not sure about you but i have noticed Firefox Portable does not seem to work properly on USB 1.0 ports... she locks up mostly but you'd be surprised how slow she is compared to USB 2.0

and yes, i'm the poor bugger with USB 1.0!!!!!

for all you lucky buggers with USB 2.0

anyone out there who has been into Palm PDA's from day one will be quite disappointed when they upgrade their old Palm to a new "flashy" colour screen model as the newer models have replaced the original method of handwriting (called Graffiti) with "Graffiti 2".

Graffiti is a form of handwriting using what is called a "unistroke" method for text input - each character written is done in one single stroke, starting from a certain point on the screen and writing the symbol in a certain way .

New model Palms use Graffiti 2 which is a pain in the butt! Imagine writing English all your life and being told that "from now on, you will write the letter F by writing a W with a line going through it from right to left! Bloody confusing and I guarantee it will take you several months before you are able to relearn how to write an F properly! This is what Palm did to it's users.

this fix has been around for years but believe me, unless your a tech junkie then you probably haven't been told...

THIS CANNOT BE DONE THROUGH A HOTSYNC, YOU NEED A PALM WITH A MEMORY CARD!

go to http://www.zansstuff.com/programs/graffiti1.zip OR http://www2.zansstuff.com:3390/palm.shtml OR http://gansk.sasktelwebsite.net/unpublished_pics/graffiti1.zip

download the ZIP file from one of these links, extract it and you will have 2 files, Graffiti Library.prc & Graffiti Library_enUS.prc

copy these to your Palm's memory card, i repeat - do not use Hotsync to transfer these files! - once copied to your memory card use a program such as FILEZ (a free file manager for Palm) to copy these 2 files from you memory card to you palm. **bonus is you should never have to download the Graffiti files again as you now have them on your memory card**

once this is done perform a "soft reset" by pushing the reset button on the back of the unit and when your Palm restarts you should be back to the original Graffiti 1 which you know and love!

looking to buy a new pc soon? make sure you get your ORIGINAL Windows cd's/dvd's with your pc otherwise don't buy it!

these words sound harsh but without them you are STUFFED!

I currently have 2 pc's sitting at home (both are the same MAKE and MODEL) with the same problem - missing drivers for the network adapter... anyways, the only place I can get these from is the manufacturer. I cannot use the "recovery" partition as the clients have backed their systems up (as they have the right to do) onto the recovery partition, wiping their only copy of Windows XP with all the drivers also! The drivers "customer support" sent me don't work so the next thing to do is reformat and reinstall Windows from the ORIGINAL installation cd (which will then reinstate the correct drivers).

PROBLEM - there were no cd's supplied and they want $180 per cd per computer!

it seems to me that most pc's today DO NOT come with a copy of Windows. Manufacturers seem to set their systems up with a copy of the windows cd hidden inside the recovery partition, the poor customer left to burn a copy onto cd if they know how to...

It is my understanding that if you purchase a pc with Windows preinstalled then it should ALSO come with the cd for that pc. If you have bought the pc then you OWN the license for the copy of Windows that is on it. If you own the license for it then you should OWN the cd that matches that license... but these companies seem to think that you do not!

This has been confirmed by Microsoft in this email below (I have removed the pc manufacturer's name, nothing else has been changed)...
"please be informed that since "RipOff Computers" has installed the operating system on the recovery partition, "RipOff Computers" have the choice to issue or not issue a copy of the Windows XP Home Edition. The reason being is that since the operating system has been installed on the recovery partition, customers may not need a CD to recover the operating system. Therefore, you may have to purchase the copy of Windows XP Home Edition from "RipOff Computers"."

to me this seems absolutely pathetic! you own the license therefore you own the cd! accept nothing less!

When I talk to people new in the world of computers one thing I always try and do is point them in the direction of a few good podcasts so they can get a better understanding of the technological world they have just entered...

"Back in the day" some people used to head on down to their "local" for a few beverages and to share a few good yarns with some mates... now, in the age of the processor, we head on down to the study, turn on the pc and download a podcast or two, kick back and relax while we listen to some mates online.

