#232 Holiday thoughts 2013

Wow what a Thanksgiving!  We had lots of activities and way too much food.  We'll have to watch our consumption till Christmas.  Technology wise here are some holiday thoughts:

Tablet PCs are very hot for the holidays.  There are several special deals out there for 7" Android tablets at less then $100.  Be careful on those, the ones we saw were very outdated Android operating system and almost useless memory.  We recommend the Asus or Lenovo 7" Android tablets at $125.  The older Kindle Fire HD (like the one PCSS owns) only costs $139.00 from Amazon.  Even the first generation Apple mini costs $299.00.  So what should your buy?   Its a matter of taste.  No winner, no loser.  They are all nice small tablets.  If you go up in size to 9/10" then you go up substantially in cost.  Not much less then $299.00 for an Android 10" with the new iPad Air on top at $499.00.   

Laptops are always popular holiday items.  Windows 8 laptops are priced from $399 and Windows 7 laptops from $499.  We also like color printers for the holidays.  The quality has gone up and the features are many with wireless now a standard.  The photos are near spectacular if you use the best photo paper.  Even the costs of inks are down some.  Wireless speakers are also hot.  You can stream music from your PC, Phone or any Internet device to these speakers.  Bose, JBL and Sonos make some remarkable quality speakers.  I have heard them all and I'm pretty amazed. 

Prices have continued to go lower on LARGE screen monitors.  24 inch is the new standard and with prices south of $200, why keep looking at that "small" screen.  The 24 inch screen lets you put up two full size programs next to each other - like a browser and spreadsheet.  Its a multitaskers dream come true.  Also waterproof, phones, keyboards, camera and anything else electronic are also jumping off the shelves.  Seems we are a messy group and love to drink and whatever, much to the detriment of our cyber gear.  Seeing that I wiped out a keyboard this year, I made the waterproof plunge...

So it looks like an interesting, if not exciting year in holiday technology.  Just let me help out if you are looking for that SPECIAL holiday gadget!  Merry Christmas friends!

#231 - Enjoying the new Pilot

We sold the old 2005 Honda Pilot and bought a new 2013 Honda Pilot.  Lots of technology upgrades in the past 9 years.  In fact most of the changes are in technology.  I'd say there were just a few computers in the old 2005.  At least one for the engine and maybe one for safety features.  Every thing else was very analog with pretty simple interfaces.  The new Pilot has at least 6 different computers.  Let me take you through the noticeable upgrades.

In the driver display I now have an info center that include the calculated MPG and a real time MPG calculation.   It is very similar to the one in the 2010 Honda Insight that I use everyday.  The display gives me feed back to drive more conservatively and hopefully get better MPG. 

The other BIG change is the backup camera display with gridlines.  The display is very big and the color camera has very good resolution.  It makes backing up a breeze.  The guidelines give you perspective so you know how close you are getting to any object.  The 8 inch display is also used for the Radio Control, Trip Computers, Calendar and many other functions.  Its large enough to be seen throughout the SUV. 

The 2013 Pilot has Bluetooth connectivity.  You pair the car with your cell phone and you can make calls, pick up calls and even set up voice calling (Call Home!).  It supposedly will import your entire cell phone phonebook, but I haven't had as much luck with that feature. There are phone controls on the steering wheel making the process much safer then some I've seen.

The new Pilot has a USB connection and can easily play music from your iPod, iPhone or any other music carrying USB device.  It will also play downloaded audio books, but the control of those audio books takes a bit of learning.  There are 3 12-volt electrical outlets, but no AC outlets yet. 

New to me, but certainly not new to cars is the XM radio, auto headlights and auto adjust rear view mirrors.  All technologies developed since 2005.  There are no shortage of buttons, knobs and adjustment devices for me to be distracted by.   There is no Internet connection though some models that have Pandora connectivity.   

This is an end of cycle model with an all new 2015 Pilot in the works.  I would imagine a new touch screen will eliminate many of the buttons and knobs.   We'll soon have the power of a tablet PC in our cars and hopefully an interface similar to iPads and Android tablets. 

Let me know what you like or dislike technology wise in your new car...

