Ready for an unconventional upgrade? How about this: You can turn an old, pokey external hard drive into a blazingly fast one with about 10 minutes of your time and $15 of your money.

See, most modern computers have at least one USB 3.0 port. You can plug an older, USB 2.0 drive into one, but you won't get the faster throughput afforded by the newer technology.

Thankfully, you don't need to get a new drive just to enjoy speedier file transfers; you just need a new drive enclosure.

You can buy one for around $15, give or take $5, and from there it's a fairly simply matter to transplant your old drive. Just unscrew the old enclosure, remove whatever screws are holding the drive in place, then separate the drive. Now install it in the new enclosure using the provided instructions (if you even need them; it's a pretty self-explanatory procedure).

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Recently, the conversation turned to POW movies, which inevitably got me talking about "Stalag 17," the classic that inspired the (inferior) TV series "Hogan's Heroes."

I hadn't seen the film in years, but now, with it at the forefront of my mind, I was dying for a screening. Indeed, I thought even my kids were old enough to enjoy it, what with its great blend of humor, mystery, and suspense.

Ah, but where could I find it? I needed to know if and when it might be showing on cable, or, failing that, where I could stream it.

First stop: The TV Guide Watchlist. After you sign up for a free account and specify your local TV provider, you can add any movie to immediately find out when and where it's available: TV, streaming, DVD, etc.

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A few days ago I showed you how to create a Windows 8 shutdown tile, the idea being to circumvent the ridiculous hoops Microsoft makes you jump through just to turn off your computer.

Some would argue that doing so is an antiquated idea. After all, Windows 7 and 8 don't need regular reboots to continue running smoothly the way earlier versions did. On most modern systems you can leverage sleep/hibernate modes almost indefinitely, enjoying the benefits of quick wake/standby without ever actually shutting down.

Ah, but sleep mode continues to draw a bit of power, so it's not always the best option--especially for battery-conscious laptop users. And, let's face it, some users are just accustomed to turning off their PCs at the end of the day.

It's long been one of the great ironies of Windows that you're supposed to click through a shut-down process rather than just pressing the power button. After all, isn't that the off switch?

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Last October I explained to how to shut down Windows 8—a subject you wouldn't think would require its own how-to guide. And yet.

At the end of that post (which generated quite the conversation), I promised to return with a shortcut that would minimize the hassles of mousing and clicking through the Settings menu to reach the shutdown option. And then I plumb forgot!

Reader Jodie recently called me on it, and rightly so. Here, then, from the Better-Late-Than-Never Dept., is your guide to creating a shutdown tile for Windows 8:

1. It starts, ironically, in Desktop mode, which you can reach by clicking/tapping the Desktop tile or pressing Win-D (that's the Windows key and the letter D).

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Earlier today my dad called the Hassle-Free Hotline (also known as my home phone number). The poor guy seems to encounter more than his fair share of inadvertant computer problems.

For example, somehow, while using his laptop's touchpad, he'd made everything in his browser bigger. Consequently, he had to scroll pages left and right, not just up and down.

Welcome to the Curse of the Multitouch Touchpad. Most laptop owners know that dragging a finger across the touchpad moves the cursor. On some systems, dragging two fingers up and down enables scrolling. But there's another "gesture" that's easy to perform by accident, and the results often leave users scratching their heads.

It's the pinch-zoom gesture, which works just like on a smartphone or tablet: you pinch two fingers together to decrease the zoom (i.e. zoom out), or pinch them away from each other to increase the zoom (i.e. zoom in).

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For years now I've harangued relatives about their shoddy password practices. Either they use easily-hacked passwords or forget the passwords they've created—sometimes both.

If you won't take it from me, beloved family, consider this Password Day (yes, apparently it's a thing) statement from McAfee's Robert Siciliano: "74% of Internet users use the same password across multiple websites, so if a hacker gets your password, they now have access to all your accounts. Reusing passwords for email, banking, and social media accounts can lead to identity theft and financial loss."

What's the fix? It's easier than you might think. For starters, head to Intel's Password Grader to see just how easily cracked your current password is. (The site promises not to retain any information, though still recommends that you not use your actual password—so maybe just use somethings similar.)

From there you can scroll down to see a simple step-by-step process for making your "hackable" password "uncrackable." (There's a longer and more informative version of this infographic on Sicilian's blog—and it doesn't require you to use the Password Grader if you'd prefer not to.)

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Recently I told you how to take advantage of Windows 8's cool new file-copy feature. What I didn't mention was a small, but potentially significant, change in the way Windows 8 handles certain folder-copy functions.

