Voda Computer Systems Ltd. would like to welcome Anders Bergsma as the new Sales Representative to the Kelowna team. Anders was born in Holland but grew up in South Africa and Vernon, BC. After a few years of post-secondary education he began his career in IT in Toronto as a database programmer and technician. He then relocated to Vancouver where he moved into sales and marketing and then started his own company. After selling the company and taking some time off for a prolonged honeymoon, he took on increasingly senior sales and management positions with firms in Vancouver, San Francisco and Calgary, bringing innovative IT solutions to clients ranging in size from SMB to Enterprise. This year will be Anders’ 20th in the IT industry. His wife of 16 years, Loretta, hails from Vernon as well and with their two-year old son Leif in tow, they are very excited to be getting back to the Okanagan lifestyle. VODA Computer Systems welcomes you aboard Anders!

Over time, even the most sophisticated, memory packed computer can begin to run slow if we don’t do something to prevent it. The reason why has less to do with how computers are made and how they age and more to do with the way we use them. You see, all of the daily tasks that we do on our PC from running programs to downloading and deleting software can make our computer sluggish.

To keep this from happening, you need to understand the reasons why your PC is getting slower and do something to keep your PC running at its best. You can do this through regular maintenance and PC performance optimization programs.

Before we discuss all of the things that could be affecting your PC’s performance, let’s talk a little about what symptoms a slow computer can have.

In addition to being excruciatingly slow when it comes to opening programs or finishing tasks, your PC may also experience data loss, unwanted shutdowns, Windows crashing and Windows hang up. All of these can be very annoying to deal with and are a sure sign that you need to optimize your PC and maintain it.

There are many reasons why your PC is getting slower and not performing quite the way it used to. Any one of them may be just the thing that is holding your PC back. In some cases, there is more than one culprit at work. But there are solutions to keep your computer from being affected by these nuisances, and we will talk about what you can do to maintain your PC and keep it running smoothly if it encounters any of these problems.

When you download and use programs on your PC, sometimes they are set up to start running as soon as you turn on your computer. These programs may be running in the background without you even knowing it and they use up precious memory needed for other tasks.

To see if you have any programs running in the background, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.

A list of all of the currently running programs will appear in a pop up window. You can choose to stop the programs by highlighting the program and clicking “end task.” If you want to keep those programs from starting when you turn on your PC, change the individual settings for each program so that they will not automatically be turned on.

Memory is a computer component that allows it to do all of the various tasks that you require of it. When you start to do a task, a segment of memory is assigned to that task. If you don’t have enough memory and you try to do several tasks at once, you may run out of memory and not be able to perform any tasks properly. In order to optimize and maintain memory, you can use a Memory Optimizer program. This program changes the way that Windows manages memory so that you can use it more efficiently.

Your hard drive is like a huge filing cabinet containing all of the files that you need for your computer to perform properly. When you add programs, files are added to this data base. When you delete data or programs, files are removed. This process results in holes or empty spaces in your filing cabinet.

These holes make it harder for your computer to work because it continuously has to search for information over a larger distance and sometimes search for information that is completely out of order. To combat this, you need to defragment your hard drive. You can do this with your Windows system optimization tools or with a Registry Deffrager and Optimizer. These programs eliminate holes and arrange your files in a sensible order.

Just as your PC’s hard drive could be filed improperly, it can also be too full to work at its best. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 2MB to 3MB of space on your hard drive for your PC to function properly. To free up space, simply delete unused programs on the C: drive.

Maintaining your PC’s performance is vital if you want you computer to always complete tasks at its top speed. While Windows has some system tools to help you do this, they do not work on their own. You have to actually go and start the programs to optimize your computer. And they may not be enough. In this case, you may want to opt for optimization software such as PC Programs to help maintain your PC’s performance.

About the Author:

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Window Vista registry cleaner is a Vista compatible registry cleaner cleans your PC registry of the outdated and undesirable entries, making your PC run faster.

Before we start our discussion on the Window Vista registry cleaner, let us take a look at the functions of registry and need of registry cleaning software. From the Windows 95 version, Microsoft introduced the registry into their operating system to store vital information about the hardware and software configuration of the PC. Before that this job used to be done with the INI files that remained scattered through out the hard disks. Surely, introduction of the registry was a great idea as it introduced a more organized way of keeping the records. But there is disadvantage of this process as well. Each time you install or uninstall a software, make changes to the PC settings, file associations, system policies, a new registry entry is generated and stored in the registry. Over the time, as you keep using the PC the number of registry entries also keep mounting. As outdated entries are not deleted, the registry becomes cluttered with outdated records, making the system slower and prone to frequent failures.
Registry cleaner software deletes these unnecessary entries and keeps the registry clean so that your PC gives flawless performance.

