Earth Science teachers - another TED video for you

Yes, I'm addicted to TED. (Is there a support group for that?) I just watched two more excellent TED videos this evening, the second being this one of Sylvia Earle talking about the shocking statistics of the dramatic decline of the health of our Oceans. Oh my...This is an excellent lesson in the making. Send this to your favorite Earth Science teacher right away.http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sylvia_earle_s_ted_prize_wish_to_protect_our_oceans.h...

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Picasion - Create GIF animations online - Get images from Picasa Web or Flickrcreate animations or slideshows with no email or account needed. Nothing need be stored on the site. CAUTION - BEFORE CREATING YOUR ANIMATION CLICK THE ADVANCED OPTIONS BUTTON. In there you'll see that your animation is automatically going into the Gallery.tags: tools, animation, photosConvert PDF to Word (DOC) Online — 100% Free!Easily convert pdfs to Word.tags: converter, pdf, word, ToolsPosted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are he...

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The Many Faces of Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional

I have written extensively about the new features in Adobe Acrobat 9 over the past several months and continue to be very excited with all of the possibilities. In fact recently I have done several presentations with a focus on using Adobe Acrobat 9 for digital asset distribution. As a faculty member, I have found the ability to create PDF Portfolio's indispensable for the work that I do. Now that I am able to embed videos, SWF files, Word documents and deliver it as one unified PDF file it has made my life that much easier for posting materials onto BlackBoard.As much as Adobe Acrobat 9Professional has helped me, I have found Acrobat to be extremely...

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Posted in: Adobe Acrobat 9,Adobe Acrobat Reader 9,assistive technology,Forms

Something new in Gmail

This isn't NEW news, by any means, but I was just admiring it so I thought I'd point it out in case you haven't yet seen it.Have you ever attached a file and then sent the email before the file was truly attached? I have. Several times. It didn't tell you that it was working to attaching it, did it? NO! You thought it worked like desktop clients.Well, it still doesn't work like a desktop client, but at least now when you attach a file you'll see a thermometer that shows the progress of the attachment. YE...

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The 14th Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

Welcome to the fourteenth monthly Carnival of Computer Help and Advice - a digest of recent blog articles that spread the wealth of PC knowledge.First up this month we have the latest post from carnival-regular Andrew Edgington. He presents a guide to Adobe Photoshop Tricks For Absolute Beginners at Learn Photoshop Now.Readers will no doubt have noticed that the popularity of Twitter is on the rise. The author of Homemaker Barbi, Danelle Ice, has kindly submitted a "quick and easy tutorial will show you how to capitalize your username on Twitter without losing your followers or tweets" in her How To Capitalize Your User Name on Twitter post.While...

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Posted in: Blog Carnival

Test Side Effects - Africa doesn't exist

Here's the gist of a conversation from today.Upon hearing of a wonderful middle school project on Africa, this coach sent it off to her middle school teachers, suggesting that it would be a lot of fun, etc etc. The response she got back, "We wrote Africa out of the curriculum three years ago."They are devoting more time to Western Civilization topics. Nobody else has picked up the topic, either, although one person does refer to it in a geography class.This HAS to be because Africa doesn't appear on any state tests. Why else would you stop talking about the world's second largest continent? It has both the largest and the smallest countries, deserts, rain forests.. and AIDS, and Darfur, and ... oh my. We've heard speakers at TED talking about how Africa is the world's hottest emerging market,...

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IT Consulting Firm Thrives on Single-Point-of-Contact Value Proposition

Do you own an IT consulting firm? To develop sophisticated solutions and build lasting client relationships, you need to understand your clients' biggest business problems and be able to respond to their many needs.Continuing relationships with clients are essential to the longevity of your business. These relationships help you get steady revenue so you don’t have to be on the edge of your seat wondering when you’ll be getting your next new project. These long-term clients also help you get the career satisfaction that comes from working with the same accounts for a long time and seeing your technology plans really work long term.Developing relationships means understanding what your small business clients need and also knowing what they expect from you. A major part of what small business...

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Posted in: IT consulting firm

Satellite TV Vs Cable TV

Choosing the right choice for your home TV can be really tricky. People see all the online advertisement about Cable TV, and about satellite TV and every advertisement claim that its publisher offer best service, and best price. As such, it is very hard for consumers to know what is really the best in terms of quality, and price.Current cable television customers know the reality of cable all too well: the bills keep getting bigger and the service keeps getting poorer.Cable subscribers around the country are subject to constant rate hikes and some of the worst customer service of any industry in existence today. Two or three cable companies have a virtual monopoly on the market, and they seem oblivious to widespread dissatisfaction with their product, pricing, and support. Between taxes, monthly...

