BRUCEB NEWS
The Best New Music Of 2020
Spotify released the personalized Wrapped 2020 playlist a few days ago. I was a bit surprised to discover that my fave-rave most-played song in 2020 was the sound of soothing ocean waves. It turns out that Spotify’s algorithms get the teensiest bit confused if you...
MEMORY – THE MAGIC NUMBER CREEPS UPWARD
A few years ago, we routinely got 256Mb of RAM for our new Windows XP computers. Memory was expensive and 256Mb was sufficient to run Windows XP, an antivirus program, an e-mail...
GADGET SLOWDOWN
It briefly looked as if we would be awash in a sea of new gadgets for the holidays, but the flood turned into a trickle - and a pretty disappointing trickle, too. Two missteps...
WINDOWS VISTA RTM
Microsoft completed its work on Windows Vista and released it to manufacturing, beginning a ten-week process of pressing DVDs, putting them into odd looking plastic cases, and...
USE MP3 FORMAT FOR MUSIC FILES!
When you rip CDs to convert them to music files on your computer, a setting in your music software determines the format used for those files, and the bit rate at which the music...
INTERNET EXPLORER 7 – TABBED PAGES, ZOOM
It took me a long time to get used to the tabbed pages in Internet Explorer 7, but I'm starting to learn some of the shortcuts that bring them to life. Try some of these tips!...
MICROSOFT SYNCTOY
Microsoft has released version 1.4 of its wildly useful utility SyncToy, a free program for copying, moving, renaming and deleting files between folders and computers. Here's the...
NOVEMBER 30 LAUNCH FOR WINDOWS VISTA, OFFICE 2007
Microsoft announced today that Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 will officially launch on November 30.It's a little unclear what that means, since boxed copies of the...
IE7 ADDED TO AUTOMATIC UPDATES
Yesterday Microsoft added Internet Explorer 7 to the Automatic Updates system, so your computer will begin prompting you soon to install the upgrade. I suggest you install it;...
PROBLEMS WITH MCAFEE PRODUCTS AND IE7
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 changes many security defaults, and a few applications are having problems with that. McAfee has put up this page of instructions about how to make...
SHIFTING LANDSCAPE FOR ONLINE & OFFLINE GIANTS
The landscape is changing for new and old players. It's interesting to watch the ground shift and wonder where our world of information is going.MySpace and Facebook have reached...
MICROSOFT WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 11
Microsoft released the final version of Windows Media Player 11, a free download for Windows XP. It features deep integration with the URGE online music store (similar to iTunes...
WINDOWS LIVE ONECARE – COSTCO DISCOUNT
If you haven't gotten a copy of Windows Live OneCare yet, it's worth the drive to Costco - they've got an "instant rebate" deal going. Final price out the door: $12.99.
APPLE IPOD SERVICE
When my iPod stopped working correctly, I did all the troubleshooting I could before turning to Apple for support.The experience was brilliant. Apple has a well-designed web site...
FIRST STEP INTO VIDEO – WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER
Many people are staring at their digital camcorders, wondering how to get video off the camera for a DVD or some other project. Adobe Premiere Elements is the software of choice...
WINDOWS VISTA UPGRADE COUPONS
Windows Vista wasn't ready in time for Xmas shopping and the computer manufacturers got worried that people would begin to put off their new system purchases until the spring....