Why Are Laptop Batteries So Expensive?

Most laptop batteries are made from lithium. Scientists have to locate a source of lithium. There is a high source of lithium in salt water that is close to a source of volcanic activity. Once they find such a spot, the water is put in salt pools for the sun to evaporate the water. When it gets to a thick brine. Then it is sent to a processing plant until it's made into powder form.

That's not the end. It's mixed with other substance and rolled into sheets. The sheets are rolled up into a battery Then it's charged. Alkaline batteries can do this only once, but lithium has the property of being able to be recharged many times. That is why they are using it for car batteries now.

So you see the technology is complicated and it takes a lot of scientists a long time to come up with that 100$ battery. So, next time, don't complain as much when you shell out that benjamin for your laptop.

What E-Mail Attachments Shouldn't I Open?

• any attachment from a complete stranger. If you haven't advertised for a secretary, and you get a resume from someone, think twice. If it's a legitimate solicitation for work, they won't mind if you email them back requesting that they copy and paste their resume into the body of their email message.
• any attachment that ends in .bat .com .exe .hlp .pif or .scr (None of these should be emailed).
• any attachment from a suspicious email address yourwebhelper@yahoo.com definitely would fall into that category! 
• an unsolicited email from your bank (especially if you haven't provided them with your email information). Legitimate emails from banks instruct you to log into your account to do something. They don't send email attachments.
• any attachment from a friend or coworker who is know to have virus problems.  Especially if they are sending it through a mail system that doesn't scan for viruses. 

Hope this helps you stay virus free!

Why Do Tech Always Ask If You Have Rebooted Your Computer?

They are not playing games with you when they ask this. Don't lie and say you have if you haven't because the tech will assume you are telling the truth and end up wasting your time. Rebooting clears the RAM and clears the temporary file. It stops the writing process (of the temp file). It gives the computer a chance to try again.

Rebooting your computer is always a first step in solving tech problems. It's not magic, it's just science. Cleared RAM is fresh RAM and a chance to try what you were wanting to do again.

Solving computer problems is basically the scientific method. We ask so many questions to eliminate all the possibilities and what's left are possible causes. When we eliminate all but one, then we have a winner!

Chip Creep is Creepy.

The temperature inside your computer is above 100 degrees. Computers hate heat. Permanent damage can occur to components at 85 degrees F. When your computer heats up and cools down several hundreds of times, a phenomenon known as chip creep can occur. The chips start to creep out of their socket.  This can happen to RAM chips, ICs and on expansion cards. If you suspect chip creep is making your system flakey, simply press down on the chips to reseat them. (Make sure the power is off and you have grounded yourself first!)

To minimize the chances of chip creep, never leave your computer in your car. Never leave the blank slots off the back of your computer. Keep your computer and power supply fan dusted out with canned air.

Why is Dust BAD for Computers?

Dust is bad for your computer for two reasons:

1. Dust carries an electrical charge. Although it's a small charge, a buildup of dust means a buildup of electric. It takes only a small charge to destroy computers. You know when you walk across the carpet and then shock someone? That's too much for the computer! Buh bye Mr. CPU!
2. Dust acts as an insulator. That means it is keeping HEAT which is the enemy of computers in.

Never use a regular vacuum inside your computer! You can buy a specialized computer vacuum, but even I don't trust them too much. I used canned air. Don't use swifters! Again, that's an electrical hazard.  Never leave the slots or cover off the back of your computer because that draws dust in and doesn't allow the natural cooling system of the computer to work at top efficiency.

Fishing is Good, Phishing is Bad.

I remember when I was a young girl sitting on the banks of Widewaters (the Erie Canal) with my "Nana" and "Ma". I had a bamboo fishing pole, a red bobber, and home-made "sinkers." I never touched the bait or the sunfish or catfish I caught, but I learned how to sit quietly until I caught something.