Specifically, when you copy a folder to a drive or other destination that already has a folder with the same name, Windows 8 will automatically merge their contents.

That's a change from the way Windows 7 handled things, which was to alert you to the duplicate folder with a dialog box offering options: Yes (to go ahead and merge), Skip (to skip the folder being copied), and Cancel.

As noted by Lifehacker, automatically merging the contents of two like-named folders is probably fine in most instances, but it could cause unintended problems. You might end up overwriting old files with newer ones, or merging two folders you'd wanted to keep separate.

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Even for the most tech-savvy users, Windows 8 presents a bit of a learning curve. Just figuring out something as simple as shutting down your PC can be challenging.

Sure, you can read all the great Windows 8-related tutorials and how-to guides here at PC World, or even take a free online course. But sometimes your best bet is a cheat-sheet—something you can keep right beside your keyboard for at-a-glance information.

The folks at TradePub have just the thing: the Microsoft Windows 8 Quick Reference Card. It's a colorful two-page guide to Windows 8's most commonly used areas. And if you don't mind sharing a bit of personal information, it's free.

All you do is supply your contact info and some clues about your company and job role. (Not wild about including your phone number? Sign up for and use your Google Voice number, which is perfect for such occasions.) You'll need to include a valid email address so you can receive a download link for the card, which is provided as a PDF.

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As I documented last week, I've been having intermittent problems with my Internet connection. Just when I thought I'd solved it, I woke up this morning to yet another massive slowdown.

Using the method I described previously—running SpeedTest on at least two devices—I verified that this wasn't a local hardware problem. Something was amiss with either my router, my modem, or my ISP (Comcast).

This kind of thing can be really frustrating, to say nothing of difficult to diagnose. If I call Comcast, they'll run their usual battery of tests, then tell me they can't find anything wrong.

One tool that might help: Net Uptime Monitor. True to its name, this utility helps you track when your connection is up—and, more importantly, when it's down.

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A couple years back I called the USB-to-IDE/SATA adapter the most indispensable tool in my PC repair kit. Just this weekend, it once again proved itself worthy of that title.

In a nutshell, the adapter allows you to connect an internal hard drive to your PC—externally. What would an internal drive be doing outside your desktop or laptop? Funny you should ask.

About a week ago, my media-center PC starting displaying this message during boot-up: "Hard drive failure imminent." And you know what? It was. In short order, the machine wouldn't boot at all.

Long story short, I had to replace the drive, reinstall Windows, etc. But I wondered if I could salvage any/all of my recorded TV shows. To find out, I connected the old, non-booting drive (now "naked" outside the system) to a USB port via my adapter.

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My new slogan for Windows 8: "It's not all bad!" ($50K and it's yours, Microsoft.)

Misguided though the Metro interface may be, there are some nice under-the-hood improvements to be found in the OS. For example, there's the File History feature I wrote about a couple months ago.

And the other day I did my first bit of file copying. Lo and behold, Windows 8 offers a vastly superior file-copying experience, though you might miss the benefits if you're not paying attention.

Let's say you're moving a bunch of stuff to an external hard drive. As usual, the process goes: drag, drop, and wait. The initial good news is that you'll be waiting less: Windows 8 is generally faster at copying files.

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For the past week or so, I've been trying to pinpoint a problem with my Internet connection.

Usually I blame Comcast, my ISP, but a typical Comcast outage is exactly that: a total interruption of service. I can tell from looking at the System Tray network icon that there's no connection.

This time, however, the problem was intermittent. Sometimes my connection would slow to a crawl, other times it would disappear altogether for a few minutes. But the network icon didn't indicate a loss of service.

Time for some detective work. Sherlock Holmes has a magnifying glass; I use SpeedTest. This free service runs a quick, well, speed test on your Internet connection. It's a handy way to pinpoint the source of an Internet slowdown.

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Over the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to test-drive a couple Windows 8 laptops, and even though I've used the OS intermittently for months now, I still find it jarring every time the Metro interface (a.k.a. Start screen) appears.

Indeed, for anyone brand new to Windows 8, anyone who's already familiar with an earlier version of Windows, that tile-based interface can be startling, confusing, and ultimately very frustrating.

Can you learn it? Sure. Should you have to? No. With a few simple steps, you can make your new Windows 8 PC much more familiar, both in look and operation.

1. Forget that Metro exists

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After the events of the last few days, I thought everybody could use a smile. And this definitely brought one to my face.

Many users still rely on RSS feeds to see the latest posts on their favorite sites. Of course, now that Google is pulling the plug on Reader, the door is wide open for interesting alternatives.

