Martin writes: I have a 15-inch LCD monitor. After being powered on for 10-30 minutes the screen goes blank, but power is still on. By pressing the power button again, the screen will display normally, but after that the screen goes blank and not display anything even though the monitor LED is still lit green. What’s wrong with my monitor?I openly invite...

When will Windows 8 ship? The answer is October 2012 according to this source. Will I be getting it? On my PC, probably not, but on a tablet, probably yes. Windows 8 boasts 300+ new features, but a huge amount of them are tablet and touch-related. That’s not necessarily a problem, but it doesn’t give me any solid reason to go with Win8 on my PC...

In this week’s Inside The Insider, I talk about what’s in this week’s issue of The Insider, as well as send a big “thank you” to everybody who signed up in the last week.How to Land A Job In An Online World 3 Ways To Find Stuff Faster When Using Online Maps The Modern Guide to Securely Destroying Old Documents How to find out...

Add some retro goodness to your email signature by using a video game sprite. These sprites are little graphics that work very well in an email signature without being annoying or too over-the-top. The site that I reference for getting sprites seen in the video below is Game Sprites Archives, so be sure to check that out. See the video below to see how...

Certain retailers like Amazon have a whole bunch of products that cannot be shipped to a USPS PO box. Many people prefer to use PO boxes to handle all their mail and smaller packages because it’s just easier for them. You can most likely still use the same post office you always have just by using the USPS General Delivery option – which Amazon will...

Something that a lot of Linux fans say is that using a Linux distribution as your operating system saves you money, but they never really say how, so I’ll tell you. If you take the time to learn Linux, it can potentially save you thousands of dollars in the long term. As for how Linux saves you money in the long term for the home computer user,...

John writes: I would like to find a program that would produce a list (xls, csv, or printable) of all programs on my start menu. I’m about to install a new OS and i hate that feeling after a new install where I come upon a task and can’t remember the name of the program i used in the past to accomplish a task. What usually happens at that time is i...

Does anybody here remember the Nintendo 64? The Super Nintendo? The Atari 2600? The Sega Genesis? What did all of these awesome old school consoles have in common? No, it wasn’t the fact that they all used cartridges (good guess, though.)  Give up? They were all nearly indestructible. Unless you opted to take a baseball bat to one, chances are...

The Internet is the lifeblood of our society. That’s pretty obvious to anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past few years. Nowadays, it’s not just a matter of browsing the web anymore. We’re using the ‘net for everything from finances to gaming and from connecting with others to our very livelihood. It should go...

You might think this one is a browser extension. It’s not. This one is built-in to the browser. Very cool. Google Chrome has both the ability to print to PDF and read PDF files without the need for any additional software or browser extensions. If you ever needed a real reason to switch to Chrome, well, there you go. No other browser has this built-in...

The most-seen phosphor screen colors on old CRT monitors were green and amber. If you were to use one of those monitors today, you’d hate it because of massive ghosting issues with early tube-type displays (imagine it taking a full 3 seconds for a character to fade out). In Windows it’s easy to get those old colors (and without the ghosting,...

Now, some of you are probably looking at that title and scratching your heads a little. You’re wondering why there needs to be a guide for getting rid of an antivirus. Isn’t it as simple as clicking ‘uninstall?” You’d think so, but no. See, Strong Malware Defender is actually false antivirus software – one of the most...

I had made a video on this a few years back but I rushed it a bit, so this time around I went through it slower and explained things in better detail. The videos below (part 1 and 2) will show simple keyboard shortcuts that anyone can use whether you’re using Windows or Linux. They will work in both environments because both follow the standard IBM PC...

There are many ways to clean a laptop’s screen, but generally speaking the best method is to use plain white paper towels (meaning paper towels with no "fun" prints on them) and ammonia-free/fragrance-free glass cleaner such as "original" Windex, Glass Plus or whatever brand you choose to use. The combination of those two things is the...

To many, the idea that one could be addicted to Twitter seems…. outlandish. However, for some, it is the real deal. I think Twitter has a lot of benefits, but it also seems to have some downsides. For example:The 140-character limitation would encourage poorly developed thoughts. The firehose of information would develop a hardcore need for that level of...

Most of you probably already know by now that despite the fact that the iPad 2 hasn’t even reached the end of its life cycle, Apple’s planning on adding another iteration to their product line. Due on March 16, the product which Apple’s dubbed “the new iPad.” Some journalists feel that the name’s something of a misnomer...

I mentioned recently the Facebook Messenger, but it’s only for Windows 7. Does that mean people using Windows Vista, Windows XP or Linux are screwed? Not at all. You can use Pidgin to connect to Facebook chat easily. Note before continuing: It is especially good to get to know Pidgin if you plan on switching from Windows to Linux or are even just thinking...

Everyone is familiar with glass technology to decrease sun glare, known as a polarizer filter. This is applied to eyeglasses, mirrors and glass on most (if not all) automobiles made today. Back in the days of CRT monitors, a monitor accessory that was seen often was a glare reduction filter; this was a rather ugly thing that was applied by adhesive to the side...

In this week’s Inside The Insider, I talk about what’s in this week’s issue of The Insider, as well as send a big “thank you” to everybody who signed up in the last week.Can the iPad 3 Replace A Laptop? Resource to control WHEN email is sent using Gmail 5 Ways To Keep Your Humanity In An Otherwise Connected World A great option...

Micky writes: I need to replace my PC’s hard drive. I have a Dell dimension 8400. It is about about 8 years old. I am looking to buy a Western Digital 320 GB, 7200 rpm. I have two questions: is a 350 watts power supply enough for this drive & will it generate too much heat for this PC? I was unable to find any specifics about the cooling fans within...