We Use Computers For Everything.
Whether you are a home user, home office owner, brick and mortar business owner, entrepreneur on the go, student, or vacationer - you rely on your computer to do so much for you. In today's age of technology and the age of the computer generation we have integrated the ease of information at click of a mouse and touch of a button.
No longer are computers a novelty. On the contrary, I think the world would slow to a grinding halt should there come a time that the Internet went down permanently. The idea of this would stunt billions all over the world. It has become one of the worlds greatest achievements and affords us education, opportunity, ability, and availability to just about anything in the world we can imagine. Never in the history of the world has such a tool existed.
Think about it. How many friends, customers, connections, or tools you use come from all over the globe? You would never have been able to do that even a decade ago. Now, it's so commonplace we take it for granted and expect it. Why not? It's almost like the world is at our keyboard and we can do amazing things, find pretty much everything. And if you are in business, we have access to so much and can put ourselves in front of an audience that was never even there not too long ago.
Gone are the days of the typewriters and antiquated PC's that allowed for spreadsheets and reports. We are connected. Hooked up. Logged in, and we Digg it this way. We StumbleUpon things everyday that we would never have found on our own. We have become addicted to our social networking and it has changed the face of the world forever. Hours a day we must be online. There is no if's, and's, or but's about it. Give me access!Right?
We Don't Just Watch T.V. Anymore - We Make It.
The cable companies, movie studios, and DVD stores are feeling the pull we all have to the Internet. We can watch most anything, create most anything, upload & download almost anything we want to see or be seen. From fun family videos to educational tutorials, from creative marketing for our businesses to newsworthy captures from our iPhones - we are on YouTube and dozens of other free sites allowing us the eyes of the world.
So what is it we are doing for our amazing tool, our computer that gives us access to the world? Why is it that we ignore this very Gate to the Internet, our opportunity in a box, our livelihood, our families, our 'magic box' that can spit out about anything we search for. Why is it that we only pay attention to it and do any maintenance on it when we are in panic mode? Why aren't we doing routine up keep? All great questions and all ones that need addressing as the proud owner and computer dependent world we have become.
Do you own a car? How long have you been driving? I'll bet it didn't take long for someone to make sure they told you the necessary maintenance of checking the air in your tires, getting the oil changed every 3,000 miles, using good quality gas, washing off salt, sand, or oil from the roads, and so on. We all know that if we don't do these things our automobiles will not work properly and will inevitably stop working all together if we forget to keep our fluids at their proper levels or change them out all together. It's just a fact of driving a car, owning a car, and with our love of our freedom to go where the road takes us or just get to work or the store - you can not ignore the basic needs of your car.
The Importance Of Regular Computer Tune-Ups
The reality is that computers are the most ignored tool in their home and business by the average owner and they don't understand why it is critical to their computer to keep it up and do regular care and maintenance on it just like a car. If you want it to work for you in the long run, you can't abuse it or ignore it. It's not the fairy Godmother of connectivity that just works because you plugged it in and turned it on. This amazing tool has parts, electronics, wires, and technologies that don't just keep on ticking without proper care. I think that we as owners just expect performance because we bought and that should be enough. Was that enough to keep your car running when you drove it off the lot? No.
I'll be you have a sticker in the upper left side of your windshield right now that tells you when you should get your next oil change so you don't miss it and tax your car's engine. I'll bet that in your glove box you have all your vital information the law allows, but right there with it you might have an air gauge and possibly a rag for wiping things down. In your trunk you might have some necessities should anything go wrong so you can get moving again or get the help you need. Maybe you are one of those savvy people that have the handy AAA sticker on the back of your car so that you have help when you need it.
The facts are there that we need to step up and get educated on the needs of our most important tool, the computer, and start treating it like we do our car. For comparison sake, they both take us where we need and want to go, and in fact the computer can get us farther, faster, and to places a car can never go in a split second. It is our personal vehicle to massive travel, incredible distance, just look at Google Earth to know what I mean, vast knowledge, amazing community, and what are we doing to insure this continues day after day?
You need to be doing regular quarterly maintenance to keep that necessary piece of our lives in proper working order and working optimally for us and keep performing the way we need and expect it to. So what does that kind of quarterly maintenance include and what will it do for your prized computer possession? Let's take a look at that.
Your Quarterly Check List
Every 3 months, just like the sticker in your car window is there to remind you, you need to make sure to do these things. Some you can do yourself, and others will need the response team of professionals unless you are a computer tech yourself that likes to do your own computer work, like the guy that likes to change his oil -there is always someone. But for the most part, we have the Jiffy Lube change our oil because they do it everyday, they do all the vital checks and maintenance, and we are on our way. Same goes for our personal computer experts. Time to move into the mentality that we have already adopted for the sake of keeping our cars running and apply it to our basic computer maintenance.
You can do this at the same time as your quarterly oil change if that works best to remind you or you could use a service that reminds you it is time to complete your computer care. They can send you out a reminders to help you stay up on this very important part of computer ownership with ease. Computer care has advanced and it is now easier than ever to keep your computer in tip top shape regularly.
If your personal computer experts are worth their salt they will include these items in your quarterly clean-up set up to do these.
Quarterly Maintenance List
15 Point Check-Up
Clean up Hard Drive
Delete Temp Files
Delete Temp Internet Files
Delete Internet History Files
Optimize RAM and VRAM
Optimize PC for Performance
Clean Out Start-up Programs (msconfig)
Clean Out Start-up Programs (Start Menu)
Check Calling Card
Install Defrag Script Icon
Check Windows Critical Updates
Check Anti-Virus
Check Anti-Spyware
Check Firewall
Check Alerts
And you should remove the panel and blow out the inside with a can of compressed air and make sure the internal fan is working well.
Maintain your connection to the world - maintain your computer and stay connected.
Tammy & Jim Dickinson are the founders and owners of i-SupportDesk.com. A revolutionary new breed of computer tech's that provide 'virtual' computer support, repairs, maintenance, and training. Their unique model of computer business allows for savings in time and money compared to any other computer store. Their i-SupportDesk House Call is leading the industry and computer users all over the world are calling them their Personal Computer Experts. You can see more or contact i-SupportDesk at http://www.i-SupportDesk.com or customerservice@i-supportdesk.com
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