Clean and Tidy

There’s more to CCleaner than clicking a single button. This popular application for wiping temporary files and clearing private data hides a variety of features, from fine-grained options for tweaking the cleaning process to full drive-wiping tools.

CCleaner is easy for beginners to use – just launch it and click the Run Cleaner button. But there’s a lot more you can do with it.

25 Alive

CARECREDITSM CELEBRATES DENTISTS
WITH THE 25 YEARS OF CARING FOR SMILES SWEEPSTAKES

COSTA MESA, CA, May 30, 2012 – As part of its year-long 25th Anniversary celebration, CareCredit is recognizing dentists by holding a 25 Years of Caring for Smiles Sweepstakes* through July 31, 2012. Licensed U.S. dentists are eligible to enter for their chance to win one of more than 250 prizes valued at over $50,000.

The 25 Years of Caring for Smiles Sweepstakes features:
• 1 Grand Prize $12,000 Vacation of a Lifetime
• 1 First Prize $5,000 Trip to Remember
• 250 additional prizes, ranging in value from $50 to $500 from top brands and retailers including Apple®, Golfsmith®, Marriott, Macy’s, Ticketmaster®, Pottery Barn® and more.

“CareCredit started at the request of dentists, so this is the best way to celebrate our 25th Anniversary and recognize dentists who, on a daily basis, work hard to help keep patients happy and healthy,” said Dave Fasoli, President, CareCredit. “We’re pleased to provide this opportunity for dentists nationwide to celebrate this milestone with us and enter for a chance to win some amazing prizes.”

Licensed U.S. dentists can enter for their chance to win through July 31, 2012, and review the complete rules, by visiting www.carecredit.com/dentistsweepstakes.

For 25 years CareCredit has helped more than 20 million patients receive needed and desired care. CareCredit is a healthcare credit card that can be used as a payment option for certain expenses not covered by insurance or to bridge payment when desired care exceeds insurance coverage, and it is accepted at more than 90,000 enrolled dental practices. CareCredit is exclusively selected for their members by most state and national dental associations, including ADA Business ResourcesSM, AGD, AAOMS Services, Inc. and AAP, and is also recommended by leading practice management consultants. For more information on CareCredit, call 800-300-3046 or visit carecredit.com/dental.

Shiny Chrome

Learn everything you could hope to learn about Google’s browser. It’s all outlined in “Browsing at Warp Speed: Your Guide to Chrome!”. This free manual, from author Lachlan Roy, covers the basics of using Google Chrome and also outlines more than a few advanced tricks. If you want to learn everything about using Chrome – from the basics to advanced tips and tricks – download this manual now.

Cloudy Days Ahead

If you’re looking for a cloud-based storage service, this handy overview will help you pick which one is the best fit for your needs.

At Freeware Genius they’ve rounded up a collection of cloud storage solutions and compared them based on factors like initial free storage, max storage, OS support for desktop apps and mobile apps, number of supportive devices, and so on. They even detail why certain services were excluded (such as lack of a desktop folder syncing app).

Share and Share Alike

If you have more than one computer in your private office (like, a desktop and a laptop), ShareMouse will let you control them all with a single keyboard and mouse, as well as copy and paste text between them and drag files back and forth. ShareMouse takes literally seconds to get up and running. Just install the app on each of your computers, start it up on each machine, and you're done. It will automatically detect the other computers running ShareMouse, and you can start moving your mouse between them instantly. It works on both Windows PCs and Macs.

Cooked or Raw?

All DSLRs, and even many point-and-shoots nowadays, can shoot in RAW format, meaning you can save your images as a completely unprocessed file that offers the potential for a higher-quality photo. The downside is that RAW files take up a lot of space and require extra work to process in post. So when should you use this format or when should you stick to space-saving JPEGs?

Time Saver

Most of us have a pretty solid daily routine, and that often involves visiting the same sites once a day—like your favorite newspaper, your email, and Facebook. Here are two extensions that will open all of your daily links with the click of one button.

All Together

If you're using more than one cloud storage service (hard not to, with all the free space being thrown around), managing your files between them can be tricky. Otixo gives you a centralized view of all your online files for easy copying and pasting between accounts from the web interface or through a mapped drive on your desktop.

Otixo currently connects to Dropbox, Google Docs, Box, SkyDrive, SugarSync, Picasa, MobileMe, and Amazon S3. You can also add your own FTP or WebDav servers to connect to.

Sky Rockets in Flight

We have already shown you how you can share external folders with your SkyDrive, but what if you actually want to copy a file or folder into your SkyDrive folder? Of course copying and pasting is nowhere near geeky enough, so here’s how to add a SkyDrive entry to the Send To menu.

The Demand More Campaign launch is finally here! You will be able to:

- Watch a video on some of the new features
- Download brand new collateral
- Enter to win the $5,000 Sweepstakes
- Log in to the portal to see explore the UI and experience the new features

Since this is the big launch day we decided to take over our existing website homepage for a few weeks. Check it out: www.demandforce.com. All navigation on the site stays the same. If you would like more training on new features, there are 3 training videos located in the "What's new" section of the On-Demand videos in the portal.

http://ping.fm/YssoR

Wired for Speed

You might laugh at the high retail prices for “premium” cables at big box retail stores. But is it possible that a higher quality cable can give you a better digital signal? The nuance of the answer may surprise you.

