Stock Markets around the world took a bath yesterday (The Dow dropped a quick 416 points!). This got me to think about how technology has changed investing.
The advent of the Internet and on line trading has certainly changed how many people invest and their psychology of investing. For example, I woke up yesterday and found out via an email that the Chinese (and Japanese for that matter) markets had taken a big hit before our markets had opened. I'm sure many other investors saw that same news and the sell orders were out before the investing day started. That information, certainly, wouldn't have been widely known before the Internet nor could most take advantage of that data by placing on line orders.
In the old days (before the 90s), you couldn't get near to your broker on days of huge volume and price swings. Only the large institutional investors could get their attention. At best you could try and place in order and it MIGHT get exercised the day after. No more! Click, Click, Click and its done. You too can lose money with the pros!
I also find it interesting that the day traders have just about disappeared. An acquaintance of mine took off 3 weeks of work to try his hand day trading. Armed with 2 books on day trading, a high speed Internet connection and a good size nest egg he charged into the fray. He only lost about $20,000. Investing short term is worse then playing roulette. He is VERY glad he didn't quit his day job.
There are some nice benefits to technology and investing. The end of fractional $ for shares ( ½,¼, ⅜, etc) is one that I appreciate. On line investing moved us to decimal pricing and I'm glad they did. There is also a ton of investing information now available. I use Charles Schwab and their on line stock and mutual fund information can help make educated decisions. In the past you totally had to depend on your broker. And they depended on their firm, which may or may not have a clue as to what kind of investments you should be making. The timeliness of the information was also suspect. Brokers are still out there (thank goodness says nephew John!) for those requiring investment guidance, but you can also do a fair job with weekend stock shopping on line.
Adieu!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
#20 Data Storage - Part II
We left off yesterday with the arrival of the CD-ROM drive (bonus point if you know what the initials stand for). We skipped over the invention of the first high capacity floppy disk drives. Iomega invented the Bernoulli drive (same name as our black cat!) that could hold 10MB. It was big (8” diameter) but you could carry it around without worry of a head crash. The same technology was shrunk to 5.25” and 44MB size then to the 100MB ZIP drive. This technology PEAKED with the 750MB 3.5” Zip drive in the late 90s. Many of our customers still use Zip drives for data backup.
Here is the answer to the CD-ROM question: Compact Disc read-only memory.
From CD-ROM we got the CD-R which you could write just one time to the CD-RW that you could write multiple times. The weakness of the CD-RW is that there was NEVER a standard picked for the data writing. So CD-RWs were limited to the PC you initially wrote them on. Storage capacity maxed out at 700MB.
Next on the line was the DVD drive with its various incarnations. Invented to replace VCRs DVDs eventually found themselves on most PCs. The DVD started out with 4.7GB of memory and now is up to 8.5GB with dual layer technology. The DVD is a CD on steroids. It uses a different frequency laser to mark and read smaller optical pits on the disk. There are no fewer then 7 different standards for DVD. Fortunately the latest DVD burners, burn and read all the different standards.
Our favorite technology is the Flash Ram memory chips. These chips can hold what ever has been written to them indefinitely. The use of electrons is used for the digital 0 and 1s. With no mechanical parts, flash memory is the ultimate in reliability and safety. I love my USB flash drives. They are small and hold a lot. I truly believe that they will end the use of hard drives for PCs in the near future. Without flash RAM we would have never reached mega pixel digital cameras, micro portable MP3 players, and mobile phones that do more then just dial a number.
So what is coming up in the future of storage? On the horizon is Blue Ray technology which is 10 times more storage then a DVD. Also Holographic Versatile Disks that can hold even more are coming. Flash drives that hold your entire PC will also change the size of everything in computing.
Happy day!
Here is the answer to the CD-ROM question: Compact Disc read-only memory.
From CD-ROM we got the CD-R which you could write just one time to the CD-RW that you could write multiple times. The weakness of the CD-RW is that there was NEVER a standard picked for the data writing. So CD-RWs were limited to the PC you initially wrote them on. Storage capacity maxed out at 700MB.
Next on the line was the DVD drive with its various incarnations. Invented to replace VCRs DVDs eventually found themselves on most PCs. The DVD started out with 4.7GB of memory and now is up to 8.5GB with dual layer technology. The DVD is a CD on steroids. It uses a different frequency laser to mark and read smaller optical pits on the disk. There are no fewer then 7 different standards for DVD. Fortunately the latest DVD burners, burn and read all the different standards.
Our favorite technology is the Flash Ram memory chips. These chips can hold what ever has been written to them indefinitely. The use of electrons is used for the digital 0 and 1s. With no mechanical parts, flash memory is the ultimate in reliability and safety. I love my USB flash drives. They are small and hold a lot. I truly believe that they will end the use of hard drives for PCs in the near future. Without flash RAM we would have never reached mega pixel digital cameras, micro portable MP3 players, and mobile phones that do more then just dial a number.
So what is coming up in the future of storage? On the horizon is Blue Ray technology which is 10 times more storage then a DVD. Also Holographic Versatile Disks that can hold even more are coming. Flash drives that hold your entire PC will also change the size of everything in computing.
Happy day!
Monday, February 26, 2007
#19 Data Storage - Part I
How you store your data has certainly changed dramatically over the years. I first saw a computer in 1972 at Virginia Tech. Our storage was all on punch cards. Hundreds and hundreds of them! They had to be stored in the correct order. I still have nightmares of dropping my “decks” of cards. Cards could get bent, frayed or just torn. Bye Bye data!
My first PC, the venerable Apple IIe, came with a 5.25 inch floppy disk drive. Invented by Alan Shugart at IBM in 1971, the floppy disk was a great advance over the cassettes and tapes used on Tandy and Commodore PCs. The disk was actually flexible and could store 160,000 bits of information (160K). The disk used the principle of magnetic digital storage. A drive head (read here as a magnet) would be placed close to a fast revolving disk of tape material. Magnetized ferric oxide on the tape material would either be charged or not (thus the 0 or 1). You could store tens of programs (that you had to write). What a concept!
My first IBM PC had a 10MB hard disk drive as well as 2 floppy disk drives. We thought we were in storage heaven. We could save all our WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 files on the hard drive and back them up on the floppies. Hard disks were actually invented in 1956, but were so expensive that they didn’t reach popular use until the advent of the IBM PC. They stored a lot, but were terribly unreliable. The disks spun at incredible rates and the least quiver of the magnetic heads would cause the dreaded head crash (certainly you have heard of a hard disk crash!). Lots of data disappeared if you didn’t have it backed up.
The 80s brought the 3.5” floppy disk. This was actually a flexible disk covered with a hard plastic cover and could store 720 K on per disk. It was small, compact and was way more cool then the older, bigger and smaller capacity 5.25” kind. Apple was first to introduce the 3.5” disk, but it was soon picked up by IBM on their ill fated PS2. Later in the 80s the capacity of the 3.5” floppy was doubled to 1.44 MB (where its stays at today).
Floppies, because they run at so slow speeds, are many times more reliable then hard drives. A generation of computer users came to depend on the floppy for their data. Now back in the 80s, 1.44MB was a lot of storage. Your average WordPerfect or Word document was just about 20K in size. Over the years demands for bigger files (think digital pictures and music files) caused the death of the 3.5” floppy. They just weren’t big enough.