Fishing takes time, but with the right bait and a little patience, you have dinner! Fishing is good. Phishing (pronounced the same way as fishing)is not so good. It works the same way. The phisher throws out his line ("This is your bank and we need you to verify some information on your account, please enter your user name and password NOW.") and hopes to get a bite. If you bite, he catches you! At the point where they are asking you for your password, alarms should go off. Maybe they SOUND like they are trying to help you, but they are no better than a masked bankrobber!

Banks never send emails regarding passwords. They send you messages through the web page or they disable your web access forcing you to phone them and verify your identity.

If you get a link in an email for your bank, trust me, it's not your bank site. It may look like it, but that is because phishers are so good at that even tech-savy people can be deceived.

I received an email from "Wells Fargo Home Mortgage." I have a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. However, at no time did I provide Wells Fargo with a personal email address. I wanted to reply, but if I did they would know they reached a valid email address so I deleted without opening it.

That brings me to my tip for the day. Have a money email address. Save this special email address for things like doing taxes, paying bills, shopping online, and any other financial transactions you may have online. Don't give this email address out to your friends. Don't register this email anywhere. Just make it topsecret to you. Oh, and don't make it a hotmail or yahoo email address. Make it a safer account like verizon or comcast or gmail. Have another email address for dangerous sites and public lists. Make a third email address for all your other correspondence needs.

Be the phish that got away! Be safe!

Example of An Email Abuse Report (Why Your Contact List Should Stay Updated)

I received this email from our email vendor:

Attention: Email/Cloud Account Administrator


A mailbox on your account has been reported as sending unwanted emails. These reports come to us from various internet service providers when the recipients physically mark an email sent by a Email/Cloud user as spam.

Attached you will find detailed information regarding each reported instance of abuse including the time stamp, subject, and recipient. In some cases an internet service provider may choose to withhold or redact recipient information for privacy purposes however please note that each line below is an individual report of abuse. Those specifically listed as UnknownRecipient are most likely AOL recipients as they have the strictest privacy policy regarding their user data.

Further complaints from the same recipients or continued complaints in general about mail sent by your user may result in disabling of the sending mailbox. In the case of multiple notices or extreme levels of abuse, termination of email hosting service for the entire sending domain may occur in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy and your Rackspace product Terms of Service.

Please regard this notice as an opt-out or unsubscribe request. To remedy this issue, please inform your user that the recipients listed do not want to receive future emails. If your user is not sending these messages, their account is likely compromised and you should encourage them to choose stronger passwords. If your user forwards their mail to another provider and marks it as spam there, please tell them that this flags our servers as the spammers.

If you have any questions at all regarding this notice or if you would like to receive future notifications at a different email address, please reply to this email or contact your product support through normal channels.

I guess they told me! Well, I figured straight from the horse's mouth was the best way to make a point. Keeping your contact list updated with people who want to receive your emails is something that can't be put off.  Make sure your customers know how to opt out of your emails so I don't get one of these about you! Also, notice they suggested the use of strong passwords (combinations of numbers and letters with a capital letter for good measure).

What to Do About the Naked Girl Facebook Friend Requests

Clicking Ignore isn't enough. If you don't report them, they'll keep sending requests to others. To report a person who has a pornographic profile photo, click on their name to bring up their profile. Scroll all the way down the page and in the lower left hand corner of the screen is a Report link as shown to the right. Click on Report/Block. You want to Block as well as Report. Drop down to the reason "pornography" and choose location place: profile picture.

Why Can't People Read My Microsoft Office 2007 (or 2010) Documents?

If they are running Office 2003 or earlier, then you need to "dummy down" your Office documents. You do this when you save them. Go to File, Save As, and drop down to the 97-2003 document type. This saves your documents in a format that others can read from a previous version of Microsoft Office.

