September 1, 2025
I've published a few previous tips about keeping your PC organized and performing monthly file maintenance. But sometimes life gets busy and your desktop becomes so cluttered with icons, it seems impossible to clean up.
The good news is you don't have to organize all your files at once. Moving or deleting a few files at a time can go a long way in keeping your desktop clean.
August 1, 2025
August is a great time to declutter your PC before the busy fall season. Deleting large files, including photos and videos, is often the first step people take when they need to free up a lot of disk space. But did you know deleting third-party apps can save a lot of space as well? Some apps are several gigabytes in size, so removing ones you don't need is an effective way to clean up your PC.
July 1, 2025
I travel often, so I'm typically prepared with all the documents, clothing, and gadgets I need. But one item has become increasingly important in recent years — a portable charger.
Few things are worse than being a long way from your hotel and seeing your phone battery drop below 20%. You turn down your screen brightness and stop scrolling through social media because you know if your phone dies, you might die as well. OK, that's a little extreme, but it can feel that way.
June 14, 2025
It was fun while it lasted, but the web we've known for the past 25 years is coming to an end.
The decline of the world wide web began about ten years ago when Google introduced featured snippets — those prominent answers that appear above the search results. While helpful for searchers, they had the opposite effect on webmasters. Since users could often get the information they needed directly from the featured snippet, they didn't click through to the corresponding web page. These "position zero" snippets also pushed down traditional results on the page, meaning fewer clicks to websites.
June 1, 2025Last month, I made a case for using a wired connection instead of a wireless one. But with Wi-Fi speeds rivaling their wired counterparts, a wireless connection could be faster than wired — especially if you have an old Ethernet cable.
Whenever you connect a device via Ethernet, make sure to look at the cable to verify the transfer speed. The Ethernet specification, which is usually printed on it, should be at least "Cat 5e," or better yet, "Cat6" or greater.
May 1, 2025In a world of wireless signals, wired connections (like Ethernet) are often overlooked. But when portability isn't an issue, a wired connection is best.
Wireless transmissions are susceptible to interference from both physical barriers and other signals. An Ethernet cable ensures a consistent connection with minimal signal fluctuations. It's especially helpful for real-time Internet activities, such as video conferencing, gaming, and streaming.
April 1, 2025
If you're having trouble saving files to the cloud today, you're not the only one. Users across the globe are reporting "Cloud Storage Full" errors before reaching their storage quotas. Services like Dropbox, iCloud, and Google Drive still allow people to download data, but uploading files is no longer possible.
The worldwide phenomenon can only mean one thing — the cloud has reached its maximum storage capacity. Computer scientists, who for years told us the cloud provided limitless storage, are miffed at the sudden limitation. Analysts, consultants, and other "experts" are also surprised.
Today is Sep 16, 2025
Can I upgrade my computer's CPU from an i3 to an i5 processor?
