If you're like me, you get really frustrated when Windows decides to reboot by itself. Now I've seen articles and forum posts about how to keep from having that feature enabled, but what if you're like me and you want to keep those things enabled? I'm one of those crazy people that runs an automatic remote backup nightly (jungledisk), a weekly virus scan (clamwin), and allows Windows to install every update automatically. Did I mention I've never lost any data, gotten a virus, or had any issues like that? BUT, I don't want Windows restarting when I'm in the middle of working or to get nag screens every 5 minutes. So here is a simple and purposely temporary solution. Go to the "Run" in the start menu (Windows Key + "R") or open a command prompt, and enter the following: net stop wuauserv This will stop the Windows Update Services, but only temporarily. Next time you reboot, Windows will get the reboot you wanted and Windows Update will go back to it's happy little state of consistentl

I was recently impressed again by a netbook. I helped out a guy today with getting his wireless card setup to connect to a wireless network on his netbook, and I was blown away by how sweet the size was. I'm a techie guy who uses the computer all of the time, and I've always loved small laptops. Especially now that I'm out of college, and the only times I need a computer is when I'm out traveling, I don't really want a big laptop. I've got a desktop and I don't really need that kind of power when I'm out, especially with the price tag typically associated with a really fast laptop. So I think I'm ready to go with a low-power and cheaper netbook for this next time around. Pricegrabber.com has them from $250-$450 for a decent little netbook. Check them out. They aren't a desktop replacement, but for light, mobile computing, and full web access over wifi on the go, they are hard to beat.

If you're into gadgets and gizmods then you need to check out some of the blogs that are covering CES (Consumer Electronics Show) One of our favorite blogs, Engadget, is covering all of the new devices and things being shown and announced this week. Check out their blog for all of the latest in technology. We're not even going to try and compete with them on this, because they are doing so much with this event.

http://www.kallow.com/ is a site dedicated to giving simple answers to the needs of non-techies about what they should purchase. Check it out for simple answers about what to get for a techie purchase. For more complete reviews, check out CNET's reviews (http://reviews.cnet.com/), which are usually detailed, and cover all kinds of things especially technology.

I know TV is not quite within the scope of computer advice, but I'll branch out a bit with this short article. (I promise not to let it happen too often!) Feb. 17th is the start of HDTV only broadcasts in the US. Check out https://www.dtv2009.gov/ for details. If you're planning on sticking with or even switching back to an antenna, here is a useful site that will help you pick the right one. http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx Want more information on HDTV vs SDTV? Check out Wikipedia's page on HDTV.

I've used Picasa since it came out a few years ago on and off, and I've really enjoyed how powerful it is. (and the price is right! FREE!) Google's just released a version for Mac for all of you Apple people. Check it out on google's site

If you're like me you're a big fan of being able to take your music anywhere. If the rumors are true you will be able to get DRM free music from Apple iTunes soon. I'm at least hoping they do it. Thanks lifehacker UPDATE: It's official iTunes is going DRM Free 8 Million songs now, 11 Million total by the end of the quarter Also you can now download songs over 3G.