Fundamentals of Computing - Test Your Knowledge of IT

I have started a project entitled Fundamentals of Computing where I collect information about IT in a more structured way. There is both a fundamental and an advanced level, and I will take you through the world of Information Technology so you can be more informed about what happens in your computer.

ZIP-Files - How to Handle Zip-Files

I thought everyone knew what a zip-file was. Sometimes I forget that many people are not anywhere nearly as experienced as I am, and many others also are if they have the same experience with computers. In the old days, you could even compress a zip-file from the command prompt under DOS.

One Spam Filter You Should Have

The one spam filter you should have is one you can create right away. Regardless of whether you read e-mails online through the so-called 'webmail' or you have a specific program such as Thunderbird, you can create one filter that will avoid quite a bit of spam.

Don't Open Anything From Unknown Sources

A few years back I took part in a security course that also focused on hacking, and my best advice to all of you, dear readers, is that you don't ever open anything from unknown sources. That is especially important when it comes to your e-mail account.

Don't Download Beta Drivers

I came across a very bad article on running beta drivers. In the article the person recommended a beta of a graphics driver to enhance a specific game. I would NEVER do that if you want to use your pc for both gaming and serious stuff. Here's the reason why.

QuiteRSS - A Good RSS Reader

A blogger needs RSS feeds. Not to copy anything, but to be regularly inspired by what happens on other people's blogs. You cannot always rely upon people to update their G+ or Twitter profiles every time they have written, and you might also lose an update due to clutter from other subjects. Well, calling it clutter may be a bit derogatory, but you know what I mean... :-)

We get excited, and in that process we forget to follow people we are interested in reading more from. In that context you need the QuiteRSS feedreader. You can read more about it right here: https://quiterss.org/.

Your PC Can't Multiply Correctly

When you enter the number 2 in the field A1 in a spreadsheet, and enter this formula in the field A2: =A1*2 and press , you can then click at the lower right of the cell, and drag down so that you copy the formula, so that A3 contains the formula =A2*2, and A4 contains the formula =A3*2...

When you get down a number of cells, you start noticing errors, as I have shown in both row 51 and 54 in this screen dump next to this text. 20 multiplied by 2 should be 40 - not 50. 500 multiplied by 2 doesn't give you 990 etc...

I fully realize this won't affect your personal budget, but this type of error is rather interesting, because we did this experiment almost twenty years ago with exactly the same result, and both OpenOffice and Microsoft have this error in their spreadsheet software.

It might not be useful for much, but you can at least refer to this next time someone wants to make the claim that software is error-free...