#169 - Search Carefully

There are now a few more search sites and engines out there. Bing is by Microsoft and you know about Yahoo search and Google search. If you upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer or get a new PC, you will automatically use the Microsoft Bing search engine. So what you say? Aren't all search engines about the same? Actually not. There are patents and secrets and schemes that each search engine uses to get to the answers you expect.

Google recently announced that 25% of the search requests it gets are unique. That is, no one has ever asked for to search for the exact same thing. So how a search engine goes about its search and how it filters results is important. People don't generally go past the first page in results. So having the relative important information on the first page is key to a search engines effectiveness. For example I did a search for "Cost of Milk" and Google and Bing had the same first entry: a USDA report on milk costs. Google had a Wikipedia entry next and Bing had a magazine article. From here the entries were completely different.

The Atlantic recently did an informal study of Google and Bing search engines and found Bing to not filter results as well as Google. False sites (ones that have malware and other baddies) come up much more frequently on Bing searches then Google.

There is a great site out there that will let you compare the two sites side by side on a given search: http://www.bing-vs-google.com/

PCSS still recommends Google as its search engine of choice. If you have Bing and would like to change there usually is a little down arrow next to the search box that can let you change to another search engine provider!

#168 - Free or Pay Antivirus?

December 1st brings about the end of AVG support for AVG 8.5 free. Good news there is an AVG 9.0 free. You can get it here: AVG 9.0 FREE AVG 9.0 is quicker running and has more protection from fake Virus protection Malware. Unfortunately the AVG 9.0 FREE installation takes much longer then 8.5 and absolutely requires a high speed connection. Do Not upgrade your Free version of 8.5 to 9.0 Paid online. It will cost you more and has lots of issues.

PCSS sells AVG 9.0 Antivirus/Antispyware Paid version. Cost is $39.00 for 2 years. It provides quicker updates, more control of when scans and updates run, more Internet bad site protection and automatic removal of the fake Virus protection Malware. Call and we will come by and install the paid version.

So Free or Pay version AVG? Its a matter of risk. You get what you pay for. Don't expect complete coverage with the Free, but on the other hand you do have some protection. Can't afford the $39, then stay with the Free. PLEASE have some kind of Antivirus/Antispyware software on your PC. Of course you could buy a MAC an not worry about it!

#166 Windows 7 Arrives!

Windows 7 arrived at PCSS this past week. We followed our own advice and did a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate version on our Lenovo Laptop. The laptop previously had Vista on it so we didn't want to upgrade that disaster. We also wanted to give Windows 7 a fair shake. And it also means that PCSS has no more PCs with Vista installed! (YEAH!)

Even with a clean install (back up data & drivers, format hard drive). there were a few issues. It was surprising how fast the install went. It certainly installed a bit faster then XP and way faster then Vista. There were several hardware items on the laptop that were not initially recognized. We copied the Lenovo Vista drivers over to the laptop and got all but the finger print reader to work. We are still working on that issue. Everything else seems to work fine. We've also installed AVG, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Picasa, Adobe Reader 9 and Office 2007 without any issues.



Readers should know that Windows 7 is really Windows Vista faster and lighter. Many Vista "features" have been retained, but many have been chucked out the "Window". The interface (where buttons and utilities are located) is very close to Vista. That means if you haven't used Vista, you will have to get used to having things in different locations. For example if you click on the Start Ball and then Control Panel, you will see the reduced version of Control Panel. You will have to click on the View By: and pick small or large icons.

We will review different features of Windows 7 for the rest of the year. If your PC has Vista and you would like to upgrade to Windows 7 let PCSS know.

#165 - Fighting Back Against Malware

I can't keep up with all my customer having malware issues. If you do get some bad guys you will know you have it because windows will pop up telling you need something to fix an issue. DO NOT GO THERE. The program trying to get you to buy something is the infection. What to do if this happens? Try and download Malware Bytes here: MalwareBytes; Install it and run it. If you can't do that then call PCSS.

A way to prevent getting malware is to use the Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser with a couple of their add in programs. The worst thing to do is nothing and go browsing the Internet. Here is the Mozilla Firefox Download Site: Mozilla.ORG. Firefox will import all you Internet Explorer favorites and home page. After you start Firefox then go to the Tools menu and then Add Ons. Click on the Get Addons button and search for two addons: AdBlock Plus and WOT (Web of Trust). Install these and you will have protected your browsing. AdBlock Plus blocks ads in web sites. Ads have been one of the worst transmitters of malware on the Internet. WOT will let you know when you go to a site (red/yellow/green indicator) whether it is infected.

