My family and friends tend to ask me about computer and internet-related things and then blatantly ignore any advice I give. It's like I have this Cassandra complex. I think maybe it's time to stop "strongly recommending" and instead threaten to render their machine inoperable or perhaps Hungarian, unless they comply. Which would actually make a fantastic new business, wherein I would receive regular monthly payments for *not* injecting the software equivalent of Ebola into the operating system. Cash only, plain manila envelope. Have it ready when Biff "The Basher" Hodgkiss walks in on the first of the month, please.
So here's my advice and I strongly suggest you take it.
What should I use for checking/sending my email?
Mozilla Thunderbird. Not ever Outlook Express. Ever. Why? Because: 18 reasons why Thunderbird is better than Outlook Express, but mainly because Outlook Express has NO spam filter, and is extremely vulnerable to email viruses and phishing. (You know, those fake sites that look a lot like your online bank - just enter your card number and password for verification, okay?) Thunderbird has protections against those sorts of things. And a spam filter. Jeez.
With Thunderbird, it is easy to pull in multiple accounts (even web-based ones like hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc.). It also has a built-in RSS reader - nice! And good spell check... And on and on. Read an overview. Biff will be giving a quiz.
What browser should I use?
Actually no one asks this, but they should. Mozilla Firefox. Don't use Internet Explorer. Listen, I spend 8 to 12 hours each weekday developing web applications for browsers. I know these browsers inside out. It's my job. I'm an expert. Firefox is far and away the better browser. The masses only use IE because it came pre-installed with their computer and they don't know any better. And you know those masses, they're drooling ibiots.
Firefox is faster. It is more secure against spyware, worms and viruses. It protects your privacy better. It has a lot of features to improve your experience that IE does not, such as tabbed browsing and integrated search. It has a large number of extensions available that can add all manner of new features: Adblock is an amazing one which can block ads from appearing on web pages at all. Unless you like ads, of course.
Mr. Hodgkiss gets disappointed with chronic IE users, very disappointed indeed.
How do I organize/crop/resize/email my photos?
Picasa. It's wondrous. It'll find and organize the photos on your computer automatically, for a start, and you can add all the captions and labels you want. It has all the editing features you need like red-eye reduction, cropping, resizing, colour balance, and lighting and effects and whatnot. You can burn a photo CD from it. You can email photos from it. You can order prints from various online services directly. Make collages. Make movies. Go get it, for heavens' sakes. You want me to send Biff over?
So here's my advice and I strongly suggest you take it.
What should I use for checking/sending my email?
Mozilla Thunderbird. Not ever Outlook Express. Ever. Why? Because: 18 reasons why Thunderbird is better than Outlook Express, but mainly because Outlook Express has NO spam filter, and is extremely vulnerable to email viruses and phishing. (You know, those fake sites that look a lot like your online bank - just enter your card number and password for verification, okay?) Thunderbird has protections against those sorts of things. And a spam filter. Jeez.
With Thunderbird, it is easy to pull in multiple accounts (even web-based ones like hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc.). It also has a built-in RSS reader - nice! And good spell check... And on and on. Read an overview. Biff will be giving a quiz.
What browser should I use?
Actually no one asks this, but they should. Mozilla Firefox. Don't use Internet Explorer. Listen, I spend 8 to 12 hours each weekday developing web applications for browsers. I know these browsers inside out. It's my job. I'm an expert. Firefox is far and away the better browser. The masses only use IE because it came pre-installed with their computer and they don't know any better. And you know those masses, they're drooling ibiots.
Firefox is faster. It is more secure against spyware, worms and viruses. It protects your privacy better. It has a lot of features to improve your experience that IE does not, such as tabbed browsing and integrated search. It has a large number of extensions available that can add all manner of new features: Adblock is an amazing one which can block ads from appearing on web pages at all. Unless you like ads, of course.
Mr. Hodgkiss gets disappointed with chronic IE users, very disappointed indeed.
How do I organize/crop/resize/email my photos?
Picasa. It's wondrous. It'll find and organize the photos on your computer automatically, for a start, and you can add all the captions and labels you want. It has all the editing features you need like red-eye reduction, cropping, resizing, colour balance, and lighting and effects and whatnot. You can burn a photo CD from it. You can email photos from it. You can order prints from various online services directly. Make collages. Make movies. Go get it, for heavens' sakes. You want me to send Biff over?
AMEN!