Digital Bits Technology Column

Mike asks: “What are the best options for monitoring children’s computer use and blocking adult content?” In the old days, it was easier to visit forbidden sites: The secret was to stay up later than your parents. (This strategy is only theory, of course.) Now, it’s far more difficult because most Internet service providers offer […]

Review of the Play Limit Time Control System: Time limiter for TV and video games

Fourth grade is rough. I’ve been at my desk forever. Yes, Ms. Cooper, I’m paying attention, but I really just want to get home. See, my paper route savings finally added up enough to buy a new video game, “Major Problem and the Aliens from L.A.” Don’t mind me while I count the seconds until […]

How to format unrecognized drives in Windows

Gregg has a problem: My current BACK UP HARD DRIVE dilemma: Despite the fact I had no trouble installing an internal Seagate back-up drive there is a problem with TWO new Western Digitals when I have tried internal (IDE cable) and external (IDE to USB conversion) hook ups. I suspect this problem could be due […]

Multiple identical printers installing in Windows

Loreen asks: A message popped up on my home computer saying that it detected new hardware and did I want to install it? We had not added anything new to the computer, but my husband grabbed our printer disk and installed the “new” printer. Now when I look at the Print dialog box, there are […]

What is the i386 folder? What is the Windows folder?

Ella asks: The eclean software has a selection for finding duplicate files so you can delete one to save space. However, I haven’t been able to find out which ones of the duplicates can be deleted. For example, the file may beC:\i386\abcd and the duplicate may be C:\windows\i386\abcd. Both have the same bytes and date. So […]

Digital camera features and recommendations

Monica from hotmail.com asks: “I’ve been thinking about investing in a digital camera, but don’t know what I should be looking for.” Digital cameras: Smile! Or just grin and bear it, because they’re here and they’re not going away. Digital cameras are similar to film cameras, but instead of film, they have a “CCD” – […]

How to find and review a GPS

Remember that time you were lost in the Congo? Stumbling through the jungle, sweat drooling down your face, slapping at indestructible mosquitoes, you were terrified you’d never find your way back to civilization. Or what about when you were cruising around rural Indiana, looking for cousin Muriel’s wedding with two whining flower girls in the […]

Answering machine software for your PC does even more

“Nobody’s home! Nobody’s home!” These original and inspired lyrics are to be sung in time with the opening bars of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony (you know: “da da da DUM!”) These prerecorded answering machine messages were sold on TV and store shelves, right next to cassettes of Phil Collins and Madonna. This was part of a […]

Windows 98 to Windows XP CD Burning Problems

Phylis asks: Is there a way to make a Windows XP computer read CDs that were copied on a Windows 98 computer? So you create CDs on a Windows 98 machine, and that PC can read those CDs happily. When you bring those same CDs to a WinXP machine, the WinXP machine can’t read the […]

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Child-proofing the Internet with access restriction software