Rent-A-Geek - PC Repair in Potsville

Do We Cover Potsville ?

Please note: We do not work on Apple (Mac) computers

I simply do not like Macs or the way they are marketed & am fortunately in a position to choose not to work on them.
While some companies claim to specialise in 'all computers', they are treating you to (or as) an oxymoron.

We are actually based in Mullumbimby (Argyle Street to be specific), so it may be easier (& cheaper) to drop off your PC at our office in Mullum, but if you would like us to come to your home or business in Potsville, it's not a problem. For Prices see the 'Pricing' link at the top of this page.

I wrote this page to make it easier for customers to find us to help them with computer problems in & around Potsville. Rather than it serving no other purpose, all of the pages like this also cover a subject we hope you will find useful (if you click on the "Useful Stuff' link at the top of this page, you'll find similar pages listed by subject).

Choosing a Browser

What is a Browser?

Without getting technical, a browser (or web browser) is a program used to look at web pages. When you click on a link to a web page (or type in its address), the browser sends a request to have a copy of the web page sent to your computer. The browser then assembles all of the text & pictures in a window for you to read. Lots of different companies make & distribute their own browsers (mostly as a way to grab your search generated advertising revenue, using their default search engine, well with Chrome, Edge & IE anyway). Here is a list of what are currently the most popular computer browsers & their relative use (compiled as an average from 3 independent sources).

1. Chrome (by Google) 67%
2. Firefox (by Mozilla) 8%
3. Internet Explorer (by Microsoft) 7%
4. Edge (by Microsoft) 4%
5. Opera (by Canonical) 2%
6. Others (Eg Tor, Chromium, Ice Weasel, Konqueror, Torch , Vivaldi) 4%

The chart shows current browser use statistics (as of November 2018)). Yes, yes I know, charts are boring, but they are very useful for visualising numbers & from this, we can see that Chrome is massively dominating browser use.
You are not limited to a single browser. You can have as many as you want, but more than 2 or 3 is pointless.

Why not just use Chrome?

Well you could, but just because it's more popular doesn't mean it's better (personally I think Chrome just has better marketing). I have been using Opera for nearly 20 years. Yes, I have tried Chrome (& most of the others). It's OK, but I feel it's a bit pushy, whereas Opera is more, 'here is a feature, use it if you want to'. As to why I use Opera (my second choice would be Firefox), ignoring the fact that Opera seems to have come up with most of the features we take for granted (they were 2 years ahead of the competition for a LONG time; think saved passwords, form filler, synchronised bookmarks, tabs, Google search box), it has 100 odd special features. They're nothing big, you just think, 'Oh, that's nice.' My current favourite is the currency converter (highlight a currency value on a web page & it guesses you want it converted to your local currency, also works for units of measurements ... miles, ounces, litres) or their word search feature.
I could go on for hours about Opera. Don't worry I won't, but I highly recommend giving it a go & bear in mind, you don't have to choose to have a single browser. I'd say you need a favorite & a 'Pan B' ... If ever a website (or feature on that site) doesn't work, try it in another browser (points at that first browser or the website itself is having a problem).
If privacy is a big issue to you then Tor browser would probably be of interest (whereas Chrome & Internet Explorer/Edge would not). If you don't care, it is more convenient to let your browser know where you are etc, so it can provide the nearest Chinese restaurant or where at your local branch of Bunnings is, when you do a search.

Plugins

"A plug-in (or add-in, add-on, extension) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program."
In browsers, this a is a way to add a feature to you browser which it doesn't already have. There are LOADS of plug-ins (& I bet that most, if not all of Opera's extra features, could be set up in any modern browser using plug-ins).

• Anti-virus (lets you AV block suspect websites that are on their hot list).
• Video down-loader (allows you to save many types of video to your PC).
• Email enhancers (adds special features to your webmail).
• Social media fixers (add or block certain features on social media sites like Facebook).
• News/Weather tickers
& finally our old favourite ...
• Adobe flash (which I think I am correct in saying , holds the record for the highest number of vulnerabilities).

Try Googling " plug-ins" & have a look through what's available & see if anything piques your interest. Just like any program you can get from the internet, there IS an element of risk. If a plug-in is produced by a major company, chances are it's ok (& may even do what it says on the tin), but if it's been produced by an unknown, there's a fair bit more risk of it doing something you really don't want it to do. Do a bit of research before you install anything (eg Google "review " & read what others have to say about it.