#230 - A kindle in the house

Through the generosity of Amazon, I've ended up with a Kindle Fire HD.  This is a 7 inch tablet that runs a modified Android operating system.  There is no doubt that the purpose of the Kindle Fire is to have you spend money at Amazon.  I have an Amazon Prime account so I am trying to minimize those purchases and try to use as many of the "free" features as I can.

Physically I'm also trying to gauge what you can reasonably do and not do on this size tablet.  I also own a 10.1" Asus Transformer tablet that uses full Android operation system for comparison.  I've always enjoyed reading books on the bigger screen.   The smaller Kindle does a fine job of presenting books.  The screen is crisp, clear and has enough fonts (make the print BIGGER) to satisfy my weakening eyes.  I've downloaded books from Amazon (part of the free lending library), from our local C.P. Jones Memorial Library (part of the Overdrive system) and from the Project Gutenberg (free classics).  They all look very good and use the same system of turning pages, bookmarking and annotation (though I'm not annotating any books at this time). 

Depending on the website you go to the Kindle can be OK on the Internet or just too small.  More and more websites are using re- sizable language in setting up their website to be more tablet (and phone) friendly.   Amazon provides the Silk browser which I have enjoyed.  It isn't what I am used to so I have adding the Opera Mobile browser, but I had to go through hoops to do that.  Amazon does NOT encourage your adding apps that are not in their app store.  It can be done, but you need a bit of geek to get it done.  I think I understand their reasoning: They want the same control that Apple has over the "i" pads, phones etc..  Its not good reasoning.  If the Amazon Android app store was of the quality of the Apple Store then that would be one thing, but its not.  There are lots of very sorry apps in the Amazon store, and they are missing many wonderfully written and I consider essential android apps. 

It all depends on what you want to do with your Kindle.  I've sampled some of the Amazon Prime streaming videos - both Movies and TV shows and they work great....When you have a strong WiFi signal.   At my home I've had no issues, but at other locations its a bit sketchy depending on the bandwidth the WiFi connection has available.  Sound is actually very good from the built in speakers or using a headphones.   Seems like the Kindle would be a very good way to entertain children if you believe putting them in front of a movie/TV screen is acceptable entertainment.  The resolution of the screen (we have the HD model) and the flicker free quality are very good.

Email seems to work, but I'm not the biggest fan of the email app that Amazon provides.  Again I had to bring over an email app from the bigger Android market (read Google) to enjoy handling email.  Actually the only thing I can do with email on the kindle is read it and do very BRIEF replies.  The keyboard and layout are tough to do much typing or editing. 

Now I do like the size of the Kindle for portability.  It fits in the smallest space and can help minimalize your baggage to the beach (lots of reading there, right?).  It weighs almost nothing and with a decent case can take some transport jostling.  Overall I think its a niche product.  Its priced (now $139)  so that almost everyone can afford it, though the Amazon Prime account is $79 a year for the free lending library and streaming movies. 

I'd be interested in your usage and thoughts on the Kindle since many of my customer have had one for much longer.

#229 Where did my Newspaper go?

This week brings the sad move from 6 days a week newspaper to 2 days a week in our community.  The Virginian Review after 99 years is still alive, but barely.  Of course, they are not the only newspaper, magazine, print media in trouble.  Paid readership is down dramatically.  Papers are downsizing by physically reducing the size of the paper, cutting staff to the bare bones, moving content online and some are just shutting down.  The implications of this event have not been made yet.  So what has this to do with Technology?  Well if you listen to many old time newspaper people the Internet is to blame.

Print media is all about advertising.  The price you pay to buy a newspaper/magazine never came close to covering the price of producing and distributing the issue.  The decrease in circulation has made print media a tougher sell to advertisers.  So where have the readers gone?  Mainly to TV and the Internet in alarmingly large numbers.  How do we get our "news" today?

Being linked to the world wide web has made everything more immediate.  Very seldom do we read an article in print that we knew nothing about.  We can get IN DEPTH information in print, but the basic who, what, when and where facts were available almost immediately on line.   For many in today's culture, that is enough.  "Don't bore me with the details" is a cry I hear way too often.  I can read the captioned news (ie. USA Today) on my phone and get RSS (Rich Site Summary) news feeds about subjects that I am interested in to my tablet.  What is lost in all this immediate information is who is writing this condensed info?  There are hardly any by lines.  Its like the anonymous writers in the sky decide what info to put online for our consumption.

