Things under $50 everyone should own

This is a list of a couple things everyone should own.

1. USB Flash drive - Some call it a thumb drive some a pen drive. What ever you want to call it. You should own many of these. You can get an 8GB drive for under $20 from http://newegg.com At that price get 3! These are great for backups. Copy all your images to it then put it in a safe place. Remember backups mean MORE than 1 copy of something!

2. Laser mouse. If you are still using a mouse with a ball in it. STOP! Laser mice are so much nicer. No more click click click click noise when you move the mouse around. No more taking the ball out and trying to clean off the rollers (if you have ever done that). You never realize how in accurate the ball mouse is until you get a laser mouse. This is a purchase you will want to get a name brand mouse though. Get a Microsoft intellimouse or a logitech. You don't want a no name mouse. The lasers don't track well and will just jump around the screen.

3. DVD Burner. Easy to install and for under $30 at walmart you might as well get one. I just got a 50 pack of blank dvd's at biglots for $15. That combo there allows you to backup just about everything. Not as easy as a flash drive and DVD's scratch but worth every penny. You can also make your own video's to play on your DVD player. Microsoft Movie Maker is quite easy to use. If you have XP. You should already have it. If not you can download it from http://download.live.com/

4. Avira Antivirus. I have talked about this before but it is worth mentioning again. If you are running antivirus or not. I highly recommend Avira personal edition for every computer. It's fast and very reliable. Those with Norton Antivirus will notice a huge speed increase in their computers. You can find Avira at http://download.com You can purchase it for around $25 or use it for FREE! The free version is the same as the paid version only you get a popup on your screen 1 time a day. Just click on ok and it goes away.

5. Mozilla Firefox web browser. This is a replacement web browser for Internet Explorer. What makes Firefox great is the add-ons you get for it. If you are already running Firefox and don't have adblock plus GET IT NOW. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865 All the annoying ads will vanish from your screen. Weather you just cruise the net or hang out on myspace the little stupid smiley face ads that scream "Hey over here" as your surfing will no longer be there.

6. Router - Sometimes called a residential gateway. You can pick up a cheap router for under $40 all over the place. Even if you only have 1 computer. You should never plug your computer right into the internet! Windows has open "ports" by default. Ports are like little doors on your computer. Even running the Microsoft firewall doesn't cut it. Viruses can get on your computer and either turn the firewall off without you knowing or it can tell the firewall to allow access on certain ports. Routers will help with this issue. Also it's very nice when other computers end up in the house and you want to get them on the internet also.

7. If you have kids I also recommend KidZui found at http://www.kidzui.com KidZui is a web browser that only allows your kids to go to certain websites and access certain things. All of your kids have their own log in. They can chat with their friends with the messenger built it. They take GREAT security measures to make sure that your kids can ONLY talk to people they already know. You even get an email every week with your kids surfing history. This is a free product that you can pay for if you wish. You get more features if you pay for it but the free version works very well. My 10 year old and 5 year old both use it every day.

8. More memory. RAM RAM RAM RAM can't say it enough. If you have a computer with under 3GB of RAM upgrade now. Keep your eye out on http://newegg.com I got 2GB of PC5400 OCZ RAM with heat sinks for $27 with a $10 mail in rebate! You will hear that the limit for a 32 bit operating system (most of you have it. If you don't have it you have 64 bit and probably know it) the limit is 4GB of RAM. This is true but it's not going to use 4GB. You need the 64 bit operating system to use all 4GB of RAM. So 3 GB is a good stopping point. You will DEFINITELY notice the speed increase in your computer. Make sure your computer can use this much memory. http://crucial.com has a tool you can install to tell you what kind of memory you can use and how much.