Live in Australia? want a local Aussie podcast? Then Aussie Tech Head is the podcast for you! Glenn and Mark cover a wide range of tech with product reviews, game reviews, interviews with people from the tech industry and discussion about technology news as it happens.

the world is about give and take... give them a listen and you'll take away some knowledge!

c'mon Aussie, c'mon! - Aussie Tech Head http://www.myspace.com/aussietechhead

Keep getting hacked? Get on some web sites and suddenly your firewall has a seizure?

Windows is getting better by the day (thanks to service packs and automatic upates) but it is also full of holes.

Let me introduce Steve Gibson, a man highly respected in the computer industry and one of the few people who can save our pc's from certain death and can save our data from being seen by the rest of the world.

visit the Gibson Research Corporation www.grc.com for numerous tools to help keep your system water tight.

From the home page scroll down until you see the link for "Shields UP!" (or click here https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2). Scroll down this page and look for the "continue" button, click this and you will be greeted with main test windows.

At the bottom of this page are various buttons to test certain aspects of your pc's security. Click on each button, run the test and few your security results. If you want to perform another test just scroll down from the current results page and you will see the same buttons for more tests.

I personally use "File Sharing", "Common Ports" and "All Service Ports". Once you use "File Sharing" and "Common Ports" you will have already found out how secure your system really is.

This site will also provide you information for making your system more secure and will explain the test results if you are not exactly sure what they mean!

**running Firefox and Internet Explorer on your system? if you run the tests in Internet Explorer first to check your security, then close it and start Firefox to run the tests again... you may be surprised in the results you get as to which browser is more secure!**

Keep secure and protect your privacy!

making the move to Vista? well, here's a little trick...

upgrading from a previous operating system to the newest one can sometimes cause some trouble.

here is a way to get a fresh install of Vista to make your dream machine run even better using the Windows Vista UPGRADE (you do not need the FULL version to install Vista even if you previously haven't owned a copy of Windows)

reformat your hard drive (back up first or you will lose all your data!!), reboot with the Vista dvd in the machine, follow the installation process but when you are asked to enter your product key DO NOT enter it... just leave it blank and continue on through the installation but do not activate yet.

this will install Vista in it's "30 day trial" mode. from here you can then reboot the machine with the Vista dvd still in the drive, go through the installation again BUT this time ENTER THE PRODUCT KEY when asked and continue the installation and remember to activate using the code on your Windows Vista box.

RESULT = you will have a clean system with no chance of possible conflicts from Windows XP!

ps - this also works if you are not upgrading from a previous windows system. if you have no other software in the world except for your copy of the Windows Vista Upgrade this process described above will still work as you initially install the "trial version" then by running the install again and entering the product key and activating the software you are now upgrading the trial version to a full version!

had problems with your mobile phone software? doesn't work despite reinstalling it several times?

i had this problem today an LG KG800 (a "chocolate" phone)...

we had previously tried repeatedly to install the desktop software but when we plugged the phone in we couldn't get it to sync with the phone so we gave up

today we pulled the phone out for one more attempt but this time we plugged the phone into the usb cable first before installing any software and lo and behold the phone opened up in windows explorer just like a usb key would! we installed some test files and some mp3's and all worked without a problem!

sometimes in life we over complicate things!

there's a lesson to be learnt there somewhere!

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then try MediaMax Online storage http://www.mediamax.com/

signing up for this service is hassle free, same goes for uploading and downloading your files is simply a matter of clicking on the file and the download window will open just like using any other website.

MediaMax, powered by Streamload, gives you a private and secure place to upload, store, access, and share your personal videos, photos, movies, music, and files.

some of you may have had some problem with Firefox Portable working only on your own machine but when you take it somewhere else and plug it in you find that it does not work... i know i did!

well i have just downloaded the lastest version of Firefox Portable from www.portableapps.com and i'm pleased to say that this version functions correctly as i am currently using it to write this blog!

get downloading!