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Dear PC Doctor:
A friend of mine told me that she watches her favorite television show on her computer over the Internet. Can that be true? How can she do that? And is it for free?
Ann
Dear Ann:
Depending on the show, yes she can do that. You would of course need a high speed Internet connection otherwise it would take forever to watch and I think it would be quite frustrating. It is free although as I said, you must have an Internet connection which is most definitely not free.
What you would do is go to the major network website for example ABC (at www.abc.com) and it will list all the shows that you can watch. This site is broken into Daytime and Nighttime TV shows. Some of the programs available are ‘Good Morning America’; ‘The View’; ‘General Hospital’; ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘Lost’ just to name a few. Other networks that offer this availability are CBS (www.cbs.com), NBC (www.nbc.com), MTV (www.mtv.com), Fox (www.foxnews.com), CNN (www.cnn.com).
In addition there are websites that have a variety of shows so you can try them if your favorite shows aren’t on one of the previously mentioned. They are Joost (www.joost.com); Hulu (www.hulu.com) and Veoh (www.veoh.com).
Also be aware that many will only have a week or a month, depending on the frequency of the show available online so you’ll need to watch them within a reasonable amount of time airing. Enjoy and have fun!
PC Doctor
Dear PC Doctor:
A good friend of mine and I are regular emailers to each other. Recently I have not been getting emails she’s been sending me and I think somehow I have inadvertently blocked her in my recent frenzy of trying to block out all this unwanted email I’ve been getting. I use Outlook Express. How could I see if I did and how can I bring her back?
Karen
Dear Karen:
Let’s see what we can do! When Outlook Express is open, go to the upper menu bar and click on Tools. Select Message Rules and then on Blocked Senders List. A new window should open that will display a list of the people you have blocked and you should look for your friend’s name. Once you do, highlight it and click the Remove button on the right. When it asks you if you are sure, say yes and then click the OK button. Hopefully this will put your friend back into your good inbox!
PC Doctor
Dear PC Doctor:
I just got a new laptop with Windows 7 on it and there are messages popping up all the time telling me what’s going on. At first it was interesting but I really don’t need the distraction all the time. Is there a way to turn it off?
Bob
Dear Bob:
That is the Windows 7 Action Center which I guess is giving you a little too much action! To modify it, click Start and type ‘Action Center’ in the search box and hit the enter key. Select Change Action Center Settings. Make any changes to the security and maintenance areas that you want and click the OK button. Now back to work with less disruption!
PC Doctor
Until next time… happy computing!
Posted: to Athol Library News on Fri, May 14, 2010
Updated: Fri, May 14, 2010