How to Work From Home: 10 Real-world Tips

I am writing this sentence on my couch. As an improvised "desk," I've grabbed one of my kids' piano books to shield me from the increasing warmth of my laptop. It's 9:47 a.m. on a Thursday, the oldest two kids are at school, my wife and youngest son just left to pick apples, and I have a window of four hours to work on this article before I take over toddler duty for the afternoon. If you want to know what working from home really looks like, this is it.<br> <br> According to a 2012 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24 percent of American workers worked at least some hours from home each week [source: Noonan]. As more work can be done online, those work-from-home numbers are expected to explode.<br> <br> On the surface, working from home sounds like a dream come true. No boss breathing down your neck (literally, with coffee breath). No depressing vending machine lunch at your desk. No impromptu conference room meetings to talk about "innovation" and "teamwork."<br> <br> But the reality is far more complicated. Do you have kids? Can they sit quietly doing puzzles for hours on end? Does the giant flat-screen TV a few feet to your left pose an irresistible threat to your productivity? Does that awesome snack selection pose an irresistible threat to your body mass index?<br> <br> If you can strike the right work-life balance, working can home can indeed be a dream come true. To help you plan for the real life challenges, we've assembled a list of 10 real-world tips for avoiding distractions, reassuring the boss and maximizing productivity.<br> <br> Get Dressed<br> Every job has a uniform. Doctors have their white coats; business executives have their power suits; and freelance writers have their sweatpants (only sort of kidding). Uniforms serve two purposes: (1) they communicate to the outside world a person's position, stature and function, and (2) they reinforce those same messages to the person wearing the uniform. When a doctor puts on her whites, she puts on the mantle of the knowledgeable and capable healer. Without it, she's just some lady gagging you with a Popsicle stick.<br> <br> When you work from home, resist the urge to remain in your pajamas. True, no one but the UPS guy is likely to see you in your polar bear-themed sleepwear, but it's hard to take yourself seriously as a worker when you look unemployed. Dressing in your normal work uniform — even if that uniform is a T-shirt and jeans — reinforces the idea that you are actually working. If wearing a tie or pencil skirt really gets your juices flowing, go for it. Just don't expect the cat to be impressed.<br> <br> Keep a Schedule<br> Many of us are more productive when we are working within a prescribed framework. That's why it's so important to set and keep a schedule when working from home. If your job requires a lot of interaction with the folks back at the office, you should try your best to align your schedule with the normal nine-to-five. If your work is largely independent, you have the freedom to work earlier or later than the regular work day, or split your day into several shifts.<br> <br> If you have a spouse and kids, it's even more important to set a firm work schedule. Every week, sit down with your spouse to chart upcoming doctor's appointments and soccer practices, and to assess each other's workload. Devise a schedule that shares parental duties while giving each person enough time to realistically get their work done.<br> <br> Print out the weekly schedule and tape it to your office door. By Tuesday, your toddler will have ripped it down and drawn a 20-legged elephant on it, but a schedule's a schedule. Stick to it.<br> <br> Post a Sign<br> This is a critical tip for parents trying to work from home. Whether you are working in an official-looking home office or a milk crate desk in the corner of your bedroom, make sure that there is a door between you and your treasured distractions (er, children). If your kids are older, this door is a great place to post your daily work schedule along with a number they can dial to reach customer service, i.e., your spouse's cell phone.<br> <br> If you have younger children, you need to post a sign that can be easily interpreted by a toddler to mean, "I love you, but please go bother daddy." Try a large "X" or a color-coded system like a construction-paper stoplight — green means "go on in," yellow means "enter only if you are bleeding/vomiting," and red means "there is a monster behind this door."<br> <br> Check in With the Team<br> One of the greatest risks of working from home is the false assumption by everyone at the office that you're actually "shirking" from home [source: Bloom]. To make this arrangement work, you need to come up with effective ways to assure your boss and teammates that you are hard at work even when you're not at work.<br> <br> If you use a corporate e-mail and IM account, use it to broadcast your work status. Send a quick "good morning" IM to teammates when you are at your desk, and let folks know if you're going to be away from e-mail and for how long [source: Wilcox]. If your company uses Gmail or another Web-based e-mail app, you can update your status (available, busy, away from desk) without having to send instant messages or e-mails.<br> <br> Another risk of working from home is "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. If your boss and teammates only see your face once a month, they might forget how much you contribute to the success of the company. One solution is to become a videoconferencing whiz. With free video calling services like Skype, Google Hangout and Apple's FaceTime, you can check in with the team "in person." All they have to do is place a laptop, smartphone or tablet on the conference table during the weekly meeting, and you are present and accounted for.<br> <br> Change of Venue<br> No joke, I have moved from the couch and am now writing from a folding chair in the garage while my toddler peddles his plastic car around the driveway. While this particular change of venue was imposed rather than chosen freely, you'll find that moving your work space is an effective way to kick-start creativity and refresh your energy levels when working from home.<br> <br> Even if you have a dedicated home office, you might try working from the kitchen table or outside on the back porch to restart the workday. Some people find it helpful to leave the house entirely for part of the day and set up "office" in a coffee shop, library or other venue with reliable WiFi access. If you crave the productivity-lifting background noise of a buzzing cafe, but don't want to spend $5 on a cup of tea, try the free audio stream from <a href="http://cofficity.com" target="_blank">cofficity.com</a>.<br> <br> Use Household Chores as Mini Breaks<br> Let's be honest, when you are stuck on a frustrating work problem, bored with an assignment or procrastinating a deadline, just about anything qualifies as a distraction. This is where working from home can get downright dangerous. With a project deadline looming, you might feel it's the perfect time to reorganize your vacation photos from the past 10 years. Instead of finishing a financial report, you might decide to iron all of your daughter's doll clothes.<br> <br> The smarter tactic is to recognize the human need for a quick break and pair it with a household chore that can be finished in 10 minutes or less. Before you sit down to work for the day, make a list of a few quick chores that need to get done: two loads of laundry, washing and chopping vegetables for dinner, dusting and vacuuming the basement, etc. When you need to stand up and get your blood moving, check off a chore from the list then get back to work.<br> <br> Devise a Snack Resistance Plan<br> Snacking in the office is its own minefield — unhealthy vending machine options, a microwave that smells like tuna-flavored popcorn — but snacking at home is even worse. Your kitchen, with all of its delectable choices, is just a few steps away. Working from home, there is a constant temptation to wander there every time you're bored, anxious or frustrated with an assignment, which is pretty much all the time. To avoid putting on 20 pounds (9 kilograms) in two weeks, you need a snack resistance plan.<br> <br> If you have excellent self-control, confine your eating to scheduled meals. For example, lunch is every day at 12:30 and dinner is at 7. Aside from caffeine breaks, vow to avoid the kitchen outside of those prescribed meal times.<br> <br> But if you're like the rest of us, working without snacking is like working without breathing. In that case, the best game plan is to stock your shelves with lots of healthy snacks. Fresh fruit, carrots, celery, unsalted nuts and dried fruit are all great options. Personally, I go through a lot of sugar-free gum; some would say too much gum (my dentist, mostly), but it's better than the bag of Nestle Toll House dark chocolate chips that's calling to me from the freezer.<br> <br> Go European<br> This is a good tip for folks trying to work from home with school-age kids. Instead of working a straight daytime schedule of 9 to 5, divide the workday into two sections, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., then from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. We call this the "Spanish method." In Spain, the traditional work schedule includes a midday siesta in which families return home at 2 p.m. for a long lunch and even a short nap before returning to work at 5 p.m. and continuing late into the evening.<br> <br> Although siesta culture is fading in southern Europe, it's a useful schedule for parents trying to juggle working from home with taking care of school-age kids. With this schedule, you can be with the kids for a few hours when they get home from school, make dinner, eat together, then go back to the office for a few more hours in the evening. If both parents work from home, you'll want to swap duties every night so that one parent can help get the kids to bed while the other works.<br> <br> Get Social<br> Working from home poses different challenges to different personality types. As a card-carrying introvert, I could go months without communicating with coworkers beyond e-mail and IM. But if you are a social butterfly, you might find that you miss the face-to-face feedback and water cooler conversation of office life. To avoid feeling isolated and stifled, you need to devise strategies to get your social fix away from the office.<br> <br> The technological reality is that you can continue to communicate with the standard office tools — e-mail, IM, phone and videoconferencing — from home. But if you really miss the personal interaction, try to schedule a lunch or two a week with a work colleague or another work-from-home friend.<br> <br> There are also organizations in most major cities that offer shared office space for rent. It's called co-working and you buy a membership on a monthly or weekly basis. Co-working "spaces" (they're always called "spaces") market themselves as collaborative cafes for independent workers who don't like the isolation of working from home. At the very least, co-working is a good option if you need access to fax machines, copiers and other equipment you may not have at home. Even a coffee machine.<br> <br> Have a Backup Plan<br> In my decade of working from home, I've learned the hard way that technology has feelings, too. My cable Internet modem, for example, is very sensitive to heightened anxiety levels in my home. When I have a particularly tight deadline for an article, or am about to conduct a very important interview on my Internet-powered phone, the modem senses my panic and responds the only way it knows how: It crashes.<br> <br> Just a few months ago, I found myself knocking on my neighbors' door at 10:30 p.m. to hijack their Internet connection so I could upload and e-mail an important file. They seemed less than thrilled to see me.<br> <br> If you are going to work from home, you need a "plan B." There are any number of mini-crises that can erupt at home and threaten to derail the workday: loss of power/Internet service, unscheduled playdates, or a neighbor chopping down a tree a few feet from your office window.<br> <br> So, you need an alternative workspace. It should be someplace close to your home with a reliable Internet connection where you can work in peace. It can be a friend's apartment, a library or even the backseat of your car parked within WiFi range of a coffee shop (useful for after-hours emergencies).<br>

