The year is rapidly approaching its end so I thought this short tour of Microsoft products released in 2009 would be of interest. It was put together by our Windows Guide, Keith Ward:

Microsoft's Top 5 New Products for 2009

What do you think about the year for Microsoft? Was it a win... or a wash... or a crash and burn?

From a guest poster in the PC Support Forum:

Ok so today my mom was on the computer in the early afternoon and turned it off normally. A few hours later when she goes to turn it on nothing happens! I checked the plugs and they're fine. The light on the little power button starts to flash slowly.

Any ideas?

I'm sure you're seeing a lot of holiday gift guides around the web this year - Best Gifts for Dads, College Student Gift Guide, Top Gifts for 2nd Cousins Once Removed... you get the idea.

Here's another one that you in particular might find really useful - a PC Holiday Gift Guide.

Mark Kyrnin, About.com Guide to PC Hardware / Reviews has put together an excellent "Best Of" collection that's all about PCs. He makes it incredibly easy to pick out the best budget laptop, all-in-one PC, netbook, 26-inch LCD monitor, and much more.

Don't miss this excellent opportunity to make the best choice possible for someone on your list:

PC Holiday Gift Guide

From Edw11 in the PC Support Forum:

How might I convert a downloaded flv file to a file that will play in a dvd player. It will play in real player but can't, after burning, get it to play on a dvd player.

Media format issues are always fun. With so many file formats and devices out there, figuring how how to get File A to play on Device B can be challenging.

Any advice for Edw11?

From Dmoe101 in the PC Support Forum:

I have an issue with a Gateway Pc Model Gt5678 Running Vista. This is my brothers computer that I'm trying to fix.

He was messing around on bit commit and got what i call a super virus. I ran a virus scan and found one in the memory. After that the system would not boot window it came up as boot manager missing.

I tried the recovery cd's and nothing. So I tried putting linux on the system in hope it would bypass the virus. I did get the linux operating system loaded but now all keyboard usb and ps2 ports shutdown. I have downloaded a boot able anti-virus software from linux and it boots up the anti-virus software but won't let me scan the system due it all ports other than video shuts down and can't do anything.

I really need help with this issue. Any insight would great :) Thanks, Dustin

Any thoughts for Dustin? Let him know!

While it may look like it, no, this is not something you'd find in a flight cockpit... unless it's on the pilot's laptop.

This is the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Windows gadget - a desktop gadget that monitors (and then some) your wireless Internet connection.

Personally, I think it's a bit over the top but who am I to judge? Maybe it's just what you're looking for. I have to admit - it is cool. Plus it's free, so you might as well download it and stare at it for a while.

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor works on the Windows 7 desktop or Windows Vista Sidebar.

Here's my complete review:

Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Gadget Review

Many of you have probably encountered a situation where your antivirus software, against your better judgment, thought this file or that download was some sort of nasty infection. This tends to happen to me frequently with certain kinds of Windows utilities.

The reality however is that there really are lots, and lots, and lots of actual threats out there so any warning from your antivirus program should at very least make you step back and reassess what it is you're downloading or executing.

Mary Landesman, the About.com Guide to Antivirus Software, has a great piece on this that I'm sure you'll find helpful:

Six Easy Ways to Tell if a Virus Really is a Virus

From OldDogNewPC (nice handle) in the PC Support Forum:

"I had been successfully using a 19" Optiquest LED plugged in to an older laptop (HP, running Win XP, AMD Athlon) when I heard a sort of 'click' and my secondary (Optiquest) monitor went black. Power light was/is still on but screen is dark."

OldDogNewPC continues with lots of really great troubleshooting but just can't figure this one out. Any thoughts? Head over to the forum post and teach this old dog some new tricks.

I ate my last turkey sandwich yesterday but Keith Ward, the About.com Guide to Windows, has a few more turkeys you can feast on:

"I'm speaking, of course, about lousy software products -- half-baked ideas that should have never made it off of the drawing board. Microsoft has spawned a number of these fowl creatures over the years, and in honor of Thanksgiving, we hereby present this list of memorable Microsoft turkeys on which to feast yourself."

You can even add your own favorite Microsoft Turkey:

7 Microsoft Turkeys

I received this email a few days ago from M Kendrick:

"Hi Tim - quick question. I can't find BIOS anywhere. I know I need to open it to change how my computer looks at my DVD drive but I can't find the program anywhere. Is there something I need to type to open it? I had to do that once with another program I had. Can you help??"

and here's what I told him:

"M, BIOS isn't actually a "program" in the typical sense. It's not located inside Windows at all. In fact, you don't even have to have an operating system installed to use BIOS. BIOS is actually software that's stored in a chip on your motherboard and you can access it immediately after your computer turns on. Here's some more info: How to Access BIOS."

Confusions about what BIOS is and how to get to it are common among computer users that haven't yet had the opportunity to work with PC hardware.

Anyone else have any other questions about BIOS?