Yesterday I threw down the gauntlet to any gHacks reader who might want to write a Windows 8 book, perhaps with the long term goal of signing your own book deal with a big name tech publisher.  You can read my article here.  Lee Whittington made a very interesting comment… I have been turning the [...]

Three years ago this month I began doing some very serious planning.  Back when Windows Vista was released I wrote a 68 page “Vista Power Users Guide”.  It wasn’t very in depth but was intended as a getting started eBook and was primarily written to help stop friends and family from calling me with tech [...]

I was pretty delighted when my Microsoft MVP was reawarded on the 1st of January for a second year.  Microsoft award their “Most Valuable Professional” award each year to around 4,000 individuals covering almost all of their product lines.  In a statement on their website they say… We seek to recognize the best and brightest [...]

The last day of the year has come. Looking back, I can say that it has been a very successful year for Ghacks.net. The site has seen its ups and downs throughout the year, but came out strong in the end. That’s pretty good considering that you cannot really predict what happens tomorrow (yes, that’s [...]

It’s been a top secret project I’ve been working on with several people including veteran author and ZD Net blogger Ed Bott.  But today my new eBook, “Need to Know: Office 365 Security Essentials” has gone on sale for the paltry price of $11.45 (£7.42) on Amazon US and UK or just $9.95 direct from [...]

The 4th annual Ghacks Christmas Giveaway starts tomorrow. I did not reveal the products that you could win in previous years. This year, it is going to change to give you enough time to participate in the giveaways that you are really interested in. Today, I’m going to post general rules about the giveaway as [...]

Social media signals have become more important in recent years for websites. Search engines use the noise created on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Google+ in their algorithms. I’m not really a fan of fan pages and all that kind of stuff that goes along with it. The core reason here is [...]

Another month has passed rather quickly. Below you find a personal selection of articles, reviews and tutorials that have been published on Ghacks Technology News in October 2011. We had some announcements of our own to share in October. Ghacks turned six in the month, and in that time span we have been published more [...]

When I first started the Christmas Giveaway back in 2008 I did not really think that it would become an annual event, nor that other sites would pick up the idea and run their own giveaways at that time of the year. The Ghacks Christmas Giveaway is an event taking place from December 1 to [...]

Recently I asked myself a question: How come that some blogs, like Lifehacker, ZDnet and other technology blogs get dozens of comments per post, while comments on other sites that I hold even dearer are close to zero. Some articles here on Ghacks for instance receive dozens of comments. A lot of the giveaway (which [...]

I’m running a competition on my Facebook page at the moment to win a selection of Microsoft Press books and a fantastic Acer Iconia Tab W500 Windows 7 Tablet, which I can assure you is seriously quick!  The competition runs for six weeks and has some fantastic prizes.  Plus, if any winner says they’re from [...]

When I first started the Ghacks Technology News blog back in October of 2005, I did not really have any expectations whatsoever. If it would be there after a year, that would be fine. If not, nothing was lost. I also did not really think about making money with the site, or even -gasp- quit [...]

August of 2011 has been an exciting month here at Ghacks. It is usually pretty quite here in the summer months, but not this time. Microsoft started their Building Windows 8 blog where they revealed new features of the Windows 8 operating system. This includes improved file management features, a controversial ribbon interface for Windows [...]

Have you ever tried to make a payment with your credit card that is a bit on the high side of things but still well within your limit? I do that once a year when I get my hosting invoice from Wiredtree. Well, to be precise, Wiredtree tries to charge the card directly. Still, it [...]

We have heard a lot about browser stats in the past, how Firefox is plateauing, how Chrome is gaining market share and how Internet Explorer is dropping to new lows every month. I thought it would be nice to share some of the site stats with all of you. The stats have been taken directly [...]

Here at gHacks we pride ourselves on giving you the very best help and advice, and it seems that we’re not the only ones who think so.  After an approach by the company, Microsoft have now confirmed that they will be putting my tutorial videos for Windows 7 on the official Microsoft support website at [...]

I always wanted to go ahead with a download directory on Ghacks, but never had the time to ready the site for this. I have started hosting some files here on Ghacks, pre-dominantly software without a developer website. This is usually the case when a software gets released and the developer vanishes into anonymity after [...]

