Access a remote Windows machine using Apple Remote Desktop
If you need to run Windows applications on your Intel-based Mac, you'll probably install virtualisation software, such as VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop. Alternatively, you could install Apple Bootcamp, which will enable you to turn a partition in to a fully-fledged Windows computer, as long as you have a copy of Windows XP SP2 or Vista that you can install on the machine. There is another alternative. If you have access to another Windows machine, simply connect to this using a remote desktop application and then control this PC through your Mac.
Apple Remote Desktop is a current PPC-only application but it is about to be updated for Intel-based Macs, with the release of a public preview on July 30th - next week. This will enable new Mac owners to connect to a remote PC, via their internal network or across the Internet. Ideal if you use a Mac notebook but still need to access a office-based PC whilst you're on the road.
Security developers are often seeking new and innovative methods to inform us that their anti-spyware application is more capable of seeking the latest threats, compared to rivals. The thing is, most end-users are simply seeking a lightweight application, something that is very effective but doesn't take up a huge number of system resources. With the introduction of Windows Vista, this has enabled developers to offer new features that you wouldn't previously find in anti-spyware apps. Previously you had to look at the icon in the System Tray for current information, which was rather restrictive.
If you work with a large number of files, you want your file management tools to be lightweight in design, take few system resources and integrate in to the Explorer file system. For instance, open an archive and it opens immediately within your archive manager of choice. Want to create an archive from a selection of files? Simply select the files, click your right mouse button and select the archive manager to create your archive.
The more software you install on your machine, the longer your system will take to boot. The problem is that software will attempt to launch on startup, often silently. For instance, security software may even start a system scan or will launch a module that will sit resident in your system memory, checking files that you download, execute or attempt to install. The snag is, your system needs to load this module in to memory, which will require hard drive access. The other problem with startup applications is that if they start in the wrong order, you may find that some tools clash, which can cause your system to pause during boot.
There are a number of tools provided within Windows, but there is no decent back up or restore tool. Sure, you can set up a System Restore point, but that can take a fair amount of resources and it's only good for going back to a previous state. It's not designed to backup important work and data files. For instance, use an external USB drive to store your data and if you have a problem with this drive, you can't access any work files. You can't go back to an early restore point, either.
There have been multiple private and public previews, but the final version of 
Security software can be so integrated in to your system that it's almost impossible to remove. Cynical computer users may feel that this was designed in to the security software, for a reason. The reason being that it means you're less likely to install rival security software, thus you're more likely to simply renew the software already integrated in to your system. However, that's not the case. It's simply due to security suites attempting to handle every possible security scenario so they integrate deep in to your computer. For instance, the anti-spam client may attempt to intercept incoming email before it reaches your inbox and automated system checking tools may boot with your computer. Over time, these tools may either stop performing, perform erratically or can't be uninstalled.
Let's face it, if something works you're unlikely to make any changes. If you're a traditional retail business, you're unlikely to be using a computer to track your stock, sales and customer database. In fact, you probably will not have a customer database. However, you can always maximise and enhance sales by targeting specific customers with information. To do this, you'll need to make sure that you're using a computer to manage sales, entering customer information and using this new database to the maximum.
With the launch of the Intel-based Macs, we're really keen to emphasise that anyone can purchase a stylish Mac and then use Bootcamp to run Windows on your Mac, alongside OS X. Better still, this isn't through virtualisation, as Windows will run at native speeds. If you're a PC gamer, simply boot in to Windows to play your PC games, then use OS X for productivity, email, browsing and more. You might even decided to run your business on your Mac, which means you could do with a business contact manager.
We're all inundated with spam and unwanted email. The thing is, we struggle to filter the emails in to our Junk mail folder as the spammers are finding new and innovative methods of working around standard filter - correct titles, images as the body text and so on. Believe it or not, there is something you can do about the source of the spam, although you might need to do some homework. For instance, you can try and find the originating IP address, which is unique to the source computer. Once you've found this IP address, you can then trace and report the spam to their ISP.
Were you one of the many people who decided to upgrade their broadband from a 2MB to a 8MB service, then wondered why you bothered? Torrent-based files don't download any quicker, most remote servers can't deliver the content to your PC as quickly as your broadband can accept the data and if you try and download on a Sunday afternoon or around 6pm, your connection might crawl to a halt anyhow, particular if you're with and ISP that has a high contention ratio.
Key new updates to two of our favourite web browsers this week. 
