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Latest computer-related tips and news stories

Google intends to link user data across all of its services - search, Gmail, G+, YouTube, Google Toolbar, etc.

January 26, 2011. - Starting from March 1, 2012, Google intends to link all of the data it collects from users across all of its services, including its search site, Gmail, the G+ Facebook-type social network, YouTube, which Google owns, the Google Toolbar that can be installed in web browsers, etc. It is also merging data from its G+ network with its web-search results. The ruling idea, which Google has probably intended for many years, is to gather as much information as it can on web users by providing free services and products that can gather data on the people who use them in order to be able to deliver them with customised, targeted adverts.

For example, if you were to use your Gmail account to tell a friend that you intended to go to Barbados or Cape Town for your summer holiday, you could receive holiday and travel ads on those destinations when viewing a YouTube video. Google's web search engine could do likewise and even websites you visit that run Google ads could target you with targeted holiday and travel ads. Moreover, Google is currently selling a laptop called a Chromebook that uses Google's Chrome web browser. It can only be used to browse the web, so, this too is no doubt just a user-data-gathering piece of hardware.

To accompany the change, Google will issue revised privacy policies that users will have to agree to before they use any of the services. There is no opt out. You have to agree to the new privacy policies or stop using the services that you are signed up with, such as Gmail and YouTube. Note well that you can export your Gmail contacts to another email service. Search for the google.com page called "Exporting Gmail contacts".

As might have been expected, this news, which most people who are familiar with Google have been expecting to happen for some time, has caused a breach-of-privacy stink in the media. Here is one of the stories. The readers' comments are well worth reading:

'Google will know more about you than your partner': Uproar as search giant reveals privacy policy that will allow them to track you on all their products -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2091508/...

And here are two other interesting web-privacy-related articles:

You WILL reveal your past! Facebook's timeline feature becomes mandatory for all users - with just 7 days to 'clean up' -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2091735/...

Don't like something about yourself online? You'll soon be able to delete it thanks to sweeping new EU privacy laws -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2092120/...

Windows Defender Offline malware scanning tool

January 10, 2012. - Windows Defender was the name used by Microsoft's anti-malware scanner before it became the free Security Essentials. Microsoft has now reused the name for its free boot-disc/drive scanner called Windows Defender Offline, which scans the system from a boot disc or boot flash drive, providing a deep scan that runs before Windows loads, which can detect rootkits and other infections that are usually invisible to standard malware scans run from within Windows.

To find out how to create the disc/boot drive, visit this webpage:

What is Windows Defender Offline Beta? -

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

The instructions are all provided, including how to determine if your computer is using a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows, which you need to know in order to download the correct version of the tool. If you choose to burn the tool to a CD/DVD, one of three options, it is done for you. All you have to do is insert the recordable disc. The two other choices are installing the tool on a flash drive and downloading and burning an ISO file to a recordable disc with the burn-as-an-image option provided by most disc-burning software. The burned disc is then used to boot the computer just like the disc created by the automatic option to burn to a disc.

Validation is required, which means that the boot disc/drive can only be used on the computer on which it was created. I tried it using 32-bit Windows XP Professional and the system required an update, which was named, required a system reboot but was easy to install. For a netbook computer without a CD/DVD drive, you'll have to use an external USB drive or a USB flash drive.

To boot from a disc or USB flash drive, the boot device being used has to be set as the first boot device in the PC's BIOS Setup program.

How to turn an old computer into a network attached storage (NAS) device

January 4, 2012. - If you have an old PC that still works perfectly well and you have a network, you can put it to good use by turning it into a network attached storage (NAS) device that can serve files to the network - free of charge. FreeNAS from freenas.org is an excellent network storage operating system that can convert any computer into a fully-featured NAS device that can also provide remote access via a web browser. The website provides all the information you need. The UPnP and iTunes servers have been disabled, but, apparently, will soon be made available as third-party plug-ins.

FreeNAS has to be installed on its own boot drive instead of the PC's primary hard disk drive. Booting it from a USB flash drive (minimum capacity, 2GB) with the operating system installed on it is a good option. You then just have to download the correct ISO file for the type of processor that the computer runs - the 32-bit or 64-bit version for a 32-bit or 64-bit processor - and burn it to a recordable CD or DVD using the image-burning option provided by disc-burning software. A good free burner can be obtained from www.cdburnerxp.se. All Intel and AMD processors dating back to 2005 are 64-bit devices. Then you install FreeNAS to the USB flash drive with the BIOS set to boot from it. Remember that if the CD/DVD is not set by default t be the first boot device, you have to set it as such in the BIOS in order to make the system boot from a CD/DVD.

