How Do I Clean My Computer?

You know you shouldn't, but admit it, sometimes you eat and drink near your computer. Maybe you have kids who like to poke at your screen or you just take your computer with you everywhere. No matter how you treat your computer, it's bound to need a good cleaning sooner or later. Smears on the screen, gunk on the trackpad or mouse, stuff under the keyboard, all kinds of things can make your computer not only look gross, but also affect its functionality.

The first thing I generally recommend is to give it a good spray down with some canned air. You can buy canned air from most electronic stores or departments (picture below), and it really is just pressurized air in a can. Keep the can upright, aim at the keyboard and/or heat vents and spray. This will kick up a lot of the small things hiding out below your keys or in the vents that keep your computer from working smoothly. Note: Do NOT hold the can upside down! Canned air contains small amounts of liquid nitrogen that can freeze items on contact. This can be dangerous not only to your computer, but to yourself as well.

To clean the body of the computer you have more options. There are numerous sprays, wipes and other things sold that you can apply to the outside of your computer to get stuck on gunk off.  Make sure you verify that it's safe to use on your kind of computer and the parts of the computer you're looking to clean. For example, Macs are made out of an aluminum alloy that may smear when cleaned with some products (I've had good luck with iClear on my Macbook Pro), and even on PCs, some cleaners aren't designed to work on the screen of the computer and can discolor or smear as well.

If you're looking for something cheaper than actual computer cleaner, a common item held in my electronic-cleaning arsenal is good old denatured alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Microfiber clothes are inexpensive and don't leave any small fibers when used for cleaning unlike paper towels, cotton balls or dish rags. Put a small amount of alcohol on the cloth (NOT on the computer directly) and wipe the area that needs cleaning. The added benefit of using alcohol is that it also works as an anti-microbial, killing any germs that may be lingering on your precious device. This is also the way I recommend cleaning a computer monitor, or any electronic screen for that matter.

Practical Tip of the Day: NEVER EVER ever use water to clean your computer! Remember, water is bad for electronics, so keep it far away. Most computer cleaners are made to be used sparingly, and if you use alcohol to clean your computer, make sure the cloth is damp, but not dripping. Even a small amount of liquid can cause irreparable damage to your computer!


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How Do I Fix My Slow Computer?

It happens to all computers. When you buy them they're amazingly quick, but with time they start to slow down. Eventually it gets to the point that you decide you have to do something, but what? Here are the first things I recommend trying when you notice your computer getting slow, in the order I recommend trying them:

1. Restart- The first is easy. Restart your computer. When was the last time your computer was turned off? While computers are getting much better about going for extended periods of time without needing to be restarted (also known as "rebooted") letting it rest even for the couple seconds it takes to restart will often do wonders for a sluggish computer- especially a new one.

2. Clean Things Out- (WARNING!- Before deleting things from your computer, make sure you have a current backup of your computer. If you don't know how to backup your data, read this.) It's possible that your computer could be slowing down because it has so much information in it. The analogy here being that if you load up your car with a bunch of stuff, it slows down and you have to push the gas more to get it to go the same speed. I generally recommend people keep at least 10% of their hard drive empty for daily use. For example, if you have a 500 GB hard drive (click here if you don't know what "GB" means) you should have at least 50 GB left free to help prevent computer slow down.

3) Reinstall- Now things are getting serious. If you've tried both restarting and cleaning your computer, reinstalling your computer's operating system would be the next recommended step. (This article helps explain what an operating system is.) This is a bit more extreme as it involves removing everything from your computer and then putting it all back on. This is generally done to ensure that problem causing the computer to slow down isn't part of the computer's underpinnings. Sometimes, especially as the computer ages and sees more use, things simply get mucked up and need to be replaced. Think of this as shaking the proverbial Etcha-sketch on your computer. Because of this, I again urge you have a backup and to consult with your technology advisor for more help.