Also invented in the 80s was the CD-Rom drive. The CD uses optical (Laser) technology to store digital data. A portable hard drive if you will. The improvement over music records made the world change its listening habits. Soon to follow was the recordable CD for PC. Storing an unheard of 700MB, the CD soon became the backup storage medium of choice in the 90s.
I haven’t forgotten the oldest backup medium, tape. The first IBM 360 monster Computer we had at Virginia Tech ran all our data on big wheel Tape drives. Tape has been used over the years as a backup up system till today. I have ALWAYS, disliked tape because of its sequential nature. It takes lots of time to recover data and tape can stretch over repeated usage. Let’s just say it exists and hopefully soon will be gone!
Tomorrow we’ll talk about the latest in storage technology.
My first PC, the venerable Apple IIe, came with a 5.25 inch floppy disk drive. Invented by Alan Shugart at IBM in 1971, the floppy disk was a great advance over the cassettes and tapes used on Tandy and Commodore PCs. The disk was actually flexible and could store 160,000 bits of information (160K). The disk used the principle of magnetic digital storage. A drive head (read here as a magnet) would be placed close to a fast revolving disk of tape material. Magnetized ferric oxide on the tape material would either be charged or not (thus the 0 or 1). You could store tens of programs (that you had to write). What a concept!
My first IBM PC had a 10MB hard disk drive as well as 2 floppy disk drives. We thought we were in storage heaven. We could save all our WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 files on the hard drive and back them up on the floppies. Hard disks were actually invented in 1956, but were so expensive that they didn’t reach popular use until the advent of the IBM PC. They stored a lot, but were terribly unreliable. The disks spun at incredible rates and the least quiver of the magnetic heads would cause the dreaded head crash (certainly you have heard of a hard disk crash!). Lots of data disappeared if you didn’t have it backed up.
The 80s brought the 3.5” floppy disk. This was actually a flexible disk covered with a hard plastic cover and could store 720 K on per disk. It was small, compact and was way more cool then the older, bigger and smaller capacity 5.25” kind. Apple was first to introduce the 3.5” disk, but it was soon picked up by IBM on their ill fated PS2. Later in the 80s the capacity of the 3.5” floppy was doubled to 1.44 MB (where its stays at today).
Floppies, because they run at so slow speeds, are many times more reliable then hard drives. A generation of computer users came to depend on the floppy for their data. Now back in the 80s, 1.44MB was a lot of storage. Your average WordPerfect or Word document was just about 20K in size. Over the years demands for bigger files (think digital pictures and music files) caused the death of the 3.5” floppy. They just weren’t big enough.
Also invented in the 80s was the CD-Rom drive. The CD uses optical (Laser) technology to store digital data. A portable hard drive if you will. The improvement over music records made the world change its listening habits. Soon to follow was the recordable CD for PC. Storing an unheard of 700MB, the CD soon became the backup storage medium of choice in the 90s.
I haven’t forgotten the oldest backup medium, tape. The first IBM 360 monster Computer we had at Virginia Tech ran all our data on big wheel Tape drives. Tape has been used over the years as a backup up system till today. I have ALWAYS, disliked tape because of its sequential nature. It takes lots of time to recover data and tape can stretch over repeated usage. Let’s just say it exists and hopefully soon will be gone!
Tomorrow we’ll talk about the latest in storage technology.
Friday, February 23, 2007
#18 Auto Technology 2
I own a 2005 Honda Pilot, not the newest car on the road, but certainly one full of hi tech items. One of the interesting items on the car is the tire inflation indicators. It has come up twice since I've owned the car and each time my tire pressure had dropped to near 20 pounds and needed a boost. Now that's good to know!
The Mrs. appreciates that my cars always have outdoor temperature indicators. Her 2002 Honda Accord doesn't have one. It only makes sense that the outside temperature is an important thing to know. In cold weather its critical for a driver to know when the temperature approaches freezing. In my poor humble opinion, this should be a standard gauge on all cars.
New cars certainly are safer then the cars I grew up driving. From safety belts to air bags, air curtains, ABS brakes, 5MPH bumpers to uni body construction, cars are less likely to get into accidents and when in one to harm you. If only we could take care of the idiot behind the wheel! Lexus is trying with its auto park system. This system lets you push a button and the car will parallel park (the bane of every 16 year old). Results are mixed on how well this "feature" actually works.
Computers have been a part of cars for more then 10 years. Mechanics now "plug" in your car before they look at anything. Diagnostics take minutes not hours. Carburetors are long gone and programmed fuel injectors make for the most efficient engines ever built. Displays that let you know your gas mileage, direction, status of every car system are now standard on many vehicles.
I will rant a bit on sound systems in cars. When I bought the Pilot, I really wanted to have either an audio input jack for an MP3 player or the ability for my CD player in the car to play MP3 files. It wasn't even an option. Now its standard on most upscale cars and any car that targets 18-25 year olds. Sigh timing is everything.
Car manufacturers are now trying to throw into cars every new bell and whistle whether you need it or not. And they will try to charge you an arm and a leg for much of that technology. Buyer beware!
The Mrs. appreciates that my cars always have outdoor temperature indicators. Her 2002 Honda Accord doesn't have one. It only makes sense that the outside temperature is an important thing to know. In cold weather its critical for a driver to know when the temperature approaches freezing. In my poor humble opinion, this should be a standard gauge on all cars.
New cars certainly are safer then the cars I grew up driving. From safety belts to air bags, air curtains, ABS brakes, 5MPH bumpers to uni body construction, cars are less likely to get into accidents and when in one to harm you. If only we could take care of the idiot behind the wheel! Lexus is trying with its auto park system. This system lets you push a button and the car will parallel park (the bane of every 16 year old). Results are mixed on how well this "feature" actually works.
Computers have been a part of cars for more then 10 years. Mechanics now "plug" in your car before they look at anything. Diagnostics take minutes not hours. Carburetors are long gone and programmed fuel injectors make for the most efficient engines ever built. Displays that let you know your gas mileage, direction, status of every car system are now standard on many vehicles.
I will rant a bit on sound systems in cars. When I bought the Pilot, I really wanted to have either an audio input jack for an MP3 player or the ability for my CD player in the car to play MP3 files. It wasn't even an option. Now its standard on most upscale cars and any car that targets 18-25 year olds. Sigh timing is everything.
Car manufacturers are now trying to throw into cars every new bell and whistle whether you need it or not. And they will try to charge you an arm and a leg for much of that technology. Buyer beware!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
#17 Auto Technology
I went to the VT basketball game last night in Blacksburg (VT won!). Driving back I used two relatively new technology items for the car. I have a Garmin GPS receiver that also has XM satellite radio and an MP3 player build in.
Since purchasing the GPS receiver, both the Mrs. and I have become addicted to its features. It gives an estimate of what time you will arrive at your destination and lets you know when and where to turn. I find it extremely helpful in letting me know how far it is to the next turn. What I find interesting is that Auto manufacturers charge $3000 for the same system you can get for $500 from any store. The system you buy separately can be moved from car to car as opposed to the in dash version the car guys sell you. You would think the car people would make more money by being competitive for many sales then charge rip off pricing to just a few.
The other item I enjoy is XM radio. It just has many more options for listening then the 20 country stations offered in the Alleghany Highlands. I enjoy CNN news, ACC Basketball/football games and PGA tour golf. There is also a great clean comedy channel that brightens up a dreary afternoon. I see where XM may merge with Sirius (the other satellite radio provider). I believe it when it happens. Uncle Sam tends to not like monopolies that can charge what they want.
