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Worldstart Computer Tips 9-9-2010

Windows Game Ratings

Ever since the bloody first-person shooter, Doom, parents have been super concerned with the content of the video games their children play. Thankfully Windows Vista and 7 have the ability to pull ratings from the Entertainment Software ratings Board (ESRB) and assign them to games you install.

Now, to check the rating of a game installed in Windows you need to open the Windows Games Explorer.

Click Start, and in the Search Box type Games. Now either click the icon that appears at the top of the list, or hit Enter. The Games Explorer window should open up. It looks like this:

Now, simply click on a game and take note of the rating assigned to it.

There are a few different ratings descriptors.

E – Everyone (ages 6 and older)
E 10+ - (ages 10 and older)
T – Teen (13 and older)
M - Mature (17 and older)
AO – Adults Only ( 18 and older)

Note: Not every game has an ESRB rating, so if you’re unsure of a games content be sure to check the game’s official website for more information.

~Andrew

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FACT:

100% Of All Hard Drives Fail!

FACT:

It's Not A Matter Of "IF" Your Drive Will Fail- It's a Matter Of "When"!

FACT:

In The US Alone, Over 20 MILLION People Will Have A Hard Drive Crash This Year!

FACT:

110 MILLION Will Lose Data To Malware & Viruses!

FACT:

YOU Need A Backup Plan!

FACT:

When Your Drive Fails, You Only Have Three Choices:

1. Restore Your Backup
2. Lose Your Data
3. Pay Thousands For Data Recovery - And There's No Guarantee It'll Even Work!

"There are two kinds of computer users in this world - Those who have lost data and those who will!"

Let's face it - we REALLY rely on our computers.

We keep our irreplaceable photos, videos, documents, and music right there on our PCs. However, a staggering 76% of us do NOT back up as often as we should!

That's Texas Chain Saw Massacre scary if you ask me!

Think that's bad? Get this - 43% of people polled admitted they've lost data from their hard drive - over the course of just ONE year! That's nearly HALF of all computer users!! "Sorry about our wedding photos hun..., Oh, and can I have $1000 to replace the iTunes library?"

Think that's scary? Then you'll want to be sitting down for this:

There will be an estimated 20 MILLION devastating hard drive crashes THIS year!
There will be an estimated 110 million malware infections that destroy files
PLUS millions of other system problems that will wipe out data.

Take cover - we're talking the black Plague of the digital age!

What's even MORE outrageous is that it's SOOOOO easy to keep your irreplaceable files, photos, and music safe and sound! A good backup program is ALL you need!

I think the reason people don't worry about backups enough is we're all WAY too accustomed to things coming in a physical form. I mean, think about it - used to be we had things like CDs, photo negatives (and prints), and actual paper documents.

Those days are fading fast! Just look at digital photos - over 80% of the households in the US now own a digital camera. Around 90% of us keep digital photos on our computers - either from our cameras or from images sent by friends and family. What happens when there's a problem?

Will years of your family history simply be wiped out due to a crash or virus?

Too bad about little Timmy's first 5 years huh?

What about music? Over 70% of us keep music on our computers. If you purchased that music online, you know that if you lose it, it's gone forever! You'll have to repurchase everything- and THAT gets expensive quick!

Hey, even if you only copied CDs - do you really want to go through that hassle again???

Then of course there are all the important documents, favorite web sites, spreadsheets, tax forms, financial files, etc that we've accumulated over the years. Just how many countless hours do you have invested in creating those files? Are you willing to lose it all - right now - and start from scratch? I didn't think so!

So why isn't everyone a backup fanatic?

When asked, most people will cite one of two reasons for NOT doing backups - either they are too much of a hassle, or they simply have no idea how to do it.

Don't fall into the "I'll get around to it" trap!

The backup you're planning to make tomorrow won't help you one little bit when your computer crashes today.

Well, the program we're featuring solves BOTH the problems above with ease AND for $8.97 it's something everyone can afford. Finally! (Note - this is a one time software purchase, not a monthly fee like many online backup services)

Of course, just any old backup software won't do - you need something that will actually work WITH you to take ALL the hassle out of doing your regular backups - and we have just the program! It's called, appropriately enough, Save My Files, and you are absolutely gonna love this easy to use file backup program!

