RAM is short for “Random Access Memory”, and is possibly one of the most important parts of your computer.

When purchasing a computer, people can easily get lured in by the size of a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), but you can never over estimate the importance of how much RAM the system has. While HDDs stores the files and programs, RAM is the memory that handles everything on your computer that is currently being used. So, the more RAM you have, the more programs you can have open at any given time, or the smoother they will run.

Windows Vista greatly increased the amount of RAM that the operating system requires to run, and the minimum suggested requirement for smoothly running it is 2 GigaBytes (GB). Whenever a program tells you the minimum amount, they are being serious that really is the minimum amount you should work with, so if Windows Vista is saying you need 2 GBs, you should try for at least 3 – 4 GBs installed in the system so your programs will run smoothly.

Another thing to consider in your RAM calculations is what type of graphics card the system has.  If there is no information about the amount of dedicated video RAM, then you have to assume your graphics will be using space inside of the primary RAM.  This also can sometimes be listed as “shared memory” meaning that the video system and the main computing will be sharing the same memory.

As much as a higher number on the processing speed is nice, if you don’t have the RAM to go with it, it won’t matter how fast it says the processor is.  Always try to budget as much as possible for your RAM memory.

We have talked before about how to do various tasks in Firefox, but why should you use this alternate browser?

All Windows-based computers ship with Internet Explorer (IE) installed, and according to numerous web site statistics, most people choose to stick with that since it is the easiest solution for people to begin browsing the web immediately.  However, due to the high market penetration, and lackluster security features, IE is a popular target with hackers, heightening the possibility you will get infected with something by using it.

While there are other alternatives out there, Firefox is the most popular choice due to its open-source nature.  For those unfamiliar with the idea of open-source, it is a system by which anyone is allowed to download the source code for a program and work on it.  Due to the very nature of open-source, if a security problem does happen, they are fairly fast to react and release an updated version to take care of the problem.

One of the best things about Firefox is the extensions and toolbars you can add to it to customize it even more to your use.  This is another benefit to open-source projects is that it makes it easier for people to make extensions, add-ons and plugins for the program, extending it’s usefulness by just that much more.

This isn’t to say everything is wonderful in the world of Firefox.  While the extensions are great, the more you add, the slower your system will go.  It also has a problem with “memory leakage” in that the longer you have it turned on, the more of your computers resources it takes up.  They are working on the leakage problem, but you need to monitor yourself on how much you install extension-wise.

Even with its faults, everyone at StarterTech is a firm believer in Firefox, and we highly recommend it.

Solid-State Drives (SSD) are probably going to be the wave of the future in computing, but it’s not quite time for them yet.

For many years, computers have stored all of their data on magnetic drives known as Hard Disk Drives (HDD).  While these do a fine job, they have numerous problems with the fact they are made of magnetic platters that spin constantly, and do not do well when jostled due to the fact all data is written and read by a fragile metal arm.

SSDs will bring us a lot of advantages in the form of faster start times, less heat generation, less noise due to no spinning parts, lighter weight and more.  On the flip side, though, they can have problems with magnetic fields, have a limited number of write sessions and slower write speeds.

Even with its detracting factors, SSDs are improving all the time, and they will increase the lifespan of laptop computers and portable devices by quite a bit.  The biggest hold back from wide adoption right now is the cost is still running around $10 per gigabyte of store as opposed to HDDs being around $.20 per gigabyte.  Magnetic storage used to cost a similar price, and SSDs will eventually come down in price, it just won’t be for a while.

While the price may keep you away for now, expect these to show up in your computers more and more over the next few years.

While people are still sorting out whether to even switch to Vista, Microsoft is working full speed on the Windows 7 operating system. Unfortunately what little has leaked out on the operating system doesn’t look much more promising for the common user than Vista did.

Incomparability with existing peripherals, a demand for higher end hardware and a learning curve that is too much for most common users, Vista has been a rather large disaster for Microsoft. At a recent demonstration, Microsoft showed off a video of what the new interface will look like, and beyond still appearing a lot like Vista, they have come up with a whole new user interface that will radically change how everyone interacts with their computer.

One has to wonder how they plan to make this work with existing computer monitors and laptops, or are we all expected to buy all new equipment to work with this?  What about finer graphics work like you do with Adobe Photoshop?