Keeping your antivirus up to date and having a paid antivirus/antispyware program will also help. We recommend AVG paid ($39 for 2 years from PCSS). We've used the above items and have kept clear of any infections. Confused at any of this? Give PCSS a call.

#164 - Exercising your mind

I saw an interesting article in the Roanoke Times on keeping your mind active. There have been many studies that confirm that exercising your mind is at least as important as exercising your body as you age. The Internet has some great sites that can help you to keep the "little gray cells" moving and grooving.

My spousal unit loves Suduku. She prints of pages of Suduku puzzles (evil only!) from the web suduku site. She always prints them on the back of used paper being environmentally friendly.

WEB SUDUKU

One of my favorites is to use your opposite hand in doing everyday tasks. Try brushing your teeth or hair with the other hand. Try hitting the space bar on your keyboard with the other thumb. This is harder then it looks. You can even wear your watch on the opposite wrist to get you thinking different.

Reading is fundamental. Read a book every week. Well we try. What I've done lately is try to read an entire series by an author. Pick up a James Patterson series, or Nora Robb, or even Janet Evanovich! The Internet is your friend when looking for a series to read. You can also read books online with the Google Book library.

There are even websites that specialize in exercising your brain. Here is one that does brain training by playing games MIND 360.

Crossword puzzles are very popular and the New York Times has some of the best. They charge a fee for online access. Here is some free crossword puzzles FREE FREE FREE

Learning more about your computer is always good. You probably have programs on your computer that you have never used. What is this Access thingy? I have all these Accessories, what do they do? Google is your friend here. Look up how to use these programs and try to use them.

Happy Exercising!

#163 - Flash Memory Card update

Flash memory technology certainly has changed the way we live. It is the basis for digital cameras, digital camcorders, cell phones, MP3 players and of course thumb drives. The ability to store large amounts of information in a small space has changed how we work and play. It also has killed one industry (picture film) while creating many new ones (mentioned above).

Flash memory cards, used in digital cameras, have certainly changed since being introduced. The original flash memory card was the CompactFlash Drive made by SanDisk in 1994. This square drive (1.69 inches x 1.42 inches) had female pin connectors and was very large when compared to today's cards. Nikon used this format for almost 10 years before switching to the now standard SD media card.

The first thin and quite small card was the Smart media card introduced in 1995. This card is the grandfather of SD (Secure Digital) media card that is used by most digital cameras today. It had a gold plated connector that easily inserted into the appropriate device.

Sony and Olympus are still using their proprietary formats Memory Stick and xD respectively. There are some advantages to these formats (Memory sticks are pretty rugged and xD is pretty small), however the majority of new products have moved to SD technology. Most new laptops and netbooks have just an SD card slot in them.

SD has advanced to the new SDHD (High Density) cards that can be as large as 64GB. Unfortunately SDHD cards can NOT be used in older cameras and MP3 players that use SD technology. Be aware of what kind of card your electronic product can use. There are also Micro and Mini versions of the SD card used in Cell Phones and MP3 players.

It is pretty confusing keeping up with these standards. Wikipedia has an excellent page with pictures and information about all the memory cards: MEMORY CARD COMPARISON

#162 - Traffic Technology

So I asked the wife, "What would be a good topic for the blog?" She says, "You've been traveling by car alot this summer, maybe talk about traffic technology". Ok so here goes.

My parents were amazed this summer when their town put in new traffic lights with detection cameras. We've had those in Virginia for a good 5 years. The detection cameras note when a car comes to stop at an intersection and then instruct a processor to turn the correct traffic light to green. Now they are fortunate that what didn't go up was a traffic enforcement camera. One that catches those that run lights by taking a picture of a car that goes through an intersection when the light is red. These are popular in Northern Virginia.

We've also seen some new surface technology in the small town of Covington. A new bridge over some rail tracks went in with a new composite surface that is supposed to last twice as long as either blacktop or new concrete. Its costs about 30% more, so should pay off in the long run and the costs should come down if more is used.

