#188 - End of the Year - New Laptop, New Phone (again)

I hope the holidays have been enjoyable for you and your families. We are finally on a 7 day vacation from work, so what do I do? Its get the last blog in for the year!
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Lets start with the Droid Pro saga. My new Droid Pro (see last blog) died after 3 weeks. It went into what I call "The Black Screen of Death" and the only way out was to pull the battery. I bought my Droid Pro from WireFly.com and they were very courteous in helping me get it replaced. I sent it off on a Monday and had a brand new one back on Friday. That is part of their 30 day anything wrong warranty. I purchased an extended warranty for $69 that is now in effect for a year. When I got the new one, it was pretty easy to get it back up and running. Once I entered my GMAIL account info all my contacts and calendar were good to go. About half the apps were missing, but no problem to download them. I've added a few more and will talk about them in my next blog. The biggest problem with the Droid Pro is the battery. Depending on what you do during the day, it barely makes it through on one charge. I've ordered their larger battery so we'll see how that goes. I also miss some kind of mouse or pointer. If I need to edit something on the Pro I have to use a fingernail to point to the position in the word. My accuracy isn't the best.
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I will tell you I love the Droid operating system. The apps you can get for free do just about anything you can imagine and things you can't imagine (who thought up the Bar Code reader and pricer???) Interesting over 60% of Droid apps are free as opposed to 33% of iPhone apps being free. Now apps don't cost much ($2 is an expensive app), but if you are like me free is a better deal if the ads don't drive you crazy. I like being able to read my AOL & Gmail email on the run and I can see Facebook updates from just about anywhere.


I also sold my two oldest laptops and purchased a new Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15" model. The ThinkPad series is very well built and they have great tech support (called about setting up Bluetooth on the laptop today and got through to a lady in Atlanta in less then 3 minutes). Here are the specs: Intel i3Core M370 2.4GHz processor, 4GB memory (though Windows 7 Pro 64 bit can only use 3.75GB) 320GB Hard Disk Drive, 15.6" 1366x768 display, 3USB ports, HDMI port, VGA port, DVD RW disk drive, 2Megapixel webcam, wireless & Bluetooth, fingerprint scanner and a spill resistant keyboard. If you want to buy one from PCSS the same model costs $649 through January 15.
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I was looking for a 15 inch screen laptop with HDMI (TV connector) and good resolution webcam. I was thinking the cost would be close to $1,000. but was very pleasantly surprised when I found the Thinkpad Edge series. They also make a 14 in version and lots of variations of processors, memory and hard drives. PCSS prices start at $499. So far I've been impressed with the design and features. We'll let you know about the reliability down the road.
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I talked about Windows 7 in the specs and wanted to elaborate about Windows 7 and memory. I had a good customer order a Desktop PC with Windows 7. He said he wanted 6 or 8GB of memory. He was surprised when I told him the Windows 7 limitations: Windows 7 64 bit can only use 3.75GB and Windows 7 32bit (less expensive) can only use 3.25GB of memory. Anything more is just wasted money at this point in time. I haven't had any speed issues with Windows 7 and 2GB of memory so that is what I recommend to most customers.
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See you in 2011, HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

187 - The new phone!

The new PCSS phone is in my hand. After all the technology thoughts and analysis I decided to stay with Verizon and get a Motoroloa Droid Pro. Here is how it came down. I looked at providers first. My choices in the Highlands are Verizon, nTelos and USCellular. AT&T, Sprint and Nextel just don't have enough local towers to be options. After looking at the plans ntelos really had the best deal.


Then I started looking at the phones. ntelos did not have an android phone with a real keyboard AND the latest Android operating system (2.2 FOYO). They had an old Motorola phone (the Milestone) that had a slow processor. This is why Verizon and AT&T continue to lead the cell phone market. Its all about the phones! I didn't want to get an already out of date phone with a contract. The other issue was the ntelos $35 per phone activation fee for new service. Stupid fee that discourages people from changing carriers. I thought the idea was to get new customers.


Verizon had LOTS of choices. After looking at all their android phones I picked the brand new Motorloa Droid Pro. This one had a keyboard at the bottom just like my existing Palm, but a very nice larger screen. Since I already had Verizon there were no extra charges other then the data plan that I would have to get with any smartphone.

