PC Help Guide

Mozilla on Monday posted Firefox 3 Beta 1, a developer preview release of the popular open source Web browser. It includes improved Web Page Forgery Protection, clearer SSL Error messages, automatic plug-in checking, and compliance with Windows Vista parental controls.

The open-source and fully customizable browser remains popular, but has recently had to parry heavy criticism from users complaining of Firefox’s bloat, memory leaks and dodgy performance. Firefox 3 beta 1 is noticeably snappier. Page loads are quicker, and Ajax-heavy sites like GMail refresh almost imperceptibly.

“The move from alpha to beta typically means that we’ve hit a point of quality where we believe the browser is useable as a daily browser,” he said. “For us, it’s a step up in terms of getting closer toward the final release.” Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla’s vice president of engineering.

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If you have ever suffered trying to export from Active Directory (as I have many times), then you should try the LDIFDE tool. This is a free command line app that is really simple and makes exporting (or importing) a breeze.

The commands are pretty basic and you can specify exactly what you want to export and then just dump the output to a file. Many of you may find this a good alternative to the ADMT (Active Directory Migration Tool)

Read the LDIFDE article here for more detail and some examples of syntax and parameters.

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I have been asked to explain what a runtime error is, for some reason a large proportion of you guys have been recieving them this week.

In computer science, runtime or run time describes the operation of a computer program, the duration of its execution, from beginning to termination (compare compile time). The term runtime can also refer to a runtime library, a program or library of basic code that is used by a particular compiler or virtual machine to manage a program written in a computer language while it is running.

A runtime environment is a virtual machine state which provides software services for processes or programs while a computer is running. It may pertain to the operating system itself, or the software that runs beneath it.

So, a runtime error is an error generated during the time at which the computer is running a software application and experiences an issue. Runtime errors indicate bugs in the program or problems that the designers had anticipated but could do nothing about. For example, running out of memory will often cause a runtime error.

Click here to find out more on how to fix runtime errors.

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Intel on Monday introduced 16 microprocessors that are expected to deliver significantly more horsepower to businesses that need an across-the-board performance boost for servers and to consumers who play PC games or enjoy editing and playing video.

The desktop and server processors are the first built with Intel’s 45-nanometer manufacturing process, which delivers twice the transistor density of previous chips built on the company’s 65-nm process. The higher density translates into 820 million transistors for Intel quad-core processors.

In addition to the new quad-core chip, Intel is also expected to announce the “Wolfdale” dual-core Xeon 5200 series, which offers higher clock speeds on half as many instruction threads for customers who need maximum thread performance within the same thermals as the quad core chips deliver.

The breakthroughs pave the way for Intel to design suitable products that are 25 percent smaller than previous models, as well as the essential ability to pursue new ultra mobile and consumer electronics “system on chip” opportunities in 2008.

The 12 new quad-core processors boast clock speeds ranging from 2GHz up to 3.20GHz, with front side bus speeds of up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 12MB. The three new dual-core chips feature clock speeds of up to 3.40GHz, a front side bus speed of up to 1600MHz, and cache sizes of 6MB. The 45nm Hi-k Intel Xeon processors are compatible with server platforms using the Intel 5000 chipset family.

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Microsoft Outlook is a very useful tool for all your messaging and email needs, but how do you navigate around it faster with the shortcuts. Emma from the UK emailed me with this exact question, so I looked into and found all the shortcuts you will need while navigating around Outlook.

Here is a list of the Outlook shortcuts;

• Reply to sender: CTRL + R
• Reply to all: Ctrl + Shift + R
• Forward message: CTRL + F
• Send Message: CTRL + Enter or Alt + S
• Launch Advanced Find: F3
• Spell checker: F7
• Jump cursor to Find Contact textbox: F11
• Open address book: CTRL + Shift + B
• Jump to Mail: CTRL + 1 (Press “Control” button and “1″ button simultaneously)
• Jump to Calendar: CTRL + 2
• Jump to Contacts: CTRL + 3
• Jump to Tasks: CTRL + 4
• Jump to Notes: CTRL + 5
• Create a new email message: CTRL + Shift + M
• Create a new appointment item: CTRL + Shift + A or CTRL + Shift + Q

I hope this helps you all out in Outlook, I don’t expect anyone to memorize every shortcut but knowing a few popular ones can really speed things up.

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As part of its three-pronged quest for worldwide Internet domination—via MSN, Live Search, and Windows Live—Microsoft has unleashed a bundled download of its installed desktop Live software: Mail, Photo Gallery, Writer, and OneCare Family Safety. Also included is a slightly redesigned version 8.5 of Messenger, which intimately ties in with the rest of the suite; for example, starting up when you run Mail.

In line with that strategy, this release brings enhancements to popular services such as Windows Live Hotmail, Messenger and Spaces, while introducing new services for sharing digital photos, planning and sharing events, publishing to the Web, and staying in touch with people, Hall said.

“This is the first release that really pays off on that. It pays off with a suite of Windows applications that not only work well with Windows Live but also work with many other popular online services,” he said. “You can have your AOL Mail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail—if you have POP access—all coming in to one client. We are also releasing support for 64-bit Windows this week.”

Not all the products that had been in beta are in full release, however, Hall said. Two services will remain in beta and will be released in final versions at a later date, he said. Those are Windows Live Skydrive, an online file-storage service, and Windows Live Calendar. “They’ll be ready when we feel like the quality and scale is there,” he said.

Microsoft will continue to release new Windows Live services in beta form over the next year as it does quarterly updates to its current round of services. The company will do another major release of services when a new wave is ready, Hall said.

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On Monday, Google announced Android, a new software platform designed to provide open access to mobile phones for application developers. The company also announced the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of 34 companies, including several chip makers, handset manufacturers, and mobile operators that will be working together to develop handsets and services that leverage the new software.

The new platform — jargon for the software that will fuel the phone and its various functions — has the support of handset makers like Motorola and Samsung; mobile service providers like Sprint, NTT Docomo and China Telecom; chip makers like Intel and Texas Instruments; and pure Internet players like ebay and Skype.

Google, which lobbied for open access rules for the 700MHz rules, is planning on bidding on some of the spectrum licenses. Even if it doesn’t win any of these licenses, the new Android software could put Google in a prime position to be one of the main suppliers of software to handset makers that could help them comply with the FCC requirement.

“This is a shot that is going to be heard around the world, but it’s just the first shot in what is going to be a very protracted battle in the next frontier of the mobile web,” said analyst Michael Gartenberg, at Jupiter Research.

The aim is to bring the mobile phone model closer to the open model of the Internet, where the owner of a computer can use whatever applications and content they wish without needing permission from the owners of the Internet data lines.

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I have been asked recently about hard drive errors and the best way people can tell if they are getting one. I recommend that if you really believe you have a disk error that you take it to some IT support so they can diagnose it for you, or if you want to do a quick check at home you should use CHKDSK.

CHKDSK is a command in Windows that lets you check for errors on your hard drives, it will also repair errors. CHKDSK creates and displays a status report for a disk based on the file system, it also lists and corrects errors on the disk. Used without parameters, chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the current drive.

Read the full article here;

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From time to time you will need to remove (or uninstall) programs and software from your operating system. I was surprised when I found out how many people just delete the icon from their desktop and believe that has deleted the program, that just delete’s the shortcut to the program.

To delete the program you must fully uninstall the actual program totally from your PC, some people may have the need to do this to speed up their computer.

Read the full article here;

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