Another great boon to traveling by car is the GPS. The Global Positioning System box helps us get to our destination by showing turn by turn directions. Now let me be the first to say that there still needs to be some work on this technology. Take my last trip to Ohio with the spouse. She was driving on a West Virginia Interstate when a big traffic jam occured. We were near an exit and she proposed that we go off and let the GPS take us to the next exit. OK, fine. I'm up for an adventure and that's exactly what we had. 10 minutes later we were on a one lane dirt and gravel road winding our way in Deliverance country. 20 minutes later we were on a nice paved highway heading directly back to where we got off the Interstate. Total detour was about 30 minutes and we still had a 15 minute wait in the Traffic Jam. Isn't technology wonderful?

I do like the electronic signs on the interstates that let you know about traffic congesting and give you the opportunity, ahead of time to make alternate plans. That works great in Virginia where I have a fair knowledge of most of the major routes and potential back road detours. You can also go to most state DOT sites and get very current reports of construction delays and alternate routes.

Internet in your car is now here. Verizon and other sell an mini hub you can put in your car and use wireless technology to have Internet on the run. It is a steep cost now, but I'm sure the price will come down with more competition.

#161 - Protecting your Electronics

I would say that 90% of every computer I see has at least a surge protector handling its power. The lightning in the Highlands makes it a necessity. If you use a surge suppressor strip, did you know it is only good for one surge? Its essentially a fuse with outlets. Once the fuse blows you have no protection. Thats why the light goes out or flickers. Take a look at your surge protector , NOW! It may need replaced.

Many have got the word and use an UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to provide not only surge protection, but brown out protection. Brown out means low power. Our friends, Virginia Power, consistantly provides less then 120 volts AC to the Highlands. A UPS can make sure that your PC sees exactly 120 volts of pure AC power. Prices start about $50.00 and can protect your computer investment. Many UPS have network and phone line protection that is necessary in the mountains. I've seen way too many modems and routers get fried by surges in their systems.

What I don't see is people using UPS with their expensive electronics. Stereos, HDTVs, CD/VCR players, and Satellite dish electronics should all be protected by a UPS. They are even more sensitive to surges and power fluctuations. Check out your situation and let us know if we can help.

#160 - Windows 7 is coming

Happy Bastille Day! Today we'll take a first look at Microsoft's new operating system, catchily named Windows 7. This replacement for the disaster named Vista is due out October 22. Even now you can buy a PC from HP and get a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out. Not sure I would jump on that wagon quite yet. So lets see what improvements Windows 7 has besides having a different name. All our comments are based on the "beta" (that means trial) version of Windows 7 available today.

The best news is that Windows 7 is that it is faster and requires less resources then Vista. All the trial test show speed comparable to XP with slightly faster start ups and shut downs. The downside is that many of the Vista bells and whistles are still around - Aero, the graphics interface being one that not many will use, but take up huge amounts of Windows 7 resources. Windows 7 does have an "XP Mode" that will allow anything that ran on XP to run on Windows 7. This is a major big deal for business. Now whether the "XP Mode" runs as fast as original XP is what users will have to test out with their software.

The improvement's that Microsoft thinks we need are as follows: The taskbar has been given more functionality (hmmm sounds like Apple's OS X). You can pin documents and programs there and there are jump lists that open your most frequently used items. Thumbnail previews have been added in the system so you no longer have to guess at what is in a document when you hover over it with your arrow. Of course you may need bifocals or a magnifying glass to use this feature. For sharing files Microsoft has added something called Homegroups that makes it easier to share files in your group or at home between users. Microsoft calls Windows 7 their most "stable" operating system ever and that is what users want. The bugs and quirks of Vista have made many scared (and rightfully so) of new operating systems. An unstable release of Windows 7 might be a fatal disaster for Microsoft.

#159 - Keeping the planet green with Technology

I've recently seen some interesting new gadgets that try to help us be more green. Lets take a look at some.





The Eco-Kettle tackles the problem of wasting energy by boiling too much water. The Eco-Kettle lets you select the exact amount of boiled water you need and then does the job. The kettle uses 30% less energy in boiling water to boot! Here is more information on the Ec0-Kettle:

The pressure sensitive bath mat takes a simple concept and works to save you money and water. Position the mat in your shower near the shower head. When you are on the mat you get that lovely hot shower. Move off the mat and the water stops while you scrub. Now why didn't I think of that? Samsung Design

We have often thought that getting a new cell phone every other year has to be a huge waste in for the environment. Nokia agrees and has begun making a cell phone made out of recycled materials. I hope Apple and Motorola follow Nokia's lead. Nokia Ink 01

There are several new composting machines on the market that you can put in your kitchen or garage to produce great soil for your home and garden plants. Here is a site with lots of information: Composting in the home!

