1. PDF – FoxIt Reader

A “PDF” is marked by the file extension “.pdf”. These files are all over the Internet and are very common in college. FoxIt Reader will open them for you. You might also try Adobe Reader, though FoxIt is a bit faster.

2. DOC/DOCX – Open Office

The file extensions “.doc” and “.docx” are Microsoft Word files. Although Microsoft Word will open these files, Microsoft Word is not free and so many may not have it. Open Office is free and will open these files. Only Microsoft Office 2007 and newer can open “.docx” files, so if you are unable to open one, try using this online converter to convert it back to “.doc”.

Alternatively, you could download the free Word Viewer program from Microsoft, which will open .doc and .docx (you just won’t be able to edit it). You may also need to download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack.

3. DJVU – WinDjView

DJVU, pronounced “deja-vu”, are an open-source alternative to PDF files, but are much more rare. To open a “.djvu” file, use WinDjView (or MacDjView, offered on the same page).

4. PPT – Open Office

PowerPoint Files! “.ppt” designates a PowerPoint file. As with .doc and .docx, you could use Microsoft Office, but Open Office works just as well for free.

5. JPG/GIF/BMP – IrfanView

These are just common image files, and your computer should be able to open all of these without trouble: “.jpg”, “.jpeg”, “.gif”, “.bmp”. However, if you’re having trouble, IrfanView can open pretty much anything.

What are some common file formats you come across every day?

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One of the best benefits about going to college nowadays is the option to take notes using a laptop or netbook rather than handwriting it. Typing out your notes can offer many distinct and huge advantages:

• Speed. If you know how to type, you can usually type much faster than you can write. The less time you spend writing, the more time you spend listening.
• Convenience. If all of your files are saved on your laptop, you don’t need to worry about losing your notebook for that class, or checking to make sure if you have the right one.
• Organization. You have a lot of control over how you take notes — you can make lists, you can bold/italicize/underline words, you can highlight important topics, you can make headings, and so forth.
• Ctrl+F. If you’re trying to find a specific topic, you can use the nifty shortcut ctrl + f to find the topic quickly rather than hunting through many handwritten pages.
• Easy to share. If a friend needs to look at your notes, it’s easy to just copy the file/text, rather than lending out your notebook or photocopying a couple of pages. Plus, it’ll always be neat and legible!

If you want to take notes with your laptops, there are some things to definitely think about beforehand:

Does the professor allow notes with a laptop?

Nowadays, you can (usually) assume the professor will allow notes from a laptop. From my experience, most professors who don’t allow laptops feel very strongly about it and will make it immediately clear on the first day of class, verbally and/or in the syllabus. For larger lectures, laptops are virtually always allowed, but for small classes of about 20 or less, laptops may be a bit more iffy.

You should always respect a professor who doesn’t allow laptops.

Find a good program to take notes with.

For most uses, a typical word processor (like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Writer) will do just fine. These programs provide enough features — such as bolded words, headings, and so forth — for you to get by just fine.

You can use a simple text editor like noetpad if you want to, but these lack the organizational options you’ll probably want. You should definitely stick with a word processor.

If you have Microsoft Office, OneNote works incredibly well and is definitely worth trying.

How you organize your files is up to you. I like to keep all of my notes for a class in a single file, but if you want to create a new one each day, that’s fine.

Concentrate on the class.

If you know how to type without looking, this is ideal. Pay attention to what the professor says and occasionally check to see if what you’re typing is still understandable. You can correct simple misspellings later.

Avoid distractions!

This is a big one. If you have your laptop with you, you have all the distractions that come with it, like instant messaging and Facebook. Keep any programs closed that will distract you and don’t you dare open them.

Similarly, don’t distract other students either. Make sure your sound is muted. Try not to type too loud. Also, what you have on screen can be distracting too — if you’re playing Tetris or something, other people can see that and it’s easy for them to be distracted as well.

Make sure you have enough battery life.

You should charge your laptop before class to prevent it from dying on you. If you’re having trouble getting enough battery life, you should check out these tips to avoid running out.

Some classrooms have power outlets, so bringing your adapter is a great idea just in case.

Keep an eye on your laptop.

You may have a laptop lock back at your dorm,  but in class your laptop is fair game. Never leave it unattended — keep it with you wherever you go, or at least make sure a trustworthy friend is watching it. Laptop theft is extremely common at college, and losing your laptop is the last thing you want.

Of course, you also want to take care of your laptop. Put it in a protective case and set it down gently. Treat it well.