Reporters are what I am most afraid of losing in this transition.  For example it was the Washington Post reporters that broke the recent Bob McDonnell gift scandal.  Would that have happened if there were no Washington Post paying reporters to investigate?  I don't know, but I don't think so.  Investigative reporters are the guardians of a free people.  Are these online news hawkers paying reporters to investigate or are they just prepared to recycle breaking tragedies and events?  I believe the latter based on what I read.  Nothing hard hitting and very few opinions are presented.  Though you can just turn on your TV and get the snippets that are covered by the evening network news and then 24 hour news channels.  It's something to think about.

I do use the USA Today and CNN apps on my phone & tablet.  I also enjoy the BBC news app for a worldly perspective.  But I will miss my daily Virginian Review and will keep reading it front page to last page on Wednesdays and Saturdays...

#228 Proximity Technology

We just returned from a great trip down the Rhine River.  The boat we were on was christened in April so it was very modern.  One of the items that caught my attention was the door lock on our room.  It used proximity technology so our plastic room key did not have to be inserted.  You just had to wave the key within a couple of inches of the lock.  If you are like me, I think this is a great break through.  The old plastic magnetic insert keys were notoriously unreliable.  I don't know of anyone that travels that hasn't found that their magnetic key did not work and they were locked out of their room.  Then comes the walk of anger as you go back to the front desk to get the key reprogrammed for some unknown reason.  We were on the boat for 8 days and never had a problem.  I put the key in my wallet and just passed it by the lock when I wanted in. 

Proximity technology is showing up in more locations.  Many new cars no longer come with keys.  They come with a fob that can automatically unlock your doors when you are near the car.  The fob also allows you to push a button to start and stop a car.  Not sure of the benefit of the start/stop button other then saving your pants (purse) some wear and tear.   You can also now change out your house door lock for a proximity lock.  This lock also has a keypad in case you don't have your fob.  I don't know how reliable any of this technology is or how secure.  It does require power (battery normally) in either the sensor or fob/card or both places.  And we all know that batteries don't last forever.  I'm sure there are horror stories about not being able to stop/start a car or get into your house.  I would think there needs to be a backup plan for using this technology.

The technology comes in two forms:  Passive and Active.   The key on our cruise ship was passive.  the battery is located in the door lock.  The passive plastic key has an antenna and chip that can be programmed with your individual door info.  They are activated by the power in the lock so the key has to be very close to the lock to work (within 2 inches or so).  The car lock fobs are active (and have a battery) so your car lock can be activated 10 feet from the car.  They work on high frequency radio (13.56Mhz is one of the usable frequencies) so don't have any competing items that can trip the lock. 

I sure can think about other uses of this technology.  I'd love for the computer, lights and heat/cool to turn on and adjust when I walk in a room or the house.  I've seen faucets that work with reflective proximity sensors.  They bounce a radio wave over you hands and turn on the water.  They still haven't figured out one to do the water temperature that you require.  So let you mind imagine the many potential uses of this technology and get out there and patent it!

#227 Summer Ramblings

Now that summer is firmly here, I like to think about technology in a bit different light.  That would be a strong summer sunshine focused on the trends and anticipated new gadgets that we didn't even know we require.  A decade or so ago I got my first bag phone and enjoyed being able to run my business out of my car.  I would not be as successful without the portability of the modern cell phone.  The benefit is more than being able to send and receive calls.   I love a quick look up of a problem when the customers computer can't get on the Internet.  Checking my calendar and tasks to be sure I won't miss anything is also a great benefit.  I've said it before and it remains a truth, the cellular smart phone is the most amazing invention in my lifetime.  Now if you asked me before the advent of the cell phone would I need one?  I'm sure I would have said no.  So much for me being the great prognosticator.

I went to training today for the Greenbrier classic golf tournament.  I volunteer as a walking scorer.  That means I walk with the players and put their scores (and more) into a palm held computer that transmits the information to the PGA Shot Link computers in the sky.  The advent of this technology has added over 50 different statistics to a PGA players portfolio.  You can not only find out how a player scored, but his greens in regulation, length of his drives, number of fairways hit and even how successful he is when he lands in the sand.  The walking scorer has to mark down every shot, what type of club was used on the shot and where it lands.  We are even in the fashion business and identify what color clothes a player wears (so he can be identified by the rest of the Shot Link staff and TV crews).  Its a busy job but good exercise and you do get to meet a few players.  This is another technology I didn't see coming, but should have.  Doctors are beginning to use the same technology with electronic medical records.  Your info and lab results are instantly transmitted to the tablets the modern doctor carries around.  It decreases the time waiting for information and that can save lives.