We are still some ways off from this system, and perhaps things will change, but the work that Microsoft is doing with Windows as of late seems to be getting more complicated and uglier by the minute, and may be the best advertising to ever happen for Apple’s Mac computers.

Normally we don’t editorialize here at StarterTech, but it would seem it is going to become impossible to ignore just how badly things are going with the Windows OS, and considering their market share, it is difficult to ignore.

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs are those squiggly light bulbs people keep discussing, but the question is do they actually do anything to help you?

While the initial cost of these bulbs seems higher than your standard bulbs, you almost have to look at them as a long term investment.  As opposed to incandescent bulbs lasting only a few months, CFLs can last for several years without being changed.

Due to the configuration of these bulbs, they can provide the same amount of light as your traditional incandescent light bulbs, but at a fraction of the power consumption.  A 13 watt CFL is capable of producing the equivalent of a 60 watt standard bulb.  For instance, in my family room I have a ceiling fan unit with five bulb sockets, so where it used to take me 300 watts of lighting, it now takes only 65 watts for the same amount of light.

There is a higher initial investment, but within the next few years in the United States, it will be law that you must change to there bulbs.  The only drawback to them is that they due contain mercury vapor, which is poisonous, and there are special cleaning instructions you need to follow if you should happen to break one, so do be careful with them.  Even with this potential hazard, I am slowly changing all the light bulbs in my life over to these, and I have seen savings in the number of times I have to change bulbs, and in the amount I am spending on my electrical bill.  They are well worth the little bit of extra effort.

I have to make a hotel reservation in a hurry. I usually plan things out weeks ahead but this trip requires a night out that I didn’t plan. To top it off my destination is for a town that I have stayed in before but not for many years. I have no idea what is available there so where do I start?

Generally if I know where I am going and I have been there recently I start with the web page of my favorite hotel chain. When I have some questions though, I start with Yahoo! in the travel area. Just enter the name of the city at the prompts and there you are. Typically you will find listings for each hotel in that town/area and you will be able to view costs and reviews on the same pages. I must admit I hardly ever make reservations through the avenues provided there as I want to make sure I am getting the very best price. So, after my initial searchings I go to the web site of my chosen hotel and ask for all of my discounts like AAA or AARP and do a final search on that site.

I know what you are saying—what about Hotels.com or Travelocity? Well, I would love to but I travel with a 7’ by 14’ cargo trailer and those sites never give parking info. I can’t pull up at a hotel in the dark and no place to park my rig. So I don’t use them and I even call the hotel I choose from my favorite websites if I have never stayed there before just to check on the parking lot!! Hysterical, huh? No, hysteria is driving into a parking lot and not being able to park or get out!! I do not like surprises!!

So you may ask what does this have to do with Starter Tech? Well, it is pretty simple—it is all about taking the frustration out of using the web. In this case the web is my dear friend as I really hate calling a hotel reservation service and having them ask me ad infinitum if they can make a plane reservation or order me a car. All I want is place to lay my weary head and park my rig—simple, simple, simple. The web allows me to do just that—KISS—keep it simple stupid. I love it!! Try it, embrace it—you will love it too!

Asking for even more emails in your life may seem odd, but sometimes they can be extremely useful.

Why do I picture Heartgard with a post about emails? Well, this is the sort of emails I’m talking about in that sometimes company emails can be the type that remind you of something that you need to do.  I have three cocker spaniels, and with as busy as I am, I must admit that I forget some of the little things in life like giving them their heartworm medicine.  So, once a month I get an email from the company to remind me that I need to give it to them.

There are numerous types of businesses that will do this, such as credit cards, electrical bills and so on, but then you run the problem of getting an overflowing inbox that is impossible to control.  So, solution number two is to set up an email account just for those types of mails.  True, you have to remember to log into that account to check it, but I just make it part of my daily regimen to check it, and that way those emails are separated from my normal correspondence, letting me retain what little of my sanity is left.

Sure, it’s always better to remember stuff for yourself, but in this day and age, let some of the little things be handled for you.

With spring upon us in the United States, it’s time for thunderstorms and black outs. Computers aren’t built to just shut down, and they certainly aren’t built to take the power surges that come along with them, so what can you do to protect them?

The absolute best thing you can do is unplug any computer during a thunderstorm, but if you must leave them running, then you may want to look into some form of electrical back-up unit.  These units will give you a limited amount of power running off of rechargeable batteries so that you have time to save whatever you are working on, and can shut down your computer you in the proper manner.