Not all classes are well-suited to take notes on a computer.

For some classes, you’ll find that taking notes on a computer can be a problem. Most math classes are horrible for taking notes on a computer because they rely heavily on drawn diagrams and complex symbols. Even though some programs will allow you to make these diagrams or symbols, you’ll find it will go much faster if you draw them, making handwritten notes the preferred way.

Although some simple drawings are easy to make on your laptop, for any class with many difficult drawings or symbols, you should avoid the laptop.

Largely, you should use your laptop to take notes if it helps you out. If you do better by hand, then by all means use your hand! The point is to make learning easy for you, not to inconvenience yourself.

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More and more, students are relying on their laptops and netbooks to take notes in class. Most students type far faster than they write, so taking notes through typing definitely seems preferable.

Although some classrooms will have wall outlets nearby for you to plug your laptop into, many will not, and if you have several classes in a row, you might find yourself in trouble if your laptop battery starts to run low. Running out of battery juice mid lecture could be a nightmare, so preventing that from happening is definitely important.

Here are some tips to getting the most juice out of your laptop’s battery:

1. Turn Down the Backlight

The backlight is what keeps the screen visible — by turning down the backlight, the screen will become dimmer, but the laptop will use less battery to keep it bright.

Many laptops have a key that does this, and others will have it immediately accessible from the taskbar or Finder. Find a good balance — you want the screen dim enough to get good battery life, but you shouldn’t have to struggle to read the screen.

2. Close programs you’re not using

If you don’t need iTunes, Firefox, AIM, etc. all running at the same time, then close them! You should only keep open what you need (and, if you’re taking notes in class, that means you’ll need very few programs!)

3. Disable wireless Internet

Sometimes it’s necessary for the class for you to be connected to the Internet, but if not, disable your wireless. This will not only save battery juice, but it will eliminate the huge potential distraction that is called the Internet.

Look around on your laptop to see if there’s a switch or button that can disable wireless altogether. This will save the most battery.

4. Avoid anything that is very demanding from your computer.

Playing games, editing photos/movies, and so forth will need a lot of power from your computer and will quickly drain the battery. You’re in class! You should be paying attention!

5. Don’t use your CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drive.

Spinning a disc will steal your laptop battery life like you wouldn’t believe. Take any disc out if it’s not necessary.

6. Close your laptop when you don’t need it.

Once you’re done, close your laptop. Ideally, you should set your laptop to hibernate (which stores everything on the hard drive) rather than sleep or standby (which uses battery to allow you to quickly restore your laptop), especially if you won’t be using your laptop for a while.

7. Buy another battery

If you’ve tried absolutely everything and your battery still isn’t cutting it, it might be time for a new battery. Laptop batteries can begin to hold less as they age, or perhaps your battery never was quite good enough.

Take some time to research good laptop batteries to find one that will work for your laptop and provide you with enough time to justify why you have a laptop in the first place — because it’s portable!

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Having Windows Explorer pinned to your taskbar is pretty common, but when you click on it to open a new instance, you’re taken immediately to your Libraries folder. For some, this is nice, but it’s not ideal. Wouldn’t it be great to pin multiple locations to the icon? Wouldn’t it be great to change the default location?

You can!

Changing the default Windows Explorer location:

If you don’t want it to open straight to Libraries, here’s how you can change it to something else:

1. Hold down shift and right-click on the Windows Explorer icon in the taskbar. Make sure no windows are already open. A normal right-click menu should pop up.
2. Select “Properties” and go to the “Shortcut” tab.
3. In the “Target” option, change what’s entered to either of the following:
   • My Computer: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
   • My Documents: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,::{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}
   • A folder of my choice (ie, “C:/”): %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, <Path to Folder>
4. Hit “OK”, and you’re done!

Pinning more items to Windows Explorer:

You can also add additional folders to the icon, if you like quick access to other folders in general. That way, you can right-click the Windows Explorer icon and quickly choose the folder without having to navigate to it.

Luckily, this is pretty easy: it’s a matter of dragging and dropping icons.

Say you want to pin your “Documents” folder to your icon. Here’s what you would do:

1. Go one folder above the one you want. In my example, I wanted “Documents”, so I would go one folder higher — my user folder.
2. Click on the icon you want and drag it down to the Windows Explorer taskbar icon. You should see “Pin to Taskbar” appear. Release. In my case, I click and drag on “Documents” and take it to the taskbar icon, and then let go!