Do you have a video cam on your laptop or computer?  Do you Skype with friends or relatives around the world?  What a great technology.  We have friends in Costa Rica that we use Skype as our main communication tool.  The technology of the small camera has now found its way into cars and more are having  backup cameras installed just above the rear license plate.  Peoples lives and car damage are being saved with these new gadgets.  They will soon be required in most US cars as a safety feature.  I've had a video cam for many years, but never thought about using it as a backup camera.  Oh well, maybe the next great invention will be mine....

#226 - Too much information

I read an article last week on GPS navigation that are built into cars.  Seems that people are cleaning out their glove boxes when they trade in or sell their car but not their GPS.  Lots of good information in that GPS, like your HOME address and a map to get there.  Also with the newer models you may have uploaded your phone book information to the GPS so you could make cell phone calls.  Lots of good information there also.  Information like social security numbers, credit card numbers, and lots of personal information for family, friends and business contacts.   Now most people would ignore that old information, but we aren't talking about most people when it comes to identity theft and plain old burglary. Some cars also have your garage door opening code.  Talk about giving a crook the keys to your house!  So what is a cautious person to do?


The quickest way to wipe out information in GPS is to do a system reset.  This is usually available in the tools section of the GPS menu.  Look around and then reset the system back to the factory install information. If you cannot find it, (Try to google it with the model of the GPS or car) then go to the place you bought the car/GPS and have then do it in front of you (most 12 year old boys can handle this job!).  For you garage door information look in the car user manual for its reset.  If you can't find it the car dealership should know how to do it. 

If you rent a car with a GPS you may want to be cautious with what information you put in that device.  I'm amazed at what information you can find left behind.  Also your portable GPS, Phones, Laptops and PCs should be wiped clean before they are resold or even thrown away.  If you have a question let us know and we'll advise the most safe method of protecting your information.

Your information is valuable.  Any devise that holds that information should be treated with care and should be protected like it was your driver license or a credit card.  I have worries about all the devises that have now and will have personal information.  I'm seeing refrigerators with built in PCs, home heating and air conditioning with smart displays, entertainment centers with more then just your music built in  and even bathroom facilities with computers.  Wow!  Be cautious and vigilant. 

#225 - Protect your WiFi no matter where you are

We had a customer receive a threatening letter from a law firm in Los Angeles recently.  The bottom line of the letter - Your network has been used to download copyright protected material illegally.  Pay up or we go to court.  After I got involved we determined several things.  One the customer had recent problems with their Modem/router and had it replaced by their Internet provider.  When it was replaced no security was put on their wireless network.  It seems that someone got on to their wireless network in the early morning hours and downloaded many movies.  The downloads had been going on for a month or two.    I found out the law firm that issued the letter is known as a "copyright troll".  They have gotten the right to sue from a low budget movie company and had sent out over 20,000 letters threatening the worse.  

My advise (and the advise of those who have seen many of these cases) was to 1. secure your Wi-Fi now.  2. get a lawyer.  The fines involved are not insignificant.  The average settlement is around $750.  So let's be clear.  If you have a Wi-Fi network that isn't secured, you may be putting yourself in jeopardy of being subpoenaed and having to defend whether you or someone who was on your network downloaded copyrighted material.  Lets not even think about if the material was regular or child pornography.  Then you could be looking at sexual misconduct charges.  These are very scary implications!

So what kind of security should you have on your Wi-Fi network?  PCSS recommends using WPA security that is standard on every modern wireless router.  You can pick a pass phrase that will let you and those you trust onto the network.  Remember that you as the payer of the Internet bill are ultimately responsible for all that is downloaded (and uploaded) on your network. That means if your kids have programs such as LimeWire on their computers, you are at risk for being charged with downloading copyright material.  You probably need to check the computers of your employees, family and anyone that might be using your network to see if they have what we call bit torrent downloaders.  These programs are designed to download illegal material (songs, films, videos).   There is no free lunch.  With most songs costing $0.99 to download, why risk a lawsuit by illegal downloading.   If you have a business make sure you have a computer use policy that clearly defines what the Internet is to be used for (and not for).   Make sure you train your employees in Internet security.

