I’ve been asked several times about Microsoft Silverlight — what is it and do I need it.

Silverlight is Microsoft’s competition for Adobe Flash Player. It’s designed to play videos and allow interaction with the program.

My initial thoughts were that I didn’t need it. I had no application that areqired it and I did not need yet another video display system on my computer. I already had Windows Media Player which could handle video streaming. I already had JavaScript and ActiveScript (Microsoft’s name for its JavaScript interpreter in Internet Explorer). I already had Adobe Flash Player. Wy did I need Silverlight?

I managed to do without Silverlight all through the first version, which was released in 2008. However, in early 2009, I finally had to install it — it was required for one of my new applications.

Continue reading What is Microsoft Silverlight?

First, let’s be very clear. Google’s new web browser “Chrome,” which you can download via the link Google’s main search page at www.google.com — is a Beta version — an unfinished version that is being released to the public so they can help find the bugs before the official release.

Tech Tip
A beta version of software is an unfinished version of software that is released to a large group of testers (sometimes the public) for testing, in order to help identify any bugs that still exist.

Chrome is not finished. It is not bug free. It is not free from security problems. The whole purpose of a beta release is to get more people trying to use it in order to find the bugs. Use it at your own risk.

If you are considering trying Chrome, or even starting to regularly use Chrome, I strongly urge you to carefully read the Google Chrome Terms of Service, which you have to accept in order to download the Chrome Beta.

Continue reading Google’s Chrome Web Browser (beta)

Reader Greg H. wrote recently to ask for help solving his inability to access the Usenet newsgroups on Verison’s servers.

For those not familiar with Usenet newsgroups, think of them as a mailing list type of system that has been around for well over 25 years. Rather than emails sent to our computers, though, the postings stored in special servers at the Internet Service Providers or at companies that specialize in serving newsgroups (I use GigaNews as my Usenet newsgroups provider).

The postings to the newsgroups are readable by special newsreader software, but some more ubiquitous software like Outlook Express, Opera and Netscape also read newsgroups. They’re also readable via Google Groups, as are other groups that are available only via Google Groups.

Continue reading Accessing and Reading Usenet Newsgroups

I recently made some boot changes to a notebook computer that resulted in a remarkable increase in the boot speed.

It was a small, light Sony — one of the 12-inch monitor models.

Tech Humor
With notebooks, you can get small, light, fast and cheap.
Pick any two…

In this particular case, the notebook took 4.5 minutes to boot, and it’s owner wanted it to be much faster.

I referred to my favorite tool to get his boot process under control — Winpatrol Plus.

Continue reading Speeding Up the Windows Boot Process

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Subscriber Helen wrote about a software problem:

Terry, while my computer was being worked on I was told I had word pad but needed the code to be able to open it. Can you help me open it in order that I might be able to use it. I do not like notepad which I am able to open. Helen

I responded to Helen, hoping to clarify the problem.

The computer repair person probably told her that she had Word installed, meaning Microsoft Word, rather than saying Wordpad. Wordpad is included in Windows at no extra cost.

Word, on the other hand, often comes as a pre-installed TRIAL verion — that will cost you full price to register. You have to have a Product Key code to run Microsoft Word; you don’t for Wordpad.

Continue reading OpenOffice to the Rescue

Sunbelt Software released a new version of their Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which is my choice for my compute and my family’s computers, on July 7th. The new version supports Windows Vista, which Sunbelt has been promising.

Why do I use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and not just the Windows XP firewall? The Windows XP Firewall would only stops attempts by other computers to access my computer. The Sunbelt Personal Firewall is a two-way firewall to control inbound and outbound communications. That way, I can control programs that want to "call home" or otherwise access other computers.

Why would I use the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and not the Windows Vista firewall? Microsoft finally woke up and made the Windows Vista firewall a two-wa firewall. However, I expect that it, like the firewalls from some of SPF’s competitors, allows Microsoft’s products to freely communicate with the Internet. I like the Advanced installation setting of SPF because it does not pre-authorize any programs.

For those who want free software, Sunbelt Personal Firewall has a free license for home non-business computers. Of course, like many of its competitors, the paid version has more features than the free version. Either way, the program you download is the same — it’s a fully-functional trial for 30-days.

After 30 days, you can purchase a license for the paid version. If you don’t purchase a license, or after your license expires if you don’t renew it, if you qualify, you can use the free license for the reduced-function free version. The web site clearly shows which functions are included with the paid license that are not available with the free version.

I have the "paid version" on my Windows computers and my family’s computers.

The 1-year license pricing options are: $19.95 for one license, $24.96 for two computers, $29.94 for 3 computers, or $39.95 for the 1-year Unlimited Home Site License (which lets you put it on all your home non-business computers. They have similar discounts for 2- and 3-year options, too.

Download the full-function 30-day trial of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Or, read my review of Sunbelt Personal Firewall

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Google made a big change in the Google Pack recently. The free Google Pack software package started out with free Google applications like Google Earth, Google Desktop, the Google Photos Screensaver and Picasa (the photo-editing program that Google purchased). All of those are great, but Google didn’t stop there.

Google began including other programs like Firefox (with the added Google toolbar), Adobe Reader, RealPlayer, Spyware Doctore (Starter Edition), Norton Security Scan ,Google Talk, and Skype.

Now, you can add Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice to the list! What’s StarOffice?

We have to go back four or five years for the answer. Sun Microsystems purchased an office suite and named it StarOffice. Originally available for Linux, Unix and Solaris, StarOffice was a complete suite including spreadsheet, word processor, database, fonts, themes and more. Some of these were from the original and/or developed by Sun. Others were licensed third-party products incorporated into StarOffice.

Continue reading Google Pack Now Includes StarOffice

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