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Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
"Danger! Danger! Will Robinson"
We've written before about various e-mail scams to get to 'click here' and make you wish you hadn't... Most of us know that there are "Ethiopian" money scams. But the latest and nastiest are:
Both of these viral scams have had a variety of results ... None of them pleasant. It's really a shame that a growing amount of my business is undoing these avoidable scams for nice people. Be warned, and be careful about clicking ANYTHING in e-mails you weren't expecting to get. Your bank, your brokerage firm, shipping companies and your friends don't operate this way, so be careful out there.
- CraigsList Verifier - The way this one works is to LOOK as if it's from the CraigsList people, asking you to verify your 'membership' and click here to avoid a scam. Devious, but effective. Tens of thousands have clicked the link.
- Shipping Company Delivery - From 'FedEX' or the like...Hey, you WANT to get your delivery, right? Even though you can't remember having ordered anything? Well, just click the link and...and you're screwed! Sorry, but there's no nice way to put it. This was NOT a note from a shipping company.
Both of these viral scams have had a variety of results ... None of them pleasant. It's really a shame that a growing amount of my business is undoing these avoidable scams for nice people. Be warned, and be careful about clicking ANYTHING in e-mails you weren't expecting to get. Your bank, your brokerage firm, shipping companies and your friends don't operate this way, so be careful out there.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Another bite of the APPLE? The IPad
What IS this thing called IPad? A keyboard-less Netbook on steroids? A two-handed IPod? Something more? Something....less?
Though the jury is out and it's much too soon to pass definite judgment on Apple's latest release it IS noteworthy, if for no other reason than Apple has never put this much power for sale at such a competitive price.
The biggest shake up is the lack of a keyboard, or rather the use of an on-screen touch keyboard. Apple is certainly king of touch experience though Sony gave that market a shake last year with its Vaio offerings. But all the touch features that made the IPhone so cool are present in the IPad.
I suspect anyone who takes a trip to an Apple store to check these babies out will love them or hate them, but the tablet market is still in search of a customer base and the IPad may be ahead of its time. Or, perhaps its like caviar...an acquired taste. But if you're a gadget hound like me you just want to PLAY with it....for hours....on...end!
Though the jury is out and it's much too soon to pass definite judgment on Apple's latest release it IS noteworthy, if for no other reason than Apple has never put this much power for sale at such a competitive price.
The biggest shake up is the lack of a keyboard, or rather the use of an on-screen touch keyboard. Apple is certainly king of touch experience though Sony gave that market a shake last year with its Vaio offerings. But all the touch features that made the IPhone so cool are present in the IPad.
I suspect anyone who takes a trip to an Apple store to check these babies out will love them or hate them, but the tablet market is still in search of a customer base and the IPad may be ahead of its time. Or, perhaps its like caviar...an acquired taste. But if you're a gadget hound like me you just want to PLAY with it....for hours....on...end!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Hurry Up!
One of the most common complaints by PC users, right after "I think I have a virus!", is "My computer has become soooo slow". Uh huh. They do that.
But the GOOD news is it's like highly fixable. The first place to start is to know what's loading on your computer every time you start up and then eliminate the ones that you don't absoltively need! It's not difficult, really, but for the non-techno minded you'll probably want to call a tech in for help. Takes about an hour to do a tune up and shouldn't cost more than 65-75$.
The second thing you can do is evaluate the cost of adding more RAM memory. Prices on RAM have been really low in the last 6 months, so less than 100$ can many times double, or even four-ple, your memory greatly speeding up your computer's thought process. Putting in new RAM is only a little tougher than plugging in a light bulb, but again, if you need help we do that, too.
Call or write us (503) 530-6623 markd@neighborhoodcomputerservices.net
But the GOOD news is it's like highly fixable. The first place to start is to know what's loading on your computer every time you start up and then eliminate the ones that you don't absoltively need! It's not difficult, really, but for the non-techno minded you'll probably want to call a tech in for help. Takes about an hour to do a tune up and shouldn't cost more than 65-75$.
