For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
If you spend a lot of time at your computer, and I know you do, a wrist-rest is a must.
Especially during these winter months, when desks, tabletops, and other work surfaces tend to get chilly. Of course, a properly elevated wrist is also less likely to develop repetitive-stress problems.
You can buy a wrist-rest, sure, but why spend money when you can make your own using any number of household objects?
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
At some point in your life, you'll take a trip. You'll bring your laptop. And you'll make a mistake that will cause you to want to throw that laptop into the swimming pool.
It'll happen like this: The movie you brought along to watch is jerky when played full-screen, so you decide to download an updated video driver.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
Before Print Friendly & PDF
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, printing Web pages is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get.
Well, okay, if you preview the pages first, you'll have some idea—but there's a good chance you won't like what you're gonna get. That's because most Web sites are packed with ads, banners, graphics, and other clutter that don't always translate well to the printed page. If nothing else, you can end up with lots of extraneous pages, which wastes both ink and paper.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
One thing you might have noticed about Windows 8 is its new boot loader (i.e. the screen that appears shortly after you start your PC). It has a graphical interface, which is nice, but it's not great for anyone who prefers a dual- or multi-boot setup, and it also makes it a little harder to get to advanced boot options.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
A new year is upon us, and that can mean only one thing: resolutions. For most folks, these tend to be of the "get in shape" or "quit smoking" variety. But if you're a PCWorld reader, consider adding some PC-specific resolutions to the mix.
I have three suggestions for improving the quality of your computing life in 2013.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
I've written about this subject in years past, but it's so important I feel obligated to repeat myself for those who might have missed it.
Your laptop may be choking to death.
You see, like desktops, laptops can suck up lots of dust. And because everything in a laptop is packed together so tightly, dust is even more dangerous. When the cooling fans have to run constantly, it's just a matter of time before the machine start to overheat. When that happens, it may lock up. It may damage system components. And it might even kick the bucket.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
What the heck is DLNA and why you should care about it? I'll keep this simple.
