Feb 09

When buying a new PC, should you spend the extra cash to upgrade your RAM?  Here’s a rule-of-thumb for how much memory you need to run Windows Vista:

Windows Vista RAM

  • 2 GB is minimum
  • 3 GB if you can afford it
  • 4 GB is mostly wasted (on 32-bit Vista)

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Jul 20

I was having lunch recently with a colleague when he asked, “Are you still messing around with that .NET stuff?” I could tell by the tone of his voice that he—like many computer users—still viewed .NET with suspicion.

And perhaps with good reason. Purposefully kept separate from the Windows operating system, the 22MB Microsoft .NET Framework is an hour download on dialup and four minutes on broadband. For .NET developers, this extra step adds one more hurdle for a potential customer to overcome when purchasing our software.

So in this article I attempt to demystify .NET, encourage you to download the latest version of the .NET Framework so you can run the latest and greatest .NET software, and help convince Microsoft that it needs to ensure every PC user has the newest .NET.

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Jun 14

Have you ever tried to find your Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) cookies or temporary files on disk using Windows Explorer?  Chances are Explorer is configured to hide system files, which is how Microsoft has designated the folder that contains its IE7 files.

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Jun 13

Many applications store data in the “My Documents” folder.  Unfortunately, by default this folder is buried at “C:Documents and SettingsUserNameMy Documents”.

A smarter approach is to separate your programs and data.  For example, I store the operating system and programs on my C: drive and all data on my D: drive. 

But simply moving your data is not enough–you need to tell applications and the operating system where to find it.

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May 23

Upgrading to Windows Vista takes time, money and patience.  And after much sweat and a few tears, it was all for naught, and I ultimately retreated back to Windows XP.

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