Still kicking

Hello all!
I am still kicking, but back to work! YEAH! I'm working in industrial heating and cooling on the construction side right now. It is quite physical, in 7 weeks I have lost 32 pounds! YEAH BUDDY! I feel MUCH better, but have a long way to go.

Generally I post about projects that come my way, and I will continue to do that. I have two laptops that I received recently that I have played with a bit, a Compaq ZV6000, and a Sony Vaio PCG-9211.

The Compaq has some potential, AMD XP3200 Processor, 1.5Gb of ram, 80Gb. Hard Drive. Just stinking large! 17 inch display (Too bad it is broken right now!)
I cleaned out all the extra programs that the previous owner had installed, along with a load of malware that Malware Antibites had picked up, LOTS of cleaning, but it seems to run far better now. (1200 registry errors? never had a hit that high before?)

The Sony? Pentium III 600MHz, 256Mb Ram (MAX!) 20Gb Hard Drive. good for surfing, not for power. (What a BRICK!) Need a boot disc to install Windows on a larger Hard Drive. 20Gb wont cut it!

For now not much more than trying to clean and upgrade the memory of both laptops. It helped but there is more I can do yet to improve the performance. Time to head off once again, it's quite early and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.
Later alll!

"ICanMan!"

Freeware and updates

In the last few months Mozilla has released 5 new versions of Firefox, the Current is 9.0.1, I was wondering how many manufacturers of the freeware I use have had recent releases? Here is a list of what I use, and the current versions:
Adobe Reader                                  X
Auslogics Registry Cleaner             2.2.0.0
Auslogics Disc Defrag                     3.3.0.2
AVG Free                                         2012.0.1901
CCLeaner                                        3.14.1616 (64Bit)
DVD Shrink                                    3.2.0.15
Firefox                                            9.0.1
Gimp                                               2.6.11
Image Burn                                     2.5.6.0
Kompozer                                       .8b3
Malware Anti-Bites                        1.15.2.1300
Paint.net                                          3.5.10
Realplayer                                       15.0.13
Yahoo Messenger                            11.5

I'm thinking about trying out defraggler, just have to see what happens I guess? I'm always looking for the best freeware!!

I'll update tthis later, need to check a couple of things yet.

ICanMan!

Firefox 9.0.1 released

Firefox 9.0 was released two days ago, and an update was released yesterday for Mozilla's latest offering. Firefox 9.0 has been touted to be 30% faster that Firefox 8.0, however, you MUST update your pluggins for Firefox to perform at its best.

Here is the link to the checker: Firefox plugin checker  Here you can check the state of your pluggins, and update if neccesary, there are links to the updates as well.

Once you have updated Firefox, check for Windows updates, and run disc cleanup, and defragmenter to optimize your system.
Personally I use available freeware to optimize my computer, including:
CCleaner
Auslogics disc defragmenter, registry cleaner, and registry defragmenter.
Malware anti-bites
These are the main programs that I use to keep my system running efficiently.

Time to head off for now, other things to get accomplished yet today.

Later all!

ICanMan!

Internet Censoring in America

Congress began to hold hearings on SOPA that could change the internet forever and at the same time allow the government to censor anything on the internet, anything "THEY" deem "inappropriate". That would include personal opinion (Blogs like this) e-mail, websites, etc...
If this does not sound familiar to you, then just Google "china internet censoring" and you will see what the government in America has the potential of doing if action is not taken.
I am normally NOT involved in such things, but this time I have to! I am not involved in illegal porn, nor illegal movie or music sharing, or ANY other illegal activities, the Government has NO right to follow me!. This legislation has the potential to muzzle every American, if the Government doesn't like what your saying, it will get taken off permanently! It will force Internet Providers to monitor ALL of your activities! Big Brother is NOT a good thing!
Below is the link to Mozilla, and the link to SOPA, let your voice be heard! If you don't, you may not be able to in the near future!

http://www.mozilla.org/sopa/

"I Can" Man

Freeware Updates

I'm thinking that all the freeware creators have gotten together to release all of their new programs and updates at once. Quite a few updates and new releases today including:







New releases:
Firefox 8.0
Adaware
CCleaner
CD Burner XP
Auslogics Dics Defrag
Auslogics Registry Cleaner
Image Burn
DVD Shrink 3.2
7-Zip

There are others with updates as well:
Malware Antibytes
Spybot Search and Destroy (Version 2.0 is in Beta)
Adobe Acrobat reader X
Realplayer 14 (Make sure to check for further updates after install)

Microsoft Releases:
2 security updates, the Malicious Software Removal Tool for November, and an update for their junk e-mail filter.

Lots of updating to get done! If you have more than one computer, I'd reccomend downloading what you can onto a flash drive, and using it for all your computers.
There are some great freeware tools out there, I've listed just a few of my favorites, not the best per-say, but I like them!

Later all!

ICanMan!

Project Dell

I received another notebook to work on today, it is a Dell Latitude E6400.  It is in need of a new hard drive, the old one id completely non-functional. For now, a 250Gb. drive will be installed, along with a 2Gb. upgrade for the memory.

So far the installation has been a PAIN! LOL! I installed Vista and all related drivers, and as soon as I started it, it would give me the BSOD and restart. After a LOAD of searching, it turned out the video driver did not install properly and was causing ALL of the problems. Now to download and install the 120 updates, antivirus, Firefox, and a load of little helper programs to optimize this little notebook.

Even though the updates are not complete, it is obvious that this is a very nice notebook. It's fast already, can't wait to play with it when optimized!

More later!

Me!

**Update!
YEESH! that's what I have to say about the last few days of messing with this little guy! Three time I updated to a certain point,, then it would flash the BSOD!
As it turns out, I was missing a critical chipset driver that was NOT on the list for this specific notebook. It's AMAZING how much better it runs! REALLY! LOL!
Also, there are compatibility issues with the Hard Drive........it does not like the new Hitachi that I originally installed, so I ended up with a Seagate drive instead.....the more I get into computers, the more confused I seem to get! 
I'm still updating and installing my favorite programs, and I still need to clean it up, but it is quite fast for being two years old?
BTW! You MUST install the drivers in this machine in a specific order, or I guarantee you will have issues! Dell lists this order on line, just search for your specific model.

Have fun all!

ICanMan!!

Bravada rear axle problems

I noticed a humming in the Bravada the other day, it sounded like a low tire, NOT! I was on the way to another town, about 12 mile out, the rear axle went out on me. The axle cover seal went bad and let all the axle grease leak out, so now I need to replace the whole axle......$350 for used, or $500 for a rebuilt unit. either way, I will need to be working before I can replace it.
I really like this old Bravada, even with 145,000 miles on it, I enjoy driving it during the winter. I'll keep you updates when I replace it! For now, it must set.
Have a great one all!

ICanMan!