When is the last time you cleaned your computer? Not cleaning out your computer is like leaving a sink full of dishes for several days, you can’t use the sink and the grim that gets stuck on is hard to get off. Computers are no different than your dishes, except that the parts that have to get cleaned are usually out of sight and mind. Here are some tips to keeping your computer and associated accessories clean.

• Your keyboard is a crumb, dirt and hair collector. Make sure to shake out and use pressurized air (i.e. Dust Off) as often as possible. Avoid eating over the keyboard. You would be amazed at how much can fall in there and impede your keys from working properly.

• Dust and lint can clog the cooling vents of your computer and cause your central processing unit (CPU) to heat up. Make sure to carefully open up the back of the computer with a screwdriver and utilize your pressurized air in short bursts to clean it out.

• The surface of your computer peripherals are a hotbed of germs. Take rubbing alcohol on a cue tip and gently clean your mouse, keyboards  and keypads.

• The monitor must be cleaned with care as not to damage it. For liquid-crystal display (LCD) laptop and flat-panel monitor screens, slightly moisten a soft, lint-free cloth with plain water. Microfiber cloths are excellent for this purpose. Avoid using paper towels, which can scratch monitor surfaces and don’t spray liquid directly onto the screen, but onto the cloth instead. For glass CRT (television-style) monitors, use an ordinary household glass cleaning solution. Unless your manufacturer recommends differently, don’t use alcohol or ammonia-based cleaners on your monitor, as these can damage anti-glare coatings.

It’s time for Spring cleaning….get to work now and it will be finished before you can say Asynchronous Communication Interface Adapter!

How many of you reading this have been lazy when it comes to backing up your files and lost essential data you had to re-create? Whether you’re the college student who lost their entire report, an office worker who lost their last data entries or anything in between it is an annoying and time consuming experience. Backing up your essential data  on a regular basis is important to avoid this from happening.

It does not matter how new your hard drive may be. If a virus infects the drive it could whip out everything that is on it. Do not be fooled into thinking you have time before having to worry about backing up. Also note that the general life span of a hard drive is 5 years. If you are approaching that mark and have not created a back up plan you can also be treading in dangerous territory.

How Can I Backup my Hard Drive?

An External Hard Drive

An attachable external hard drive is an easy to install and effective way of transferring your essential data. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and memory capabilities. If you are in the process of transferring data to a new computer this is a safe and quick way to do so as well. Be cautious if using the external drive to run a program and store your data at the same time. A glitch in the program could damage the drive and its associated data.

Network Attached Storage

An office space usually has some sort of network that all computers feed off of, especially if they are using a central database. Part of this network will include a designated space for employees to store other data as well and is usually covered by some type of back up system. If there is a glitch in a shared database as a result of program error it may be required to re-upload the backup data information, and is a time consuming but saving process. Do not shortcut and always back up your data files on a daily basis if the information is centralized and used by many.

Online Service

There are a number of online services, some that are free and others that require a fee where you can store your files online. It has the benefits of easy access, and if something happens to the data on your computer is easy to retrieve again. Watch the file size and storage limits when picking a service to make sure it is right for you.

So get yourself backed-up today and make sure your data is secure!

WiMAX is the abbreviation for “Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access”. ­It is a wireless communications standard that far surpasses the 30-metre (100-foot) wireless range of a conventional Wi-Fi local area network (LAN). It can actually have a radius of 30 miles. It can be used for a number of applications which includes broadband connections and hotspots at the top of the list. As this technology comes more prevalently used it could replace cable and DSL services and allow you to have universal Internet access everywhere you go.

How does the WiMAX System Work?

There are two parts to a WiMAX system which includes the tower and the receiver. A single WiMAX tower can provide coverage to approximately 3,000 square miles. A WiMAX tower station can connect directly to the Internet using a high-bandwidth or wired connection. It can also connect to another WiMAX tower utilizing non-line-of-sight, line of sight and microwave links. The line-of-sight connection is stronger and more stable than a non, and sends a lot of data with fewer errors. The receiver and antenna can be a small box or PCMCIA card. It could also be built into a laptop the way WiFi access is.

Note: WiMAX services are currently priced higher than WiFi services all around. There also may be a cost associated with the purchase of peripheral devices as well. Make sure to shop around before purchases from a provider.