Keep your system clean

My brother David was having some problems with his Windows computer.  He asked me what would help clean his system.  I offered a few suggestions, and hopefully, he’ll get his system back to working order.

When you run Windows, you need to periodically tune and clean the system in order to make sure it’s running at top speed and peak performance.  Windows can slow down and lose performance over a period of time simply due to its overall design.  We’ve all seen the commercials on how you can visit a web site, plug in your system over the internet and viola!  They’ll fix your computer problems (for a price!).

Before you do that, check out a few of these suggestions to help tune your Windows computer.

Here then, are five things you can download for free to help tune your Windows system.

1.)  CC Cleaner. This utility will really help unclog your Windows system of a lot of unneeded files and data.  It even cleans your registry!

2.)  Hijack This.  A terrific little program that will find any nasty piece of malware or Trojan buried deep in your system and in the registry.  However, be careful using it.  It doesn’t tell you what is good or bad.  You need to do a little research before removing items.

3.)   Avira anti-virus. This is a great anti-virus program.   It fully protects your Windows system and is free.  Or you can choose to purchase an upgraded version.

4.)  Ad Aware. This is another free application that features a rootkit removal system along with a malware  removal tool.  And, again, you can always purchase an upgrade with added features.

5.)  If all else fails, AND you have all your documents backed up,  then download a Linux ISO.   Once you have the Llinux ISO, burn it to a CD/DVD, pop it into your CD/DVD drive, and reboot your computer and take it for a test drive. Once you determine that all your hardware works, install Linux to your hard drive.  You can do this by simply clicking on a desktop icon that says, “Install.”  You can either partition your hard drive to keep Windows (making your system dual boot), or wipe the hard drive completely (meaning, “Goodbye to Windows.”) and run only Linux.

Windows is fine.  You can continue to run Windows, just make sure you keep it up-to-date with anti-virus software and be careful where you surf.  And make sure to tune Windows every now and again.

Or, get Linux.  You won’t need anti-virus or registry cleaners or other tools to remove malicious software.  You won’t have to defragment your computer either.

Linux is stable, secure, easy to use, immune to Windows viruses and malware, and absolutely free.

Get Linux.

Got a question about cartooning with Linux, or Linux in general? Email me at: georgetoon@gmail.com. If I use your question on my blog, I’ll send you an original, signed George comic strip!

When I’m at the drawing board or in front of my Linux computer, I like to fill the air with some background sound.  That usually means turning on the radio.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love listening to the radio when I’m drawing or pounding out the latest blog entry.  I guess because television requires that I stop and look up from what I’m doing.   Radio doesn’t.  All I have to do is listen.

I mostly listen to talk radio and news.  And I like listening to my music collection.  However, that collection of CD’s sits fairly idle due to internet radio.

Internet radio has become my mainstay here in the studio. It brings in about 15,00 stations of all genres from around the world via the Reciva database system.

If you’re interested in getting an internet radio I can recommend  two. The Sangean WFR-20 WiFi Internet Radio & Media Player is a terrific radio with glorious stereo sound quality.  A little pricey, but the rich sound and exquisite finish of the radio make it worth the few extra coins.  It fits in with any decor.  It won’t disappoint.  If money is an issue, the  Grace Digital Wireless Internet Radio featuring Pandora and NPR (GDI-IR2000) is a nice budget choice.  It has terrific mono sound and easy to use controls. It’s a nice, affordable introductory internet radio.

One of the 15,000 I stumbled upon is a terrific internet radio station called Martini In The Morning. You can find them at http://www.martiniinthemorning.com.

If you’re like me and enjoy listening to vocalists like Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, The Rat Pack, etc., then this is the station for you!

MITM morning plays all the great vocalists and standards, but they also offer newer voices on the music scene today like Michael Bublé, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Steve Tyrell.

The station really does play a terrific blend of the Great American Songbook.  Whether you’re at the office or at home, surf on over and stream ’em live.

Old Man Winter returns!

Wow!  Here it is the last day of March and we just got hit with Old Man Winter one more time!  A wet heavy snow came up (last night) from the south and decided to blanket the area.  And the Home Opener is tomorrow!  Play (snow)ball!

Well, I really shouldn’t be surprised.  We’ve seen snow in April!   And, I have to admit, the fresh snowfall really looks nice.  It has a real picture postcard quality.