First off, let's take a peek at all the cool features:

Full And Incremental Backups - This is so sweet I'm surprised Willy Wonka hasn't named a chocolate bar after it!

A Full Backup does just what it sounds like - backs up EVERY file you tell it to. Now, that alone would usually be enough, but this program cranks it up to the next level by offering time saving Incremental Backups as well!

Incremental Backups are backups you do AFTER you've completed a full backup. Check it out - This type of "smart backup" looks at your current archive and ONLY copies files that are either new or updated! It leaves the stuff that's not changed alone!

Bottom line - You don't have to wait an hour (or hours) for a backup job to complete! Once the initial full backup job is done, the incremental backups are VERY fast (usually less than a minute)! If disaster strikes, you still have ALL your old files, so nothing to lose and mountains of time to gain. I LOVE incremental backups - and YOU will too!

Automatically Finds Files For You! Oh, you'll LOVE this! A HUGE problem with doing backups is that, well, sometimes you just don't know where all your files are - especially music and photos. This ingenious software can help!

For example, let's say you wanted to backup all your pictures. Just select the option for "Photos", and let it go to work. In a blink of an eye the program starts scouring your hard drive for photos.

It checks all over - heck it may find photos you didn't know you had!

Again - YOU don't need to know where all the files actually are - this finds and backs them up automatically! How cool is that?

You can even specify file types, so if you have some proprietarily format, it can automatically find those files too! Now THAT'S a KILLER feature!

Encrypt And Password Protect Your Backups - Do you have sensitive information in your backups? Hey, password protect and encrypt 'em!

You'll never need to worry about someone getting at your sensitive information just because they found the CD you keep your backup on. Nice!

Media Spanning - Have more to backup that will fit on a single CD, flash drive or hard drive? No worries! This can break the data apart and span it across multiple CDs, DVDs, flash drives, external hard drives, - whatever you use! WOW!

Stores In ZIP Format - This is absolutely HUGE if you ask me.

Here's the thing - what if you do a backup and then lose the backup software? How can you get your files OUT of the compressed backup file? Yikes!

Ahh, no worries - this software stores your files in a standard ZIP file that can be opened via Windows (Note - it WILL prompt you for your password if you choose to encrypt and protect the file).

Oh - and don't forget - with ZIP format, you're compressing everything! Awesome - Your backups won't take up gobs of space!!

Select ANY Location You Want To Backup - Frankly, this does such a good job with the "pre determined" suggestions it offers, you probably won't even need this feature. However, if you have special folders floating around and want to make sure they are included with the backup, this software makes it easy!

You can select ANY folder on your hard drive and it will back it up for you!

Exclude Files - OK, maybe there are some files you DON'T want the software to backup. Just tell it the what files you don't want to include in your backup, and they won't be added - even if they reside in a folder that you specified for backup - super-cool huh?

Whew - that's quite a list, and it doesn't even HINT at how incredibly easy this software is to use! Backing up is just a matter of running the program and telling it what you want to save! A few mouse clicks and you're good to go!

Don't believe me? Check out out video demonstration and I'll prove it!

Now, here's the really cool thing - after you do your initial backup, all you need to do for future backups is run the program and tell it to use your existing backup job! Talk about a time saver!

Plus, this lets you create MULTIPLE backups too! You could have several backup files - one for pictures, one for business, one for music - or lump them all together - it's totally up to you!

WOW - there's a LOT to this software, but I think you get the idea - it makes doing your regular backups SUPER easy! The program is basic enough for anyone to use but still has enough options for advanced users - what more could you want?

Oh, yeah, the deal - we're talking just $8.97 and US shipping is FREE! That's got to be one of the best deals in the history of the PC - Heck most backup programs go for a MINIMUM of $50!

