Joomla! site syndication http://www.upstatesc.net 2008-10-07T00:42:02+01:00 http://www.upstatesc.net http://www.upstatesc.net/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2008-09-16T18:40:57+01:00 http://www.upstatesc.net http://www.upstatesc.net/Computer-Tips/Tips-for-Buying-a-New-Computer.html I decided to write these tips because I am tired of seeing these large electronics stores rip people off by selling them extras they don't have any use for. Please take in consideration the following tips before you walk into these electronics stores. 1. You do not need to pay the store's techs to optimize a new computer. A new computer is fine right out of the box. You can just as easily remove any software that comes preloaded that you do not want. If your computer only comes with a trial copy of antivirus software, you can purchase the software of your choice when the free trial ends. It's as simple as loading the cd and answering a few questions. Why pay the stores pricey service department to do these simple things? 2. More than likely you are going to be pressured to buy an extended warranty. If you are buying a laptop and you or a family member is accident prone, then a warranty can be a good idea. The repair costs of screens, keyboards and other components are very costly. Be very careful before you buy the warranty. Ask to see a copy of what is covered. Many warranties do not cover repairs they consider accidental. This means you might be out of luck with your extended warranty covering the repair if: you drop it, spill a drink on it or if the screen cracks. See a copy of the warrany in writing. Do not take the salespersons word for it. Many of the service plans are commission based and some will tell you anything to get you to buy it. 3. Desktop computers are much easier and economical to repair. Keyboards, hard drives, mainboards and memory are more affordable and easier to replace, so typically I don't recommend buying extended warranties for these. It's all a matter of preference. 4. If you don't plan on doing a lot of 3D video games, CAD design, or editing home movies, then you can pretty much buy a lower priced entry level computer. Surfing the web, printing digital photos, sending email and downloading music does not require a top of the line computer. Now that most all computers come with Windows Vista (don't get me started on Vista!) you do need to make sure you get a computer with at least 2 gigs of memory (RAM). Vista is very sluggish when only running on 1 GB of memory. Many computers are now coming with 3 or more gigs of memory. The more the better. 5. If you buy a new computer or laptop and have never had a LCD screen before, be sure to avoid using any household cleaning products around it. Household glass cleaners will ruin an LCD screen by gradually causing a yellow hue on the screen. Look for special cleaning pads or sprays at office supply or electronics stores. If you buy the spray, do not spray it directly on the screen, spray it on soft cloth and then gently wipe the dirty area of the screen. Try to avoid getting fingerprints on the screen and do not clean the screen unless it's absolutely necessary. 6. You can buy a new computer and still use Windows XP! Although stores will tell you otherwise, it's possible to get a new computer and use XP. You will of course need to buy a Windows XP CD and license that will run you about $100. It's getting harder to find XP in retail stores, but there many places online to buy an XP license. If you are not computer savy then you might need help getting XP installed. There could be problems finding the software for your video card, network card or sound card, but from my experiences putting XP on a new computer has been succesful in the end. Don't try this yourself if your not really familar with loading operating systems. text/html 2008-09-11T19:59:12+01:00 http://www.upstatesc.net http://www.upstatesc.net/Featured-Clients/Carolina-Painting-in-Easley-SC.html UpstateSC.net Launches CarolinaPainting.com Thursday, September 11, 2008 Carolina Painting Company, Inc. is an Industrial Maintenance Painting and Coatings Contractor specializing in coating new and existing facilities. We excel facility repaints, shut-downs, floor coatings, secondary containments, and high performance protective coating installations. Visit Carolina Painting at: www.CarolinaPainting.com text/html 2008-07-17T14:11:26+01:00 http://www.upstatesc.net http://www.upstatesc.net/Computer-Tips/File-Shredder.html With File Shredder you can remove files from your hard drive without fear they could be recovered. There are quite a few software tools today for retrieval of deleted files under Windows OS. Those tools, often referred to as file recovery software, are taking advantage of shortcoming of WIndows delete command that we all use regularly to delete files. Actually, the delete operation in Windows only removes bits of information from files so they appear deleted in OS. It is easy to retrieve those files using aforementioned specialized file recovery software. Visit the File Shredder website to download your free copy (http://www.fileshredder.org/). text/html 2008-07-17T13:42:00+01:00 http://www.upstatesc.net http://www.upstatesc.net/Computer-Tips/Free-Sticky-Notes-For-Your-PC.html Stickies for Windows lets you put yellow sticky notes on your Windows desktop, much like the popular Mac OS application. It is very simple, very customizable, and completely free! To download visit the authors website http://www.stickiesforwindows.com/ (http://www.stickiesforwindows.com/) text/html 2008-07-17T13:21:54+01:00 http://www.upstatesc.net http://www.upstatesc.net/Featured-Clients/Speech-Hearing-Learning-Center-Greenville.html Launched July 2008 The Speech, Hearing and Learning Center (SHLC) is a not-for-profit agency, serving children and adults for more than 60 years. We provide speech language, learning psychology, hearing audiology assessment and treatment. All professional services are provided by our staff of university trained, licensed and/or certified professionals. The mission of the Speech, Hearing Learning Center is to help individuals with speech, hearing and learning challenges realize their potential and improve their quality of life. The SHLC has been helping people in our community since 1948. We provide diagnostic and treatment services directly to individuals with speech, language, learning and hearing disorders and challenges. Visit Speech Hearing Learning Center at: www.shlcgreenville.org