Recently there have been many tech websites telling you that they attended Microsoft’s TechNet conference.  They sat in the audience at the various presentations and fed back news.  At gHacks we’re doing things a little differently and I’ll be at Microsoft’s UK Tech.Days in London when they start on Monday at the request of Microsoft [...]

It’s all go here at gHacks.net (as per usual) and just to show some of those other Windows, Microsoft and tech websites out there that they’re not all as impressive as they might think they are we’re doing more and more every week and bringing you bigger and better stuff. For all of you Tech Pros in [...]

I’m delighted to announce that my 170 page Windows 7 Power Users Guide is now completely FREE to download and own as an eBook. The book is for people of all technical ability from complete novices to IT Pros. UPDATE : In the first day of it’s release as a free eBook, the Windows 7 [...]

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, Facebook and other sites will know that I’ve been asked by Microsoft to run an ‘Ask the Expert’ session at their upcoming Windows Desktop TechDay on Monday 23rd May in London (UK). I’ve also arranged a Geek Meet the night before. I’ll be there to answer your [...]

My full time blogging career began back in December of 2007. Back then I wrote Full Time Blogging and My first 15 days as a Problogger which offered advice for webmasters who were blogging part time and not sure whether they should make the big leap forward to become full time bloggers. More than three [...]

For the last year we’ve all been talking about tablets.  They’ve been the technology of the moment for some considerable time now and their appeal doesn’t seem to  be diminishing.  It’s still been the case though that we’re just not seeing tablets being used out and about in cafes and on trains in the way [...]

Ghacks.net is currently looking for two to three additional writers who can contribute between one and two articles per week to the site, with options to increase the output per week at a later time (depending on performance and user perception). You ideally should have experience writing articles in the tech niche, it is a [...]

It’s that old chestnut that rears it’s ugly head now and again, but usually with some alarming regularity.  What am I talking about, well my apparent bias towards Microsoft of course and my hatred of Apple.  At least that’s what the nay-sayers would have you believe.    I always thought it would be entertaining one day [...]

The tablet market is exploding and growing exponentially, but it’s still not reaching a critical mass with the general public not embracing them in the way they did netbooks.  So why is this happening and how do tablets need to change in order for them to become the next generation of computing device. Let’s look primarily [...]

What happened in February 2011 on Ghacks? The month started with Google accusing Bing of stealing, or copying, their search result rankings which many saw as an below the belt shot. A patent application by Microsoft a few days later revealed the Direct Experience Mode which is rumored to be added to Windows 8, Microsoft’s [...]

Regulars may know that I’m trying to diversify the traffic that Ghacks get, less Google more social media and other traffic sources. I have decided to kick-start the move with regular promotions and incentives to win Ghacks T-Shirts, and maybe other things. Today I’m running the first promotion over at the Ghacks Facebook page. All [...]

With the recent Google Search algorithm update I finally decided to go ahead with my plans to diversify the traffic profile of this website. I was far to long dependent on one company and would like to change that. The first step is to revitalize the Facebook fan page and Twitter account to add social [...]

The web is moving towards HTML5 with all new browsers supporting the standard including Chrome, Firefox and the forthcoming Internet Explorer 9.  This new scripting language.  It adds new tags including <AUDIO><VIDEO> and the <CANVAS> tag that can be used for creating effective animation and text effects.  The language now allows you to embed all [...]

I’m delighted to announce that Mike Halsey, that’s me writing about myself in the third-person again, will be making a return appearance on the ComputerAmerica radio show this coming Friday (11th February 2011). I’ll be on the show for the full two hours again discussing various topics around Windows 7 and Windows Phone. There will [...]

Blog spam, in the form of manual or automatic comments, trackbacks or pingbacks, has always been a problem for bloggers. It is just to lucrative to run a software that spams links all around in the hope that some will stick and benefit the site that they link to. List of blogs that do not [...]

I got the news this morning but I had to seek all types of clarification today before I believed it was genuinely true.  I’m delighted to announce that my first ever book published through a proper publisher (I’m not counting my own self-published Windows 7 book here) Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out from Microsoft Press, [...]

