with IBM Lotus Symphony Documents?
Write a novel, write a business plan, keep a personal journal or just create a simple memo or letter. IBM
Lotus Symphony Documents allows end users to create, edit, share, and save word
processing documents. Users can start with a blank document, import an
existing document, or choose from a set of document templates.
Standard navigational elements include toolbars, an editing window, and
a status bar.

IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations
Make your own presentations
What can I do with IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations?
Close a sale, tell a story, or defend your dissertation. IBM Lotus
Symphony Presentations allows end users to create graphic
presentations that can be shared with audiences via a slide show
mode. The presentations created by Lotus Symphony Presentation software
can be created from scratch or using the included presentation
templates for a variety of looks

IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets
Calculate, analyze and manage your data.
What can I do with IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets?
Calculate a mortgage, create an income statement, or calculate
your GPA. IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets allows end users to
create, edit, share, and save a variety of spreadsheets. Users can
create blank documents, import existing documents, or choose
from a set of document templates. Standard navigational elements
include toolbars, an editing window, and a status bar.

Ok, there you have it.

Computer Gal

www.computer-gal.com

New Partnership with Webex

Computer Gal has been busy forming partnership's with various IT companies in order to save my readers/customers as much of their hard earned dollar as possible! We are now partners with Microsoft, Nextday PC, Webex, stubhub and several more. I will be continuing to add links and banners to these organizations here and elsewhere. If you need any help please let me know and I will do all that I can to help with the transaction.

Ok, now on with the show........or should I say ur.ah..commercial?


Webex

14-day free trial!
Overview
Easy to use!
Just a click of your mouse starts a WebEx MeetMeNow meeting - and it's just as easy to invite participants, demonstrate products and annotate documents.


Powerful solution
Show Power Point presentations, highlight product features, and review contracts and documentation.


Meet online anytime
Augment and complement face-to-face meetings with advanced online meeting capabilities.


A feature-rich web meeting solution
MeetMeNow has the features you need to conduct live, interactive meetings with just about anyone who has a PC and internet access.


Rates
Monthly fees as little as $39 plus a 14-day free trial



30-day free trial!
Overview
Always get to your filesNo more worries about pulling the files you need from your PC when you’re heading out. Access them 24/7 via the web, from any computer or your mobile device using WebEx PCNow. Avoid the delay of asking someone to email your files. Try it today!
Accomplish more when you’re out of the officeContinue to work on your office PC files and email whether you’re traveling or telecommuting. Print documents from your remote PC to a local printer. Save files onto WebEx servers for easy access when your work computer is offline.
Stay on scheduleLook up contacts, send emails and manage your schedule, with remote access to Outlook. Keep on top of your appointments via the web, from any computer or your mobile phone.
Save on mobile callsMake international and conference calls for just pennies per minute using Skype. Call or chat with Skype contacts even on mobile devices not supported by Skype mobile client.
RatesMonthly fees as little as $10.35 plus a 30-day free trial







Conduct Unlimited Online Meetings for One Low Flat Rate. Try it FREE!

Webex really is an excellent tool for any business or computer user. Try it now for free!

Until next time.........

Computer Gal

ebay's half.com, save on text books and more!

Open a ebay Store and save listing fees!

Open a ebay store today and pay only 5 cents a listing for products under $25.00 and 10 cents for anything over that amount for 30 days of exposure!

Microsoft Update causes Skype 2 day outage

Skype's two day outage was apparently caused by a recent Microsoft update that required computer's to reboot after install. The worldwide outage, which began on Thursday and ended on Saturday, left millions of Skype users unable to log on to make phone calls or to send any instant messages.
Ooopps...Sorry

Visit our ebay store today!

Microsoft's Small Business Start Up Center

Looking to start your own business? Don't know where to start? Well, I have found the perfect resource for you! Micrsoft's startup center covers just about everything from A-Z. This special site covers everything you need to get your business up and running, including special offers designed for new businesses. Make sure you at least book mark this site for later reading as it will save you a ton of research and alot of great freebies are available for instant download!

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/startup-toolkit/

See ya soon
Computer Gal

Computer Gal's Partners up with NextdayPC

Great News!

Computer Gal's has partnered up with Nextday PC!! Nextday has over 400,000 products listed in their catalog and now so does Computer Gal!!!

Check out our new listings at

www.nextdaypc.com/computer-gals


I am truly excited about this partnership and there is more in the works. Computer Gal's has also signed up as a Microsoft Partner and I will write more about it in a couple days, but for now check out our new products at Nextday.