StarRSS definitely qualifies. It turns any RSS feed into scrolling text, complete with music, that you'll instantly recognize from a certain sci-fi classic.

Practical? No. Fun? Definitely.

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The Internet? Kind of a cesspool. And as the parent of kids who are now old enough to operate a Web browser, you can bet I'm keen on checking their activities and filtering out the inappropriate content.

Thankfully, Windows 8 offers some solid tools for doing just that. (Windows 7 does, too, but Microsoft made them easier and more robust in the new version of the OS.)

For example, you can limit your child's Web browsing to age-appropriate sites and block or allow specific sites as needed. You can impose time limits, perhaps locking out the PC during hours when you're at work and not able to supervise. And you can control what games and apps can be played and purchased.

To get started, you'll need to set up an account for your child. Here's how to do that in Windows 8:

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Now that I'm running Windows 8 for at least part of my workday (much to my chagrin), I'm doing my best to make it hospitable. And for me, the first step is installing Google Chrome, my preferred Web browser.

So I dropped into Desktop, fired up Internet Explorer, downloaded and installed Chrome, and set it as my default browser.

Then I ran it, signed into my Google account, and smiled as my synced bookmarks appeared like magic. This is how the world should work.

But, wait, what's this? Something's missing. Three somethings, in fact. When I went to minimize Chrome, I discovered that the Minimize button was gone. And so were the Maximize and Close buttons. That whole area in the upper-right corner of the browser? Empty!

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If you're a Firefox user, you may have noticed a few changes in the latest version of Mozilla's browser, which "turned 20" last week.

Among them: a new Download Manager. It's a small tweak, and I'd say one for the better, but as I noted in Monday's post about Google Chrome's bookmark spacing, not everybody appreciates sudden and unrequested changes.

First, let's talk about what's new. At the right edge of the search bar, alongside the Home button (unless you've moved it), you'll see a new Downloads button.

When you're downloading a file, that button changes to a progress meter, showing you the time remaining. And if you click it, you'll see a drop-down menu with your three most recent downloads. That's pretty handy, in my opinion.

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If you're a Google Chrome user, you may have noticed a recent change in your browser. About a week ago, Google pushed out an update that increased the spacing between bookmarks.

Specifically, when I click one of the folders in my Bookmarks Bar, I get a drop-down list of all the links in that folder. But now I see fewer bookmarks in that list because there's extra white space between each one.

In other words, to use a word-processing analogy, it's like Google bumped up the line spacing from single to double.

No like!

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If you're new to Windows 8, I suspect you're finding certain things confusing. (Never mind the lack of a Start button; that's been covered to death.)

For example, if you're using the Metro UI (i.e. the new Start screen with all the tiles), you've undoubtedly installed some apps. That's half the fun, right?

Okay, but what happens when you want to remove an app? It's not immediately obvious. If you pull up the Charms Bar and tap Settings, no help there. If you tap the Change PC settings link, you'll find no uninstaller there either.

Well, there's always good old Control Panel, right? Wrong: When you get there, you'll see that apps aren't listed. Guess they're not "programs" in the traditional sense.

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Back in January I wrote about the "inconvenient truth" of trying to charge your iPad from a USB port: there's not enough juice.

My recommendation at the time was Digital Innovations' ChargeDr, a USB dongle that allows tablets and other devices to charge more quickly. It works (quite well, in fact), but it's a $30 solution.

If you fancy free workarounds instead, check out Asus Ai Charger. This free utility promises to charge iPhones, iPods, and iPads up to 50 percent faster using your PC's existing USB ports.

That's a pretty lofty claim: software that can boost the effective power output of hardware? It sounds almost impossible, but I'm here to tell you: it works.

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A couple years back I showed you how to add symbols to your Facebook status updates.

Today let's get really fancy. If you frequently use Facebook to chat with friends, you can impress (or at least amuse) them by adding ultra-fancy emoticons to your messages.

This is done by way of "chat codes"—snippets of program language you copy and paste into your chat window. And one really good source for them is Symbols & Emoticons.

That's the link to their home page; here's one to a new batch of codes for images like bullet holes, the Grim Reaper, and even Gangnam Style's Psy. Take a look:

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The more I use Office 2013, the more I like some of the little interface tweaks Microsoft made to the suite.

For example, in Outlook 2013, you can now view all your unread email with just one click. (That's one of five surprisingly great things about the new Outlook.)

I've also discovered a nice change to the Ribbon toolbar, which was one of the most controversial changes in Office 2007 and largely untouched in Office 2010.

