The Paint image editor which comes standard with all versions of Windows is quite limited in the operations which it can complete. However, there is an excellent free image editor for Windows called Paint.NET (www.getpaint.net). This provides much more functionality than the default Paint image editor while also keeping it simple, so you can accomplish image editing tasks quickly and easily.

I am confused as to the need for security software (anti-virus, anti-trojan, anti-spyware, firewalls, etc) for my new iMac. Many books and online articles state that such software is essential, however other articles and, perplexingly, store salesmen say that such utilities are an unnecessary waste of memory, as the threat is simply not there. Who should be believed, and what would you recommend? I am running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.6). (more…)

The Recycling Bin icon has disappeared from the desktop. This problem first occurred a while ago when I logged into Windows and noticed that the icon was missing. I managed to locate the Recycling Bin but the only method to get the icon back to the desktop was to create a shortcut. However, I have now accidentally deleted the icon (again) and forgotten how to find the Recycling Bin’s location again. Would it be possible to recover the Recycling Bin, preferably in the original form not the shortcut form. The computer is running Windows Vista. (more…)

Can you recommend a free program that scans and updates all drivers on a system. Searching Google returns many utilities which perform this function, with varying degrees of success, but they all require payment to download and update the drivers. (more…)

Users of Mac OS X Snow Leopard may have noticed a new feature called Dock Expose. If you click and hold on an active icon in the Dock that will trigger Expose on just that one application, showing all the application’s active windows together with special options such as Quit and Hide. This can be very handy if you are dealing with a lot of open windows for one application.