View catalog here

Evaluate the Windows Server 2008

Download or order the beta software & you're automatically registered to access valuable beta resources assembled in one convenient Beta Central location.
It is a good idea to review Windows Server 2008 system requirements and compare editions before you download. Actual requirements and product functionality may vary based on your system configuration. The link to download is here
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/beta/lhs/default.mspx

Slax Linux Live Boot CD, Very Pretty~

Slax is one of the prettiest desktop replacement OS'es available. It was requires very little operating power. Slax runs on a 486, with as little as 32MB ram. You don't even need a hard drive. Got an old computer around, or one that won't boot? If you do, Slax is for you! You can read about Slax here www.slax.org

Or check out Computer Gal's listing on ebay here

Daylight Savings Time Early this year, Patch Your PC Now

In case you haven't heard, daylight savings is early this year and starts on March 11, 2007. Remember the Y2k scare? Well it is not that bad, but your systems needed to be updated so everything will go smooth. Here is what you need to do.

One of the fist patches that should be applied is the Microsoft patches for Windows XP, and for Windows Server 2003. The patch for Windows XP can be downloaded here (the version for 64bit XP is here), and the Windows Server 2003 patch can be downloaded here (the version for X64bit server is here and the version for Itanium 2003 systems is here).
These are standard Microsoft patches that can fully fit in with your standard patching methodology. It can be deployed via WSUS, or many other patch distribution packages. It can also be installed by an administrator without the need for a reboot, which is very useful in shops where patches are applied manually. You will want to check to make sure this patch (KB931836) is set for distribution, as it is not listed as a critical update. If you only typically push or install critical updates then you may need to manually add this patch to your systems. It should also be noted that the patch for Windows XP requires XP SP2 to be installed, if you have not already done so.
If you are still running Windows 2000 you will have to do a bit more work for the time change. Microsoft has released KB article 914387 which outlines the process you must go to for the change. There are two methods by which you can change the time zone for Windows 2000 (Professional and Server). The first is to download the TZEdit tool from Microsoft. Once installed, you can run this tool (it installs by default to c:\Program Files\TZEdit\) to manually create and change your time zones. This method will require you to manually change every computer. While this is not a major task if you only have a few Windows 2000, it can be quite daunting if you have a large number of systems to update.
The second method provided by Microsoft for updating Windows 2000 is a combination of a registry edit and a VBS script. These are both available here, though you must copy the text for each of them and save them locally with the proper file extensions (.reg and .vbs respectively). You must then import the registry settings change (by double clicking the .reg file you created), then run the vbs script to perform the update. This process can easily be automated.

Ok, you should be all set!

Computer Gal

Ubuntu Live Boot CD

Ubuntu live boot CD is totally cool. All you do to experience this really cool Linux OS is reboot your computer with the cd (bios must be set to read cd first) and you are now surfing the web, creating word processing documents and more, all off the cd. These cd's are great when your computer is having a problem booting to Windows as well. Just insert the cd, reboot, and you are back in business.

Ubuntu offers you a complete Linux-based operating system, including all the major applications you need to play and work. With a strong focus on a desktop that Just Works, Ubuntu is a great choice for home or the office. The base system and all included software is free, and support is available from the community or by professional support providers.

When you start the system for the first time you are greeted by a desktop that is unusually clean and tidy. No desktop icons by default! Even the recycling bin has been moved down to the taskbar. The default theme is designed to be easy on the eye. But Linux is inherently flexible; you can customise the look and behaviour of the desktop in a range of ways, from simply changing the default theme to selecting a different desktop environment altogether.

Want to try it? You have a few choices, you can download it, or purchase it for a small fee.

Where can you download it?

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/GetUbuntu/download?action=show&redirect=download

If you don't have broadband, you can purchase it from us or another vendor.

http://stores.ebay.com/Computer-GAL

Category- Live Boot CD

Have fun!

Vista Upgrade without XP or 2000 Installed is Possible

Apparently anyone can use Windows Vista upgrade!

Microsoft’s licensing terms and antipiracy measures for Windows started getting more complicated after it launched Windows Genuine Advantage two years ago, much to the chagrin of confused customers. But with Vista, Microsoft seems to have confused itself, creating a loophole for customers with a do-it-yourself outlook to save as much as $100.00 or so.