RUN to the site and grab your before they're gone! This was a VERY limited time offer and we can't guarantee how long this software is going to last - especially for this crazy low price!

http://store.worldstart.com/product/6456

PS - Right this very second, a hard drive is failing or a virus is destroying data - you could be next! Remember, there's a 43% chance that YOU will lose data this year! Don't take a risk - grab this amazing, easy to use backup software today and make sure you data is SAFE!

Judith from Massachusetts asks:
How can I check to see if an e-mail I've sent has been read?

A:
Sometimes you send an email message to one of your friends, colleagues, or business partners and wonder whether he/she opened that email or not. There are chances that the person may have entirely skipped your email or maybe the message was lost in the spam folder.
Whatever the reason might be, if you want to make sure the other person opened your email message, here are the steps you have to follow:

- Go to Spypig.com and you will see the following interface:

- There are different fields which you have to fill, depending on the objective of your email message. Let’s understand them in full detail.
- The first one is “Your Email address” field. In this field, enter your own email address or the address from where you would be sending the email to a recipient.
- The next field is “Your Message Title”. Enter a suitable title of your email message; this will act as the subject line.
- The next step involves picking a tracking image, which will be embedded in your email message and will be used to track whether or not the recipient opened or read your email message.

There are different images to choose from. You can either use your own image, using the “Upload your own image” link or choose from one of the available samples.
- If you don’t want the recipient to know whether you have enabled tracking for the email message, it’s highly recommended to use the small white square image.
This image will completely merge with the background of your email message and would appear invisible.

- Next you have to choose the number of notifications you want to receive, once your friend has opened the email message. This number can be chosen anywhere between 3 to 100.

- Next, click the large button that says ”Click to Activate my Spypig”. The page will refresh and your chosen image will appear in that box, as shown above.
- You will notice that a small counter has started automatically just below the image. You have one minute to embed that tracking image in the email message before the feature gets activated.

- Quickly right click the image and choose “Copy image location”

- Then open your email account and insert the image using the “Insert image” button, this path varies for different email clients or services.
Example: In Gmail, you have to click the small image icon as shown below and then choose the radio button “Insert Image from a web address”

- You are almost done, now compose your email message and send it to whoever you want.

Spypig will keep a close eye on that image and once your friend opens the email message, you will get a notification email from spypig. Here is an example of the notification email :

Please note that the recipient must be able to receive HTML enabled messages in his email service or client. Otherwise, the Spypig image will never load and you will not know when your friend opened that email message.

~Amit Banerjee

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OpenOffice: Adjust Font & Font Size Without Buttons or Menus

We all know that you can change the font type and size if you don't mind leaving the body of your document to go to a toolbar or menu... but you've got to wonder at times if there are other options.

And, while I'm sure there are many different ways to make these formatting changes today I'd like to talk about what you can do with a simple right-click.

With a simple left-click here, you can see how it's done

Special Note - This is the fourth 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 most from this series, make sure you watch the included videos. We did this series with the idea that the videos would be the main attraction, so that's where you'll find most of the information and demos. OK, ready to go?

What The Heck Is Inside My Computer? - Part 4 - The CPU

CPU - there's a term that gets mangled on a regular basis. Most people seem to think the "box" part of the computer is the "CPU". Truth is, if that's you, you've been living a lie. That "box" actually IS the computer. The CPU lives deep inside it.

Your CPU (Central Processing Unit - or "processor") is located under the big fan on your motherboard and it can be described as your computer's "brain". Every action you take on your computer - from the smallest mouse movement to writing your memoirs to editing that photo of aunt Edna in a bikini - are controlled by the CPU. Nothing happens in your computer without your CPU getting involved. Check out our video to see what a CPU looks like out of a computer. (Psst - we'll also show you how it connects to the motherboard, what the fan does, and more - a must-watch!)

Click here to learn more about this little marvel

Looking for the first 3 of this 5 part series?

Part 1 Motherboard
Part 2 Hard Drive
Part 3 RAM

Folder Tweaker

On my desktop alone, I have 150 icons at any given moment. It’s like a sea of manila icons, scattered from one end of the monitor to the other. Sometimes, finding the things I need can turn into a hunting expedition. I do try to organize my folders, so they are not in the way so much. I move them to other drives and folders in an attempt to categorize everything, but some areas are almost useless. To help reduce this joyless task of searching for what I need, I usually customize my most used folders with something that stands out, like a custom icon or something that I can spot quickly. For instance, the folder that contains the article I’m working on today is customized with an icon that I downloaded. It’s unique and it helps me to pick it out quickly from all the other masses.

