With the launch of the new WorldStart book, Internet Security Survival Guide in .PDF, we’ve received a number of questions about the .PDF format. Consequently, we’ve decided to offer some information that may help answer some of these questions.
What is .PDF?
Adobe introduced
IPv6 is going to be the next big thing and there is a countdown on the number of days IPv4 is going to last. Some number it at around 150 days and that is quite scary. IPv4 has a much smaller network load and the end of IPv4 will result in a slowdown of the existing infrastructure of Internet for a few days initially. Not only this, the existing Internet… Continue reading
Jim from Hernando Beach FL asks:
When printing, the box pops up for you to choose printer. In that box there is a little square to check that says “print to file”. How do you print to a file?
Why Print to File
Printing to a file is useful for documents… Continue reading
Surfing the internet, you’ll find quite a bit of talk that could be considered gibberish. Internet slang such as “noob,” words written in numbers instead of letters (“H3ll0!,”) and lots of acronyms that don’t make much sense on first viewing, if ever; lolz, wtf, rofl, smh, etc. While this type of “gibberish” could be researched for definitions/translations, there is another kind
Sue from Oklahoma City, OK. asks:
Yesterday I saw an article that said another way to access Firefox is to do it by “typing the command Firefox in the Run line”. What does this mean? What is the Run line? Where do I find it?
You know, Sue (by the way, thanks for writing!), there are so many boxes and lines and commands and menus… Continue reading
Robin from St. Paul, Minnesota writes:
The other day I was over at a friend’s house and when she started her computer it had a really pretty screen before the Windows screen – do you know what I’m talking about? Where can I get something like that?
Well, Robin, I do know what you’re talking about, and I can show you how to get it… Continue reading
Screenshots (or screen captures), are images copied straight from your computer screen. Many of the tips here at Worldstart include screenshots to offer a visual counterpart to the text. For example, if a tip is explaining how to adjust text size in a Word 2010 document, it might include a screenshot like the one below. The accompanying text would then explain that clicking on the arrow to the… Continue reading
Tom, from Oklahoma asks:
I installed Ubuntu to try it out, but I had some problems, so I uninstalled it. However, when I boot my machine it still gives Ubuntu as an option. How do I clean this up? I am using XP SP3.
Note: Any procedure involving the MBR (Master Boot Record) is dangerous and can cause your computer to become inaccessible. While the steps
Note: This tip only applies to Professional editions of Windows. That includes Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Pro, and Windows 7 Pro. This will not work on Home editions.
The Registry is the heart of a Windows operating system. Almost all Windows configuration settings and options are stored there.
The Windows Registry is accessed through a system application called: the Registry Editor. It allows… Continue reading
Claire from Ottawa, Canada writes:
I am almost ashamed to admit it, but I don’t know how to cut and paste or even what it means. I do know how to copy and paste, though, if that helps.
A long time ago, I got to talking to a representative from my local phone company about computers and copy and paste came up. I had… Continue reading
Larry from Sallisaw, OK asks:
Can you explain the difference between DVDs and DVD RAM?
DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc. It’s a type of data storage technology. There are two categories of recording formats in DVDs.
The first category is called Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory (DVD ROM). In this type of DVD, you can… Continue reading
Mona from San Diego, California asks:
A friend of mine called and said that she needs to reinstall Windows XP (she has the disk). She has done this before but she always used floppies; now she doesn’t have a floppy drive so she just uses her CD disk. She went to reinstall and her WinXP
Bernnae from California asks,
Is there a formula to easily convert megabytes into gigabytes?
Yes there is! You can do the conversion manually by using arithmetic or you can use software to do the conversion for you. First, let’s look at the formula for converting megabytes (Mb) into gigabytes (Gb).
Formula for Megabyte to Gigabyte Conversion
As shown… Continue reading
David from Queensland, Australia asks:
Could you please explain the difference between Microsoft Briefcase, Zip file, and file. What is the purpose of each and when we would we use each. I use Windows 7.