Microsoft has confirmed reports circulating on the internet that anyone can buy and install an upgrade version of Vista, even on a computer without Windows XP or 2000 already on it.
Here's how the ‘clean install’ trick works:

-Boot with the Windows Vista upgrade DVD and begin the full installation process.-Do not enter the product key when prompted, but continue on.-Choose to do a clean install of Vista, that is, fully wiping your hard drive.-After you're done, boot into the still-unactivated copy of Vista.-Run Windows Vista setup again, from inside Vista.-Select upgrade, and enter your upgrade key.-Install Vista a second time.
Essentially, Vista is fooled into upgrading itself, thus allowing customers to avoid the need to have a prior copy of Windows XP or 2000 installed on that computer. While time-consuming because of the double installation, advocates say this workaround not only allows users to do a fresh install of Vista, which they say will run more reliably, but can save some customers money. The amount depends on which flavour of Vista a customer gets.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is "well aware of the workaround”, which they added "violates the terms of use agreed to when they purchased the upgrade version of Windows Vista. As such, we believe only a very small percentage of people will take the time to implement this workaround, and we encourage all customers to follow our official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista, which can be found at www.WindowsVista.com, instead."
Microsoft is right: for people, the workaround will prove to be irrelevant. Why? Because most larger corporations buy Vista in volume licences, which are usually discounted off the list price. For consumers and small businesses, the vast majority will get Vista pre-installed when they buy a new PC. Buying a new PC without an operating system on it and then installing an upgrade version of Vista might actually cost more than buying a new Vista PC because of the low price Microsoft charges OEMs to pre-install Vista, along with other discounts that it offers.
Indeed, the types of person most likely to benefit from this workaround are power users and hobbyists who own multiple computers running Windows as well as Linux and Mac OS X. Such users may argue that they are such good customers of Microsoft that they should be allowed to save a little bit of money when Microsoft makes a mistake, such as when a retailer is forced to honour an incorrectly price.
But Microsoft remains officially adamant. The spokeswoman noted that customers buying and installing an upgrade version of Vista onto one PC also forfeit the right to use XP on another PC, unless they own more than one full retail copy of XP.
"This is part of the end user license agreement the customer consents to by purchasing a retail upgrade version. We believe it strikes a fair balance for our customers, since upgrade versions allow them to purchase Windows Vista at significantly reduced prices," said the spokesperson. Only customers who pay for full retail versions of Vista "maintain the right to install their previous versions of Windows”

Well there you have it folks........
source:http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=8512

OpenSource is the Way to GO!

OpenSource technology is really cool. OpenSource is free via download, and also may be obtained for a small fee for someone to download it for you. Computer Gal's carries a pretty large assortment of opensource software for the people still on dial-up that can't download the large files. For those of you that don't know what opensource is, it is software created by programmers all over the globe to be distributed for free. For example open office is pretty close to Microsoft Office, yet it is free. These programmers all think software prices are just to hefty, so they get together, add code, and ideas to come up with some pretty cool alternatives to the big guys. There is also some pretty neat stuff that the big guys have not even thought of yet that has been released.

Some of my favorites are "Live Boot CD's". These are really cool! You take just about any computer with or without a hard drive and boot to the cd, which has a operating system interface. It appears as though you are working on an installed OS, but you are on the cd. You see a desktop, my programs, and all the other normal stuff, but it is all memory. You can surf the web, save files to another cd, usb, floppy or the hard disk if available. You can even retrieve files on your hard drive, if normally unbootable!

I will be covering several downloads that are available over the next few weeks, so make sure you check back, so you don't miss anything :)

See ya later gator...
Computer Gal

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

free myspace graphics

Web Programming and Design Help

Need help with your web site, well Computer Gal is gonna hook you up. Try the following sites for some really good tips and lots of help. First check out Full Web Building Tutorials - All Free at http://www.w3schools.com/.

Then try http://www.devguru.com/

http://www.webmonkey.com/


Bravenet has some really cool addon's for your site as well, check them out here www.bravenet.com

Good luck and have fun!

What Do You Think of American Idol Contestants?

Have you been watching American Idol? You know, it worries me some....Why, well imagine watching the show and thinking all Americans are, well, how do I put this....CRAZY! I mean, come on, some of these people are something else. Some one once told me that we are all just a bunch of muts now. You know how you have your pure breed dogs and when you mix breed them, they get kinda stupid, well, maybe we are a bunch of mix breed muts now...I don't know how that would have been determined, not counting race or religion, but who knows, maybe we should take IQ tests before we mate.......I think I was alot smarter than my ex-husband, that should have been illegal! That would have saved me some grief with him......Thank goodness, my children take after me and they were saved, but according to American Idol, not all have been. LOL.......

Oh well, I couldn't resist..............

Windows Vista is Here!

Well, Windows Vista is on the shelves. There was an article in my local paper Tampa Tribune regarding the official release, and there appears to be no big motivation for people to rush out and buy a new operating system.

Vista has been more than five years in the making and ranges in price between $100.00-$400.00 depending on the version and if you are upgrading from XP.

The official site is located at www.windowsvista.com

Vista requires quite a bit of power, so if you do decide to purchase make sure you run the upgrade advisor found at the above link, to make sure you pc can handle the new OS.

If you decide you want to purchase Vista, you can even download the OS for a quick install.

