PC Memoirs

Did you hear that Microsoft just released Internet Explorer 9 Public Beta? It was presented to a room full of journalists in San Francisco few days ago. Apparently, it was a huge hit because everyone cheered.

The main reason for the excitement is that Internet Explorer 9 could revolutionize the way we view Web sites. Until now, we relied on Web browsers, such as Explorer, Safari, Firefox or Chrome, to visit our favorite sites. With IE9 however, this could change. One of the major new features in IE9 – the pinned sites – will let you create shortcuts to your favorite Web sites on your desktop. You only need to open it once through your browser – then you can just drag the icon to your taskbar and you have the shortcut to that Web site. You’ll never have to open IE9 again to view it.

Now I know what some people mean when they say IE9 could kill the Web browser. But the fact that you need it just once to open a site, so you can create the shortcut, means you still need the browser. I think IE9 will only change the way we think about the browser – from now on, it will be more about the content than about the provider. I wonder if this will bring the browser war to the end, or just change it?

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I just helped my friend Mitch solve yet another problem. He had set up Outlook 2007 to work with his Google Mail account, but he couldn’t send messages. He received this error when he attempted to send a test message from his outbox: “Authentication failed. None of the authentication methods supported by this client are supported by your server.” We needed to fix this quickly.

I must admit, it never occured to me that you can use Microsoft Outlook for mail accounts such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo. Now that I know, I wanted to find out how to set this up correctly. I found instructions easily.

This is what you have to do in Outlook 2007:

1. First, open your Web browser and go to your Gmail account. Enable IMAP in Gmail settings and Save Changes.

2. In Outlook, go to Tools, then Email Accounts – you will see a pop up wizard. If you are using Outlook for the first time, you will see the wizard as soon as you open Outlook.

3. Enter your full name, email address (including @gmail.com), and password.

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If you are looking for a great ISP in the US and you’re not quite sure how to find the right one, then read on.

I have found a great resource for selecting the right Internet Service Provider for your needs! In case you’re looking for a great dial up Internet deal (don’t laugh, there are still people who use dial up), then head to findanISP.com. Otherwise, if you are after a high speed connection that will let you download games and movies in minutes, you should check out broadbandreports.com.

Broadbandreports includes lists of top ISPs in every class, from Fiber to the Home, Voice over IP, Cable Internet and Wireless providers, to national and regional ADSL ISPs. It even includes user reviews, so you can get better informed about each ISP and not rely only on expert reviews. Popular user functions include looking for small and independent ISPs, cheapest broadband prices, and top ISPs search.

I have selected some of the best ISPs for each type of service and the average monthly price. Click on the service name to get more information about the ISP.

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In July 2010, the number of Windows 7 users surpassed that of Windows Vista. The newest operating system from Microsoft has quickly overtaken its predecessor (in less than a year), but it will need much more time to overtake Windows XP, which is still the most popular system. Windows 7′s market share stands at 14.5% compared to Vista’s 14.3%. What I find amazing is that Windows XP, which is now 9 years old, still leads the way with 61.9%! That means that more than half of all Windows users prefer the old system, and this includes many business users.

I must admit, Windows XP is my favorite system too, because it’s so stable and it still looks good after almost 10 years. I use Windows XP on my old laptop, and Windows 7 on my new PC. I never bought or downloaded any version of Windows Vista, simply because I have seen many flaws in that operating system during client visits. Windows Vista’s market share peaked at 18.8% in 2009, shortly before Windows 7 came to the market.

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One of my friends complained that something’s wrong with her laptop, so I offered to help. The laptop screen was totally dark and I could barely see anything. It looked bad at first, but there was hope, because if you see something, this means you probably don’t have to replace the whole screen. I suspected a faulty inverter or backlight. But how do you know which one to replace?

The first thing I did was to connect the laptop to an external monitor. If the picture is normal, you can eliminate any graphic card issues. As expected, the picture was there, bright and shiny. This meant that the problem was definitely in the laptop screen.

As mentioned above, most likely a failed inverter or a faulty back light caused this problem. Both are in the screen, but the inverter is much easier to remove and replace. Luckily, this is the more common cause. Back light tube can also fail, but this happens rarely. I already repaired another laptop with the same problem by replacing the inverter, and this time I suspected the same thing happened. And I was right…

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