"I'm checking out laptops, and some say they have a solid state hard drive. Is this a good thing? How does a solid state hard drive compare to a regular hard drive?

"I've heard conflicting stories on the effectiveness of registry cleaners. Do they really help? If so, which registry cleaner do you recommend?"

It's been a year since I compared the newest Zune and the iPod. So let's see what's new with Microsoft's music player and if it is a force that Apple has to reckon with for the holiday season and beyond...

"What's the difference between virtual memory and real memory? And how can I add more virtual memory to my computer?"

"What's the best way to watch TV on my computer? I know some websites have selected shows, but I've also heard that you can buy a gadget that will pretty much turn your computer into a television set. What are my options for watching TV on the PC?"

"I'm thinking about buying a Blu-ray player, but I've read some reports that claim Blu-ray may not survive in the marketplace. What's your take on Blu-ray's chances of long-term success?"

Aside from actually drop-kicking it or smashing it with a sledge hammer, it's fairly difficult to actually "break" a computer. That said, there are a number of ways to render your computer just slightly more useful than a doorstop. Certain careless acts can cause crashes, freezes, painfully slow performance, loss of data or invasion of your privacy. Here's my list of Ten Stupid Things You Can Do To Mess Up Your Computer...

Escort bills it as "The World's Most Intelligent Custom Installed Radar and Laser Defense System." With a price tag of $1600, the Passport 9500ci had better be. Let's check out what makes this little dashboard device smarter, quieter and more accurate than the competition...

Saving money is something that everyone is interested in, and because of this many sites have been created to help shoppers find good deals on the products they want to buy. Here's the scoop on the best price comparison websites, and where to find killer coupons for online deals...

"I'm hearing the term Cloud Computing more and more. One friend told me that it means computers will soon not need a hard drive. Is that correct?"

Are you going nuts over the selection of electronics that are available for this holiday season? There are so many choices -- cell phones, music players, PDAs, video cams and more. Read on for my personal recommendations to help you in your gift giving decisions...

"I upgraded to Windows Vista on my desktop PC, and instead of speeding up, it seems to run slower than ever. Do you have any tips or tweaks to make Vista run faster?"

"I just got Windows Vista, after using XP for many years. Frankly, I'm not crazy about the Vista look and feel... are there some tweaks I can use to make Vista look more like XP?"

So you found the coolest video on YouTube, and you want to download it to your computer. But how do you download YouTube videos? There's no obvious way on the YouTube site, but there are some easy ways to download a YouTube video to your hard drive. Here's how...

"I'm considering buying one of those new mini-laptops for my daughter. Can they do everything that the larger laptops do? Can you recommend any specific mini laptop models?"

Are you searching for someone? Free people search tools online can help you find college classmates, high school sweethearts, long lost relatives, even dig up facts about neighbors, potential tenants or job seekers. Here are my recommendations for the best people search tools...

"I'm confused by all the free antivirus products. I've read in some forums that Avira is the best, others claim that AVG or Avast is definitely the way to go. Which one do you recommend?"

"It seems there are lots of choices for a free anti-virus program. My neighbor swears by Avast! Anti-Virus and says it's better than Avira, which I currently use. Is Avast! worth looking into, or are they all pretty much the same?"

"I have someone in my home during the day to clean and do childcare. Can I install a wireless security camera that can be monitored over the internet? I'd like to be able to look in during the day from my office computer. If so, how expensive are internet security cameras, and what features do you recommend?"

"I want to send a fax, but I don't have a fax machine. Can I use fax software on my computer to send or receive a fax? If so, what free fax software is available for Windows? I have a laptop with Vista and XP at home."

"Sometimes when I'm away from home, I'll park my car, fire up the laptop and get online with a free unsecured wireless signal. Is this legal?"

"I'm thinking about buying a Wifi sniffer to help me find wireless networks when I'm travelling. How good are the various devices, and are they legal?"

Gmail has been my favorite web-based email service for several years, and one of the things I like is that they're always adding new features and experimenting with various options to make it easier to use. Have you heard what's simmering in the secret Gmail Labs?