If your email recipient says to you that they have this problem alot, you might suggest that they download the Office compatibility pack which allows older versions to read newer files. I wouldn't suggest it though unless they mention it's a frequent problem, because it's a big download. 37 mb. Download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en

Taking Care of Optical Discs

• Don't use a ball point pen to write on an optical disc. The thin layer of metal lies beneath a small amount of plastic and a ball-point pen can go through that layer easily. Instead, use a felt-tip marker.
• Always store discs in the case to avoid scratching
• Never use a post-it note as a label (yep, seen this!); someone might forget to take it off and ruin your optical drive (yep, they did)
• Store discs vertically out of the sun or extreme heat (like in a car)
• Always handle discs by the center hole and outside edges
• Clean with a slightly damp (water or cd cleaner) cloth wiping outwards, not circular so you don't scratch the disc with the debris
• Remove paper inserts from inside the case for long-term storage; they absorb humidity
• Use only room temperature discs; discs that have been exposed to temperature extremes should set for awhile until they come to room temperature.

People Who Want Their Emails to be Received

• Don't use Outlook as their email editor
• Don't use social networking badges
• Don't embed graphics into their signature
• Don't use a background graphic
• Use the KISS (Keep it simple stupid) principle
• Don't overuse mass-mailing
• Don't abuse customer relationships by sending irrelevant emails

A Word About Paper

Most people don't even think about paper-except for marketing departments. The paper just magically comes out of the printer and is put in there by the paper gods. Knowing what paper you have is important. Having the wrong paper selected could possibly damage your printer or give you a crappy-looking finished product.

When I was in Egypt I saw a fascinating demonstration of how the ancient Egyptians made paper. They wove the water-soaked papyrus strands into a mat and then put them in a press. The finished produt is rough by our standards, but rather nice considered it's just a bunch of leaves. Modern paper was made from cotton, but today it's made from a combination of cotton and wood pulp. Paper is sold by weight; the most come is 20 lb. bond paper and an 8.5 x 11" ream will weigh in at five pounds.

If you buy paper that is too thin for your printer or for your printer settings; if you buy it too thick, you can jam or possibly damage feed mechanisms. It's important not to store paper for too long or in a place with excessive humidity. This can damage the paper even though your eye can not see the damage. The printer will know and not like it.

For best quality printing, use quality paper. For photograph printing, buy the recommended photo paper for that model printer.  It will be more expensive, but it will be more likely to produce lab-quality results and your treasured memories deserve it. Even with the best-quality paper, you can spoil your results if you are using a cartridge that you refilled yourself. All inks are not the same and probably the ink you refilled with is thinner than the ink that came with the cartridge originally. Also, refilling means the printhead doesn't get replaced so you can suffer from poor print quality from that. Refilling toner is also not a good idea. If you are suffering from poor laser printing quality, it may be the toner cartridge is a recycled or refilled one. The photosensitive drum is housed in the toner cartridge in some models; if it's refilled, then the drum doesn't get replaced when it needs to be. If you are unsure about this, ask your printer vendor if that's the case.  It's better to be green by printing only what you really need and don't print unecessary things like emails. Recycle your toner cartridges, (but just don't buy recycled ones).

When printing labels (a paper product), if you see that a label is starting to peel, discard the whole sheet, the others may peel off inside the printer and jam it.

What's the Difference Between CDs, DVDs, HD DVD and Blu-Ray Discs?

All four are considered optical drives and not magnetic like hard drives. The data is read on CDs and DVDs by shining a laser onto its reflective coating. The wavelength on a DVD is shorter so it can hold more information than a CD. Also, on a DVD they can put two layers of media increasing the storage capacity.

SS= Single Sided SL=Single Layer DL=Double Layer

Disc Format/Capacity
CD-SS 650 MB, 700 MB (the most common), 800 MB, 900 MB
DVD-R/RW SS, SL 4.71 GB
DVD+R/RW SS, SL 4.70 GB
DVD-R, DVD+R, DS, SL  9.4 GB
DVD-R SS, DL 8.54 GB
DVD+R SS, DL 8.55 GB
DVD+R DS, DL 17.1 GB

HD DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs represent a new technology which uses a blue-violet laser beam to read the data which is why the hardware is not compatible. The wave length is shorter still so more information can be stored on the disk

Blu-Ray SS SL  25 GB
HD DVD's 15 GB made Blu-Ray the winner. Toshiba (HD DVD's biggest fan) gave up its push for this media last year.