Free program from Adobe Air Marketplace that converts Flash SWF files to GIF files

December 3, 2011. - When a website creator uses Flash to create static or animated images for a website using an application such as Dreamweaver or Fireworks, it is doubtful whether the content of the .swf files that result (SWF stands for Small Web Format), can be read by the search engine crawlers/spiders that index the web. In which case, important or even crucial information about the site's contents can fail to be indexed. Moreover, Apple's devices, such as the iPad and iPhone, cannot display Flash content and the embedding of a Flash file can add code to the webpage that won't be validated for the doctype being used by the page, which could then result in a mark-down with the search engines. Therefore, it is best to avoid using Flash on a website and use .gif files instead, because, when used with the ALT descriptive tag, they present the search-engines with no problems.

If you use a search query in a web search engine, such as free swf to gif converter, you will come across several programs that can do the job if you register with the developer or make use of the trial period. Most of them will be fairly difficult to use. Fortunately, the best most user-friendly free program that requires nothing more than downloading and installing is available from the Adobe Air Marketplace. Just use a search engine to find that site's home page and then use its Search facility to search for "SWF to Animated GIF". You will have to give permission to install Adobe Air. Download and install the tool called swf2gif. It comes as a file called swf2gif.air, which is why Adobe Air is required to make it work. Then just use the tool's Browse feature to locate the .swf file that you want to convert to a .gif file. When the file is loaded into the program, click Capture to convert it and save it to the folder you want it in.

Why electronic goods purchased in the US only seem cheaper than those bought in the UK and why you shouldn't be tempted

November 12, 2011. - Computers and other electronic goods, such as mobile phones, can seem to be up to 50% or even more expensive in the UK than the USA. So, can someone in the UK make big savings by buying these goods from the US? - When all of the circumstances are taken into consideration, any saving that you make usually aren't worth the hassle or the trouble that you can run into. You may be able to make small savings or may even wind up having to pay more for the goods due to the following factors:

1. - US stores don't include the sales tax in the advertised price because each state can set its own rate of tax, so you won't know what the final price is until you check out. UK goods look significantly cheaper minus the current 20% VAT.

2. - Note well that the US uses a different mains electricity system to the UK. Theirs is a 110V system that uses a two-pin plug; ours is a 230V system that uses a three-pin plug. This means that you will probably have to buy an adapter in order to be able to use the device. Most laptops can work with both voltages, but, if not, you'll have to buy a new power supply adapter, the price of which will vary between makes. You will probably be able to save by buying a reputable third-party alternative instead of buying from the device's manufacturer. A desktop PC might provide a connection for both voltages, but, if not, you'll have to buy a UK power supply unit. You should never consider using a power supply that costs under £30 and a decent quality unit usually costs around £50.

3. - Import duty has to be paid on all goods imported into the UK and the cost of shipping can be very high. Sometimes the shipping cost can be higher than the value of the goods. Moreover, if you don't receive the goods, UK distance-selling regulations won't apply to goods purchased from the US and you can have great difficulty in obtaining the goods or obtaining a refund.

4. - A US warranty will not be valid unless it is a global warranty. The UK Sale of Goods Act that covers goods for their expected useful life and the new two-year minimum warranty set by the EU won't apply to US goods.

UPGRADE CHECKLISTS

Visit the Upgrade Checklists pages on this site for checklists and useful information that cover upgrading the main components of desktop PCs of various ages. Some of the information is applicable when upgrading laptop PCs, such as upgrading Windows to Windows 7.

MEDIA CENTER PCs

Visit the Media Center PCs page on this site for information on them.

It is now possible to build your own Media Center PC that is specifically designed to provide home entertainment, because the version of Windows that runs such a computer - Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 - can now be purchased on its own instead of only as part of a Media Center PC. Moreover, Windows Vista Home and Windows Vista Ultimate editions come with Media Center built into them. The Windows Media Center has been improved in Windows 7.

How to improve the Windows Media Center in Windows Vista and Windows 7

By improving how Windows Vista and Windows 7 interacts with Media Center and improving the video and sound quality by the addition of third party software you can enhance the experience of using Media Center considerably and make it play video formats other than videos in the WMV format.

Click here! to read an article on this website called How to improve the Windows Media Center in Windows Vista and Windows 7.