Now that you have a clear idea of the usefulness of registry cleaners, you might be thinking that why do I need a Window Vista registry cleaner, when I can download or get a registry cleaning software for free. Now this is something as technical as the registry itself. Staring from the earliest version, till the Latest Windows Vista, each and every version of Windows operating system has unique ways of keeping the registry. So, to keep the registry of your Windows Vista PC clean you need a Window Vista registry cleaner that is specifically designed for the Windows Vista operating system. Moreover, as there are different editions of Windows Vista available, like Windows Vista Starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate, you must get the exact version of the Window Vista registry cleaner that is compatible with the Windows Vista edition you are using.

The Window Vista registry cleaner performs some crucial functions.

•           It deletes outdated registry entries that were generated each time you installed any software or uninstalled one and for any system changes.

•           The Window Vista registry cleaner deletes the remaining traces of a faulty uninstall process.

•           It deletes the entries made by Trojans, malwares, viruses and any other undesired programs.

•           The Window Vista compatible Registry Cleaner also backs up the registry entries that you can always restore, in case you encounter any system failure.

So, if you are using a Windows Vista PC, a Window Vista registry cleaner is a must have for you to get faster and optimum computing experience.

It's no surprise that customers consistently give Hewlett-Packard the highest ratings for service and reliability. HP is a company whose reputation for quality products is legendary. According to PC Magazine's annual "Service and Reliability" surveys, HP has consistently offered the best service and reliability in the printer industry, receiving a #1 ranking for 14 years. (HP printers for home and business users were included in the survey.)

But is reliability the first thing that comes to mind when you decide what printing supplies to purchase? It may not be. You may think that buying the lowest-cost supplies will give you the best value for your money. What you may not be aware of, however, is the role that reliability plays in the cost of printing. This article explores the real-world impact of print cartridge reliability on costs and addresses why reliability is so important.

Reliability has a measurable impact on costs

Reliability is important because time is valuable, and reliability problems can consume a lot of your time. What is your time worth? If you're running a business, reliability problems can take up a significant amount of your employees' time and technical support time, with a direct impact on your productivity and operating costs. If you're printing at home, reliability is important because wasted time keeps you from your family and the things you enjoy.

How much do remanufactured cartridges really cost? Wasted printing supplies and staff wages can end up costing your company over 80 percent more than if you'd used reliable HP color LaserJet print cartridges.2 If your business prints a lot, that could add up to thousands of dollars or more per year.

Every time you have to deal with problem cartridges, printer problems and reprinting unacceptable pages, it costs you money—because wasted time results in real costs. In fact, wasted staff wages and wasted printing supplies can really add up. Depending on the size of your business and the amount of printing that you do, problem cartridges can end up costing you thousands of dollars or more per year.

If you're a home user or own a home business, problems may be even more aggravating and costly, since you don't have a technical support staff to turn to. It isn't worth your time to deal with problem cartridges and printer problems—not to mention the extra money you spend on cartridges, paper and special media when you have to reprint poor-quality pages. When you buy reliable print cartridges, you can spend more of your time doing the things you want to do.

How does HP achieve unsurpassed reliability?

Genuine HP print cartridges are designed and tested with HP printers as part of a complete printing system to deliver consistently outstanding results. HP demonstrates its commitment to reliability through substantial investments at every step of the product development process, from design through manufacturing, with exhaustive testing throughout (see sidebar, Reliability at each step). For example, HP conducts tests on HP Color LaserJet and inkjet print cartridges to ensure consistent results after long periods of not using your printer or when print cartridges are stored prior to use. This helps ensure that every page is clear and sharp.

Reliability at each step

Design—To ensure precisely controlled print quality and reliability, every element of the print cartridge, including inks and toners, is designed to perform optimally and reliably with printer hardware and HP papers.

Manufacturing—HP inkjet print cartridges include sophisticated printheads with hundreds of tiny nozzles, some capable of firing ink faster than 36,000 drops per second. To ensure reliable performance from such complex technology, HP analyzes each cartridge to ensure that it will deliver the precise size, shape and placement of ink drops.

Testing—HP conducts comprehensive testing on print cartridges during their manufacture to ensure that they meet or exceed design specifications. For example, HP tests a sample of more than 5,000 inkjet print cartridges per week, to the tune of 100,000 pages per week.

Focusing on cartridge purchase price is a short-term view—choose HP for true value

When you choose a remanufactured cartridge because of lower initial purchase price, you may think you're saving money. But the recent results of the QL study raises concerns—are you really saving money over the life of the printer when you use remanufactured cartridges? Focusing on price alone is a short-term view that doesn't take into account print quality, printer downtime, wasted staff time, wasted supplies, support costs and even costs you may not notice. For example, with a shared printer, you may not realize that a print cartridge is failing prematurely. It's just pulled out, thrown away and replaced, without anyone really knowing how many pages it has printed. Such expenses may be invisible, but they definitely cost you—often more than buying a more reliable print cartridge in the first place. Dependability is also key, especially when customers and clients are waiting for documents; the cost of letting them down is incalculable. Results from the QL study show that using remanufactured cartridges can often end up costing you more than original HP print cartridges.

Choose the unsurpassed reliability of original HP ink and color toner cartridges, and avoid reliability problems that cost you time and money.