At Cisco Networkers 2009. Just got back from the orientation session.

To control multiple computers using one keyboard and mouse you would previously have had to purchase a keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch, which is a hardware switch allowing you to divert a keyboard, mouse and monitor to control different computers. However, if you have a monitor for each computer and just want to use a single keyboard and mouse there is a much better method. Synergy (synergy2.sourceforge.net), teleport (abyssoft.com/software/teleport/), and Input Director (www.inputdirector.com) are three utilities which allow you to control multiple computers using one keyboard and mouse. The only requirement is that all computers have a monitor and are connected to a common network. This allows you to simply drag your mouse and keyboard focus between computers seamlessly. Some of the programs even allow you to have a shared clipboard between computers. The three utilities mentioned above cover support for Windows, Mac and Unix-based systems, so this should cover most users.

On startup my computer displays the message “TPSMain.exe – Unable To Locate Component. The application has failed to start because CpuPerf.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem”. How do I stop this message from appearing? It seems to have only occurred after installing the latest version of Spyware Doctor and I have been unable to resolve the problem using PC Tools. The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)

Recently I purchased a new computer running Windows XP with Office 2007. My previous computer was primarily used for word processing and ran Windows 3.1. I saved all my Word documents on 1.44 MB floppy discs. To my dismay I now find that the new computer with Windows XP will not read these discs. Can you tell me if there is an easy, quick and hopefully cheap way to get the data to transfer from the discs to Windows XP? (more…)

Norton Internet Security 2008 is installed on my Windows XP Home Edition SP3 computer. Now every time I start the computer Norton automatically disables the Windows Security Centre and Windows Firewall. I would like to maximise my protection and would like to leave these two utilities enabled. Can you explain how this can be achieved? (more…)