Here are the posted minimum requirements for Vista Ultimate.

System Requirements
Manufacturer/Publisher Name
Microsoft
Operating System
Windows Vista
Minimum Processor Speed
1 GHz processor
Memory Required
1 GB of system memory
HardDisk Required
40GB hard drive with at least 15GB of available space
Display
Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
• WDDM Driver
• 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
• Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
• 32 bits per pixel

I think it will be awhile before Vista becomes the most common OS, as XP seems to work just fine.

My Space??? Ok, you talked me into it!

Ok, my kids finally talked me into setting up a myspace.

Check it out!

http://www.myspace.com/computer_gal

Want to be a Computer Geek? Go to MIT for Free

Yes that's right folks. You heard it from Computer Gal. You can go to MIT for free!
The opencourseware (OCW) movement allows anyone with internet to access it's courses for free. OCW provides free access to course materials such as syllabi, video or audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations and so on. MIT's site is www.mit.edu. To find out more about OCW's program www.ocwconsortium.org

Now if you can attend tradional college that is great, but if not and still desire the knowledge, well here you go.....................

Microsoft Office Accounting FREE

Hey folks incase you haven't heard, a slim down version of Microsoft's Accounting is available for free via downlload
via this link
http://www.ideawins.com/

Check it out, it's FREE

See Ya

Lost ABC's Series

I have been watching the series LOST on dvd the past month. I really do like it and have a big crush on bad boy Sawyer. Why is that, that the girls always like the bad boys? That is one habit I would like to break (after Sawyer that is) !!!!!!!!!

Well you can watch the last few episodes on the web that are not on DVD yet here
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index

For you followers make sure you mark your calendar, as it starts back up on Feb 7th.

WooHoo's Banana Phone~What a Laugh!!!!!!!!!

This guy is laughing all the way to the bank! What a brilliant man. I have been watching his latest ebay auction located here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=010&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=200066612852&rd=1&rd=1

From what I understand is if you win one of his mystery auctions, you receive back or close to what you paid in, in cash and gifts. It is all about advertising for his web site.

I also found this really cute video on youtube created for the banana phone song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsBTo5LExr0

I'm warning you though, if you listen to this song, it gets stuck in your head. People look at you funny and say "What in the world are you singing"........hilarious!

Hey WooHoo, I love YOU!!

Cool way to search ebay's auctions, like 1999

For those of you that remember how ebay was back in 1999 a few of ebay's employees created a really cool site that pulls ebay's listings.

It is really neat, the developers have pulled the listing feeds for just auction format, so you can browse or search for those great .99 cent auction steals.

Check it out here
http://www.likeits1999.com/

ebay PowerSeller Certificate and Benefits!!

Well, I have been a powerseller for quite sometime and was very surprised yesterday when my certificate finally came in the mail.



It is funny because my kids were standing there when I opened it and they were so happy for me. They were like look Mom got a certificate and started clapping.

I love my KIDS!



It is pretty easy to become a powerseller really. All you have to do is maintain a good feedback rating and sell at least $1,000 a month worth of merchandise.



There are some benefits as well. The number 1 is your kids are excited and will clap for you

You also have access to the powerseller discussion board, which is a real plus, a lot of pros are on there giving some great tips.



ebay has a powerseller prescription discount card, merchandise, access to listings for wholesale lots, logos and more.



Once you are a powerseller all you do is click on the little logo next to your name and you are directed to the portal and from there you can access all your benefits.

You can read more about ebay's powerseller program here

http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/powerseller/criteria.html

Hundreds of Items to List

Good Morning,

I have hundreds of items to list in my ebay store and other venues that I have got to get listed so I can sell them. That is my New Years Resolution! Since making that resolution, I have listed about ten :)

Do you ever wonder how you can get everything done? That is my biggest problem. I just can't seem to do everything that I need or want to do.

It doesn't help that it just take so long to create a listing as well. I don't know how some people list hundreds of auctions a week. They must have no distractions what so ever, and work like robots.

So I have decided to put it in black and white, that I Computer Gal will list at least 20 listings a week for the next month!

Cross your fingers...................................

Ok, I guess I better get back to work, so I can accomplish that goal :0)

Remember if you are looking for something, ask me, I may have that rare old game that you have been looking for, or that old software your database is saved in.

Till next time.......................

Computer Gal

ebay's Annual Fee HIKE / Raise Is In

ebay's fee hike is in. I personally don't think it is so bad this time. The store fee hike last summer was a lot worse.... for regular auctions that is. ebay Motors was hit hard this time, but auctions were raised only 5 cents. I mean I'm not happy with it, but it is better than another store increase, which hurt alot of us. Here is the link so you can read all about it.
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200701.shtml#2007-01-03144839

Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR