Tag: software

Silent Updates – Only Half of the Solution

Just a very quick tip. A while back I wrote about the auto update capabilities of three major browsers but there is one very important thing to remember despite the convenience of having automatic updates applied to software including browsers and operating systems. In order for your software to make use of the update automatically …

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Beware of Software Changing Your Browser Settings

Messenger Plus Installation

Just a quick one for tonight. Sometimes when we install software we might just keep clicking on the “Next” button to get the installation over and done with as quickly as possible. However, it often pays to check if software will change other settings on your computer which you might not want to happen. Take …

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Minimum Hardware Requirements <> Good User Experience

Here’s a quick tip for tonight. For as long as I can remember, software has come with two sets of hardware specifications on the box (or in a blurb of text somewhere for downloaded software) one being the recommended hardware specifications and the other being the minimum hardware specifications. These two sets of specifications are …

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Don’t Need It? Don’t Install It!

These days with gigabytes of RAM and terabytes of hard drive space inside our computers it can be all too easy to give in and install anything and everything without much regard for the impact upon the performance of your system. Furthermore, it is still fairly common to receive new laptops and desktop machines full …

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Whilst Upgrades Are Convenient Clean Installs Are Better

A quick one for this evening before I fly out to Hong Kong tomorrow morning. For many years, there have been the concept of “upgrade versions” of software (i.e. a mechanism to move up a version usually with the prerequisite of a prior, eligible version) and “full versions” of software (which has no such prerequisite). …

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Download Device Drivers, Don’t Use the Disc

At some point, most of us will go out and buy a new peripheral for our computers most of which may require drivers or additional software to enable enhanced functionality. Of course, the device manufacturer will usually be generous enough to include both drivers and software on a disc in the box for you. What …

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Here’s a Laptop, Kid but No Support for You!

Yesterday at work, I bumped into a colleague of mine, Zhivan, while I was deciding what I was going to have for lunch. We got talking about my blog and he thought that the Rudd Government’s roll out of laptops for high school students was a topic worthwhile to cover. I thought so too, so …

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