If you are thinking about either a GPS or Satellite radio, give me a call. You know I'm never short of an opinion!
Since purchasing the GPS receiver, both the Mrs. and I have become addicted to its features. It gives an estimate of what time you will arrive at your destination and lets you know when and where to turn. I find it extremely helpful in letting me know how far it is to the next turn. What I find interesting is that Auto manufacturers charge $3000 for the same system you can get for $500 from any store. The system you buy separately can be moved from car to car as opposed to the in dash version the car guys sell you. You would think the car people would make more money by being competitive for many sales then charge rip off pricing to just a few.
The other item I enjoy is XM radio. It just has many more options for listening then the 20 country stations offered in the Alleghany Highlands. I enjoy CNN news, ACC Basketball/football games and PGA tour golf. There is also a great clean comedy channel that brightens up a dreary afternoon. I see where XM may merge with Sirius (the other satellite radio provider). I believe it when it happens. Uncle Sam tends to not like monopolies that can charge what they want.
If you are thinking about either a GPS or Satellite radio, give me a call. You know I'm never short of an opinion!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
#16 The high Tech library
Sorry I'm late today, but a busy morning pushed the blog out a bit.
I'm at my favorite library (CP JONES in Covington) and I am thinking about the changes in technology that have impacted library operations. Things like no more card catalogs. Being able to look up a book on the Internet and put a hold on it. Moving from books to audio books, to VCRs to DVDs. The look and feel of today's library is much different then your Dad's library (or even mine as a child).
Library's now have many customers that don't even read books. They come in to use the public PCs, rent a DVD or read a magazine. The staffs at library's have had to change with the times. Scanning books in, pulling up late book reports, resetting PCs, helping customers log on to PCs and set up email accounts. The list is almost endless. The mission of providing information to the public hasn't changed. Thank goodness our legislative bodies still see the value in public library's and what they do.
If you think everyone has a PC, just visit your local library some evening. You'll be amazed at the number of people using the public PCs. Our library even has free wireless Internet so that travelers can just sit down and catch up on their email and news. Its a never ending task to keep up with technology with limited funds. Fortunately in our area we have a Foundation that is concerned with public access and is committed to keeping Covington at least on pace with the modern world.
So go hug your library today!
I'm at my favorite library (CP JONES in Covington) and I am thinking about the changes in technology that have impacted library operations. Things like no more card catalogs. Being able to look up a book on the Internet and put a hold on it. Moving from books to audio books, to VCRs to DVDs. The look and feel of today's library is much different then your Dad's library (or even mine as a child).
Library's now have many customers that don't even read books. They come in to use the public PCs, rent a DVD or read a magazine. The staffs at library's have had to change with the times. Scanning books in, pulling up late book reports, resetting PCs, helping customers log on to PCs and set up email accounts. The list is almost endless. The mission of providing information to the public hasn't changed. Thank goodness our legislative bodies still see the value in public library's and what they do.
If you think everyone has a PC, just visit your local library some evening. You'll be amazed at the number of people using the public PCs. Our library even has free wireless Internet so that travelers can just sit down and catch up on their email and news. Its a never ending task to keep up with technology with limited funds. Fortunately in our area we have a Foundation that is concerned with public access and is committed to keeping Covington at least on pace with the modern world.
So go hug your library today!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
#15 Watching the screen
Monitors certainly have changed over the years. My first monitor was a Sony color TV. It hooked up to my Apple IIe and gave me color games! I was the first on my block in Baton Rouge with color! (I just donated that same TV to a good organization last year!).
CRT Monitors (Cathode Ray Tubes) were the boxes that kept getting bigger and bigger. First used in TVs, then adapted to computers, CRTs were the only show in displays until 1990. CRTs were invented by the German Nobel prize winner Ferdinand Braun in 1897. Wonderful technology over the years, but the advent of the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) ended the popularity of CRTs.
My first CRT was a 14 inch diagonal model. I actually had a 21 inch display at one time. It was huge and it weighed a ton. Great picture though. It could give a hernia to a weight lifter. I moved on to a 17 inch LCD monitor that weighed in at 6 pounds. LCDs were invented by American James Fergason in 1970. The LCD has so many advantages over the CRT. Besides being small and lighter, they emit no radiation (CRT issue) and are so much easier on the eyes. They use 10% of the power of a CRT and can be mounted on a wall. Without LCDs we would still be carrying around portable computers the size of sewing machines (know what they are?).
Early LCDs were in the rectangular format of 4:3 (the ratio of width to height). The latest LCDs are in 16:9 format. This is similar to the screen size used for wide width movies. So you will get less black banding top and bottom when you play a DVD! If you haven’t moved on to LCDs then do so today. Your eyes and back will thank you.
CRT Monitors (Cathode Ray Tubes) were the boxes that kept getting bigger and bigger. First used in TVs, then adapted to computers, CRTs were the only show in displays until 1990. CRTs were invented by the German Nobel prize winner Ferdinand Braun in 1897. Wonderful technology over the years, but the advent of the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) ended the popularity of CRTs.
My first CRT was a 14 inch diagonal model. I actually had a 21 inch display at one time. It was huge and it weighed a ton. Great picture though. It could give a hernia to a weight lifter. I moved on to a 17 inch LCD monitor that weighed in at 6 pounds. LCDs were invented by American James Fergason in 1970. The LCD has so many advantages over the CRT. Besides being small and lighter, they emit no radiation (CRT issue) and are so much easier on the eyes. They use 10% of the power of a CRT and can be mounted on a wall. Without LCDs we would still be carrying around portable computers the size of sewing machines (know what they are?).
Early LCDs were in the rectangular format of 4:3 (the ratio of width to height). The latest LCDs are in 16:9 format. This is similar to the screen size used for wide width movies. So you will get less black banding top and bottom when you play a DVD! If you haven’t moved on to LCDs then do so today. Your eyes and back will thank you.
Monday, February 19, 2007
#14 Patience - Always a high tech virtue
Happy President's Day! I think we used to celebrate both Abe and George separately in the 60s. Seems like we don't honor them as much in this joint shopping holiday (aren't all our holidays about shopping?)
I was reading an article on the 5 High Tech gadgets you could live without. Interesting concept, since most people want to know what they have to have. Number 4 on the list was Windows Vista. The article rightly said you shouldn't upgrade and you might want to wait for a new PC to get the new Microsoft system. We've had the Vista laptop for less then a week and have already locked it up several times. So much for better reliability. Now to be fair to Microsoft, the issues may have been non Microsoft software compatibility problems.
Our favorite browser, Firefox, seems to lock up more then the new Internet Explorer. You don't think that gang from Microsoft tweaked Vista to have problems with Firefox (a competitor)? Naw....Well maybe... We've also had problems with the new Vista Sidebar Gadgets not loading right. I'm sure that will be fixed in the first maintenance release.
Another one of the gadgets "Not to Buy" was 10 Megapixal digital cameras. Why? Well I have only seen about 3 printers that can print that resolution. Your normal ink jet printer can do 3 Megapixal maximum. Everything greater then that is just wasted unless you are blowing up a picture to 11" x 14" (and then one asks how big a picture can your printer print?). So save your dollars and buy a lower resolution digital camera. We still like Canon, Olympus or Nikon digital cameras. They just take better pictures!
