Broadband speed test

One of the most important features of any broadband plan is the speed of the Internet connection. Why pay the extra money for a broadband plan if your provider doesn’t deliver the advertised broadband speeds? Test the speed of your current broadband connection by running a broadband speed test and find a new broadband plan if you’re not happy.
Click here for the test…

Why Windows 7?

Here are 5 reasons why.

At first glance, Windows 7 may seem to be nothing more than some polish applied liberally to the Vista Aero theme, but make no mistake, this is a full replacement operating system, and much more than just an upgraded Vista. From driver support to multitouch groundwork for the future, from better battery management to the most user-friendly interface Microsoft has ever had, Windows 7 is proving to be a real winner.

If you run Windows XP and have not yet installed SP3 there are now no patches supporting that operating system. It will still work, but will become more unstable and less secure as time goes on. Downloading SP3 will suffice to continue running a supported platform, but here are five reasons to consider making the switch to Windows 7.
1. Hardware support – Windows XP is archaic, and is designed to run on outdated hardware. As new technologies are introduced, it’s unlikely that Windows XP will be compatible or able to take advantage of them. Windows 7 provides support for multitouch displays, and also has greatly improved memory and power management features.
2. Improved drivers installation – Windows 7 has a superior system for automatically detecting and installing drivers. Windows XP has this capability to some degree, but more often than not the search for drivers yields nothing and requests that you insert a driver disk from the vendor. Install a new piece of hardware in Windows 7, and it will automatically be added along with the correct driver without any additional user interaction.
3. Security – Windows XP lacks many of the crucial security controls that have been introduced in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows 7 operating system is frequently unaffected (or only minimally), by vulnerabilities occurring, whereas the Windows XP system will be completely owned by the attacker.
4. Performance – one of the complaints against each new generation of Windows is that it seems to get slower and more bloated with each iteration. Windows 7 certainly adds new features, some of which may be frivolous or unnecessary, but it manages to boot faster and run snappier than its predecessor, Windows Vista.
5. XP Mode Virtualization – Windows 7 runs a full Windows XP SP3 system in a virtual PC. It enables you to continue using hardware and software that are not compatible with Windows. And, XP Mode virtualization is fast. The caveat for this feature, though, is that it is only available on Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate, not Home.
That’s 5 good reasons to make the move to Windows 7. One of the only downfalls I can find so far is that Windows 7 does not run some older hardware and software. Surprisingly though, it does run MS Office 2003 as well as a web design program Revati uses – she was told by the vendor this would NOT run on Windows 7 but it’s happily doing what it’s supposed to do.

If you’d like information or assistance with Windows 7, please visit or call us at Lotus Computers in Mittagong, NSW.

Use a master folder

In your ‘C’ directory (C:Drive) it’s a good idea to make a master folder (MF) with your name (for example John Master Folder) and then file everything in that folder accordingly. You may have as many sub folders as you like – use it like a filing system.
For example –

In the MF there is a Documents folder and in that there are two folders entitled Letters and Flyers; there is also a Pics folder in MF and it contains folders with Family and Holiday pics.

It’s important to do this because if you ever require data recovery, it is easy to find and all data is in one place. All can be stored here including downloads from the Internet, data files and folders such as documents, photos or anything else you want to save.

To find your ‘C’ directory, click on Computer (My Computer in XP) and you will see the Local Disk (C:) icon, this is your C: directory.
Make a shortcut of this folder on your desktop so you can have easy access, you can even make shortcuts of folders that are within the master folder if you use them regularly. To make a shortcut of any file or folder, right click and select Send To Desktop (create shortcut). The shortcut will have an arrow on the icon so you can easily see that it’s not the original. You can delete shortcuts and the original or source file or folder stays intact.

Sony Vaio notebook recall

If you have a SONY VAIO notebook, we urge you to read the article about recall. Please click to get the full story.