Eons ago in the year 1995 AOL was a wonderful thing. AOL software empowered tens of millions of Americans to get online for the very first time and experience the Internet in (almost) all its glory. The World Wide Web, email, chat rooms and other wonders were in reach of every man, woman and child thanks to hundreds of millions of disks available in dozens of major retail chains and every mailbox in America. A dozen times over.

In 1995 we had Windows 95. Getting online with Windows 95 was not much different than starting your car by turning a crank in the front of the car. Think Ford Model T circa 1909 and you get my drift.

Then came Windows 2000 and then Windows XP leading to Windows Vista, Windows 7 and even Windows 8 due later this summer.

Suddenly accessing the Internet was no more difficult than plugging in a cable or hitting a couple of mouse clicks to join a wireless network.

Yet AOL Software continued to exist. To grow. To evolve. Even though it had been rendered obsolete.

In the present day we have AOL Desktop 9.6. Does it work? Mostly. Is it needed? Not at all.

Substantially everything AOL has to offer is freely available on the official AOL website at www.aol.com

To AOL’s immense credit, they saw the handwriting on the wall a long time ago and deftly transitioned practically all core AOL services and features to the web without leaving existing AOL software users high and dry as they continue to support the AOL software we Americans fell in love with some seventeen years ago.

The thing is; AOL Desktop slows down your PC as your computer is bogged down with unneeded startup items that slow your PC’s boot time and drags you down with waiting for the large dinosaur known as AOL software to slowly lumber along as it loads to help you surf the web and check your email.

AOL is keeping the AOL software dinosaur alive for no good reason. You can surf the web and check your email with Internet Explorer or the browser of your choice and gain access to everything you want in a few seconds instead of a couple of minutes.

I’m encouraging you to stop using the AOL software and to start using the AOL.Com website.

If you do, you’re not saying goodbye to an old friend. You’re saying hello to your old friend with an all new makeover.

The Big Game’s Over but it’s GAME ON for Tax Season. Pushing aside the empty pizza boxes and empty beer cans after the Giants victory last night, you might be wonder when the next big game comes on.

It’s game on right now, actually. In case it escaped your notice, April 15th is coming up fast. You’re starting get your 1099 forms and 1098 forms and your W-2 will be in your hot little hands soon if not already.

If you use a CPA or a tax preparation service like H&R Block to prepare and file your taxes you might want to consider a new tax strategy; do your own taxes.

I’ve been using TurboTax on and off for years and with TurboTax 2011 there’s no reason in the world to pay an accountant or tax prep firm hundreds of dollars when you can purchase TurboTax for just $45 and do your own taxes in just about an hour – if not less!

Year after year TurboTax gets more and more powerful with added features to help you accurately prepare your own taxes while helping you find every possible tax deduction you can take. Even though TurboTax is more powerful than ever, it’s easier than ever to use too. Every screen is very user-friendly with plenty of examples and illustrations to guide you through tax prep quickly and easily.

For most of the population, TurboTax is all you’ll ever need to prepare your own taxes. That’s because most Americans just need to punch in some numbers from their W-2s, 1099s and 1098s and then file. In almost every case you can file online and get your refund electronically which cuts out weeks of waiting.

There are some cases where using a tax professional is the best way to go. The most likely reason why you’d want to pass on TurboTax is cases where you have a very complex tax return with sophisticated tax issues that require the direct involvement of a tax professional.

For everyone else — and that’s 99 % of the population – TurboTax is the way to go. Once you see how easy it is to file your taxes and save a lot of money, you’ll never look back.

If your computer starts running slow – I mean reeeeeeal slow – all of a sudden that means your computer has a virus infection, right?

Not necessarily.

Twice in the past week I’ve checked out client computers and identified exactly why their computer was running slower than an old car on a freezing winter morning; they had two different antivirus products installed. A customer this morning had three different internet security products installed.

When I uninstalled the extra antivirus programs and left the computer with just one internet security product, the computer sped right up. Instantly.

With antispyware protection and antivirus products more is not better. Not at all. Less is more. And none at all is bad.

So the next time you notice your computer is running slow check and make sure the parking brake is released; that is to say make sure you’re computer has just one antivirus product installed.