It was only 8 months ago that Motorola released the original Droid, a phone that was considered to be a true contender with the iPhone. Now they have done it again with another leap in technology, the Droid X. The X boasts a much larger screen than its predecessor as well as several other new features. The X isn't meant to be a direct successor to the original Droid, that role is meant to be filled by the Droid 2. It has different in several respects, most notably on on-screen keyboard instead of a slide out one.

The X's large 4.3' screen is the most talked about feature of the new Droid. It is as large as the HTC Evo, Sprint's new flagship phone, but it is much easier on the battery, having nearly double the talk time. Using the phone as a wireless hotspot, one of the best new features of the phone, does drag down the battery life. Up to 5 laptops can use the X to connect to the internet.

The X also offers a lot in the way of photography. The camera is what's responsible for the bulge on the back of the otherwise svelte phone. The phone's mechanical shutter, one of the first of its kind, is the cause. It allows for sharper pictures, reduced delay and slow motion video. The phone's compass also allows for panoramic shots to be stitched together with great accuracy.

Although this droid doesn't come with a keyboard like it's siblings, it does come with several different ways to type on screen, including a new system called Swype. It allows you to type at blazing fast speed, faster than even a pull out keyboard. To use it you simply draw a line from one letter to the next. This line will add up to be a full word. Then move to the space for a space. If there are multiple options it will display a drop down menu. Although there are a few special tricks for formatting, with some practice you should be typing as fast as any other texting method or faster. In fact this texting method is certified by Guinness to be the fastest in the world.

Brent,

Whenever I buy something I am not always that careful with where I put the manual. Is there a place where I can find manuals on the web?

There is a lot of good information in manuals and you will really miss them if you want to get warranty help or make small repairs. If you're like me and don't have an excellent filing system, you can find the manuals you have lost all in one place: Retrevo. Retrevo has manuals for all kinds of different products, from refrigerators to routers, they have it all. Not limited to current models, they have models way past their prime.

If after you find the manual you find that your item is no longer fixable or if the warranty has expired, Retrevo can help you buy a new product as well. In addition to a standard shopping site's comparison of price and shipping Retrevo goes beyond this to give you a recommendation of whether to buy or no. Based on product reviews, the price and it's time in the market Retrevo can tell you whether to get that latest gadget or wait.

Ever since the dawn of computers there has been a drive for more memory space. It seems every time hard drives got bigger, we found more and more things to put on them. First it was documents, then pictures, and now video. Most of us take for granted that we will still have more space when we download that next file. The only way most of us know we are running out is when we see the icon in the system tray telling us that we are running late.

It's important to keep at least 10% of a computer's hard disk drive open in order to ensure efficient operation of your system. Your computer uses this space to store various temporary files and fodlers. We found this handy tool to help you keep track of the amount of free space on your hard drive called SpaceSniffer.

SpaceSniffer itself takes up very little space, half a megabyte, so even if your computer is almost completely full you can use it. Once you run it will display the various sections of your computer as rectangles. The bigger the rectangle is the larger the percentage of data taken up by this folder. Click on one to get more detail. Double clicking will enlarge the area to fit the screen. Once you have figured where all of your space has gone you can delete unnecessary parts of it.

Windows updates can be frustrating and confusing. They are constantly being released and it is difficult to tell the difference between the ones that are really essential and the ones that are just going to take up space on your hard drive. Microsoft marks the updates according to importance and we give a rundown of each below. Fair warning: these ratings can be inscrutable to the uninitiated and individual updates still have to be scrutinized to see if they are necessary.

For Windows 7 and Vista the alerts are categorized as follows

Important: Usually these are essential security fixes but sometimes Microsoft puts something that they want, that you might not, such as Windows Genuine Advantage, its authentication software.

Recommended: Your computer isn't going to instantly stop working if you don't apply these, but there might be something in here to help your computer run better. Also included in these are updates to old Help files and things to make your PC more compatible with newer software or peripherals.

Optional: These are mainly new or trial offers of software from Microsoft. Occasionally there is a driver in here for your computer that you might need, but often these can be ignored.

For Windows XP there are only two different kinds of updates:

High Priority: This is similar to Vista and 7's important category. Most of these are necessary to ensure the continued safe and regular functioning of your computer.

Optional: A cross between the other two categories above, items in this category require you to use your discretion when

If all this has you a little flustered, Dependable Computer Guys has a solution for you. Our St Bernard Managed Care ™ takes the guesswork out of which updates you need. Our experts evaluate each update for its applicability to your company's systems and ensure that your computers keep running smoothly. Years of experience in dealing with these updates gives us an edge in deciding which updates you need and which updates will only slow you down. Call us today at 818-541-9195 to see how we can help you better manage your IT needs.

Every time you get a new message in outlook "You've got mail" comes up, in either a pop up or a voice message. Unless you get only a couple of emails a day, this can be pretty distracting. Most messages don't warrant this level of attention; it's similar to a coworker constantly barraging you with trivial matters. We'll show you how to easily eliminate these alerts and allow you to focus, increasing your productivity.

Turning these messages off is easy. Go to Tools-Options and then select email options. Then select advance email options. To turn off notifications you will need to uncheck four options "Play a sound", "Briefly change the mouse cursor", "Show an envelope icon in the notification area" and "Display a New Mail Desktop Alert".

Your emails will still be retrieved as normal; you will just need to check your emails yourself periodically. With this done you will be free to focus on your work, with one less distraction.