Northwest Tech and Design

A local computer repair and website design company

Deciding on a new computer? (Part 1)

Deciding on a new computer is difficult. Factor in all the new technology that literally advances every 6 months and this task becomes very daunting. It doesn’t have to be so difficult and having a little more knowledge on the topic can help you choose the best computer, but also save you some money! Most computers have a life span of about 4-5 years before consumers replace them.

It’s a common conversation I have with many of my clients and customers: “Which operating system should I get?”, “Laptop or desktop?”, “How much memory do I need?”, “Do I need a big hard drive?” or “What brands are good? ” In this series, I’ll help you make an informed decision so that when you are ready to buy a new computer, you’ll know exactly what you want and the only question you’ll ask is “Is that price negotiable?”

Memory

1GB DDR3 Memory ModuleEveryone is

Welcome IE9 and Firefox 4

New browsers are releasing this month. Are you running an old version or are you a brave one still using the beta? Either way, make sure you update to the latest Release Client version of your browser of choice.

Microsoft IE9

Microsoft has decided to release it’s latest browser: IE9. A little behind the times, Microsoft finally has a shot to win back some of it’s users that migrated to Firefox or Chrome. This will be a tough pitch to sell, as IE9 is not compatible with Windows XP. This means that roughly 55% of the world’s computers will not be upgrading to the new browser. IE9 will be more compliant to web standards and offer many HTML5 features not seen in IE7 or IE8. There”s is also a change in the user interface to be more “user-friendly”.

IE9 brags of several new features, which can be a great benefit for the everyday home user:

  • All around fast — means your online flash videos will play in a more streamlined fashion. Installing and loading are much quicker
  • One box — means your address bar is now a search bar. New pages open in a new tab rather than a new window.
  • SmartScreen Filter — means it will scan links from webmail / mail and the net and compare those links to a database of known dangerous sites. This is a great security benefit for home users
  • Focused on your websites — means there is no jumble of icons at the top of your browser. It is streamlined to deliver your content with littler interference.

Download IE9

Mozilla Firefox 4.0

feuerfuchs5trShort on the heels of Microsoft’s release in the launch of Firefox 4 next week. In the new release, Firefox has a dramatic overhaul with the user interface and it will follow web standards much more. They have a full series of new and improved features on their site: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/.

Download Firefox 4

Both of these browsers take on the new look that Google Chrome has been using for the past couple of years. And utilizing the address bar as a search field. All I have to say is It’s about time!. As Charles Caleb Colton once said, “Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.” And we’re seeing that now with the browser wars.

Currently NWTD recommends Google Chrome as your primary browser. Not only is it faster than most other browsers, it’s also more secure. No matter what browser you use, do yourself a huge favor and upgrade to the latest version. Not only will you be more secure from the nasty malware on the internet, but your browsing speed will increase.

Download Google Chrome

How to setup Thunderbird as your email client

Thunderbird is by far, the most dynamic mail client that is free and open source. There are a variety of add-ons, that expand the capabilities further than any of the other mail clients.

What is it?

Mozilla, the folks that brought us FireFox, are the crafty designers of this functional tool we know and love today as Thunderbird.