#158 - Survivors of the Technology Boom

So who is left? From the PC wars we have HP, Apple and Dell. I'm glad PCSS is a long time HP reseller we have see the company get better and better at making PCs and Printers. Dell's business model of direct sales is good for some people, but thankfully not for all. IBM, AST, Compaq, and hundreds of other PC brands never made it to 2009. Apple has been around since the beginning listening to a different drummer.

In the printer wars Lexmark (old IBM), HP, Canon and Epson are still making printers. HP has the lion's share of the market and gets very good quality ratings. Lexmark is low end, Canon and Epson make decent high end printers.

Monitors are made by just a few companies in China and Korea. They then put a label on them that you recognize (Viewsonic, LG, Samsung, Sony etc). The quality is so good that almost all monitors come with a little used 3 year warranty. Great Wall Computer, Hong Kong THFT Co., Daewoo, Ma Labs are some of the bigger manufactures. A very detailed look at your monitors documentation will let you know who makes it.

Network equipment is dominated by Cisco/Linksys, Netgear, Dlink and Belkin also hold major positions in consumer products. Cisco, 3Com, Nortel and Juniper are big in business applications. Wireless networks haven't changed the players, they just started to make wireless gear.

Is there room for new computer equipment manufacturer? Well they start up all the time in Asia, they just don't market here under there names. We tend to like nice western names for our computer equipment manufacturers.

#157 - Freeware - The truely free lunch

We've all heard there is no such thing as a free lunch. If its free your really can't afford it. We've found those sayings generally true. There are some free things for PCs that we use every day. There are also items that are supposedly free that are really spyware.. Buyer beware so to speak. All of the programs mentioned here can be downloaded safely at www.download.com Here are some of our favorites:

For handling pictures we use Picasa from Google. It does a very nice job of photo organization and basic editing. For more advanced editing we use the Paint program built into windows (Start, All Programs, Accessories, Paint) or the great photo editing program GIMP. GIMP is more complex to use then Photoshop, but hey the price is right!

Managing music is more problematic. We use iTunes (free from Apple) to handle our music (we do confess that this is on our Apple Mini, but it works the same on a PC). We love how it displays and sorts our music. We aren't so thrilled about how it organizes the music on a hard disk (it doesn't and that can be a problem). Microsoft's Windows Media Player has so many issues that being free isn't a plus.

The best program to find out information about your PC is the Belarc Advisor. It does a thorough job of letting you know what hardware and software is in your system. Belarc will give you a nice print out that you should keep around. No shortage of good information here.

Browsers are free and there are no shortage of them out there. Our favorites are Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. They both are quick and have extra protection features for searching the Internet. Speaking of protection, You know we use AVG antivirus in both its free and paid versions. The paid version just has better real time protection. For removing spyware/malware on an infected system Malware bytes is the leader by far.

And last for this blog, but certainly not least is Open Office. This Microsoft Office Clone has programs that read and write Word/Excel/PowerPoint files and lots more. Beware that this is a huge download (not for dialup users).

#156 - Watching TV on the Net

Its rerun season. For whatever reason - you know it has to be money - The major networks close out their prime time season in May and send us the reruns or the Class B shows for the summer. It used to be if you missed an episode (or even a series) you had to have recorded it or wait for the rerun. That's no longer the case. The networks own sites have full episodes of programs available for view (with commercials). There are also sites that allow you watch whole seasons of prime time content at your convenience. Hulu, and Joost let you pick which program you want to watch and then it comes up with reduced (but still there) commercials. NBC & ABC support Hulu and Joost has a selection of all network shows. There are live TV feeds on the Internet so if you have Internet, but no TV you can watch programs.

All this brought to mind where the future of TV is heading. We are so busy, that it is tough for us to commit to watching a program at the same time every week. The advent of the VCR broke that chain, but the actual implementation of taping shows wasn't so hot (who hasn't had to read the manual 3 times to make sure a VCR would record). Next came TIVO(DVR technology) - the Hard Drive that would record your programs automatically and keep them until you could watch them. Of course that technology was space limited and could screw up if a program came on late or lasted too long (think football games). After owning a DVR for a year, you find yourself constantly erasing old programs. It seems to me that keeping the programs on the web, where you could watch them and see the ads when you want is a better technology.