How to Work From Home: 10 Real-world Tips

I am writing this sentence on my couch. As an improvised "desk," I've grabbed one of my kids' piano books to shield me fro...

Read more »

How to Work From Home: 10 Real-world Tips

I am writing this sentence on my couch. As an improvised "desk," I've grabbed one of my kids' piano books to shield me from the increasing warmth of my laptop. It's 9:47 a.m. on a Thursday, the oldest two kids are at school, my wife and youngest son just left to pick apples, and I have a window of four hours to work on this article before I take over toddler duty for the afternoon. If you want to know what working from home really looks like, this is it.<br> <br> According to a 2012 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24 percent of American workers worked at least some hours from home each week [source: Noonan]. As more work can be done online, those work-from-home numbers are expected to explode.<br> <br> On the surface, working from home sounds like a dream come true. No boss breathing down your neck (literally, with coffee breath). No depressing vending machine lunch at your desk. No impromptu conference room meetings to talk about "innovation" and "teamwork."<br> <br> But the reality is far more complicated. Do you have kids? Can they sit quietly doing puzzles for hours on end? Does the giant flat-screen TV a few feet to your left pose an irresistible threat to your productivity? Does that awesome snack selection pose an irresistible threat to your body mass index?<br> <br> If you can strike the right work-life balance, working can home can indeed be a dream come true. To help you plan for the real life challenges, we've assembled a list of 10 real-world tips for avoiding distractions, reassuring the boss and maximizing productivity.<br> <br> Get Dressed<br> Every job has a uniform. Doctors have their white coats; business executives have their power suits; and freelance writers have their sweatpants (only sort of kidding). Uniforms serve two purposes: (1) they communicate to the outside world a person's position, stature and function, and (2) they reinforce those same messages to the person wearing the uniform. When a doctor puts on her whites, she puts on the mantle of the knowledgeable and capable healer. Without it, she's just some lady gagging you with a Popsicle stick.<br> <br> When you work from home, resist the urge to remain in your pajamas. True, no one but the UPS guy is likely to see you in your polar bear-themed sleepwear, but it's hard to take yourself seriously as a worker when you look unemployed. Dressing in your normal work uniform — even if that uniform is a T-shirt and jeans — reinforces the idea that you are actually working. If wearing a tie or pencil skirt really gets your juices flowing, go for it. Just don't expect the cat to be impressed.<br> <br> Keep a Schedule<br> Many of us are more productive when we are working within a prescribed framework. That's why it's so important to set and keep a schedule when working from home. If your job requires a lot of interaction with the folks back at the office, you should try your best to align your schedule with the normal nine-to-five. If your work is largely independent, you have the freedom to work earlier or later than the regular work day, or split your day into several shifts.<br> <br> If you have a spouse and kids, it's even more important to set a firm work schedule. Every week, sit down with your spouse to chart upcoming doctor's appointments and soccer practices, and to assess each other's workload. Devise a schedule that shares parental duties while giving each person enough time to realistically get their work done.<br> <br> Print out the weekly schedule and tape it to your office door. By Tuesday, your toddler will have ripped it down and drawn a 20-legged elephant on it, but a schedule's a schedule. Stick to it.<br> <br> Post a Sign<br> This is a critical tip for parents trying to work from home. Whether you are working in an official-looking home office or a milk crate desk in the corner of your bedroom, make sure that there is a door between you and your treasured distractions (er, children). If your kids are older, this door is a great place to post your daily work schedule along with a number they can dial to reach customer service, i.e., your spouse's cell phone.<br> <br> If you have younger children, you need to post a sign that can be easily interpreted by a toddler to mean, "I love you, but please go bother daddy." Try a large "X" or a color-coded system like a construction-paper stoplight — green means "go on in," yellow means "enter only if you are bleeding/vomiting," and red means "there is a monster behind this door."<br> <br> Check in With the Team<br> One of the greatest risks of working from home is the false assumption by everyone at the office that you're actually "shirking" from home [source: Bloom]. To make this arrangement work, you need to come up with effective ways to assure your boss and teammates that you are hard at work even when you're not at work.<br> <br> If you use a corporate e-mail and IM account, use it to broadcast your work status. Send a quick "good morning" IM to teammates when you are at your desk, and let folks know if you're going to be away from e-mail and for how long [source: Wilcox]. If your company uses Gmail or another Web-based e-mail app, you can update your status (available, busy, away from desk) without having to send instant messages or e-mails.<br> <br> Another risk of working from home is "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. If your boss and teammates only see your face once a month, they might forget how much you contribute to the success of the company. One solution is to become a videoconferencing whiz. With free video calling services like Skype, Google Hangout and Apple's FaceTime, you can check in with the team "in person." All they have to do is place a laptop, smartphone or tablet on the conference table during the weekly meeting, and you are present and accounted for.<br> <br> Change of Venue<br> No joke, I have moved from the couch and am now writing from a folding chair in the garage while my toddler peddles his plastic car around the driveway. While this particular change of venue was imposed rather than chosen freely, you'll find that moving your work space is an effective way to kick-start creativity and refresh your energy levels when working from home.<br> <br> Even if you have a dedicated home office, you might try working from the kitchen table or outside on the back porch to restart the workday. Some people find it helpful to leave the house entirely for part of the day and set up "office" in a coffee shop, library or other venue with reliable WiFi access. If you crave the productivity-lifting background noise of a buzzing cafe, but don't want to spend $5 on a cup of tea, try the free audio stream from <a href="http://cofficity.com" target="_blank">cofficity.com</a>.<br> <br> Use Household Chores as Mini Breaks<br> Let's be honest, when you are stuck on a frustrating work problem, bored with an assignment or procrastinating a deadline, just about anything qualifies as a distraction. This is where working from home can get downright dangerous. With a project deadline looming, you might feel it's the perfect time to reorganize your vacation photos from the past 10 years. Instead of finishing a financial report, you might decide to iron all of your daughter's doll clothes.<br> <br> The smarter tactic is to recognize the human need for a quick break and pair it with a household chore that can be finished in 10 minutes or less. Before you sit down to work for the day, make a list of a few quick chores that need to get done: two loads of laundry, washing and chopping vegetables for dinner, dusting and vacuuming the basement, etc. When you need to stand up and get your blood moving, check off a chore from the list then get back to work.<br> <br> Devise a Snack Resistance Plan<br> Snacking in the office is its own minefield — unhealthy vending machine options, a microwave that smells like tuna-flavored popcorn — but snacking at home is even worse. Your kitchen, with all of its delectable choices, is just a few steps away. Working from home, there is a constant temptation to wander there every time you're bored, anxious or frustrated with an assignment, which is pretty much all the time. To avoid putting on 20 pounds (9 kilograms) in two weeks, you need a snack resistance plan.<br> <br> If you have excellent self-control, confine your eating to scheduled meals. For example, lunch is every day at 12:30 and dinner is at 7. Aside from caffeine breaks, vow to avoid the kitchen outside of those prescribed meal times.<br> <br> But if you're like the rest of us, working without snacking is like working without breathing. In that case, the best game plan is to stock your shelves with lots of healthy snacks. Fresh fruit, carrots, celery, unsalted nuts and dried fruit are all great options. Personally, I go through a lot of sugar-free gum; some would say too much gum (my dentist, mostly), but it's better than the bag of Nestle Toll House dark chocolate chips that's calling to me from the freezer.<br> <br> Go European<br> This is a good tip for folks trying to work from home with school-age kids. Instead of working a straight daytime schedule of 9 to 5, divide the workday into two sections, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., then from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. We call this the "Spanish method." In Spain, the traditional work schedule includes a midday siesta in which families return home at 2 p.m. for a long lunch and even a short nap before returning to work at 5 p.m. and continuing late into the evening.<br> <br> Although siesta culture is fading in southern Europe, it's a useful schedule for parents trying to juggle working from home with taking care of school-age kids. With this schedule, you can be with the kids for a few hours when they get home from school, make dinner, eat together, then go back to the office for a few more hours in the evening. If both parents work from home, you'll want to swap duties every night so that one parent can help get the kids to bed while the other works.<br> <br> Get Social<br> Working from home poses different challenges to different personality types. As a card-carrying introvert, I could go months without communicating with coworkers beyond e-mail and IM. But if you are a social butterfly, you might find that you miss the face-to-face feedback and water cooler conversation of office life. To avoid feeling isolated and stifled, you need to devise strategies to get your social fix away from the office.<br> <br> The technological reality is that you can continue to communicate with the standard office tools — e-mail, IM, phone and videoconferencing — from home. But if you really miss the personal interaction, try to schedule a lunch or two a week with a work colleague or another work-from-home friend.<br> <br> There are also organizations in most major cities that offer shared office space for rent. It's called co-working and you buy a membership on a monthly or weekly basis. Co-working "spaces" (they're always called "spaces") market themselves as collaborative cafes for independent workers who don't like the isolation of working from home. At the very least, co-working is a good option if you need access to fax machines, copiers and other equipment you may not have at home. Even a coffee machine.<br> <br> Have a Backup Plan<br> In my decade of working from home, I've learned the hard way that technology has feelings, too. My cable Internet modem, for example, is very sensitive to heightened anxiety levels in my home. When I have a particularly tight deadline for an article, or am about to conduct a very important interview on my Internet-powered phone, the modem senses my panic and responds the only way it knows how: It crashes.<br> <br> Just a few months ago, I found myself knocking on my neighbors' door at 10:30 p.m. to hijack their Internet connection so I could upload and e-mail an important file. They seemed less than thrilled to see me.<br> <br> If you are going to work from home, you need a "plan B." There are any number of mini-crises that can erupt at home and threaten to derail the workday: loss of power/Internet service, unscheduled playdates, or a neighbor chopping down a tree a few feet from your office window.<br> <br> So, you need an alternative workspace. It should be someplace close to your home with a reliable Internet connection where you can work in peace. It can be a friend's apartment, a library or even the backseat of your car parked within WiFi range of a coffee shop (useful for after-hours emergencies).<br>

