The cheapest way to get more speed out of your computer is to upgrade your RAM. RAM stands for "Random Access Memory". A friend of mine in sales often refers to it as "short term memory" when explaining how it works to anyone not familiar with computers.

RAM is the memory your computer relies on to run programs. It empties itself when the program closes or when the computer is turned off. The more RAM you have the more programs you can run simultaneously.

Although upgrading RAM is the least expensive and the easiest way to boost the speed on your computer, people are often intimidated at the thought of trying to do it themselves. Honestly, with most computers RAM is easily accessible and as long as you practice some safety precautions you can usually upgrade your RAM yourself. PCWorld.com has a tutorial which is quite a few years old, but will explain safety precautions and the installation procedure itself really hasn’t changed that much.

The first thing you need to do is find out how much RAM your computer can hold and what type of RAM you  need. The Crucial Memory Advisor Tool takes the guesswork out of upgrading. It walks you right through the process …all you need to know is the brand and model of your computer, Crucial’s memory advisor tool does the rest.

If you have the owner’s manual that came with your computer, it will usually give you instructions on how to replace the RAM. If you no longer have it, or feel more comfortable having someone else install it, you can still order your RAM from Crucial.com and pay to have a local computer geek install it for you. By purchasing the RAM yourself you usually save quite a bit of money.

I’ve used Crucial.com every time I’ve upgraded my computers and I can’t say enough good things about them. Their site is easy to use, their shipping times are wicked fast and the products are top-rate! Check out the Crucial Featured Specials, and keep them in mind the next time you’re waiting for a frozen program to close…a little more RAM can make a big difference.

Get it done 5x faster with the new 17-inch MacBook Pro!

I would absolutely love to get my hot little hands on one of these! I’m still plugging away on my poor little 12" 1Ghz PowerBook G4 with a missing function key…or my 800Mhz iMac G4. Don’t get me wrong, I still like both of them…but 5 times faster??!!  SWEET!!

Beside the speed, and the fact that I could dual-boot Windows (still trying to figure out why I would want to, but hey I could do it) I like the nice litle touches that are missing on my PowerBook, like the backlit keyboard. Right now I have two dead IBM laptops a dead NEC monitor and a dead PC….but both my iMac and PowerBook are still plugging away. I would recommend a Mac to anyone!

They’re easy to use, way fewer problems than a Windows PC or laptop and they’re workhorses!  Every night I say my  prayers to the Mac fairy, but she hasn’t come through yet….

New public beta of Windows Media player selected as PCMag’s Editor’s Choice!

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My first Mac was the iMac G4 that looked like a desklamp. I named mine "Elliott" because whenever I looked at it I thought of E.T. for some strange reason.

Anyway…I bought a Powerbook a few years ago. At the time all I could afford was the version with the 12" screen. (The 17" screen is pictured to the left) I was shocked at how quickly I got used to the small screen, and how easily I fell in love with it. My poor IBM Thinkpad and my PC began gathering dust as I focused entirely on working on my Macs.

As time passed my little Powerbook has been put through its paces. A friend’s dog even knocked it onto the floor, denting it pretty badly and knocking the function key off, but it’s still working as well as it did the day I bought it. Now I am itching to buy a new computer…even though my Powerbook works just fine, albeit a little slow. (I have the older one with the 1Ghz processor).

As I window shop I find myself drooling at some of the specs of the new multi-media PCs…which of course are much less expensive than their Apple equivalents. But, I can’t help but lean toward another Apple laptop. I’ve heard that there have been quite a few problems with the Macbook Pro…but since I’m in no hurry to buy, I will gladly wait until the kinks have been worked out.

Of course if I win the lottery, I will be buying this one:
 

A girl can dream, can’t she….

If it wasn’t bad enough that to have processor and CPU whine, poor Airport reception and solar ambient temperatures, it appears that some early MacBook Pro batteries are now failing.

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