My husband says I shouldn't clean our new LCD television because the screen is too sensitive. I want to clean it using methods I am familiar with. How do I clean it without upsetting my husband? Name and address supplied DQ: This problem may have cropped up in many households since families started using liquid crystal display computer monitors or widescreen TVs bought during the Christmas shopping season. Cleaning an LCD screen is not difficult but it is very important to follow a certain method to avoid doing any damage. First, turn the monitor off. Wipe the screen very gently, using one of those soft microfibre cleaning cloths used to clean eyeglasses. Paper must be avoided at all costs, so do not use kitchen towels, toilet paper, tissue paper or any similar material. These can easily scratch the screen's surface. Also, do not press hard on the screen. You might have noticed the screen can be depressed a little. However, repeatedly doing so can damage the pixels. Many computer shops sell cleaning sprays intended for LCD screens but don't spray these liquids directly onto the screen. Instead, spray onto the soft cloth then wipe the screen. I'm looking for software to help me track the time I spend logged on to my computer and how long I've been doing a specific task, such as word processing. I use a Macintosh and a Windows-based personal computer. What sort of program should I get? John, Discovery Bay DQ: There are a few things you can try. You can install specific software on your machine or go to a time-tracking site, which will let you monitor your activities while you're online. There is even a plug-in application you can add to your Web browser to record how long you've been on the internet. The free time-tracking software offered at Toggl.com may be worth a try. Toggl allows a user to track computing tasks in real time, easily switching between several tasks. Another possibility is an application called Time Tracker 1.2.1 from Google Code (code.google.com/p/time-tracker-mac). Designed for Mac OS X users to monitor how much time is spent on a given task, it even has built-in idle-time alerts, so coffee breaks won't be counted. US-based internet firm Mozilla offers add-on tracking software (addons.mozilla.org) to its popular Firefox browser. Called Time Tracker 1.2.2, this plug-in can show browsing times across online sessions. It automatically pauses when you stop browsing and can be tweaked to exclude tracking certain sites, such as those that are work-related. I'm sure that could be useful.
