Hardware vs. Software
Which came first, hardware or software? This is a rather difficult question, seeing as how hardware doesn’t do much of anything without having software installed on it, and software can’t do what it is programmed to do without the hardware to host it. So, what exactly is the difference between hardware and software, and why are their functions so different?
Hardware
Hardware is defined as a device with the task of storing and running installed software. The hardware is the physical piece of machinery, such as the hard-drive, mouse and keyboard, video and graphics cards. These devices serve as the host system for the software. Hardware is changed far less often than software.
The reason it is called “hardware” is because the physical device in not readily created, modified or erased on the… Continue reading...
Free Antivirus Protection versus a Paid Subscription
In the time of rapidly advancing technology, it is more necessary than ever to protect your computer. Criminals have risen to the challenge and can use this technology to steal your information. Install software that searches for the criminal element and eliminates it from ever being a problem.
There is another dilemma: With so many antivirus products on the market, which one do you choose? There is no right and wrong answers here but some people are concerned about the difference between the free programs offered and the ones that you have to pay a yearly subscription for.
Let’s backtrack a bit and talk about viruses. Unlike the ones that humans deal with, the computer variety can be found and eliminated before they cause trouble. Computer viruses get into your hard drive… Continue reading...
How to Retrieve Information in Excel 2007 With a Custom List
A good way to retrieve information in Excel 2007 is with a custom list. There are already lists in Excel. If you type Jan into a cell and pull the copy handle, the rest of the months will fill in. You can create your own custom lists, and make whatever you want fill in. Oh, and hey… if you’re in the market for some Denver IT Support, we’d love to help you!
Let’s say you do parts ordering for your company. Instead of looking up vendor numbers, you want the vendor number to appear next to your part number.
Open a new worksheet in Excel 2007. You want the custom list to be out of the way; click in a cell that’s far to the right, say T1. Before you type anything… Continue reading...
How Presence Technology Reduces Email Overload and Message Tag
What is Presence?
Presence is a type of software technology that allows business communication systems to show levels of availability for a person or communication device. Presence is designed to enhance the possibility of getting the person you are trying to contact on the first try, and is facilitated by unified communications systems that use underlying Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. This is part of a technology platform where your computer data network is integrated with phone and communication systems, providing information on callers and recipients to find the most desirable way to connect the two.
Availability IT
Presence is essentially a sophisticated availability board. However, instead of simply saying someone is in or out of the office, presence coordinates their communication devices and software applications to let you know how to… Continue reading...
Three Must-have Features for Backup Software
The right backup software caters to a business’ disaster recovery plan. A disaster recovery plan is used to quickly restore data and servers when hardware fails on the network. Part of an efficient disaster recovery plan is backup software that stores, secures and archives documents to external media such as tape, DVDs and network hard drives. However, not all backup software has the features necessary for large networks. These three features ensure your disaster recovery plan can handle quick recovery and storage requirements.
Verification Mode
One of the worst positions for a network administrator is being in charge of data restoration when the backups are corrupted. A good backup application has a checksum process that verifies the backups are copied without errors. A checksum is an error-checking process that checks the bits… Continue reading...
Sneak Peek at Microsoft Office 2010
What’s new and different about Office 2010?
Here are just a few features to get excited about at-a-glance.
Many are new … some are improved … All are WAY COOL!
Co-Authoring
Breakthrough technology that connects team members on a single project. Allows multiple people to update and share a notebook simultaneously. Each person on the team can see who is working on the document online and start a conversation with that person in real time. And edits are highlighted, so you can see what’s been changed.
Conversation View
Get control of your e-mail. Improves the tracking and managing of related e-mails while saving valuable inbox space, letting you manage large amounts of e-mail with ease. It also hides entire conversations you don’t care about and condenses them with just a few clicks.
Broadcast Slide Show
Instantly… Continue reading...
MS Outlook Calendar Tips: Dealing with missing invitations
No longer just for sending and receiving emails, MS Outlook has evolved into a powerful program, capable of organizing your emails as well as your contacts, appointments, and To-Do lists. MS Outlook also allows you to sync information across multiple handheld devices like Blackberrys and other smartphones, so you are always up to date.
However, with increasing functions come increasing complexities. The Outlook calendar, in particular, is often known to mysteriously lose appointments. These problems typically arise when multiple actions are taken on the same invitation, whether it is because both you and your assistant have replied to an invitation, or because you have responded to the invite via multiple devices. Moving or deleting invitations can also cause your appointments to go missing. Following these seven simple tips will allow you… Continue reading...
Remedies for Windows Shutdown Errors
One of the most common issues that PC owners have with their computers and Windows is the inability to shut down the system or an extended shutdown time. Sometimes the computer with reboot itself instead, or it will cycle through the shutdown procedure for what seems like an eternity. This can be an indication of a serious problem and should be dealt with as soon as possible.
Can’t Say Goodbye
Waiting for your computer to quit already and shut off can be an aggravating waste of time. But the computer isn’t being difficult just to increase your blood pressure-most likely there is an issue with the registry, which is the quantity of programs and files that make up the operating system and installed software. Especially with Windows XP and sometimes with… Continue reading...
