The Computer Doctor of Richmond

A few days ago we talked about how you should be using bookmarks to help keep your internet life running smooth.  Today, we’re going to tell you about a fantastic way for you to keep your bookmarks backed up and in sync across multiple computers.   Xmarks, formerly known as foxmarks is an internet browser plug in for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari that allows you to keep your bookmarks or favorites in sync.

So what exactly does this mean for you?  First install the xmarks plug in into your browser and create your free account.  Then xmarks does the rest for backing up and syncing your bookmarks up to the web.  Then install xmarks on any number of other computers, log into your xmarks account and it will take care of the rest.  This will synchronize your bookmarks between all of your computers.
This fantastic tool can be especially useful if you are working on something at the office, and need to continue reading it at home.  Just save yourself a quick bookmark, and when you get home it will pop into your bookmarks automatically.  Moreover, if you use the bookmarks toolbar like we talked about previously, xmarks will take care of synching these too.

For more info, please see xmarks website

If you’re considering buying a new windows based PC you really should wait.  Windows 7, the successor to the battered and bruised Windows Vista, is on the horizon.  Windows 7, for all intents and purposes, is what Vista should have been.  Win7 is a faster, stronger and more backwards compatible than Vista.  With any luck, perhaps it can cool down the fire that Microsoft got burned with from Vista.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not bagging on Vista.  But let’s be honest, the world hasn’t exactly been thrilled with it.

But that may come to an end as soon as October.  Windows 7 will officially be released for sale to the public on October 22nd.  It is currently on the verge of being released to the manufacturers (Dell, HP, etc..) for them to start developing new systems with Win7 on them.  So if you can wait until the new systems come out in the fall, you’ll be in good shape.

However, if you can’t wait until then, perhaps you can wait about a week.  A leaked Best Buy memo outlines details about the upgrade plan.  It says that if you purchase a new computer after June 26th, you’ll receive a certificate for a free upgrade to Win7 when it comes out.  However, this program may vary from reseller to reseller.  This is very similar to the upgrade program Microsoft did with Vista prior to its official release.

For more information on the upgrade program see this Computer World article.