Tezzo's Technology Blog

"If you're afraid of buying used technology, when it comes to a factory refurb, there isn't much to fear. Here's what you need to know. We've all had the experience of buying something expensive, getting it home, taking it out of the box, and finding that something just isn't right. Maybe it's scratched or dented. Maybe it lacks a feature you desperately wanted. Maybe the product in question just doesn't work properly. And in all of these cases, the natural thing to do is return it. So what happens to it then? When it comes to technology products like desktop and laptop PCs—even printers, phones, and more—unless they are beyond repair, the chances are that what you send back will ultimately end up going back on the shelves. And, it's likely you'll see it at a much better price." More at:  PCMag.com :

When buying a Desktop PC, you still need to make some choices when it comes to CPUs, memory, hard drive capacity and graphics technology. The good news is your money has never gone further. Does your PC take so long to start up you have time to go get a cup of coffee-and drink it? Tried installing the latest game only to find out your graphics card is six generations too old to play it? Or maybe you just want to take advantage of the speed and reliability of operating systems like Microsoft Windows 7 and Snow Leopard. If any of these are true, then it is time for you to buy a new desktop PC. And we can help you do it. Prices for desktop PCs start as low as $250 and range all the way up to $5,000, but most of us would be more than happy with an $800 box. You still need to make some choices when it comes to CPUs, memory, hard drive capacity and graphics technology, but the good news is your money has never gone further. And a PC you buy today could very well last you for four to six ye

 "This article is an excerpt from our latest release, The SEO Business Guide. The entire chapter from which the article is drawn, along with two other chapters, is available as a free PDF download. It’s well worth checking out if you’re interested in learning more about conducting effective and best-practice SEO. Both Google and Bing offer a webmaster dashboard that gives insights into activity by the search engine on any site that has been registered and verified via the dashboard. These dashboards present a number of tools and insights to data unable to be gleaned by any other method. They provide the only way to gain an understanding of how the search engines “see” your site, and are the only way to identify critical crawling, indexing, and ranking issues with your site(s). " More at:  Sitepoint

"In the first two articles in this series, we explored how to restart your computer in Windows 7 Safe Mode when the F8 method won’t work and some of the options available to you on the Boot tab of the System Configuration window. There are, however, some other boot options that although not technically part of Safe Mode, complement the Safe Mode options to enhance troubleshooting and diagnosing your computer. These options are found right next to the Safe Mode options. To view these options, click on Start and then on Run. If you don’t have the Run command on your Start menu, hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press the R key. Either method will bring up the Run dialog box. Type msconfig in the box and click the OK button." Read more at Online Tech Tips

"There are plenty of hidden features and goodies in the depth of Windows 7. We'll tell you where to find them. Everyone likes to find hidden stuff, whether it's loose change in the couch cushions or an Easter egg in your favorite video game. Windows 7 has its own hidden treasures. Yes, there are features and goodies to be uncovered—some obvious, some not. And you can access all of those listed here without downloading anything extra (well, mostly). Read on for 10 handy and largely-undocumented items in Windows 7 that you probably weren't aware of...and soon won't be able to live without. More at:  PCMag.com :

As Google Maps for Android becomes more powerful, buying a standalone GPS device becomes harder to justify. An update to Google Maps for Android, which will roll out in a matter of days  according to the New York Times , includes 3D building images in major cities and dynamic rendering for a smoother experience while panning and zooming. But the biggest new feature, and the one that poses the latest threat to dedicated GPS devices, is offline mapping and navigation. Previously, Google Maps Navigation would cache a single route when you looked up directions, so if you got lost in a dead zone, Android couldn't help out. After the update, Google Maps will store maps of your most-frequently searched locations locally. Although GigaOM reports that you won't be able to look up new locations when you're offline, you will be able to get turn-by-turn guidance after navigating off-course. Google Maps Navigation debuted  in October 2009, bringing turn-by-turn voice guidance to Androi