Cables might seem like a boring part of your computer or home entertainment equipment. You plug them in, they work. End of story, right? Again, the nuance may surprise you. To better understand how your cables work, we’ll have to look at the physics and science of how the signals are sent, and the engineering feats that had to be accomplished to create images and sounds. Even if you think common sense or a little geek knowledge is all you need to get the right cable for your home entertainment system—think again. Here’s some of the most helpful (and coolest) information we’ve found about cables and digital signals.

Head in the Clouds

I love Dropbox, but there are some files I'm just not comfortable keeping in "the cloud," like my tax returns and bank statements. I also have huge media files that I'd like to sync between my computers but can't use Dropbox for because it would put me over my account limit. Is there a way to keep my files in sync—without having to store them on someone else's servers?

Firefight

Windows 7 contains an unobtrusive, easy-to-use firewall that protects your computer from inbound traffic. If you’re looking for more advanced options, such as the ability to control outbound traffic or view the applications using your Internet connection, you’ll want a third-party firewall instead.

Plus Size

Are you curious about Google+, but you don’t know where or why to start? Check out “Get Into Google+: A Guide For Everyone“. This guide, by author Maggie Marystone, teaches you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Google’s fledgling social network.

Perhaps you were a founding member of MySpace? Maybe you’re a Facebook power user, or maybe you’ve just started to explore the world of social media? Either way, if you’re reading this guide, you have probably wondered, “why should I sign up for Google+?”

This manuals outlines what Google+ is, what it does and why you should learn to get the most of it.

Trading Spaces

Phones and tablets only have so much internal memory. If you’re running out of space for apps or data, there are a few quick tricks you can use to free up space and get back to using your Android device.

Wired Up

Many people believe that visiting obscure websites or downloading files from illegal sources is the only real security risk when going online. While such behavior certainly increases your risk of catching a malware infection, it’s not the only way to get into trouble. One other major safety hazard is using public wireless networks. In this article you will find key security precautions you should take before connecting to a public wireless network.

Control the Note

Most social networking websites and media websites send you an email notification each time somebody comments or likes your uploaded media. These notifications can clutter your inbox in no time and make it difficult to find the important emails. Here to help solve the problem is a web service called Notification Control.

Lockdown

Whether you’re sharing a computer with other family members or friends at home, or securing computers in a corporate environment, there may be many reasons why you need to protect the programs, data, and settings on the computers.

This article presents multiple ways of locking down a Windows 7 computer, depending on the type of usage being employed by the users. You may need to use a combination of several of the following methods to protect your programs, data, and settings.

I'm honored that for the second year in a row, I'm one of the Top 10 Dentists in Social Media:

http://bit.ly/KqkITT

I have come across a fantastic new way to find great deals on dental supplies and equipment: BiteDownDeals.com. It is the first daily deal site dedicated to helping dentists save money on their dental supplies. The concept is easy: just go to their website (www.bitedowndeals.com), sign up for free, and every day you'll get an email with the deals of the day.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

For many dentists, getting a computer that can handle their needs for many years is very important. Whether you’re overclocking your computer, comparing different systems, or just bragging about your hardware, a benchmark can help you quantify your computer’s performance. Windows has a large ecosystem of useful benchmarking applications, and many of them are free.

Before performing any benchmark, ensure that nothing else is running on your computer – if something is crunching away in the background, it will slow down the benchmark and skew the results.

Foxy Lady

As my statistics show me, while some people using my blog use the Chrome browser like me, most of you are using Firefox. Firefox is one of the more popular web browsers that runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Firefox has a lot of built-in, useful features and you can install many extensions to expand its functionality.

We’ve covered a lot of functionality in Firefox and have included links to articles that cover features and extensions that can help you make the most out of Firefox and improve your web browsing experience.

Speed Demon

Wit more and more dental offices using mobile devices, choosing one can be difficult. I prefer Android myself for the amount of customizations. Many people, though, want the best performance possible. Why guess at the performance of your device when you can run some tests and get detailed statistics? These apps test your device’s CPU, GPU, and other hardware components – in addition to your browser.

Whether you’re curious about how your Android stacks up against the latest devices on the market, trying to determine the benefits of an overclock, or looking for the best browser, these free apps can help you.

Monkey Off Your Back

Although online tools are still a ways away from competing with a behemoth like Photoshop, PicMonkey is a dead simple online photo editor that can handle many kinds of complex edits in just a few clicks. You might even use it instead of Photoshop because it gets the job done so quickly.

Gmail Tricks

Gmail is amazing. It's chock full of more shortcuts, settings, and features than you could shake a stick at. Even if you consider yourself a Gmail ninja, though, there are quite a few tricks you might not know about (and some that Google didn't even intend).