How to Work From Home: 10 Real-world Tips

I am writing this sentence on my couch. As an improvised "desk," I've grabbed one of my kids' piano books to shield me fro...

Read more »

In Windows, what is Safe Mode used for and why?

While Windows is a versatile and powerful operating system, there are<br /><br>times that it can be frustrating. This frustration is particularly<br /><br>evident when you install a new software application or add drivers for<br /><br>some new hardware. Suddenly, the computer crashes or locks up. You<br /><br>reboot the computer and it loads a strange looking Windows desktop<br /><br>with the words Safe Mode in the four corners. What is this?<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode is a special way for Windows to load when there is a<br /><br>system-critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of<br /><br>Windows. The purpose of Safe Mode is to allow you to troubleshoot<br /><br>Windows and try to determine what is causing it to not function<br /><br>correctly. Once you have corrected the problem, then you can reboot<br /><br>and Windows will load normally.<br /><br><br /><br>There are several things that happen when Windows boots in Safe Mode that differ<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode does not run the autoexec.bat or config.sys files.<br /><br><br /><br>Most device drivers are not loaded. A device driver is the software<br /><br>that Windows uses to interact with a piece of hardware, such as a<br /><br>printer or scanner.<br /><br><br /><br>Instead of the normal graphics device driver, Safe Mode uses standard<br /><br>VGA graphics mode. This mode is supported by all Windows-compatible<br /><br>video cards.<br /><br><br /><br>Himem.sys, which is normally loaded as part of the config.sys script,<br /><br>is loaded with the /testmem:on switch. This switch tells the computer<br /><br>to test the extended memory<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode checks the msdos.sys file for information on where to find<br /><br>the rest of the Windows files. If it finds the files, it proceeds to<br /><br>load Windows in Safe Mode with the command win /d:m. If it does not<br /><br>find the Windows files, it will run <a href="http://command.com">command.com</a> to<br /><br><br /><br>Windows boots using a batch file called system.cb instead of the<br /><br>standard system.ini file. This file loads the Virtual Device Drivers<br /><br>(VxDs) that Windows uses to communicate with the standard parts of the<br /><br>computer.<br /><br><br /><br>Windows now loads the regular system.ini file plus win.ini and<br /><br>Registry settings. It skips the [Boot] (except for the shell and<br /><br>device lines) and [386Enh] sections of system.ini and does not load or<br /><br>run any programs listed in win.ini.<br /><br><br /><br>The Windows desktop loads up in 16 colors and at a resolution of 640 x<br /><br>480 with the<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode starts up automatically if Windows does not boot on the<br /><br>previous attempt. You can also invoke Safe Mode by pressing F5 or by<br /><br>pressing F8 and selecting it from<br /><br><br /><br>So what should you do if your computer boots to Safe Mode? First, try<br /><br>to determine what has changed on your system that could have caused<br /><br>Windows to fail to boot properly. If you have added any kind of<br /><br>hardware, go to the Control Panel and remove it and uninstall the<br /><br>software driver for that device. Then attempt a reboot. If Windows<br /><br>boots properly, you can be reasonably certain that there was some type<br /><br>of conflict with<br /><br><br /><br>Use this same method if you have loaded a new game or application<br /><br>sometime recently. Go to the Control Panel, click on Add/Remove<br /><br>Programs and remove the software. Try a reboot and hopefully you will<br /><br>get a normal Windows boot.<br /><br><br /><br>If the problem is definitely not new hardware or software, then you<br /><br>most likely have a corrupted Registry. In this case, you will quite<br /><br>likely have to perform a new installation<br /><br><br /><br>See the next page to learn more about safe mode and operating systems.

In Windows, what is Safe Mode used for and why?

While Windows is a versatile and powerful operating system, there are times that it can be frustrating. This frustration is particularly evi...

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In Windows, what is Safe Mode used for and why?

While Windows is a versatile and powerful operating system, there are<br /><br>times that it can be frustrating. This frustration is particularly<br /><br>evident when you install a new software application or add drivers for<br /><br>some new hardware. Suddenly, the computer crashes or locks up. You<br /><br>reboot the computer and it loads a strange looking Windows desktop<br /><br>with the words Safe Mode in the four corners. What is this?<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode is a special way for Windows to load when there is a<br /><br>system-critical problem that interferes with the normal operation of<br /><br>Windows. The purpose of Safe Mode is to allow you to troubleshoot<br /><br>Windows and try to determine what is causing it to not function<br /><br>correctly. Once you have corrected the problem, then you can reboot<br /><br>and Windows will load normally.<br /><br><br /><br>There are several things that happen when Windows boots in Safe Mode that differ<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode does not run the autoexec.bat or config.sys files.<br /><br><br /><br>Most device drivers are not loaded. A device driver is the software<br /><br>that Windows uses to interact with a piece of hardware, such as a<br /><br>printer or scanner.<br /><br><br /><br>Instead of the normal graphics device driver, Safe Mode uses standard<br /><br>VGA graphics mode. This mode is supported by all Windows-compatible<br /><br>video cards.<br /><br><br /><br>Himem.sys, which is normally loaded as part of the config.sys script,<br /><br>is loaded with the /testmem:on switch. This switch tells the computer<br /><br>to test the extended memory<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode checks the msdos.sys file for information on where to find<br /><br>the rest of the Windows files. If it finds the files, it proceeds to<br /><br>load Windows in Safe Mode with the command win /d:m. If it does not<br /><br>find the Windows files, it will run <a href="http://command.com">command.com</a> to<br /><br><br /><br>Windows boots using a batch file called system.cb instead of the<br /><br>standard system.ini file. This file loads the Virtual Device Drivers<br /><br>(VxDs) that Windows uses to communicate with the standard parts of the<br /><br>computer.<br /><br><br /><br>Windows now loads the regular system.ini file plus win.ini and<br /><br>Registry settings. It skips the [Boot] (except for the shell and<br /><br>device lines) and [386Enh] sections of system.ini and does not load or<br /><br>run any programs listed in win.ini.<br /><br><br /><br>The Windows desktop loads up in 16 colors and at a resolution of 640 x<br /><br>480 with the<br /><br><br /><br>Safe Mode starts up automatically if Windows does not boot on the<br /><br>previous attempt. You can also invoke Safe Mode by pressing F5 or by<br /><br>pressing F8 and selecting it from<br /><br><br /><br>So what should you do if your computer boots to Safe Mode? First, try<br /><br>to determine what has changed on your system that could have caused<br /><br>Windows to fail to boot properly. If you have added any kind of<br /><br>hardware, go to the Control Panel and remove it and uninstall the<br /><br>software driver for that device. Then attempt a reboot. If Windows<br /><br>boots properly, you can be reasonably certain that there was some type<br /><br>of conflict with<br /><br><br /><br>Use this same method if you have loaded a new game or application<br /><br>sometime recently. Go to the Control Panel, click on Add/Remove<br /><br>Programs and remove the software. Try a reboot and hopefully you will<br /><br>get a normal Windows boot.<br /><br><br /><br>If the problem is definitely not new hardware or software, then you<br /><br>most likely have a corrupted Registry. In this case, you will quite<br /><br>likely have to perform a new installation<br /><br><br /><br>See the next page to learn more about safe mode and operating systems.