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Posted in: Hardware,i

Free Anti Virus Software (Review)

Ever since the computer became a common place item in every household all over the world, antivirus software has become a necessity. Of course with such increasing demands for it, many software making companies are taking advantage and developing more and more antivirus engines for use in any electronic device that might need it. Choosing one that is suited to your needs is not easy due to the fact that there are plenty of options and all claim to be the best. However, for those who are on a budget or are looking for something easy on the pockets, free antivirus software is their only option. Even then, the choices are quite numerous. Your best bet in finding the best free antivirus software is to read free antivirus software reviews. I know, I know, you're thinking that these antivirus softwares...

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Posted in: Security,Software

Mindjet Connections February Newsletter Available

I want to thank Gaelen from Mindjet for the fantastic interview that she did with me as part of her Customer Focus series in the Mindjet Connections Newsletter. You can read the entire interview and how I am using MindManager 8 in the professional work that I do. Also check out my video tutorial on how to use the "To Do" List in MindManager...

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Posted in: brian friedlander,Mindjet Newsletter,MindManager,Mindmanager 8

Join Joan Green for an Exciting Webinar

I have known Joan Green for a long time and have always been impressed with her knowledge, passion, and innovation in the way she utilizes assistive technology with the clients she works with. Joan is now presenting this information through her webinar series making it easier than ever to find out about new and exciting practices that can make a big difference for individuals with disabilities. See below information about the webinar that Joan will be hosting this week.Joan and I have also teamed up and will be releasing later this month an innovative ebook on writing supports for individuals with disabilities. The book title, Technology Supports...

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Posted in: assistive technology,brian s. friedlander,eBooks,joan green,writing

Wallace Tait Interviews Brian S Friedlander

Listen to what we hope will be the first of many podcasts on the topic of visual mapping. This past weekend Wallace and I over Skype had a chance to sit down and talk about visual mapping, the Visual Mapping Body of Knowledge (VMBOK) and my upcoming presentation at the VizThink 2009 North American Conference. Listen to our banter and enjoy. Look for more podcasts coming soon that will be posted here at the AssistiveTek Blog. Enjoy! ...

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Posted in: brian friedlander,brian s. friedlander,podcast,visual mapper,visual mapping body of knowledge,VMBOK,wallace tait

Where has all my hard-drive space gone? - Reloaded

Just as you can never have enough cupboard space in your home, you can never have enough hard-drive space. Nevertheless, occasionally we all have to sort through our storage and throw out a few things to make some more room. This is often easier said than done when it comes to your PC as it is not always clear what is taking up all the space.The free version of TreeSize provides a graphical representation of how much hard-drive space your folders are using. Simply right-click on a particularly bloated folder and click on 'Explore' from the menu. This will open up that folder so you can set about deleting any files that are surplus to requirement....

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Posted in: Firefox,Freeware,Internet Explorer,Lost document

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TimeSpace: World - washingtonpost.comTimeSpace is an interactive map that allows you to navigate articles, photos, video and commentary from around the globe. Discover news hot-spots where coverage is clustered. Use the timeline to illustrate peaks in coverage, and customize your news searches to a particular day or specific hour. (Many Washington Post stories appear at midnight; others are published throughout the day as news happens)tags: news, mapGustavo Dudamel leads El Sistema's top youth orchestra | Video on TED.comThe Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra contains the best high school musicians from Venezuela's life-changing music program, El Sistema. Led here by Gustavo Dudamel, they play Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, 2nd movement, and Arturo Márquez' Danzón No. 2.tags: ted.com, musicPosted...

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MoFuse for Mobile Learners

With all of us on the go it is nice to be able to read our favorite blogs on our smartphones-but sometimes this presents a problem when the blog has been formatted for a desktop or laptop computer. This is where Mofuse comes to the rescue and helps you deliver your blog by reformatting your content for your smartphone. Within seconds I was able to register my blog with Mofuse and have my blog ready for a mobile phone experience. To see what the Assistive Tek Blog looks like on your smartphone click here. If you have a blog that you would like to reformat just go to Mofuse.http://assistivetek.mofuse.mo...

