TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPICS: JOTT / COMPUTER BUYING / SPEED-UP TIPS

In today's TOURBUS, you'll learn how to send email or text messages using only your voice. And if you're considering the purchase of a new desktop or laptop, my handy guides to computer buying will save you time, money and help you choose the right model. No budget for a new computer? No problem... I've also got a five-pronged strategy for making your existing computer run faster. Read on!

Jott - Note to Self

Jott is a cool new service that will convert your voice into email or a text message. Just call a toll-free number from your cell phone, and leave a voice message. Jott will translate your spoken words into text, and then forward the text to an email address or send a text message to a cell phone.

It took me a minute to wrap my head around the possibilities, but now I love having Jott. Read on to learn more about this free new service, and some very interesting uses for Jott...

http://askbobrankin.com/jott_note_to_self.html

Buying a New Computer

A reader who teaches computer skills to senior citizens told me that his students often ask what to look for when buying a computer, what software they need for email, basic Internet usage, word processing, etc.

> "Many are on a limited budget. What would you suggest they
> need as a minimum when buying a basic desktop computer?"
The good news is that computer prices have dropped a lot over the past few years, and the computing power you get for your money is going up! I don't recommend used computers for anyone, because the rate of change of computer technology will make most systems nearly obsolete within three years. And used computers often come "pre- loaded" with viruses, spyware and damaged system files.

If you're a computer novice, wondering what kind of computer, monitor, hard drive, memory, and operating system to get, here's some advice to get you rolling...

http://askbobrankin.com/how_to_buy_a_computer.html

How to Buy a Laptop

Laptops are a great option for people who need to compute on the move. In the past, laptops were bulky, heavy and slow. But today, laptop technology has advanced and today's models are fast, light and offer nearly the same performance as their desktop counterparts.

If you're in the market for a laptop computer, then it makes sense to learn a few basic facts about laptop features, before you spend any time shopping for one. Do brand names make a difference in performance and quality of a laptop? What important laptop features should you consider in your decision making process? Here's what you need to know before you shell out big bucks for a shiny new laptop...

http://askbobrankin.com/buying_a_laptop.html

Make Your Computer Run Faster!

Maybe you're not quite ready to spend the money on a new laptop or desktop computer. But the good news is you can probably squeeze a little more goodness out of your current computer if you're willing to spend a bit of time (and maybe a small abount of money) tweaking it for better performance. No duct tape or bailing wire required... the articles below will give you practical tips for making your old computer run faster.

* MAKE WINDOWS RUN FASTER - Here's my special recipe to clean the icky goo out of your computer's pipes, so it will start quicker, run more reliably, and go faster on the info-superhighway:

http://askbobrankin.com/make_windows_xp_run_faster.html

* ADDING MEMORY - If your computer is slowing down or freezing up, consider adding extra memory. Here's a step-by-step guide to figuring out if you need more RAM, and installing it yourself: http://askbobrankin.com/adding_memory.html

* REGISTRY CLEANUP - Sometimes a computer will run better if you occasionally give your Windows system registry a good scrubbing. Here's the scoop on what that means and how to do it:

http://askbobrankin.com/do_i_need_a_registry_cleaner.html

* SYSTEM RESTORE - Have you installed some new software that fouled up everything? Maybe a virus snuck past your defenses? Think of System Restore as the Undo command for Windows...

http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.html

* REFORMAT - If you've been hit hard by spyware or viruses, and want to start from scratch, reformatting will erase *everything* on the disk. Here's how to reformat and then get back to good:

http://askbobrankin.com/reformat_hard_drive_under_xp.html

That's all for now, see you next time! -- Bob Rankin