If you have any concerns about your wireless security or Internet security, PCSS provides services to keep your networks safe and review your present security situation.

#224 - IE10 its here whether you want it or not

If you are like most Windows users, you have your computer to automatically get Windows updates and install them.  This is recommended by almost all PC experts and PCSS recommends it and has this very set up on ALL our PCs.  We should not have been surprised on March 31 when we discovered that Microsoft had decided that Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) was a necessary Windows update.  But we were.  Actually I did not notice that Internet Explorer(IE) had been updated for a while.  I don't use IE for browsing much on my office PC.  I have Firefox as my default browser and spend much time on Google Chrome.  The latest versions of Firefox and Chrome were better designed and faster then IE9, the last IE version. 

I use IE to go to a few sites that seem to work better with IE.  One of those is the site I use to order computer product.  Imagine my surprise when the page loaded and I couldn't find my old orders or saved orders.  The links for them had disappeared.  I also immediately noticed that the order site looked smaller then usual  - smaller font, buttons, and screen size.  Now I wasn't clueless and immediately clicked on the help button and found that my PC had been updated to IE10.  Once I knew that piece of information I also remembered from one of my Microsoft seminars that there is a compatibility mode button on the address bar that will let me look at a site just like it was in IE9.  I clicked on that (its right next to the refresh button )  and viola everything was back to normal!  I have already helped 3 clients out with this gem this week.

So what is IE10 and is it worth the upgrade?  IE 10 is Microsoft's browser upgrade to go with its new operating system Windows 8.  That is important to remember as we go through the features items.  It will work with Windows 7, but not any other operating system (XP, Vista, 2000 sorry!).  The first and probably most important upgrade is that IE10 is fast.  Its 20%+ faster then IE9 and after doing some checking it is faster then the latest Firefox and is a close 2nd to Google Chrome.  Sites just respond faster.  When it comes to Browser features, speed is on top.  The interface looks very close to IE9.  That is it is very sparse and utilitarian.  Not much showing on the screen.  If you right click in the upper area you can pick the toolbars and features you would like to display.  We just use the menu bar. 

The biggest hyped new feature it the ability to PIN sites to your Windows taskbar.  With this feature you can drag a site you are on to the taskbar (bottom of the screen) and a permanent short cut icon will be located there.  For example we went on facebook and dragged the tab to the taskbar and there is our pinned facebook shortcut.  But wait its more then just a pretty icon.  It can tell you when you have messages, or special friend updates, um just like on your phone!  Ah now it clicks in.  Microsoft was copying the phone interface into Windows.  Not every site can be pinned, but most popular sites seem to work.  You can google IE10 pinned sites to get a list.

There are several cosmetic changes (the right scroll bar works like the one in Windows 8) and several upgrades to the HTML5 language compatibility (geek for IE10 is more compatible with new websites then IE9). Open tabs can be closed without having to open the tab (like Chrome & Firefox have had for years!). There are also some excellent privacy settings that make surfing the web safer.   Many of the changes in IE10 only are shown if you have Windows 8 and a touch screen PC/Tablet. 

So bottom line - Should I upgrade to IE10?  The increased speed and security make me want to say yes.  Being more compatible with HTML5 can only make IE10 a better browser.  We'll keep checking it out, but PCSS will give a YES to this upgrade.

#223 - Is a 3D printer in your future?

3-D Printing or Additive Manufacturing has been around since the late 70s.  This process makes a product from a  3-D representation of an object.  Building up layers on layers of usually plastic or metal material.  An item can be "printed" over and over.  This smacks of the Star Trek's replicators.  Ask the computer for something (like food) and viola it appears. 

Prices of the early 3-D printers were astronomical.  In the past 3 years prices have come down to "stromical".  They are still expensive, but in the thousands of dollars versus hundreds and tens of thousands of dollars.  What also has improved is 3-D scanning.  There are holographic scanners now available that will plot out any object so that it can be sent to the 3-D Printer almost instantly after being scanned.  Hand held laser scanners can quickly get all the coordinates for an object.  Problems do happen if the object has shiny or reflective surfaces.  There are also contact scanners and volume scanners that can handle those objects. 