I see the networks not losing this valuable revenue stream and all will have "watch me later" options for all their prime time shows. They may even get smart and store old seasons of popular shows so that consumer can load the shows on the Internet and the networks can insert up to date ads. You know how popular DVDs of TV shows are. But who really wants to dust DVD cases? Its just better when someone else keeps the clutter!

Just hit the comment button if you would like to post your thoughts!

#155 - The mini notebook computers

I'm in Denver airport today filling out this blog on the FREE wifi. Yeah Denver airport! I only had to watch a 30 second commercial to get to the Internet. Not a bad deal! In Atlanta it costs $7.99 for 24 hours of access.

Anyway, I'm using a new HP 2140 mini notebook computer that I acquired last week. So what does a "mini notebook" mean? It has a 10" diagonal screen (only 4" tall, more on that later). The keyboard is 92% of full size. That is about as small as I can use and still touch type. Every now and then I'll slip on a key. It only weighs 2.6 pounds. The case is made of aluminum and appears durable. The screen is scratch resistant and very bright. There is a touch pad built in, but the buttons are on the side of the touch pad instead of top/bottom that is normal on most laptops.

The mini 2140 I have has 1GB of memory, 160GB hard disk drive and runs Windows XP Home. There are 2 USB ports, an external VGA display port (for a projector), an Ethernet RJ45 port, an SD memory card slot and an Express 54 expansion slot (the new version of the pcmcia slot). It has wireless and bluetooth built in. (I'm on wireless now and using a bluetooth mouse). The processor is a special Intel ATOM 1.6GHz model that was specifically designed for the mini notebook market. It has a web camera built in with microphone and headphone ports. The only thing missing is a DVD/CD burner player. It's just too small to have one.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks with pretty good success. I love the size and the portability. It fits in everywhere. The screen is bright enough. The only issue so far is that the screen is short. In some programs you don't get enough information on the screen. In AOL I get about 3 lines of a message on the screen with the rest filled up with ads. The speed is great with the 1GB of memory and XP. It is as fast as my other HP notebook and faster then my Lenovo with Vista (it has 2GB of memory!). I got the expanded 6 cell battery so it will run to a max of 8 hours on one charge! That is remarkable. Cost for this model is $499.00. Acer (that makes the mini's for HP) makes a plastic case version with a 3 cell battery for $299.00! PCSS sells them both.

Here is a link to the Specs: HP MINI 2140

#154 - Things our Grandchildren will not recognize

Nice title, no? I was having a conversation with a friend today and we talked about items that we are familiar with that people two generations hence (the imaginary grandkids) will have no clue about. Things like newspapers, phone booths, desktop computers, watches (kids use their cell phones for the time - more accurate), video cameras, photo & movie film, movie theaters, big box TVs, TV antennas to name a few.

We argued a while on when paper books would go extinct. Amazon has introduced their "Kindle" wireless reading device. KINDLE 2 Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds and no PC required! It remains to be seen if devices like this will replace their venerable past. I can see a time where you can have EVERY book you have read or used in school available on a reading device you carry around. Great concept!

Here are some technology dinosaurs: Hard Disk Drives (Solid State Technology Drives are now up to 80GB in size!); Floppy Disk Drives (people ask me all the time what to do with the boxes of old floppy disks they have lying around); CDs (just like vinyl records!); DVDs (Just like VCR tapes!); Answering Machines; Fax machines; Black & White Printers; paper photo albums; letters, snail mail and the one I'll miss the most: Local Stores!!!

Let me know what you think we will miss!

#153 - The LaserJets Birthday

The HP LaserJet is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. Although I never owned an HP LaserJet (1), I did have a LaserJet II at work. The first laser printer for IBM Compatible personal computers was introduced in 1984 by HP as the LaserJet (now called LaserJet Classic). It had 300-dots per inch resolution and 8 pages per minute speed. It sold for a tidy $3,495.

The next LaserJet was not the II, but the LaserJet Plus. It introduced the concept of "soft fonts". You could now bold your print or italic the print. HP introduced the world's first mass market laser printer, the LaserJet series II, in March 1987, list priced at $2,695. There are still LaserJet IIs in operation. It was the most reliable printer ever produced. The first personal laserjet was the LaserJet IIp introduced in September 1989 and costing only $1495.

