Microsoft Windows 8 Pro – $69 at Harvey Norman

Pre-Order: Available 26 October 2012

Windows 8 Pro is the latest offering from Microsoft which brings a whole new multi-platform operating system with a larger Start Screen, adjustable Live Tiles, Cloud connectivity for access to your other Windows 8 devices and content as well as other intuitive features such as text, gesture or pin password for better security, touchscreen capabilities for those with a touchscreen monitor and a whole lot more.

Cloud Connectivity

With Windows 8 existing on tablets, mobile phones, laptops and all-in-one desktops, you may need to be in between a combinations of these devices and that’s where Microsoft SkyDrive steps in, letting you sign into any Windows 8 device to access your documents and apps. This is also possible from any web-connected device. Microsoft Family Safety also offers monitoring of your children’s activities with the ability to setup email reports to you, web filtering, time limits and app restrictions.

Touchscreen Capability

Easily swipe, drag, press and hold, tap, slide, pinch, stretch and rotate objects using your fingers with a deeper interactive experience on your Windows 8 devices. Launch apps, switch between tasks and check notifications on the fly. A touch keyboard with two modes is also available, with either full-size or a thumb keyboard that splits the keys on either side of the screen for on the go use.

Spaces and Places

Keep your most valuable information and interests in one place with the new Start Screen, placing your contacts, weather and calendar appointments next to your favourite websites, playlists, photo albums and more. Efficiently organise and group things, with Live Tiles that change and update in real time, providing only current and relevant information.

Apps and Browsing

Let Internet Explorer 10 guide you around the web with fluidity and full-screen browsing experience, with SmartScreen technology to keep your PC safe. And search through thousands of apps in the Windows Store, sorted by interests, popularity and new arrival apps.

Professional Edition

Designed for business professionals and tech enthusiasts, Windows 8 Pro includes all Window 8 features plus tools for encryption, virtualisation, PC management and domain connectivity. There is also Windows Media Centre as an add-on.

This version installs Microsoft Windows 8 Pro from a previous version of Windows.

LINK

Free zip / rar / archive extraction software

7z is a great free program that will replace WINZIP or WINRAR (commercial software with a limited trial)

You can use 7-Zip on any computer, including a computer in a commercial organization. You don’t need to register or pay for 7-Zip.

The main features of 7-Zip

High compression ratio in 7z format with LZMA and LZMA2 compression

Supported formats:

Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM

Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR and Z.

For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip

Strong AES-256 encryption in 7z and ZIP formats

Self-extracting capability for 7z format

Integration with Windows Shell

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Free alternatives to Microsoft Office – part 2: Libreoffice

You get a simple-to-use yet powerful interface that is easy to personalize – Microsoft Office users will find the switch easy and painless, with a familiar look and feel.
Compatible with all major competitors’ file formats. You can easily import files from Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and many other formats, and can easily save to Microsoft Office and other formats when needed.

Writer is the word processor inside LibreOffice. Use it for everything, from dashing off a quick letter to producing an entire book with tables of contents, embedded illustrations, bibliographies and diagrams. The while-you-type auto-completion, auto-formatting and automatic spelling checking make difficult tasks easy (but are easy to disable if you prefer). Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters and brochures. The only limit is your imagination.

Calc tames your numbers and helps with difficult decisions when you’re weighing the alternatives. Analyze your data with Calc and then use it to present your final output. Charts and analysis tools help bring transparency to your conclusions. A fully-integrated help system makes easier work of entering complex formulas. Add data from external databases such as SQL or Oracle, then sort and filter them to produce statistical analyses. Use the graphing functions to display large number of 2D and 3D graphics from 13 categories, including line, area, bar, pie, X-Y, and net – with the dozens of variations available, you’re sure to find one that suits your project.

Impress is the fastest and easiest way to create effective multimedia presentations. Stunning animation and sensational special effects help you convince your audience. Create presentations that look even more professional than the standard presentations you commonly see at work. Get your collegues’ and bosses’ attention by creating something a little bit different.