We're busy looking to the future. You should see a 
Only a few years ago, computing technology moved forward so quickly that we seemed to update our PC every few months, to keep up with the software that was driving the market forward. These days, games and software many require the latest graphics card and extended memory, but you're unlikely to have to upgrade your PC, motherboard, CPU or other components. Therefore we're more likely to use our money to buy another computer - such as a laptop for the road - rather than upgrade our existing machine.
There are many third party tools, too. If you have a Mac and can't use the Nokia Data Suite, then check out the 
Many of us use existing music store tools such as Napster and iTunes to manage our music. Windows Media Player 11 also enables us to manage our audio players and tracks, although it's hard to imagine that it's the first choice for most users. There are plenty of free and shareware alternatives available, that will enable you to rip, store, manage and burn your audio tracks. People like the thought of using an independent music manager.
Apart from tools that you might need to operate your business, there aren't that many software titles that you would say that you can't live without. Most of these, if they exist, are freeware. Just small little tools that help you with your productivity, improve the appearance of your PC and more. There are a few small issues with Windows and Windows Explorer could be improved. However, you don't know what could be improved until you live with an alternative.
Only a few years ago Netscape was the web browser of choice. As soon as Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with their operating system, naturally more and more people chose to use Internet Explorer. Those were the days where there were no pop-up advertisements, few worries about malicious software and tabbed browsing was yet to be invented. Thus most people were fairly happy with the basic Internet Explorer and didn't really worry about innovation. Netscape quickly disappeared from the mainstream.
Most of us do not bother to back up our important files, data and other information. The snag is that we can write up our work, leave our computer unattended and find that an 'important' update has resulted in our machine having been restarted or similar. There are many scenarios where we do not bother to backup our data and then realise after we lose the information that it took many man hours to prepare the work that we lost.
Photo management software can be such a contradiction. You go out and buy an expensive mega-pixel digital camera and then settle with the free photo editing software that shipped with the camera. This is often sub-standard and restricted. There are limited photo manipulation tools, the automatic image enhancement features do not produce a professional result and so on.
Just when security developers thought they were on top of the situation, Windows Vista was launched, along with beefed up security, user accounts and much more. It meant that a lot of existing anti-virus and anti-spyware software would not work on a Vista-based operating system and had to be re-written or a version specifically for this operating system was released. In most circumstances, the new operating system enabled security developers to encourage upgrades as new features were based around the new OS.
If you’re an existing iTunes user, a new minor update is now
available. This new version, as anticipated, now supports the Apple iPhone. There
is a new menu for the iPhone which will offer a help manual and support, but
these features are not yet available online as yet. 7.3.1. will also enable you
to sync photos, TV, music and more with your iPhone.
Many of us have old LPs, video cassettes and bootleg albums that contain rare audio, live tracks and 12" remixes. There's no way you can obtain these tracks from a music download store and we keep our old analogue audio stored away in the loft for 'safekeeping'. The snag is, a cassette has a finite lifespan and you'll soon find that the audio deteriorates rapidly. The solution is to get these tracks on to your computer as soon as possible. Play your tracks digitally and the original source will remain intact.
One of the most frustrating parts of Apple QuickTime or RealPlayer was that you had to purchase the full or professional version of the media player, in order to unlock some important features. For instance, you couldn't watch your movies full screen, if you have the basic and free version of QuickTime. That required a £30 upgrade. It is rumoured that the next version of the Mac OS X operating system, Leopard, will ship with a version of QuickTime that will not require an upgrade, to watch movies full-screen. However, there's no need to wait for Leopard..
There are times when you'll be unsure about installing software on your computer. That's understandable. You aren't sure of the software publisher, the source website or whether it may clash with currently installed software. One alternative is to use a virtual environment, such as Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. You could install another copy of Windows within this virtual environment and test the software, without the installation affecting your PC.
How many of us have old LPs, tapes and other analogue recordings stashed away in the garage, loft or simply boxed up out of the way? There are loads of old tunes, live tracks and other rare grooves that can't be found on online music stores or available on CD. Instead of wheeling out your old cassette player to play these tracks, why not record them to your PC, touch up the audio and then play them through your portable MP3 player?
Getting through to a technical support department isn't always easy. Once you're through, if you're speaking 'blind', it might far longer to diagnose your system-related problem. For instance, if a component in your new PC isn't working or you feel your system is running far slower than you expected, it might be time to call the support department. The first thing they'll ask is your opinion of the possible problem. They'll ask you for your PC, make, model and idea of installed components.