In Windows, what is Safe Mode used for and why?

While Windows is a versatile and powerful operating system, there are times that it can be frustrating. This frustration is particularly evi...

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5 Factors That Affect Cloud-based Data Upload and Retrieval

If you want to start a document on your laptop and revise it on your phone, you can. If you'd like to listen to your music library from either your tablet or your work computer, you can do that, too. Gone are the days of being tethered to a single device. The reason for this: the cloud.<br> <br>Simply put, cloud computing involves storing data and applications on remote servers and accessing them via the Internet rather than saving or installing them on your personal computer. You can use the cloud to house text files, photos, videos, music and the like, either as primary storage or backup storage, often for free or for a nominal price.<br> <br>But the cloud isn't just about storage. In this age of Web mail, social networking, online bill paying, automatic phone backups, multiplayer online gaming and video streaming, a lot of us are already performing a variety of personal and business activities in the cloud, whether we realize it or not.<br> <br>Many businesses are using the cloud to handle some or all of their information technology needs as a more inexpensive, efficient and flexible alternative to purchasing, running and maintaining in-house computing equipment and software.<br> <br>But the cloud is not without its pitfalls. Here are five factors that can affect, and sometimes impede, your ability to access your data.<br><br><br>Category of Cloud Computing<br>There are several types of cloud service, and which one you are using can affect how and how much you can interact with your data. Three common categories are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).<br> <br>With SaaS, you are simply accessing software over the Internet that is offered and maintained entirely by the cloud provider. The type of software can include e-mail, content management systems, productivity software and business applications. SaaS requires the least amount of setup on the end-user's part, but also provides the least amount of control and flexibility as far as system functionality, and what can be uploaded or downloaded from the cloud.<br> <br>With PaaS, the cloud host provides a hardware and software platform on which you can develop, install and run applications, Web sites or other services. You don't have direct access to the backend servers, but you have more control over what you can do on them.<br> <br>With IaaS, the cloud host provides computing resources including physical or virtual servers, storage space and networking capabilities over which you have a lot of control. You are basically renting access to a portion of a data center's network and servers, and you can install and upload anything you want to them. You don't have the responsibility of maintaining or upgrading equipment, but do have to configure the servers and set up any software you might need. An IaaS service can be a public, private or hybrid cloud. Public clouds are shared by a number of users who select and access service over the Internet; private clouds allow users to have dedicated servers on a private network; hybrid clouds involve a little of both.<br> <br>The types are not always mutually exclusive, as an SaaS provider might house their software on PaaS or IaaS cloud services, and a PaaS host might use the services of an IaaS provider. This potential nesting means that problems of a provider you don't even know you're using can cause issues with getting to your data or services.<br> <br>And which type of service your company is using may determine things like who you contact when you have a problem -- someone in your own IT department versus a third party. It also impacts things like security, which, as you will see next, can affect your ability to work with your data.<br> <br><br>Security<br>Security isn't just about protecting your identity and financial information, although those are important. It is also key to preserving the integrity of and access to your data and applications in the cloud. Things like firewalls, encryption, backups, isolation of resources, the strength of authorization at user interfaces and screening of employees and other customers can determine who can get to your resources, how they can do so and what they can do with them.<br> <br>There are many disruptive things that a malicious intruder can do. A denial of service attack, which involves bombarding a system to the point where it is inaccessible for normal usage, can render your cloud services temporarily unavailable. A hijacked account could lead to your data or business transactions being redirected for ill purposes, or loss of access to your own services. A compromised system could allow a virtual machine housing your applications and information to be migrated to a malicious server, leading to exposure of information and possible loss of data. Malicious software (malware) can infect the system and disrupt operations, or even compromise your home or work computer if it spreads.Even if an attack doesn't cause you to lose data or access, any security breach will likely lower your comfort level with storing or retrieving information from the cloud.<br> <br>Unfortunately, there are no entirely unbreachable systems. Anything accessible via the Internet is vulnerable. But the tougher a cloud provider's security and the better its ability to detect and recover from breaches, the less likely you'll be to lose access, data or peace of mind.<br> <br>And security is not all up to the cloud host. Personal lapses, such as succumbing to a phishing scam (where you are tricked into giving away login credentials) or downloading malware from another source can have consequences for your cloud access as well. Vigilance is required on all sides.<br> <br><br>Bandwidth and Other Budgeting<br>The cloud can give you access to hardware, software and infrastructure that would be prohibitively expensive for a person or company to purchase outright. But what you are able to do with it depends upon how much you are willing to pay for the privilege.<br> <br>While there are lots of free cloud options for individual users -- quite useful for things like e-mail and document and photo storage -- most of them start to charge you monthly or annual fees when you want to store more than a few gigabytes' worth of data. You could easily hit your limit right in the middle of transferring the 100 or so pictures you took of your children, pets and meals this week. Of course, the error message saying you have run out of space is likely to be accompanied by instructions on how you can purchase more.<br> <br>Cloud services geared toward businesses offer a lot more space and capability, with various types and levels of service. Companies can pay for things like per-gigabyte storage or database space, rental for dedicated servers (physical, virtual or both) with varying amounts of memory and storage on an hourly or monthly basis, hosted software applications on a per-user basis, network bandwidth usage, additional IP addresses and IT management services. The ability to ramp up service quickly and pay only for what you use or think you will use are big advantages. However, if you underestimate your needs and don't opt for enough space or enough servers, you could run into issues while working with your data. Hitting a storage wall is a lot worse when you are uploading time-sensitive customer data than when you are saving your dog photos.<br> <br>Still, if you're willing to pay for it, you can always add more. And some cloud setups will scale automatically as your usage changes. (Although this might result in sticker shock when you get the monthly bill.)<br> <br><br>Bandwidth Caps and Throttling<br>The cloud may come with usage fees, but cloud services aren't the only ones keeping track of how much you're uploading and downloading. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) have implemented bandwidth caps, which are limits on the amount of data you're allowed to transfer over their network each month. The caps vary by provider and plan, but amounts anywhere from 100 to 250 GB per month are not uncommon. Aside from file transfers, you're using up bandwidth anytime you surf the Net, play games online or stream Netflix or Hulu videos, among other things.<br> <br>Reaching your limit comes with penalties. Your provider might charge you per-gigabyte fees for whatever amount you go over the limit, throttle your bandwidth speed (i.e. slow down your connection) or even cut off your service. The latter two would definitely put a damper on your cloud upload and retrieval capabilities. And sometimes usage is capped during certain times of the day on shared networks like cable and satellite, so heavy users might experience slow-downs during peak usage times.<br> <br>There are other things besides usage level that can get your data throttled, too. Many major Internet providers have begun using the Copyright Alert System to penalize people suspected of uploading copyrighted material for piracy purposes. After a few offenses, your ISP can do anything from sending you warnings to throttling your speed to blocking your service. The system reportedly monitors for uploads of known copyrighted files over peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software, and tracks those files based on IP address. Anyone using your service could get you into trouble, so be sure to secure your WiFi and be cautious about sharing your Internet access. However, you can get around the monitoring by masking your IP address using a virtual private network (VPN).<br> <br><br>Network Issues and Downtime<br>Cloud services are by definition remote, so you have to be able to connect to them over a network connection. There are multiple potential points of failure, including issues with your home network, your Internet service provider, the cloud provider's network or even their own ISP, not to mention obvious things like your power going out or your computer dying. If any one of these things goes down, you are out of luck getting to your data or applications.<br> <br>Network congestion will also affect how quickly and easily you can upload or download via the cloud. Extreme slowness can be just as bad as an outage when you're trying in vain to get to data you need right away to finish that last-minute presentation or paper.<br> <br>Sometimes catastrophic disruptions occur over entire data centers, or portions of data centers. Services can be interrupted by a weather event or other natural disaster, a power outage, equipment failure or simply unscheduled downtime for repairs or maintenance. While cloud hosts strive for 100 percent uptime, this is a lofty goal. Things happen, even to the big players.<br> <br>Amazon, an early pioneer in the cloud service area, has had several highly publicized outages from 2011 to 2013. Some of them took down or impaired well-known sites including Reddit, Netflix, Coursera, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, Flipboard, Vine and even Amazon itself. They have been attributed to thunder storms, power outages, human error and even a glitch in a single networking device in one case.<br> <br>Microsoft's Windows Azure service had an approximately 10-hour disruption in February 2012 caused by a leap day-related software bug. Google had an outage of only a few minutes in August 2013 that took out all of their services, including the search engine, Gmail and YouTube, and reportedly cost them around half a million dollars [source: Bloomberg]. According to the analytics firm GoSquared, the outage also reduced global Web traffic by 40 percent [source: Bloomberg, Mack].<br> <br>For a person at home trying to watch a movie on Netflix, outages can be an annoyance. But for a business, even short disruptions can have a major impact on revenue. It's a lesson that anyone relying on the cloud should spread their service over multiple data centers, or even multiple providers, if possible. Backing up data regularly in some automated fashion is also a good idea. Redundancy is key. It comes with a price tag, but it may be worth it if you need constant access to your data and services.<br>

