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Cleanup for PCs

In the past several months I’ve written some columns dealing with removal of various malwares from your PCs, but I also I get questions about how to physically clean the hardware parts of a PC system, especially the monitor. So this week’s column addresses the physical cleaning of your PC.

Let’s start with the screen of your monitor, since it may need frequent cleaning. Any monitor surface is easier to clean when it’s off, so that you can readily spot smudges and fingerprints. Back in the old days of CRT monitors, the screens were glass and you could clean them as you did any glass surface. Flat screen monitors are a different story since the surfaces are more sensitive and can be damaged by vigorous rubbing. You can’t just spray them with Windex and wipe off with any old rag.

Flat screens and laptops usually have LCD screens and can be cleaned either with a microfiber rag (like an eye glass cleaner) or a clean (no lint) cotton cloth like a well worn tee shirt. You can usually remove finger prints with just a dry cloth and soft rubbing. If the smudges are more persistent, dampen the cloth with plain water (distilled is best) or a mix of water and white vinegar, about 50-50. You can also buy a screen cleaner from any of the office supply places; but vinegar water works about as well. Never spray the cleaner directly onto your screen surface, instead dampen the cloth and apply with soft strokes. You can damage LCD screens by pressing too hard on them.

[amazon-product]B000BSJCLY[/amazon-product]You can clean the outside of your PC case with the dust brush of your vacuum cleaner and the inside of the case can be rough cleaned with the same attachment. Just don’t brush too hard when you vacuum inside. Once you have done a cursory clean of the PC inside with your vacuum; finish it up by blowing the stubborn dust off with compressed air. I prefer to do this step outside; you will not believe how much dust accumulates inside a PC . Hold the PC case away from yourself and point the air nozzle directly at any dust pockets. I have found dust bunnies, spider webs and mouse droppings inside a PC case, none of which can be good for performance. Be sure and blow off any heat sinks that you find (they are made of an aluminum alloy and look like a set of spikes sticking straight up). Heat sinks keep things like your CPU from overheating. While you are outside, blow out all the external ports which also attract dust.

Lastly, take your keyboard outside and blow out all the accumulated dust between the keys with compressed air. Take it back inside and wipe off any smudges with a dampened cloth.

For most users once a year is good for your PC’s internals and you can judge by appearance how often to clean your keyboard and monitor. A clean PC is a happy PC and a better performing one.

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

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Book that inspired Fireproof Movie is top iPhone app

As Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany’s The Love Dare marks one year on the New York Times bestseller list (the book from the movie FIREPROOF has sold more than 3 million copies and is available in 22 different languages), B&H Publishing Group is pleased to announce a follow-up book, The Love Dare Day by Day — extending 40 to 365 days — and to report that The Love Dare: 40 Dares, an iPhone app, is No. 1 in app downloads.

“The Love Dare Day by Day picks up where the 40-day dare leaves off,” John Thompson, B&H vice president of marketing said. “Many of our readers finished the 40 days and began again. Day by Day takes them through an entire year.

“The Love Dare: 40 Dares is listed as the number one iPhone app by AT&T. We’re thrilled to see The Love Dare become so important in lives that people want to carry it with them.”

[amazon-product alink="0000FF" bordercolor="000000" height="240" tracking_id="flintricom-20"]1433668238[/amazon-product]On The Love Dare Day by Day, co-authors Stephen and Alex Kendrick of Sherwood take the biblically based, life-changing principles from The Love Dare into a full year of enriching challenges for people struggling in marriage or people simply wanting to keep love strong. Individual days are not aligned on a calendar; readers can take up the challenge anytime and begin with day one.

The Love Dare: 40 Dares, the popular iPhone app, opens with a splash screen and, with a finger tap, takes the user to Dare #1. As with the book, the dares challenge users to ever-stronger understanding of unconditional love. Each dare has hyperlinks to supporting verses.

Background

The original The Love Dare was inspired by the movie FIREPROOF, the No. 1 independent film in America in 2008. FIREPROOF tells the story of firefighter Caleb Holt, played by Kirk Cameron, who saves others but can’t seem to salvage his own marriage. Caleb’s father challenges him to take The Love Dare, a 40-day journey into sacrificial love. The Love Dare challenges Caleb to the limit. By day 20, he can only turn to God for help in carrying on. By day 40 … well, that would be giving it away.

Co-written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, The Love Dare crashed onto The New York Times bestsellers list debuting at no. 2; it continues to remain in the top five after 52 weeks. The Kendrick brothers themselves are as interesting a story as their films and books. Both are associate pastors at Albany, Georgia’s, Sherwood Baptist Church under the direction of Senior Pastor Michael Catt and Executive Pastor Jim McBride, with a vision of “reaching the world from Albany, Georgia.”

The foursome founded Sherwood Pictures in 2003 and released their first film, the award-winning FLYWHEEL in the local theater. In 2006, they followed with the sleeper hit FACING THE GIANTS, which eventually opened in more than 1,000 theaters, grossed more than $10 million, and has since been translated into 14 languages showing in 56 countries — and it’s experiencing worldwide DVD sales. FIREPROOF debuted in 2008, and Sherwood Pictures’ next project is slated for 2011. Perhaps most amazing is that these films have been produced with almost all-volunteer casts and crews.

Get Fireproof Books and DVD’s

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