Kids tend to not really know what they are doing when it comes to computers. Sure they are pretty good with them these days and they can probably figure out things faster than most adults, but lot’s of times they just don’t read anything, or maybe they just can’t read well enough to know what they are getting themselves in to.

It’s hard to say how much a kid really knows about computers and technology. With all of the things that they are being taught early in their career of schooling, who knows, right? For the most part they know nothing, they just zip through things really fast without ever seeing a certain window like that, thinking that there will be absolutely 100% no consequence for their action. If they get it right once, they will be the master of the computer and will know absolutely everything there is to know about it, guaranteed.

So that means that when they screw up, it can’t be their fault! Then I get the call. I don’t mind cleaning up after a child’s silly mistake, normally it isn’t anything too crazy or anything too bad. But the fact of the matter is that the kid just doesn’t really know what they are doing, and some programs can install a whole bunch of junk that we simply don’t want to look at it. If your browser looks anything at all like the one on the left, then you know exactly what I am talking about, and quite frankly, I have no idea how you even found my blog. All of those tool bars can be installed in a ninja-like fashion that can get around even the most keen of software installers, they ask to be installed when installing things like Java or Flash, or other applications, even the renowned CCLeaner asks if you would like to install a Yahoo!’s Toolbar.

Toolbar’s are never really a problem too great to remove, sometimes they just take a decent amount of time which can get pretty obnoxious for most people if they just want to get on their computer and get things done. That’s what I am around for! I don’t mind removing toolbars or cleaning up your desktop or getting rid of the thousands of icons that always lurk in your computer’s systems tray (that little area near the clock). These little things could end up having some pretty malicious programs in them, and if you aren’t sure what exactly they are, then you should probably inform your local computer guru about it, he will know the answer and know exactly what is bad and what is okay for you to have on your computer.

You never really know so it is better to be safe than sorry, in the long run it will be better to pay $60 for an overnight computer tune-up, then to pay $1,200 for a brand new computer that will probably just become messed up again for the exact same reason a month later because your child didn’t know what caused the problem in the first place, and neither did you. So it’s good to learn about your problem before finding a replacement so you know what to avoid the next time around.

To clarify my point: Kids screw things up. They probably have spilt milk all over the floor within the last week, luckily it hasn’t been on your computer. Now that would have been something that would be tough to fix! Just relax and know that it is repairable, just like your now clean kitchen floor is. In the end if it really is your little boy or girls fault, it might be a good reason to tell them that they can’t have that slice of cake after dinner.

There's a computer in one of these doors!

Computer’s get hot, really hot. You always need to be thinking about that when it comes to placement of your computer inside a desk, under a desk, or on top of a desk. Think about what you are placing your computer next to when you place it, and if you are feeling like you might need some change in your life and you are going to be moving your desk around, you need to think about your computer’s lifespan.

Just as much as cable ties will clean up the area behind your computer that you will never actually see, making your computer visible all the time will help out it’s lifetime a whole lot. This may be a rather confusing sentence if you don’t understand the preface behind it, what I am trying to say is that a computer needs some air to breathe, and every day I run into a computer that is stashed, almost pushed aside into a nice wooden desk, with absolutely no fresh air getting to it!

It’s sad, really. Computer engineers spend a lot of time working on a computer’s looks as well as how well a computer actually runs. I guess that they might not be considered “engineers” per se, but more or less artists. Often times computer cases are displayed as artwork, and several of them are actually displayed to be only as artwork, and not even as a functional computer. So get your computer out of the closet and let it take in a deep breath of fresh air.

I keep saying give it some fresh air because a few times this past month I have ran into computers that are literally melting their parts inside due to the amount of heat that is building up inside of them. Now a days, most computers come built in with a temperature monitor that you might not even know about. Your computer’s temperature is kind of like your bodies internal temperature, but it can get a little bit hotter than what you run at. Computer’s should rarely, if ever run over 150 degrees farenheit. That is pushing it’s limits, and by “computers” I mean the processor of the computer. From time to time I find my computer’s video card rising higher than that, but that is only if I am playing a very graphic intensive video game.

I am sure you are asking your computer “When is he going to tell us how to see our computer’s temperature?”, here’s the time. There is a great application by a company that I have actually spoke about in the past, Piriform. This application is called Speccy, and it basically shows all of your computers internals.. and their temperatures, too! It is very simple, a quick install, and it lays out what everything is and what temperature everything is as well. Sadly the temperatures are in Celsius, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem with a swift search of Google. Speccy is a lightweight program from a great company, and if you are curious about your systems temperatures then you should definitely give it a try.

If you think you’re computer is running too hot, then you should probably shut it down, take all of the plugs out of the back of it, and maybe move it out into the open air. A lot of times people use a home made refrigerator modifcation to try to get their computer a little bit cooler, or even make a computer case entirely out of fans, maybe you could try the same thing?

Give it a shot, let me know if you did.

Now of course when I say “set up” I don’t mean the operating system itself, I mean the physical computer. The big tower that is sitting at your side. Have you ever had to move your computer around to get at something? Something simple, like a power outlet or a power strip or maybe a phone jack? If you havn’t, try it. See what happens! If it is truely a hassle then something went wrong on your original setup, something wasn’t set up very cleanly.

It’s quite simple to do something like this yourself, especially if you have gotten a brand new computer, or a new video card for a Christmas present, because then you will either be putting the computer in a place that you never have before, or you will at least be taking it out of it’s current resting spot and moving it to a clean area to install that shiny new video card to double your frags.

Just make sure everything is as cleanly as possible. Odds are, if you can see your feet on the ground and you end up getting buried by cables and wires then you have probably gone a little overboard. If you need some cable management I suggest you invest in something that is designed to just that, manage cables. A really nice site that I like to use myself is Cableorganizer.com, they have an amazing solution for simple problems and rat’s nests under your desk at home, to extreme solutions for your offices server room. The most basic fixes often are Cable ties, which Cable Organizer has quite the selection of.. if you want cable ties of all sorts of colors.. done, about six bucks for those.

Keeping your area nice and tidy is an excellent start for a new year, and doing small things like being patient and taking time to do it right the first time, not the third time, are the easiest things you can do to have a great new year.

Before wish you all Happy Holidays and a excellent new year, I want to ask a question in my first of many posts:
Is your computer area tidy? Is it spotless? Do you use cable ties and actually label what cable leads to what component? If so, let me know I’d be thrilled to hear it!

Now of course, I must wish you all a Happy Holidays and Great New Year!