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Tip of the Day -

Beefed Up Resource Monitor

As I am sure you know one of the first place to look, when your PC starts running slowly or erratically, is the Performance section of Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del). The graphs for CPU and Page File usage can tell you at a glance how much of your PC’s resources are being gobbled up by programs and Services. Well, this useful facility is even better in Windows 7, select the Performance tab in Task Manager as before then click the Resource Monitor button and there’s a whole new world of information of what your PC is up to.

In addition to the CPU moving graph there’s extra graphs charting Disk and Network Activity and Memory faults/sec and these are neatly arranged down the right hand side. However, the best features are the itemised drop-downs for CPU, Disk, Network and Memory. For me the Network section is the most intriguing and it lists each and every connection to your PC, including all of the ports and who’s scanning them. It’s fascinating, and at the same time slightly worrying to watch. There’s all sorts of activity, from mystery IP addresses having a sniff around, to occasional exchanges between the PC and Microsoft swapping who knows what data, so if you have a spare five minutes, take a look and see who your computer is talking to…

03/12/09

Do you have a tip or tweak for Windows that you would like to share with other PC users? If so we would really like to see it, jot it down and email it to us at: PCTopTips

News Briefs

News Brief Archives 2006, 2007 2008 2009

Here We Go Again, Again… Windows 8 On The Map

No sooner has Windows 7 left the Microsoft nest and news of its successor Windows 8, is starting to circulate on the rumour mill. Win 8 is now in the early stages of development and pencilled in for release some time in 2012, coinciding nicely with the London Olympics, and the end of the world (if those Mayan priests are to be believed…). Work on the new OS is progressing apace and industry reports of recently advertised job vacancies at Microsoft have given the tea-leaf readers some clues as to what we might expect. Windows 7 is almost certainly the last 32-bit operating system from Microsoft and it’ll be 64-bit from now on but 128-bit compatibility is being widely touted as one of the headline features (full implementation is expected in Windows 9). We can also look forward to something called Distributed File System Replication or DFSR, which is a fancy way of keeping folders synchronised across multiple servers. More news when we have it.

0311

The Healing Power of Cellphones

No, they’re still on at least one of the suspect lists when it comes to the alleged hazards of electromagnetic radiation but news has just reached us, via Engadget, that Japanese cellphone manufacturer NTT DoMoCo has licensed car maker Nissan’s Scratch Shield paint technology. The idea is the transparent layer has the ability to heal itself when scratched. Nothing too deep mind you, but light scratches should disappear over the course of a few days or weeks. As an added bonus the paint is actually a lot tougher than regular coatings, so for those of us who take good care of our electronic wizwangs, if it’s as good as they reckon there may no need to buy a protective case.

3011

Pervy PC

Warning, only read this if you are over 18, of an adult disposition and very broad minded! We can thank Gizmodo for news of the latest gadget, designed by a former NASA engineer, we’re told, to attach to your computer, and you… It’s called Real Touch (do not go there if you are easily offended!) and all we can decently tell you at this point is that the device, which costs $200 has an orifice at one end, it is crammed with motors and rubber belts and a heating element and it comes apart for cleaning. The idea is you plug it into your PC and the motors move the belts back and forth in time to what is on the screen. The rest we’ll leave up to your imagination.

2611

News Brief Archives 2006, 2007 2008 2009