Windows 8 is around the corner, with Windows 8 Consumer Preview already hitting the streets. Windows 8 isn’t just a new Windows. It is a radically different Windows which attempts to bridge the gap between traditional and mobile computer; a “post PC” world, if you will. As such, Windows 8 [...]

Recently I had to clean the computer of a family member who got infected with a rogue antivirus. That lead me to a semi-good idea: Let’s see who, among dotTechies, has the best/worst virus infection story. To kick this off, I’ll share my story.

Dear ole Dad purchased a product [...]

Lately I have been posting a few articles here and there on short tips and/or tricks, such as opening links in new tabs with the scroll wheel. A dotTechie, Damon, came up with a great idea: Why not have dotTechies share their favorite tips or tricks, allowing the rest of [...]

We all have ‘em: Favorite (tech) websites that we visit on a regular basis. It is always interesting being introduced to a new website, so I thought why not start a discussion among dotTechies to see what are our homes-away-from-home. So, if you would be so kind, please list your [...]

Since dotTech went back into action three weeks ago, there have been a lot of freebies posted. The reason for this is multi-fold, but one of the biggest reasons is I am focusing more of my time on finding and posting about freebies than other aspects of dotTech. Why? Over [...]

On dotTech I write on many different topics. To help better focus my time and effort on topics that interest dotTechies, I would like to know what type of articles everyone is most interested in. Please cast your vote in the poll below, and share your thoughts in the comments, [...]

For a while now a thought has been rumbling inside my head. I don’t like ads, and you don’t like ads; but ads on dotTech are necessary to keep this website going. What if ads were not necessary? In other words, what if a different revenue model could be launched [...]

Day by day we are seeing an increasing number of program installers coming bundled with third party offers/advertisements. Why? Simply because these third party offers/advertisements allow developers to take advantage of a business model that differs from the traditional make-money-by-selling-software mindset and enters the freeware-but-ad-supported system (shareware/commercial software that have [...]

After an exhaustive three weeks of voting, dotTechies have decided:  CCleaner, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera are our three favorite pieces of software.

That is a screenshot of all the pieces of software with more than one vote.

View the table here.

CCleaner

CCleaner, called “a veteran in the field of [...]

In the huge world of software, there is a huge difference between paid-for software and freeware software.  However, in each realm there are massive, headache-inducing numbers of choices and qualities.  Free software is probably the second most popular thing to review on dotTech–there are 135 articles on them as of [...]

The other day I was reading my e-mails (in Gmail) and noticed that there were Google Ads placed at the right. This struck me since I never really noticed the ads before. This got me thinking were the ads just added or did I subconsciously ignore the ads – until [...]

Freebies are very popular on dotTech; and why shouldn’t they be? Everyone loves saving money thus everyone loves freebies. At this point in dotTech’s life – going to become 2 years old later this year – dozens of freebies have been posted. I am interested in knowing what freebies dotTechies [...]

A “pet peeve” is an action/habit/thing that really annoys the heck out of you. In other words, a pet peeve is something that you really hate. I am curious as to what annoys dotTechies – what is your pet peeve?

Since it is impossible to quantify pet peeves into a [...]

Three weeks ago I inquired about dotTechies’ software purchasing habits. The polls have closed and the results are in:

[poll id="14"]

[poll id="15"]

I expected that the most votes would go for 0-3 purchases. However, I was surprised that so many people voted that dotTech had no effect on their [...]

Time and time again people tell me that dotTech has saved them a lot of money and they rarely, if ever, purchase software thanks to all the freebies and freeware postings on dotTech. So, lets quantify this feedback and see exactly the effect dotTech has had on your software purchasing [...]

Long, long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, I asked everyone their opinion on the current dotTech Forums. The poll has closed and the results are in; most dotTechies want me to make the decision on to keep or ditch the current forums, but there is a [...]

Some while ago I introduced forums into dotTech. Since then the forums have been a second home to regular dotTechies that use it as a platform for the free-flow of ideas. When I setup the forums initially, chose to use Simple:Press Forum because of SPF’s ability to integrate so well [...]

A couple of weeks ago I asked dotTechies “What operating system do you use the most?” Now the polls have been closed and the results are in – Windows XP is the clear winner with Windows 7 following in second place:

[poll id="12"]

To be honest, I was expecting Windows [...]

More often than not, when the subject of operating systems comes up, a war starts between Windows, Linux, and Mac fans. However, what does not hit the headlines quite as often is the fact that there is a huge spread amongst Windows users, in terms of what Windows version is [...]

Noticing the most recent trend of popular online destinations putting up a pay wall to try to raise revenue, last month (yes it has been a while since I have posted an Ask dotTechies) I asked dotTechies if anyone would pay to visit their favorite website, and if so, how [...]

3-4 months ago the Internet was buzzing with the news that News Corp, a media publication company which owns and operates many popular Internet destinations like The Wall Street Journal, would start charging for the content on its online properties by 2010. Many people were up in arms, some predicating [...]

Two weeks ago I asked “What is your favorite computer brand?”. The polls have now closed and the results are in – most dotTechies build their own computers:

[poll id="10"]

If I do say so myself, I am surprised at the results. I expected Dell, HP, and no favorites to [...]

We all use computers. (If you don’t use computers, how and why are you on dotTech?) So when it comes to purchasing our own computer, selecting what computer we want is always a complicated – and sometimes emotional – process. So this week’s Ask dotTechies aims to see where dotTechies’ [...]

Last week I asked dotTechies how often do you visit dotTech? Now the polls have closed and the results are in. Most dotTechies are daily visitors, with a handful spending a little bit more time on dotTech than is medically advisable, and a few that, apparently, hate dotTech:

[poll id="9"][...]

For this week’s Ask dotTechies, I feel we should take a small break from the bombardment of dotTechies-preference-in-software polls and ask something of a different nature. You see I know much of the traffic that comes to dotTech gets converted to loyal dotTechies who come back on a regular basis. [...]

In last week’s dotTechies article, I asked two questions:

• What instant messaging services do you use?
• What is the best instant messaging client?

The polls have closed and the results are in. MSN is the most used instant messaging service and MSN/Windows Live Messenger wins the vote for best instant [...]

When was instant messaging first created? I believe back in the 1960s. I, personally, first started instant messaging when my friend, back way in the olden days, introduced me to AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). To this day I still use AIM but have also branched out to other instant messaging [...]

Last week I asked dotTechies what security software (anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, etc.) do you protect your computer with? The polls are now closed and the results are in. Avira, Malwarebytes, and Windows Firewall are the most popular in their respective categories:

[poll id="4"] [poll id="5"] [poll id="6"]

Not surprisingly, us [...]

As I am sure most dotTechies already noticed, I have started a new Ask dotTechies series in which I pose weekly questions to dotTechies. These polls are just “for fun” and informative purposes so everyone can get to know the dotTech family better. I also hope to facilitate discussion on [...]

In the most recent Ask dotTechies article, I inquired what is the most popular e-mail service used by dotTechies. Well now the polls have closed and the results are in – Gmail wins by a large margin:

[poll id="3"]

Sifting through the comments, one of the main reasons why Gmail [...]

E-mail is, undoubtedly, one of the most popular, if not the most popular, medium for communication today. So, I am curious, what e-mail service do dotTechies mainly use? Now I know many people have multiple e-mails from many different e-mail services. Please select the service that you use for your [...]