... And This Site
This is a place where I share Tech info with folks... it is geared towards the budding DIY PC crowd.
I mostly help folks who are new to Computers and the Internet... and I occasionally get paid for it too.
This site is mostly very basic stuff... mostly related to the MS Windows OS (Operating System)... and mostly very specific to one particular task, or another. I do make a lot of "Concept" statements, but many instructional sections here focus on very simple, basic tasks.
I occasionally fool with Macs too.
I have an avid interest in the Linux OS, so this site is starting to go more in that direction... especially with the Death of Win-XP behind us now.
If you need Computer Help...
Your best bet is to use the Help Documentation for whatever process, program, software, gadget, etc., that you are using (i.e. RTFM!)... or to search for answers on sites like Google. With searches the trick is to learn what keywords to use (so "yes", terminology is a stumbling block). With a little practice however, this can usually become relatively easy to do.
I really enjoy doing this sort of stuff... but since it is very time consuming, I usually just fire-off what I need at the time and leave it at that. Where you can get tripped up here, as a beginner user, is changes in the version of the Operating System (OS). Step by step instructions can vary slightly from one version of an OS to another. Yes, this can be frustrating, but that is the way it is.
If you are patient, and a bit clever, it is usually pretty easy to adapt process instructions from one version to another, and they don't usually change all that much from one generation to the next, and some things never change (believe it or not). Another option is to look up what you want to do (if you can) for your particular OS and version. Again... Web searches are great for this.
If nothing else, the information on this site should at least introduce you to the Terminology, which will make it easier for you to search-out your own answers.
One of my favorite 'puter sayings is:
"I can't remember a life before Google, but fortunately I can Google it."
Anyway... I hope this site helps... that is why I created it.
Something About My Background
I will never claim to be an "expert"...
Definition:
expert (ek'spûrt) n. - "x" is an unknown factor, "spurt" is a drip under pressure.
I've always been fairly geeky. Like most boys, as a kid I was always taking stuff apart "to see how it worked" (much to the detriment of my parents). I did one hitch in the US Navy out of high-school (peacetime vet). Then I worked as a carpenter in the 80's.... ("Jesus was a carpenter. I wonder how much he'd have charged to do bookshelves?")
Around 1990 I came in contact with my first IBM Clone PC while attending "Tech School". (I have an AAS in Electronics, and a BAS in Manufacturing / Automation.) I was quickly hooked. By 1994 I was regularly exploring the "Web", and learning other stuff about the Internet.
Among some of the books I've read, I stumbled upon the notion of "Information Wants To Be Free", which I more-or-less support, and is somewhat the basis for this web-site. I need to make a living too though, so sometimes I actually get paid for this stuff.
Being an "engineering type" (and mostly a "finish carpenter"), I'm a bit of a stickler for detail. I was not content to just know about how to do it now, I wanted to know some of the background too. Trust me, History is important. So I've ended up with quite a bit of general knowledge about Personal Computers, and the Internet.
Less than one year after I got my 1st PC I started tearing into it and upgrading it. I soon realized that with just a few more parts, I could build a 2nd PC, so I did. Since then I've built and upgraded a few dozen machines. I've long ago lost track of all the peripherals and accessories that I've fooled with.
I don't have a lot of programming skill, but I've futzed around with that too. I've mostly created my own code by "reverse engineering" someone else's, or using other various tricks to get what I wanted done. It can be fun stuff.
I probably built my first web around 1995, using "GeoCities", which was then managed by Yahoo! Google Sites has blown them away. For a while I was hosting my own sites, so I got to know that process OK enough.
Now I fix PC's... but I'm mostly into Education. And here you are!
I reckon that is enough for now...
As always... Be Well... and Have Fun!
Conrad
:-)