Cloudeight Information Avenue

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Issue #404 of InfoAve Free Edition! Thanks for subscribing!

About Windows 7
Windows 7 was released with much fanfare last Thursday. You're going to inundated with ads for Windows 7, in print media, on TV, and in-store. You may be tempted to plunk down $120 for Windows 7 Home Premium or more for Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate. Before you do, consider this: All new computers sold will either come with Windows 7 pre-installed or with a free upgrade to Windows 7. With computer prices at an all-time low, you might want to save your money and use it to buy a new computer when that time comes. The other day I was in a Walmart store and saw a $698.00 Dell Laptop with 4GB of RAM, good video card, 500GB hard drive and bright 17" screen on sale for $498. The laptop came with Vista pre-installed, but included a coupon for a free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. Taking the $120 I might have spent on a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade and applying it to that new Dell Laptop, the difference would only have been $378 and I'd have a really nice, brand new laptop and Windows 7 too. And desktops are ever cheaper. So, don't rush out and buy Windows 7 unless you have money to burn. In these tough economic times, unless you have money to burn, your Widnows XP or Windows Vista computer will continue work just fine and be supported by Microsoft for the next few years. This is the first time we've ever not recommended a new version of Windows when it was released.

Sure Windows 7 is pretty cool with lots of great features - and we'll be using it on some of our computers, but only because we have to. It's our business to be as knowledgeable as we can about every Windows version. But we cannot see any compelling reason for a typical home user to go out and buy a Windows 7 upgrade DVD. We think that since all new computers being sold now come with Windows 7 or a free upgrade to Windows 7, your money would be better spent on buying a new computer rather than installing Windows 7 on your old one. That's our opinion.

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now!
Our new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!

We're pleased to introduce our brand new InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6. This e-book contains all the questions and answers, tips, trick, freeware picks, reader's tips, sites of the week, and more from all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from October 2008 to October 2009. Our biggest e-book ever (over 12 MB) is our best ever! With its built-in search you can find information in the blink of an eye. The e-book is divided into sections so you can browse though hundreds of tips and tricks, questions and answers, freeware picks, quickly and easily. More info, more features, bigger and better than any E-book before. Get more information here.

Get it on USB too! For the first time ever, we're offering our InfoAve Premium E-book on a 2.0GB USB Flash Drive. You'll get our new E-book and have almost 2GB of free space to store files or to add more memory to your Vista or Windows 7 computer. The E-Books take up less than 2 % of the available space. The USB Flash Drive is Ready Boost capable and comes with a vinyl carrying pouch with snap - to keep it safe!

Here are some of the highlights of our brand new InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-book:

All the content from all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from October 17, 2008 through October 9, 2009.
Over 200 Windows Questions and Answers

Hundreds of Windows, Email and browser Tips and Tricks

All of our freeware picks and every site of the week pick.

Hundreds of Reader's Comments

All Reader's Tips

All our essays and rants from the 6th year of Premium

Every "Back To Basics" article

Dozens of Windows 7 tips included!

Use the built-in search feature to find exactly what you're looking for! The built-in search feature will highlight your keywords in the pages it finds.

Nothing to install. Simply click on the E-Book icon whenever you want to read it. You don't need to be online to read it!

Available as a download, or on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive!

E-Book CD-ROM and USB Flash Drive include all 5 previous E-Books!

More info, more features, bigger and better than any E-book before!

Get the downloadable InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book here!

Get our InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-book on a 2.0 GB USB Flash Drive
Includes our new Volume 6 E-book, E-books from previous years, downloadable Volume 6 e-book and more! Also available with a InfoAve Premium lifetime subscription upgrade. Get more information here.

Get the InfoAve E-Books Bonus CD-ROM
Includes InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-book ,all previous year's e-books, and the downloadable E-book too! Also available with a InfoAve Premium lifetime subscription upgrade. Get more information here.

Get your Infoave Premium E-Book Volume 6 E-Book right now - downloadable or on USB Flash Drive or CD-ROM!

Get more information about our brand new InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 here!

Dennis asks us about our favorite free screen capture program
You have recommended a freeware screen capture program which works great. My hard drive bit the dust and I lost the program. Please advise what the program is. Thanks.

Our answer
Our favorite screen capture program is FastStone Capture - which, unfortunately, is no longer free. Luckily for you Dennis, there is one place you can still get the last freeware version of FastStone Capture. This is the same program (free) that we recommended in our freeware picks and also the same one that we use every week to make the screen captures for this newsletter.

We don't know how much longer this version will be available, so if you want it, you'd better grab it while you still can. There may be newer versions of this software available (for a price) but it would be difficult to imagine a better, easier-to-use, more full-feature screen capture program than the last freeware version of FastStone Capture.

Capture your copy of the last freeware version of this great screen capture program before it disappears from the Web forever.

Nora is a bit confused by our Volume 6 E-book options
I was thinking of ordering the CD-ROM "The Sixth Year" and am wondering what the "plus Lifetime Subscription" option means. I am a lifetime Premium Newsletter subscriber so I suppose just the CD-ROM at $18.95 would be my best choice? Or does the "Lifetime Subscription" mean something else? Kinda confused here. Thanks for all the great information you provide to us senior computer wannabe geeks. Sorry if this in the wrong "What do you have a question about" category but I didn't know where else to put it. Nora

Our Answer
If you've already purchased a lifetime subscription to Premium, you don't need another one - unless you are a believer in reincarnation. Just kidding. But really, we all only have one lifetime on this Earth and your subscription to Premium will never run out, until we run out, which we hope isn't for many years - or you run out, which we hope isn't for many years to come.

