Tweet! Tweet!

Hey, have I talked about TWITTER? Do I need to? Well, there's a lot of argument about that.

Twitter is, depending on who you talk to:

• A complete waste of precious time, making and reading short statements about nothing. Or ...
  
• An indispensable tool for communicating from computer or cell phone and staying in touch with a rapidly changing world.

Ok well... as with MOST realities the truth most likely lies somewhere in between.

I LIKE Twitter, not that I use it all that much (YET!). I like what it tries to do; what it DOES do. It's sort of like CHAT on the fly, which is a little redundant I realize, even as I write it.

Twitter has been used to say silly little thoughts off the top of ones head to no one in particular, or to a business associate, or to someone you love, or someone you wish loved you.

But Twitter is rapidly becoming a LOT more. Recently a Russian break-away state used twitter as a means of organizing protest; so did dissidents in Iran who were unhappy with their Government's handing of an election. It was used to announce an impromptu concern by Comedian Dave Chappelle in Portland, OR only HOURS before it took place....Hundreds showed up. Granted, the last point is less important than the first too, but you should know the range.

Additionally, it's being marketed as the NEW MOBILE MARKETPLACE by innovative new businesses looking for ways to link clients to products and services.

Hey, like it or not TWITTER and services not yet dreamed of are part of the digital world we all have happening around us. I LIKE it. May as well; its gonna happen anyway. I'm not letting kids under 18 have ALL the fun to themselves. No way!

Going, Going.....

Well, next Tuesday (5-19) I offer my periodic class on using using CraigsList to find and/or list things to Buy/Sell on the internet. This class is intended for those very new to CraigsList and many of my past students have never seen it in action.

CraigsList is actually a handy on-line bulletin board connecting buyers & sellers, usually in a local market, such as our Greater Portland/Vancouver Metro area. There are definite advantages in dealing with neighbors as customers and the fun of either adding to or cleaning out a closet is fun and for many a nice source of extra spending cash.

The following week I'm teaching at Oasis Center again on Using FaceBook...Social networking. This classes is a basic introduction intended for folks with Internet access and who don't yet have a FaceBook account. FaceBook is a site on the net intended to connect people, friends, family..to share thoughts, ideas and pictures. It's a site drawing an enormous ammount of press lately, as people flock to new and better means of connecting when miles and miles separate us.

If either of these might be something of interest click on this link for the Oasis Site and see if space is available.

Big Brother is Watching!...and it's a GOOD thing.

Some of my clients have started asking me for regular visits to their machines via remote access to see just what their problems are...I'm more than happy to oblige. Making an 'ONLINE Service Call' has the impact of being fast, short and inexpensive, with no drive time...just wham bam thankyou Mame (or Mister).

Using a free software device and a high speed internet access I can log into your machine via a secure connection and you can SHOW me what's plaguing you while I watch from the my office. If I'm not tied up with another call it has the benefit of making the call immediate, fast and cheap. And you won't have to talk to China or India, not that there's anything wrong with it.

If you're interested in getting set up for this service give we a call and we'lld determine if its appropriate for you.

Software EXPIRATION Date

Are you aware much of today's software comes with an 'expiration date'? Certainly all that crapware (as it's lovingly refered to in the trade) that came with your computer does.

Trial versions of Norton Anti Virus, Office 2007, etc. are all provided as 'teasers' to encourage you to buy. You use it for a month-or-six and you're hooked. Up pops an invitation to buy the full blown version at a 'nominal cost'; nominal cost....that's a good one....YOU'LL be the judge of that!

Well, constant reader, there ARE alternatives. In virus protection I've been signing my clients up for AVAST! It's a great program that takes up not much space and automatically updates it's virus definitions and database continually. Oh, there may be a better free virus protection out there; we could have that debate. But this one will save you 50$ and a lotta grief.

As for Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Access, etc....), that one is a little tougher. It's a marvelous collection of programs 80-90% of all PC owners use everyday. But there ARE options, and they don't have to be too freaky for you. Open Office makes a free suite of software that has almost ALL of what Microsoft offers, AND you can set it up to read and save files in Microsoft formats so that your friends and business associates can open and alter your files even if they don't use Open Office. So if you can't afford $150+ for the Microsoft Office product then Open Office is the way to go. And the learning curve is virtually FLAT.

So don't let these EXPIRED warnings force you to get your wallet out. Check out these two tips. And if you don't like 'em, money back guarantee (just kidding....I don't recall you spending anything yet).

Attention IPhone Users

Are you and IPhone or IPod user? Have you come across the dreaded error: 5002? Let me ease your pain. The first place to check, assuming you have an account with the Apple ITunes Store online, is that your account info is up-to-date. If your credit card is on file with Apple and your account is within a month of it's expiration date that's enough to prevent you from being able to add applications or update them on your IPod, IPhone or ITouch. You'll get an Error: 5002 when you try, till you correct the problem.

If you don't have one of these devices then 'never mind'. This post isn't for you.

'...and the Winner is.....'

What's the #1 complaint on computer users' minds/hearts/souls when they are finally pushed to call for help? The results are in and the winner is....wait for it...

"My computer is so *@#$-ing SLOW!" Sometimes the complaint is followed by 'all of a sudden' or 'I've been living with it for AGES and I'm about ready to throw it off the deck'.