You can drag other items as well, such as the links in your start menu to Music, Pictures, and so forth. Basically, you just drag and drop the folders you want and that’s it! You can reorganize or unpin them at any time.

Combined, these two features of Windows 7 can help make your computer usage a lot faster!

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Having used Windows 7 for a couple of months now, I can say that I love it. It looks a lot sleeker, it runs more smoothly, and everything is more simple to access and change. Microsoft did a great job.

Normally operating systems cost quite a bit — Windows 7 Home Premium costs $120 brand new, but if you’re a college student, you can upgrade for only $30!

How can I get Windows 7 for $30?

If you have a valid .edu e-mail address (which almost every college and university will give you), you can probably upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium for $30. Simply go here, type in your e-mail address twice. You’ll be sent an e-mail with a link to purchase Windows 7.

From there, simply purchase the item like you would anything else online. Then follow the instructions and your computer will be upgraded!

You also might want to make a DVD of your new operating system, in case things go wrong. Simply follow these steps to burn Windows 7 onto a DVD.

Should I upgrade to Windows 7?

While $30 for an operating system is a great deal, I think deciding whether or not to upgrade depends more on how much you care about your computer and how much time you spend on it.

First of all though, you should make sure your computer can handle an upgrade by using Microsoft’s Upgrade Advisor Tool. Then, make your decision!

If you’re very casual about your computer and basically just use it to browse the Internet, type essays, and instant message people, you’re not really going to get much out of an upgrade. Although Microsoft has done a great job in making this upgrade rather pain-free, you could still run into trouble.

However, if you spend a lot of time on your computer and like to do a multitude of things — ranging from Photoshop to heavy gaming — you’ll find an upgrade to be worth the time and money. Your computer will run smoother, you’ll like the look better, and so forth.

Special thanks to Anonymous Prime for informing me of this deal!

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As I go through my day, a million things occur to me to do later on — maybe I want to remember to watch a certain TV show, maybe I need to get some schoolwork done, or maybe I have an appointment I need to remember. The biggest problem is that I always forget what I was going to do.

Most of the time, these reminders aren’t that important, but it does really suck when it’s something significant.

Finally, I realized the best way for me to get my life together: sending text messages to myself. I’m on the computer often, and because I check my e-mail often, my reminders don’t go forgotten. When something occurs to me to remind myself of, I quickly open my phone and send a text message of the reminder, such as, “test on Friday”. Then, when I’m home and at the computer, it pops up as an unread e-mail.

In college, this has been incredibly useful for me, since things can pile up quickly that I forget about, but through my cell phone, they can accumulate in neatly-displayed lists in my e-mail inbox.

How feasible this is will depend on your wireless provider — not all providers support sending texts to e-mail addresses. I have Verizon and it works fine.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Add your e-mail address to your cell phone. Go into your Contacts and add a new contact. Don’t bother specifying a mobile/home/work number — just go straight to the e-mail address. Use the text input to type out your e-mail address. If you don’t have an e-mail address option, try entering it into any of the other areas. Don’t bother putting in any other numbers.
2. Send a text message. Send a text message to yourself like you would to anybody else. I put my e-mail on speed dial because I use it so frequently, but you should be able to directly through the contacts.
3. Check your e-mail. After the message has sent, log into your e-mail account and see if the message is there. The “From” might be your phone number or your provider, it shouldn’t matter too much. If your text message is there, congrats! You’ve got this all set up!

I took it a step further and set up a nice little filter for messages from me, giving them a bright red label in GMail. I also usually leave the messages unread until I’m up for taking the time to handle the reminder.

You can also use this message to send pictures/videos from your phone to yourself. Remember how I said to keep a list of dorm items as they occur to you? This is a great way to do it!

Technorati Tags: phones, technology, internet

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After a quick Google search, I found out Google Reader Notifier was to blame. It’s really sad to see an extension developer force advertisements in like that.

If you’ve suddenly found big blue ads in your status bar, Google Reader Notifier is to blame. Disable it or uninstall it to get rid of the ad. Feel free to leave a review and show your displeasure.

I’ve recommended that extension on here before, but after finding this out I quickly changed my posts. Now, I recommend using Google Reader Watcher to manage your RSS. I’m sincerely sorry if any of you installed Notifier on my recommendation.

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Essentials

• AdBlock Plus – Gets rid of virtually every ad on the Internet.
  

  FireFox extensions are surprisingly useful.

