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‘EVERYTHING ELSE’

Over the last couple of decades, computers have become an integral, if not indispensable, part of our lives. We use them to create documents, play games and music, research topics of interest on the Internet, communicate with others via email, online forums, and chat, and develop brochures or flyers, and much more. Read the rest of this entry »

The dilemma that every computer user ultimately faces is whether to repair, upgrade, or replace their computer system. Of course, there’s no right answer to this question, as there are many variables and individual situations to consider. The good news is that it’s always a good time to purchase a new system. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most overlooked computer maintenance tasks is that of cleaning the computer components and peripherals. While this may seem like a task that is largely cosmetic in nature, in fact failing to keep our computer systems clean can cause devices to operate erratically or to fail completely. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a scenario most of us are familiar with. We’ve just gone out and bought ourselves a new PC. It’s sleek and fast, and we wonder how we were able to tolerate that old clunker for so long. Our new computer is running so much faster than on our old system – installing, opening, and running applications, downloading music, playing games, etc. – and soon we’re spoiled. Read the rest of this entry »

In the previous section of this tutorial, we made reference to the device drivers required by the installation of a new hardware device – in that case, an expansion card (specifically, the graphics card). Read the rest of this entry »

One of the easiest improvements you can make to your computer is to install a new expansion card. The phrase ‘expansion card’ refers to any of the specialized circuit boards that are inserted into slots in the motherboard. Some examples include graphics (or video) cards, sound (or audio) cards, network cards, and so forth. Read the rest of this entry »

There are two types of information storage on your computer: primary and secondary. Primary storage is provided by devices referred to as memory or more specifically, Random Access Memory (RAM). Secondary storage is provided by such devices as hard drives, floppy drives, and CD-ROM drives. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all of the devices inside your computer, the hard drive is the single device that requires the most maintenance. It is in constant bidirectional communication with the CPU, saving data and retrieving data. Read the rest of this entry »

With the BIOS setup now complete, the hard drive must be prepared to accept data. This is done through the disk management utilities known as partitioning and formatting. With these utilities, you can divide the drive into logical sections, assign drive letters, and physically prepare the disk to accept data. Read the rest of this entry »

In this section you are going to learn how to install a hard drive into your computer system. There are a couple of reasons for doing this. Read the rest of this entry »

One very important task that is all too easily overlooked is that of backing up your files. The process of ‘backing up’ your files involves creating copies of your files and storing the copies in a separate location from where the originals are stored. Read the rest of this entry »

The modern computer is a sophisticated machine that utilizes both hardware and software to accomplish a given task. While the term ‘hardware’ refers to the computer’s physical components, ‘software’ refers to the set of instructions that controls the hardware. Read the rest of this entry »

Many computer problems can be diagnosed and repaired with just a few essential tools, which can be easily purchased as a kit at your local computer store. Read the rest of this entry »

Repairing your own computer can be great fun and save you loads of time and money. But no amount of money saved is worth compromising your safety and some precautions are in order. Read the rest of this entry »

Unfortunately, the Internet can’t be fully explained at all, since there’s no central authority that designs or implements the highly distributed entity called “The Internet.” Read the rest of this entry »

The web sites you visit are all hosted on servers somewhere on the Internet. Web hosts are companies that offer Internet-connected servers that provide space and bandwidth for a domain, for one or more web sites. Read the rest of this entry »

Anything related to the Internet or computers is bound to introduce technical issues pretty soon. One that novice web site owners encounter fairly quickly is FTP, which is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol. Seeing it spelled out, it’s easy to see why those in the know quickly move to speaking in shorthand. Read the rest of this entry »

As a web site owner, you probably want visitors to have a way to contact you if they want more information about your product or service. Maybe you include an email link on your pages or on a “contact us” page. Read the rest of this entry »

For most web site owners, the primary focus is naturally on creating, maintaining and enhancing the site. That often is just part of managing an entire business, for which the web site is just the means to an end. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Database’ is one of the most commonly used terms that one encounters in web site design. Yet, what they really are and whether they’re essential is often not clear to novices. Read the rest of this entry »

There are some things that as a beginning site owner you’ll not have to deal with. But, as your site grows and your popularity among web visitors grows, there are aspects of site ownership you’ll want to know more about. Read the rest of this entry »

There can be any number of disasters than can happen to a web site. One of the worst is when a hosting company’s server fails due to a bad hard drive and all the files are lost. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, so you have a web site hosted either on a server shared with other site owners or on your own dedicated server. That server is nothing more than a computer with a hard drive. A some point, managing the disk space for your site may become a concern. Read the rest of this entry »

As a web site owner you will, at some point, need to know about bandwidth and server load and how it relates to your site’s performance and hosting cost. Read the rest of this entry »

If all web hosts were the same, then deciding who to use based upon lowest cost would make good sense. But, hosts and capabilities vary greatly and price should only be one factor when deciding which hosting company to use. Read the rest of this entry »

The idea that you can get a free web site may appeal to you economically but sometimes “free” is much costlier than choosing a good hosting company and paying to have your site hosted.  Read the rest of this entry »

