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So you want to get rid of your computer. To keep your data secure you will want to securely wipe the drive. This ensures that no one can recover the deleted files. However, you might not want to remove the entire operating system itself. Just re-installing your operating system or restoring from your recovery partition isn't enough to guarantee that your files won't be recoverable. When getting rid of a PC that has potentially sensitive data, you should wipe the drive to be sure your data can't be recovered.
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It's a fuzzy feeling when you unbox that brand new desktop or laptop and consider how fast and responsive of an experience you're about to be in for. When you purchase a new computer, treat it like a new car. Take care of it and give it no more or less than what it needs. Is there really a need for you to download six different media players? None of that! If you consider buying a new PC, or you've just purchased one, go down this list and let me make your job easier on you.
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The latest version of Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Ad-Aware Pro 10.5, has been a popular part of our Rewards program all through last year, and was also featured in several giveaways in which you had a chance to win a free copy of the security suite. Didn't get lucky last time? We're now offering you another chance to get a 1-year license for Ad-Aware Pro for Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8. All in all, we're giving away 10 copies of Ad-Aware Pro worth $360 for FREE!
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Voice communication allows gaming to transcend to the next level. It’s one thing to play a multiplayer game with your friends - it’s something else when you can talk with your friends while playing. However, voice chat software can be a pain in the butt, hard to set up, and resource intensive. RaidCall may be the solution. Whether you’re a gamer with an extensive history with voice communication software, or you’re someone who has never used voice chat before, you should really check out RaidCall.
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At some point in your life, you've probably considered looking into your family tree and making sense of it all. If you're the technical guru of the family, you've possibly also considered how you might digitise all the information your family has collected in order to make a neat-looking family tree to pass around to all the relatives. Gramps is free, open-source family tree making software which makes this part of the process is easy and completely free. Today we'll focus on building the best family tree printouts for you.
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Are you the kind of person that covers their webcam with a sticker, so nobody can spy on them? Almost every device now is equipped with at least one camera. They make virtual meetings a little more personal. You can visually interact with the other person, read facial expressions, and thus better understand how they feel. This subtle information adds a lot of depth to conversations. But webcams can do a lot more than enhance virtual conversations. Few of us use their full potential for fun, convenience, and safety.
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I’m a big fan of voice communication when it comes to gaming. Wearing a headset while gaming adds a social element that makes the gaming experience that much better. While TeamSpeak may have started off as a solution for competitive gaming teams to discuss strategy and tactics in real-time, it has evolved into something beyond the bare essentials. It is used by casual gamers and fierce e-sports enthusiasts alike. TeamSpeak is a great program for talking with your gamer friends.
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Windows 8's Start screen and "Modern" apps can feel awkward to use on a non-touch PC, but they really start to make sense when paired with a touch PC. If you're not ready to go out and buy a new Windows 8 laptop with touch, tablet, convertible, or all-in-one PC, here are some ways you can add touch support to your existing system. There is a reason Microsoft is pushing hard to integrate touch support into all future PCs. None of these methods is as ideal as having a PC that comes with native touch support.
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As a tech blogger I should have some basic graphic skills, but the truth is I don't. One of the most common tasks I have to do is removing image backgrounds. If you're selling stuff online, creating presentations, or even making collages, you might also want to use the object in the photo without its background. To me, removing a complex background from a photo always seemed like an impossible task. But is it really? To find out I dived into the task head-on.
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Voice communication is a fantastic bit of technology that truly complements the fast-paced nature of multiplayer gaming. It frees up your hands from typing out long messages, allowing you to chat in real-time without any sacrifice in game play. Established gaming brand, Razer, has recently come out with a great new voice communication program for free. Even though it is still in beta, Razer Comms puts up a formidable bit of competition even against the alternatives that have been around for many years.
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Adobe Lightroom 5 has been officially released after 400 tweaks to its earlier freely available public beta version. The bugs are gone and the new improved features are very much in place after Adobe announced its Creative Cloud model to initial consternation. Adobe Lightroom 5 is available for both Windows and Mac. If you played around with the beta version, then you know what to expect.
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Are you tech support for your family or friends? Do you receive frantic calls because they've installed malware or somehow managed to break their computer and they need you to fix it? This can be extremely obnoxious -- not to mention time-consuming. If you're tech support, here are some tips to help you make your users' computers more newbie-proof. Once you've got everything set up right, your users will hopefully leave you alone so you can get on with your life and have more precious free time.
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When Songbird first hit the Internet in 2006, it promised a new era in media management and web integration. Sadly, many of the critics turned on Songbird when it failed to deliver after a number of years and, today, it seems like this music player is nearly forgotten. Back in 2010, the cross-platform Songbird dropped support for Linux as part of its plan for reinventing itself as it moved forward. Has Songbird refined itself and progressed enough to warrant a second chance? Let's see!
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video must be priceless - and there are times when a video is more convenient and effective than simple words. A screencast, also known as a video screen capture, is a recording of your computer screen outputted in video format. It can include the audio sounds from your computer, or a voiceover using a microphone, or both. It might seem like a difficult task, but screencasting is surprisingly easy thanks to the software available.
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Logging into your Windows 8 computers with a Microsoft account enables access to the Windows Store and other Modern apps, but it's also used to sync Windows 8 settings with the Cloud. Your settings will be synced between all your Windows 8 computers and tablets, or backed up with your Microsoft account. Syncing is enabled by default. However, you can choose to disable sync entirely or sync only certain types of settings between your computers and tablets.
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