5 Factors That Affect Cloud-based Data Upload and Retrieval

If you want to start a document on your laptop and revise it on your phone, you can. If you'd like to listen to your music library from ...

Read more »

5 Factors That Affect Cloud-based Data Upload and Retrieval

If you want to start a document on your laptop and revise it on your phone, you can. If you'd like to listen to your music library from either your tablet or your work computer, you can do that, too. Gone are the days of being tethered to a single device. The reason for this: the cloud.<br> <br>Simply put, cloud computing involves storing data and applications on remote servers and accessing them via the Internet rather than saving or installing them on your personal computer. You can use the cloud to house text files, photos, videos, music and the like, either as primary storage or backup storage, often for free or for a nominal price.<br> <br>But the cloud isn't just about storage. In this age of Web mail, social networking, online bill paying, automatic phone backups, multiplayer online gaming and video streaming, a lot of us are already performing a variety of personal and business activities in the cloud, whether we realize it or not.<br> <br>Many businesses are using the cloud to handle some or all of their information technology needs as a more inexpensive, efficient and flexible alternative to purchasing, running and maintaining in-house computing equipment and software.<br> <br>But the cloud is not without its pitfalls. Here are five factors that can affect, and sometimes impede, your ability to access your data.<br><br><br>Category of Cloud Computing<br>There are several types of cloud service, and which one you are using can affect how and how much you can interact with your data. Three common categories are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).<br> <br>With SaaS, you are simply accessing software over the Internet that is offered and maintained entirely by the cloud provider. The type of software can include e-mail, content management systems, productivity software and business applications. SaaS requires the least amount of setup on the end-user's part, but also provides the least amount of control and flexibility as far as system functionality, and what can be uploaded or downloaded from the cloud.<br> <br>With PaaS, the cloud host provides a hardware and software platform on which you can develop, install and run applications, Web sites or other services. You don't have direct access to the backend servers, but you have more control over what you can do on them.<br> <br>With IaaS, the cloud host provides computing resources including physical or virtual servers, storage space and networking capabilities over which you have a lot of control. You are basically renting access to a portion of a data center's network and servers, and you can install and upload anything you want to them. You don't have the responsibility of maintaining or upgrading equipment, but do have to configure the servers and set up any software you might need. An IaaS service can be a public, private or hybrid cloud. Public clouds are shared by a number of users who select and access service over the Internet; private clouds allow users to have dedicated servers on a private network; hybrid clouds involve a little of both.<br> <br>The types are not always mutually exclusive, as an SaaS provider might house their software on PaaS or IaaS cloud services, and a PaaS host might use the services of an IaaS provider. This potential nesting means that problems of a provider you don't even know you're using can cause issues with getting to your data or services.<br> <br>And which type of service your company is using may determine things like who you contact when you have a problem -- someone in your own IT department versus a third party. It also impacts things like security, which, as you will see next, can affect your ability to work with your data.<br> <br><br>Security<br>Security isn't just about protecting your identity and financial information, although those are important. It is also key to preserving the integrity of and access to your data and applications in the cloud. Things like firewalls, encryption, backups, isolation of resources, the strength of authorization at user interfaces and screening of employees and other customers can determine who can get to your resources, how they can do so and what they can do with them.<br> <br>There are many disruptive things that a malicious intruder can do. A denial of service attack, which involves bombarding a system to the point where it is inaccessible for normal usage, can render your cloud services temporarily unavailable. A hijacked account could lead to your data or business transactions being redirected for ill purposes, or loss of access to your own services. A compromised system could allow a virtual machine housing your applications and information to be migrated to a malicious server, leading to exposure of information and possible loss of data. Malicious software (malware) can infect the system and disrupt operations, or even compromise your home or work computer if it spreads.Even if an attack doesn't cause you to lose data or access, any security breach will likely lower your comfort level with storing or retrieving information from the cloud.<br> <br>Unfortunately, there are no entirely unbreachable systems. Anything accessible via the Internet is vulnerable. But the tougher a cloud provider's security and the better its ability to detect and recover from breaches, the less likely you'll be to lose access, data or peace of mind.<br> <br>And security is not all up to the cloud host. Personal lapses, such as succumbing to a phishing scam (where you are tricked into giving away login credentials) or downloading malware from another source can have consequences for your cloud access as well. Vigilance is required on all sides.<br> <br><br>Bandwidth and Other Budgeting<br>The cloud can give you access to hardware, software and infrastructure that would be prohibitively expensive for a person or company to purchase outright. But what you are able to do with it depends upon how much you are willing to pay for the privilege.<br> <br>While there are lots of free cloud options for individual users -- quite useful for things like e-mail and document and photo storage -- most of them start to charge you monthly or annual fees when you want to store more than a few gigabytes' worth of data. You could easily hit your limit right in the middle of transferring the 100 or so pictures you took of your children, pets and meals this week. Of course, the error message saying you have run out of space is likely to be accompanied by instructions on how you can purchase more.<br> <br>Cloud services geared toward businesses offer a lot more space and capability, with various types and levels of service. Companies can pay for things like per-gigabyte storage or database space, rental for dedicated servers (physical, virtual or both) with varying amounts of memory and storage on an hourly or monthly basis, hosted software applications on a per-user basis, network bandwidth usage, additional IP addresses and IT management services. The ability to ramp up service quickly and pay only for what you use or think you will use are big advantages. However, if you underestimate your needs and don't opt for enough space or enough servers, you could run into issues while working with your data. Hitting a storage wall is a lot worse when you are uploading time-sensitive customer data than when you are saving your dog photos.<br> <br>Still, if you're willing to pay for it, you can always add more. And some cloud setups will scale automatically as your usage changes. (Although this might result in sticker shock when you get the monthly bill.)<br> <br><br>Bandwidth Caps and Throttling<br>The cloud may come with usage fees, but cloud services aren't the only ones keeping track of how much you're uploading and downloading. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) have implemented bandwidth caps, which are limits on the amount of data you're allowed to transfer over their network each month. The caps vary by provider and plan, but amounts anywhere from 100 to 250 GB per month are not uncommon. Aside from file transfers, you're using up bandwidth anytime you surf the Net, play games online or stream Netflix or Hulu videos, among other things.<br> <br>Reaching your limit comes with penalties. Your provider might charge you per-gigabyte fees for whatever amount you go over the limit, throttle your bandwidth speed (i.e. slow down your connection) or even cut off your service. The latter two would definitely put a damper on your cloud upload and retrieval capabilities. And sometimes usage is capped during certain times of the day on shared networks like cable and satellite, so heavy users might experience slow-downs during peak usage times.<br> <br>There are other things besides usage level that can get your data throttled, too. Many major Internet providers have begun using the Copyright Alert System to penalize people suspected of uploading copyrighted material for piracy purposes. After a few offenses, your ISP can do anything from sending you warnings to throttling your speed to blocking your service. The system reportedly monitors for uploads of known copyrighted files over peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software, and tracks those files based on IP address. Anyone using your service could get you into trouble, so be sure to secure your WiFi and be cautious about sharing your Internet access. However, you can get around the monitoring by masking your IP address using a virtual private network (VPN).<br> <br><br>Network Issues and Downtime<br>Cloud services are by definition remote, so you have to be able to connect to them over a network connection. There are multiple potential points of failure, including issues with your home network, your Internet service provider, the cloud provider's network or even their own ISP, not to mention obvious things like your power going out or your computer dying. If any one of these things goes down, you are out of luck getting to your data or applications.<br> <br>Network congestion will also affect how quickly and easily you can upload or download via the cloud. Extreme slowness can be just as bad as an outage when you're trying in vain to get to data you need right away to finish that last-minute presentation or paper.<br> <br>Sometimes catastrophic disruptions occur over entire data centers, or portions of data centers. Services can be interrupted by a weather event or other natural disaster, a power outage, equipment failure or simply unscheduled downtime for repairs or maintenance. While cloud hosts strive for 100 percent uptime, this is a lofty goal. Things happen, even to the big players.<br> <br>Amazon, an early pioneer in the cloud service area, has had several highly publicized outages from 2011 to 2013. Some of them took down or impaired well-known sites including Reddit, Netflix, Coursera, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, Flipboard, Vine and even Amazon itself. They have been attributed to thunder storms, power outages, human error and even a glitch in a single networking device in one case.<br> <br>Microsoft's Windows Azure service had an approximately 10-hour disruption in February 2012 caused by a leap day-related software bug. Google had an outage of only a few minutes in August 2013 that took out all of their services, including the search engine, Gmail and YouTube, and reportedly cost them around half a million dollars [source: Bloomberg]. According to the analytics firm GoSquared, the outage also reduced global Web traffic by 40 percent [source: Bloomberg, Mack].<br> <br>For a person at home trying to watch a movie on Netflix, outages can be an annoyance. But for a business, even short disruptions can have a major impact on revenue. It's a lesson that anyone relying on the cloud should spread their service over multiple data centers, or even multiple providers, if possible. Backing up data regularly in some automated fashion is also a good idea. Redundancy is key. It comes with a price tag, but it may be worth it if you need constant access to your data and services.<br>