Draw lets you build diagrams and sketches from scratch. A picture is worth a thousand words, so why not try something simple with box and line diagrams? Or else go further and easily build dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects. It’s as simple or as powerful as you want it to be.

Base is the database front-end of the LibreOffice suite. With Base, you can seamlessly integrate your existing database structures into the other components of LibreOffice, or create an interface to use and administer your data as a stand-alone application. You can use imported and linked tables and queries from MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access and many other data sources, or design your own with Base, to build powerful front-ends with sophisticated forms, reports and views. Support is built-in or easily addable for a very wide range of database products, notably the standardly-provided HSQL, MySQL, Adabas D, Microsoft Access and PostgreSQL.

Math is a simple equation editor that lets you lay-out and display your mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation. Even the most-complex calculations can be understandable when displayed correctly. E=mc2.

LibreOffice also comes configured with a PDF file creator, meaning you can distribute documents that you’re sure can be opened and read by users of almost any computing device or operating system.

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Free alternatives to Microsoft Office – part 1: Kingsoft

Did you know that there are some fantastic, free alternatives to Microsoft Office?

This free software is compatible with Word, Excel and Powerpoint files.

Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012 includes free word processor, spreadsheet program and presentation maker. These three programs help you deal with office tasks with ease:
Writer – Efficient word processor;
Presentation – Multimedia presentations creator;
Spreadsheets – Powerful tool for data processing and data analysis

Although it is a free suite, Kingsoft Office comes with many innovative features, including a paragraph adjustment tool, and multiple tabbed feature. It also has Office to PDF converter, automatic spell checking and word count features. In this latest version, new features such as watermark in document, and converting PowerPoint to Word documents are also supported.

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laptop screen bezel repair

Customer needed an urgent repair to their laptop screen bezel which was cracked, as they were going overseas the next day.

The crack was a clean break with good mesh between the two components.

As screen bezels fit flat against the LED/LCD panel frame there is no room to add any type of reinforcing on ‘top’ of the break, as this would stop the bezel from clipping into the top lid and create a structural weakness between the two components (rigidity of the top lid assembly is achieved in conjunction with the bezel providing pressure against the screen).

This repair was achieved by doing some basic plastic welding with some small pieces of wire inserted into the back of the bezel.

The pictures below show the front and back of the repair.

Laptop screen bezel repair – back of bezel showing metal welded into plastic

Laptop screen bezel repair – front

How to protect and remember all your passwords

These days we are required to have so many different logins that its hard to keep track of them all.

The most commonly used strategy for people to fill passwords is to use the same one or two for all websites, or to use the same one with a number at the end (Im looking at you, number ‘1’)

Unfortunately this is a very dangerous practice, as it makes accounts incredibly easy to hack.

This leaves personal and financial information, and our ‘online identities’ extremely vulnerable.

I see user passwords every day, and, unfortunately, most of them are not secure. This is a problem, as it puts users at risk for their online activities.

The top 10 hacked passwords, according to Eset (a well known Online Security company), are:

1. ‘123456’
2. ‘password’
3. ‘welcome’
4. ‘ninja’
5. ‘abc123’
6. ‘123456789’
7. ‘12345678’
8. ‘sunshine’
9. ‘princess’
10. ‘qwerty’

Online Passwords: Best practice

The best way to generate a secure online password:

1. Use a combination of upper and lower case characters
2. Do not use any complete ‘words’
3. Ensure your passwords are at least 8 characters long
4. *Important* use a different password for *every* site you use

The problem

While the first three criteria are relatively easy to apply, the fourth one poses a real problem for most computer users.

I have seen, many times, when working onsite, people keeping a ‘list’ or a ‘notebook’ next to their PC with all of their login and password information for various websites. While this does pose a solution to the problem of remembering them all, its an incredibly risky strategy.

