Category Archives: Guides

Any guides that GEEK! create will slot into this category.

Guide: Using System Configuration to speed up your computer

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Just so you know, I did originally put this up in the GEEK! Guides section on GEEK!, but I decided since I’m discontinuing that section I’ve decided I’d better republish the guides. For this guide, I’ve updated it a little and republished it here.

It happens to all of us – you’ve had your computer quite a while now and all that software you installed is beginning to take its toll. Slow start-ups, tonnes of programs nagging you on the taskbar – it happens to all of us eventually. It’s quite simple to fix, and it doesn’t always mean that you have to remove programs. Basically, you just need to use System Configuration to disable some of the programs you don’t need from running at start-up. It reduces the load on your RAM and processor meaning that startups are quicker and you aren’t bombarded with programs on the start bar.

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Windows 7 Guide: Customize the look of Windows

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In Windows 7, there’s a brand new way of managing the look of your computer. It’s much tidier and more customizable than in Windows Vista.

To access the central menu for personalization, you can right click on the Desktop and click Personalize, and you will be presented with the following window:

Personalization (2)

You may notice that I’ve scrolled down quite a lot on the window. This is because I’ve already downloaded some themes on my computer, so it may be confusing if i show them. Anyway, moving on…

Windows 7 comes with a selection of themes to come from. If you’d like to look through what is already available, simply scroll through “Aero Themes” and click on any one you would like to see. It will automatically apply any theme you click on.

If they don’t interest you, you can try viewing some online and downloading those. Microsoft regularly creates more themes for you to download for your computer. Simply click the “Get more themes online” link.

Once you’ve found the theme you’re happy with, just click it and the theme is automatically running.

You can customize the theme if you’d like. Just use the four options at the bottom of the window – ie Desktop Background, Window Color, Sounds and Screen Saver. You can spend ages using your own backgrounds, colors, sounds and screen savers if you want!

Have fun with the great new options in Windows 7!

[GEEK! Exclusive] UK Investigation: Unlimited broadband, true or false? ISPs put to the test!

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The word ‘unlimited’ is an evil and unwanted word in the world of technology.

And when I say the world of technology, I more specifically mean the world of broadband. When looking for broadband the word ‘unlimited’ means nothing – you can never be sure. There’s usually a fair usage policy that caps you if you download a certain amount.

So, for your benefit GEEK! has been in contact, by phone, with all the big brands and put them on the spot. We asked them the question, and mention a response for each company below. Plain and simple. Oh and by the way, GEEK! only asked companies that claimed an unlimited service on their website.Bear in mind that GEEK! made sure that we mentioned if all downloads were legal and at fair times (not always in peak time – which is typically 6pm-12 midnight)

Test completed 17th September 2009 – all information was correct at this time.

Sky: simply told me that the unlimited package is totally unlimited, whenever you want to use it.

Be: unlimited package is unlimited, fair usage for peak times.

O2: unlimited, no fair usage on peak times, no throttling whatsoever.

BT: claim unlimited on option 3, after being on the phone for a worryingly long time I am told that there is no physical limit if high usage is within an off-peak time of day (eg not 6pm-midnight)

Orange: after being redirected a couple of times on the phone, I am told that the Home Select and Home Max “unlimited” packages come with a 40GB per month transfer limit (ie not unlimited).

PlusNet: after being cut off once, an advisor on the phone told me that their unlimited package was unlimited, however as a general policy the company implies that they perform “shaping” so that customers get an equal share of available speed. The advisor did give me this link which provides information about how they organise traffic “shaping”.

Virgin: after speaking to somebody on a dreadful line, I am told that there is no limit and that you can download as much as you want, whenever you want.

Tiscali: (surprisingly) I was very quickly connected to an advisor who told me that their unlimited package had a cap of 100GB per month at which point they would contact a client for excessive usage.

So there you go then – all the big major ISPs put on the spot by GEEK!, just for your benefit. GEEK! hopes that this test makes it a little easier to choose your broadband if bandwidth is a key point for you – which it should be. Many people do not know what broadband allowance they have, and if you are one of these people you really ought to make sure you do know, or you could face costs for running over your allowance.

That gives you a good idea about who allows what. All questions were asked over the phone and not on the internet (as only information is not always correct) and all information is correct at the time of writing. None of the companies said that they were planning to change their policies in the near future.

Guide: 5 tips to save energy in the technology enabled home

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Yes, I know – how many times have you been told that turning your computer monitor off standby saves tonnes and tonnes of energy? It is a fact though – the amount of energy the average home wastes yearly because of gadgetry on standby is scary!