5 Factors That Affect Cloud-based Data Upload and Retrieval

If you want to start a document on your laptop and revise it on your phone, you can. If you'd like to listen to your music library from ...

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10 Great Gadget Gifts for Men

It's that time of year again! With the holidays just around the corner, now's a great time to starting thinking of gift ideas for the dad, boyfriend, husband, son or other male in your life. And there's no better way to a man's heart than through technology.<br> <br>Fortunately, there's never been a better time to be a gadget guy. From smartphones to video game bundles to 3-D TVs, there's something on this list that should suit everyone. Take a look and see our pick of the 10 best gadget gift ideas for men in 2011.<br> <br>iPhone 4S<br><br>It's not hyperbole to say that the latest iPhone is the best smartphone currently on the market. The latest model builds on the strengths of previous iPhones and adds several new, exciting features to Apple's iOS.<br> <br>First, there's the much-talked about (and talked-to) Siri, an app that performs Web searches, writes text messages, creates calendar items and can execute many other tasks through voice commands. Siri has been praised in tech blogs and publications for its (her?) ease of use and understanding of human speech; it works best when you speak to it in using normal, conversational words.<br> <br>The 4S also packs what is arguably the best phone camera on the market, one that puts point-and-shoot and handheld video cameras to shame. It shoots 1080p, 30-frame-per-second HD video and incredibly high-quality still photos. The camera function can now be accessed from the lock screen so it's easier than<br> <br>What else? Well, there's iCloud, which syncs your phone's music and app purchases with other computers wirelessly, making hooking the iPhone up to your Mac or PC a thing of the past. No tech-savvy guy can go<br> <br>Next up, we'll take a look at a great gift for the gamer.<br><br>PS3 Bundle<br><br>When someone sees the shiny, black PlayStation 3 in your living room, they might ask, "What does it do?" A better question might be, "What doesn't it do?"<br> <br>The current PS3 doesn't just play video games. It plays Blu-Ray and DVD films, has built-in WiFi, includes a powerful hard drive, streams movies from Netflix in HD, has its own Web browser, and includes the online gaming service called the PlayStation Network [source: CNET].<br> <br>Right in time for the holidays, there are a variety of new bundles available that package the PS3 with several games or accessories. The PlayStation Move Bundle includes a special controller and camera that tracks your movements in 3-D space and lets you use your body to become part of the game.<br> <br>Plus, it's great time to invest in a PS3 console with several hot new games that arrived in time for the holiday season, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Arkham City.<br><br>Next up: If you're more into reading and watching movies on the go than gaming, check out the hottest new tablet from Amazon.<br> <br>Amazon Kindle Fire<br><br>2011 was the year of the tablet. Following on the success of last year's iPad, scores of competitors have entered the marketplace, all offering thin and compact alternatives to laptops everywhere. While one tablet, the Amazon Kindle, started out as an e-book reader, the latest generation offers much more.<br> <br>The recently released Kindle Fire does have books -- as well as movies, TV shows, music, games, apps and magazines. If you can get on Amazon.com, you can put it on this tablet. It has a dual-core processor with either 512 MB or 1 GB of space, and while that's not as plentiful as some other tablets, the Fire has free access to Amazon's massive cloud for all your storage needs.<br> <br>The Android-based tablet also packs an acclaimed "Silk" web browser which uses the Amazon cloud to make web pages load very quickly [source: Amazon].<br><br>The best part? It's only $199, making it $50 less than the Barnes and Noble Nook Color and more than half as expensive as the Apple iPad 2.<br> <br>Next up, let's look at an innovative way to play games on the iPad.<br><br>iCade Arcade Cabinet<br><br>Maybe the guy in your life isn't a huge fan of modern video games. Here's a great way for the retro gamer to get their fill of classic arcade games on their iPad.<br> <br>The iCade looks like an arcade cabinet from the 1970s or '80s, complete with a joystick and an array of buttons. Instead of a screen, however, it has a slot where you insert the iPad. Once you download the Atari's Greatest Hits app, you can use it to play over 100 classic games like Asteroids, Missile Command and Centipede -- they way they were meant to be played.<br> <br>In addition, many iOS game developers are creating new games with support for the iCade, so there's much to more to play than just Atari games. The iCade takes iPad gaming to a whole new level [source: ThinkGeek].<br> <br>Next up -- you've probably seen a lot of 3-D movies lately. Why not put a 3-D TV in your living room?<br><br>3-D TV<br><br>Many of us were blown away by the 3-D visual effects of "Avatar" when we saw it in theaters. Now, that same experience is headed to your home theater. Three-D is considered by many to be the "next big thing" in visual entertainment, so a 3-D-capable television is a great gift idea this season.<br> <br>Three-D TVs can come with either special glasses like you get in the theaters, known as "passive 3-D," or they can include battery-powered liquid crystal shutters that generate the 3-D effect -- this is called "active 3-D." Active 3-D was the most common type when these TVs launched last year, but lately passive 3-D TVs are more common. Passive glasses are less expensive as well, but the quality isn't quite as a good [source:<br> <br>It's important to note that 3-D hasn't become mainstream quite yet. Three-D Blu-Ray DVDs are rare and 3-D TV channels are even rarer. However, 3-D video games are catching on quickly, so a TV that can handle those effects might be great for gamers. Right now, it's best to think of 3-D as just one of the many features offered on a modern TV, not as the main reason to purchase a new set. Still, having a 3-D TV means you'll be ready for the exciting new features that might be available in the near future.<br> <br>Next up, we'll look at one of the most revolutionary cameras ever developed.<br><br>Lytro Light-field Camera<br><br>The tiny Lytro camera may not look like much, but some people say it's a photography revolution. The small, rectangular device is a digital camera that photographs the entire field of light around an object.<br> <br>This means two things: First, the Lytro doesn't need to focus before it takes a photo. Second, the image can be edited and focused and refocused over and over again using special software. Almost every pixel of the image is in focus, so the user can choose what part they want to highlight [source: PC Mag].<br> <br>The Lytro was just recently announced, and it won't be delivered until early 2012. But it's a great idea for the husband, dad, brother or boyfriend who's also a shutterbug. The Lytro's ability to take "living pictures" represents an amazing step forward in the field of photography.<br> <br>Next: While you may not be able to buy a new car for your favorite fella, you can help him make his car faster<br><br>Engine Reflash<br>In the old days of automobiles, adding more horsepower to a car meant hours or even days of work under the hood, carefully installing new parts and making sure everything works right. Not anymore! Now, more power and torque can be added to just about any engine by modifying the engine computer, or ECU, in some way.<br> <br>Electronic engine tuning often involves adjusting factors like the air/fuel ratio, throttle response, RPM redlines, shifting points on automatic transmissions and even boost pressure from turbochargers.<br><br>One of the most popular engine tuning companies is APR, which specializes in Volkswagen and Audi vehicles, particularly ones with turbocharged engines. For example, APR says one of their reflashes can add about 20 horsepower and 50 pound-feet of torque to an Audi A4 sedan with the 2.0-liter engine. A few hundred dollars spent on electronic tuning can give the same power that thousands of dollars in engine parts might buy [source: APR].<br> <br>Many companies offer electronic tunes for different vehicles, so shop around to see what's offered for your guy's ride. Some of them are done at a dealer, while others work through a device that plugs into the engine directly.<br> <br>In the next section, we'll look at a great and inexpensive way to add streaming video to your TV.<br><br><br>Roku<br>These days, it seems like the Internet has almost made traditional cable television obsolete. There are so many great streaming shows on sites like Hulu and Netflix that not having cable isn't a big deal anymore as long as you have a solid Internet connection. The Roku presents a great way to bridge the world of TV and Internet.<br> <br>The Roku is a small, box-like device that fits in the palm of your hand. It plugs into your TV through an HDMI cable and has access to WiFi Internet. From there, you create a Roku account, and then you can access over 200 streaming channels, including HBO, Amazon Instant and Pandora. Some premium channels like HBO and pay-per-view require use of a credit card. The box also does news and sports on demand, and includes the hit mobile game Angry Birds [source: CNET].<br> <br>The Roku is one of the best digital media receivers available, and it's half as expensive and has more features than Apple TV. This may be the future of television.<br><br>Next up, we'll look at a great gadget for the beer lover.<br> <br>Krups and Heineken BeerTender<br>Who doesn't love beer? Here's a great gadget gift idea for the man who really, really loves beer.<br><br>The BeerTender from Krups is a storage unit and refrigerator for beer with a tap that makes sure the beer tastes the way it is mean to taste. Designed to work with beers that use the Heineken DraughtKeg, the BeerTender keeps the beer at an optimum 37.4 degrees F (3 degrees C) so that it tastes crisp and has just the right amount of head.<br> <br>But wait, there's more! The BeerTender releases CO2 every time the tap is used to ensure freshness for up to 30 days. It also has an LCD display that keeps track of current beer volume and has three temperature settings [source: Kegerators].<br> <br>If you're a fan of the Heineken mini-kegs, which also offer Newcastle Brown Ale, then the BeerTender is a must-have item for your home bar.<br><br>Next up, we have what may just be the ultimate remote control.<br> <br><br>Logitech Harmony 650 Remote Control<br>What do you get when you have a DVD player, a BluRay player, a home theater system, a cable or DVR box, and a flat-screen TV? Besides a great viewing experience, you get a whole bunch of remotes, that's what.<br> <br>Logitech's Harmony 650 universal remote control seeks to solve that problem. Rather than having scores of different remote controls lying around, a single Logitech remote can control up to five devices. That's more than enough for most<br> <br>Rather than having scores of different remote controls lying around, a single Logitech<br><br> folks.<br><br> remote can control up to five devices.<br><br><br><br>The remote supports more than 5,000 brands of appliances and can be set up using your computer through a USB cable. It even has its own LCD screen to display all available commands. The Logitech has been praised as one of most easy-to-use universal remotes on the market, and comes at a decent price as well [source: Best Buy].<br> <br>Next time you and dad watch a movie, this will make things much simpler.<br><br>If you're looking for even more information about great gadget gifts for men and other similar topics, just follow the links on the next page.<br> <br>