This is usually an easy process, but I have found something that makes the whole thing so much easier. Folder Tweaker is a download from creator, Quang Anh Do, that allows you to change things, like folder icons, font color and folder images by creating a completely customizable folder beyond that of an ordinary Windows capability.

Click here to learn more about Folder Tweaker

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National Take-Back Initiative

Do you have expired or unused prescription or over the counter medication sitting around your house? Not sure how to get rid of them? Or where you can get rid of them at? Well then you’re going to want to check out this site.

On September 25th, they are sponsoring a National Take-Back Day all around the United States. To find out where they are collecting near you click the Find a Collection Site Near You link. Then either input your zip code, or your City and State, then choose the how many miles away you want it to search and click the Submit button. It will then give you a listing of locations that will be collecting your old/unused drugs.

The important things to know are that: this program is completely anonymous, and only solid dosage medications, tablets, capsules are being collection. They are not collecting intravenous solutions, injectables, or needles.

I know that I have plenty of cold medicine that was left over from various colds that I’ll be happy to turn in for safe disposal!

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/

~Amanda

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Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com

ATTENTION: You Gotta Check This Out!!

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This Breakthrough Report Gives You The Inside Scoop...

Hands-Down, The BEST 58 Freeware Programs - Ever!

Yikes! Commercial Software Publishers Don't Want You To See This!

Don't Spend An Estimated $4,132 On The Retail Equivalents!!

Get This Exclusive Special Report Now & Start Saving TODAY!

I'm so excited! - WAIT, that's not even CLOSE - I'm WAY past excited!

(And you will be too!)

We JUST finished TWO MONTHS of painstaking work on one of our most amazing projects YET! We've uncovered the absolute BEST of the BEST freeware programs and put them ALL together in a jaw-droppin' Special Report you just gotta see!

It's WorldStart's Ultimate Freeware Special Report and it's gonna leave you wondering how the heck you've ever gotten along without it!

In fact, it's the most useful piece of information we've ever put together. Period.

Just wait till you see what we have in store for you - THIS covers just about every category of software known to man! You may NEVER spend another dime on retail software! We're talking photo editing, video, audio, office suites, internet security, backup software, computer optimization, cleanup, CD burning, web browsers, e-mail clients, web editing, social networking, spyware removal, anti-virus, fun stuff, and MORE!

Something for everyone is an understatement - we're talking 58 amazing - and free - programs in all!

What's that you say - freeware sucks? Ahh, maybe the stuff you've tried in the past, but not the stuff in this incredible special report! (Why do you think it took us 2 months?)

You're not just looking at 58 so-so, mediocre, wishy-washy programs here- you're looking at possibly the BEST 58 freeware programs ever coded!

You'll catch yourself saying, "WOW - THIS was FREE?!?" at every download!

In fact, many of these programs easily OUTPERFORM their commercial counterparts - or offer features you simply can't find anywhere else - for any price! I can tell you putting this together was a real eye-opener for us - it's absolutely MIND-BLOWING how INCREDIBLE this stuff is! You'll be shocked at what you can get for free!

This is some of the absolute finest software ever to grace a computer screen!

Not sure if this is for you? Let's play the "Why Pay" game!

Do you need...	Why pay?	Instead...
A high-end image editing program like Photoshop?	$600	See page 6
An Internet Security Suite?	$70	See page 52
A web site / page editor?	$400	See page 48
A rock solid firewall?	$40	See page 59
A CD burning program?	$50	See page 34
A Windows speed-up and optimization program?	$60	See page 28
An Office Suite like MS Office?	$150	See page 17
A good anti-virus program?	$50	See page 55
An astronomy program?	$40	See page 65
A hard drive junk removal program?	$30	See page 27
An easy to use image editing program like PS Elements	$150	See page 7
A program that makes PDFs like Acrobat?	$300	See page 23
A deleted file recovery program?	$50	See page 30
An easy to use backup program?	$50	See page 31
An FTP program to transfer files to the web?	$40	See page 49
A screen recording program?	$300	See page 12
A secure file deletion program?	$30	See page 61
An imaging program to make an exact copy of your HD?	$80	See page 32
Do you need everything you see above?	$2490	See The Report!