I love competitions and I’ve got another copy of my book “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” from Microsoft Press to give away  :)  And who better to give it to than a gHacks reader, because you’re all brilliant! The ultimate, in-depth reference for troubleshooting Windows 7 — from the inside out! This supremely organized book [...]

One of these days, and I’ll try this eventually, I’m going to write an article called “Apple” which will contain just a single word, that word will again be “Apple”.  What will the reason be for doing this?  Simply because I know full well that some Apple fans will be up in arms and probably accuse [...]

I’m happy to announce that Ghacks editor Mike Halsey is now a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). The award is given out by Microsoft to “exceptional technical community leaders” since the early 90s to around 4000 users out of 100 million who participate in technology communities. MVPs are independent experts who often get early access [...]

Another year has passed and I’m in my sixth now as a blogger and in my fourth as a fulltime blogger. The ride so far as been bumpy at times but pleasant mostly and I’m thankful for this opportunity. I have big plans for next year, not only concerning Ghacks but other existing sites and [...]

Now that the year is nearing its end it is time to reflect and plan for the next one. The road has been bumpy this year for Ghacks, with an accidental drop in traffic thanks to a change in Google’s search engine algorithm in June, and a recovery in October. The wait time until the [...]

It is the last day of the Ghacks Christmas Giveaway and when I look back I see great programs and lots of participation from old and new readers, and some that only come out at this time of the year. I’m in a hurry which is why I will make this a short post before [...]

It wouldn’t be the holiday season without having copious Christmas giveaways for you and we’ve got five copies of gHacks’ editor Mike Halsey’s new Microsoft Press Book Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out to give away to lucky readers.  Each winner will receive a copy of the book as an eBook in time for Christmas. You’re [...]

The majority of computer users have music on their computer, usually in the form of mp3s that they ripped from their own CDs, purchased online or downloaded from the Internet. There are several options available to download music from the Internet, from using free resources like Jamendo to free offers and P2P networks. Recording music [...]

We start the Ghacks Christmas Giveaway with Kaspersky Pure, Kaspersky’s top of the line product that combines all features of Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky Antivirus and then some. Security companies in recent years have improved their applications in many regards, and one of the more recent trends is the addition of modules that have ties [...]

For those in the US (or insomniacs in Europe) gHacks editor Mike Halsey will be the guest on the Computer America radio show tonight for a whole two hours.  The show has been running for 19 years and is the #1 daily tech podcast according to the New York Times. The show will be broadcast [...]

The Ghacks Christmas Giveaway is a year’s end event where Ghacks readers from all over the world can enter a drawing to win commercial software licenses. The event will take place between December 1 and 24, so make sure you check back at least once a day for a chance to win a license for [...]

Mike Halsey will be appearing on Craig Crossman’s Computer America radio show on Friday 19th November 2010.  The show has been running for 19 years and is the #1 daily podcast in the US according to the New York Times. Mike will be talking about his new book “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” from Microsoft Press, [...]

Well the results are in for our competition to win copies of the new Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out by Mike Halsey, an editor here at your favourite tech website.  The quality of the entries has been very high and a good few really made us chuckle  :) Each winner will receive a copy of [...]

My new book Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out from Microsoft Press is now officially on sale (and obviously I had a few drinkies last night to mark the occasion).  You still have time to enter our exclusive competiton to win copies but as a taster, here’s an excerpt from Chapter 13… Why Problems Occur with Windows. So [...]

To mark the release of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out from Microsoft Press, that has been written by Mike Halsey, one of the editors here at your favourite tech website gHacks.net, we have a fantastic competition in conjunction with our sister site www.Windows7News.com and a massive 52 prizes to give away! The prizes here at gHacks.net are…  [...]

There’s still time to enter our competition with a massive 52 prizes across two websites!  What’s more – here’s a hint – the volume of entries here at gHacks has been much greater than at our sister site Windows7News.com, so you can increase your chances of winning by entering there too!! To mark the release [...]

To mark the release of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out from Microsoft Press, that has been written by Mike Halsey, one of the editors here at your favourite tech website gHacks.net, we have a fantastic competition in conjunction with our sister site www.Windows7News.com and a massive 52 prizes to give away! The prizes here at gHacks.net are…  [...]