TechConfidence™

Nowadays, new web applications—websites that function like software that you would ordinarily install on your computer—pop up every day. Some, like Facebook and Twitter, are truly innovative and couldn’t have been conceived before the popularity of the Web. Others, like Picnik and GMail, take functions that have historically lived on the computer desktop and made them available (often for free) through a web browser. Should you use these new web applications or stick with the tried-and-true PC versions?

Advantages of web applications:

• No need to install anything on your computer. You just use your browser and an Internet connection. Also no need for installing updates, upgrading to new versions, etc.
• The application, and in my cases your data, are accessible from any computer with an Internet connection.
• The application and your data are often backed up and secured well.
• Data can often be shared easily with others.
• If anything happens to your computer or you get a new one, you don’t have to do anything except log in to the website from a new computer.

Disadvantages of web applications:

• Some web applications may be slower and/or less full-featured than their computer counterparts.
• If your Internet connection is slow or unreliable, your access to the applications will be, too.
• In some cases, you will not be able to access your data without an Internet connection (for example, if you are on a plane with your laptop). Some web applications, however, do allow syncing data for offline use.
• You have to entrust your data, including its privacy and security to a company that you may not have any control over. In some cases, your activity may be tracked or sold for marketing purposes. This is usually disclosed in a privacy policy.
• If the company goes out of business or decides to change or cancel its product, you’ll need to find a new application. In extreme cases, you may lose access to your data, as well. (This can sometimes be avoided by backing up a copy of your data onto your computer.)

So, with all that, does it make sense to use a web application? It depends on your needs. Some applications, like e-mail, lend themselves very well to web applications, thus the popularity of GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, and others. This is because it’s convenient to access your e-mail from any browser and always have access to all your old mail, your address book, and so on. In contrast, something like an online photo editor, such as Picnik, or an online photo sharing and organizing site like flickr, may not be of interest if all you want to do is edit and organize photos on your computer. (A better solution might be Picasa, which also allows you to create web albums to share with friends and family. Just remember to back up your photos once in a while, in case anything happens to your computer.)

Some applications, like Google Docs, are helpful for special situations. For example, while Microsoft Word is a far more sophisticated word processor than the Google Docs word processor, Google Docs allows you to easily share and/or collaborate on a document with other folks online. Then there are the web applications, like previously mentioned Facebook and Twitter, which have no equivalents on the desktop.

If you’ve had an experience, whether positive or negative, using web applications, feel free to share it in the comments!

When purchasing a new PC, it’s worth thinking about how many years you can expect to get out of it. This can help you decide how much money to invest in it, whether to replace or fix it if it has a problem down the road, etc.

I generally recommend that average PC users expect five years from a new system. That, of course, is a prediction, and some systems will be replaced sooner and some will last longer.

Why five years? Well, a few reasons. First, after five years (sometimes even less), it’s hard to get technical support, replacement parts, upgrades, and security updates for hardware and software. Second, any new hardware or software you buy may be less likely to be compatible with your old hardware and, especially, your old operating system. Third, without excellent care, there’s a decent chance that your computer (hardware and/or software) will have gotten run down, slow, and cluttered after several years. It may be possible to clean up and keep it going awhile longer, but the investment may not be worthwhile.

Replacing a PC is no small job, and I don’t recommend it unless necessary. However, if your PC is more than five years old and is now experiencing a problem that will cost significant time and/or money to fix, it may be time for a new machine. And, if you’re buying a new computer today, plan on buying yourself something to last the next five years.

Whether your computer is running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you should have Automatic Updates enabled, so your computer can automatically download and install the latest security fixes for Windows and Internet Explorer.

Did you know, though, that you can upgrade for free to Microsoft Update, which also automatically grabs updates for Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), Windows Live Messenger, and other Microsoft products?

In Windows Vista, all you have to do is:

1. Click the Start button
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click Check for Updates
4. Click Change Settings (on the left)
5. Check the box for Use Microsoft Update
6. Click OK
7. Confirm the change

In Windows XP, it’s a little different. Open up Internet Explorer and browse to http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-US. From there, follow the instructions to install Microsoft Update.

A shameless plug to be sure, since I manage the organization that runs the site, but BadwareBusters.org is dedicated to helping people protect themselves and their computers from viruses, spyware, and other badware. The site is easy to use and has a great volunteer community. If you have questions about anti-virus software, how to detect or remove viruses, or how to protect a blog or website from being infected, be sure to check it out.

