smart computer use?

If it’s not a major inconvenience, it can be very worthwhile to keep an old computer or two around. I’m not necessarily talking about ancient computers. I’m talking about stuff like keeping the last computer that you replaced with your newest computer. And maybe the other computer before that.

Why?

I like to think that even if I buy a new computer, the old one can serve some dedicated or more specific purpose.

For example: An old laptop that I have serves as a drum machine. It runs a copy of Propellerheads Reason 2.5 (which is very lightweight on resources, by the way). I use it only as a drum machine and synthesizer. Nothing else.

The computer works great for that purpose, even though it is over 5 years old.

These are the ground rules for web site use.

If something pops up inside your browser window, roll away.

If it remains, hit the ‘x’ or ‘close’

If it remains, kill it somehow

If it seems new and web 2.0 it probably is. Slick stuff, eh?

If it seems fishy, it probably is.

If it seems smart and intuitive, use it and enjoy it.

If it seems non-smart and non-intuitive, it still might be a good resource, but you may not want to use or enjoy it.

If you appreciate this list on some level, welcome to using web sites properly.

Have you been a big fan of saving and organizing your emails into folders? Have you ever pondered this question? If not, you maybe should. Organizing emails into folders has long been a standard. There is now finally something that will allow us to break from that folder-use standard, and it is provided courtesy of Gmail.

Introducing Labels.

(cue the audience cheer track)

From Gmail Tips – The Complete Collection:

Labels. Gmail lets you assign a Label to a message and then view all messages assigned to that Label. Sounds a lot like the typical “Folder”, right? Well, almost. Unlike Folders, you can assign multiple Labels to a message letting the message span multiple categories. To better understand how Labels differ from Folders, consider the the real-world counterparts, and it should become clear.

Read the rest of the article to get a better explanation and tips on how to use the labels. It’s a fascinating yet kinda obvious concept. One of those things that just makes you wish it’d been available widely before. Before you got the folder system etched into your habits.

If this is a new concept to you, and your excited, wait til you see this: Colored labels. Look at that screen shot. A brilliant way of organizing email. Good stuff.

You don’t need to buy an external hard drive. You might be able to build one for cheaper. You might be able to use existing hardware you have laying around to get off to a cheap start in building your own external hard drive.

It’s nearly 2008, and nearly all PCs are multimedia these days. Though not everyone’s PC harbors hundreds of downloaded movies, even the most workaholic business traveler has a few tunes for the road on his laptop. And if it’s not Hollywood movies and music taking up room on your system, then it’s personal photos and videos that are multiplying faster than bees around your picnic lunch. No longer constrained by the limitations of film, the average vacationer takes hundreds of snapshots or hours of video without thinking about where it will all be stored. Eventually, inevitably, you will run out of space and be faced with two options: Delete your precious memories and purchased content or upgrade your storage options. One quick and relatively easy way to get more room is to build an external hard drive. It is a great time to build one because hard drive memory is really cheap right now.

Read the rest here.

Before it catches fire? If your computer setup is anything like you probably want it to be, you probably are overloading an outlet or two in your office or computer area.

It seems to happen most around the holidays — the electrical outlet begins putting on extra weight. There are nine strings of lights for the tree, electric candles, a CD player with holiday music and — for some reason — a George Foreman Grill. It seems like just staring at this mess of electrical cords for too long will give it just the extra boost it needs to catch fire.

Granted, this article is more about over-plugging in electronics during the holidays, but it applies to pretty much any situation where lots of electronics and plug-ins are involved.

Read the rest of the article here.