File
A computer file is the basic form of storage on a computer. Most people combine similar information into a single file and name it appropriately… Continue reading
Previously we’ve discussed the ability possessed by MS Office to save files in PDF format and at some time you probably also noticed that the file format XPS seems to be lumped with the PDF choice.
Most of us are very familiar with PDF since so much that we see online is in that format. Forms such as tax forms from the state… Continue reading
In easy English, “Delete” stands for removing while “Cut” stands for replacing the location of an item. Both are basic windows commands but they work differently when you apply them on the data stored in a document or on files and folders stored in your computer.
Imagine this – you are working on a word document and want to move a sentence to the earlier… Continue reading
Andrew from MI asks:
I keep getting the message \”need more virtual memory\”. I have tried a few different ways to increase it, with no success. Can I get a better graphic card and will that help? I have 4.00 GB RAM (3.25 usable) No problem with computer slow down. My operating system is 32 bits whatever that means. Is it possible to upgrade to 64?
OK, I’m going to have to be careful here. I could write a book about all the intricacies of RAM (speed, types, size etc), but for our purposes, we need to first set our focus to what RAM actually is – and why gobs of it nestled inside your computer will make your life oh-so-much better. So, I’ll sum it up in one little sentence… Continue reading
Looking for part 5? Click Here
Special Note – This is the second of a 5 part series entitled, “What The Heck Is Inside My Computer?” This series is designed to give you an idea of exactly what the major parts of your computer are, what they do, and what they look like. Hey, we’ll even hook some of ‘em up for you so you can see
Special Note – This is the first of a 5 part series entitled, “What The Heck Is Inside My Computer?” This series is designed to give you an idea of exactly what the major parts of your computer are, what they do, and what they look like. Hey, we’ll even hook some of ‘em up for you so you can see how simple do-it-yourself upgrades can be.
To get the
Buck from OR asks:
There are all of these “hottest things going” right now. Okay, so I know about Social Websites and Social Networking – now here’s another one: What the heck is “Viral” marketing?
A:
In a nutshell, viral marketing is a marketing technique that spreads information by “word-of-mouth”. In business, the message is sent out to make websites and users pass the message on… Continue reading
At some point, you may have been worried about what that green and yellow icon is doing in the notification area of your Taskbar. The problem is quite common with Windows 7 and Vista users, and is due to Mobsync.exe, which is mostly unnecessary for common users. Unfortunately, it keeps popping up every time you boot your OS, even if you have stopped it from within
Q:
I have heard about “real-time”; what is it?
A:
Well, I know my watch says 12:37 pm, but it may not be the real time.
In case that’s not what you meant (and somehow I think it isn’t), let’s talk real time on the Web.
Real time means what is occurring now. It is the actual time an… Continue reading
The word “hacktivism” is a portmanteau of the words hack and activism, and is described as “the nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools in pursuit of political ends. These tools include web site defacements, redirects, denial-of-service attacks, information theft, web site parodies, virtual sit-ins, virtual sabotage, and software development.” Or so says author Alexandra Samuel.
To put it in more simpler terms, however, hacktivism… Continue reading
Q:
Someone was telling me that they just bought a bigger hard drive. I am almost embarrassed to ask this, but what’s a hard drive?
A:
Don’t be embarrassed; it’s an awesome question!
I don’t know about your computer, but my computer has an enormous amount of “stuff’ on it. Pictures, videos, software, downloads, documents of all kinds…when it goes down I… Continue reading
Q:
I have been seeing the word “slipstreaming” a lot. What is it?
A:
Let’s just say, with the problems I had reinstalling Windows last week, slipstreaming would have made the installation a lot easier and I would have gotten to bed a lot earlier the night I did the installation.
If you have ever had to reinstall Windows, then you know… Continue reading
Q:
What’s the difference between a text-editor and a word processor?
A:
Good question, and a tricky one as well!
At first glance, it would seem like they are both the same. They both edit text, but a word processor does it more extensively than a text editor. Let’s go into a little detail and see what we come up… Continue reading
