Want to breathe new life into your netbook?  Here’s a quick look at Jolicloud, a unique new Linux based OS that lets you use your netbook in a whole new way.

Netbooks have been an interesting category of computers.  When they were first released, most netbooks came with a stripped down Linux based operating system designed to let you easily access the internet first and foremost.  Consumers wanted more from their netbooks, so full OSes such as Windows XP and Ubuntu became the standard on netbooks.  Microsoft worked hard to get Windows 7 working great on netbooks, and today most netbooks run Windows 7 great.  But the Linux community hasn’t stood still either, and Jolicloud is proof of that.  Jolicloud is a unique OS designed to bring the best of both webapps and standard programs to your netbook.   Keep reading to see if this is the perfect netbook OS for you.

Getting Started

Installing Jolicloud on your netbook is easy thanks to a the Jolicloud Express installer for Windows.  Since many netbooks run Windows by default, this makes it easy to install Jolicloud.  Plus, your Windows install is left untouched, so you can still easily access all your Windows files and programs.

Download and run the roughly 700Mb installer (link below) just as a normal installer in Windows.

This will first extract the needed files.

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Guidingtech.com has a great write up on using True Crypt encryption to protect your data.

Check out their original article.

Hiding files and folders could be a solution when you just need to hide stuff from other users of your computer. However, if you seriously intend to secure your data so that it doesn’t get into the hands of intruders then the encryptng it is the solution.

What is Encryption ?

Wikipedia defines encryption as, “the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an algorithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key.”

Confused ? Just understand that encryption is a foolproof (almost) way to secure your sensitive data. And today we will discuss how you can do it using a software called TrueCrypt.

TrueCrypt is a free open-source disk encryption software for Windows which can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mount it as a real disk. It also encrypts an entire partition or a storage device such as USB flash drive or external hard drive. (If you are finding this a bit technical, just read on…things will get clear as you go through the steps)

Here’s a step by step guide to create, mount, and using a TrueCrypt volume. First you have to download the app and install it on your computer.

Step 1. Launch the application. Click on Create Volume button.

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Guidingtech.com has a great write up on how to connect your Computer to your TV.

Here is a link to their original article.

There could be various reasons for connecting your PC or Laptop to that old TV or the new HDTV you got recently. You might want to enjoy High Definition YouTube videos on the large screen…or skim through your collection of pictures may be…or watch a powerpoint presentation on the large screen…there could be so many reasons really.

We wish connecting your computer to the TV was a straight-forward process. Just hook the cables, and you’re done!…we wish we could say that. There is much more to this process and hence we’ve come up with this comprehensive guide. And here we go!

Things you need to check

Before connecting your PC to your TV you need check for input connections (or video inputs) available on both of them. These video inputs or components accept the video signal from other devices such as a DVD player, Blu Ray player or a computer.

You can locate them by looking at the back of your TV and computer (if it’s a laptop, look at the left or right side). Check for the following ports.

HDMI ports

This port is available on all the new HDTV (Digital) sets. But you won’t find it on all computers or laptop.

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Photo by gary j wood

Hard drive space is cheaper than ever, but as it always does, your data (and, let’s face it, BitTorrent addiction) somehow expands to fill your space available for storage. Here’s a few simple but effective ways to clean out your hard drive.

Whether you’re looking to free up gigabytes worth of hard drive space or you just want to clear out the extra crud because you’re serious about a clean hard drive, we’ll highlight how to find and remove the biggest space hogging files on your drive, remove unnecessary files hiding deep in your filesystem, and offer a few tips for keeping things clean. The main focus of this guide is on Windows, but I’ll offer up Mac alternatives where available. (Mac users, you may also want to check out this guide to cleaning up and reviving your bloated, sluggish Mac.)

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