4) Add RAM- So you've restarted, cleaned things out, reinstalled your operating system and things still aren't as snappy you'd like them to be. Now we look at doing hardware upgrades. RAM is your computer's short term memory, and the easiest thing a consumer can physically change about their computer to speed it up. (Click here for a primer on what RAM is.) How the RAM is changed in your particular computer is variable, so it's important to have the owner's manual or your technology consultant handy. If you don't feel comfortable opening up your computer, don't worry, this is a simple operation and most computer technicians won't charge an arm and a leg to do it. (Find a new tech if they try and tell you it will take more than an hour to do the upgrade!)

Here's a photo example of RAM from Office Max.

Practical Tip of the Day:
Defragment- This would be located between steps 1 and 2 if you're using a Windows computer, but since I'm trying to write this in an operating system neutral way, I thought this would be the better place for it. Defragment- or "defrag" for short- is the process a Windows computer uses to put data back where it belongs. Computers are like preschoolers when it comes to putting things away when they're done with them; They don't. If you have a Windows computer, you can run a defrag to tell the computer to "clean up its room" in a sense. In some versions of Windows, you can even set a schedule to tell it to do it on a regular basis.

If you have a Mac, the computer defrags any files it views as "highly fragmented" when you go to open the file. This happens automatically unless you have less than 10% of your hard drive available. This is why step 2 is so important!

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How Can I Get My Old Photos Onto My Computer?

Ah, the old photo albums! Or maybe it's more like the the old box-of-photos-that-really-should-go-in-an-album-someday. A significant number of households still have a a lot of printed photos and/or slides stored away. With he digital age, though, there's more and more pressure to digitize the photos as well so they can be saved on the computer and even go on the Internet if you so desire. This can seem like a daunting task though, especially if you don't know where to start...

The best place to start is with a rough approximation of how many photos you have that you want to put on your computer. This matters because while 50 photos might be easy enough to do yourself in an afternoon, 5,000 is a whole other ball game. If you fall into the later category and have thousands of photos, hiring a service that specializes in digitizing photos and videos might be worth it, but if you fall into the former, it might not. For this article, let's assume you've chosen to do it yourself.

An example of a digital negatives scanner.

How are you going to get the photos into the computer? With a scanner. If you only have a small number of photos and/or don't care about getting optimal quality, using a scanner that's built into a printer can work just fine; check your owner's manual for instructions on using the scanner.  If you have a large number, or do want the best possible quality, a stand alone photo scanner might be better for you. These can range in size, price and features so dramatically that it's difficult to give much guidance here except to look for "photo digital converters" and do lots of research before buying anything. What about slides and negatives you ask? Doing that same search will also yield results for devices that can scan those too!

Practical Tip of the Day:
Still not sure if it'd be cheaper to do it yourself or hire a company? Price out the cost of hiring someone, and compare it to the cost of any equipment you may need to buy + how much your time is worth. Whichever is cheaper is our answer! (Keep in mind that professionals will often get it done faster and have higher quality results though.)

What Should I Do With My Old Computer?

Recently, I decided it was time for me to get a new computer. My iMac was going on six years old, and while it still surfed the web and typed up documents fine, it was more than a little slow when it came to photo or video editing, which are some of my hobbies. I saved up the money and will soon be the owner of a new MacBook Pro with Retina display. The question I had to ask myself, and that I've been asked by others many times before is what to do with the old computer?

There are definitely options. First, think of anyone you might know who could use it. Anyone who doesn't have a computer at home who might like one? What about local non-profits? Is it still usable and would it be the kind of donation they'd accept? Churches, clubs, etc. can sometimes (but not always) accept donations of old electronics. If you do give your computer away, make sure it's wiped clean of your information first. There are many ways to do this depending on the kind of computer you have, but if you're not familiar with the process, take it to your local computer repair facility. Better safe than sorry with your personal information.

If you can't think of anyone who'd want it, you can try selling it. While most computers devalue quickly enough that you won't be able to get much for them, there are people who will buy old and even broken computers to use for parts. Mind you, you won't usually get much for it, but a little bit of extra cash never hurts. Again, be careful to wipe your computer of your old data, but it's not uncommon to see people selling their computers at garage sales, eBay or even Craigslist.

If niether of those options appeal to you, you can always recycle it. Please, no NOT just throw it in the trash! Many (if not all) of the parts of computers do not biodegrade, and they also contain some things that can be bad for the environment if they break or leak. Call your local computer repair shop and/or recycling facility to see if they accept old computers for recycling. Sometimes there are fees involved, but making sure your compuer stays out of the dump is worth it.