So what are the + and - of the new phone after 2 weeks? I love having the Internet just about every where. I can check email, Facebook and sync my calendar without a cable. The negatives are the battery life really is poor on this phone. Looks like I'll have to spring for the bigger battery. Also I can't sync my contacts from outlook to the phone. Can't may not be the right word, I can do a manual copy but it isn't automatic or seamless like the calendar is. Seems odd that Google (the Android system owner) hasn't fixed this issue yet. The last negative is silly, but the phone takes about 1 minute to turn on. That's lots more then my old Palm, but people tell me typical of Droid system phones.


I'll report back after I get the new batter and have more time on the phone.

186 - Cell Phone decisions

Its been over 2 years since I got a new cell phone. My last cell phone got run over by a truck so I got the insurance on this cell phone and nothing happened! Of Course! I have Verizon service with a Palm Centro smartphone. I don't have Internet or text messaging. I use the phone as not only my mobile phone, but my contacts, calendar and data collection system. Most of those applications (apps) are by palm. The phone will also play music and I have a 4GB mini sd card for the music.

I'm giving you what I have before we take a look at decisions I'm contemplating. I hope by going over my decision making process it will help in your next cell phone selection.

I'm looking at a pretty big change this time. I'm going to add Internet and text messaging to my plan. I've seen a need in my business to have both of those features. Although my present Palm Centro can accommodate those features, the screen is so small that Internet doesn't show up so well. My choice really has two decision: 1. Will I stay with Verizon or will I go with a different wireless provider. 2. What phone platform will pick?

Verizon has been reliable and has coverage everywhere I go (except my home!). In the Alleghany Highlands the choices really are Verizon, ntelos and US Cellular. AT&T (and their attractive iPhone) has only one tower in the area so that is not a good option. Sprint, Nextel and other providers aren't in our area. We had US Cellular before Verizon and the coverage is spotty. Another issue is that their phones are always older models with few features.

ntelos is the new player in our area and I gave them a good look. Their plan for Cell, Text and Internet is actually a few dollars cheaper then Verizon. They also claim to have just as large of coverage area as Verizon. They partner with Sprint and Nextel to use their tower system. The kicker with ntelos is they charge a $35 per line (we have two) one time activation fee. So to encourage us to change to their system they want to charge me $70. Wow that's great marketing.

So I narrowed my choice down to Verizon and ntelos. The next step is to look at the phones. There are 3 platforms (or cell operating systems) that aren't Apple based (only AT&T has Apple). The platforms are Android (by Google), BlackBerry (by RIM) and Web OS (by Palm). Android is the largest seller of smart phone operating system (you've all heard the DROID ads!) It is an open system (that means anyone can write software for the systems) and has over 100,000 applications (apps). Blackberry is known for its email capabilities and web browser. The problem I have with Blackberry is I really dislike their sync program that transfers Outlook data to the phone. They also generally have small, lo resolution screens which is what I have on my existing phone. Web OS is the Palm (now owned by HP) cell system That is very easy to use and has 1,000 of apps that do most that you want. Its also very similar to the phone I have now.

So now I've narrowed my choices down to Android OS and Web OS. Given that criteria I then dropped ntelos. ntelos has no Web OS phones and only 2 Android OS phones. Of the 2 phones, one doesn't have a keyboard. I haven't found the screen only system that I can type on yet (maybe the iPhones). The last ntelos phone is a Motorola Milestone. An older (2 year old) phone with an older release of Android (2.0 vs the new 2.2). Not the most exciting phone out there. Verizon has tons of choices. They understand that cell phone choice is all about phone choices. They have 10 different phones with Android OS and 2 with web OS.

So for now, I've decided to stay with Verizon (no activation charges) and then pick from the multiple phone choices. I will say that HP (Palm) just announced a new phone from Verizon (the Palm Pre2) that I'll wait to see before I make my final choice.

#185 - New Browsers on the horizon

Microsoft unveiled the first beta (trial) version of Internet Explorer 9 last week. Firefox (version 4.0) & Google Chrome (Release 7.0) also have new versions coming out before the end of the year. Lets take a look at these new browsers (or at least at what they are supposed to look like).