Waterworld

You reach into your bag and discover that your water bottle has leaked or you find yourself caught in a downpour that's left you and your bag soaked. Panic sets in. Your wallet and its contents can be dried out, you can always buy a new magazine, and documents can be reprinted, but what about those now-sodden electronic devices? Will you be doomed to spend hundreds replacing your beloved gadgets?

Sure, you can attempt to get a replacement. There's that product warranty, after all. Unfortunately, you probably won't get any sympathy from a customer service representative when you tell them the product's demise was caused by water damage. Oh, and lying won't help the cause either. The liquid contact indicator hidden on most devices will quickly reveal how your device met its end. That warranty may be as useless as that soggy phone.

So, what are you to do? Well, it may be too late for that gadget, but not its replacement or any new devices you may purchase. Perhaps it's time to contemplate waterproofing your tech. You can buy cameras and phones that are already waterproof, or you can buy cases and laptop bags that will protect your devices from moisture. In fact, much of this gear will do more than protect against a springtime shower; some you can take right into the ocean, pool, or even bathtub. We rounded up 15 waterproof gadgets, bags, and cases to keep you and your valuable devices dry during the rainy season.

Mr. Clean

Flowers are blooming and birds are chirping, which means it's time to start your yearly spring cleaning extravaganza. While you're emptying your closets, decluttering, and getting rid of the bloat in your life, why not do the same for your computer? Here are some simple, easy to follow tips to give your trusted Windows PC a little spring cleaning of its own.

25 Cent

COSTA MESA, Calif. – May 7, 2012 – As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, CareCredit is introducing a new brand image, which consists of a new logo, icon and tagline: Making care possible…today. While CareCredit, a healthcare credit card, continues to focus on patient satisfaction, access to care, and ease of use, the new branding look more closely represents the key role of CareCredit in the lives of 20 million patients over the past 25 years.

With input from consumers, providers, and cardholders, CareCredit’s logo, icon, and tagline were enhanced to retain the qualities of trust, strength, and dependability, while evolving to more accurately reflect their cardholder’s perception of the benefits the brand brings to their everyday lives. When surveyed, patients who have chosen to use CareCredit identified the company as “accessible,” “empowering,” and “helpful.” Their input resulted in a logo and icon that was visually uplifting and positive and in a tagline that clearly communicates the company’s core philosophy and focus: making it simple and easy for families to access the care they desire, when they desire it.

“Our 25th anniversary provided us the opportunity to reach out to our providers and cardholders and ask why they chose to use CareCredit,” said Cindy Hearn, Sr. Vice President, CareCredit. “Through this process we gained a clear understanding of the experience they have with our brand, which benefits they valued most and how our brand fits in their lives. We used this information to visually refine our brand, giving it a fresh and contemporary look that has already been extremely well-received.”

Practices that accept CareCredit as a payment option will receive a complimentary, comprehensive kit of materials for their practice and patients in June including exciting new patient educational and display materials.

About CareCredit

For 25 years CareCredit has been making it easy for patients to receive desired care. Today, CareCredit is available in over 150,000 enrolled healthcare practices and has been used by over 20 million patients. CareCredit is exclusively selected for their members by many state and national dental associations, including ADA Business ResourcesSM, AGD, AAOMS, and AAP, and is also recommended by leading practice management consultants.

Trial By Fire

The Microsoft evaluation releases of their products are incredibly valuable and useful tools as they allow you to have an unlimited number of test, demo and development environments to work with at no cost. The only catch is evaluation releases are time limited, so the more time you can squeeze out of them, the more useful they can be.

Here we are going to show you how to extend the usage time of the Windows Server 2008 R2 evaluation release to its maximum.

Back to the Future

Are you worried about your data backup? You should be, studies show that over 75% of you aren't doing it right. Our backup and disaster recovery service is excellent, check it out and sleep better at night!

Squeeze Play

Squeezing the maximum amount of usage time out of your laptop battery can be challenging at times…it all depends on the software you are using. One software we are all likely to be using is a browser to keep up with our online lives…

If your laptop is older, then getting the most out of your laptop’s aging battery is definitely a must. The good folks over at the 7 Tutorials blog have done a comparison test to see which browser is the gentlest on your laptop’s battery and the results may surprise you. You can view the results by visiting here.

Clearing Up the Confusion

Whenever you have an issue with a website, one of the first suggestions you will hear from IT support is “try to clear your browser cache” along with “and delete your cookies”. So what is this ominous browser cache? What does it store and what is it good for? What your browser cache does, why you would want to clear it, and how this is done are the questions addressed in this article.

Daylight Savings

Whether you live somewhere without 4G coverage, you live in a bad coverage zone, or you just want to conserve some battery life, it’s extremely simple to disable 4G / LTE on the new 3rd generation iPad and switch to 3G instead, which uses less battery life.

Eye in the Sky

While I've been a huge fan of Dropbox over the years, it seems like other services are starting to surpass them. I just installed SkyDrive and while they have a base storage of 7 GB for free, for reasons I'm not sure, they automatically upgraded me to 25 GB. The interface is as easy as Dropbox, but the extra storage (Dropbox only has 2 GB) sure is nice! Also, SkyDrive offers in-browser Microsoft Office document editing and creating capabilities...that will be a real time saver.