Dennis Faas

Great news! Just this past Wednesday, I received wind that Ashampoo has released their flagship tweak utility, "Powerup XP Platinum", version 2. Reminder: What is Ashampoo PowerUp XP Platinum? PowerUp XP Platinum takes the hassle out of optimizing ... and fine-tuning a Windows PC and combines everything into one easy to use, tidy package. Rated 5/5 by the editor's at Download.com, PowerUp XP Platinum 2 includes all the powerful features that made its predecessor the favorite tuning tool of many Windows users -- plus it adds many new terrific and unique features that yield even more ... (view more)

Synopsis: Are you a system info junky? Need to know all your resources available and all the 'behind the scenes' happenings of your computer? Introducing: TaskInfo -- a poweful utility that goes *way* beyond the standard Windows Task Manager and ... generic System Information Tools. With TaskInfo, you can visually monitor all types of system information in real time, including: CPU usage, threads, processes, available memory, opened files, DLLs, network connections, network speeds, hung processes, and even invisible processes! TaskInfo: Screenshots Click to view: Page 1. With TaskInfo, you can ... (view more)

In computing, a reboot refers to restarting a device. A reboot can be a soft reboot or a hard reboot. Soft Reboot A soft reboot (also known as a warm reboot, in contrast to a cold reboot) is restarting a computer under software control, without ... removing power or (directly) triggering a reset line. It usually, though not always, refers to an orderly shut-down, rather than a "reboot". The Control-Alt-Delete key combination on the original IBM PC was designed to allow a soft reboot for a quicker and more convenient (and, some argue, less stressful on system components) restart than ... (view more)

Synopsis: Don't let the name fool you -- File Audio Processor is an award winning, extremely powerful all-in-one multimedia solution that does just about anything and everything related to multimedia file management, editing and viewing. Now that's ... a mouthful! In addition to its powerful audio processing capabilities, File Audio Processor can view video, pictures, rename files, edit MP3 tags, grab audio from CDs, write CDs and DVDs, convert audio files, edit and record audio files, manage playlists, zip files, and much, much more! There's so many convenient features of File Audio Processor, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Diane M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just love getting your newsletters! They have helped me so much in the past. My question is in regard to a process named ccApp.exe: when I shut down my computer, I often have to wait for a long ... time before it actually shuts down to reboot. Most of the time I will get an error stating that 'ccApp.exe is not responding' and when I click to end the process, my computer remains frozen. Often times I have to reset the computer manually. Can you please help me out with this problem? I'm running Windows XP. Thanks for any help you can offer ... (view more)

Stereophonic sound , commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound, using two independent audio channels, through a pair of widely separated speaker systems, in such a way as to create a pleasant and natural impression of sound heard from ... various directions as in natural hearing. The word "stereophonic", from Greek stereos = "solid" and phone = "sound", was coined by Western Electric, by analogy with the word "stereoscopic". Western Electric first demonstrated it at an SMPTE meeting in 1937, then to the general public at Carnegie Hall in 1940. In popular usage, stereo usually means 2- ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dion E. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to convert a tape to CD by transferring the audio to my computer, and then recording it to CD using my CD burner. To convert the tape to CD, I am using an audio cable to go from my ... earphone jack of my tape player to the sound card of my computer. The problem is that my computer is recording the tape audio in 1-channel mono sound (and not stereo!). I am reasonably sure that the original recording is in 2-channel stereo. What should I do? Thanks in anticipation for any help you can offer. " My response: I have a few ... (view more)

Synopsis: Are you tired of searching the net for that one song you forgot the name of? Do you enjoy music that isn't always played on local radio stations? Do you want to see your MP3 collection grow faster then ever, with your favorite type of ... music, and with the *least* amount of effort possible? Introducing RipCast Streaming MP3 Audio Ripper: the easy and safe way to listen and download online music and Internet Radio Broadcasts (and without the worries of Spyware typically associated with filesharing software)! RipCast Streaming MP3 Audio Ripper: Screenshots Click to view: Page 1 | Page 2 ... (view more)

A screensaver is a computer program originally designed to conserve the image quality of computer displays by blanking the screen or filling them with moving images or patterns when the computers are not in use. Today, screensavers are primarily for ... entertainment or security purposes. Until recently, most computer screens depended on cathode ray tubes (CRTs). CRT images are generated using electron beams which are "launched" from the back of the monitor and "draw" images continuously on the screen. Most computer programs paint images in the screen. Some of these images (letters, pictures, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sandy D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have screensavers installed on my system -- and I don't even know how they got there (and it worries me!). What's worse is that I don't know how to remove the screensavers because I can't locate ... them in the computer! I would appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks! " My response: Unfortunately, a lot of the "free" screen savers floating on the Internet come bundled with Spyware. If you have screen savers and aren't sure how they got installed on your computer, I would recommend you do a Spyware scan. Spyware Doctor is ... (view more)