10 Simple Tricks to Speed Up Your Computer

Using these 10 simple tricks, you can bring your sluggish PC back to its former peppy self. These tips are quick and easy to do, most using the help of free software.

Trick 1 - Always run an active virus scanner. 

Whether you choose a free option or a paid subscription, active monitoring prevents many problems before they occur. If something does sneak through, you are already one-step closer to resolving the problem.

Trick 2 - Only install software that you trust and use regularly. 

Many times a slow of a PC is the result of a too many programs running in the background. This is especially true of older PCs, as they tend to collect more and more programs and data as time goes on.

Trick 3 - Regular registry cleaning. 

When you uninstall a program, there are often traces left in the Windows Registry. The Windows Registry is like a map, telling your computer where things are and how to use them. As the registry grows in size, so does the time it takes the computer to use it. Manual registry cleaning is not recommended, however, tools such as PC Tune Up can help safely keep your registry free of errors.

Trick 4 - Reboot your PC regularly. 

With all the installs, uninstalls, updates and changes constantly occurring on your PC, it never hurts to give it a quick reboot. This ensures memory is available and any important system or application updates are applied.

Trick 5 - Cut down on graphical 'flair'. 

Simply setting your Windows theme to classic or basic modes can free up a surprising amount of resources to give that extra zip back to your PC.

Trick 6 - Desktop Widgets. 

These can add up to substantial memory and processor usage. Determine if the convenience of having them constantly on display is worth the loss of performance and remove unnecessary tools.

Trick 7 - Install Google Chrome. 

If you have checked out this latest contender in the Internet Browser wars, take the few minutes to do so. While it may take a minute to figure out the subtle changes from your current browser, it is one the fastest and most responsive browsers available.

Trick 8 - Physically clean your PCs air intakes and exhausts. 

When your computer gets too warm, it has to decrease performance to prevent damage. Avoid vacuums and liquids and they can create electrical issues. A small paintbrush will do the trick just fine.

Trick 9 - Keep your important programs up-to-date. 

Simply find, and enable, the auto-update feature of your favorite programs. These updates are often important fixes or performance boosts.

Trick 10 - Update your graphics card drivers. 

These days Intel, ATI or nVidia make most graphics cards. All three companies have easy-to-use websites that will detect your video card and update your drivers.

Follow these 10 simple tricks, and your computer will always be in its best shape. Some of the extra advices on how to fix windows problems fast, can be found here.

I'm an expert in computer repair and its overall performance. Read more here.

EMC Storage Tricks: 3 Techniques To Reduce Cost

2010 and 2011 were known as the years of the tablets and Smartphones - where the hottest technology trends were those which were dominated by the touch screens. With Apple shinning brighter than any of its counterparts with the iPhone and the iPad, the precedence was set for the rest of the tech companies to follow.

If technology trends are to be kept in sight, then 2011 was also surely the year that the cloud-based services and their potential were recognized.

So with the year almost over, the question that's popping up in everyone's mind is, which technology trends will define 2012?

Here are a few top choices for definitive technology trends for 2012:

1. 'Cloud' is here to stay!

Yes, you read that right. With Apple pushing iCloud out in the mid-October, there is much more yet to come from cloud computing. As more and more IT departments move away from the traditional sharing of resources, over to cloud services we're seeing ever shrinking private data centers which are sure to make their mark on not just technology but businesses at every front.

Moving everything over to the internet for IT companies is also an easier choice as it gives them much more freedom to move around their data between multiple centers. Industry analysts predict that in the next couple of years, businesses are likely to 'rent' their servers rather than maintaining their own. Thereby making sure that this is one trend that's here to stay.

2. Internet Television

Google did dabble into the internet TV market in early 2010, but just like Google Wave (and very recently Google+, which got rave reviews but eventually failed to make its' mark) it flopped. Though in all honesty, the reviews for Google TV weren't all that great but coupled with poor service and lack of interest from the public made Google table the deal for a bit.

However, 2012 might just prove to be the year of Internet TV. With Sony's Internet HD TV, Logitech's Revue and Apple's foray into Apple TV, Internet TV is certainly poised to make a comeback as one of the biggest technology trends for 2012.

3. Better, faster and cheaper Smartphones

As more and more inexpensive, faster and 'good lookin'' devices are coming into the market, the competition is getting tougher for Smartphones. One thing is for certain though; Smartphones define the future of technology.

The iPhones and the Androids have the market pretty much cornered but it's an open field for their competitors who are out there making cheap Smartphones that cater to every need. Mark our words, this is the future and is probably going to remain one of the hottest trends for year 2012!

4. A Hybrid between a Laptop, Smartphone, Tablet and a PC

With more and more users opting for smart phones and tablets like the iPad and the iPhone the market is ripe for hybrids, thus making it one of the most eagerly awaited technologies for the coming year.

The PC market has taken a hit with its' sales down in the year so far, but all is not wrong as the tech companies acknowledged that the consumer is looking for a cross over device that comprises all of the technologies that are part of their daily lives.

With Apple's iPad providing some sort of cross over gadget between the above, Google has its' Chromebook in the works whereas HP has its Omni PCs to thank and improve in the coming months. We're waiting to see what magic the tech companies have in store for the next year!

Ali Farka is a technology consultant, a writer and a geek who blogs about the latest technology trends at http://www.carbonated.tv

Easy H264 - A Free Video Encoder That Works!

I've spoke to many people about video encoding, usually them asking me the best and easiest way to encode a video and get the file size down to a considerably lower size. Now there are many paid solutions out there that, for the most part, work well or well enough that the program gets done what you want it to get done. But instead of paying for a piece of software that compresses your video, wouldn't it be great if there was a free program that worked just as well or better that was free.

Well 'Easy H264' is a video encoder for Windows, yes only for Windows unfortunately, that encodes your video and reduces the file size dramatically and works extremely well. I recently encoded a video for a friend and his video was an uncompressed AVI at 9.5GB file size. We ran Easy H264 to encode this video and the file size on output was 23MB, something which shocked me even though I had used it before. And when we played this video back, for the average person watching this compressed video, it was virtually impossible to tell a difference.

Easy H264 is definitely 'easy' to use as well as stated in the name. All you do is select the video file you are aiming to encode, name and save an output file, then select your compression type. There are about 6 options and you can encode different types of video straight from the piece of software including uncompressed AVI, Windows Media Video and MP4 Video so Easy H264 is an extremely flexible program. This ease of use also means that it's appealing to the consumer market, those who want a quick and easy to way to reduce file sizes of their videos. It's also appealing to the pro-sumer market that has a little choice over how to encode the video but still reduces all the stress that often comes with encoding video.

And something that I mentioned at the start of this post is that it would be great for software to be free and still work as well as paid software. Well, Easy H264 is available as a free download and once the compressed folder has been downloaded and extracted just open the application and start encoding your videos with Easy H264 because it's a portable application, yes, no installation required so this piece of software is something where you don't need the privileges to install like in a school or workplace, it just works.

Jake Parkin - http://jparkinweb.wordpress.com Hire me to market your company online in the best way possible, by creating content, designing you a website and creating a whole eco-system that works for your customers.