If you are thinking about buying movies or optical hardware, just be aware that DVD and HD DVD will die out and Blu-Ray will emerge the winner unless some new kid on the block comes along and wants to duke it out with them.

What Type of Printer Should I Buy?

It depends on:

• what type of documents you want to print
• how much you want to spend and when you want to spend it
• what other features you need from the machine

If the only thing I printed in color was photos and the rest of the time I was printing legal documents, I would buy two printers: photo printer (which they are almost giving away these days) and a laser printer. Don't let the term LaserJet fool you when you are buying a printer. The term LaserJet is used for laser printers usually, and not inkjets. The way to distinguish the difference is by the ink they use: toner cartridges for laser printers and ink cartridges for inkjet printers.

I'm not a real fan of inkjet printers: I have three new ones in the boxes at home. The cartridges don't last long in an inkjet printer and they are very pricey for a small amount of ink. They dry out unless you take them out and put them in a sealed bag.

Sometimes you need extra functions to your printer and need an all in one printer. If you need a scanner, copier, fax, and printer all in one you'll be buying an inkjet. If you only print occasionally and just need a simple, near laser quality printer you'll probably be best off with an inkjet printer.

If you don't want to take your photos to a lab to be printed professionally, then you need a photo inkjet printer.

If you have a large volume of material that needs to be printed, or if you need high-speed printing you'll be buying a laser printer.

Things that people don't usually think about when buying a printer:

• cost per page printed. Find this out.
• toner/ink cartridge price. It makes a big difference when you are talking about TCO (total cost of operation.
• longevity of the availability of toner/ink cartridges for the model that you are purchasing. Look at the manufacturer and find out how long they tend to support their product.

Why haven't I mentioned bubble jet printers? Because they are inkjet printers. The only difference is the technology of how the ink is released onto the paper. Epson has a trademark way which produces a better quality print than other manufacturers. Keep that in mind if you are leaning towards inkjet. If you do buy an inkjet, please be aware that the initial "ink cartridges" that come with the printer are not full cartridges; they are like trial cartridges.

Some printers nowadays are being manufactured with recycled plastic. Consider that in your purchase too! Emails were never intended to be printed; please be green when you print.

Hope this helps you buy the right printer for your needs!

Which is a Better Value for My Dollar? Laptop or Desktop

With the economy being so bad these days, we have to have this talk. If you are talking just about just money, then you always get more bang for your buck with a desktop. With the rise of smart phones, more and more folks are opting for a desktop instead of a laptop - especially those folks who are not traveling a lot.

Here's why desktops are a better value for your dollar:

• Laptops sustain damage due to being dropped and left in cars.
• At 10,000 hours laptop backlights tend to go out. At 40 hours/week that is less than five years.(Which is past the time to replace a laptop anyways, but lots of folks like to hang onto their laptops way past replacement time.) At that point you have to hook your laptop to an external monitor or pay someone 200$ to replace it.
• Laptops are stolen and forgotten in public places.
• The parts are cheaper in desktops and the labor to install them is cheaper. Electronic parts always give and the components are cheaper in a desktop. Also, they are not proprietary usually except in a few models of PCs. (Of course, Apples are proprietary.The technology to make vary small parts in a laptop is pricier. Most parts can be replaced under 100$ in a desktop, but few can be replaced for under 100$ in a laptop. 

So you can see that desktops are a better value. My company president made the transition to a desktop. Technology professionals respect that decision as a wise business decision, but a desktop isn't for everyone. People on the go may need a laptop because their office changes day to day. 