In Office 2013, Microsoft now gives you the option of three different Ribbon views, which I'll dub full, reduced, and hidden. Here's how to switch between them:

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I know loads of Facebook users who never bother to check their notifications. You know, that area in the top-left corner of the screen, the one with the little red number badges?

From left to right, those little icons consist of the following: Friend Requests, Inbox, and Notifications.

To me, all three are like inboxes, in that they should be checked and cleared out on a regular basis.

But let's talk about Inbox itself for a moment. When you click that icon, you'll see a list of messages (emails, for all intents and purposes) you've received from people you know.

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I don't know about you, but I keep a lot of tabs open in my Web browser (Google Chrome). For me it's work thing: I'm constantly opening new tabs while I research various topics I plan to write about during the day (or even the days to come).

However, as with all browsers, Chrome tends to get sluggish the more tabs I keep open. Plus, more tabs equals more clutter: once I get to around 10, it gets difficult to sort through them and find what I'm looking for.

I just found the perfect remedy: OneTab. This ingenious Chrome extension converts all your open tabs into a single one, thus freeing up considerable memory and making Chrome (and perhaps your entire PC) run quite a bit faster.

Once installed, OneTab adds a little filter-like icon to the far end of Chrome's address bar. Click it and every open tab disappears, replaced by, well, a OneTab tab. Within that you'll find all your tabs in a convenient list; click any one of them to reopen that tab, or click Restore all if you want them all back.

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Do you have a video that needs converting? You know, one that you downloaded or encoded in a particular format that's not compatible with a particular device?

Google around and you can find a smattering of freeware utilities designed to convert files to different formats, but they tend to be out of date and of varying quality.

My thought: Why not get a commercial product if you can, especially if the price is the same?

For a limited time, as part of an Easter promotion, Digiarty Software is offering its WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe absolutely free. It normally sells for $49.95.

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Windows 8 is a hot topic these days.

Not since Vista has a new operating system generated so much controversy, and I'd argue that Vista wasn't nearly as divisive as Windows 8 has proven to be.

Regular readers of this column already know my position: I don't like it. I've tried it on laptops and tablets alike, and every time I come away asking myself the same question: Why? Why did Microsoft make so many UI changes that offer so little benefit to the user?

Most Windows 8 supporters will tell you, "If you don't like the new Metro interface, just install a third-party utility that restores the Start Button and lets you boot to the Desktop." Sure, you could do that. You could banish Metro forever. Know what you've got then? Windows 7.

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Anyone new to Windows 8 knows that there's a learning curve, especially when it comes to seemingly simple things like shutting down your PC or enabling the hibernate option.

Indeed, if you've ever gone looking for the Control Panel, you know that it can be a little elusive. You might think, "Oh, I'll just hit the ol' Charms Bar and tap Settings," but, alas, Control Panel doesn't appear in that list.

As it turns out, though, it's really easy to access the CP, though the method is a bit different depending on whether you're viewing the Start Screen or the Desktop.

For example, if you're using the Desktop (which I assume most people are), there's no Start button, and therefore no immediately obvious way to find Control Panel.

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Not again, Google!

First you announced plans to shut down iGoogle, the popular but apparently not profitable Web portal, and now comes word that Google Reader will be next to get the axe.

What's next: Gmail?!

Yeah, I realize you're in the business to make money, and if Reader isn't adding to the coffers, it's gotta go. But it's hard on us customers when you give us such cool stuff for free, then decide a few years later to pull the plug.

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Yesterday, digital-comic-book reseller Comixology held a promotion offering a whopping 700 free comics—first issues of old and new series ranging from The Avengers to The Fantastic Four to Spider-Man.

For a total cost of $0, you could read these gems on the Web or your PC, tablet, or smartphone.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the giveaway was so popular, it turned into Kryptonite for Comixology's servers. I tried all day to create an account and grab some free comics, but simply couldn't connect.

Twitter to the rescue! Well, sort of. Seeking information about the situation, and hoping to find out when it might get resolved, I headed to Twitter and searched for Comixology. Two results: one feed for the company itself (@comixology) and another for support (@cmxsupport)! And, sure enough, the latter had all kinds of info and updates regarding the outage.

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Google

Reader Anthony just sent me this urgent-sounding email:

"I was just getting ready to empty Windows' Recycle Bin when I noticed that it's full of apps! These are apps I use regularly on my iPhone. What are they doing in the trash, and how do I get them out?"

Have no fear, Anthony, what you're witnessing is a normal and natural part of iDevice ownership.

See, when you update apps on your iPhone (or iPod or iPad), then sync that device to iTunes on your PC, the earlier versions of those apps get replaced by the updates.

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