An operating system functions largely out of sight, or at least is supposed to. It doesn’t matter to non-geeks how a file gets stored, or how memory is used, or how simultaneous processes share the limited resources available on a computer. These are among the basic functions of any operating system. Read the rest of this entry »

It is usually much cheaper to share your web hosting server with other sites instead of paying for a dedicated server for your use only. But, just as sharing a house can have benefits and drawbacks, so too with a server. Read the rest of this entry »

Owners of very large web site may decide that their needs would be best met by hosting on a dedicated server. A dedicated server is one which holds your site(s) exclusively. It’s not shared with other sites. You then have the option to put one site or many on that piece of hardware. Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet is a large inter-connected set of networks which would be pointless without the one part that forms what is called their ‘end-nodes,’ or computers. Those computers often need to share information because the people who use them want to share information. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people will, at some point, decide to switch their web site to a new hosting company. It may be that they’ve found a more economical hosting company, one that provides better service, or one that supplies more extras. Read the rest of this entry »

Nearly everyone will want to change to a new web host at some point. It may involve just changing out old hardware for new. It usually means finding an entirely new web hosting company. When faced with that decision there are a number of issues to be considered. Read the rest of this entry »

Your own domain name sets you apart from those millions of web users who don’t have a domain name. Getting a domain name is simple and inexpensive. Choosing a good domain name takes a little more thought.  Read the rest of this entry »

New domain names are registered all the time, and ones previously registered may expire. Sometimes a domain name will expire because the owner neglected to renew it or chose not to. When a domain name is not renewed, for whatever reason, it becomes available for someone else to use.  Read the rest of this entry »

There are various ways to categorize cheese – by age, texture or firmness, milk used and so forth. But what the connoisseur cares about most is the experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Charles de Gaulle is reported to have once said ‘How can you govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese?’ But whatever may have been the administrative skills of that old French soldier, he was right about one thing. Read the rest of this entry »

Like fine wine, the making of a quality cheese requires a foundation of knowledge, years of practice and a certain amount of art. But one doesn’t need to be an affineur or cheesemaker to grasp the elementary steps of this delectable product. Read the rest of this entry »

We may never know with certainty how cheese was first invented. Sometime at least 5,000 years ago some ancient affineur in Mesopotamia was either lucky or very innovative. Read the rest of this entry »

Americans are catching on to one of the best of Europe’s traditions: serving a cheese course after a meal. Providing a variety of tasty cheeses tops off a great roast beef or halibut, or nearly any main course. Read the rest of this entry »

No one needs to tell you how to eat. You learned that long ago. But to enjoy to the maximum a gourmet cheese, there are some small bits of wisdom that can prove useful. Read the rest of this entry »

Taste is unquestionably an individual affair. Some will rave over the flavor of a Limburger, while others won’t touch Brie. But no matter your preference in type of cheese, there are certain factors that always should be taken into account. Read the rest of this entry »

Cheese makes for a wonderful addition to many recipes. In some cases, such as Welsh rarebit, it is an essential ingredient. But whether it’s the centerpiece or just a tasty topping, cooking with cheese can be tricky. Read the rest of this entry »

Because of its relatively high fat content, cheese has gotten a bad reputation in certain circles. But cheese, in fact, is one of the healthiest foods available. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most important steps in the making of cheese is the aging process. It can be nearly absent, in which case so-called fresh cheese is produced. That’s consumed right away and there are many fine cheeses of this type. But the majority experience aging of various lengths. Read the rest of this entry »

Cheese is one of the healthiest foods we can consume, in moderation. A single ounce provides over 200mg of calcium, about 20% of the daily recommended minimum. Read the rest of this entry »

Some people don’t tolerate well some of the ingredients in cheese. Made from milk, the lactose can affect some negatively even though the amounts in cheese are much lower than in the base product. The whey – the liquid part that forms when milk curdles – contains most of it and is separated off during the cheesemaking process. Read the rest of this entry »

Taking its name from the region from which it originates, Brie is among the most famous of cheeses anywhere. Made in much the same way in France today as it has been since the 8th century, this soft, yellow-white cheese is rightly called the Cheese of Kings. But, one needn’t be Charlemagne to appreciate its fine qualities. Read the rest of this entry »

Tales of the origin of Camembert abound, all of them full of romantic drama. One popular version attributes its invention to Marie Harel, who allegedly named the cheese after her native village. She, in turn, (or so the story goes) gained the recipe from a priest fleeing persecution during the French Revolution in 1790. Marie agreed to hide the fugitive and in return he blessed her with the secret of a magnificent cheese. Read the rest of this entry »

For many years a goat’s milk cheese was just mundane. Produced in abundance in France south of the Loire, it had become as boring as many of the ordinary wines of the region. But in the 1970s, with revived interest in fresh and imported foods, goat’s milk cheeses experienced the same kind of Renaissance as wine. Read the rest of this entry »

Named after the Swiss valley from which it originates in the canton of Fribourg, Gruyère is a work of art. Made from cow’s milk fed on grasses on the edge of the Vaudois uplands, it has a sweet flavor that makes it perfect for an appetizer or as an ingredient in the main dish. Read the rest of this entry »