Author: Evan Wondrasek

  • Essential Add-ons for Firefox #3: Netbook Edition

    In the third edition of our Essential Add-ons for Firefox series, I’ll be showing you how to maximize your usable workspace in Firefox.  This is especially useful for netbooks, which have small displays and typically offer a very limited amount of vertical space. The goal of this guide is to free up as much vertical…

  • Looking for Free Virus, Spyware, and Malware Protection? Try Microsoft Security Essentials

    Windows only:  Microsoft has just released the public version of their free virus, spyware, and malware protection suite dubbed Microsoft Security Essentials (the successor to their lesser-known Live OneCare product which offered similar features).  Security Essentials is a quick download and simple installation, giving users clear and easy-to-use indications whether your PC is secure or…

  • How to Partition Your Hard Drive with Easeus Partition Master

    Most hard drives come with multiple partitions – which can be thought of as individual hard drives within your main hard drive – to separate a hard drive into multiple sections.  Partitions are very useful if you want to separate your operating system from your documents (allows for easier OS reinstallation), and most manufacturers include…

  • How to Access Gmail Without an Internet Connection

    We all love the freedom and accessibility provided by keeping our email in the digital “cloud“, but an inevitable problem always arises: what do we do when we aren’t able to access the internet?  Or, as we recently discovered, what do we do when the our web-based email provider crashes? One solution is to activate…

  • How to Install Windows from a USB Flash Drive

    Netbooks, which are ultra-portable laptops, have exploded in popularity due to their small size and ease of use.  Unfortunately, that tiny form factor comes with some drawbacks – most netbooks don’t come equipped with an optical drive.  This means that most users are stuck with the operating system that was installed by the manufacturer. Luckily,…

  • How to Automatically Install the Newest Version of Firefox in Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope

    It can take quite a while for updated versions of software to make it to Ubuntu’s illustrious software repository (the software must be customized and approved before it can be listed) – which has left Firefox users hanging for months waiting for it to be updated to version 3.5+.  Mozilla doesn’t offer the easy-to-use .deb…

  • Google Chrome Turns 1, Celebrates With Great JavaScript Performance

    Google Chrome, a recent entry to the Windows web browser market, celebrates its first birthday today.  Chrome has offered many improvements throughout the last year of its development, namely an incredible 150% increase in JavaScript performance since its initial release. This performance increase is definitely noticeable in the performance of Google Chrome Experiments, which is…

  • Essential Add-ons for Firefox #2: Socialite Edition

    In the second installment of Techerator’s Essential Add-ons for Firefox series, I’ll be covering add-ons that help unleash the social maven deep inside of you.  Whether you’re the core of your internet social circle or just want to use your email and Twitter better, this guide will give you the tools to use your browser…

  • Use Pandora Without a Browser with OpenPandora

    Pandora Radio, the online radio station that creates personalized stations based on your musical tastes, can be used outside of pandora.com with the open-source application OpenPandora.  OpenPandora is a quick download (700 kb) and gives you all of the standard functionality of Pandora Radio with several additional features. Hide to Tray with Full Control OpenPandora…

  • Fix: Windows Vista 64-bit Gets Blue Screen After Windows Updates

    A recent Windows Update (KB973879) has been causing a “blue screen of death” (stop error) in many computers running Windows Vista 64-bit edition.  Many of the affected computers are HP Pavillion dv Series laptops (such as dv4 and dv6 models), but we have had reports of other manufactures having the same issues.  The problem occurs…