Again, as I’ve mentioned before, the nice thing about snow this time of year is that it doesn’t stick around for very long.  The temps will rise during the day, the warm, Springtime sun will come out, and the snow will melt away as quickly as it arrived.

However, just in case, the snow blower is on standby.

Besides my comic strip George, I really enjoy creating cartoon game panels.  And, I draw four of ’em for georgetoon.com.  So,  I thought I’d share another game panel feature here on the blog. (And yes, I use Linux to help digitally create and edit the feature!)

Click to enlarge. Then, click the back button in your browser to return to this page.

Word Pile is a fun word building cartoon game panel. It’s fairly straightforward.  It features a fun cartoon drawing with jumbled letters.  The cartoon gives a hint for at least one of the answers.  Take the jumbled letters and start forming words.  You pile each word on top of another in the supplied blanks. That’s it!  But make sure to read the directions as there is always a different minimum of letters you are allowed to use in forming the words.

I like to think that this is a great feature for teachers to help kids build vocabulary.  If you’re a teacher, feel free to download the cartoon, print out, and hand out to the kids.  The answers are just below.

If you like Word Pile, please let me know by posting a comment.

Again, if you want to read and play Word Pile each week, have your local paper give georgetoon.com a call or email.

Answer: (Click, hold down, and move your mouse to the right to reveal the answer)======> Hoop, Hoot, Hop, Hot, Opt, Photo, Pot, Too, Top

Got a question about cartooning with Linux, or Linux in general? Email me at: georgetoon@gmail.com. If I use your question on my blog, I’ll send you an original, signed George comic strip!

Independence day always falls on the Fourth of July.  Christmas is always on the 25th of December.  Halloween is the 31st of October. Thanksgiving (here in the U.S.) is always the fourth Thursday of November.

We’re all familiar with these dates.  They’re set in stone and occur at the same time each year.

So, what other event happens on the second Tuesday of each month?

Answer: Patch Tuesday.

What the heck is Patch Tuesday? Patch Tuesday is the day Microsoft releases a new security patch to plug yet another hole found in Windows. You probably see your Windows computer download these updates on that second Tuesday of the month (or The following day).

The problem with Patch Tuesday is, once this security patch is released, malicious coders can analyze it and then build a new exploit. This usually happens the very next day.  Hence, this has become known as Exploit Wednesday.

So, it’s a constant back and forth between Microsoft plugging holes and malicious coders finding new holes to exploit.  And you, the Windows user, are right in the middle of it all wondering if your system has been compromised.

Why continue to risk the countless exploits, viruses, and malware plaguing Windows?

The solution is to get Linux.

I realize that it’s not easy for some folks to just drop one operating system and immediately jump into another.  And logistically, it becomes a challenge given the fact that most folks have documents and other data that need to move with them, as well.

So, it’s a better approach to build a bridge from Windows to Linux.  That is, build an understanding of the Linux operating system while you start to move away from Windows.

The best way to do this is to simply run Linux from a Live CD.

When you run Linux from the Live CD, you don’t risk losing any of your Windows data or documents.  All you need do is download a Linux ISO, burn it to a CD/DVD, pop it into your CD/DVD drive, and reboot.  When your computer restarts, it ignores your Windows hard drive and boots directly from the Live CD.  The Linux Operating system runs entirely from the CD/DVD and allows you to take it for a test drive!

This way,  you get a chance to see Linux in action, run the software, browse the Internet, send email, play media files, etc. without ever touching Windows.  You can do all this right from the Live CD.   And you’ll be learning about Linux a little bit at a time. Pretty soon, you’ll be familiar with Linux enough, that you’ll want to do a permanent hard drive install. (Make sure you always BACK UP your data!) And theneat thing is, you can install Linux to your hard drive right from the Live CD in just a couple clicks of the mouse.

Better yet, grab that old Windows system gathering dust in the corner of the basement.  You know the one. It has some sort of virus or malware on it and you pitched it to the side. (You probably even went out and bought a new Windows computer to replace it.)

Well, put Linux on that old system!

Linux will wipe the hard drive, reformat it,and install itself.  You won’t have Windows (or the virus/malware) on the hard drive anymore.  And, you can then do a side by side comparison of the systems.

I’m betting you use the Linux system more than the Windows system.

So, run a Linux Live CD, and you’ll see how much safer, secure and enjoyable it is!

Got a question about cartooning with Linux, or Linux in general? Email me at: georgetoon@gmail.com. If I use your question on my blog, I’ll send you an original, signed George comic strip