Practical Tip of the Day:
No matter which way you choose to dispose of your old computer, make sure you have a backup of your information before you wipe it off your old computer. This will ensure that even though you have a new machine, you don't have to start over with all your files as well.

Should I Get a Laptop or Desktop?

You've finally decided that it's time to upgrade. You know what price range you're looking at, what you need the computer to be able to do, and you've saved up your pennies. Time to get serious about looking at computers, but should you look at desktop computers or laptops?

Here are the questions I usually ask people who are in this conundrum:

1. Where will you mostly be using your computer?
2. How often do you travel?
3. What will you be using the computer for primarily?

If you'll be mostly using your computer at home, especially if it's mostly in a place like a home office, a desktop might be better suited. A laptop computer that stays plugged in sitting on a desk most of the time won't work very well when you do need to unplug it and take it somewhere. Rechargeable batteries are a lot like our muscles- if we don't use them, we loose them!

If you travel frequently, either for work or leisure, a laptop might be better suited for you. Desktops need to be plugged into an outlet to work, but laptops have batteries that can last for hours. I have seen people who get small desktops (like the Mac Mini) to take back and forth to vacation homes, but desktop computers are not as well suited to movement and travelling as laptops and therefor you should take caution when travelling with them.

If you have very easy to meet needs for your computer like web surfing, movie watching, sharing photos, word processing and the like, you can get an inexpensive laptop that can handle those tasks easily. If, on the other hand, you're making videos, editing photos, building websites, etc. you'll end up needing to spend a lot more money to get a laptop computer that's as powerful as a desktop computer. That's because making everything portable and during has a cost, and that shows up on the price tag.

Practical Tip of the Day:
If you do have high demands of your computer, but only travel once or twice a year, more and more people are opting to get a desktop/tablet combination. That way you have a powerful machine at home for when you need to make a movie, but then have something small and portable for your lighter needs while you travel. A desktop/tablet combination usually comes out to being about the same or slightly cheaper than an equally powerful laptop!

What Should I Do If My Computer Locks Up?

Uh oh. It's happened. It starts with a program slowing down and becoming unresponsive. Maybe it spreads to other programs, but maybe you're lucky and it's isolated. If the program doesn't respond, how can you tell it to quit?

When your computer becomes unresponsive, it's called being "locked up" and it's a source of stress for countless computer owners. I'll give the short answers for two of the most common types of operating systems. (Click here if you don't know what an operating system is.)

Windows (aka PC):
Hold down the control (ctrl) and alt keys, then tap the delete key. (NOT back space!) This should bring up a small window called the Task Manager. It'll show you all the programs you have running, and their status. Look for the one that says "Not Responding", click on the program's name, and then click the "End Task" button at the bottom of the window. That should force the errant program to close, and unlock your computer. If this doesn't work, hold down the power button on your computer for ten seconds, or until it turns off. (The power button looks like a circle with a line through the top, like a clock that's struck 12.) Wait 15 seconds, then press the power button again (you don't need to hold it down), and your computer should be good as new. If it isn't, you may want to contact your local computer repair center.

Mac:
Similar process, except the key command is command, option (opt), escape (esc). I tell new Mac users this mnemonic to help them remember. "When you're in trouble, just tell your computer that you COMMAND it to give you the OPTION to ESCAPE." It'll bring up a window similar to the Windows'
Task Manager. Follow the same steps for trouble shooting.

Practical Tip of the Day:
There are worse things than just locking up. If your Windows computer ever goes to a blue screen with techno-babble on it, or your Mac screen goes grey with a message about rebooting, that means something has gone pretty wrong. Just follow the steps on the screen, but don't worry about it unless it begins to happen regularly. These error screens are called a Blue Screen and Kernel Panic respectively. If your computer does begin to lock up or give the above error screen regularly, take your computer to your local computer repair center for a check up.

Should I Get a New Computer Now Or Wait?

