It’s almost the end of the year and that’s the time when everybody and their brother decides to put together a “Year in Review” discussion or make a “Top Ten” list, or try to patch together a useless attempt at doing some sure-to-be-wrong predictions for the coming year. For those of us in the blogosphere (the five-dollar word used to describe people like me who like to cram their thoughts and supposed knowledge on a subject down the throats of unsuspecting web surfers like you) the year-end festivities have been brought to a head by Darren Prowse at ProBlogger and his group writing project. So, in the grand tradition of traditionalists everywhere, I’ve set about create my own year in review for the average computer user by compiling a year’s worth of computer knowledge and cramming it into a single post. These tips are ones that I think the average computer user should be aware of and will definitely make your life easier where your computer is concerned. There’s a lot here, so don’t choke on it, take it in small doses. If you can’t take it all at once, it’s ok. Just come back later. It’ll still be here, just like your relatives who dropped in for the holidays.

Web Surfing Safety

If you don’t know it by now, Internet Explorer is a security risk waiting to happen, especially if you’re using versions prior to IE7. And even with IE7, ActiveX is still supported, posing numerous security threats. For your safety and sanity, make sure you’re using a better browser. Firefox is of course my favorite, followed closely by Opera. Here’s the reasons these browsers are so much more secure than IE. They’re stupid. No, I don’t mean they don’t work, they just aren’t very smart. Internet Explorer is too smart for it’s own good, having been entangled in the innards of the Windows OS. IE knows how to do too many things, from executing programs and allowing outside baddies access to your core system. Firefox and Opera are too “stupid” to do those things. They’re just web browsers, that’s all. They display web pages, plain and simple. And both do it very well. Check them out and raise your level of security.

Buying a new computer

If you’re in the market for a new system, don’t believe the hype of certain brands. Unless you’re prepared to spend $2000 or more, the brand of computer you buy really doesn’t matter. Here’s a short list of what you should think about when you’re buying a new computer:

• What’s my budget?
• What do I not like about my current computer?
• Why do I want a new computer?
• What features do I want in a new computer?

Once you’ve gotten the answers to those questions, surf the web or head out to your local retailer. But don’t do so until you’re ready to buy. Sales change on a regular basis, so if you keep waiting for the best deal to come around, believe me, next week there will be a better one. Computer technology changes very quickly if you hadn’t noticed, so don’t waste your time trying to keep up. Get the best deal you can for what your needs are and know that there will always be a better computer for a cheaper price in less than 6 months. Heck, I bought a 20″ iMac in February and then a few months later Apple releases a 24″ model for the same price. With a faster processor. And a bigger hard drive. See, it happens to everyone. Even yours truly.

Oh, by the way, if you can’t make up your mind about what computer to get, take the safe route. Just get a Mac. You’ll be glad you did.

Don’t pay for expensive software if you don’t need to

For most people, extravagant, costly software is sometimes overkill. Not everyone needs to go out and buy a copy of Microsoft Office just because they need a word processor. Take a look and Google Docs and Spreadsheets for great, free tools that work just as effectively for the average person as Word does. Or if you need an entire office suite, go for Open Office. All the tools available in the professional version of MS Office, but at no cost. And practically no learning curve if you know how to use Office already.

If you want to do some photo editing, don’t go out and buy Photoshop right away. Try your hand at a free tool like Picasa first. If you feel like you want some more control over your photos, check out Photoshop Elements and get many of Photoshop’s features at a substantially lower price.

The trouble with much of the high-end software is the steep learning curve. Lots of people know how to type up a document in Word, but know little about some of the more advanced features for layout and image integration. And don’t really care to know, either. So why pay for a word processor when you can get a good one for free? Maybe you just like to spend money. Me, I like to save up for other toys, like a new Mac Pro.

I could continue to ramble on and give you some more tips, but I think this will be enough to get your new year off to a great start. On a personal note, I’d like to thank all my readers who have made this first year online quite an experience. My first post ever online was on January 12th, 2006, so my thanks to those of you who have been around since then. Here’s looking to another year of dishing out help to those that need it and helping to make your computer a little bit easier to use. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And don’t forget to hug your computer.