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Posted in: Assistivetek,mobile phone,mofuse,smartphone

Software Consultancy Tips for Selling Virus Protection Support Contracts

Do you own a software consultancy? And do you want to really build solid relationships with your clients?One of the easiest ways to do this is to offer long-term support contracts that focus on data protection including virus and malware protection, firewalls, encryption, power protection, and data backup. You need to get clients that are willing to sign long-term agreements with you if you want to get steady revenue. And one of the best ways to communicate the value of these agreements to your clients is by focusing on protection from debilitating, business-crippling computer viruses.You need to communicate the importance of proactive maintenance to your software consultancy clients to protect them from unscheduled downtime that can cripple their businesses, hijack their networks, cause...

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Posted in: software consultancy

Eyeglasses by Zenni Optical

One of the most important organs for human is the eyes, if you have eye problems or you are not confident with your eyes then wear a glass eye is one of the answer. Many people spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars for his eye care likes to choose a frame design that suitable with their personality and lifestyle or add prescription lenses with a high-tech coating. But why should spend a lot of money if you can get it all with the cheap price. According to an article from The New York Times titled Seeing Straight Without Breaking the Bank, if you want a cheap pair of eyeglasses, just try zennioptical.com, which sells generic frames,...

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Posted in: SitesReview

The Orbitwheel

New era for skateboard, maybe in the future skateboard is useless, the Orbitwheel is a brand new concept for wheeled sports. The design is simple: two feet, two wheels... and you're ready to go. The Orbitwheel's concept is basic, but with the wheels whirling around your feet, you are capable of countless tricks and maneuvers that can be as complex and creative as you can come up with.With the Orbitwheel's minimalistic design, fun and transportation have never been so portable and convenient. The large wheel radius enables you to enjoy the Wheelblazer on a variety of different surfaces. The two thin, light wheels require no folding down or...

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Posted in: Misc. Gadgets

Find and Make Your Own Plates

Do you need an unique Private Number Plates, Personalized Number Plates, Number Plates or Car Registrations for your vehicle. Just visit this site, we will help you to find the suitable private number plates for you. Just enter your criteria private number plates that you want like your initials, name, nickname or car model at our search box. Enjoy your private number plat...

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Posted in: SitesReview

The Coolest Bridge

The coolet bridge In Leeuwarden, Netherlands they enjoy the comforts of a robotic overlord controlling a road bridge. It looks less like a bridge than a giant transformer crouching next to the river, holding down a thin spatula of road surface. From the road lines on the bridge arm it looks like cars just drive over the entire surface of the thing. It’s a smart solution for a small bridge, even though its size is a bit ungainly, and they somehow thought painting cute post-modern pastel colors was interesting.   Sou...

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Posted in: Misc. Gadgets

The Best Web Hosting Service

Find a competent web hosting service is not easy, many individuals and organizations are confused to decide which web hosting service is suitable to develop their business and company via the World Wide Web. Many things to look at in determining your web hosting service that is Assess Your Needs, Rate, Reliability and Speed, Data Transfer and Disk Space, Technical Support, Scripts and Special Features, Control Panel. Just visit this site, so many benefits that can be like host reliability, key features, uptime, bonus features, past and current user feedbacks, customer support, user-friendliness and hosting awards. Don’t forget to visit the blog section because a lot of information that you can get like industry news, trends, products and discussio...

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Posted in: SitesReview

Coolest Bluetooth Bracelet

Just use the Bluetooth bracelet as you would a normal Bluetooth device if you missed a few calls on your cell phone because it was on silent mode or you just didn't hear your mobile phone ring. it is very simple and very straight forward to use. The Bluetooth bracelet vibrates when you receive calls and displays the caller ID's number so you can decide whether or not you want to fish your phone out of your pocket or bag. If you are too busy to take calls then just press the function button to reject the call, thereby allowing you to pay more attention to your meeting. This Bluetooth bracelet not only looks cool, but also makes your busy life...

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Posted in: Technology

STOP NOW!! WATCH THIS!!

Watch this TED video. Right now.A couple of weeks ago I watched a live broadcast of this session. When it was over I stood in front of my computer and applauded for these kids. This is simply astounding. Here is the background of it:"The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra contains the best high school musicians from Venezuela's life-changing music program, El Sistema. Led here by Gustavo Dudamel, they play Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, 2nd movement, and Arturo Márquez' Danzón No. 2."Read more about it here. Then, pass this link along to every music teacher you know. This youth symphony is unlike anything you're likely to hear in your lifetime. Make sure you watch both pieces. See if you, too, don't leap to your feet when it's ov...

