Computers and hardware

Judging by the genres represented in my iTunes library, I listen to a wide variety of music, from alternative, blues, and country to R&B, reggae, and rock, with a bit of electronica/dance, hip-hop/rap, and jazz in between. I don't always adjust iTunes's equalizer, but when I do, I find it helps. For the last year or so, however, I've switched from using iTunes to Spotify for the majority of my listening pleasure. I love Spotify's seemingly limitless library and its ability to load in a fraction of the time it takes iTunes, … Read more

In Windows 8, Microsoft quietly removed a useful networking feature: ad-hoc networks.

In Windows 7 (and previous OSes), the tool could turn your PC into a Wi-Fi hot spot, allowing it to share its Ethernet or other Internet connection with other devices by broadcasting its own network.

So, if you paid for Internet access at a cafe, or you're at work, and want to share your PC's Internet with your phone or tablet, this feature would let you do that.

It is very possible to do this in Windows 8, but the built-in method requires fiddling with the … Read more

The right-click "Send to" menu option is a great tool for sending files to and fro in Windows 8, and there is a simple way to add new destinations to it. Use the Win-R keyboard shortcut to call up the Run command window and type shell:sendto and hit enter or click OK. This calls up the SendTo folder where the right-click "Send to" menu destinations reside. You can delete any of the default shortcuts here, and you can drag in new shortcuts.

If you are one to mix up his or her Send To destinations … Read more

When I'm not blogging for CNET, I test and review laptops and desktops. During the getting-to-know process for each system I review, one of the places I usually stop by first is the Control Panel to tweak a setting or two before I start running benchmark tests. In the good old days of Windows 7 and XP, I simply clicked on the Start button and selected the Control Panel from the Start menu. With Windows 8, however, that path does not exist.

If you are using a tablet or refuse to engage in keyboard shortcuts, you'll need to … Read more

RAM sticks, known for their chip creep and random failures, are among the more annoying pieces of hardware to pinpoint as the source of a technical issue. Before you start digging around in the tower, it's best to start with a quick and free memory check via Windows. This way, you'll know whether or not it's worth swapping around sticks of RAM to see which one is the dud.

Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Open the Start Menu and type in mdsched.exe, then press enter.

Step 2. A pop-up will appear on your … Read more

Bump is a popular app for sharing photos and contact info between smartphones. Several months ago, they added the ability to share photos with a computer as well, but you could only share photos in one direction (phone to computer). Bump's announcement yesterday revealed that you can now use the app to share any file type between devices in both directions. Here's how to use Bump to share files between your smartphone and computer:

Step 1: Install the latest version of Bump (iOS | Android) on your smartphone and enable location services.

Step 2: On your … Read more

At CES last month I encountered Digital Innovations' ChargeDr, a small USB dongle that promised to do the seemingly impossible: boost the power output of a typical USB port, thus allowing it to charge an iPad (or other tablet).

I got it home, tested it, and discovered that, hey, it actually works! Technically speaking, there's no actual power boosting going on, but who am I to argue with this weird science? Without the dongle, my iPad says "not charging." With it: "charging."

And my tests bear out the claim. My iPad 3 went from 30 percent to 75 percent in about 2.5 hours. Not bad for a lowly USB port.… Read more

In Mountain Lion, Apple split off its reminder options from the provided calendar program and put them into a separate program similar to the Reminders app in iOS. This program lets you keep track of your projects, routines, or what have you, with to-do lists for each. As you make progress, you just mark each reminder as completed, and it drops off of its respective list.

But if, say, you inadvertently mark the wrong reminder as completed, don't worry, you can still get it back.

The Reminders program does have a Completed section that you can click to see … Read more

Starting with Office 2007, Microsoft replaced the standard menu and toolbars with the Ribbon. It was designed to help Office users find commands more easily. Office 2013 still uses the Ribbon, but if you'd rather have more work space or prefer less clutter, you can hide it. In fact, you can choose between three different views: full Ribbon view, tab-only view, and autohide view.

To switch among the different Ribbon views, click on the Ribbon display option button, located between the Help and Minimize buttons.