• Download Statusbar – Creates a bar at the bottom of the page when you’re downloading so you can easily track your download’s progress.
• Greasemonkey – Allows JavaScript scripts to be installed. These scripts can do a huge array of things — check out userscripts.org to find some scripts for sites you like.
• FoxyTunes – You’ll wonder how you ever lived without this one. FoxyTunes creates a small interface in the status bar that you can use to interact with your media player — you can quickly change songs, mute the volume, pause it, and so forth all from your browser window.
• StumbleUpon – The end of your boredom on the Internet. StumbleUpon displays new and interesting sites that fit your interests.

These are cool to have:

• DownThemAll! – Allows you to download all of the media on a page quickly and efficiently. Useful if you’re saving a ton of pictures at once.
• Video DownloadHelper – Quickly download embedded media on sites like YouTube. Essential for downloading movies onto your iPod.
• Image Zoom – Zoom into images or zoom out.
• Linkification – Turns a text URL into a clickable link. Useful on some websites.
• ReloadEvery – Automatically refreshes the page every so often. Great for checking for updates and for watching eBay bids closely at the end.
• FoxTab – Creates a cool 3D interface for switching between open tabs.
• Cooliris – Creates a similar 3D interface for viewing pictures.
• Brief – Directly integrates RSS into the browser, creating a simple layout for you to catch up on your feeds.

Site-Specific

• TwitterFox – Incorporates Twitter into the browser for quickly receiving updates and tweeting your own.
• CustomizeGoogle – Allows slight changes to many of Google’s services to make them more useful to you.
• Gmail Notifier – Informs you when your Gmail account receives a new e-mail.
• Google Reader Watcher – Checks for updates to your feeds in Google Reader. A great way to subscribe to feeds in Firefox.

Web Development

• Firebug – This list would’ve been longer, but Firebug does a lot now. From CSS to HTML to JavaScript, this extension helps web developers see changes in real-time.
• DOM Inspector – If you’re working with JavaScript, visualizing the DOM is essential.

What extensions are you particularly fond of?

Technorati Tags: firefox, extensions, browser

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I hunted around a while trying to find a decent program that could properly monitor my usage from day to day and overall. Finally, I found one — NetLimiter Monitor. And it’s free!

Sample NetLimiter screen

I’ve been using NetLimiter since last June and I’ve been happy. Since all I needed was something that let me see my usage from day to day, month to month, and year to year, I didn’t want a fancy program. NetLimiter is simple and effective at monitoring how much I upload and download,  and only uses about 15 MB of RAM.

The company offers other programs that can limit the bandwidth used by each program, though these programs do cost.

Fun fact: I’ve download 310 GB since June 2008!

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Many future college students will buy a new computer in the summer before they leave for college. These days, a computer is an invaluable tool for students, so buying the best one for you is essential. Although computers are expensive, luckily these days prices have dropped significantly, so even if you’re on a small budget, you should still be able to get a great computer for about $600 or less.

This is a guide to finding the absolute best laptop for you to use in college. I strongly recommend buying a laptop over a desktop computer, as laptops are far more portable and useful in a college setting. This guide is written assuming you’re buying a laptop, though most things hold true for both.

If you’re buying a computer soon, you might want to wait a bit.

I definitely recommend customizing a computer to your needs. Most computer brand will have an option to “Customize this computer”, where you can take each part in a computer and specify what you want. Decide what you’ll be using your computer for mainly and what you’d like to store on it, and then make the decisions of where to upgrade parts according to what you want. Luckily, if you’re not a heavy gamer, many upgrades will be cheap and powerful.

So, let’s begin!

Cost

When buying a new computer, you should always set a maximum budget beforehand. Make the bare minimum choices for the components, and then upgrade as you wish until you reach that maximum cost. You may not be able to have your dream computer, but you can still get a great machine.

Also bear in mind that there are extra costs in buying a computer, such as tax and shipping. Many computer manufacturers will have frequent deals, where you’ll be offered free shipping or a free upgrade. Keep an eye on these.

What brand?

Unless you’re particularly partial to one brand over another, I recommend looking at HP and Dell. Those are the two most common PC types, though you can look into other brands if you’d like, including Gateway and IBM.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of Apple. While the operating system is great for computer novices, the price you pay is significantly higher. This guide is more devoted to Windows computers than to Macs.

Screen size

The size of your screen basically determines the size of your laptop. If you want a more portable and smaller laptop, you’ll want a smaller screen size (14 inches or less). A typical laptop is 15-16 inches, and larger laptops are usually 17 inches or larger. Remember that screen size is measured diagonally.

