About to buy Vista? A couple of valuable tips...
We still don't recommend upgrading to Vista for the sake of it yet, but understand that if you need a new PC, you'll be getting Vista anyway! Here's a couple of quick tips:

• Get no less than 1GB of memory. Vista is memory-hungry, and we've noticed a big difference between those machines running on 1GB and those running on 512MB (half a Gig). If you've already bought your machine with 512MB you can always upgrade.
• Don't forget to consider Office software. That means Microsoft Office to most people, which includes programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint (programs vary according to which version of Microsoft Office you buy). See the next section for alternatives to buying Microsoft Office.

OpenOffice - a free and real alternative to Microsoft Office
So you've just bought a shiny new PC, started it up, and tried to open up one of your old Microsoft Word files and low and behold, your computer won't open it, because the computer doesn't have Microsoft Office installed. "But I've got Microsoft Works" I hear you cry. Not the same thing. Almost the same, in it's function, but Office and Works programs save files in different formats, causing issues when you try to open them using the wrong program.
So what's the solution? There are a few, but I'm going to focus on the two most realistic for most customers:

1. Buy Microsoft Office. From £86.48 for Microsoft Office 2007 Home & Student Edition to £487.48 for Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition. Compare all the different 2007 editions here. (NB. previous versions of Office are 97, 2000, XP and 2003)
2. Download and install Open Office (from here). It looks like Microsoft Office (see a screenshot), it works like Microsoft Office, but it's not made by Microsoft. It's made by the open-source community. If you use this configuration you should have no trouble sharing documents with others who use Microsoft Office!

USB Flash Drives - Is yours password protected?
Do you use a USB flash drive? Or a USB pen? Or even a USB key? Well they're all the same thing. They have replaced floppy disks as the storage media of choice to carry your documents and photos around with you and they hold an awful lot these days. But what if yours was lost? Does it contain sensitive data? Company data? Personal details? Could someone else access that data?

Enter the U3 Smart Drive. It's still a USB flash drive, but it's clever. Plug it in and hey presto, it's password protected. No password, no access. Buy a 1GB U3 Smart Drive for £9.93* here, a 2GB drive for £14.66* here, or a 4GB drive for £28.62* here. *Prices subject to change.

Should I update when my computer asks me to?
So here's how it works. You have a program installed on your computer. Periodically, the program will check over the internet to see if there's an update or a newer version available (programs continue to be improved, ironing out bugs and adding more functions). If it finds an update, it will usually notify you by displaying a message such as "There is an update available for the following program. Click here to download it".

It's usually a good thing to allow a program to update itself. If you're not sure if you can trust the program, you can either simply deny it, or 'Google it' (to see what you can find out about the program), or you can contact us for advice! We quite often see the following programs prompting for an update: Windows, Norton, McAfee, AVG, ZoneAlarm, Java, Adobe, Windows Defender, Picasa, Google Earth, Media Player, Realplayer, iTunes, OpenOffice, Skype. We advise to go ahead with the updates, but of course you must do so at your own risk (sorry!).

Toolbars - friend or foe?
Personally, I don't like toolbars; they just take up space! I'm talking about the toolbars that sit at the top of your web browser providing you with various functions as you surf then net. Some can be quite useful, but more often than not we've found that customers don't want the toolbar and they don't even know how it got there!

Usually these toolbars are installed with a completely different program. During the initial setup screens of that different program there will be a box saying "Install so-and-so toolbar" which irritatingly is usually already ticked by default. This is what you need to look out for, and un-tick the box if you don't want the toolbar. If you already have a toolbar you don't want, you can usually remove it by going to "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel.

Where should I buy a new PC/Laptop from? Continued...
We continue to recommend buying computers and laptops from John Lewis. Feedback so far has been generally good and if a problem has arisen a quick call from us has worked wonders...! You can also buy peripherals from John Lewis or from our own Online Shop. Please do give us your feedback when purchasing a computer or laptop from John Lewis or any other retailer as we can pass on your experiences to everyone for the common good!

Claygate in Bloom 2007
Turn out and help to ‘Clean up Claygate’ on 28th April. More info from the Claygate website here.

Claygate Country Five Run
The entry form is now available. Download it and get more info from the website here.

Claygate Flower Show
View the flier for this year's show here. Visit the website here.

Claygate Photos
View our Photos of Claygate (and its neighbours!).
Money raised from ordering prints goes to local good causes. Email your photos of Claygate to us at info@claygatecomputers.co.uk.

Looking for a local shop, business or trade?
Try the Claygate Business Directory. It's FREE to view and FREE to be listed. Have you got a sale on, or a beer festival, or an event of some kind? Let us know and we'll add it to the next issue of TechTips.

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Got something to add?
If you have any news or tips you think might be useful to others please email your tip to info@claygatecomputers.co.uk.