Our E-Book is available as a download, on CD and on a 2.0 GB USB flash drive. The CD and USB flash drive versions come with all previous InfoAve Premium E-Books included. The USB Flash Drive is also Ready Boost Ready and can be used to increase your Vista or Windows 7 performance by allowing you to add additional memory to your computer without opening the case and installing new RAM.

For those who currently have annual subscriptions to InfoAve Premium, the USB and CD version are also available with a lifetime subscription to InfoAve Premium. Since you've already got a lifetime subscription, just purchased the CD or USB without the lifetime subscription option. You can get more information about our new InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book here.

Do you know something we don't, Nora?

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! Over 200 questions and answers!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

Temporarily Disable Windows Update’s Automatic Reboot in Windows Vista or Windows 7
Windows Vista / Windows 7

So you’re in the middle of doing something important on your computer when the “Restart your computer to finish installing important updates” dialog comes up, and asks you to restart your computer. If this happens to popup when you're away - getting coffee, feeding the dog, or something else - and you've got open documents you're working on - guess what? You're going to lose you work. Because if you're away, and the restart your computer dialog appears, your computer is going to reboot - and you're going to lose your work. We'll show you how to disable automatic restart for your current session so that you don't lose you work if you happen to wander away from you computer leaving work open on your desktop.

Read the rest of this tip here.

Save 20% Instantly on Registry Mechanic
Registry Mechanic is Cloudeight approved and endorsed - we use it on our personal and business computers. When you buy Registry Mechanic you'll be helping Cloudeight and yourself too!

Read our review of one of the best programs you can install on your computer - Registry Mechanic. You'll learn why your Windows registry is like the engine of your car and why you need to take care of it. Registry Mechanic automates the task of optimizing, cleaning, and removing errors from your Windows registry. This makes your computer run faster, last longer, and gets rid of a lot of the aggravations you experience - program crashes, error messages and slow startups and shutdowns. If you're tired of your computer running like a tortoise through quicksand - take a moment to learn why - and how Registry Mechanic can make your computer run better, run faster, and last longer - all automatically. All you have to do is click a button - really. Save 20% on Registry Mechanic, help yourself, and help us too! Get your 20%-off coupon code and order or try Registry Mechanic right now!

Save 20% right now on Spyware Doctor!
Spyware Doctor is one of the most popular Spyware removal and real-time protection tools on the market It's our #1 rated anti-spyware program and we use it on all of our computers. We trust all our computers to Spyware Doctor for one good reason: It's the best commercial anti-spyware you can install on your computer. Get the latest, greatest Spyware Doctor and save 20%. You'll be helping us and you'll be helping yourself by ridding your computer of spyware, adware, malware, and other nasties. Get more information and your 20% off coupon code here.

Turn off DEP (Data Execution Protection) to prevent program crashes
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7

If you have a program you use and the program will not run or keeps crashing because Windows DEP (Data Execution Protection) keeps closing the program, we're going to show you how you can prevent DEP from closing it so you can continue to use the program.

But before we show you how to do that, you need to know why DEP is important and why you shouldn't turn it off globally (for all programs).

Read the rest of this tip here!

BONUS TIP FOR FREE SUBSCRIBERS!

Fake Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express "Critical Update" emails deluge the Web
All computer users

To be safe on the Internet doesn't take a lot of computer savvy. It just takes good common sense, a couple of good security programs and someone to show you what to look for. We show you how to recognize scams and trojan-laced emails - including one that's currently inundating the Internet right now.

Read the rest of this tip here.

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! Get hundreds of tips and tricks!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

This week's Rant

A Single Flake of Snow

With a single flake of snow, winter begins. Like that first faint shadow of twilight, we hardly take notice of it.

The autumn leaves, glorious and resplendent, catch our attention as we hurry through our lives; but that first flake of snow is the sentry of winter and we like to pretend it is not. We go on about our lives relying on calendars and watches to keep track of seasons and time. Still, winter begins with a single flake of snow, whether the calendar agrees does not matter. Calendars are made by people. Snowflakes are not.

Today, a single flake of snow catches my eye.

Read the rest of "A Single Flake of Snow" here...

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! All our essays and rants included!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

A snip, snip here and clip, clip there and a couple of la ti dahs...

See what our freeware pick of the week is this week!

InfoAve Premium E-Book Volume 6 is Available Now! All of freeware picks and sites of the week included!
Our brand new Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book contains all the content of all 52 issues of InfoAve Premium from our sixth year of publication - from October 2008 to October 2009! InfoAve Premium Volume 6 E-Book is available as a download, on CD-ROM, or on USB Flash Drive! Have it your way...get more information here - or get your copy of our biggest and best E-book ever -- here!.

You can send us your comments or submit questions for possible inclusion in future issues of Information Avenue by clicking here. Keep in mind we can't answer each of you personally, but all questions submitted are read and considered for inclusion in this newsletter.

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Thanks again for subscribing to Information Avenue Free Edition. Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Eightball & Thundercloud
Cloudeight Information Avenue Free Edition - Issue #404
October 24, 2009

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