There are a host of reasons for why a computer might 'suddenly' move like a fly on fly paper and here are a just a few, in order of common offense (most of this having a WINDOWS slant):

1. Too little RAM memory. Yes folks, I know the salesman told you when you bought it that this would be PLENTY good for your purposes. The cold hard truth? ==>>Salesman LIE. There is no such thing as TOO MUCH RAM. It you have any spare change when buying a computer spend it on more RAM. Trust me...you'll be sooooo much happier.
   
2. Registry issues need 'curing'. What's a Registry, you might ask? It's a rather important file that Microsoft Windows (all versions) use to tell it who, what and where things are on your computer and what to do with them; and it entirely on it's own over time developes ways about it self that just aren't right.
3. Virus problems. You thought this one was gonna be 1st, right? Wrong. While still a common problem the other two issues are a bigger head ache for most computers. Didn't renew or replace the FREE trial virus protection when it expired? Shame on you. And there are PLENTY of great free virus protection software programs available.
   
4. Spyware issues. Oh yeah, when we get done celebrating the fact that the internet is FREE and UN-regulated we deal with the reality that any website, most in fact, can place small items ON OUR computers that make our machines slow from a run to a stroll to a crawl. Tracking cookies are a big problem because they're like little BEACONS using up your bandwidth (sorry....for the...geek-speak) to tell some commercial entity little things about you and your internet visits that marketing companies pay to know. Sucks, but such is the price of freedom. And spyware protection is NOT the same as virus protect...well, sometimes it is, but 98% of the time it's NOT. You need BOTH. Hey, it's a jungle out there.
   

But there's GOOD NEWS. It's not broke, it's just ailing. If you don't have hours and hours to research how to fix these problems then it's time I plug what it is I do and offer to come over and fix it for 'ya. Hey, it's what we do.

Wait, wait....I forgot number 5. Your computer is just too OLD. Yep, if it's over eight and you want it to do something more than prop a door open then you are likely to need ALL of the above to keep it going. But some of us would like to keep one more thing out of the landfill and wanna keep the ole machine goin' for a while longer. I repeat: Call us.

Another Phony Story

Those folks at Apple...they just make fine 'stuff'. Ok, yesterday a phone was just a phone, yes? To make and receive calls? Well, get out of the way because that is so YESTERDAY....I'm sayin' the IPHONE is here...big time.

A phone today can be so much more and for NOT a lot more money. It should still keep us in touch with folks we need to be in touch with....but it is also an information device and an entertainment device.

Don't like the way things are going? You may was well try and turn back time and the tide. Like it or not phones will be mini computers that can 'sing' us to sleep or tell us what's at the movies down the block. It is dangerous to not know what these technological devices are all about. The danger that we'll become 'old' in our thinking and the world will pass us by.

I say it's exciting. And you know, it still has an ON/OFF button.

This is getting Sooooo Old!

Yeah, I know. Age. It's tough to talk about. But we had this discussion in a previous post and it bears repeating, as a good 'rule of thumb' often does.

Computers, like out pets, age at a different rate than people do. Duh! You've noticed, right? While with our dogs and cats we allow 7 years to one to determine their age in the pet life cycle, with computers its more like 15 to 1. That is to say, a one year old computer is a 'teenager' and a 5 year old computer is passing mid seventies, virtually.

With our pets, no matter HOW much we love them, we begin to examine what is humane for their own good when considering those 'vet' bills; same is true for a PC. Though they can like pets, be born with 'genetic irregularities' that cause them to go 'terminal' early, this 15 to one rule of thumb rule works well in evaluating the computer life cycle. Sure, sometimes they live to be '100', but that is as rare with PCs as it is with people and pets.

It's useful to have this 'age calculator' when facing a PC replacement and if it makes sense to consider 'major surgery', or do we just 'put it down' mercifully. Never and easy decision, but you're the one in charge. Knowledge is power. Make good decisions. Call me when you need me and for the rest of the time 'Good luck with that'.

What? Left overs? Again?

PC World confirms what most of us have always known...that those warnings from the printer software that we are 'OUT of INK' are usually bogus...that we may in fact have anywhere from 8-45% of the usable ink in a cartridge left over. It ain't right...it ain't fair, but those dudes who make 'em are in charge. Hey, some printers won't even let you go on till you buy and replace a new cartridge...Extortion! And it doesn't matter that you buy refillables....same problem.
>
What's a body to do? Well, for one, don't 'change over' just because they say you're low on ink...wait till your print quality suffers.


Beyond that everything you might to is too much of a hassle. Yeah, I know...you'd hoped there was an INK magic wand....sorry. The good news is that newer printers have become somewhat better at ink utilization...but with printer manufacturers making ALL their money on ink, we consumers are sort of down the ole ink well.

Get Some Class, Will you? Part II

With the thought being that many may well receive either a computer or a digital camera (or BOTH!) thru the Holidays I'd like to offer a special class in Mid-January geared toward helping folks put their camera to use; then, get the pictures from the camera to their computer, perform minor editing and attach pictures to e-mails. It's a pretty basic class so no special skills are needed...just a will to learn.

If you're interested please call Mark at 503-530-6623 or e-mail to
markd@neighborhoodcomputerservices.net and ask for the full class outline & pricing. I'll only be taking a limited number of students for this class, so contact me NOW, before I run out of space.

Getting Digital Cameras to Work with Computers 101...a four hour class, taught/split between two days.