Preston Gralla

Articles By Preston Gralla

The scoop on IE 8 – new browser helps you work better, faster, safer

The scoop on IE 8 – new browser helps you work better, faster, safer

Internet Explorer 8 has shipped in its final version and is ready to take on its rivals. This latest version of Microsoft's browser leapfrogs its closest competition, Firefox 3, for basic browsing and

Published on: March 23rd, 2009 Preston Gralla
10 free or cheap downloads to manage your video and audio files

10 free or cheap downloads to manage your video and audio files

If you're a multimedia fan, you probably have a hard disk full of videos and songs. Keeping track of them all, playing them all, and managing them all can be tough. To help,

Published on: March 18th, 2009 Preston Gralla
15 fabulous and free tools to revitalize your old PC

15 fabulous and free tools to revitalize your old PC

Got an aging Windows laptop or desktop computer, but money's too tight to buy a new one? Fret not. There's plenty of life in your old PC. It may seem sluggish and on

Published on: March 13th, 2009 Preston Gralla
Five Microsoft Web services that offer you a lot – and cost nothing

Five Microsoft Web services that offer you a lot – and cost nothing

You'll notice that most of these services carry Microsoft's "Live" brand. If you're like most people, you're probably thoroughly confused by the Live lineup, and by what Live actually means--especially since Microsoft has

Published on: March 5th, 2009 Preston Gralla
Downloads for Hard Economic Times

Downloads for Hard Economic Times

The economy has headed south, and everyone could use some help with their finances. Don't despair, though, because we've collected 12 of the best downloads for weathering the downturn. Whether you want to

Published on: February 1st, 2009 Preston Gralla
Top 12 downloads for battling recession blues

Top 12 downloads for battling recession blues

The economy has headed south, and everyone could use some help with their finances. Don't despair, though, because we've collected 12 of the best downloads for weathering the downturn. Whether you want to

Published on: January 29th, 2009 Preston Gralla
Freeloading on a two-week Linux diet

Freeloading on a two-week Linux diet

It's one of those perennial age-old battles that can never be resolved. Coke or Pepsi? Chocolate or vanilla? Linux or Windows? I've been in the trenches of those wars for years. I've written

Published on: January 22nd, 2009 Preston Gralla
A Quick Way to Better File Organization

A Quick Way to Better File Organization

It works as an add-in to Windows Explorer--right-click a file or folder, and FilerFrog appears on the context menu, giving you access to a wide variety of new file- and folder-management features. The

Published on: January 21st, 2009 Preston Gralla
How to fix the 10 worst things about Microsoft Outlook

How to fix the 10 worst things about Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a nearly ubiquitous presence in PC computing - and, seemingly, a universally reviled one. Outlook has countless features, ranging from e-mail gathering to calendaring, contact tracking, to-do list creation and

Published on: January 14th, 2009 Preston Gralla
Mostly free tools to give your Internet connection a speed boost

Mostly free tools to give your Internet connection a speed boost

These days, we practically live our lives online. If you're looking for a way to boost your Internet experience, check out these downloads. 1. MySpeed PC Lite Edition It's tough to know whether

Published on: December 18th, 2008 Preston Gralla
Mozilla’s update to Firefox browser boosts speed and adds privacy

Mozilla’s update to Firefox browser boosts speed and adds privacy

Firefox 3.1 may only be a point release - from 3.0 to 3.1 - but its just-released Beta 2 version is a good indication that the final release will be a must-have upgrade

Published on: December 12th, 2008 Preston Gralla
Vista SP2 patch hides changes under the hood

Vista SP2 patch hides changes under the hood

If you install the beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) expecting to see visible changes to your version of Vista , you'll be sorely disappointed. At least in this initial beta,

Published on: December 9th, 2008 Preston Gralla
Windows 7 shows promise in first in-depth review

Windows 7 shows promise in first in-depth review

Microsoft may call the newest version of its operating system Windows 7, but you may want to think of it as Windows 6.5. In overall look and feel, it mimics Vista, although there

Published on: November 13th, 2008 Preston Gralla
Windows 7 at the heart of Microsoft’s battle against Google

Windows 7 at the heart of Microsoft’s battle against Google

With the first public alpha release of Windows 7 due Monday at the Microsoft PDC2008 conference, the outline of the new operating system is taking shape. What you won't see when that alpha

Published on: October 28th, 2008 Preston Gralla
16 downloads to make you a great communicator – most of them free

16 downloads to make you a great communicator – most of them free

The Internet was built on a very simple idea: People should be able to communicate more easily with one another, using their computers. So it should be no surprise that communication -- particularly

Published on: October 28th, 2008 Preston Gralla