A larger laptop may give you more visual room, but it will also likely be heavier and more awkward to carry around. Smaller laptops are more portable, but the smaller screen could be a nuisance. Compromise as much as you’d like.

Processor

The processor determines a laptop’s general speed. Speeds of processors are measured in gigahertz (GHz), and a higher number typically refers to a faster processor. A dual-core of about 2.1 GHz is just fine, and you can definitely get by with less.

• Dual and quad core: Dual core computers have two processors, and quad core computers have four. Having two processors does not mean the computer runs twice as fast as a computer with one — it means that the computer can handle more tasks at once.

Memory

Memory (aka RAM) determines how much a computer can “do” at a time — in other words, how many different things you can be running.

These days, RAM is pretty cheap, and a computer with two gigabytes will perform just fine for an average user who uses a computer mainly for instant messaging, Internet, and word processing. I do not recommend having less than two gigabytes. If you are heavily into multitasking, a gamer, or a power user, you’ll definitely want more than two gigabytes — I would recommend three or four. It’s definitely worth noting that if you do buy more than three gigabytes of RAM, you’ll need a 64-bit edition of Windows to use it.

Hard drive space

The size of a hard drive determines how many files you can hold on it — how many pictures, songs, movies, and so forth.

Hard drive space is also pretty cheap, and the average user should be fine with about 160 GB – 250 GB of hard drive space. To determine how much space is right for you, consider again what you’ll be using your computer for.

• Pictures: Pictures generally take up an insignificant amount of space on your computer. You could take tens of thousands of pictures and only fill up about ten gigabytes of space.
• Music: Music takes up more space. 1,500 songs will usually take up around ten gigabytes. If you’re planning on having a large music collection (such as over ten thousand songs), you might want a larger hard drive.
• Movies: Movies definitely take up the most space. A single movie can take up nearly a full gigabyte, so if you have fifty movies saved onto your computer, that’s fifty gigabytes about. If you love to save every movie you see, you’ll want a larger hard drive.
• Games and large applications: Most modern video games take up a lot of space on a computer, usually about five to ten gigabytes per game these days. If you like to play new games, you’ll want a larger hard drive. However, simple games (like Tetris, solitaire, etc.) take up an insignificant amount of space, and older games (like Diablo or World of Warcraft) take up little space. It’s the newest games that take up much more. Large power applications (like Photoshop or other Adobe programs) will take up a lot of space as well.

Graphics card

A graphics card is mainly used to generate 3D images and displays. A graphics card is mainly used for gaming, though it is used elsewhere as well.

• Integrated Graphics Cards: Many pre-made computers come with a default “integrated graphics card”. This is not really a true graphics card, and if you’re ever interested in playing a modern game, you should not get this card. However, if your only real interest is in using the Internet, instant messaging, and so forth, then you should be fine with an integrated graphics card.
• As a rule of thumb, if they have a size next to it (512 MB, 256 MB, 1 GB, etc), then it is a proper graphics card.

Networking

All computers come with an Ethernet connection, meaning you can plug in a cord for Internet. However, if you’re buying a laptop, you’re going to want a wireless connection of some kind so that you can reach the Internet when you’re within the range of its signal. Most laptops will come with a wireless card by default these days, but make sure you specify one. Many colleges offer wireless Internet.

Battery (for laptops)

Your battery basically determines how long your laptop can last without being plugged in. How much life you get out of your battery depends on what you do while it’s unplugged — for example, playing a game will drain the battery faster.

Usually, you don’t need a long battery — many times you can bring a power cord with you and plug in your laptop wherever you are, but if you like to use your laptop outside or in other places, you might want a more powerful battery.

Software

When buying a computer online, you’ll be given a choice to buy many different kinds of software. Personally, I don’t recommend buying any of them (except perhaps Microsoft Office, if you have the money). There is a lot of free software — including anti-virus and software for word processing — which can save you a lot of money.

What should I upgrade if I want…

• …a faster computer? Upgrade the processor (more GHz, or upgrade from dual-core to quad-core).
• …to hold a lot of music/movies/videos? Upgrade to a larger hard drive (more GB).
• …to play 3D games with beautiful graphics? Buy a nicer graphics card (more GB or a better model)
• …to do a lot at once? Upgrade to more RAM (more GB).

In the end, you should definitely buy the best machine that’s suited to your needs. You’ll probably be using this laptop for the next four years of college, so make sure you choose the one that’s best for you. If you have any other general questions about buying a computer, please, ask away!

Technorati Tags: laptop, college, computer

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