Now one gadget I do like is the digital picture frame. My niece and nephew bought one for my brother and sister in law for Christmas. Very sweet gadget! It reads the memory cards that are in your camera and can play music. Just fill a card with favorite photos, maybe even a favorite series of songs, plug in the card to the picture frame and voila you have a slide show on your coffee table. Prices are coming down, but make sure you see one in a store before buying. Their resolution and overall aesthetics (well it is a picture frame) vary considerably.
Later...
I was reading an article on the 5 High Tech gadgets you could live without. Interesting concept, since most people want to know what they have to have. Number 4 on the list was Windows Vista. The article rightly said you shouldn't upgrade and you might want to wait for a new PC to get the new Microsoft system. We've had the Vista laptop for less then a week and have already locked it up several times. So much for better reliability. Now to be fair to Microsoft, the issues may have been non Microsoft software compatibility problems.
Our favorite browser, Firefox, seems to lock up more then the new Internet Explorer. You don't think that gang from Microsoft tweaked Vista to have problems with Firefox (a competitor)? Naw....Well maybe... We've also had problems with the new Vista Sidebar Gadgets not loading right. I'm sure that will be fixed in the first maintenance release.
Another one of the gadgets "Not to Buy" was 10 Megapixal digital cameras. Why? Well I have only seen about 3 printers that can print that resolution. Your normal ink jet printer can do 3 Megapixal maximum. Everything greater then that is just wasted unless you are blowing up a picture to 11" x 14" (and then one asks how big a picture can your printer print?). So save your dollars and buy a lower resolution digital camera. We still like Canon, Olympus or Nikon digital cameras. They just take better pictures!
Now one gadget I do like is the digital picture frame. My niece and nephew bought one for my brother and sister in law for Christmas. Very sweet gadget! It reads the memory cards that are in your camera and can play music. Just fill a card with favorite photos, maybe even a favorite series of songs, plug in the card to the picture frame and voila you have a slide show on your coffee table. Prices are coming down, but make sure you see one in a store before buying. Their resolution and overall aesthetics (well it is a picture frame) vary considerably.
Later...
Friday, February 16, 2007
#13 Is Paper Doomed?
Ah the paperless office. Good concept, but not so good implementation?
As I wade through all the bills, warranty forms, notes to myself, phone numbers on scraps and junk mail I have a hard time seeing us becoming paperless. Though progress is being made. I haven't filed a paper Tax form in 2 years (but every year I print out the complete tax form on paper!). We pay the vast majority of our bills either online or by bank debit. Most my conversations with acquaintances is via email rather then snail mail. I do see some customers printing out every email so maybe that isn't truly paperless. PCSS is selling just as many printers as ever so someone is using them to put ink on paper.
I am starting to see more correspondence with institutions in email form. Magazines and Newspaper subscriptions are heading south fast. I now only receive 3 magazines by subscription (2 PC, 1 Golf). I get several others complimentary and have no idea how to stop them from coming. You can get most of a newspapers content online at no charge (that can't last much longer) and you keep your hands clean!
PCSS sends out paper invoices, but if you like we can email you the invoice in Excel format. Surprisingly not many customers like that method, yet. We still receive 90% of payments by check (and encourage that process). We have to pay a 3% fee for Visa, MasterCard and Discover payments. With computer products pricing so competitive we encourage all non credit card payment.
I try to keep all my appointments, contacts and to do lists on my Palm Pilot. That only goes awry when I leave it in its charger when I take on the day. So how are you doing on becoming less addicted to paper? Let us know in the comments button below.
Have a great weekend!
As I wade through all the bills, warranty forms, notes to myself, phone numbers on scraps and junk mail I have a hard time seeing us becoming paperless. Though progress is being made. I haven't filed a paper Tax form in 2 years (but every year I print out the complete tax form on paper!). We pay the vast majority of our bills either online or by bank debit. Most my conversations with acquaintances is via email rather then snail mail. I do see some customers printing out every email so maybe that isn't truly paperless. PCSS is selling just as many printers as ever so someone is using them to put ink on paper.
I am starting to see more correspondence with institutions in email form. Magazines and Newspaper subscriptions are heading south fast. I now only receive 3 magazines by subscription (2 PC, 1 Golf). I get several others complimentary and have no idea how to stop them from coming. You can get most of a newspapers content online at no charge (that can't last much longer) and you keep your hands clean!
PCSS sends out paper invoices, but if you like we can email you the invoice in Excel format. Surprisingly not many customers like that method, yet. We still receive 90% of payments by check (and encourage that process). We have to pay a 3% fee for Visa, MasterCard and Discover payments. With computer products pricing so competitive we encourage all non credit card payment.
I try to keep all my appointments, contacts and to do lists on my Palm Pilot. That only goes awry when I leave it in its charger when I take on the day. So how are you doing on becoming less addicted to paper? Let us know in the comments button below.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
#12 Change is good?
Thursday already and half of February is gone! I hope you treated your special person on Valentines Day.
The long expected Lenovo laptop with Windows Vista Business version arrived yesterday. I was actually at a customer site when I met the Fed Ex man. He saved a trip to Clearwater Park and handed me the long awaited box. I put the battery in and charged it up. Its very cute at 4 pounds. It has a brilliant screen (though small at 12.1 inches) and is loaded technology speaking. It has the Intel Centrino dual core processor (actua
lly that means it has 2 processors!), 1 GB of memory, a 120GB hard Drive, Finger print security reader, DVD burner, 1.3 Megapixel camera/video built in! All the bells and whistles. Ah but it also has Windows Vista Business.
lly that means it has 2 processors!), 1 GB of memory, a 120GB hard Drive, Finger print security reader, DVD burner, 1.3 Megapixel camera/video built in! All the bells and whistles. Ah but it also has Windows Vista Business._
As you can see it looks like a normal laptop and the Vista screen isn't too different from Windows XP. On the right side of the screen you see some icons. That is the Sidebar. This is a Microsoft theft of a MAC item they call the Dashboard. It contains user selectable applets (small programs called gadgets) that you can customize. I put a weather item, clock, calendar and system resource gadgets on the new Lenovo.
_
First impressions are that Vista is slow on this PC. Even with all that memory and speed it still takes over 2 minutes to load up and an almost equally long time to shut down. I loaded the new Office 2007 on it and they load in about the same time as Windows XP. They just look real different (another blog on another day!).
We'll wade through the ins and outs of this laptop and keep you up to date. If you would like to see the laptop just let us know and we will drop by.
_
Keep warm!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
#11 High Tech Warranties
So your high tech gadget broke. Just stopped working. As you look around for your invoice and owner info, you get this sinking feeling. Didn't I just buy that...um ooops 1 year ago? Yes, when you find all the paper work, chances are, the gadget is over one year old and out of warranty.
My philosophy on warranties is if it isn't easily fixed, get the extended warranty. Desktop PCs can be fixed pretty easily so a 1 year warranty is usually fine. Monitors come with 3 year warranties (at least the ones PCSS Sells!) so that's another non starter. Laptops on the other hand are expensive and hard to fix. I always up the warranty from the standard 1 year to 3 years. I buy a new laptop every 3 years and I've only had one laptop to not need the warranty service. Buyer beware!
