Late last week, I sent out a survey of all members of PCMech University. So far, I’ve had about 25% of our member base respond and I’m getting some interesting feedback. Actually, pretty good feedback.

One thing I wanted to know is how we’re doing now. I’m happy to report that a full 100% of respondents rated the quality of our content as either good or great. Specifically, 34% rated it as good while 66% rated it as great. That is, well, great! Also, 84.6% of our members rated our speed of new content as good or great (48.7% good, 35.9% great). Read the rest

This is the first of 12 lessons available to students of the Blogging Formula Using Wordpress course. Sign up now to see the remaining 11 lessons (which are longer than this one, I might add).

We are launching a brand new course at PCMech University.

Blogging Formula Using Wordpress

This new course is an ALL VIDEO course, consisting of 12 lessons and over 2 hours of video footage. In this course, I will walk you from the question of “Why start a blog?”, through installation and use of Wordpress, then into how to actually promote your new website and drive new readers to your blog.

My Crazy Offer

I am opening up memberships today for this new course. Anybody who signs up using the All Access Pass at PCMech University, and does so before the deadline, you’re going to get me at your disposal to personally install Wordpress to your web server for you.

Now, I am available to all students of PCMU to answer questions. But, I have NEVER before offered to individually DO THE WORK for you.

So here it goes… the course will always be available at PCMU. However, I will only be offering this bonus to buyers of the All Access Pass who purchase before midnight on April 17th. That’s Thursday night.

The All Access Pass will give you access to every course available at PCMU, including the members-only forums and members-only downloads.

OK, now what exactly am I going to do for you if you subscribe before Thursday night?

1. I will personally answer your questions regarding finding a web host.
2. I will install Wordpress to your server (once you have a host)
3. I will set up my recommended plug-ins and activate them for you.
4. I will set up the theme of your choice (no customization).

This, along with my course, will give you a full launch point for running your own blog.

To take advantage of this offer, you must sign up for the All Access Pass before midnight on April 17th. Click here to sign up.

To give you a sneak peak at the content of this course, I am releasing the first of 12 lessons right here, for free. Click here to watch the video.

PCMech EDU is getting new digs.

I am now in the process of launching a brand new design and renaming PCMech EDU to PCMech University. The domain www.pcmechuniversity.com should begin propagating around the Internet and be working for everybody within the next few hours. The new design will shortly carry over into the private members area and the forums.

For all existing EDU members, you will notice no change in your membership. The only thing changing is the name and the design.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment on this post.

Dear PCMech Reader:

Chances are you have come to PCMech EDU because you found us through our main PCMech website. You are interested in computers and technology and you visited our site. Perhaps you even subscribe to our weekly newsletter and you got my invites onto our early notification list for PCMech EDU.

However you came to us, welcome. And now, give me just a minute of your time. Read the rest

In my last article, I touched on how I have been able to make a living on the Internet. Today, I want to tell you, in brief, the story of myself and PCMech, and how you can benefit from it.

My name is David Risley and I am the founder of PCMech and PCMech EDU. I started in the field of internet business back in 1997 with the formation of PC Mechanic. It started out as a hobby for me. See, computers were a HUGE hobby for me and I was having a hard time getting good information about how to do things on my PC. Much of the information out there assumed I already knew things that I didn’t know. So, PC Mechanic (now referred to as PCMech) was born. By 1998 or so, I decided to make a side business out of it. I transferred the site to a web host which allowed me to run advertising on the site.

From that day, I have been making money with PCMech. Sure, it started out small. By simply writing good content for the site and participating in a few free promotional opportunities, people were noticing PC Mechanic and visiting the site. This provides EYEBALLS - a key component to anything you ever want to do for money on the Internet. Soon, PCMech was getting mentioned in the Wall Street Journal and being featured on TechTV. It was getting mentioned in PC World, PC Magazine, even Playboy! Of course, it’s not like I had paparazzi or anything, but just the idea that I was getting ANY print in the traditional media for a site I was essentially running from a bedroom was…well, cool. Read the rest

Many of our long-time readers may never have thought about making money on the Internet. The main PCMech site is a technology blog, so our typical audience is made up of computer owners looking to debug or get the most out of their own computers and technology. Well, we’ve got you covered there.

But, there’s more.

Has it ever occurred to you what a powerful money-making tool you have sitting on your desk? Read the rest

It seems as if few computer companies today offer quality tech support anymore. As more and more of them try to cut costs, they outsource support to India. The end result is heavily-scripted support, offered by people you may have a hard time understanding, all to the end result of having gotten nowhere.

All we have to do to see where this takes us is to look at the stories offered by our very own PCMech community in regards to Hewlett-Packard. Read the rest

Technology is everywhere. It is all around us. And if you’re not able to use it properly, you are at a real disadvantage compared to those who can.

The good news is that the technology you’re using right now to read this article is perhaps the most powerful teaching medium there is.

The Drawbacks of Other Mediums

Other teaching mediums don’t offer the flexibility and freedom of the interactive online environment.

• Books are a one-way flow and there is no opportunity to get clarification from the author. If it wasn’t included in the book, you’re on your own.
• Books don’t offer any VISUAL education. Written word can only get you so far.
• School classes can be VERY pricey.
• Classes impose both a schedule and a learning style on the student.

Read the rest

One day, you are perplexed by something on your computer. “It doesn’t work”, you say, however you have that sneaky hunch that perhaps it is just something you don’t know. You wonder if there is something wrong with your computer or perhaps you’re just being stupid.

You have a few options when this happens:

• You go running around on Google, searching and searching, for your answer. You end up trying different kinds of keywords. Nothing works. You find tons of forum threads where people have gotten CLOSE to your problem, but nothing spot on.
• You call a “geek” member of your family. You feel bad about bothering them, but you hope they won’t mind the interruption.
• You hire a geek. They come over to your house or office. They sit down and either fix your problem or leave you in a more confused state than when you started. They probably will even try to upsell you to other services, trying to scare you about all those rogue viruses and spyware infections on your PC. Plus, you’re out an inordinate amount of money for your troubles.
• You throw your hands up in disgust and just remain resigned to the fact that your PC just got the better of you.

Any of this sound familiar? Read the rest