Spring Cleaning for Your PC

In the past few months, the Kingdom has witnessed one sandstorm after the next. While people have been struggling to keep the dust off their furniture, most people haven’t even considered what all that blowing dirt is doing to their PC. It would be a perfect world if PCs kept functioning without maintenance, but like any appliance or piece of machinery, PCs benefit from routine care.

A little housekeeping can extend a PC’s life and ensure that important information is never lost. Dust is a major problem with both laptops and desktop units; tower units are affected most since they usually sit on the floor. To clean a PC case, remove the side panel and use a can of compressed air to blow away dust. NEVER use a vacuum cleaner, as static created by the machine can short-circuit electronics. Laptops are more difficult for individuals to manage. If you’ve been using your notebook in less than ideal conditions, take it to the repair center where they can pop off the case, clean the keyboard and make sure the air vents aren’t blocked with gunk.

Some PC performance issues are caused by digital dirt. An e-mail program loading slowly means that either your application settings are incorrect or the application is overloaded with old mails - especially those with attachments. Delete unneeded e-mails from the Sent folder and empty the Deleted Items folder. This will allow the software to open and operate smoothly.

Another common problem is deteriorating PC performance. Bootups seem to take forever, applications don’t load as fast, and the dreaded “blue screen of death” shows up more and more often. The first thing to do is defragment the hard drive using the Disk Defragmenter utility in Windows and make use of the Disk Cleanup utility. Remove unneeded personal files as well as old or unused programs, many of which get automatically loaded with new software whether you want them or not.

By opening Windows Task Manager (press Control+Alt+Delete simultaneously) and clicking on the Performance tab, users can see which programs are currently running. Users can do a web search on the names of unfamiliar programs to determine which are needed and which are not. Windows Vista users can also see the date each program was installed, providing a clue as to whether the program has been loaded without the user’s knowledge.

Slow performance can be a sign of too little RAM (Random Access Memory). For those who haven’t increased the amount of RAM in their desktop or laptop since purchase, adding memory capacity is as simple as buying a RAM module from the local electronics store and plugging it into the appropriate slot inside the PC. RAM prices continue to drop and are very affordable.

Last but not least, malware, spyware, viruses and other PC infections can slow a PC. It’s essential to install and routinely update, anti-virus and anti-spyware/malware programs. Make sure the programs are set to scan files, e-mail and memory on a regular basis.

Online Educated to Supreme Court

Four Concord Law School graduates have been admitted to the US Supreme Court Bar during a ceremony that served as a milestone for the nation’s first wholly online law school and as recognition of the evolution of legal education.

“Many lawyers are admitted to the Supreme Court Bar each year and thus have the privilege of arguing before the US Supreme Court. However, these are the first practicing attorneys who were fully educated online to be admitted before all of the Justices in open court,” said Barry Currier, JD, President and Dean of Concord, which is based in Los Angeles. “Concord fills a significant need in legal education by providing students with an opportunity to get a rigorous education without having to put their careers on hold, and without many of the costs associated with campus-based programs.”

For admission to the Supreme Court of the United States, attorneys must be sponsored by two attorneys who have already been admitted there and must obtain a certificate of good standing as evidence that they have been a member of the Bar for three years.

Concord Law School of Kaplan University was founded in 1998 and today has 1,500 students around the world. Since Concord’s first graduating class in November 2002, more than 700 students have completed the JD and EJD programs. The formal merger of Concord into Kaplan University in the fall of 2007 made Concord the first online law school to be part of a regionally accredited institution of higher education. Graduates who successfully complete the Concord program are eligible to sit for the California Bar Exam.

Have You Entered ‘Real Arabia?’

The deadline — March 31 — for the Real Arabia Contest, is fast approaching. To enter the contest you must be 24 years old or younger and have lived in Saudi Arabia at some time or be a Saudi national. This youth digital video/audio competition is sponsored by Saudi Aramco World magazine. The idea of the competition is to use a digital means to tell others what Saudi Arabia is really like. The top 12 entries will win an iPod. Full details are at http://saudiaramcoworld.com/rac/. The contest organizers are looking for entries that are creative - not complicated. Online entry is available. Parents and teachers can provide assistance to younger entrants. There are just six days left to tell about “Real Arabia,” so get busy!

SMS to Keep Growing

SMS is taking off in the Americas, mobile e-mail continues its strong growth in developed regions, subscriber growth is driving messaging adoption in Asia-Pacific, and social networking is lifting the messaging boat across nearly all regions. The combination of these factors is expected to grow revenues from mobile messaging to $212 billion by 2013, according to a new study from ABI Research.

“You will not find many customers worldwide who don’t find messaging cost-effective and valuable for communications and delivery of information,” said principal ABI Research analyst Dan Shey. “The range of capabilities, services and pricing options can be fit to the economic and social differences of each region, and the result quite simply is steady growth over the next five years.”

Future messaging growth will be strongly influenced by new input and access capabilities, and integration across mobile and fixed-line platforms. According to Shey, “Innovation in messaging input, including touch screens, voice-to-text and advanced keyboard designs, makes initiating a mobile message very easy. By combining input options with greater ease of communicating across mobile and fixed platforms regardless of messaging service, messaging providers serve customers’ needs very well in both the consumer and business domains.”

And will there be a new driver for the growth of mobile messaging? “Some very creative companies are finding unique ways to incorporate advertising in mobile messaging,” advised Shey. “If done right, advertising will completely change the mobile messaging market.”