First lets talk about what we want in a new browser. 1. I want it to be fast to open, fast to display a page, 2. I want the capability to block ads and pop ups. 3. I'd also would like it to protect me from Malware & Spyware. Lets see if any of these will be addressed in the updates.

IE 9 is all about speed. The Microsoft engineers are tired of Internet Explorer being the slowest browser out there. They've put all their attention on speeding it up. The interface is very minimalist - no menus, toolbars or other distractions. It looks alot like Google Chrome. In a reversal from all the other Internet Explorers this interface is bare bones. "The browser is the stage and the backdrop, but the website is the star of the show,” Microsoft general manager of Internet Explorer Dean Hachamovitch tells Wired.com. “ We think the browser should totally take a back seat to the sites.”

Most testing of IE 9 say its MUCH faster then IE 8. Good for Microsoft! (I'm still not sure they really listen). OK check on the first box. Unfortunately there is NO information on IE 9 addressing #2 or #3. Being able to block ads and security improvements are actually the most important for me. We'll see if they get added before IE 9 is finally release. And by the way IE9 does NOT support Windows XP; Windows Vista or 7 is required.

Firefox 4.0 is also in beta release. Firefox is also leaner meaner. They have minimized the interface but still added new features. Tabs have been moved to the top of the screen. An Awesome bar now holds tabs and tab navigation items. There is a new Firefox button that will hold all the main items like Print, Save, list your History, etc. There is a new APP tab that hold the sites you keep up all the time - Items like Internet radio stations, Webmail and weather sites can be permanently in the Browser. It appears faster then Firefox 3.6 so that is good. The Add-ins that protect you from ads, malware and slow downs will still be there. Check, Check and Check.
And note that Firefox works on all Windows, Linix AND Mac OSX.

Google Chrome 7.0 is mainly just a faster version of the current 6.0. Several more web standards have been added, but still not many Add ins or protection devices. 7.0 will have an "Incognito" mode that will not save where you have been or what you are doing on the web. so Check, no check, no check.

We'll have fun over the next 3 months playing with these new releases and give you the final verdict early in 2011!

#184 - Acting might not be a good career path

The growth of simulation animation has cut down on the number of acting roles in Hollywood. If it weren't for dubbed voices the future would indeed be very bleak. The use of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) began with Toy Story (I guess #1) in 1995. This was the first movie COMPLETELY made by computer. Special effects had been using CGI for decades. Actually the first use of CGI was in the SciFi movie Westworld in 1973. The best of the CGI special effects came in Jurasic Park(1993) with those extra real looking dinosaurs terrorising real people on the screen seamlessly.

All the CGI was made possible by more powerful computers and in particular more powerful graphic processors used with those computers. The big CGI shops (Pixar for example) use banks of computers (computers tied together in a tight network) called a render farm in their graphic design. Thus the graphic load is spread out over many computers and not just one. The recent SHREK series, Toy Story series, Up and Finding Nemo are great CGI films that the characters in the films generate just as much emotions in their audience as real actors.

So when will the job of imperfect human actor end? Already you can have a virtual sales person for your business web site. No need to hire an actor, just go to the virtual actor site and pick out who (whom???) you like and type in their script. No mistakes to worry about and they are all cosmetically perfect. Finding perfect simulated actors for your next script can't be far behind. If my son or daughter announced they were thinking about being an actor, I might ask them if they wouldn't rather be a blacksmith or buggy whip salesman....

#183 - Things you should know about Technology today

Did you know that you don't have to type www. any more in the address bar of your browser? Starting with Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 3 you don't have to waste that precious time. Just type in pcss4u.com and off you go!

Did you know that only 3% of PC infections now come from email attachments? Most of the infections now come from links in email or on a website. They can mostly be classified as malware or spyware. That's why its important to have more then just a basic antivirus protecting your computer. PCSS likes AVG antivirus & antispyware. Only $39 for 2 years of protection.

Did you know that the built in Windows Media Player does not normally play DVDs? Not until the latest version (11) were the coders put into Windows Media Player to play commercial DVDs. PCSS recommends the free VLC (VideoLan Client) software to play ALL types of media on PCs and Macs.

