In observance of the Christmas holidays, the Regional Library Computer Center in conjunction with the Birmingham Public Library will be closed on December 24th and December 25th.
In observance of the New Year, the Regional Library Computer Center in conjunction with the Birmingham Public Library will close at 6 p.m. on December 31st and will be closed all day January 1, 2008.
Just like your car needs a tune up every few months or so, the same goes for your PC. Whether you have had your PC for months or years, you will begin to notice subtle changes in the way your PC operates. When you first bought the PC, it may have been as “quick as lightning” but now it may seem like it takes forever to accomplish one simple task. There are a variety of tools available for “free” on the Internet which can resolve some issues your aging PC may have. There is one, in particular, that I would like to recommend. It is Glary Utilities. First of all, Glary Utilities is 100% free. Glary Utilities offers several powerful and easy to use system tools to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC.
Here is what Glary Utilities offers:
It allows you to clean common system junk files, as well as invalid registry entries and Internet traces. You can manage and delete browser add-ons, analyze disk space usage and find duplicate files. You can also view and manage installed shell extensions, encrypt your files from unauthorized access and use, split large files into smaller manageable files and then rejoin them. Furthermore, Glary Utilities includes the options to optimize memory, find, fix, or remove broken Windows shortcuts, manage the programs that start at Windows startup and uninstall software. Other features include secure file deletion, an Empty Folder finder and more.
I have been using this utility for several weeks now and have found it to be a very helpful tool in speeding up my computer.
As I was browsing through Google Reader I came upon another useful tool for those who need to share files with other people. FileUrls is a very useful tool when the file you want to share is too large or the file is too small to post on the web. Whether you are working on a PowerPoint presentation for a meeting or you are a photographer needing to get files from another computer, FileUrls is a website that you need to add to your favorites or bookmarks. Basically it is a service that gives you a custom URL that you can give to anyone. The largest file you can upload to FileURLs is 250MB, so don’t expect it to be the ideal service for sharing your movie collection with your friends. There are no social aspects to the service either, meaning you can’t see what other people have uploaded.
The service is incredibly simple: You browse to the file you want to share, select how long you want the file to live on FileURLs’ servers (maximum is 7 days), and upload it. You can choose to make the file password protected if you want added security. You can watch the file progress as it’s uploaded to FileURLs, and once the upload is complete, the service returns a custom URL that you can send to anyone who needs to download your file. If you’ve created a password for the file, recipients will be prompted for it before they download. If not, the service works as easily for the recipient as it did for you–they copy/paste the URL into their browser and they’ll see a link to download your file.
We are the staff of the Regional Library Computer Center and this is our blog. The RLCC is on the third floor of the Linn Henley Research Building of the Birmingham Public Library.
The RLCC has 21 computers available for the public to use. There is an hour time limit and patrons do need to have their library card number in order to log in to the computers. If you don’t have a card, you can get one! They’re Free!
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