The second thing you can do is evaluate the cost of adding more RAM memory. Prices on RAM have been really low in the last 6 months, so less than 100$ can many times double, or even four-ple, your memory greatly speeding up your computer's thought process. Putting in new RAM is only a little tougher than plugging in a light bulb, but again, if you need help we do that, too.
Call or write us (503) 530-6623 markd@neighborhoodcomputerservices.net
Friday, January 15, 2010
What the Heck are you DOING?
What are you doing with your computer? E-Mail, probably. Maybe a letter now and then. Search the internet? Almost for sure you're searching the net...But what ELSE?
Some folks are doing one of these things, too. But add your favorite thing to the list by posting a comment at the bottom:
Some folks are doing one of these things, too. But add your favorite thing to the list by posting a comment at the bottom:
- Finding a Restaurant (Using yelp.com or some such)
- Listening to music streams at Pandora.com
- Using Google for find Hotel accommodations or fun Bed & Breakfast places
- Creating a FREE blog to share their thoughts...Hey, it's easy if you start at Blogspot.com
- Downloading and installing free Picasa to organize and modify pictures on your PC
- And what about Twitter? You don't need a fancy phone to keep up with what's going on...
- Then of course maybe it's time to give Facebook a try. I know you said you wouldn't but...
- Oh...wait...don't know how to DO any of this? Visit Youtube.com and type in 'how do I ...'
- Oh and are you up on the news? New York Times maybe?
- And wouldn't it be nice to know the weather in Timbuktoo?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Desperately seeking.....Computing Nirvana!
Most of my clients (people in YOUR neighborhood) come to me with various technology related issues, but the all have one thing in common. They eventually got tired of having their problems plague them, they just wanted things to WORK and they wanted someone to rescue them.
Hey, we all want to be rescued, don't we? Thank goodness there are experts who can make our pain stop and allow us to get our lives back. And we ask ourselves "Why did we wait so long to call? Was all that suffering necessary?"
Well, I have a theory on that....some say I have a theory on everything. My theory tells me that people need to go through whatever it is they do to bring them to the point of understanding what it is they need to do next. Simply, yes? But folks don't call me till that happens. Some suffer terribly before they get to the point where they reach out to an 'expert'. Once they do, though, they feel liberated! It's freeing to give your problems over to someone who has the skills that you've discovered you lack; someone who can make the frustration go away and make things work again.
That's what I do....make headaches go away...restore functionality and allow people to enjoy their lives again; instead of stumbling over technology once again they become the master and the tools bend to their command.
Oh so it sounds grandiose, eh? Then you, my friend, are not yet at that point. But you will be. I WILL be. We all will need someone to help us through a tough time. But when it's your computing tools, smart phone or software issues making you pull your hair out...call me!
Hey, we all want to be rescued, don't we? Thank goodness there are experts who can make our pain stop and allow us to get our lives back. And we ask ourselves "Why did we wait so long to call? Was all that suffering necessary?"
Well, I have a theory on that....some say I have a theory on everything. My theory tells me that people need to go through whatever it is they do to bring them to the point of understanding what it is they need to do next. Simply, yes? But folks don't call me till that happens. Some suffer terribly before they get to the point where they reach out to an 'expert'. Once they do, though, they feel liberated! It's freeing to give your problems over to someone who has the skills that you've discovered you lack; someone who can make the frustration go away and make things work again.
That's what I do....make headaches go away...restore functionality and allow people to enjoy their lives again; instead of stumbling over technology once again they become the master and the tools bend to their command.
Oh so it sounds grandiose, eh? Then you, my friend, are not yet at that point. But you will be. I WILL be. We all will need someone to help us through a tough time. But when it's your computing tools, smart phone or software issues making you pull your hair out...call me!
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Neighborhood Computer Services 503-530-6623