So, here are a few tips to keep your electricity bill down just a little…

  • Guess what I’m going to say? Yes, turn off your computer at the wall! Leaving your computer and monitor on standby is a huge waste of power! Shut down (or hibernate) your computer and turn it off at the wall, instead of putting it into standby. Also, if your speakers run from the mains, turn them off too when they aren’t in use. Even if they aren’t producing sound, they still pull power from the plug! In addition, consider turning your printer and scanner off at the wall! It doesn’t need to be on if you aren’t using it.
  • Only charge your gadgets when they need to be. If the battery on your iPod or mobile phone is only half empty, don’t waste energy recharging it for the sake of it. Now, this does go with a little thought – don’t run your batteries totally flat as this sometimes reduces battery life in the long term. But basically, if it doesn’t need charging, don’t bother.
  • Only charge your gadgets until they are fully charged. Once they are charged, unplug them. Many modern devices (such as newer Nokia phones) will tell you when they are ready to be unplugged, so make sure you unplug them. It is a waste of energy if you’ve got your device plugged in when it has a full battery, and it can often damage batteries if you charge them for too long.
  • Turn off your router when it isn’t going to be used. If you’re going to be away for the weekend or you wont be using the computer for a while, turn gadgets such as your broadband router off. They don’t use much electricity but when they are on 24/7 the cost does build up. Routers are designed to be turned off now and then so don’t be afraid to – it should remember all of your settings and just reconnect when you plug it back in. If you have NAS (network attached storage), turn that off as well if you don’t need to use it.
  • Turn appliances off at the socket. It might seem silly, but turning appliances such as your cooker, dishwasher or washing machine off at the socket when not in use might well save you a bit of electricity. With modern appliances it is so easy to leave them on standby, but that does use a small amount of electricity. Obviously don’t turn your fridge off if it has food in it!

There you go – 5 tips to save energy in any modern home. It might only knock a tenner or so of your energy bill, but in today’s economical world any savings count!

Guide: Stay legal online – top tips!

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With one of the top legal problems being illegal downloads over the internet, you need to be aware of what could happen if your internet connection is tracked down as being illegal. It could go as far as court, and if you (being the bill payer) are found guilty of running illegal downloads of your internet connection you could be subject to thousands (if not millions) of pounds in fines. It doesn’t have to be you downloading the illegal files – it could be a family member, a friend using your wi-fi, or somebody in your neighbourhood stealing your wi-fi connection. And as far as ISPs are concerned, it is your problem – no matter who actually downloaded the illegal content.

So, to make your life a little easier and to avoid the risk of ending up in court, GEEK! has compiled some top tips to stay legal online…

  • Make sure your wi-fi is secured – you don’t want people stealing your wi-fi and downloading illegal files without you being aware of it. Remember, it’s your problem even if somebody else downloading something illegal on your network. You can easily secure your wi-fi network with a password by going to your router configuration. You’ll probably need to refer to your router’s instruction manual, but it should only be a 5-10 minute job.
  • Check that yourself or other family members aren’t illegally downloading. Check computers in your home – if any of them have programs such as Limewire or Vuze installed, users of that computer may well be downloading illegal files such as music or films. Teenagers are the most common users of illegal filesharing software so make sure you check their computer systems. Ask your family members where they are getting their music from. If they are purchasing it from stores such as iTunes, 7digital or Napster they are OK, but if they are downloading it from illegal P2P (peer to peer) software you are at risk.
  • Actively encourage your family members that copyrighted content should be paid for. Remind them that illegally downloading copyrighted music and video is the same as shoplifting sweets. It might only be an 80p song they are downloading for free, but the consequences of that could be immense.
  • Remember that downloading commercial software via P2P software is also illegal.
  • Avoid Bittorrent software/sites. Although some of the content on Bittorrent sites is legal, the majority of it isn’t. Any copyright music, video, TV shows, films, software (etc) that is download from bittorrent could result in legal issues so it’s best to just avoid P2P altogether. In addition, constantly using P2P software is likely to result in problems with your ISP (internet service provider) as P2P uses large amounts of bandwidth very quickly.
  • Buy your music, TV shows and films legally. If you want to get your music and video online legally, the best way of doing so if using services such as iTunes, 7digital or Napster (all of these are legal – including Napster as it was made legal many years ago). If you’re not sure how to get your digital content legally, just go to a high street shop and purchase it there. There are still tonnes of high street stores selling digital content and it is the best way to get legal content as you can be 100% sure that what you are buying has been paid for properly.
  • Don’t have a credit card to purchase content online? There’s plenty of ways around that. For example, you can purchase iTunes gift cards from most digital content stores with cash, which you simply redeem at home with your iTunes account. You are then free to spend whatever gift card you buy on whatever you want. In addition, 7digital offers pay by SMS which allows you to redeem vouchers for songs online – this is perfect if you are under 18 years of age.

Those tips are the best ways to avoid legal trouble with your internet connection. Use them well and remember that you only have to download illegal content once to end up in trouble.gui