Oh, the age old question! Should I wait, or get it now? While today's culture loves instant gratification, we also don't want to have our new computer replaced by a faster, better one just a couple months down the road. So, the battle rages, should I get a new computer now or wait?

There are several things to consider when looking to purchase a new computer:

• Is it a want or a need?
• What will you be using it for?
• How familiar are you with your current computer, if you have one?
• Do you feel the need to always have the latest items?

If getting a new computer is a want, then that means you can wait, but if it's a need, you should get one sooner rather than later. If you'll be using your computer for HD video editing and/or graphic design, you'll need a more powerful computer, but if you'll primarily be editing your home photos, sending emails and surfing the web, an average computer will suite you just fine (and save you some money). If you're very familiar with how your current computer works, upgrading to a new one won't be too difficult, but if you're still a novice or you don't currently own your own computer, you won't notice many of the upgrades a newer version has compared to an older one. Lastly, if you're a technophile, or you simply hate not having the latest-and-greatest, well, you know where I'm going with this one.

My own personal computer at home is a five-year-old iMac. That's pretty old for computers, and I can't do everything I used to, but I can still do most of my daily tasks, so I'm waiting for a new iMac to come out before I purchase because I do like having the newest, and I do do video editing and the like. My husband, on the other hand, had a critical failure of his previous computer (one too many drops if you ask me), and he needs to use it for work, so he had to get a new computer right away. There's no hard-and-fast rule about when to buy a computer, but I hope these points help clear it up a bit.

Practical Tip of the Day:
When buying a new computer, don't just go to the store and buy the first one the sales person recommends. Find a few you like, read reviews about them, ask if anyone you know has experience with the brand, and compare them to each other. An ounce of research can help keep you from over spending, over buying or getting the wrong thing altogether. Far too often I see people with simple computer needs being pressured into buying top-of-the-line computers that they simply don't need. If you buy a high end computer to primarily check your email, it's like buying a Lamborghini to drive around the city- you have a super fast car, but you're only ever driving it at 45 mph!

When should I turn off my computer?

This topic was recommended to me by a friend. She writes:

If you use a computer all the time, is it better to leave it on or shut it down each night? Does running a computer for long periods of time cause harm?

This is a very good question, and even people who have been using computers their entire lives are slightly confused on this topic, and with good reason!

It used to be that it was widely recommended to shut your computer down (aka turn it off) whenever you weren't using it- just like your car. You only left your computer on if you were going to be coming back to it soon. This was because older computers needed that break to clear out their RAM (see our last topic!), and they used a lot of electricity even when they were in "sleep mode" (more on that in a bit).

Nowadays, it's generally recommended to shut your computer down once a month, or if you won't be using it for a few days or more. I've had my own personal computer for almost five years now and it's only ever been turned off for about a month's worth of time in total, and most of that was when I was away on vacation.

Here's some quick terminology tidbits to help explain things:

• Shut Down- Completely turns the computer off. The computer has a routine it goes through before turning off (just like people do before going to bed), and then it stop taking in electricity. It's at this point that it's safe to unplug your computer from the wall.
• Sleep/Stand By- This mode can vary slightly between types of computers, but it does a good job of drawing it's own analogy. Just like how people don't completely stop all our functions while we're asleep, in sleep mode neither does the computer. The screen is dark, the computer isn't doing anything, but it can quickly be "woken up" by tapping a few keys on the keyboard or wiggling the mouse around. This is the mode generally recommended if you plan to return to your computer within 48 hours. (That's not a hard and fast rule, by the way, just a loose recommendation.)
• Screen Saver- The screen saver is the simple animation that shows up on your screen if you haven't interacted with your computer in awhile. The screen saver usually comes up before the computer goes to sleep. It's called a "screen saver" because it used to save your screen from getting what's known as "burn in". If a particular image was left on the screen of an older CRT monitor (the ones that looked boxier and were much heavier) , it would literally burn in, and no matter what you wanted to see later, you would always have the hint of that previous imagine there. Think of a double-exposed picture for any camera/film aficionados out there.
• Restart- Restarting tells your computer to shut down, but riiiiight before it powers off, to turn back on again. More on this later!