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Poll Everywhere Adds Macintosh Support for Keynote and Powerpoint

PollEverywhere today announced that it will now support live data polling within Keynote and PowerPoint Mac.Here’s how to download the Deskbar: when viewing your poll as either a “Live Chart” or “Live Text Wall”, click “Download Slide” and then “Keynote and PPT Ma...

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Posted in: Impatica 4 for PowerPoint,Keynote,Macintosh,PollEverywhere,PPT Mac

The Inauguration Project continues

A few days ago I mentioned this project that was conducted by some students at Springfield High School here in PA. What an event it was, too. A major step into being creators and managers of content/news, and taking charge of their learning. Very cool.Now comes this blog. SHSPresidential Watch blog. Here, students will be posting questions, thoughts, and observations to the blog and replying to comments on their posts. How will this develop for them? I'm anxious to see. When they get a chance to reply to a comment, I'm anxious to see if they do so thoughtfully, respectfully, and in a way that might even promote further discussion.I like this. They have to be aware of the news in order to post meaningful and timely messages, and at the same time try to be neutral in their position. Nice. What...

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Just imagine this... an iphone for everyone

What would the U.S. be like if we had the same sort of phone plans that they have in some European countries where you buy a phone and THEN choose your carrier? In yesterday's workshop I asked the teachers who had an iPhone. Not one! Why? No ATT&T service out there.Just imagine what life would be like if we all had the option of an iPhone. Wow!Then, add to that dream the notion of a jailbroken version, and people writing apps and making it an absolutely KILLER device. Dare we dream. Set the world free to develop for it and you won't be able to keep them on the shelves. Yes, they're developing now, but they're restricted. Just imagine, tho', how VERY powerful that would be.What's happening with the Android phone anyw...

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Another TED video to watch

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.htmlHere is another great TED video that I think is VERY well worth your time to watch. He gets a standing ovation from the audience at the end - no easy task, I'd think.In particular, listen to his comments at the end when he talks about schools.Very interesting, I think. In a world gone mad with rules and 'incentives' his thoughts paralleled mine, and apparently those of the audience, as we...

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Papershow in Action

Today I had the good fortune of working with teachers from the East Brunswick Public Schools as part of their Professional Development In-service Program. Well over 100 teachers spent a full day with me as we explored a range of new tools and strategies to help address the needs of all learners in their classrooms. It was very exciting for me to see the lights go off as I introduced them to Web 2.0 technologies as as free tools that they could start using tomorrow in their classroom. A lot has changed since I entered the field of assistive technology and it is really incredible how much can be done and accomplished with some of the new Web 2.0...

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Posted in: Anoto,digital pen,Papershow

Gmail address book gets needed improvement

If you've ever tried to add someone to the address book of gmail then you know how frustrating that is - or, rather, WAS. They've made a HUGE improvement to it that I just now experienced.I went to change an address but was told that I could do it because it already existed. ARGH! But this time it showed both entries AND a link that allowed me to merge them. WOOHOO!! With one click it showed me both addresses, each with a remove button next to it that allowed me to remove the one with the old address. Two clicks was all it took to get this issue resolved. Very ni...

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OoVoo 2.0 Released for Windows

Today I learned that OoVoo 2.0 has been released for Windows with some really exciting new features. It is now possible with OoVoo 2.0 to have a video chat with someone who doesn't have an OoVoo account and to initiate the call is really easy. Here is a breakdown of the new featuresHere's what's new in ooVoo 2.0. Get New ooVoo ...

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Posted in: OoVoo,video chatting,video conferencing

How Computer Shops Differentiate with Superior Customer Service

Owners of computer shops understand that their industry is very competitive. How can you stay technologically up-to-date and still focus on customers?The biggest mistake those that own computer shops make is spending too much time on gadgets and gizmos or the latest, greatest operating system or product. In order to run a profitable business, you have to focus on the relationships you build with your valued customers. Truly understanding your customer will help you provide better services. And when you can provide superior service, you will truly stand out from the competition.The following 3 tips can help you provide excellent customer service, so you can stand out from the crowd. 1. Find Out What Makes Your Best Customers Tick... And Ticked. The more you learn about your customers,...