"There are so many malware scanners to choose from, when trying to protect against adware, spyware and other online threats. Which one(s) do you recommend?"

Scribd is a type of a social networking website that allows you to publish all kinds of documents and images to the web. It's great for people who have something to share with the world but don't have a website, technical skills or the patience to publish things in the traditional way. Here's how it works...

Sometimes your cell phone can't pick up a good signal inside a building, on the road, or in remote areas. In some cases, a cell phone signal booster might help. Here's the scoop on which ones work and which to avoid...

If you've always wanted to try out Linux but were afraid it would mess up your current Windows system, Wubi is a free, painless solution for installing Ubuntu Linux. Here's how...

Google is now in the browser business. Chrome is the name of Google's new web browser, aimed squarely at competing with Microsoft Internet Explorer. So how does Chrome differ from IE, Firefox, Safari and other browsers? Read on for details and the Chrome download link...

Every few months I go through the Ask Bob logs and see which articles were the most popular. Here is the current Top Twenty, ranked by readership volume...

Google recently added some nifty new features to Gmail, their free web-based email service. Here's a look a what's new in Gmail...

Why use an expensive and complicated fax machine when there are so many Internet alternatives? Some even allow you to send and receive faxes online for free. Here's a roundup of free Internet fax services...

"I just got a new computer and I'm wondering about hard drive partitioning strategies. A friend told me to create a very small C: partition for a swap file, put Windows on the D: drive, and create several other parititions for different types of data. Is this a good idea?"

"What do you recommend for quick photo editing when you're away from your own computer and you don't have PhotoShop or something similar available?"

Is your computer safe from viruses? Without the proper protection, your computer can catch a virus faster than you can recite your email address three times. Viruses can destroy files, compromise your privacy, and make you vulnerable to identity theft. What to do?

We're tethered to our computers right now, but the future of input devices will give computer users a freedom that is nearly unfathomable. Can you control your computer by speaking, blinking your eyes, or waving your hand? Some of these futuristic input devices are already available...

"I've read warnings about getting caught up in a botnet, but I still don't understand the danger. Can you explain in simple terms what a botnet is, and how to avoid them?"

Recently, a few organizations have begun offering an alternative to paper documentation of health records. Would you trust your personal health records to an online company?

"I'm looking for a truly wireless printer, one that can connect to my laptop with no cable, and also runs on batteries. What do you recommend for the business traveler who needs to print wirelessly?"

"I occasionally need to receive an inbound fax, but I don't own a fax machine. Going to Kinko's or the local drugstore to pick up a fax is a nuisance, and nothing is private there. Is there some way to get my faxes online, but still have a real phone number that people can use to send faxes to me? Oh, and free is nice..."

"I want to backup my home computers to an external hard drive, but I'm worried about security. If the drive is lost or stolen, all my sensitive personal and financial data goes with it. Is there a way to password protect a hard drive, encrypt it, or protect it with some other security device?"

What exactly does Vista ReadyBoost do? Is it the same as adding RAM, or is it more like a disk cache? I've read varying reports as to whether or not it really boosts performance on Vista. What do you know about ReadyBoost?

If you are a student, employee, or part of the military, you've probably experienced the frustration of not being able to access certain websites or even your webmail. Fortunately there are some things you can do to access these blocked sites. Here's how...

Anyone can plug in a computer and attach a printer. But that's not all there is to being a serious computer jockey these days. Are you ready to get your geek on? Check out these five must-have gadgets to enhance your computing experience or find a great Father's Day gift...

If you have noticed your computer running a little sluggish and slow lately, it might be time to defragment your hard drive. Your hard drive does need to be cleaned out regularly and defragmented in order to keep everything working better. Here's the why and how of defragging...

In the course of doing my job, I use certain programs on a regular basis. On any given day, I might be doing word processing, web design, programming, image editing, trouble shooting, and of course email and web surfing. Here are some of my favorite software applications to get the job done...

"My computer seems to get slower and slower. A friend told me I need a registry cleaner. Will that really help? If so, where can I get a good free registry cleaner to do the job?"