10 Great Gadget Gifts for Men

It's that time of year again! With the holidays just around the corner, now's a great time to starting thinking of gift ideas for th...

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10 Great Gadget Gifts for Men

It's that time of year again! With the holidays just around the corner, now's a great time to starting thinking of gift ideas for the dad, boyfriend, husband, son or other male in your life. And there's no better way to a man's heart than through technology.<br> <br>Fortunately, there's never been a better time to be a gadget guy. From smartphones to video game bundles to 3-D TVs, there's something on this list that should suit everyone. Take a look and see our pick of the 10 best gadget gift ideas for men in 2011.<br> <br>iPhone 4S<br><br>It's not hyperbole to say that the latest iPhone is the best smartphone currently on the market. The latest model builds on the strengths of previous iPhones and adds several new, exciting features to Apple's iOS.<br> <br>First, there's the much-talked about (and talked-to) Siri, an app that performs Web searches, writes text messages, creates calendar items and can execute many other tasks through voice commands. Siri has been praised in tech blogs and publications for its (her?) ease of use and understanding of human speech; it works best when you speak to it in using normal, conversational words.<br> <br>The 4S also packs what is arguably the best phone camera on the market, one that puts point-and-shoot and handheld video cameras to shame. It shoots 1080p, 30-frame-per-second HD video and incredibly high-quality still photos. The camera function can now be accessed from the lock screen so it's easier than<br> <br>What else? Well, there's iCloud, which syncs your phone's music and app purchases with other computers wirelessly, making hooking the iPhone up to your Mac or PC a thing of the past. No tech-savvy guy can go<br> <br>Next up, we'll take a look at a great gift for the gamer.<br><br>PS3 Bundle<br><br>When someone sees the shiny, black PlayStation 3 in your living room, they might ask, "What does it do?" A better question might be, "What doesn't it do?"<br> <br>The current PS3 doesn't just play video games. It plays Blu-Ray and DVD films, has built-in WiFi, includes a powerful hard drive, streams movies from Netflix in HD, has its own Web browser, and includes the online gaming service called the PlayStation Network [source: CNET].<br> <br>Right in time for the holidays, there are a variety of new bundles available that package the PS3 with several games or accessories. The PlayStation Move Bundle includes a special controller and camera that tracks your movements in 3-D space and lets you use your body to become part of the game.<br> <br>Plus, it's great time to invest in a PS3 console with several hot new games that arrived in time for the holiday season, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Arkham City.<br><br>Next up: If you're more into reading and watching movies on the go than gaming, check out the hottest new tablet from Amazon.<br> <br>Amazon Kindle Fire<br><br>2011 was the year of the tablet. Following on the success of last year's iPad, scores of competitors have entered the marketplace, all offering thin and compact alternatives to laptops everywhere. While one tablet, the Amazon Kindle, started out as an e-book reader, the latest generation offers much more.<br> <br>The recently released Kindle Fire does have books -- as well as movies, TV shows, music, games, apps and magazines. If you can get on Amazon.com, you can put it on this tablet. It has a dual-core processor with either 512 MB or 1 GB of space, and while that's not as plentiful as some other tablets, the Fire has free access to Amazon's massive cloud for all your storage needs.<br> <br>The Android-based tablet also packs an acclaimed "Silk" web browser which uses the Amazon cloud to make web pages load very quickly [source: Amazon].<br><br>The best part? It's only $199, making it $50 less than the Barnes and Noble Nook Color and more than half as expensive as the Apple iPad 2.<br> <br>Next up, let's look at an innovative way to play games on the iPad.<br><br>iCade Arcade Cabinet<br><br>Maybe the guy in your life isn't a huge fan of modern video games. Here's a great way for the retro gamer to get their fill of classic arcade games on their iPad.<br> <br>The iCade looks like an arcade cabinet from the 1970s or '80s, complete with a joystick and an array of buttons. Instead of a screen, however, it has a slot where you insert the iPad. Once you download the Atari's Greatest Hits app, you can use it to play over 100 classic games like Asteroids, Missile Command and Centipede -- they way they were meant to be played.<br> <br>In addition, many iOS game developers are creating new games with support for the iCade, so there's much to more to play than just Atari games. The iCade takes iPad gaming to a whole new level [source: ThinkGeek].<br> <br>Next up -- you've probably seen a lot of 3-D movies lately. Why not put a 3-D TV in your living room?<br><br>3-D TV<br><br>Many of us were blown away by the 3-D visual effects of "Avatar" when we saw it in theaters. Now, that same experience is headed to your home theater. Three-D is considered by many to be the "next big thing" in visual entertainment, so a 3-D-capable television is a great gift idea this season.<br> <br>Three-D TVs can come with either special glasses like you get in the theaters, known as "passive 3-D," or they can include battery-powered liquid crystal shutters that generate the 3-D effect -- this is called "active 3-D." Active 3-D was the most common type when these TVs launched last year, but lately passive 3-D TVs are more common. Passive glasses are less expensive as well, but the quality isn't quite as a good [source:<br> <br>It's important to note that 3-D hasn't become mainstream quite yet. Three-D Blu-Ray DVDs are rare and 3-D TV channels are even rarer. However, 3-D video games are catching on quickly, so a TV that can handle those effects might be great for gamers. Right now, it's best to think of 3-D as just one of the many features offered on a modern TV, not as the main reason to purchase a new set. Still, having a 3-D TV means you'll be ready for the exciting new features that might be available in the near future.<br> <br>Next up, we'll look at one of the most revolutionary cameras ever developed.<br><br>Lytro Light-field Camera<br><br>The tiny Lytro camera may not look like much, but some people say it's a photography revolution. The small, rectangular device is a digital camera that photographs the entire field of light around an object.<br> <br>This means two things: First, the Lytro doesn't need to focus before it takes a photo. Second, the image can be edited and focused and refocused over and over again using special software. Almost every pixel of the image is in focus, so the user can choose what part they want to highlight [source: PC Mag].<br> <br>The Lytro was just recently announced, and it won't be delivered until early 2012. But it's a great idea for the husband, dad, brother or boyfriend who's also a shutterbug. The Lytro's ability to take "living pictures" represents an amazing step forward in the field of photography.<br> <br>Next: While you may not be able to buy a new car for your favorite fella, you can help him make his car faster<br><br>Engine Reflash<br>In the old days of automobiles, adding more horsepower to a car meant hours or even days of work under the hood, carefully installing new parts and making sure everything works right. Not anymore! Now, more power and torque can be added to just about any engine by modifying the engine computer, or ECU, in some way.