Tech Features

Computer and internet briefs - Sunday Feb. 5

Feb 5, 2006, 17:26 GMT

Sit a lot at your computer? Do your health a favour and make a mental note of your posture from time to time. Avoid hunched shoulders, bending your neck far forward to see the screen, and reaching awkwardly for the keyboard or mouse. Keep your elbows and knees at 90-degree right angles, sit upright, and position your monitor so that you don't need to strain to see it or look up toward it uncomfortably.

You can improve your digital images for free with Irfanview (http://www.irfanview.com), a graphical file viewer that has increasingly branched out into digital image manipulation. The latest version, 3.0, has rendering features that make it easy to transform your ordinary digital photographs into painterly-like compositions. There are also features for creating a slideshow, scanning and printing, as well as converting your images into multiple formats.

Using multiple monitors is possible with Windows XP. But with a dual-monitor setup, you lose the Windows taskbar in every monitor but the first. Solve that problem with MediaChance's free MultiMon utility (http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm). MultiMon puts identical, fully functional taskbars in every monitor on the system. With such a setup, you can easily open programs or perform any other taskbar-related function, no matter which monitor you're working on.

Web surfers are increasingly using Internet Explorer to type into forms, text boxes and other data fields. Unfortunately, there's no way of performing a spellcheck with Internet Explorer - unless you pick up the free IESpell (http://www.iespell.com). This nifty little browser add-on will spellcheck any text input into a text box. The program installs a new button on the Internet Explorer toolbar. After installation, simply click the button to initiate a spellcheck.

Today's low notebook prices mean even better deals on used machines. If you need a second notebook or some machines for your family members, consider scouring the online auction market for last year's models. Because it's been a while since software updates have required new hardware, even notebook computers from a couple of years ago are well-equipped to run the latest programs.