If you like to keep notes or lists using your PC, you might want to consider Evernote. This free product/service combination includes software you can use on your Windows computer, automatic syncing to Evernote’s Internet servers, and a web version that you can use from anywhere. I use it to clip interesting web content and to keep track of recipes, restaurants I want to try, movies I’d like to see, ideas for blog posts, and more. I like that I can access and add to my notes from any web browser, as well as keep multiple PCs in sync. Features that I haven’t tried include syncing with an iPhone, publishing the notebook to the web for public viewing, and more. There’s also a paid subscription available for people who want to take advantage of more storage space and certain advanced features.

If you’ve been using the free version of AVG Anti-Virus, it’s time to upgrade to the new version, which is version 8.5. You can find the download here.

One of the most important things you can do to keep the data (photos, documents, Quicken data, etc.) safe is to back it up. An ideal solution would make it easy to back up everything you might need in case your computer fails (or is stolen, infected by a virus, etc.), store the data securely away from home, and make it quick and easy to restore when you need the data back. Unfortunately, there are no truly comprehensive, easy backup solutions out there for Windows PCs. However, in the spirit of something is better than nothing, here are a few simple ways you can back up some of your key files:

• Most modern computers come with DVD burners and software that makes it easy to burn files to disc. Use this software along with blank DVD-R or DVD+R discs (they’re pretty similar and both should work) to periodically make a backup of your photos and other files you’d be really sorry to lose. Keep the discs in a fire-resistant safe or in a safe location away from home. (If you don’t have a DVD burner, you probably have a CD burner and can use CD-R discs. They don’t hold as much as DVD-R/DVD+R, though.)
• A USB flash drive (also known as a thumb drive or jump drive) acts like an extra disk drive when you plug it in. Copy some important files from your C: drive and store the flash drive someplace safe. Periodically copy over new or changed files to the flash drive.
• Mozy Home offers free online backup for up to 2 GB of data. That may not be enough to back up everything on your computer, but it’s probably sufficient for your main documents and photos. The software installs on your PC and then uses your high speed Internet account to automatically upload your data. If anything ever happens to your computer, you can download the files from the Mozy website and/or by installing the software on a new/fixed computer. Be sure to use a strong password (and one that you’ll remember or that you have written down and stored someplace safe) so no one else can access your data!

Currently in the news is the Conficker worm, a rather nasty piece of malware that has infected a large number of Windows computers. Some folks put together a neat tool to give a quick sense of whether your computer might be infected by Conficker or similar malware. It’s called the Conficker Eye Chart due to its resemblance to eye charts in doctors’ offices. The idea is that, on a properly working computer that isn’t infected, you should be able to see all of the images. Certain patterns of images failing to load are associated with particular versions of the Conficker worm. It’s probably worth a quick visit to make sure all is well.

Two recent websites—Academic Earth and YouTube EDU—offer free videos of lectures and even entire courses culled from the collections of top universities, including MIT, Harvard, and more. Academic Earth has a nicer interface that makes it easy to find the best lectures and courses, while YouTube EDU has a broader selection. Either way, you’ll find a lot of great classes!

One of the best things you can do to make your computer experience easier and more secure is to uninstall software that you’re never going to use. In Windows, there are two common methods to uninstall software, and they usually work equally well:

1. In the Control Panel, which can be found on the Start menu, there is an option called Add/Remove Programs or Uninstall a program, depending on the version of Windows you use.
2. In the Start menu, if you point to All Programs, you’ll often find a folder for the program you wish to uninstall. Inside this folder, look for a shortcut called Uninstall program name.

There’s also a free program called Revo Uninstaller that helps out by deleting some of the extra junk (icons, files, settings, etc.) that sometimes gets left behind when you uninstall using the methods above. Of course, this is an article about removing software, not adding more, but if you think you’ll be uninstalling a lot, Revo may be worthwhile.

Before you start uninstalling everything, a word of caution. You should not uninstall a program without having some sense of what it is, and you should not uninstall a program that you think you might want to use someday, unless you have a way of reinstalling it (e.g., the original software disc or knowledge of where you can download it if it’s free software).

With that caution in mind, it’s well worth uninstalling software you don’t need. Trial versions of software you don’t need? Ditch ‘em. An instant messaging program you downloaded two years ago and haven’t used since? Get rid of it.

Uninstalling software declutters your Start menu and desktop, removes possible avenues of malware infection, frees up hard drive space, and occasionally even speeds up your computer. So, what are you waiting for?