I usually sign up for 2 years of cell phone service and that generally includes 2 years of maintenance on the cell phone. Though lately cell phone providers don't warranty the batteries on Cell Phones (see my Battery blog for why). My Palm Pilots last till I lose them, but they only have 1 year warranty and I haven't found any extension available.
Printers are big source of maintenance problems. Lots of moving parts, rollers, guides, ink, toner issues. Cheap inkjet printers come with 90 day warranties, the better ones 1 year. HP will sell extended warranties for LaserJet printers and multifunction machines. If you depend on your printer an extended warranty may make sense.
Toodles...
My philosophy on warranties is if it isn't easily fixed, get the extended warranty. Desktop PCs can be fixed pretty easily so a 1 year warranty is usually fine. Monitors come with 3 year warranties (at least the ones PCSS Sells!) so that's another non starter. Laptops on the other hand are expensive and hard to fix. I always up the warranty from the standard 1 year to 3 years. I buy a new laptop every 3 years and I've only had one laptop to not need the warranty service. Buyer beware!
I usually sign up for 2 years of cell phone service and that generally includes 2 years of maintenance on the cell phone. Though lately cell phone providers don't warranty the batteries on Cell Phones (see my Battery blog for why). My Palm Pilots last till I lose them, but they only have 1 year warranty and I haven't found any extension available.
Printers are big source of maintenance problems. Lots of moving parts, rollers, guides, ink, toner issues. Cheap inkjet printers come with 90 day warranties, the better ones 1 year. HP will sell extended warranties for LaserJet printers and multifunction machines. If you depend on your printer an extended warranty may make sense.
Toodles...
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
#10 Will your grand kids know what a Photograph is
Rainy Tuesday friends, which is better then snowy Tuesday or icy Tuesday, but the kids get another day off to terrorize the Internet.
Digital cameras certainly have changed how we immortalize ourselves. We've moved a long way from painting our favorite horse or pet on the cave walls! We now can take thousands of pictures on our vacation and sort through them later to make a spectacular slide show that not many people want to see. Most people still print out their pictures, but I think that is just a throw back to wanting to have a photo album to pull out when the relatives drop by. Mainly because the owners of the pictures aren't sure how to make that slide show thing work on their PC.
Youngsters get digital pictures. They use online sites, like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Webspots to share their pictures with friends. They place their pictures on their MySpace or Facebook page for all to see (much to the chagrin of any parent who finds that site!). They have pictures they take with their phones immediately send to friends to share then delete them just as fast.
So I come back to my title question: Will your grandkids know what a photograph is? Will Kodak still be pumping out 8x10 glossy prints to put on your wall? Chances are very good that no is the answer to both questions. If you need to print out a picture, most inkjet printers put out decent photo quality prints. You can carry your favorite photos around in your cell phone or flash memory drive and still show your co workers how cute little Fang is. (assuming you have a real pet not a digital one!)
Keep those umbrellas handy!
Digital cameras certainly have changed how we immortalize ourselves. We've moved a long way from painting our favorite horse or pet on the cave walls! We now can take thousands of pictures on our vacation and sort through them later to make a spectacular slide show that not many people want to see. Most people still print out their pictures, but I think that is just a throw back to wanting to have a photo album to pull out when the relatives drop by. Mainly because the owners of the pictures aren't sure how to make that slide show thing work on their PC.
Youngsters get digital pictures. They use online sites, like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Webspots to share their pictures with friends. They place their pictures on their MySpace or Facebook page for all to see (much to the chagrin of any parent who finds that site!). They have pictures they take with their phones immediately send to friends to share then delete them just as fast.
So I come back to my title question: Will your grandkids know what a photograph is? Will Kodak still be pumping out 8x10 glossy prints to put on your wall? Chances are very good that no is the answer to both questions. If you need to print out a picture, most inkjet printers put out decent photo quality prints. You can carry your favorite photos around in your cell phone or flash memory drive and still show your co workers how cute little Fang is. (assuming you have a real pet not a digital one!)
Keep those umbrellas handy!
Monday, February 12, 2007
#9 Power when you need it
Happy Monday! No wait those words don't go together on non holiday weekend. We'll have to save it for next week.
One area of technology that hasn't improved as much as I would like is batteries. Every mobile device has them. And don't get me wrong, there have been improvements. The original Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) battery was a big improvement over lead acid batteries. They were lighter and had a faster charge rate. Down side was they had the infamous memory effect. If you started to charge the battery before it was completely discharged, the battery would "remember" and give you less capacity the next time.
Next came Nickel Metal Hydride(Ni-MH). This technology is still used today in Toyota Prius cars and many less expensive mobile phones. NiMH had a less of a "memory effect", but it is still a partial issue for this type of battery. Also size became an issue due to the way PDAs and Cell phones were getting smaller and smaller. NiMH batteries couldn't be developed small enough to power the tiny cell phones people wanted. Ni-MH batteries also "self discharge" That mean if you just let them lie around unused, they still discharge their energy. That's why some portable devices go dead if you just leave them on the counter for a period of time uncharged.
Our current state of battery technology is the Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery. It is lighter and produces more power then the other two technologies. It has no "memory effect" and can be shaped in odd sized that cell phone manufactures love. Ah, but not so fast my friend, there are of course some weaknesses in this technology. One is that they only have a limited number of recharges. For example a typical Li-Ion battery for a cell phone has approximately 500 charges before it won't hold a charge. That sounds like alot, unless you are like many and charge the battery EVERY night. Then you have only about 1.5 years of life. If you space out your charges you'll keep the battery longer, but then you risk the dreaded dead battery when you need it syndrome. Another weakness is that Li-Ion batteries have a shelf life. From the moment they are manufactured, they have approximately a 3 year life under good conditions. You can see the problem there. Laptops always need a new battery if you keep them longer then 3 years.
The latest news in power is Wireless Power. This technology allows for devices that can be charged wirelessly. Its been around since 2002, but not many viable products are out there. Imaging just setting your cell phone in a public charging area and getting automatically recharged. That's what I need to do on Mondays!
See ya soon.
One area of technology that hasn't improved as much as I would like is batteries. Every mobile device has them. And don't get me wrong, there have been improvements. The original Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) battery was a big improvement over lead acid batteries. They were lighter and had a faster charge rate. Down side was they had the infamous memory effect. If you started to charge the battery before it was completely discharged, the battery would "remember" and give you less capacity the next time.
Next came Nickel Metal Hydride(Ni-MH). This technology is still used today in Toyota Prius cars and many less expensive mobile phones. NiMH had a less of a "memory effect", but it is still a partial issue for this type of battery. Also size became an issue due to the way PDAs and Cell phones were getting smaller and smaller. NiMH batteries couldn't be developed small enough to power the tiny cell phones people wanted. Ni-MH batteries also "self discharge" That mean if you just let them lie around unused, they still discharge their energy. That's why some portable devices go dead if you just leave them on the counter for a period of time uncharged.
Our current state of battery technology is the Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery. It is lighter and produces more power then the other two technologies. It has no "memory effect" and can be shaped in odd sized that cell phone manufactures love. Ah, but not so fast my friend, there are of course some weaknesses in this technology. One is that they only have a limited number of recharges. For example a typical Li-Ion battery for a cell phone has approximately 500 charges before it won't hold a charge. That sounds like alot, unless you are like many and charge the battery EVERY night. Then you have only about 1.5 years of life. If you space out your charges you'll keep the battery longer, but then you risk the dreaded dead battery when you need it syndrome. Another weakness is that Li-Ion batteries have a shelf life. From the moment they are manufactured, they have approximately a 3 year life under good conditions. You can see the problem there. Laptops always need a new battery if you keep them longer then 3 years.