<br> <br>Electronic engine tuning often involves adjusting factors like the air/fuel ratio, throttle response, RPM redlines, shifting points on automatic transmissions and even boost pressure from turbochargers.<br><br>One of the most popular engine tuning companies is APR, which specializes in Volkswagen and Audi vehicles, particularly ones with turbocharged engines. For example, APR says one of their reflashes can add about 20 horsepower and 50 pound-feet of torque to an Audi A4 sedan with the 2.0-liter engine. A few hundred dollars spent on electronic tuning can give the same power that thousands of dollars in engine parts might buy [source: APR].<br> <br>Many companies offer electronic tunes for different vehicles, so shop around to see what's offered for your guy's ride. Some of them are done at a dealer, while others work through a device that plugs into the engine directly.<br> <br>In the next section, we'll look at a great and inexpensive way to add streaming video to your TV.<br><br><br>Roku<br>These days, it seems like the Internet has almost made traditional cable television obsolete. There are so many great streaming shows on sites like Hulu and Netflix that not having cable isn't a big deal anymore as long as you have a solid Internet connection. The Roku presents a great way to bridge the world of TV and Internet.<br> <br>The Roku is a small, box-like device that fits in the palm of your hand. It plugs into your TV through an HDMI cable and has access to WiFi Internet. From there, you create a Roku account, and then you can access over 200 streaming channels, including HBO, Amazon Instant and Pandora. Some premium channels like HBO and pay-per-view require use of a credit card. The box also does news and sports on demand, and includes the hit mobile game Angry Birds [source: CNET].<br> <br>The Roku is one of the best digital media receivers available, and it's half as expensive and has more features than Apple TV. This may be the future of television.<br><br>Next up, we'll look at a great gadget for the beer lover.<br> <br>Krups and Heineken BeerTender<br>Who doesn't love beer? Here's a great gadget gift idea for the man who really, really loves beer.<br><br>The BeerTender from Krups is a storage unit and refrigerator for beer with a tap that makes sure the beer tastes the way it is mean to taste. Designed to work with beers that use the Heineken DraughtKeg, the BeerTender keeps the beer at an optimum 37.4 degrees F (3 degrees C) so that it tastes crisp and has just the right amount of head.<br> <br>But wait, there's more! The BeerTender releases CO2 every time the tap is used to ensure freshness for up to 30 days. It also has an LCD display that keeps track of current beer volume and has three temperature settings [source: Kegerators].<br> <br>If you're a fan of the Heineken mini-kegs, which also offer Newcastle Brown Ale, then the BeerTender is a must-have item for your home bar.<br><br>Next up, we have what may just be the ultimate remote control.<br> <br><br>Logitech Harmony 650 Remote Control<br>What do you get when you have a DVD player, a BluRay player, a home theater system, a cable or DVR box, and a flat-screen TV? Besides a great viewing experience, you get a whole bunch of remotes, that's what.<br> <br>Logitech's Harmony 650 universal remote control seeks to solve that problem. Rather than having scores of different remote controls lying around, a single Logitech remote can control up to five devices. That's more than enough for most<br> <br>Rather than having scores of different remote controls lying around, a single Logitech<br><br> folks.<br><br> remote can control up to five devices.<br><br><br><br>The remote supports more than 5,000 brands of appliances and can be set up using your computer through a USB cable. It even has its own LCD screen to display all available commands. The Logitech has been praised as one of most easy-to-use universal remotes on the market, and comes at a decent price as well [source: Best Buy].<br> <br>Next time you and dad watch a movie, this will make things much simpler.<br><br>If you're looking for even more information about great gadget gifts for men and other similar topics, just follow the links on the next page.<br> <br>

10 Great Gadget Gifts for Men

It's that time of year again! With the holidays just around the corner, now's a great time to starting thinking of gift ideas for th...

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How to Copy Music from iPod to the Computer?

Many methods of copy music from your iPod to the computer involve programs such as PodUtil. This method is simple and there are no outside programs to use.<br><br>See Step-to-Step Guide:<br><br>1. Plug your iPod in and wait for the computer to recognize it.<br> <br>2. Open up 'My Computer' and under 'Devices With Removable Storage', double click and open apple iPod.<br><br>3. Click on 'Tools' at the top of the window and drag down to 'Folder Options'.<br> <br>4. Under the 'View' tab, find the subfolder called 'Hidden files and folders'.<br><br>5. Select the option 'Show hidden files and folders'.<br><br>6. Click 'OK'.<br><br>7. Double click on the newly shown 'iPod_Control' folder and open up the folder called 'Music'. These folders are named randomly and your music is impossible to find individually.<br> <br>8. Select all the folders and copy them to a new folder on your hard drive. You are now done with your iPod. Eject it if you wish.<br><br>9. Open up iTunes. In the new folder you created, open up each individual folder labeled 'F##' select all the music files in the folder and drag them into your library in iTunes. iTunes will already have the tags stored for these songs so renaming them should not be an issue.<br> <br>10. Alternatively, Press F3 to enter search, and enter "*.mp3" (no quotes) to find all the MP3 files at once, then press CTRL+A to select all the found files then copy them to a folder on your computer. This way all the music files are in the same folder which makes it far more simple to import them into iTunes. (If any of your files are in MPEG4 format, you can search for "*.m*" to generate a list of all your songs.) (see Warning below)<br> <br>Tips<br><br>* You can't drag a whole folder into iTunes. It will not recognize the file tags and you will not know which song is which. * The detailed folder view in Windows XP will read the tags off of the mp3s and display the proper Artist, Title, and Album information. The columns should show up by default, but can be added if they do not. This may work for other versions of Windows (someone please verify). * FYI: One more thing to note, If you have bought songs from itunes and the computer you are storing the songs on is not the computer you have purchased the songs from they will be copied but may not be played because of AAC format. This format is protected and may not be played on and other computer unless purchasing a licence which is the same price as the song in the first place<br> <br>Warnings<br><br>If you follow the step #10, to copy all the songs at once, you may run into trouble if multiple songs in different 'F##' folders have been given the same random name. For example, you may have several different songs given the same name '01Track01.m4a'. When you try to copy them all to the same new folder on your computer, you will either not get all the songs from your iPod, or you will have to manually copy over all the duplicate named ones into separate folders, which is very time-consuming. It may turn out to be faster to use the first method above (copying each F## folder to iTunes separately).

How to Copy Music from iPod to the Computer?

Many methods of copy music from your iPod to the computer involve programs such as PodUtil. This method is simple and there are no outside p...

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