This is an example of where the internet did things wrong. There are a lot of things it does right, but the stinkers stick out, and this is one of them. Originally, any system that required a user ID asked you what you wanted for a screen name. Simple systems only allowed letters and/or numbers. Advanced ones allowed letters, numbers, dashes (-) and underscores...

Something that continually makes an appearance in modern gaming (usually with larger titles) are Easter eggs that feature some sort of retro computing thing. Maybe it’s an interface, maybe it’s a whole mini-system of sorts, etc. Here’s an example of retro in a modern game:With the non-gaming stuff we do with computers, as much as the industry...

A temporary technology failure is when something you use breaks but you really, really need it working in order to get something done; the standard thing to do here is to use your backup method as a temporary workaround. However most people simply don’t have a backup, and that’s where you get figuratively stuck in a corner. If you don’t...

It’s standard advice to run the latest version of whatever web browser of choice you use that your operating system supports; the reasons are for better security and protection against rogue scripts, stability of the app itself, features of newer versions and so on. However if I asked you, the audience, what version of browser you’re using currently,...

When you want to run Windows apps within a Linux distribution, you use WINE. Now of course it’s always better when you can run alternative Linux apps because they generally are more stable, but if there are some Windows apps you can’t live without, and that’s what WINE is for. The place to search for Windows apps compatibility in WINE is from...

Not everyone is a writer, but everyone can record video and do it easily. One of the easier types of videos to record is instructional. You know how to do something (building a PC perhaps?), know how to record video, do some basic editing and put together a presentation. Where the snag comes in is with the DVD-making process; this is something that’s...

Ron writes: One thing I find really annoying is that when first putting something into a folder,the default under the view tab is for Auto-arrange icons, which I never want to do.Is there a way to get around that?The standard way to set a default icon arrangement since Windows 95 all the way to present is to click View, then Arrange Icons By and then select...

Before even starting this one, no I’m not telling you to all go join the Tin Foil Hat Club. This is simply a comparison of the differences between desktops and laptops concerning security. Security features come in two flavors, hardware and software. When you pit the desktop vs. the laptop, which of two has the better security features? Kensington...

"GUI? We don’t need no steenkeen GUI!" Or words to that effect. When you use an operating system long enough, you will inevitably be drawn into the world of the black-as-night zero-graphic command line. In Windows it’s known as the Command Prompt and in Mac or Linux as simply the Terminal – but I’m going to concentrate on...

Autoruns is a free utility from Windows Sysinternals that will show you exactly what your Windows loads on each startup. While true there are other utilities that will show this same information, when you want every single possible detail, Autoruns is the tool to use. By default, on launch the tab you land on is "Everything", and it will show...

I’ve talked about search engines before and how at this point I’m so unbelievably disenchanted with the major players out there. For me (and yes this is my opinion), using google.com directly to search with is a chore at best because the site keeps throwing crap at me that I simply don’t care about, nor wanted to see. And, of course,...

The first question most of you would have after reading the title of this article is, "Why would I even want a used cell phone when new ones are cheap or free (with certain wireless post-paid contracts)?" That’s a good question, and I have a good answer in two parts. 1. Battery life has not improved, and in fact has become worse with many newer...

Continuing on with their rapid-fire release schedule, version 10 of the Mozilla Firefox browser is now available for download. Although there’s a bunch of stuff that’s cool about Fx 10, there are 3 in particular that I feel stand out above the rest. First is actually the release notes page itself. I’ve been waiting for Mozilla to do this a long...

When I say "most-talked-about" I’m referring to "most-reviewed", as in the optical media most people were willing to write reviews about on popular tech-shopping web sites. The results I found were interesting, because the top 5 may not be what you thought would show up in this list. 1. Verbatim 8.5GB 2.4x DVD+R DL 95310...

I’m pretty sure this is the granddaddy winner (at least on the internet) for “the ends did not justify the means”. Okay, so there’s this post on Facebook that officially broke over 1 million comments. It’s right here. Is the conversation interesting? Of course not, because this is Facebook we’re talking about. Now in case you...