The latest news in power is Wireless Power. This technology allows for devices that can be charged wirelessly. Its been around since 2002, but not many viable products are out there. Imaging just setting your cell phone in a public charging area and getting automatically recharged. That's what I need to do on Mondays!
See ya soon.
Friday, February 9, 2007
#8 Trouble in River City
Happy Friday Folks!
Short blog today! I have a sick server at the Library. Not sure what hit it, Not sure why, but it just never acted right and kept the Library in stitches for several weeks. We decided to cleanse the server yesterday after much gnashing of teeth. It's still not right this morning so back we go.
I'm not sure there is any technology insight to be gained from this episode. The server is heading toward 5 years old. You do need to plan for new computers BEFORE they decide to go belly up. Forward looking organizations will budget in new PCs every 4 to 5 years. The maintenance after that just doesn't make sense. PC prices go down, Maintenance costs go up, they meet at between 4 and 5 years.
I'll be looking for Margaritaville after 5 today. Hope to see you! (any comments on my first week would be appreciated. Just click on the comment button)
Short blog today! I have a sick server at the Library. Not sure what hit it, Not sure why, but it just never acted right and kept the Library in stitches for several weeks. We decided to cleanse the server yesterday after much gnashing of teeth. It's still not right this morning so back we go.
I'm not sure there is any technology insight to be gained from this episode. The server is heading toward 5 years old. You do need to plan for new computers BEFORE they decide to go belly up. Forward looking organizations will budget in new PCs every 4 to 5 years. The maintenance after that just doesn't make sense. PC prices go down, Maintenance costs go up, they meet at between 4 and 5 years.
I'll be looking for Margaritaville after 5 today. Hope to see you! (any comments on my first week would be appreciated. Just click on the comment button)
Thursday, February 8, 2007
#7 Ergonomics and feeling good around your PC
The sun is out, its up to 18 degrees, all is well in the world. Well maybe not my wrists.
When I added a mini Mac computer to the top of my Ultra Tower I had to make some compromises on Keyboards and mice. I had been using the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard for several years. That keyboard looks real funky. It separates the the keys into two parts and creates a rest area for your wrists. While using that keyboard I never had a pain one in my wrist. After the addition of the Mac, I chose to use the Mac Keyboard and a new USB mouse for both of my computers. I have a switch that switches the keyboard, mouse, display and speakers between the Mac and the Ultra. The Mac Keyboard is very compact. It has a more cramped traditional keyboard look. The mouse is a plain Keytronic USB optical mouse (PCSS $15!). Since starting to blog I have notice a bit of pain in my wrists after extensive typing. If I stop and rest the pain goes away. Might be time to switch back to the big keyboard and save a wrist.
I have been using thin LCD monitor displays for 5 years now. When I switched from the old Clunker CRT monitors, I immediately noticed no more evening headaches. Those big CRT put out a bit of radiation that I think caused my headaches. Even today if I have to work on a PC with a CRT type monitor, the headaches come back. If you still have CRT monitors, PLEASE change over to the LCD type. They aren't that expensive and it will save me a headache next time I have to work on your PC.
Chow...(Ciao!)
When I added a mini Mac computer to the top of my Ultra Tower I had to make some compromises on Keyboards and mice. I had been using the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard for several years. That keyboard looks real funky. It separates the the keys into two parts and creates a rest area for your wrists. While using that keyboard I never had a pain one in my wrist. After the addition of the Mac, I chose to use the Mac Keyboard and a new USB mouse for both of my computers. I have a switch that switches the keyboard, mouse, display and speakers between the Mac and the Ultra. The Mac Keyboard is very compact. It has a more cramped traditional keyboard look. The mouse is a plain Keytronic USB optical mouse (PCSS $15!). Since starting to blog I have notice a bit of pain in my wrists after extensive typing. If I stop and rest the pain goes away. Might be time to switch back to the big keyboard and save a wrist.
I have been using thin LCD monitor displays for 5 years now. When I switched from the old Clunker CRT monitors, I immediately noticed no more evening headaches. Those big CRT put out a bit of radiation that I think caused my headaches. Even today if I have to work on a PC with a CRT type monitor, the headaches come back. If you still have CRT monitors, PLEASE change over to the LCD type. They aren't that expensive and it will save me a headache next time I have to work on your PC.
Chow...(Ciao!)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
#6 Snow and Reliability!
Well this morning it was 4 to 6 inches of the white stuff. The Mrs. loves to shovel so she is hard at it. I'll take my turn after I put the blog out. Maybe I'll type with one finger....
Yesterday was a bit frustrating. Our new Internet provider, Ntelos, was down all day. Well it was up for about 15 minutes so I did get the Blog posted. Last night it was snowing, cold and still no Internet. Luckily the Mrs. reminded me that our laptops still had modems. So I fired up the reliable HP and logged into the Old AOL dial up account. At least I could check email and keep up with some news. This proves it is always good to have a backup. Having the AOL account still active for dial up proved to be worth the cost last night. About 11PM the Internet came back up . I feel sorry for the technicians that had to work in the snow getting it fixed, but it shows how dependent we have become on our Internet.
So how reliable is your Internet provider? I don't remember much down time when we had AOL dial up exclusively. I remember it being slow and sometimes hard to get on (the dreaded busy signal). When we first got Rapid Cable Internet, it was not very reliable. They got better as time went on, but they got slower. Before we transferred our account, Rapid was just not that. In the evenings its slowed down to almost dial up speeds. Complaint after complaint brought the reply that they would be putting in more capacity, but it never happened for us. The Ntelos service we have now is 6-8 times faster then Rapid Cable. How can you tell how fast your ISP(Internet Service Provider) is? We use the CNET Bandwidth meter: http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html. (Over 1900 for Ntelos this AM!)
Talk to you tomorrow!
Yesterday was a bit frustrating. Our new Internet provider, Ntelos, was down all day. Well it was up for about 15 minutes so I did get the Blog posted. Last night it was snowing, cold and still no Internet. Luckily the Mrs. reminded me that our laptops still had modems. So I fired up the reliable HP and logged into the Old AOL dial up account. At least I could check email and keep up with some news. This proves it is always good to have a backup. Having the AOL account still active for dial up proved to be worth the cost last night. About 11PM the Internet came back up . I feel sorry for the technicians that had to work in the snow getting it fixed, but it shows how dependent we have become on our Internet.
So how reliable is your Internet provider? I don't remember much down time when we had AOL dial up exclusively. I remember it being slow and sometimes hard to get on (the dreaded busy signal). When we first got Rapid Cable Internet, it was not very reliable. They got better as time went on, but they got slower. Before we transferred our account, Rapid was just not that. In the evenings its slowed down to almost dial up speeds. Complaint after complaint brought the reply that they would be putting in more capacity, but it never happened for us. The Ntelos service we have now is 6-8 times faster then Rapid Cable. How can you tell how fast your ISP(Internet Service Provider) is? We use the CNET Bandwidth meter: http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html. (Over 1900 for Ntelos this AM!)
Talk to you tomorrow!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
#5 PC environment
Good Morning friends! At least it was morning when I wrote this blog entry. You might not see it due to my Internet provider Ntelos, being out. I called their hot line and found out that it wasn’t me, it was their problem. I guess that’s good news.
