How to Decorate Your PC for the Holidays

Make your Computer Look Festive for the Holiday Season

Install Holiday Themes to Decorate Your PC

Happy December to all!  We are in the middle of the Holiday Season, and people are decorating houses, cars, and yards to make them look more festive.  Why should your PC be left out?  Today, we are going to look at a few ways you can decorate your computer for the Winter Holidays.  Specifically, we are going to look at using Themes to change the appearance of your computer screen.

Quick Tip: What "Refresh" Means in Windows 10

Refreshing Your Operating System is
NOT Similar to Refreshing Your Screen

The term "Refresh" has been around since the days of MS-DOS. We've learned that the circle with an arrow icon stands for refresh, and that refreshing or reloading may help when things go wonky.  If you keep getting that "more stories" link on Facebook, images aren't loading, or your desktop suddenly looks strange, refreshing your screen has become almost second nature.  If things just don't look right, refresh.  99% of the time, that fixes things. We right-click and select "refresh," hit the F5 key, or click that circle with an arrow icon all the time to fix issues.

Then along comes Windows 10. Windows 10 was the first Operating System distributed primarily by downloading an update.   Few users have install disks, even if they bought a PC with Windows 10 pre-installed.  And Windows 10 looks A LOT different, confusing a lot of users.  All of the Tech Gurus tell new Windows 10 users not to worry, because it operates just the same.  All of the things that worked in previous versions of windows work in Windows 10.  The same keyboard shortcuts and right-click commands are there, and they perform just like they always did.

And so your PC starts acting up, and you're sure you should try the same old tricks you've tried in the past to avoid a visit from your Computer Person.  You start exploring the settings menu,  You click on the settings menu to try a system restore, when you come across the option to refresh your system. "Okay, let's try that," you think.  You tell Windows to refresh your PC, thinking it will just log you out of everything and reload it, similar to the way refresh works in every other situation.  Your PC reboots itself, and EVERYTHING is gone.  You panic.  "Where is my Quicken?  Where is my Outlook and all of my e-mails...it's can't be just all gone?  My games are gone, and I'd just reached that impossible level.  UGH!"

Quick Tip: What is a "Hamburger" Menu?

I got a call from one of my people the other day: "I am supposed to open my Hamburger Menu. What in tarnation is that?  Do I need to hit a McDonald's?"  I laughed and explained it is just a term for modern day application menus.

Those of us who computed pre-Windows recall having to remember what each function key did.  We used templates for every program, reminding us which function key corresponded to what menu command.  When Windows came out, using function keys was replaced with using pull down menus, accessed via the ALT key or through a mouse click.  We got used to using pull down menus.  We liked pull down menus.  But then they started disappearing.
   

   

The "Hamburger Menu" is what has begun replacing pull down menus.  This is, in part, due to the "Mobile Revolution" and the proliferation of smartphones and tablets.  On mobile devices, touchscreen and taps replace mouse clicks.  Pull-down menus were difficult for fat fingers.  Mobile devices do not have a lot of screen real estate either, leaving little room for a menu to stretch across the screen.

BEST Source for Free, Open-Source Software (FOSS)

Get Free Alternatives to Expensive, Commercial Software

I am a great proponent of Free Open-Source Software (FOSS).  These days, a home user should be able to completely equip his/her home PC without shelling out a lot of money for software.  There are free equivalents to almost EVERY popular program, including MS Word and MS Office.  If you follow this blog, I'll be reviewing the various alternatives in upcoming articles, including what I use on my own PC.  But first, I want to introduce you to the site I use to download most of my own software: Ninite.com.

RoboForm: Absolutely the Best Password Manager

My FAVORITE Browser Utility!
Stores Log-ins and Fills Forms Quickly and Easily

Never Lose a Username or Password Again

  

RoboForm Review:

Password Managers:

It seems as if people have issues with lost passwords on a daily basis. I cannot believe there are people out there who still are not using password managers. There are many password managers from which to choose, some free and some paid, and some are most definitely better than others.

What is a Password Manager?  Simply put, it is an application that stores a database of your username and passwords.The better ones also include form-filling capabilities, so you can enter your information into a log-in form with a single click.  Most will also generate strong passwords for you. They are basically electronic safes for your digital personal information.  They are handy-dandy little things, especially in light of all the usernames and passwords a typical person needs to remember these days.  And having to reset passwords can be a real PITA, especially when you are short on time.  That is why if you're not using a Password Manager, I suggest you choose one and start using it immediately.