The LaserJet brought the end to the dot matrix and daisy wheel printers that started the PC revolution. You can now buy an HP LaserJet printer for only $129.00. It has 4 times the resolution and 3 times the speed of the original LaserJet. Life is good!

#152 - A new Internet Explorer: Version 8

Microsoft always seems to be catching up. First Mozilla Firefox came out with tabbed browsing. A year later Microsoft comes out with Internet Explorer 7 with tabbed browsing. About 6 months ago Google introduced Google Chrome - the fastest browser around. Now Microsoft has introduce Internet Explorer 8 - supposedly faster.

I downloaded IE 8 last week and have been playing with it since. I will say that the first thing I did with IE 8 was to turn off all the new fancy bells and whistles to make it look like IE 7 and at least that works. Microsoft is bent on changing interfaces just for the heck of it. Vista added very few innovations, but it did look different then XP. Microsoft Office 2007 is all about different interface, much to its demise. People HATE Office 2007. Maybe Microsoft has ffigured out it needs to keep the familiar interface to allow a program to be usable.

IE 8 is faster then IE 7, but I won't say it is faster loading web pages then Chrome. Here are some other features: WebSlices is a nice looking feature. They seem to work somewhat like Apple’s customizable Dashboard clippings, except in this case the clipping lives in the browser.
Say there’s a part of a page you’d like to track, but you don’t care about the rest — a weather widget for example — the WebSlice would allow you to bookmark just that element. IE 8 will then track changes to that portion of the page, alerting you when new info is available. Other new features highlighted on the page include a revamped Favorites Bar, automatic crash recovery and better phishing protection. Even with Tabs, it's easy to get lost amid too many open windows. Tab Groups organize tabs in relation to one another. For instance, tabs that you open from the same site are placed next to each other and marked with the same color. The tabs can then be closed or moved as one unit. The Smart Address Bar in IE8 turns the URL area into a search field of sorts. Wait, this is JUST LIKE CHROME! If you type a word into the address bar, IE8 searches through your browsing history, favorites and feeds to find sites related to what you are looking for. The search results are based on titles of pages as well as keywords within the Web address and are divided into three groups: History, favorites and feeds.

You can download IE8 here: IE 8 Download

#149 - To Text or not to Text

I'm showing my age now. I don't get text messaging. I like a real voice to talk to or at the minimum an email message with real words spelled almost correctly. My cell phone plan allows for text messages to come in. I have to pay for text message out. So I'm asking my self, I don't have to pay for a cell phone call (till I meet my max minutes) so why bother texting when I can just call? I'm sure there are moments when texting makes sense. Like when you are at a game and can't hear, but hey you are at a game. Enjoy the moment!

States are passing laws concerning cell phone usage in cars. They are a few years late. When I drive around Covington, I'd say half the people I pass are on the phone. Now I really can't imagine how someone can drive and text message. I don't have enough hands to steer and type text message and my eyes don't split to be looking at the road and keyboard at the same time. Unless there is a massive crackdown with severe penalties, I don't think regulating cell phone use in cars will be effective. Its like the speeding laws. We see how well they work. What did work was $4.00 a gallon gas. I noticed people driving much slower when the prices were sky high.

Let me know what you think about text messages and texting while driving!

#148 - Email observations

I believe I have covered this topic before but I have discussed email options with several customers recently. Never hurts to cover a topic twice!

Email comes in several flavors - the most used is the POP3 ( Post Office Protocol 3) model. In this email method e-mail is received and held for you by your Internet server. Periodically, you check your mail-box on the server and download any mail. This standard protocol is built into most popular e-mail products, such as Outlook, Thunderbird and Outlook Express.

POP3 is designed to delete mail on the server as soon as the user has downloaded it. However, some implementations allow users or an administrator to specify that mail be saved for some period of time. POP can be thought of as a "store-and-forward" service.

I'm not a big fan of POP3 type emails (nTelos, TDS, Verizon). Why? - Because you download ALL the email to your PC. Good, Bad and Ugly. It clogs up your PC and if your hard drive crashes and you haven't backed up your email (not an easy thing to do) your email is GONE!

The other type of Email is web based. AOL, Yahoo and Gmail are of this type, though quite different. In web based emails, the emails are stored at the hosts server site. It can be brought to your PC, but that isn't the standard option.