So why the switch? Sleep mode on most computers nowadays uses so little power that it's almost negligible, and most computers come with enough RAM that an average user can use the computer for long lengths of time without noticing a difference. That added with the increased attention of computer manufacturers to make computers that don't need to rest means that there are few reasons to turn off your computer, especially when it usually takes more electricity to turn a computer on than to leave it running in sleep mode for a few days.

Why turn it off at all then? Turning the computer off does still let it rest and clear out it's RAM- read the PTD (Practical Tip of the Day) for why that's important, but the biggest issue usually is safety. Don't worry, not for you, but for the computer. Coming from Florida, I'm used to having to go around the house and make sure all the electronics were turned off for the big thunder storms. If the power goes out when your computer is turned on, the computer will shut down without getting to go through it's routine. Imagine if you've ever gone to bed without getting to brush your teeth, check the doors, etc. You wake up feeling a bit off. Same with your computer!

Practical Tip of the Day:
Is your computer starting to slow down? It does take longer than normal to open a program or check a web page? Is it being cranky and not doing what you're telling it to? Try restarting your computer. By restarting, you're allowing the computer to shut down, clear out it's RAM, and then start again fresh. Restarting a computer is like letting your computer take a nap- it's only "asleep" for a few seconds, but just like that refreshed feeling you get after a short nap, your computer will be perkier, quicker, and ready to go after a quick restart!

How do computers remember things?

Computers didn't always remember things. You used to ask it a single question ("What is 23432.692 divided by 1621.22235?" for example) and it would give you a single answer. Nowadays, we don't so much as our computers questions, but ask them to complete tasks for us. We ask them to help us write a letter, look at a photo, read a web page, etc. When writing a letter for example, you often will begin writing and eventually take a break. What keeps the computer from completely forgetting about your paper in the meantime?

Computers, like people, have two different kinds of memory- long-term and short-term. Short-term memory in people is what helps us remember what we ate for breakfast, or what it is we came into a room to get. (I have problems with that last example sometimes!) For computers, the short-term memory is called RAM (Random Access Memory- don't worry if you forget that in five minutes though, I doubt anyone will be quizzing you on it.) This is where it remembers the changes to your letter before you hit the Save button for example.

The other type of memory is your hard drive. You may remember me briefly mentioning the hard drive in the article "Why do computers hum?". The hard drive is where the long-term storage happens. This is where your letter is stored even after you close the program or even turn the computer off. As many of you may remember, if you had a record playing, and the needle got bumped, it could scratch the record. If the record got scratched it was all but ruined- it never played the same again. Hard drives work similarly, but instead of a physical needle touching and reading grooves on a record, it's called a "play head" and it hovers about a hair's width above the disc reading magnetic imprints. (Stay with me! Don't glaze over quite yet!)

Ever heard of a hard drive "crashing"? Crashing usually refers to the play head actually touching the disc and scratching it. Just like your old vinyl record, if the hard drive gets scratched, it'll never work the same way again.

Practical Tip of the Day:
Because hard drives crash, and because there's usually little or no warning to when they do, most people "back up" their information. Backing up simply means making another copy of your information and putting it in a safe place. You probably already do this with your important documents (titles, birth certificates, etc.). You usually have one copy you keep locked up in a safe spot like a safe, and then a photocopy that you can take to show people if need be.

There are many different ways to back up your information, and there's no best way for everyone. Feel free to either message me or talk to your local computer specialist for help picking the method that best fits your lifestyle.

Why do computers hum?

If you've ever been in the same room as a computer you're most likely already familiar with the gentle hum you often hear from the machine. Some are loud, some are quiet, some change pitch as if singing along to their own digital music in their proverbial heads, but why? What exactly is it in the mysterious jumble of parts and cables that makes that sound?

There's no one answer. The sound we most commonly hear the loudest are fans. Remember how we talked about computers running on electricity to make all those ones and zeros? Well, if you've ever touched a lightbulb that's been on for awhile or grabbed your toast out of the toaster too soon you know that electricity makes things hot. Know what delicate computer parts don't like? You guessed it- heat! That's why if you live in a warmer climate like Florida (Hi, Mom!) you're more likely to hear your computer's fan kick on and go faster than if you live in cooler climates like Central New York like me. That's the humming sound that sometimes winds down after awhile or kicks on after you've been using your computer long enough to be startled by it suddenly sounding like it wants to fly away.