These units vary wildly in the amount of time they offer, how many of the plug-ins actually are connected to the battery, and how many of them are protected by surge protection.  This is one purchase you should definitely do your research and read up on what exactly each unit will do for you, and not just be lured in by price.  Also keep in mind that these batteries are very specialized and will need to be replaced about every three years to keep them fresh.  And one last caveat about these in that they can be very, very heavy.  The longer amount of time they will give you power for, the more they will weigh.

Once you have decided on a unit, you will need to figure out what is going to be plugged into the battery sustained outlets.  If a desktop, remember that besides your computer tower, you will also need to plug in your monitor so you can see what you are doing while you shut down.  If you are doing a lot of online work, while they will usually auto-save your work for you, you will need more outlets that run off battery to keep your modem, router and possibly a switch up and running.  For each of those items you are plugged into, you will need them running off battery to stay online.  My recommendation is always just worry about properly shutting down the computer, and ignore anything online.

Again, the best policy is always to unplug during a storm, but for those non-storm blackouts that happen, you can’t go wrong with having a back-up power source running.

When we discussed routers, we mentioned how more and more items are connecting to the Internet via Ethernet cables. Well, now comes the question of what do you do when you run out of Ethernet ports on your router.

There is a secondary item you can buy known as a “switch”. Again, like routers, this is a marketing term, but it is how the items will be labeled when you go to buy one. What you will do with one of these is you will run an Ethernet cable from one the ports on your router to the “uplink” port on the switch. Yes, you will lose one port there, but you will considering switches have anywhere from 4 to dozens of of ports, you are gaining. For home use, you will typically buy a switch with either 4 or 8 ports.

This gives you a lot of options as you can either increase the number of ports near your router, or you can run one long cable to another part of your house, attach it to a switch, and then you Ethernet ports in that room. In my house, my router is on the main floor of my house, but I have run cable to the upstairs and the basement, added switches there, and I now have Ethernet ports on every floor of the house in the rooms where I use computers the most.

They aren’t the fanciest pieces of hardware in the world, but they serve a distinct purpose in this exceedingly connected world.

Technically, you can use a cable modem to a switch, and the switch to your computers, eliminating the router, but I don’t recommend this. While switches are cheaper ($19.99 for a four port), they do not have the built-in security software of a router.  I always recommend placing a router between your cable modem and any other hardware in your house; it may not be perfect security, but at least it is another layer.

I told you earlier I am in the market for new office equipment. I need to find a new fax machine and a new copier. A back up scanner and printer would also be nice but they can wait or may not even be in the immediate picture. Now to get started, I have to decide how basic or fancy I want to go.

I am not really a bells and whistles kind of girl—I really just want stuff to do what it says it will do. I want reliable service and the least amount of repair calls I can muster. My present fax machine is an HP (Hewlett-Packard) and it has given my office 10+ years of spectacular service. It has just been in the past few weeks that trouble has started. I have checked on the basic repair avenues and right now it seems counter productive and just downright wasteful to spend money on a ten year old piece of equipment when I can’t get a definitive gaurantee that I will have even 1 more year of service for my repair money. For me that is not an option so I am in the market!! This fax machine was huge—it took up a lot of space but it did just two things—fax and copy. No bells and no whistles other than plain paper usage which ten years a go was a bell and whistle. So what do I want now?

The same two functions are available on several machines from several manufacturers. I am starting my research with HP—in my office it has been king. I even have a 12+ year old laser printer (must have for shipping labels) that has not had trouble one! So the logical place for me to start is with HP—but where? Well, there are several places to go to shop, read reviews and place an order without ever leaving my desk—remember I live in a very small town. But also remember that you may do your research on line and then take your facts with you when you visit an actual facility so you will have all of your ammunition at hand when you are ready to buy.

I am going to search for a HP fax machine that faxes and copies and perhaps scans and prints at Amazon.com, Buy.com, and Staples.com—all offer reviews, discounts and free shipping for the most part. I am not committing to anything with any one of them, no salesman will follow me and if I have a question I am going to ask my son to explain things to me. If you are on this journey with me—no matter what you are looking for please let me remind you that we are here to help answer your questions—bells, whistles or plain old doughnuts—we are here to help.