Unlike on your PC, when you delete a file on a flash drive, it really does disappear. Actually PCSS can recover some flash drive deletions, but it certainly doesn't go to the recycle bin. That reminds me to ask: Have you emptied your recycle bin recently? Run the Windows Disk Clean up utility to clean out your PC (Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Clean up).

Did you know that in most programs holding down the CTRL and Z keys means Undo? Try it next time you make a boo boo. Another helpful short cut is the CTRL and F key to start the Find function.

Did you know that Laser Printers are MUCH cheaper then InkJet printers in the long haul? Even though they cost more up front, Laser Printers will quickly be cheaper to operate per printed page.

Do you know the difference between Reply and Reply All in email? Do you know how to do a blind copy (no one can see who is the blind copy recipient)? Did you know that you should NEVER attach files larger then 5MB in size? (most Internet providers have limits and filters) Just ask Nick if you aren't sure about these items.

The only way to truly delete items from your computer is to put zeros in all the "empty" places. PCSS uses a program called File Shredder that uses a Defense Department algorithm to really delete information.

#182 How small can computers go?

Since the advent of the netbook, I've stated to many customers that I believe the netbook will be the smallest computer you can actually use until speech recognition technology gets alot better. Why no smaller? Its the keyboard. Anything smaller then a netbook and you can't touch type. You can thumb it in or peck and poke, but not type. Now typing may become a thing of the past, but as of July 2010 speech recognition just doesn't' work.

Many of you have seen/heard the infuriating commercials with the person calling a service center and having their words garbled by a computer answering system. "Did you say you want to buy a compactor?" When you are looking for a laptop. Now when speech recognition actually works then you'll be able to have the computer a size of a button. It's the input (keyboard/mouse) and output (monitor & printer) that are the most limiting in computer size. I just set up an iMac desktop computer at a local office and the size of the keyboard was that same minimum size of a typical netbook.

I know I'm amazed at the ever decreasing size of phones and the tremendous amount of capability they have. They now have so many features that computers have and many that they don't! GPS, music player, camera, book reader, database, calendar and on and on. I was amazed the other day when a person with an iphone showed me how to use it as a bar code scanner. They picked up an item in a store, scanned the bar code and immediately could look up the product for reviews, pricing and more information then you possibly could use. I certainly use my phone for way more then a phone. It has my schedule, contacts and a couple of neat games. It can translate several languages and connect to the Internet for information searches.

A complete computer computational power can now be on one chip. The input/output devices are what makes the computer large. I've seen demostrations of computers built in to clothing, sunglasses, pet collars even a tiny surveilance camera. How small can they make them? I guess we will soon see (or not!).

#181 The new Mac mini!

The new mac mini has arrived at PCSS. We got our first mac mini in 2006. We have used it as our Internet device (browsing all over without fear) and as the home of our music and movie collections. Four years later and we were ready for a bigger hard drive, fast processor and the new Apple operating system Snow Leopard. There was nothing really wrong with the old one. So we have re-purposed it by reformatting the hard drive and installing just the essential programs. In fact we are typing this update on the old mini.

After healing a computer for the 3rd time this year, a customer asked if I ever get malware infections. The simple answer was no. I do the vast majority of my Internet work on the Mac Mini. I do email on my PCs (laptops and desktop) when I am home but that is about it. No Mac has ever been infected as of today.

So what else is new about the mini? Its shorter, a bit wider and has several new ports on the back side. Here is the rear and from left to right we have power, Ethernet, firewire, HDMI, mini display adapter, 4 USB ports, SDXC memory card reader, microphone & speaker ports. The top, 2 sides and front are brushed aluminum. The bottom actually opens up so you can easly upgrade the memory (yeah). Unfortunately Apple has filled all the memory slots so you have to remove memory to upgrade (boo).

We purchased the basic model. Intel 2.4GHz Intel Duo Core processor with 2GB of memory, 320GB hard disk drive, NVIDIA GeForce 320m graphics (Hi Def!), DVD burner (no blue-ray), Built in wireless & Bluetooth. Minis don't come with keyboards, mice or displays, so you can use any USB keyboard or mouse. It comes with a DVI adapter for display, but if you are like me and don't have a DVI display, you have to purchase the VGA adapter. Cost was $699 for the Mini and $29 for the display adapter.

