Is open source safe?
The IT Department where Daniel Toth works won't let him use open source software because they believe it's a security risk. Is it?
Stories by Lincoln Spector
Audio compression may not be so bad
We all listen to compressed music on our computers and portable players and we all know that compression is supposed to hurt sound quality. But does it hurt it enough to affect our listening pleasure?
The truth about old 3D
I've read a lot of articles in the last year or so about the new 3D trend in theatrical movies and HDTV, and far too many of them have made the same mistake about the 3D movie craze of the 1950s.
DVD upscaling: does it really work?
Question of the week: Do upscaling DVD players improve the picture on HDTVs? Answer: Probably, but there's no guarantee.
Lose the Trojan
A reader asked the Answer Line forum how she can remove a Trojan from an infected .dll file called infamiqayoq.dll. Her security software quarantined the file, but now she gets an error message every time she boots.
Move data to a safer, separate partition in Windows 7
Cedric Crawley wants to keep Windows 7 and his applications in one partition, and his data in another.
When XP is discontinued
A reader wants to know if XP will still be safe after Microsoft ends support in 2014
USB interferes with boot
Richard Purdy's PC won't boot when he has a flash drive plugged into it.
Set up your HDTV for watching the Winter Olympics
You're all geared up for the 2010 Winter Olympics. You have your pizza, your beer, and your brand-new, beautiful HDTV. But is that HDTV giving your favorite sport everything it's capable of giving?
The data with the music
When you pop an audio CD into your PC's drive, your media player software (iTunes, Windows Media Player, or whatever) downloads this information from an online database.
Windows 7's built-in backup
Robert wants to know if Windows 7's built-in backup program is worth using.
Restore data after motherboard death
Peter's motherboard died. How can he retrieve the data on his hard drive?
How to diagnose a bad Wi-Fi connection
Network problems are the thorniest to resolve. They've been known to reduce my vocabulary to curses so strong they'd embarrass Quentin Tarantino.
The computer maintenance flash drive
In "Applications on a Flash Drive," I mentioned that I keep a flash drive with portable diagnostic tools I use for fixing friends' and relatives' PCs. Andy Ludlum asked what programs I keep on that flash drive.
Securely wipe a dead hard drive
Hard drives almost always contain some potentially compromising information, such as credit card and social security numbers. You should always wipe a hard drive before turning it over to someone else. But that job is particularly difficult if the hard drive no longer works.