And keep in mind that the above chart is FAR from a complete picture of everything that's included in this bean-spillin' special report! In total, there are 58 incredible freeware titles included - and I've only listed 18 above!

Can you imagine what else must be waiting for you?

The software in this report represents one heck of a truckload - so I can't go over EVERYTHING - but it's easy to see that finding one - JUST ONE - program you can use makes this totally worth having! Frankly, I'd be surprised if you didn't discover a dozen programs you want!

Oh, and we've broken it all down and estimated that if you purchased the commercial counterparts for every program listed, you'd blow a bank-breakin' wallet-staggering $4,132!

That's insane! For a complete breakdown by category, check out this chart:

Software Category	Est. Savings
Photo, Video, and Audio	$1539
Productivity Software	$720
Utilities & Windows Optimization	$428
Internet and E-mail	$645
Security Software	$460
Just For Fun	$340
Grand Total	$4132

(For a line-by-line breakdown, see the site)

You won't BELIEVE what you can get for FREE if you know where to LOOK - and this amazing report has direct links to all of it!

The report itself is an easy read and includes a screen shot and description of each and every item listed! Makes it easy for you to browse though the report and decide which programs are right for you. We found the best of the best - now you get to cherry pick the stuff you need - without ever opening your wallet!

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I mean, think about it - just this ONE report ALONE is well worth the $12 membership!

If it saves you from buying a piece of commercial software JUST ONCE your membership has more than paid for itself! Frankly, at this point you'd have to be crazier than an outhouse rat not to get a membership! Remember, this single report could save you an estimated $4,132 in software purchases!

Of course, when you sign up for your premium membership, you can also download our mind-blowing Ultimate Shortcut List Special Report - Ohhhhhh, just wait till you get your fingertips heapin' helpin' of 230 amazing shortcuts! Keyboarding bliss I tell ya!

Naturally, having a premium membership is for far more than just a few mind-blowing special reports - you also can switch your subscription to the ad-free, full length version of Computer Tips and Just For Grins! Just think - our killer newsletters without the huge ads - AND - Computer Tips subscribers get every tip in its entirety (you don't have to click to the website to see it)!

Now that's awesome!

Oh, and did I mention having a premium membership also guarantees you the LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE in our online store? No one - not even if they have a coupon - can get a better price than YOU! Average savings is a whoppin' 15% - Talk about paying for itself!

And you get ALL of this for just $12 a year (and the downloads are yours to keep no matter what)!

What's that you say?

"OK, hold on a just sec - so for 12 bucks - basically lunch money - I get WorldStart's Ultimate Freeware Special Report, WorldStart's Ultimate Shortcut List, a year of Ad-Free newsletters, a year of complete, full length articles in Computer Tips, AND an average of 15% off everything I order in the WorldStart online store!?!?!?"

You got it! And there's more to come - this isn't the last special report - not by a long shot!

How cool is that? When we started our Premium Memberships, we said it was the best $12 you'll ever spend - and we meant it!

So, sign up today, grab the 68 page Ultimate Freeware Special Report and start enjoying all those member benefits!

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PS - Warning - The $12 price for membership price is NOT going to stay that low forever - get in while it's still cheap! We'll even lock-in your $12-a-year rate for NEXT year's renewal if you sign up today (or if you're already a member)! WOW!

September Wallpaper

Here's this month's free calendar wallpaper! As always, it's 100% free, so head on over and grab one!

	Smoky Mountain Stream
	Buck In Stream
	Smoky Mountain Falls

It's all free, so enjoy!

All can be found here:

http://www.worldstart.com/wallpaper/index.php

Enjoy!

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ISSN: 1529-336X
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