We moved all our music and movies without much trouble. We are waiting for an HDMI cable to attach it to our flat panel TV. Plans are to get the AVATAR DVD to watch and see how we like that aspect of the Mini.

Let me know if you have comments or questions about this remarkable little PC!

#180 What do we use the Internet for?

The Internet as we know it (a place where YOU can go) is about 20 years old. The actual architecture is closer to 40 years old. I only mention the age because I think that the it is amazing that the Internet has now become the major use of people owning a computer. Although word processing and spreadsheets are the backbone of business, it's the Internet that supports most activities on PCs. The first question I get from people buying a new PC is will the new PC make their Internet faster? Sadly in most cases the answer is NO. Internet speed is mostly decided by the speed of your Internet provider and not your PC.

So what are we doing on the Internet? Well right now I am blogging. A new word and action in the past 10 years. Most people shop on the Internet. I was looking for a vacuum bag for our Kenmore vacuum. Couldn't find one in Covington, but had lots of choices on the Internet. We've decided to stop our daily Newspaper and get our news online. We check the weather online. I purchase almost all the PCs and supplies I sell online. Someone in this household (not naming names) gets their sudoku puzzles online. I keep up with high school and college friends on Facebook. We use a wonderful site called Skype to see our distant friends and relatives. Then there are the sites that follow (you name the specialty) Virginia Tech sports, my mission group Episcopal Relief & Development, my church, the Covington Lumberjacks, and on and on. The sites are almost "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!"

The Internet has become a powerful part of our lives. Indespensible for many in the world. So what do you use it for?

#179 Office 2010 arrives

Microsoft released to big businesses their 14th version of their Office suite last week. Consumers will get to see the product in June. This new version is creatively called Office 2010. It includes updates to Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote and Sharepoint. It comes in 6 different groupings of these products and in 32bit and 64bit versions. Confusion on which box to buy will again be the entertainment of early summer. There will also be online versions of the software (note not with the SAME features) that you can access from any Internet access.

There are lots of changes and we will take a look at them in our June updates. One big change is that the file menus (File, Edit, View, Tools, Help) are back. For some inexplicable reason Microsoft got rid of the file menu in Office 2007. They put in the Office "Ribbon" that was supposed to be quicker to use then the menu system. Mass confusion took over the software world as no one could find any of the features they normally. It only took 3 years for Microsoft to admit they were wrong. Note that 70% of the Office users in the world still use Office 2003 mainly due to this mistake. Outlook didn't get the ribbon in 2007, but does in 2010. Thank goodness the menu items are still there.

So will this be a "good" upgrade? The pluses are that this version should be faster. It takes advantage of the new Intel multi core processors. The 64bit version will allow for absolutely HUGE Excel spreadsheets (did you ever ask for a bigger Excel?). Changes in Word are fairly minimal other then the interface. Cut/Copy/Paste get some extra options and you can do more editing of pictures you insert into your documents. The Office 2010 suite uses a still different file format. So when one of your buddies buys the new version, if they send you a Word or Excel file, you probably won't be able to open in until a conversion utility is released. Outlook and PowerPoint seem to get the most upgrades and mostly for the better.

PCSS will install Office 2010 on our Window 7 laptop so that customers can take a peek. We'll take it through all the paces and let you know our opinion on whether to upgrade or not.

#178 Late April 2010 ramblings

I got my hands on an iPad that a customer had last week. I was setting up the WiFi in their home so the iPad could pick it up and be Internet functional. It is lightweight and the screen is brilliant. You really can't multitask and if you surf the web, beware that any site that uses Adobe Flash (lots) won't look right since Flash is not supported by the iPad (or Apple). I played with some of the apps that come with the iPad and they all seemed fast and well designed. Still its a lot of money for single tasking item that doesn't do Word or Excel.

HP announced yesterday that it is buying Palm. HP has made PDAs for a long time, but they never could compete with Palm. HP has NOT been in the phone market, so this buy puts them in that group. Palm is barely a viable company. They only have a very few products and their old stand by PDA, isn't bought by most people since phones can do all a PDA used to do. I own a Palm Centro phone by Verizon and honestly if I had to get a new phone today, it would be a Palm. Why? Because the Palm's apps work better then most other phones Verizon sells. Also I've had a Palm for over 10 years so TRADITION! Will this be a good purchase for HP? I really doubt it. But you just never know in technology.

