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Welcome To Abax Communications Group, Specializing in Home & Business Computer Solutions

tel: 905-752-0709
fax: 905-940-0690
info@abaxcom.com


Thinking about Upgrading your old system?
Here is what you need to know...

Upgrading your system can be an interesting adventure. Technology keeps advancing at a very fast past, and much of yesterdays technology can not be adapted to current systems. There will be some new terms to learn as well.
The current generation Intel Duo Core systems and AM2 AMD systems have different power requirements , which necessitates generally a more powerful power supply(24 PIN ATX). Newer boards are phasing out the old AGP standard, for the more advanced PCI-Express standard.  Although your hard drive may be adequate for your needs, the most current hard drives are all very affordable, much larger, and are based on the very fast Serial ATA standard. If your system was purchased within the last year, you may be able to find an affordable upgrade path.  If your system is three or more years old, perhaps the best option for you is a simple RAM upgrade or video card upgrade until you are ready to purchase a new system.


Computer Bogged down? Tons of Popups?
You could potentially have viruses or spyware/adware. We all know the dangers of viruses; however, spyware/adware  is getting to be very insidious. There are various ways you can get infected, but if you are getting many popup advertisements or your system is taking a long time to boot, i'd suggest running some of these free for home use utilities.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware
Microsoft Antispy
Spybot Search and Destroy
CCleaner
Tech Note 1: Trying to send a really long website address to someone? If it keeps cutting off into multiple lines, tinyurl it! copy the address and paste it into www.tinyurl.com and they can abbreviate it for you!

Tech Note 2: Data gets corrupted on hard drives every day. Sometimes it is the hard drive malfunctioning, most often times it is a software product that has corrupted the data. Don't go looking for people to blame when you loose important data to corruption. There are many affordable options for data storage: CD and DVD Burners, as well as Memory Sticks (USB) are perfect for storing your data!
do the smart thing: BACK UP YOUR DATA REGULARLY!

Tech Note 3: Tired of Internet Explorer? Try Opera! It comes automatically with tabbed browsing, skins, and mouse gestures..and It's free!: www.opera.com

Tech Note 4: Camera pictures too big too send? Try Easy Thumbnails! It can clone a whole directory of pictures quickly/painlessly to a smaller size in a separate directory. Try it here: http://www.fookes.com/

Tech Note 5: Caught without antivirus protection? Grisoft offers a free version of it's antivirus software to home users, and of course, don't forget to visit Trend Micro's Housecall!


Vista
Microsoft Vista was released early this year. The requirements to run Vista are steep compared to Windows XP. Foremost, you will need a good quality video card, and lots of ram (1GB). If you are thinking of upgrading a previous system to Vista, you should use the Microsoft Vista Advisor found here.

There are several versions to choose from for the average user:

Home Basic: Lacks the new Aero interface, but is fine for the average home user looking for an affordable option. It includes Parental Controls for greater safely.

Home Premium: Has additional features such as the new Aero interface, Backup Utilities, and can be compared to the previous Windows Media Center Edition.
 
Business: Includes IIS, Windows ShadowCopy, Multiple CPU Support, Tablet Suport and more.

Ultimate: As it's name implies, this is the Vista with everything, but is quite pricey.

More detailed information can be found on the Microsoft Website.

Of course, moving to a new operating system has both it's shares of ups and downs. Some of your old software will not necessarily be Vista-friendly.


Which version of Microsoft Office is for me?
There are several different versions of Microsoft Office 2007 to meet your needs:
Home And Student includes , Word, Excel, and  PowerPoint.
Basic includes , Word, Excel, and  Outlook.
Small Business  adds Account Express and Publisher.
Professional adds Access.
More detailed information can be found on the Microsoft Website.
 

Top Free Software (For Home Users)
Open Office Great Alternative To Microsoft Word
Opera Web Browser Includes Tabbed Browsing
Firefox Web Browser Another Great Internet Utility
Lavasoft Ad Aware Spyware/Adware Program
AVG Antivirus Free Antivirus
CCleaner Removes Temporary Files

Standard Edition 2003 includes Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Small Business Edition 2003 also includes Publisher as well.
Office Professional Edition 2003 includes Access in the package.



Copyright © 2003 Abax Communications Group
info@abaxcom.com
Last Updated December, 2007