In AOL's case, it stores your emails on its servers until read and then for up to a week. If you want to store the email on your PC, you can save it there. You can also set up AOL to save all your email on your PC. In Gmail's case, it store emails forever on its servers.

You can set Gmail up to act like a POP3 and bring the email to your PC if you desire. Yahoo mail works much like Gmail. Both Gmail and Yahoo mail let you store just about unlimited email on their servers. AOL has limits as to the amount you can save on their servers. AOL has wonderful group and a great personal file cabinet to organize your emails. Gmail and Yahoo are plainer with less email organization features.

Which one is right for you? I don't know. Email is generally free so its a matter of personal preference. I have a Verizon, ntelos, Gmail, vt and AOL accounts. I mainly use the AOL and Gmail accounts. Set a new one up and see how you like it. If you do just email everyone in your contacts or address book and move to the better email! (just let nick know so he can keep you on the newsletter list!)

#147 - XP, Vista and Windows 7

You know Microsoft may be slow, but they aren't dumb. After getting another earful on how horrible the Vista operating system is, they have delayed once again the end of XP. I feel like the boy crying WOLF. This time the last date that you can buy a new PC with XP installed will be July 31, 2009. I've been burned on this so much, I'll just say that I can still get dual XP/Vista PCs and leave it at that.

The new operating system, Windows 7, has been released in Beta form (that means you can download it and install it on a PC, but it will be very buggy and will expire in 2 months). It looks like a slimmed down version of Vista. If you are using special software in your business that will not run on Vista, it probably won't run on Windows 7. Windows 7 uses Vista as a base, but Microsoft is supposedly cleaning up much of the bloat and hassle factor.

Reportedly one bad move that Microsoft made with Vista will continue in Windows 7. The introduction of Vista found 4 different versions you could buy. Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. There were also 64 bit versions to ad to the confusion. We are hearing that there will be 6 versions of Windows 7. That is just nuts. I think you could dummy it down to two versions, home and business. Oh wait that's what XP had. Some people never learn...

#146 - What's New in 2009?

There will be a big battle in the processor world in 2009. Both Intel and AMD have announced new families of processor chips that are significantly faster then the existing Dual Core technology. You will see these chips by the end of the first quarter in high end laptops and desktops. I'm not sure who buys those high end machines. My customers are mostly price sensitive and in the recent past you really couldn't tell the difference between a 2.3 GHz dual Core and a 1.8GHz Celeron processor running Word and Excel.

The mini laptops will make a bigger mark this year. Introduced in 2008, the mini laptops have screens around 8-9" diagonal. They barely fit a keyboard in (usually with tiny function and directional keys). They usually don't have an optical drive (CD/DVD). They only weigh 2-3 pounds and fit in just about any carry on bag you have. They are priced below $500.

Prices on LCD monitors are down right now. If you want to get a better display now is the time to buy. I'm not sure we'll see any bigger sizes, but prices on the larger 19 and 22" screens are what a 17" screen display priced out in January 2008.

I heard a rumor that the Wireless N standard will finally be complete in 2009. That should drive down the price of routers and we'll see the N standard in more laptops.

Windows 7, the replacement for the Vista disaster, will be sold before the end of the year. I heard this from a Microsoft employee who is fairly reliable. Microsoft sees the handwriting on the wall - Businesses are staying away from Vista in large numbers. Even if they just rename Vista it will help anemic Vista sales.

#145 - Happy New Years!

I believe the whole country is looking forward 2009. I know Microsoft is. They will cut off Windows XP on January 31 and they hope will finally start making money on that horrible operating system Windows Vista. They are working on the next operating system, but it won't be available till the end of 2009 at the earliest.

Most tech firms are hurting this New Years. Sales of everything but LCD TVs are down. PCs, Monitors, Printers you name it, its not selling well. Business is generally the driver on tech sales and business has put buying anything on hold. Maybe the Obama stimulus package will work to stimulate the economy. We certainly need stimulating.

So what will be new in 2009? I would guess that PC's will continue to get smaller, memory cheaper and hopefully the Internet will get faster. I think GPS's will appear more new cars and phones. More tech companies will go out of business or get bought. We are still pleased that we sell HP products. They will be around for the long haul. Their printer sales will support the weaker PC market through this downturn.