Samsung recently introduced the Instinct at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association Wireless 2008 show. The Instinct was rated the top cell phone presented at this year's show by CNET. But how does this slick mobile device compare to the iPhone?

"How can I password protect a file on my Windows XP system? I want to add a password so that nobody can open the file without knowing the password. I tried the Sharing and Security option, but there was no place to enter a password. There must be a way..."

"I've heard that Google keeps a log of everything that people search for. If this is true, can I delete my search history? Who else is keeping track of what I search for?"

There's no shortage of accessories out there when it comes to the iPhone. So I've compiled a list of the coolest and most useful add-ons to complement your iPhone.

I know I'm supposed to write about computers, the Internet and nifty gadgets, but life is more than all that electronic stuff. I'm so happy with my new puppy that I've just got to show him off...

What information about you is publicly available on the Web? In the past, only government agencies and businesses with a 'need to know' were able to access personal information. Today, Internet search engines allow almost anyone to find information about friends, co-workers, job applicants, etc. What information that YOU thought was private is available online?

"I've heard that Microsoft just released a new service pack for Windows XP. Is SP3 going to make my XP machine run faster and jump higher? Or should I avoid it? I remember the SP2 hassles... What's your take on XP SP3?"

"Some people are calling the new LG Voyager a potential iPhone killer. I'm considering buying the Voyager so I'd like your take on how it stacks up against the Apple iPhone."

"I checked out Hulu and was impressed by the amount of popular TV shows available for free there. Almost seems too good to be true, so… is it?"

"I'm getting popups on Vista saying "Windows needs your permission to continue." Is this spyware or something I need to deal with? If it's part of Vista, can I turn this annoying 'feature' off?"

"I'm hearing good things about the latest Ubuntu Linux. Is there anything compelling enough in the latest release to save me from installing Vista on my next machine? Kinda hoping so..."

"My hard drive failed last week, and my latest backup was a year old. So I lost pretty much ALL of my important files. Can you recommend an AUTOMATIC backup that just works?"

Google Sky is a virtual planetarium that is a part of the Google Earth software, which allows you to explore the cosmos from the comfort of your own PC. Read on to learn what you can discover with this and other astronomy software tools...

“A tech support guy told me my system is running FAT, and advised me to convert my hard drive to NTFS. I didn’t really understand his explanation… can you explain the difference and when it makes sense to convert FAT to NTFS?”

"I've heard that there are a bunch of really cool programs that will run on my iPhone, but it requires something called a jailbreak. How is that done? Is it safe, and will it void my iPhone's warranty?"

"I've run into problems trying to transfer my iTunes music to an MP3 player. I am told that the problem is DRM, some sort of copy protection built into the songs. Are there ways to get around this? Can I buy DRM-free music, or remove the DRM code?"

"I'm worried about the worth of my house in today's economy. The mortgage crisis is wreaking havoc on property values. What online tools can you suggest to help determine the value of my home?"

"I've heard that Microsoft just released Vista SP1, a package of updates that will make Vista run faster. Should I install it? If so, how do I get Vista SP1?"

You finally got that wireless router, but the wifi signal is not so great in some parts of the house. Here's how to boost your wireless signal strength...

If you maintain a website, a content management system (CMS) can make it easier to add or update information, whether it has 10 pages or 10,000 pages. Read on to learn what a content management system can do for you, and which CMS is right for your site…

If you've already decided that you want to find stardom on YouTube, good luck with that. With over 100 million videos watched every day, chances are mighty slim that you will be a star on that site. Let’s explore the good, the bad, and the easily accessible of video hosting sites...

"Windows is giving me a warning that says 'You are running out of disk space on Local Disk (C:).' My friend told me this is not important and offered to disable the warning popup for me, but I'm not sure. Can I safely ignore these 'Low Disk Space' warnings?"

"Microsoft Word is so expensive... are there free alternatives? I'd really like a full featured web-based word processor that allows me to access and store documents online, instead of my hard drive."

I've already shared some of my favorite portable inkjet printers, but here is my list of photo printers that are compact, inexpensive, and perfect for family photos...