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TuneUp Utilities 2011 Fixes, Speeds up, and Maintains Your PC

Posted by Rich On November - 23 - 20101 COMMENT

Windows Guides’ Rating	Compatible with	System
5 out of 5

tuneup2011 011 TuneUp Utilities 2011 Fixes, Speeds up, and Maintains Your PC

PROS: Years of tweaking experience have produced this product that applies tried and tested tweaks to your system. The Program Deactivator removes overhead from your system while keeping the application at hand if needed.

CONS: The trial only lasts 15 days. I like to evaluate software for at least 30 days before committing to paying for it.

VERDICT: If you want something that is more granular than CCleaner or similar products and you don’t mind forking out for great software, go for this.

PRICE: $29.95 (Upgrade) $42.46 (Full Version with 15% off coupon)

VERSION REVIEWED: TuneUp Utilities 2011

DOWNLOAD: TuneUp Utilities 2011 (15% off) (Aff)

15 day Trial

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Update Your Drivers for Stable PC Performance and Security [How To]

Posted by Rich On November - 22 - 20105 COMMENTS

346 Update Your Drivers for Stable PC Performance and Security [How To] Hardware manufacturers frequently update device drivers for their hardware to improve compatibility, efficiency, performance, and security.

A device driver simplifies programming by acting as a translator between a hardware device and the applications or operating systems that use it. Programmers can write the higher-level application code independently of whatever specific hardware device it will ultimately control, because code and device can interface in a standard way, regardless of the software superstructure or of underlying hardware.

Source

This guide will show you how to update your drivers using three different methods:

Update drivers using Windows’ Device Manager
Update drivers with Device Doctor
Update drivers manually by downloading them from the manufacturer’s website

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Big Screen EPG Puts the “E” in Electronic Program Guide [Part 1 of 3]

Posted by Deck Hazen On November - 21 - 2010ADD COMMENTS

In the quest for an ever more perfect media center, our focus now turns to the EPG – the Electronic Program Guide – the data that comes with our programs, but is not a part of our programs. When you stand at the back of the room farthest from the TV, they look like this:

17 EPG 1 Big Screen EPG Puts the “E” in Electronic Program Guide [Part 1 of 3]

17 EPG 2 Big Screen EPG Puts the “E” in Electronic Program Guide [Part 1 of 3]

17 EPG 3 Big Screen EPG Puts the “E” in Electronic Program Guide [Part 1 of 3]

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Make your own Windows 7 Start Orb [How To]

Posted by Stu On November - 20 - 20105 COMMENTS

Program Files 3 Make your own Windows 7 Start Orb [How To] We love customising our desktops at mintywhite. Our community have come up with some brilliant creations and provided links to some great resources.

In this How To guide I will be showing you how to create your own Start Orb for Windows 7. I’ll be using Photoshop CS5. Sorry to those who use alterative software. I’m sure you’ll be able to follow using your preferred software however.

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Setup Your Windows 7 PC to Watch TV

Posted by Deck Hazen On November - 19 - 2010ADD COMMENTS

Back in article #3 (add a tuner) we talked about the features available in the TV section of Windows Media Center made possible by the installation of a TV tuner card.

In this article we’ll take you through the whole process, step by step, with plenty of screen shots. The tuner for this report is the WinTV-HVR-NovaT .

Without a TV Tuner Card your Windows Media Center menu will give you the option to set it up.

TV16 02 Setup Your Windows 7 PC to Watch TV

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FileHippo Update Checker Finds Updates for Installed Programs for Optimal Security

Posted by Rich On November - 11 - 20104 COMMENTS

Windows Guides’ Rating	Compatible with
4.5 out of 5

filehippo03 FileHippo Update Checker Finds Updates for Installed Programs for Optimal Security

PROS: Easy to use and provides direct, high-speed download links. Searches for beta updates. Can be used as a standalone without need for installation.

CONS: Sends information about what programs are installed on your computer to FileHippo to check for updates. Some may see this as a privacy concern.

VERDICT: If you want to get the latest updates (and betas), this program will keep you on top of things.

PRICE: Free

VERSION REVIEWED: 1.037

DOWNLOAD: FileHippo Update Checker

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