I'm looking to replace my venerable Suuntro Vertex watch. This watch has a clock, stopwatch, altimeter, barometer, compass, and thermometer. I mainly use the clock and altimeter. I'm considering a watch with a GPS. Nephew John has the Garmin GPS watch. He is an addicted runner and uses the GPS for training and race running. I'm a mountain biker and having a portable GPS would be especially nice. Let me know if you have any recommendations. So far I've looked at Garmin and Sunntro GPS watches.

The latest/greatest phone coming out is the Nokia N8. This is a super duper phone based on the Symbian operating system. The specifications just blow you away: 12Megapixel camera, HD Video recorder and player with Dolby Digital plus sound, 16GB standard memory with up to 48GB available with micro SD card, Free for life GPS navigation, Facebook and Twitter built in apps, WiFi Internet browser and it really is a phone. We don't know who(which phone company) will be offering the N8, but expect it in the US at the end of 2010.

#177 - USB 3.0 is on its way

Earlier this year the people that standardize things in the computer world, have finalized the USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed) standard. You might not have known there was a USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 standards, but you probably use them every day.

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is a standard in computers for how equipment connects to your computer. Your Printer, Mouse, Keyboard, Camera, Flash drive, External hard Drive and even your speakers can connect to your computer through a USB interface. The first USB standard was used by MAC computers and not far behind were PCs. It began development in 1994 by a group of seven companies: Compaq, DEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel. USB was intended to make it easier to connect external devices to PCs by replacing the multitude of connectors at the back of PCs with one simple interface that did not have screws. Faster speed and simplifying software connections were also goals.

The first widely used standard USB 1.1 was released in September 1998. It allowed for a 12 Mbps data rate. The USB 2.0 specification was released in April 2000 with the resulting specification achieving 480 Mbit/s, a fortyfold increase. The latest version, 3.0, has a maximum speed of 5Gbps or about 10 times faster then USB 2.0. It also has more power eliminating the need for 2 USB cables for external hard drives.

For USB 3.0 to work you need to have a device that support USB 3.0 and a computer that supports it. Presently the only way you can do that for an existing PC is to buy an adapter card for your PC or laptop (around $40-$45). USB 3.0 will be on most new computers coming out later this year and on more items (flash drives, external hard drives and cameras) this summer.

Faster is generally better in computers and PCSS is looking forward to the new USB 3.0 devices. Transferring pictures and music will be 10 times quicker and that is a good thing!

#176 - 3 D Technology

The 3D TVs are arriving on our shores. The spectacular special effects movie AVATAR wows theater goers with its 3D displays. So what is 3D and why are we now getting this technology in our homes?

There have been 3 D movies in some form since the beginning of motion pictures. The hey day of 3D was in the 50s. I remember as a child going to a theater and putting on one lens red and one lens blue glasses to see the film. In all it was great for a kid, not so much for adults.

The old method of 3D production is called Anaglyph. This method has the movie makers taking two images and superimposing them through two filters, one red and one cyan. The two images are then printed in the same complementary colors on white paper. Glasses with colored filters in each eye separate the appropriate images by canceling the filter color out and rendering the complementary color black.

A newer method, Polarized, uses two separate images are projected superimposed onto the same screen through different polarized filters. Two separate cameras record the images at the same time from slightly different perspective. Special polarized glasses are used to display the 3 D effects.

The move of 3D to TV has taken much longer. Phillips developed Lenticular technology which uses a lens to send different images to each of your eyes. This technology requires you sit directly in front of the screen. Good news is you don't need special glasses. Hyundai developed the passive glass 3D system which has two overlapping images. You have to wear special glasses for this technology. A fairly new technology called active glass system is similar to the passive system but puts the all the technology in the very special (and expensive) glasses.

We don't' have 3D computers yet, but I'll bet that will come soon.

#175 - Is that a Hoax or what?

An interesting show that I like to watch is Myth Busters. The show takes several premises (legends?) and by scientific method proves or disproves them. Great entertainment and usually good use of science.

Unfortunately on the Internet, there are lots of Hoaxes. People can say anything and send you an email or Facebook message that has no factual basis. How can you tell if a message is truth, lie or worse - a virus!

