Computer Thoughts

Recycle your old equipment in a way that is safe for you and the environment

6/15/2015

We all have old computers, tablets and cell phones lying about. All of these have components that shouldn't end in the landfill. We can help. We recycle all electronics except the old CRT (interpret bulky) monitors. Another thing you can do is donate your equipment to Goodwill or other charitable organization.

Before you do either you need to decide if there is or was any information that you didn't want others to see. If you do you may want to have us security erase the drive. Just deleting the files isn't enough. An experienced computer user can recover any information that was recently deleted. We can run a special program that uses government standards to make sure none of your data is recoverable.

Trying to get rid of a phone or tablet? These are a lot more secure. Just factory reset them and they are good to go.

A printer is another item that needs some caution. If you just have a small household printer it is perfectly safe to recycle. If you have a larger office computer it is possible that it has a hard drive, that needs to be erased, or someone could get copies of everything you have printed. If you aren't sure you can check on the manufacturer's web site.

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Make your computer super fast

6/8/2015

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There is a relatively new kind of hard drive called an SSD that could significantly speed up your computer. The hard drive is where your computer stores all of the programs and information you have. It is also one of the slowest things on your computer.

On the traditional hard drive there are a bunch of spinning disks with an arm that moves across to read the information. Think of an old fashioned record player only spinning at 7200 RPM, or faster. When you turn on the computer, or start using the machine, this drive has to spin up to full speed before anything can happen. Then the arm has to move across the disks to find the information you want.

The new, SSD (Solid State Drive) is just like a large thumb drive but it goes inside the machine. There are no moving parts which makes this MUCH faster, lighter, cooler operating, and uses less electricity. Another advantage is that, because there are no moving parts, it really can't be damaged by dropping the computer. (However, remember that anything will. eventually fail and you should have a backup of your data)

How fast? One example is my computer: Understand that I have a lot of programs that start with Windows (over 30). When I had a standard hard drive it took my machine almost 15-minutes from shut down to start up. My new drive takes less than 1 minute.

If you are interested let me know and we can discuss what it would cost and if it would be a good move for you.

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Windows 10 is here!

6/1/2015

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If you have Windows 7 or 8 you may have already noticed the Windows 10 update available. This will come as a notice by your clock. This is legitimate! Microsoft is offering everyone with Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 a free upgrade IF you accept it within a year. Unfortunately there is no upgrade option for Vista or XP but Windows 10 can be purchased and then installed. If you are interested in getting help with this upgrade or if you have an older computer system and want to know about getting Windows 10 just give us a call.

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Computer Solutions

Recycle your old equipment in a way that is safe for you and the environment

Make your computer super fast

Windows 10 is here!

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