About Tina Sieber
Tina started building websites in the late 1990s, which led her to writing. Formerly MUO's COO, she has since returned to SEO and reviewing consumer hardware. You can find her on the backend of a tech blog near you, or enjoying the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest.
Latest Articles
Don't Believe The Hype: Registry Cleaners Don't Make Windows Faster
Much advice has been given on how to keep your computer running smoothly, as well as how to fix it when it has become slow. We have even published a Windows on Speed guide, written by yours truly. One thing that hardly ever makes Windows faster, however, is cleaning the registry. The often repeated tale, that registry cleaners can improve a computer's performance, is a myth, and can actually cause serious issues.
11 Free RnB & Soul Music Albums To Download [Sound Sunday]
Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. For this edition I picked 11 wonderful albums packed with soul, rhythm, and blues. Rarely can I feature so many female artists and this week they take up all the top spots. We welcome you to submit your music, send suggestions with free albums you have discovered, or request genres we haven’t covered in a while.
Spice Up Your Desktop With These 3 Excellent Wallpaper Changers [Windows]
A beautiful desktop is a matter of aesthetics. Some people care, others don't. If you are the kind who appreciates clean and organized spaces, then I'm sure your desktop isn't cluttered with icons. While a chaotic desktop isn't necessarily a sign of an unorganized mind, a clean desktop does provide space for beauty and tranquility, which can help to calm your mind and stimulate your creativity.
10 Free Blues & Jazz Albums [Sound Sunday]
Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. Following last week's excursion into Punk Rock, we return to a more quiet theme this week. This edition explores the different shades of blues and jazz.
What Is The Windows Experience Index, And How To Maximize It
The average user doesn't have a clue what type of hardware they really need. To them, hardware specifications are a jungle and figuring out what they should upgrade if they experience performance issues is a daunting adventure. To make all of this a little easier, Microsoft introduced the Windows Experience Index with Windows Vista. The index was designed as a benchmark tool that scores your estimated Windows experience based on your system hardware. But what exactly is the Windows Experience Index?
10 Free Punk Rock Albums [Sound Sunday]
Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. Every edition invites you to explore various genres and artists from around the world. This week's lead is punk rock. Experience the diversity of this genre from a soft grunge, pop, punk album by Cosmonot via hardcore punk from Lakota De Kay, and finally to one of my favorite bands this week, Yearlings, who play a mix of progressivve rock and punk rock.
How To Build Your Own Tablet Stylus
Steve Jobs was quite right when he said "If you see a stylus, they blew it." While a good touchscreen should never require you to use a stylus for standard operations, there are tasks when using your fingers is a bit awkward. For example if you want to digitize your signature, take quick handwritten notes or simply draw, a stylus can come in very handy. You can find a large selection of tablet styluses online and many are very cheap.
Recover All Photos Stored In Your Email Account With Lost Photos [Windows]
Lost Photos is a Windows application that can help you find photos stored in your email account. It works with any Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL, .Mac, MobileMe, or Google Apps email address. Photos are downloaded from your webmail account and stored locally on your computer. Lost Photos is for everyone who dreads having to manually download photos received via email or has failed to do so consistently.
Get An Awesome New Tab Page For Google Chrome
Awesome New Tab Page (aNTP) is a Google Chrome add-on that turns the new tab page (NTP) into a metro-like browser home screen. In addition to icons that lead to your favorite websites, this add-on offers dynamic widgets that instantly update you on what's going on. Your Awesome New Tab Page is fully customizable, meaning you can change the content, positioning, size, color, and type of content.
How To Improve Windows Explorer By Adding New Columns
Windows Explorer is one of the most used Windows applications and at the same time probably also the least acknowledged productivity tool. You are using Windows Explorer every day to interact with your computer as you access your files and folders. An application you use this much should be customized to your needs. An optimized Windows Explorer will make working with your computer easier, faster, and more enjoyable.
3 Top Tips To Maintain Performance & Extend The Life Of Your SSD
For years, standard hard drives have been the speed limiting factor in overall system responsiveness. While hard drive size, RAM capacity, and CPU speed have grown almost exponentially, the spinning speed of a hard drive, i.e. the factor defining how fast it can be read, has increased only moderately in comparison. If you really want to give your computer a speed boost, try switching to a solid state drive, short SSD.
Optimize Google Search Results For Your Name With BrandYourself
The Internet is an unforgiving place - it never forgets. Whatever gets posted online, whether it's a careless statement or a funny picture, it could very well backfire and hurt you in the future. It's even worse when you share a name with a reckless individual who ends up ruining your reputation as much as their own. This is what happened to Pete, one of the co-founders of BrandYourself.
Meet Hometalk: An Online Community For Sharing Home Improvement Tips & Tricks
Do you love your home? If you enjoy creating a beautiful living environment with a great atmosphere and if you are interested in Do It Yourself tips for your home and garden, you should have a look at Hometalk, an online home improvement community you will fall in love with. Hometalk is an active community for home owners, renters and professionals to share tips and tricks and ask for help with projects.
11 Free MP3 Albums To Download [Sound Sunday]
Sound Sunday is a weekly feature promoting free album downloads. Every edition invites you to explore various genres and artists from around the world. This week takes you on a varied acoustic ride with audio challenges for both sides of your brain. Note that name your price albums can be downloaded for free by entering 0 in the price field. That said, we strongly recommend you to donate a few dollars for music you enjoy!
10 Funny CAPTCHArt Comics & What It Is All About
A CAPTCHA is a challenge-response test used online to make sure content is submitted by a human being. The acronym stands for 'Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart' and is also based on the word 'capture'. CAPTCHArt is the visualization of the humorous associations arising from randomly created two word CAPTCHAs, also known as reCAPTCHAs.