There are several sites on the Internet that are there just to help you determine exactly that. We like SNOPES, ABOUT and Truth or Fiction. We also will just type an Internet claim into google and see what comes up (on our MAC of course!).

About once a month some friend will forward to me some fantastical message meant to scare or upset people. Items like "Facebook to charge fees", "Cell Phones explode when ....", "And every lie you can think of about our President. This isn't meant to be about politics, I'm just saying that there are hoaxes being put out and you should check them out before worrying about them and/or passing them on to your friends.

If it sounds outrageous, it is; If it sounds too good to be true, then it is. If it makes you angry then someone may be pulling your chain. Forewarned is Forearmed.

#174 - High Speed Internet for Everyone

Roughly 40 percent of Americans do not have high-speed Internet access at home, according to new Commerce Department figures that underscore the challenges facing policymakers who are trying to bring affordable broadband connections to everyone.

In the Highlands of Virginia, some interesting changes are taking place. The Highlands have two high speed Internet providers. Shentel, the cable company, and nTelos the telephone company. Both have recently updated to fiber optic technology and can provide fairly fast Internet to many. Unfortunately there are still areas that have to rely on dialup or satellite Internet (MUCH SLOWER!).

nTelos has just received an $8 million grant that it will match to provide fiber optic Internet to every household in Alleghany County. The money comes from one of the stimulus packages. The time table is to complete this project by 2012. There are many of my customers who can hardly wait for this to happen. High speed (also called broadband) Internet has become a necessity in the USA. So much of our society has swung to doing day to day business on the Internet.

My mom is a good example of this. During our evening call last night, she asked if I could do her a favor. She had recently bought a new vacuum cleaner with a two year warranty. To activate the warranty she needed to register the vacuum on line. Mom has dial up Internet in Ohio (by choice - High Speed is available) and she said it was too slow so could I help? Well, of course i could, but I thought it was interesting that even vacuum cleaner manufacturers are using the Internet for day to day business.

The USA needs more projects like this nTelos one to get 100% high speed Internet coverage throughout the land. We have had 98% telephone (land line) coverage in this country for years. Next month, the Federal Communications Commission will deliver policy recommendations to Congress on how to make universal broadband a reality. Among other things, the FCC is expected to propose expanding the fund that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural communities and finding more airwaves for wireless broadband services.

#173 - Communication Style

Serving on several boards that are concerned with communications, I'm finding it interesting that the different generations in this country communicate vastly differently.

Although my Mom has email, she would still rather talk to me on the phone. Her phone is her lifeline to the world and any disruption to phone service (like the genius that crashed into the phone poll this weekend) is tantamount to a natural disaster.

All my peers are very email oriented. I'm not sure why we are, but we have adopted the email as our main communication form. We have cell phones, some belong to Facebook, some even twitter, but its the email that gets my generation moving. I have so enjoyed reconnecting with my high school friends via Facebook, but I don't do Farmville or any of the other Social Network add-ons. This is mainly due to my time is limited for that type of activity.

The nieces and nephews do email, but they seem to have adopted Facebook more so then my generation. I believe their work requires the email so they mostly use it there. They are cell phone addicts and would never be caught without it. They text a bit and post pictures with abandon everywhere.

The younger teens and twenties are different. Email seems an imposition to them. Its all about the latest phone. Facebook and Twitter are the rage, BECAUSE they can be accessed by their phones. Their cell phone (Many can't remember a time without them) is their communications life. They ALWAYS answer their phone no matter what they are doing (use that to advantage old people!). Any restrictions on phone use are as if the Constitution is under attack. A phone is judged on how well you can text from it. I'm thinking that the next generation will have the most dexterous thumbs of any human.

Anyway you communicate - Keep talking. Silence may be golden, but it doesn't make anything better.

#172 - The iPad is here!, The iPad is here!

A very highly hyped new product hit the streets today with a Bang! The Apple iPad was introduced to the world. As your able Technology commentator, I would surely be remiss if I didn't translate the hype and type a bit about this technology wonder.

So what is the iPad? Well like several other Apple products, competition doesn't really exist. The closest product would be the iPod, Itouch. Its not really a tablet computer. In fact lets take a paragraph to tell you what it is and a paragraph on what it isn't.