I've seen on two early morning talk shows (not that I watch them regularly) table top 3-D printers making models for the hosts.  On my favorite geek show - The Big Bang Theory - two of the geeks bought a 3-D scanner and make life like dolls of themselves.  Of course they didn't show the process, because if they did it would have taken way more then the 1/2 hour the show runs. 

The applications for 3-D printing are limited only by human imagination.  Parts for industry (shown above) are one application that is in use today.  Producing models for prototype products is another use.  I don't know of anyone making food at this time.  AutoCad corporation (the leading CAD software company) now makes a program called 123D Creatures, that lets you design a monster and then print it out on your 3-D printer.   Of course the monsters are less then 6 inches in height, but hey isn't that cool?

The future of 3-D printing appears very bright (the leader of the 3-Dprinter makers is MAKERBOT) so it may not be too far in the future when you too have a 3-D printer and scanner on your desktop.

#222 - What apps make sense to have on your phone?

I just got an email from one of my credit card providers telling me about their new iphone/Android app.  I can pay my bill, find out my balance, view activity, and view my minimum payment.   After thinking about those items, I decided quickly that I do not need to do those items on my phone.  The email jogged my memory to the recent GEICO ad with the pig on the plane (you knew they were going to hit on 'When Pigs Fly'),  I don't need to do my insurance on the phone, so sorry Nationwide don't develop an app for me. 

There is this fever going around the corporate world that you have to have an app for your business to succeed.  Well I hate to break it to the business that are spending big bucks on apps development, but the fact is that not every business needs an app.  Maybe I'm on old stick in the mud technology guy, but I don't think so.  I love having stock updates, weather forecasts, breaking news and getting sport scores on my phone.  I even like getting ski reports (thanks Wintergreen!) navigation aids and suggestions for where to eat or buy something on my phone.  Picking emails and limited game playing are also welcome.   Doing major financial work on a phone is just not going to be my cup of tea.  I barely like doing it on my laptop/desktop.  I do pay most of my bills on line, but pay them on my phone?  Why?  Maybe some of my customers can clue me in this need.

So what apps make sense to have on your phone?  I've listed some great categories above.   I love having a camera where I can instantly post the picture to facebook.  I like seeing facebook updates.  I don't tweet from my phone, but then again I don't tweet from anywhere else so that's not relevant.  I don't order items from the phone because the screen is so small.  I'm not sure what I'm getting.  I do have a 4.3" phone screen, but making a financial transaction when I may or may not be 100% sure of what I've done (no print capability) is not for me.  I like looking up information on the Internet so have a browser or 2 and voice commands is very cool.  I do use the airline apps when I travel and use an app called Tripit that reminds me of my schedules.  I even have an app that turns my phone into a flash light (used that during the 6 day power outage this summer). 

Let me know if you have a favorite app I haven't covered and I'll pass it on to the PCSS customer base!

#221 - The Value of a Technology Assessment

One of the services PCSS offers for small business is a Technology Assessment.  For no cost to the business, PCSS will come in and look at how your business is using technology.  A written and oral report will be given to the business as to the state of their technology and recommendations for cost savings and productivity improvement technology.  Also given are opportunities to use technology to increase the businesses revenue.    Here are some of the items that we take a look at:

Where is the business right now?  An inventory of what PCs/laptops/printers/monitors/networking that the business has.  An estimate of what the business is spending on technology per year.  Items we review include printing costs, licensing/leasing costs,  age of PCs and replacement costs, Internet provider costs, email provider costs, web page/facebook page costs, telephone system costs.

Where can the business cut costs?   Would a printer or multifunction machine with lower supply costs save the business money?  Getting a competitive price on Internet service often results in decreased costs.  Long distance and basic telephone savings by using VOIP technology.  Are your technology costs reasonable for 2013?  ie. are you paying too much for what you are getting?

Where can the business use technology to improve their profit margin?  Is the business being reimbursed properly for the services they use and are providing ?  Are there new technologies that can improve productivity or lead to new revenue streams? 

These are just a few questions that PCSS can help your business answer as you look to have a more profitable 2013.  Using technology should be viewed as a positive in your business not just a line item(s) in the expense column.