A solution: Lastpass

Lastpass is a service which has risen to prominence in recent years offering an excellent method for password generation and protection. Lastpass works as a ‘browser plugin’ (It sits in your web browser while you are on the net) and offers (a) unique password generation for every site, and, (b) a means of storing and cataloguing all of the passwords.

The great thing about this system is that its only necessary to remember one password, to access the service. After that, it does all the work.

Features:

One master password

Automatic form filling

One-click login

Secure data protection

Synchronise across devices (IE, work, home, PC, MAC, Mobile Phone) so that all devices can access secure login information

Lastpass is a great way to make your online experience more secure.

For more information, see

https://lastpass.com/features_free.php

Fun with Android – connect to PC

Most people connect their Android handset to their PC to download photos, videos and other files. However, theres a lot more you can do with an android to pc connection. This article describes two great apps and what they offer for PC connection to Android phones.

Airdroid

Airdroid, as the name implies, connects your phone to your PC over your local WiFi (wireless) network. Once connected it provides a ‘Desktop’ that you can use to browse and download photos, send and receive text messages, and do lots more! One of the great advantages of using your phone through your PC is that you can type text messages using your computer keyboard, which is a lot quicker and easier than typing on the phone.

To run Airdroid, simply grab it from Google Play (the Apps Store) and install it on your phone

• Connect your phone to your wireless network (settings, wireless and network, wifi settings)
• Open Airdroid on the phone, and it will tell you a web address
• Open your web browser on the computer, type in the address and password.

http://airdroid.com/

MyPhoneExplorer

MyPhoneExplorer is more of a feature-rich offering, which has the distinction from Airdroid that you run an application on your computer, instead of accessing the phone through a web browser.

• Addressbook – with direct sync to Outlook, GMail, Windows contacts, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Lotus Notes and Tobit David
• Organizer with calendarview and direct sync to Outlook, Google, Sunbird, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Windows calendar(Vista), Rainlendar, Lotus Notes, Tobit David and net shared calendars (WebDAV, FTP, local)
• SMS – archive, export, import, excessive messages,…
• Filebrowser with cachesystem to minimize datatransfer, automatic photosync…
• Set phoneclock based on atomtime
• and much more. f.e.: calllists, edit profiles, control phone, memorystatus, phonemonitor,…

Its a very strong contender and offers a complete phone management system.

To run MyPhoneExplorer, grab the App from Google Play (the Apps Store) and install it on your phone

• Go to your PC and install the software from http://www.fjsoft.at/en
• Connect your phone via Wifi and USB cable, or Bluetooth and USB cable
• **Important** – enable “usb debugging” on your phone: Settings- Applications- Development- USB Debugging
• Start MyPhoneExplorer on your phone
• Start MyPhoneExplorer on your PC
• On your PC, go to File- Connect in MyPhoneExplorer

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Top 4 Antivirus software recommendations

People always ask me; “Whats the best Windows Antivirus software?”

These days the best protection for your home PC is a decent security suite. A security suite is just an AV with more modules attached to it, and therefore more security and protection. Most security software companies offer a low end product (an antivirus) and more more powerful options (security suites). The one to select is a proper security suite.

We all know someone who swears by a particular product, and many people have their favourites. However, the best indication of the effectiveness of an AV is how well it performs on multiple independent performance tests. In other words, just because it has worked for one person, does not mean it is broadly and consistently effective.

Here are some criteria that are important to consider:

1. Proactive protection
Does the software protect, ‘live’ while the computer is in use and stop anything nasty from taking hold?

2. On Demand protection
If it is told to do a scan, can it effectively FIND and *REMOVE* threats?

3. Low false-positives
Does the software persistently hassle users about software that is not a risk? (ie annoyance and time-consumption factor)

4. Low system load
Does the software hog system resources and slow down the computing experience of the user?

Tndependent test reports are available online.

av-comparatives.org

Matousec.com

av-test.com

A number of online PC magazines also run their own comparatives.

