Welcome to Paul’s Home Computing Blog!

Hello and welcome to Paul’s Home Computing Blog!  We’re here to share lots of information about how to use computers at home.  We’ll discuss hardware, software, networking, security and lots more.

Let me know what you’d like to learn about or any questions you might have.

Remember, home computing is a blast…keep it productive and enjoyable.

Paul

paulshomecomputing@yahoo.com  

Got Gadgets?…Windows Gadgets, That Is

One thing I like about using Windows [copyright Microsoft, Inc.] is that you can customize and personalize your computing experience. Like adding gadgets to your desktop.

Gadgets are small programs that sit on your Windows desktop. They usually are shortcuts to perform a function, automatically access information, display some control or statistic about your computer, and on, and on , and on. There are so many Windows gadgets that the list currently fills 189 pages on the Microsoft Live Gallery site http://gallery.live.com/ . I use the following gadgets on my desktop sidebar: a news feed, Internet TV access, a monitor of my wireless network, and a set of animated gauges that show how much CPU and memory I’m using.

Adding A Printer To Your Wireless Network

I recently added a wireless-capable printer to my home wireless network .  I was pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is.  Here’s what you need to do.

Email Subscription Service

We have begun using a new email subscription service as of November 29, 2009 called Google FeedBurner.  It will send you an email each time our blog is updated with a new post.  If you have already signed up with the previous email subscription service we recently offered, please re-register with this new one and please accept my apology for the inconvenience. 

Please let me know if you have any trouble getting registered.

Thanks.

Remember, home computing is a blast…keep it productive and enjoyable.

Best regards,

Paul

paulshomecomputing@yahoo.com

Obtaining Free Images for Your Computer

Here’s a great way to obtain free photographs, clip art, and other graphics for your use. This works for Windows XP or Vista users. Go to Microsoft Office Online at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx and choose the Clip Art tab at the top. On the next page you can use the search tool near the top left of the page to search for items or in the lower center of the page you can choose categories of images to browse.

Changing Your Desktop Background

Have you wanted to change the background (wallpaper) of your Windows computer to a more colorful or interesting graphic, or something more personal like a family photograph? Its really not difficult to do. We’ll explain how to make those changes and how to obtain free photos, clip art, and other graphics to use.