Tired of Outlook? There is a better way

Monday, July 13th, 2009

So I was once again wrestling with Microsoft Outlook.  Tried to send the same email 5 TIMES and my system kept crashing!  The error message from Microsoft was essentially “You have an old version of Outlook, so your system is crashing.  How about going to our website to buy a new version?”

So I looked into buying a new version of Outlook.  I went to Amazon to get some honest opinions…and learned that many of the same problems I was having in Outlook 2002 had not been resolved for the 2007 version (the newest available).  So instead of plunking down $100 for a new version of the same problem, I thought, There has got to be a better way.

And there was.  Enter Mozilla Thunderbird.  Great functionality.  Easy to use.  Doesn’t crash.  And FREE, because it is Open Source software.  It was easy to import all of my folders and addresses into Mozilla from Outlook (when Outlook wasn’t busy crashing in the middle of the process). 

So if you are exasperated with Outlook, know that there is a better way.  You can download it here: http://download.cnet.com/Mozilla-Thunderbird/3000-2367_4-10213643.html?tag=mncol

Have a great week!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: computers, open source, saving money, saving online, top 10
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Laptop Mishaps

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Last week, my 18-month old Acer laptop started up for the last time, apparently due to a fried motherboard.  I’m not sure what exactly a motherboard is or does, but all I know is that fixing it is as expensive as buying a new computer.  Thus, this post is being written on a new Toshiba.  Hopefully, it will last longer than the Acer did.

 So my Toshiba has come with lots of “pre-loaded trial software”, some of which perhaps could be useful.  However, there are some great but FREE basic programs that everyone should have on their computer, laptop or desktop.  All recommended programs below can easily be found on www.download.com.

1. Anti-virus: you hear this all the time, but if you are like me, you hate having to pay anywhere from $40 to $80 per year for virus protection that seems to take up a lot of computer memory and run rather slowly.

Instead, try the free home edition created by Avast.  The protection is stellar, comprehensive and FREE.  Oh, it won’t slow down your computer like Norton or McAfee either.

2. Anti-Spyware: Spyware comes attached to websites you visit or certain programs or files you may download.  Spyware tracks what you do and where you go online.  It also can make your computer run slowly.  To get rid of Spyware, try Ad-Aware 2008.  Another easy to download and easy to run free program that’s definitely worth it.  You’ll see your computer running faster in no time!

2. Malware: Malware programs are lousy viruses, trojans, worms, and other sorts of nasties that can infect your computer.  To safely get rid of them, try Malwarebytes Anti-Malware software.  It’s comprehensive library finds and dismantles the worst of these programs that can attack and infect your computer.  And it’s free!

 Again, all of these programs can be safely downloaded from www.download.com. 

 Now get that computer protected!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: computers, top 10
Posted in Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time | No Comments »