Lets see it was 1 deg. F this morning in the Bathroom and 4 deg. F in the kitchen. Must be cold out! Interestingly, computers are not extreme temperature friendly. Normal operations should be between 55 and 80 degrees. Trying to run a laptop or desktop computer at either end of those temperatures will lead to problems. Laptops, with batteries, tend to be more low temperature sensitive. Heat is the enemy of all computers since they are heat generators. All those electrons wandering around your mother boards just generate lots of global warming!
Lets see it was 1 deg. F this morning in the Bathroom and 4 deg. F in the kitchen. Must be cold out! Interestingly, computers are not extreme temperature friendly. Normal operations should be between 55 and 80 degrees. Trying to run a laptop or desktop computer at either end of those temperatures will lead to problems. Laptops, with batteries, tend to be more low temperature sensitive. Heat is the enemy of all computers since they are heat generators. All those electrons wandering around your mother boards just generate lots of global warming!
One pet peeve I have that customers don't listen to, is keeping their PC tower on the floor. I don't like if for a number of reasons. First and foremost that if there is any kind of flood or leak then the PC is going to get wet. Secondly, spiders and their ilk have an easier time getting in that nice warm PC. Floor PCs also get kicked, bumped by vacuums, and jostled more then ones on desktops. Just not a good idea. What I recommend is that you raise the Tower 4-6 inches off the ground somehow.
The question I most often get asked is “Should I leave my PC on all the time?” Now let me date myself and say I’m the son of Depression Era kids. Lights never stayed on if you were not in the room. The thermostat was never touched without a great debate. And heaven forbid you leave a room with the TV on. Given that upbringing, it’s not surprising that I tell my customers to turn off that PC if you are not using it. Now I don’t recommend you turn it off if you are leaving to get the mail or use the facilities. Most computers use around 300- 400 watts of electricity when on. That’s like 4 bright light bulbs. Also remember there are moving parts in your computer. Hard drives spin at incredibly high speeds. Leaving them on all time just gets you closer to the dreaded HARD DRIVE FAILURE we all fear. So if you are calling it a night with your PC or leaving for more then an hour, just turn it off. Don’t forget your monitor and printer!Monday, February 5, 2007
#4 Wirelessness
Good morning! Its 12 degrees in Covington, at least that's what my wireless thermometer tells me in the bathroom. We also have one in the Kitchen and low and behold it says 12 degrees also. That brings up the old Confucius saying that a man with two watches never knows what time it is. Did they even have watches in Confucius's day?
Anyway back to wireless thermometers, what a marvelous technology. you no longer have to use a wire to make an outside thermometer work. We had one of those when I grew up. Two side by side thermometers with one linked to a wire that wandered out through a window. Now you just have to place a transmitter outside and you can place your thermometer anywhere within a 40-50 foot radius. Our bathroom thermometer also contacts some satellite and gets the correct time and date.
The amount of wireless devices in the house seems to increase every day. It wasn't that long ago that the first remote control showed up. My grandfather had one on his RCA TV. It had two buttons. One for the sound and one for the channel. Today's remotes work on infrared technology. You have to point the remote at the receiver (TV, DVD Player, etc). Wireless phones have also been around for a long time. They work on microwave technology which is the technology of radios. Now I'm no Electrical Engineer (Though I play one on TV), but the key to remember about microwave technology is the frequency of the microwave. Measured in the quaint term hertz. No not the rental car! Named after Heinrich Hertz, a radio pioneer, a hertz is defined as once cycle per second. I leave the cycles to the EEs before your eyes glaze over.
One conflict that I have to live with is home mobile phones and wireless Internet. Wireless Internet operates at 2.4GHz (that's giga hertz). So do some home phones. This can cause a conflict and reduced or eliminate wireless Internet coverage. If you are installing a wireless network make sure you upgrade all your wireless phones to 5.8 GHz or buy the real cheap 900 MHz (that's mega hertz) phones. They list the frequency on the label of the phone! Interestingly, microwave ovens use the same frequency. I would suspect that you don't get very good wireless Internet right next to a microwave!
Anyway back to wireless thermometers, what a marvelous technology. you no longer have to use a wire to make an outside thermometer work. We had one of those when I grew up. Two side by side thermometers with one linked to a wire that wandered out through a window. Now you just have to place a transmitter outside and you can place your thermometer anywhere within a 40-50 foot radius. Our bathroom thermometer also contacts some satellite and gets the correct time and date.
The amount of wireless devices in the house seems to increase every day. It wasn't that long ago that the first remote control showed up. My grandfather had one on his RCA TV. It had two buttons. One for the sound and one for the channel. Today's remotes work on infrared technology. You have to point the remote at the receiver (TV, DVD Player, etc). Wireless phones have also been around for a long time. They work on microwave technology which is the technology of radios. Now I'm no Electrical Engineer (Though I play one on TV), but the key to remember about microwave technology is the frequency of the microwave. Measured in the quaint term hertz. No not the rental car! Named after Heinrich Hertz, a radio pioneer, a hertz is defined as once cycle per second. I leave the cycles to the EEs before your eyes glaze over.
One conflict that I have to live with is home mobile phones and wireless Internet. Wireless Internet operates at 2.4GHz (that's giga hertz). So do some home phones. This can cause a conflict and reduced or eliminate wireless Internet coverage. If you are installing a wireless network make sure you upgrade all your wireless phones to 5.8 GHz or buy the real cheap 900 MHz (that's mega hertz) phones. They list the frequency on the label of the phone! Interestingly, microwave ovens use the same frequency. I would suspect that you don't get very good wireless Internet right next to a microwave!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
#3: What do you have in your pocket?
Ok, enough Microsoft bashing. Bad Bill Gates may put a hit out on me!
My lead question is tamer then it seems. I carry around a cell phone(Motorola RAZR), PDA (Palm Pilot) and my geek stick (2GB USB Flash Drive). I don't have a MP3 player (iPod) but would like to have my music with me when I'm out and about (and a way to play it).
So what do I really need in my pocket? Well I absolutely need a calender and list of my contacts. I'm over 50 and my memory goes in to hiding on a regular basis. I have to remind myself to look at my Palm Pilot to find out where I'm supposed to be. Let's face it, if an appointment isn't in my PDA, I'm not going to get there. Also mandatory is my cell phone. My mobile office is the Honda Pilot so I need to contact clients as well as be contacted by them. The Geek stick I hang around my neck has all the files I used to lug around on a Utility CD. I use it every day to update computers, chase viruses and spyware. I put all 3 on a scale and it weighed in at a little under 2 pounds. Not bad you might say? But hey, I forget at least one of them every other day as I rush out to meet clients.
There have been phones that can act like Palm Pilots for a while now. I have had 2 issues in obtaining one. #1 my cellular provider US Cellular is way behind on the technology curve. They just recently offered a Blackberry device. No Palm compatible device. #2 the screen size on most of these phones is tiny. My Motorola Razor can take contacts and calender info, but I can't see it in a logical format because the screen is so small. So what is a techno geek going to do?
Well being a PC person, patience is a virtue. Looks like our friends at Apple have combined everything into a new phone. They call it catchingly the iPhone. Click here for info.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/. It has everything and more.