But don't pick just ANY Password Manager.  This IS your Personal Information, after all.  You don't want to trust the WRONG software with such valuable data.  You need to ensure the one YOU pick is secure and not easily hacked.

God Mode: Access ALL Windows Settings with a Single Click

Find Any Settings Category More Easily in Windows

EVERY time Windows introduces a new version, it seems to like to move things around.  This was especially true with both Windows 8 and Windows 10.  Suddenly, Windows had BOTH a "Settings" menu and a Control Panel.  AND the Control Panel was suddenly harder to find.  Now even experienced users need to poke around in several places to find how to adjust a system setting, and the less tech savvy user often gets lost.  Some users need to call a more experienced friend just to adjust a simple setting.

Well what if I told you there was an easier way?  Since Windows Vista, Microsoft has included a hidden feature called "God Mode."  Simply put, God Mode is a special folder that lists ALL system commands in a long list, grouped by category or function.  Unfortunately, this folder is NOT enabled by default.  If you want access to God Mode, you'll need to set that up.  This article will walk you through the steps to do so,

Quick Tip: Quickly Adjust Text Size

No More Squinting! 

Learn How to Adjust the Size of Text on a Web Page Using
CRTL+ and CTRL-

Web-based documents are great for those of us with non-perfect vision.  No longer do we need to squint at tiny text.  One of the most powerful aspects of electronic documents is the ability to adjust them, so that they best work for you.  Graphics-folks may love fitting a lot of stuff on to one screen, but I prefer NOT having to reach for the reading glasses.  Fortunately, there is a VERY EASY trick to bump text size up or down, with a single key combination.

Quick Tip: When to Turn Off Your Backup

We all should have a backup strategy.  Whether that be a network drive, an external drive or a cloud-based system, everyone needs to backup regularly.  But is there ever a time you need to turn off your automatic backup?  The answer is an emphatic YES!

Quick Tip: Stop Window's 10 From Nagging You

Hate those "ads" that pop up when you use non-default programs?

So do I!

I generally like Windows 10, with some minor tweaking, but it DOES have its share of annoyances.  Ever been happily typing away in Chrome or Firefox, when all of the sudden, you are disrupted by a pop-up by your clock, suggesting you try Edge?

When Windows 10 first started showing these "harass boxes," as I like to call them, I immediately ran a malware scan, sure I'd picked up some ad-ware somewhere.   Nope...not malware, but rather a new, "helpful" Windows "feature."All those quotation marks should give you an idea of how much these boxes thrilled me.

So, of course, me being me, I immediately set out to disable these suckers.  Turns out, it's fairly easy.

Keyboard Shortcuts: Undo or the "Whoops" Key

If you're anything like me, you make a lot of mistakes.  And you hit a lot of wrong keys.  Often, you realize you are hitting the wrong key as you feel your finger make contact, too late to take it back.

Luckily, because this is computing, not life, you CAN take it back.  Did you know there is an "Undo" command that works in most Windows applications? To access it, all you need to do is press CTRL+Z.

CTRL+Z is probably my MOST used key combination.  No kidding.  I must use it at least a dozen and a half times a day.  I've used it twice while typing this post.

Certain Windows programs (and most Office applications) support a multi-level UNDO.  That means you may use CTRL+Z to go back several actions.  Depending on what you are doing, it may undo typing, formatting, or even inserting content.  Unfortunately, it does not act as an "unsend" command yet.  And in many applications, the UNDO command will be unavailable immediately after a save.  (And unfortunately, it will not undo the save command either.)

Again, this works in 99% of the Windows applications and most browser based applications.  It works most anywhere you can type.  Its specific behavior depends on the application, but CTRL+Z will always perform an undo.

I wish LIFE had a CTRL+Z command sometimes!

The Print Command vs. The Print Icon

With 99% of Windows functions, there is no difference between using the Toolbar icon or the menu command.  But did you know there is a difference when it comes to Printing?

Get Rid of that Pesky Log-In Box At Startup

Windows keeps trying to enforce better security on "lazy" users.  As a part of this, Windows Update has begun to require  a password log-in screen, even on systems that never previously showed one at boot-up.  One of the TOP questions I get is "How do I make Windows stop making me log in after a reboot?"  Or "Why do I suddenly have to log in to Windows at startup?  I never did before?"  Or "Why is windows suddenly asking for a password?"

How to Stop Windows From Asking for a Password at Log-In

Before I tell you how to disable this added "feature," I want to make the standard disclaimer.  Disabling log-in at start up weakens your overall security.  Not having a password means anyone can snoop on your system.  If you regularly take your system out of your house, I strongly recommend you use a log-in password.