What it is:
It is nice size - 9.7" display (smaller then a netbook) and less then 1.5 pounds. I can run all the iPhone apps (140,000 at latest count). It can surf the Internet with the Safari browser. It can get let you buy books and display them like an Amazon Kindle. You can play all your iTunes music, display your Pictures, and view videos, movies and TV. You work with most email (on the Internet), get an app to edit documents, keep up your calendar and contacts. It does work on 802.11n WiFi (found many places) and if you buy a more expensive model it will also work on phone networks (data plan extra! Surprise!)

What it isn't:
I mentioned it isn't a tablet PC per say. It runs the iPhone operating system not OS 10. That means you can't run it like a MAC computer, you treat it like an iPhone or iPod. You can download a ton of iPhone apps, but remember they are designed for a 3 inch screen versus a 9.7 inch display (resolution sucks on apps played on the big screen). You can't run Firefox or Word or any other program written for the MAC. You can only run one program at a time (this is a biggy!). It doesn't have the phone function built in. There is no camera built in. It doesn't support Adobe Flash player and will only let you run Quicktime or Youtube type videos. So no Hulu or any other website that uses Flash video (another biggie). It has limited storage (16GB, 32GB or 64GB flash memory) which will eventually cramp what you save. (The smallest netbook comes with 160GB hard drive).

So first look, its pretty neat. Take a look at the apple iPad video: iPAD by APPLE
The first iPad's will ship end of March and I don't think I need one at this point, but hey I'm a gadget freak so you never know!

#171 Malware & Facebook

I am constantly fighting malware on customer computers. These are the nasty bugs that infect your computer, send information to bad guys on the Internet, put pop ups that say you are infected and please hand over $39 everywhere, can crash your PC and literally destroy your hardware. Where did I get it? is always the question I hear.

One source is Facebook causes and applications. Many causes and groups are now being put out there by the bad guys to get you to join so they can have control of your PC. They do this by putting out something outrageous that will get people mad. Things like Facebook is about to charge you monthly or that Obama is going to put your grandma in a detention cell. Items that if you step back and look at, you know can't be right.

The bad guys also hijack legit web sites and put links on there for FABULOUS opportunities (free Macbooks, iPods, HD TVS) that make you click on them. Hey People, if it sounds too good to be true, IT IS! I know your mother told you all about that.

My recommendation is to just stay vanilla when on the Internet. Don't join groups you have never heard of, or have lured you to their site with outrageous or fabulous offerings. Its dangerous out there and there is only so much of PCSS repair to go around.

#170 - The high tech car

Mr Gadget here! The new proud owner of a 2010 Honda Insight. THE GADGET CAR! It has more gee, whiz bang items then anything on the road. It looks pretty plain but with Honda the hidden stuff is all important. This is the hybrid car for the rest of us. Its priced reasonable(approx $20,000) and uses a conservative form of hybrid technology. It has an 98hp gasoline engine and a 10hp electric drive powered by regenerative batteries.

It has plenty of punch driving the mountains of Virginia. We go to Hot Springs from Covington twice a week and do fine in the Insight. We get around 43 miles per gallon over all and have gotten over 47 miles per gallon on trips over 1 hour using highways. The gadgets are all on the inside.

Here is the Insight's instrument panel: The speedometer is at the top and is backlit by a color rainbow that gives you feedback on how you are driving. All the instruments are learning tools to help you get better gas mileage. If you drive economically the rainbow is green, not so thrifty its aqua, press the pedal hard or brake hard and its that dark blue. It becomes a challenge to keep the rainbow in the green when you drive. There are "eco" guides, trip raters, real time and trip mpg feedback displays and lots more to keep you on the green path.

So the point of this car is changing your driving habits as well as using technology to get better gas mileage. I'm slowly changing how I drive not only in the Insight but in other cars. There are supposedly 3 computers in this geeks delight controlling everything from the continuous variable transmission to the trip computer. The heating/cooling system is even controlled to get better gas mileage!

I also enjoy the USB port found in the arm rest. I pulled a 16GB USB flash drive out and filled it with MP3 songs and plugged it in. The over 3,000 songs will take me a bit of driving to go through. Ain't technology grand?