Now the bad news. It won't be available until early summer and only with Cingular Phone service. A quick look at the Cingular coverage map shows not much in Virginia and certainly none in the Alleghany Highlands. Sigh. Maybe US Cellular will have it by 2010.
So what is in your pocket(s)?
My lead question is tamer then it seems. I carry around a cell phone(Motorola RAZR), PDA (Palm Pilot) and my geek stick (2GB USB Flash Drive). I don't have a MP3 player (iPod) but would like to have my music with me when I'm out and about (and a way to play it).
So what do I really need in my pocket? Well I absolutely need a calender and list of my contacts. I'm over 50 and my memory goes in to hiding on a regular basis. I have to remind myself to look at my Palm Pilot to find out where I'm supposed to be. Let's face it, if an appointment isn't in my PDA, I'm not going to get there. Also mandatory is my cell phone. My mobile office is the Honda Pilot so I need to contact clients as well as be contacted by them. The Geek stick I hang around my neck has all the files I used to lug around on a Utility CD. I use it every day to update computers, chase viruses and spyware. I put all 3 on a scale and it weighed in at a little under 2 pounds. Not bad you might say? But hey, I forget at least one of them every other day as I rush out to meet clients.
There have been phones that can act like Palm Pilots for a while now. I have had 2 issues in obtaining one. #1 my cellular provider US Cellular is way behind on the technology curve. They just recently offered a Blackberry device. No Palm compatible device. #2 the screen size on most of these phones is tiny. My Motorola Razor can take contacts and calender info, but I can't see it in a logical format because the screen is so small. So what is a techno geek going to do?
Well being a PC person, patience is a virtue. Looks like our friends at Apple have combined everything into a new phone. They call it catchingly the iPhone. Click here for info.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/. It has everything and more.
Now the bad news. It won't be available until early summer and only with Cingular Phone service. A quick look at the Cingular coverage map shows not much in Virginia and certainly none in the Alleghany Highlands. Sigh. Maybe US Cellular will have it by 2010.
So what is in your pocket(s)?
Friday, February 2, 2007
#2 - So can we screw up Windows & Office the same week?
Microsoft also introduced a new version of its grand lady Office. Being creative, the Microsoft staff came up with the new name as Office 2007. The pitch I heard direct from Microsoft was that the new version of Office will help you be more productive by taking less time in doing many tasks. Well that is a good goal and sure enough when the product was put through a demo, the tasks that were shown, did take less clicks.
There are 2 big howevers. 1. The interface has been changes so that the traditional menu system (you remember File, Edit, View Insert...etc) has disappeared and is replaced by a ribbon system with tabbed features. This will take a bunch of time to get used to. You can bring back the traditional menus, but they are not visible out of the box. 2. The new default file format is something called XML. No more .doc, .xls, .ppt. Well you can do Save As and get them to the old formats, but it isn't the default out of the box. Resellers screamed that this alone would doom Office 2007 with many users. Microsoft's response was to come up with a compatibility software tool that can be downloaded and run on your older versions of Office. This tool allows for compatibility with the XML format.
Word 2007 has some nice new features including easier formatting and more context sensitive choices. Excel is virtually the same as is PowerPoint. Outlook 2007 actually doesn't look or feel like the rest of the Office Suite. It looks remarkably similar to Outlook 2003 with some enhanced tabbing. Of all the Office programs, I would guess Outlook 2007 would have been the best implemented upgrade.
So what are the chances that you will upgrade to Office 2007? I'm thinking not so good. The new Office requires at least Windows XP service pack 2 or Windows 2003 server. Have Windows XP original or Windows 2000? Forgetaboutit! Of course it will work with all the Windows Vista flavors. Minimum cost is $149.00. I'm not recommending it as an upgrade at this time, but if you need it in the workplace, I'll be glad to sell an upgrade to you.
Have a great weekend!
There are 2 big howevers. 1. The interface has been changes so that the traditional menu system (you remember File, Edit, View Insert...etc) has disappeared and is replaced by a ribbon system with tabbed features. This will take a bunch of time to get used to. You can bring back the traditional menus, but they are not visible out of the box. 2. The new default file format is something called XML. No more .doc, .xls, .ppt. Well you can do Save As and get them to the old formats, but it isn't the default out of the box. Resellers screamed that this alone would doom Office 2007 with many users. Microsoft's response was to come up with a compatibility software tool that can be downloaded and run on your older versions of Office. This tool allows for compatibility with the XML format.
Word 2007 has some nice new features including easier formatting and more context sensitive choices. Excel is virtually the same as is PowerPoint. Outlook 2007 actually doesn't look or feel like the rest of the Office Suite. It looks remarkably similar to Outlook 2003 with some enhanced tabbing. Of all the Office programs, I would guess Outlook 2007 would have been the best implemented upgrade.
So what are the chances that you will upgrade to Office 2007? I'm thinking not so good. The new Office requires at least Windows XP service pack 2 or Windows 2003 server. Have Windows XP original or Windows 2000? Forgetaboutit! Of course it will work with all the Windows Vista flavors. Minimum cost is $149.00. I'm not recommending it as an upgrade at this time, but if you need it in the workplace, I'll be glad to sell an upgrade to you.
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
#1 - You want Vista?
Hello friends:
First blog of the new year. I hope to post some of my thoughts and snippits from the PCSS Newsletter on line. Like any good blog, I'll wander around and might not make tremendous sense, but what the hay, hope you enjoy it.
Per my January Newsletter, I'm not recommending that any of my customers UPGRADE to Windows Vista. The reasons are numerous, but bottom line is that your PC probably can't handle the upgrade without significant changes in memory, graphics card and even processor speed. If you want to move to Vista, then buy a new PC that has Vista built in. Oh and by the way those new PCs that have Vista will cost $150-300 more then similar Windows XP PCs due to that same hardware demands.
If you do go to Vista DO NOT buy Vista Home. Get Vista Home Premium. PCSS will NOT be selling Vista Home. Its just a waste of time. We will mainly be selling Vista Business and some Vista Home Premium. If you ask we'll quote you the outrageous price for a Vista Ultimate PC (an extra $150).
We'll have a neat Lenovo mini laptop (12.1" screen) that has Windows Vista Business soon. Let me know if you want a peek.
We'll try not to make these blogs too long. This will be typical length. You can leave a comment here if you like Thanks!
First blog of the new year. I hope to post some of my thoughts and snippits from the PCSS Newsletter on line. Like any good blog, I'll wander around and might not make tremendous sense, but what the hay, hope you enjoy it.
Per my January Newsletter, I'm not recommending that any of my customers UPGRADE to Windows Vista. The reasons are numerous, but bottom line is that your PC probably can't handle the upgrade without significant changes in memory, graphics card and even processor speed. If you want to move to Vista, then buy a new PC that has Vista built in. Oh and by the way those new PCs that have Vista will cost $150-300 more then similar Windows XP PCs due to that same hardware demands.
If you do go to Vista DO NOT buy Vista Home. Get Vista Home Premium. PCSS will NOT be selling Vista Home. Its just a waste of time. We will mainly be selling Vista Business and some Vista Home Premium. If you ask we'll quote you the outrageous price for a Vista Ultimate PC (an extra $150).
We'll have a neat Lenovo mini laptop (12.1" screen) that has Windows Vista Business soon. Let me know if you want a peek.
We'll try not to make these blogs too long. This will be typical length. You can leave a comment here if you like Thanks!
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