The latest version of Internet Explorer 7 offers far more functionality than previous editions. This might be enough for most people, but if you want even more than IE can offer, but do not want to lose the engine and other components that make up Internet Explorer, you might be best looking at a replacement browser that uses the Internet Explorer engine.
There are times when you need to move Microsoft Outlook across to a new database, leaving your old PST file behind. There are also times when you simply forget your new Outlook-based password and find that there's absolutely no way of reminding yourself of the password. There's no 'password hint' option or similar. The only alternative is to rack your brain until you find the password to Outlook, which may take you hours or even longer.
If your work requires Microsoft Office compatibility, you've never quite sure what will be installed on someone else's PC. Worse, if you use someone else's PC, and they do have a copy of Word installed, you might find that their personal information is embedded within the document you've created. That doesn't look particularly impressive if you're trying to prove you wrote the report from scratch. The only solution is to bring an office suite with you.
I'm slightly confused over the beta test release of 
What does Vista mean to the average user? Improved security, yes, but it's the visual aspects that seem the most compelling. The new Sidebar, improved Start Menu, Aero UI and more. However, some of these can be emulated within Windows XP. Sure, you're not going to get the advanced technologies, such as the Aero UI, but you can improve the Start Menu, add your own widgets, enhance the application switcher and much more.
With Mac OS X and Windows Vista Home Premium (and other editions), when you have open applications, you can quickly scroll between them using Expose on the Mac or Windows Switcher on Vista. The thing is, if you have the Basic Edition of Vista or are still using Windows XP, you're back to use the old application switcher. This is effective, but doesn't offer you the updated visual feedback of new switcher found in Premium editions of Vista.
If you're seeking a new PC, why not consider a refurbished iMac from the Apple UK refurbished store? For instance, the latest 17" Core 2 Duo is only £599 inc VAT. The much better 20" version is only £699 and this would make an ideal PC for the home. Well designed, almost silent and, if you have the right software, you can run it as a Mac or as a Windows machine. One option is Apple's Bootcamp software, the other is virtualisation technology.
Product development perplexes me these days. Alphas used to be internal-only builds that were made available to developers, employees and generally within a company. The next stage would be an early beta that would go out to a limited number of people who were aware that it was still and early build and shouldn't used on a production machine. These days, we're seeing alphas released to the public for 'internal testing' and, slightly more bizarre, multiple alphas before we even reach first beta.
Managing your employees is never easy. It's made worse when they are not all located in your office. Your department could be made up of people working in another building, town or even from home. This makes communication rather tricky as they'll all be wanting to maximise their time, tasks, sales techniques and their holiday. Sometimes you might find that your employees seem to working in competition against each other, rather than combining forces to maximise your revenue streams.
Most of us have obtained our audio from various sources over the years. Our rare and live tracks could have been recorded from old LPs or even VHS video. The other option was to find rare and live tracks across the Internet. Tracks you couldn't get on CD or via a download music store. Either way, these tracks might not be up to the required standard. If you've recorded audio from an LP or cassette, you might find that the track starts with a lot of unnecessary hiss and crackle that you need removing from the audio.
If you spend most of your day browsing the web, your web browser is going to be the application you end up using the most. In some ways it makes sense to make this the hub of all your computer activity, rather than having a separate tool for storing passwords, setting task reminders and so on. If you could handle everything within Firefox, surely it would make life far easier?
Most modern PCs do not need a major upgrade. Apart from changing the graphics card and possibly upgrading the memory, the only other internal component that should be upgraded is the hard drive. For instance, a faster hard drive will mean that your computer will boot more rapidly, applications will launch more quickly, and your PC will be more snappy. You can also upgrade your hard drive and the extra space will enable you to create multiple partitions, where you can store your work.
When you have files that you want to get across to other users, most of us would attempt to email across to other people or log on to Messenger and send them through IM. However, this requires the other person to be online and for them to manually process the incoming download. There must be a better way and a more automated method of getting files to other users. Say you want to share your photo collection, for example?
Rather than throw away an old PC, most users simply give or sell it to another person. A two year old PC is certainly usable by all but the die-hard gamers. With this in mind, families now own more than one PC or might have a family PC, whilst the daughter has her own MacBook for college. The other scenario is where you have your home PC, another PC in the office and a laptop for the road. Either way, you'll want to keep your files synchronised between these machines.