Things I do with my PVR (Personal Video Recorder)

I use a digicrystal PVR that is a twin tuner version with a 250GB hard drive. Here are some of the things I do to make watching TV better.

1. Pause Live TV - We have two young kids and we often pause something while we put the kids in bed. No more rushing out because the show is about to start. Likewise, if they call out later, a quick pause makes the visit to their rooms better for us and better for them.
2. Catching up on paused TV means we can forward through ads - this is especially rewarding for those really annoying ads.
3. What did he just say? It is always nice to rewind a few seconds to catch that mumbled exchange on the West Wing.
4. Naturally, I program the PVR to record shows that I can't manage to watch live. This is especially true durng the ratings periods when the channels put up competing shows at the same times.
5. I have a number of kids shows stored on the hard disk and show them whenever the kids need to watch something for a while.
   

The Wine Press - How searching on a website should be!

I love this site. It lets you select wines by flavour, rating, price, the kind of food you want to eat, country, wine colour, variety, country and year. You can make multiple selections and see the results as you click. Best of all you can unclick a choice and the results will modify again. This makes searching the site so easy.

It is like night and day when compared with traditional search choices in a website.

Have a look at the Wine Press
Let me know what you think!

Plain English Guide to Internet Security

Late last year we published our first guide that lists 7 things you should do to make your Internet experience more secure.

Windows Update

• http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
• Running windows update will ensure your computer is patched with all the current Microsoft security patches. Note that you must use Internet Explorer to follow this link
  

Anti-Adware

• http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
• Download the free version of Ad-Aware by Lavasoft and follow the prompts to Ad-Aware SE Personal. Install the software by following the on-screen prompts. When you have completed scanning your system delete all found objects.
  

Anti-Spyware

• We recommend 2 choices here. The first is freeware and is called Spybot Search and Destroy. Follow the links from the homepage at http://www.safer-networking.org/
• The second product is a commercial product, download from
• http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/
• The advantage of this product is that it can protect you in real time and has several automated functions.

Anti-Virus

• Again we have 2 choices here for virus protection. The first is a Virus cleaner from Avast and can be found at http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html
• Our alternative choice is from the Kaspersky Lab and can be found at http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/trial-versions.php
• Install and run one of these products to check for virus infections on your PC.
  

Anti-Spam

• Download the current version of Spambully
• This will give you an immediate reduction in the spam you receive and effectiveness will increase as the system resides in your email application and can be fine tuned over time to decrease spam in your email.
  

Update Browser

• http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx
• http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
  
• These browsers are the current market leaders for faster, more secure online browsing.
  

Personal Firewall

• Trial the Kerio Personal Firewall from Sunbelt Software or alternatively start with the Zone Alarm Personal firewall from the Zonelab company

Got comments? Bring em on!