There is contention about the methodology used by various comparisons. The safest way to pick security software is to look at a number of reports, over time, and select a product that consistently and reliably scores across tests.

My recommendations:

1. Kaspersky
Kaspersky has a fantastic reputation for performance and reliability. Its relatively easy to use and very reliable. One criticism is that it’s quite resource intensive, so not ideally suited to slower/older machines. Most modern, powerful computers will run it fine.

2. Eset Nod32
A very easy to use AV with great performance, not only in protection and security, but known for its low system requirements. This vendor also has a ‘netbook’ edition, which is perfect for small machines.

3. Avast
A great, all round, security provider, with an excellent reputation. Notably, it offers a ‘sandbox’ system, that allows users to run programs in a safe environment before installing on the machine. (this is automatic, and easy to use). It does have the annoying characteristic of ‘speaking’ in a grating american accent every time it updates its database, however this feature can be switched off.

4. Symantec (Norton)
Norton has rightly suffered from a poor reputation having had a long and patchy history in terms of the quality of their product. They have been criticized for products that are very bloated and have a slow-down effect on machines. However, their recent offerings (since 2010) have been very good indeed, with greatly improved performance and speed. Norton also has an exceptionally easy-to-use interface, and consistent protection results on a number of independent tests.

Products to avoid

1. Trend
Despite its very prominent marketing profile, trend is a consistently average performer on some tests, and can also be a horrible resource hog. Comparatively speaking, it is also a very expensive product.

2. McAfee
McAfee is a very long-standing provider in AV technology. Unfortunately, their product has had a quite patchy history, with updates in the last couple of years causing some significant problems for users. This quality control issue is concerning. Most recently, (last month in fact) an update completely killed internet connectivity for many of its users. There was a fix offered by the Company, that, required an internet connection to apply (quite difficult when the software itself has completely killed Wireless and LAN access to the Net). A product to be avoided.

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9 ways to painlessly remove splinters from your skin

Nothing like a stubborn foreign object embedded under your skin to mess up a perfectly good day. Fortunately, Yumi Sakugawa at WonderHowTo has come up with a list of NINE (yes you read that correctly) 9 different ways to remove Splinters. So if one method doesnt work, dont worry, theres another 8 to fall back on. This one goes straight to my bookmarks for future reference. Thought Id post because its kinda handy to have on hand when one of those little suckers gets in.

http://thesecretyumiverse.wonderhowto.com/how-to/9-diy-ways-painlessly-remove-splinters-from-your-skin-0139135/

Buy a Windows 7 PC and get Windows 8 Pro for $14.99.

Eligibility Details

The offer is for customers (e.g. Home users, students, and enthusiasts) who purchase a qualified PC. A qualified PC is a new PC purchased during the promotional period with a valid Windows 7 OEM Certificate of Authenticity and product key for, and preinstalled with:

Windows 7 Home Basic;
Windows 7 Home Premium;
Windows 7 Professional; or
Windows 7 Ultimate.
The promotional price is limited to one upgrade offer per qualified PC purchased, and a maximum limit of five upgrade offers per customer.

Key Dates

You must purchase a qualified Windows 7 PC between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 to be eligible for this offer. The last day to register and order your Windows 8 upgrade is February 28, 2013.

Offer Redemption

Eligible customers must register for the Windows Upgrade Offer through this website by February 28, 2013.
After customer registration and Microsoft validation, customers will receive a registration confirmation email.
Beginning October 26, 2012, registered customers will receive an email with a promotion code and instructions for purchasing and downloading the software. The promotion code can be redeemed during the upgrade ordering process to receive the promotional price.

Customers will be able to purchase a downloadable version of Windows 8 Pro. An optional installation DVD is available for an additional fee, plus shipping and any applicable taxes or duties. Customers can also choose to create their own installation media on DVD or USB media after downloading Windows 8.
This offer requires internet connectivity for registering and ordering. Note: telephone or other access charges may apply

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