Another, usually quieter sound you may hear is the hard drive spinning. The hard drive is a lot like a miniturized record player. It has discs in it that spin at amazing rates and are read by a play head. While a vinyl record may spin at about 30-45 rpm (rotations per minute), the average hard drive in a computer spins anywhere between 5400-7500 rpm. It's this spinning that sometimes causes the humming sound you hear, especially if it starts while you're trying to start a program or open a file.

Practical Tip of the Day:
If you notice your computer humming particularly loudly, you should check the back of your computer tower (if you're using a desktop computer) and see if you have "junk in your trunk". Computer fans are just like ceiling fans and can pick up lots of dust and dirt on the blades. If the fan looks dirty, use some canned air to spray it off. If your fan gets too dirty, your computer can overheat and cause problems for you later on.

What's the Difference Between MP3 Players and iPods?

There is none! I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say "I couldn't afford an iPod so I bought an MP3 player." That's like someone saying "I couldn't afford a Corvette, so I bought a car." So, what exactly are MP3 players?

MP3s are a type of file on your computer that is music. Remember when we talked about how computers remember things and how they only actually use ones and zeros? Well, computers can remember lots of things. You're probably already familiar with some of them. If you've ever kept a picture or a letter on your computer those are examples of "files" on your computer. Music is just another kind of thing a computer can remember.

A lot of people get overwhelmed at the idea of digital music and MP3 players, but it's really just another step in the evolution of music. There were vinyl records, then 8track tapes, then cassette tapes, then CDs, and now MP3s. With each step we fit more, higher quality, music into more portable forms. The modern MP3 player can fit hundreds of songs into something as small as a Tic-Tac container. How does the music get in it? From your computer usually. (I won't go into the exceptions here. You can message me if you want to know.)

People often say iPod when they speak of MP3 players. I call this the "Kleenex Effect". Kleenex is a brand name of facial tissue that's so popular and ubiquitous that people often ask for it by name, even if they don't mean to. Apple Inc. (Formerly Apple Computers Inc.) is the maker of the iPod, and they're the ones that really made digital music players popular.

Practical Tip of the Day:
One of the most common questions I'm asked when someone first gets an MP3 player is "Do I have to buy all my songs over again?" For someone who's sunk lots of money and time into a CD collection, the idea of having to buy their music over again in digital form is quite daunting, but fear not! As I said earlier, MP3 players get their music from you computer. There is usually a program that helps the MP3 player and the computer "talk" with each other (think of it as a translator). These programs almost always have the ability to copy music from a CD into the computer in a digital form. This is called "importing". I usually will help people learn how to import their CDs before showing them how to buy new digital music.

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Limitless power with limited numbers

Yesterday I mentioned that computers all come down to crunching numbers. In a way, computers came into being by people not wanting to do math themselves. (I can totally appreciate this- my ability to do even basic math in my head goes down as the number of digits involved goes up!)

You probably already know that computers are electric; You have to plug them in for them to work. What they do with that electricity is amazing. Sparing you the the techno-babble for a second, the electricity goes into the different parts of the computer and causes teeny-tiny bits to become electrically charged. If something has a charge it is called a 1. Yes, simply a one. If something does NOT have a charge, it is a 0.

This is why when you see movies like the Matrix you see all these scrolling 1's and 0's on the screen. Yes, it's mostly to make it look cool, but they're trying to invoke a sense of computing on the most basic of levels. It is from this collection of ones and zeros that you are able to read this now. That we're able to watch funny baby videos on YouTube, or chat with old friends on Facebook or any number of things. Pretty amazing, huh?

Practical Tip of the Day: All websites have addresses- just like houses- and, just like a house, you need to know it's address to get to it. If I want to visit my friend Sarah, but don't know her address, what could I do? Well, I would look her up in the Whitepages! Website addresses are often able to be found in search engines. These use complex math to find the most popular pages that match what you search for, and give you the results. Google is one of the most popular search engines, but there are others like Bing and Yahoo.