The era of modernity could not really have been called such and couldn’t have grown so much had it been for the computers. These technological apparatuses made modernity and the other techy gadgets possible. We can also say that computers are the reasons why we people are experiencing lighter and ...

Do you want to be a writer, a newspaper writer perhaps or if you want it to sound more fabulous, a magazine writer but there are no publishing companies that would want to ...

It is best for office and home computers that use protected or confidential information like medical records and financial statements or any information you don't want to lose. Do you keep sensitive information on your computer that you would be upset if you lost it? If someone tells you that he is going to format your hard drive right now and you will lose all of the information on your computer, would you be ready? Computers are a useful part of our lives but we don't always protect ourselves from their loss be it fire, theft or hardware failure. You must have always come across the phrase "Data Backup" when you talk about data loss. It's not that we don't understand its importance completely but just that we pay little less attention to it than required. Data backup can be useful only if done in a consistent manner. This is a precautionary measure that needs to be taken. The advantages of backup are evident in the event that the original computer hard disk crashes. Since the chances of that occurring are very high, when it occurs, the backup is very useful. Hence apart from what you need to do is to make sure that the backups that you have taken can be restored. Data backup without data recovery is not very useful. Hence you need to regularly check that recovery is possible too.

If you have ever printed graphics, images or photos, you probably have seen that what was on the screen isn't always what comes out of the printer. Colour shades might come out darker or lighter and sometimes they might come out completely different to the colour you had. If you are creating an image that you know will be printed, there are a couple of things you can do to prevent these hitches from happening. The first step is to remember that a computer screen uses RGB colours and printers generally use CMYK. This means that your screen is composed of red, green and blue, which is different to the printer's cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black). Most graphic programs will allow you to change the image into CMYK in the mode section. The image on the screen will be closer to the printed version if you change the image to the correct colour combination that your printer uses. It is best to work from CMYK from the start, however, if you are altering an already existing image then change the mode as soon as you can. If you are scanning images in then use as high a resolution as you can. Rather have a file that is too detailed than one that isn't detailed at all. The higher the resolution means the higher the DPI (dots per inch). The more dots per inch an image has, the better the quality is. You can always lower the resolution at a later stage, but if you are going to print, then try use as high as possible. You can get away with a low DPI for websites or any images that will stay on PC. But as soon as you print, every flaw will become obvious. The result will be your images looking pixelated.

Research from government departments shows that, of the companies that lose their data (customer records, financial information etc.,) most tend to go out of business within 18 months. Since it can take up to 12 months to de register a company, most go out of business very quickly indeed. Could it happen to you? It is not as rare as you think. Disasters do happen and not for the reasons you may think. Floods, fire, deliberate acts of sabotage perhaps from a disgruntled former employee, hackers, computer viruses or simply major technical failure can all be instrumental in sending you out of business. But this not need be so. Simple good housekeeping and best practice can keep your data intact and your business growing. So what do I back up and how often? A simple rule of thumb is to back up any data that is difficult to replace. Customer records, databases, payroll and financial accounts are all examples of what needs to be backed up. You may also consider backing up any important or bespoke programmes that you need to run your business. Backup should be carried out every single day and to make absolutely certain, the backups should be removed from site so that any catastrophe befalling the site does not affect your records. Backups should be made to CD, DVD or tape and safest practice is to use a different disk or tape each day. This ensures that you have the very latest copy of your database and other documents to hand every day. Some people use hardware or removable hard drives to make a mirror copy of the operational hard drive. You can then select which files to backup and the task is automatically performed on a regular basis. The downside of this is that it can be destroyed by fire, flood etc unless the removable drive is removed and stored elsewhere overnight. However this has the benefit of being able to plug the removable hard drive into any other suitable computer and you are back up and running quickly. Finally there are an increasing number of companies consider an Internet backup solution. There are many internet based companies that will store your data for you, for a monthly fee. You can run the backup automatically. File backup is an essential practice in modern companies that want to prosper and grow. Not backing up means that one day you might join the many business that have gone to the wall for the sake of an extra few minutes work.

There are a number of things you can do to keep your computer safe from viruses. Below, I briefly discuss the 4 top things you can do to protect your computer. ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE First and foremost, install an anti-virus software program on your computer. And make sure to keep it updated! New viruses are being created all the time. In response, the anti-virus software vendors add new virus "definitions" to their programs. This does NOT mean you have to pay again; you simply download the virus definitions into the existing program. Most programs have an automated way of making this happen. You just specify how often to connect to the vendor's website to check for updates. You also need to make sure that you schedule full scans to check your computer files for viruses. It’s best to schedule it for a time when you won’t be working on the computer, but will have it powered on. Some scans can eat up a lot of your computer’s horsepower. There’s also a thing called real-time scans. This is basically checking your computer’s memory to make sure new files being opened do not contain viruses. SECURITY PATCHES Keep your computer operating system up to date with vendor released security patches. For Microsoft Windows, you can connect to the Windows Update site. Assuming your computer is connected to the internet, you can open Internet Explorer, click on Tools Windows Update. It will then connect you to the Microsoft site to check your computer for any needed patches. You should do this at least once a month.

Here's a Microsoft Surface demo with Bill Gates himself: Microsoft Surface is an interactive coffee table shaped computer that responds to your touch and items that have special bar codes attached to them. The machines are set to be shown this Wednesday at a technology conference in California and then will be initially released in November at US stores such as T Mobile and at special properties owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. The Microsoft Surface computer is expected to cost between five and ten thousand dollars per unit. There are expected to be a small number of programmes included with the Surface computer which include a programme to help share digital photgraphs between friends and family.