April 2012 archive

End of the Line for Firefox 3.6

If you’re still all the way back on Firefox 3.6 (while the latest version is now Firefox 12) you might want to read about how will be affected next month. In a nutshell, Firefox 3.6 is pretty long in the tooth (over two years old which is a while in the web browser industry considering …

Continue reading

Obtain Great Windows 7 Desktop Backgrounds Everyday

While we probably don’t sit around gazing at our desktop background everyday it’s nice to be able to be surprised by something that looks spectacular. Bing has become noted for having a new image everyday on its landing page and, while there has been the ability to get two new wallpapers a week via RSSĀ from …

Continue reading

Troubleshooting Your Foxtel IQ2

This evening, it appears that our Foxtel IQ2 cable box died after exhibiting some strange behaviour in the form of: inability to time shift live television (the show on screen would pause but could not be unpaused), recorded content would not playback, restarting or resetting the unit would eventually result in the box going back …

Continue reading

Microsoft Security Essentials Levels Up

Just a quick note for those Windows users out there using Microsoft Security Essentials. The latest version has recently been released and hopefully Windows Update has notified/nagged you to upgrade it to Version 4.0.1526.0. It still retains the same simple interface that many people have come to appreciate and will remain quiet until it finds …

Continue reading

Check Your Java For Explotability

A quick tip tonight for people with Java installed on their computers. Generally, there are three principles regarding the safe usage of computer software: If you weren’t looking for it then don’t install it on your device, If you do need the software then always keep it up to date, If you no longer need …

Continue reading

Slow or Infinitely Long Shutdowns on Mac OS X

Just thought I’d share a potential solution for a problem that I faced today. The copy of Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro had never been activated and given that I hadn’t used it in ages I thought I’d wipe it and replace the Windows installations on the laptop with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. …

Continue reading

Reclaim Your Missing SkyDrive Space

Like the old saying, what one hand giveth the other taketh away. Today, Microsoft upgraded its SkyDrive service with some improved functionality including the ability to access it as a drive in Windows Explorer or on your Mac but in doing so it is downsizing the generous 25GB of storage to 7GB. It’s a bit …

Continue reading

Skip Back and Forward Multiple Pages in Safari for iPad

A quick tip for the iPad users out there. Perhaps one of those hidden features that can save you some time is the ability to skip back and forth multiple pages in your browsing history for each tab. All you need to do to this is hold your finger down on either the back or …

Continue reading

Will Existing Windows Phone 7 Devices Be Stranded?

If Microsoft is good at any one thing at the moment, it’s muddying the waters and casting doubt on the fate of existing devices and potential upgrades. I’m talking about nothing other than the uncertainty surrounding existing Windows Phone 7 devices and their ability to receive an upgrade to Windows Phone 8 (which will be …

Continue reading

A Simple Way to Improve Audio Quality

Here’s a quick tip for this evening. It is fairly common these days for us to plug in our smartphones, tablets and portable music players into our car audio systems, home entertainment systems or other standalone speakers to enjoy some music or listen to podcasts. However, in order to ensure that you are preserving audio …

Continue reading