Since the introduction of Firefox 7, I’ve officially switched back to the Fx browser (but not without this add-on installed, which I consider mandatory). No, I’m not telling to you dump IE, Opera or Chrome, but Fx 7 did impress me enough to switch back over to it. A feature of Fx I used a long time ago when it was first introduced was Firefox Sync....

Back in the 1980s, hard drives were prohibitively expensive, so electronics companies (particularly the ones that made computers) had to find ways for people to store data without spending the price of a small car. The answer was floppy diskettes and compact cassette. The most popular example of data on compact cassette was the once-ubiquitous Commodore 1530...

Fiddler is billed as a "Web Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP(S) traffic between your computer and the Internet"; it’s different from TCPView in the respect that monitoring traffic is only part of what it does. On top of network monitoring, it will also show every single file sent and received and if any new files have triggered network...

Windows 7 does have a program built into it called Contacts. You can get to this by clicking the Windows Logo (formerly known as the Start button), type Contacts, and a clickable selection to launch Contacts will appear:What you’ll see in there is at least one contact – you. Any user account in Windows 7 will show up as a contact. And no, that does...

Not all USB microphones develop hissing/white noise sounds when plugged into a USB hub, but it’s generally true that with headsets, the microphone isn’t exactly what you’d call ‘premium’ quality. The reason for this is because more expensive USB microphones do have built-in physical filters to cut noise like that out, while on...

The job interview. Exciting, but stressful. Actually, nerve-wracking would be a better descriptor. Interviewing for an IT position is pretty much the same as any other office-type job you’d apply for with the following exception: Human Resources knows nothing about computers. The people in HR have never understood computers, nor will they ever. They are...

One of the more underrated features of the modern Firefox browser is the use of Tab Groups. This built-in feature (meaning no add-ons/plugins required) makes quick work of a cluttered-up tab bar by organizing a lot of tabs into easy-manage groups that can be ordered however you like. See video below for details on how it...

Hardware accelerated fonts don’t work on all monitors, and may result in them looking blurry – particularly with smaller fonts. This font blur is something that’s very noticeable, but only in specific setups. These setups I’m referring to are Windows Vista and Windows 7 users with ClearType enabled. The standard advice given concerning...

As you know from the last article, a lightning strike killed my beloved Linksys WRT54GL, and that made me a sad panda. Being that plugging in your network connection direct to your cablemodem is a seriously stupid idea, and that I needed wireless for my netbook, I drove on down to my local CompUSA for a replacement wireless router. Now before continuing, this is...

The Tampa Bay Area of Florida (where PCMech is based and where I reside) is recognized as "Lightning Capital Of North America", because we get more cloud-to-ground bolts than anywhere else on this continent. What I’m about to tell you is an extreme example of the situation that even if you have all the electrical protection you can get,...

Big-space hard drives always arrive first for desktop PCs simply for the reason they can run hotter without issue, and the fact you can add in cooling in several different ways should the heat become an issue. Laptops are typically 2 to 3 years behind when it comes to drive technology, or at least the platter-based ones are. The wait exists it takes the OEMs...

I have to define a few things for those that have absolutely no clue how to read l33tsp3ak, so here goes: l33t (or 1337 if going for the full monty), is the word elite that’s gone through several transformations to ultimately end up the way it did. First it was elite, and then leet. Lite didn’t work because the pronunciation is different and...

In the part of Tampa Bay Florida where I live, Verizon Wireless is one of the worst carriers to use. Text and multimedia messaging work fine, but for voice calls, forget it. Dropped calls are common, and when it doesn’t drop, a voice call is choppy at best; the sound is similar to someone jiggling a headphone connector where the signal breaks in and...

If you’re in business for yourself, but find that you can’t compete with the prices other businesspeople are selling what you want to sell on eBay, your best option is to attract regional (as in local) clients only. Local works, and people like local. Ask any local business owner. The best way to attract local clients from the internet is still by...

Hopefully when you watch this you haven’t seen it already (and I’m also hoping it’s not pulled from YouTube by the time this article goes live either). I’m not going to tell you who made this ad, but I will say it’s from a company who is notorious for having way more bad adverts than good ones. This advert just isn’t good,...

Recently I took a trip to Islands of Adventure on a mini-vacation, and if there’s anywhere you’ll see cameras, it’s there. I saw digital cameras. Lots of them. Were I to hazard a guess, around 90% of the people I saw using cameras were point-and-shoots and the other 10% using DSLR full-bodied type. I was also specifically looking around to see...

Stone is a material that’s been considered a luxury item ever since man learned how to carve it. In today’s modern world it’s still considered a luxury item. People to this day still pay good money to get a marble countertop in their kitchen, so you know stone will most likely always be the "in" thing. In the tech world there’s...

If you’ve ever been on the phone with a friend or family member and are trying to support some computer problem they’re having, you need certain information to help you help them. Is there a ridiculously easy way to do this? Yes, there’s the Support Details web site. It really doesn’t get any easier than Support Details. Have the person...

KNOPPIX has been around a good long time and is one of the best Linux distributions for LiveCD use. In fact, KNOPPIX was one of the first OSes able to be run “live”. The latest version of KNOPPIX is 6.7.1. Still very fast, still very good in LiveCD mode, still one of the best distros you could ever use as for emergency recovery CD use. If you...

Arguably, FileZilla is the best FTP client you could use. It’s free, it’s easy and runs on Windows, Mac or Linux. If you ever decide to dive into the world of traditional web hosting, it’s basically required to use an FTP client. The video below shows the basics of connecting to a site and executing basic...