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Posted in: computer shop

Post weekly (weekly)

Digital Commons at Penn State | A Common Approach to Digital Content CreationA nice resource from PSU on creative commons and other free media sites.tags: media, creativecommonsPosted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are he...

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The Inaugural Project Summary

Thanks to Rob Nelson for taking the time to write this article. I had posted about it before, and had encouraged you to participate. I hope you did. Now, Rob talks about how the day went. I sure wish I could have been there. (Sorry this took so long to post, Rob. I hurried you just so you could wait. :-) )-----"Four years ago, one of my 8th grade students participated in a career project, his career goal was to become a reporter. Just three weeks ago I found myself talking to the same student, it was five in the morning, he was in the school, I was in Washington and we were ready to broadcast live. On January 20th, Springfield High School, in Pennsylvania hosted a project designed to engage as many students as possible in a discussion on Barack Obama’s historic inauguration. This...

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How to save paper when printing pdf files

In these days of environmental concern and financial insecurity every little helps, including being able to save paper when printing documents. The Portable Document Format is an incredibly popular file format that can be viewed in Acrobat Reader (developed by the inventors of the file format, Adobe) and in other more lightweight applications, such as the excellent Foxit Reader. Both these programs support printing more than one page of the pdf onto one sheet of paper, as explained below:Adobe AcrobatPull down the 'File' menu and select 'Print'.On the 'Print' window pull down the drop-down list marked 'Page Scaling' and select 'Multiple pages...

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Posted in: Freeware,Printing

Intel's X58 Chipset

Hey everyone, this is Icarus here with some thought on the new Intel X58 chipset.The Intel X58 chipset was released during November of 2008, and was released as a successor of X48. Now, the importance here is not just the name itself; this is a direct challenge to all of the computer hardware companies out there that have been making large amounts of money off of nVidia chipset motherboards. Now, how does this effect you, the consumer who has sparked an interest in computer hardware?Well, here's the thing: the X58 chipset can run SLI. Yes, I just said that: it can run SLI. For those of you who don't know what SLI is, I will explain it in another article today. For now, I will just say that SLI is a program created by NVidia that allows the computer to run more than one video card at the same...

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Posted in: Hardware

More 3-d objects in Google Ocean

By now you'll have guessed where I found this. Yes, the gearthblog. This post talks about lots of new things that have been added to Google Ocean. Check out the fun image in the aricle, too.What a great time to be an Earth Science teacher, ...

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PA Reps want to ban pagers and cell phones from schools

First, thanks to an anonymous source for sharing this with me today via twitter.Dateline Feb 11, 2009. PA House Bill 363 is introduced and sent to committee. Read it here.What it does want to do? Here:13Section 1317.1. Possession of [Telephone Pagers] Electronic 14Devices Prohibited.--(a) The possession by students of 15telephone paging devices, commonly referred to as beepers, 16cellular telephones and portable electronic devices that record 17or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school 18grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other 19vehicles provided by the school district.If you are opposed to this idea, perhaps you might email your Rep (http://tinyurl.com/pareps) and let them know. These folks are the ones who sponsored it: INTRODUCED BY Cruz, Youngblood,...

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Barack Obama & His Blackberry

President Barack Obama has two addictions: cigarettes and his BlackBerry cell phone. While his wife leans on him to give up the cigarettes, his staff aides have been insisting he retire the cell phone.There is very little doubt that Obama will give up his trusty Blackberry, however, the Secret Service will deal with him about that. Because, he has to use secured communications, so that no one can eavesdrop on his conversations.This is just one of many changes that will take place in his life that he will have to get used to.If he didn't want the restrictions and boundaries then he shouldn't have have ran for President. It is the Secret Service's job to protect him and his family, and they have rules and regulations, that have to be followed to protect him and his family.Under the arrangement,...

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Posted in: cell phone,gadgets

Tips to Remove a Computer Virus

There probably are few things more annoying than having a computer virus. People who rely on their computer for social networking can really have their personal lives affected without a computer every day. Other people who rely on their computer to run an Internet business can be in big trouble if a virus takes over their computer.In this article let's talk about how to remove a computer virus regardless of the reasons why you need it done.1. First of all relax and understand that whether you are technically inclined or not you can probably do this yourself. Removing a computer virus is not something that is necessarily hard to do.2. You will need to purchase an antivirus software program and install it before you can begin to remove your virus. There are many antivirus software programs that...

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Posted in: Security,tips