The answers to many of the most common questions I’m asked about computers can become much clearer with a quick description of how a computer actually works. I don’t want to turn this into an encyclopedic breakdown of every part in a computer, but I want to provide an approximated, simplified explanation of what each [...]

Question: If I burn the CD, can new files not be copied onto it?  I burned one just to test it, but when I tried to copy another file onto it, it said that it couldn’t be altered. Answer: CDs and DVDs are permanent. Once you burn a CD or a DVD you cannot delete [...]

An external hard drive is the most common way to back up your computer. Anybody who’s ever had their hard drive crash and lost all of their data is typically interested in ensuring that it never happens again. This is why external backups to ensure data redundancy are a keystone of savvy computer use. In [...]

It was clearly drawn with humor in mind, but even so, many computer problems can be solved using this flowchart. Click on it to zoom in. You can find it in its original location at this link.

When making a new Mac purchase you should carefully consider what it is that you want to do with your computer and then buy the Mac with the features you need so that you do not have to upgrade later. I don’t like upgrading the physical components of a computer. The reason is that it is [...]