Fix the Family Computer
This week holds a tradition near and dear to any geek's heart. 'Tis the season to fix the family computer. The instant you walk through the door after arriving at your family's house for Thanksgiving, Dad approaches you and tells you "the Internet is broken". Have no fear, as Lifehacker links us today to a (2 year old) post on some basics for you to help clean up the family PC and restore order to the universe.
Tips range from removing spyware, to defragging hard drives, to replacing Internet Explorer with Firefox. I have a few suggestions, as well.
- Remove all the crap from the taskbar - printer managers and strange applications can clutter up this area and make for massive slowdowns. Get rid of pretty much everything surrounding the clock.
- Clean up the desktop - move clutter on the desktop to the documents folder, and inform your family that is where all their files went off to. Instructing them on how to be better organized in this way is welcome, as well.
- Give the gift of Gmail - Gmail is a handy thing indeed. It's free, organized, efficient, and pretty much the best email out there. Show your family how they can use it and even forward all their email to their new, shiny Gmail address.
- Mac Only: Set up the Mighty Mouse - parents get an iMac but don't know how to use it? Start by giving them their second mouse button back for their mighty mouse. Go to system preferences > keyboard and mouse to see your options.
- Add The Weekly Geek to their favorites - this one is self-explanatory.
Do you have any family PC (or Mac) cleanup tips to share? Post them in the comments to help expand the range of geek knowledge!
Update: They also have a kit you can download! Hooray!