Why You Should Ditch AOL

• AOL is suffering serious staffing problems. It's firing people and hiring new people in an effort to save the company. It won't work. It's going to die sooner rather than later. If you have your life and your business tied up in AOL, you will eventually have to get it out of AOL when AOL goes under. We, as a society, don't need "online service" anymore. People pick and choose what they need mostly from free sources. So AOL is dead conceptually. It's brain-dead waiting for someone to pull the plug on the life support.
• AOL program slows your computer down. Click on Control ALT and DELETE at the same time. Choose Task Manager and then Processes. Sort by Size. You'll see what an oinker the AOL program really is. That alone should make you ditch AOL.
• AOL makes people think you don't know anything about computers. Everyone knows that AOL trashes your hard drive and is wondering why you would do that to your computer which you care about.
• AOL is overpriced. For what you pay for dialup you can get a simple high-speed plan. If you are bringing your own high-speed access to AOL, you are just throwing your money to the wind. You can get the same functions you have in AOL elsewhere on the net for free.

Sharing Your Files at Work Safely

There are many ways to share your files at work:

• flash drives - safe, but inconvenient to be passing the flash drive back and forth.
• CD's - ditto. Plus, unless they are rewriteable, it's not green.
• shared external drives - for example, an external USB drive. It's a good solution if the drive comes with software that secures permissions for the drive or if there isn't anything stored on the drive that can't be seen by the whole company.
• peer-to-peer networking - setting up shared folders. I never ever recommend this in a business environment. At home, it's ok, but in business it's simply not safe. It's easy for prying eyes to get into the files. Also, the computer where the files are store cannot be turned off because the connection is easily broken. If the computer storing the files gets infected, other computers connecting to it risk infection. If the hard drive crashes on the computer where the files are stored, the files for everyone may be lost. If the hard drive of the sharing computer doesn't have a lot of space, it will reduce performance on the sharing computer slowing it down. You have to check that the computer has room for other people's files on it.
• domain fileshares - this is the most secure. The setup takes some effort to set up groups and assign permissions, but it's the safest. It requires the expense of a server operating system and server hardware.
• web office spaces- Microsoft live space, Google Docs, or a shared DropBox account. This is a free and safe option for filesharing.

When sharing files at work make sure you runs scans on the flash drives or CD's prior to opening files on them. You don't know how cautious the person sharing files is about their virus protection.

My Favorite Microphone

Blue Microphones Snowflake USB Microphone I love this microphone. It's portable, it's easy to use, and the quality is fantastic. You can hear things all the way across the room with it. It folds up into a little case to protect it when you are travel. It's USB so you don't have to worry about any special connections.  If you are wanting to do any type of recording, you'll be happy with the quality.

Free Program to Password Protect Your Flash Drive

Take a look at the stuff on your flash drive. Is it personal? Can it be used against you for identity theft? Probably. Is it password protected? Probably Not. Are you going to lose it? Probably. Are you going to do anything about it now? Probably Not.

Flash drives are NOT floppy disks. You can put a lot of personal information on one flash drive. Enough to hurt you if it's lost.

You can download a free utility to put a password on your flash drive. That's better than doing nothing.

And that's what it costs. Nothing. Now you have no excuse to have an unprotected flash drive. Cryptainer LE is available from here:

http://www.cypherix.co.uk/cryptainer_le_download_center.htm
Cryptainer LE even works on desktops and laptops.

It's drag and drop easy. It never expires. It's part of a suite of security products you may want to check out. Visit the company's home page here:
http://www.cypherix.co.uk/index.htm

How to Get Your Email Blacklisted

Do all these bad things and you will certainly get your email blacklisted.
Ignore adware updates and scans. Zombies are infected computers that serve as spammer email servers.

1. Your email server allows relaying of email. Your email provider can tell you if they do or not. Most personal accounts allow relaying and business accounts generally don't. Send mass emails from Yahoo and Hotmail.
2. Don't allow opt-ins. Add your customers to a mailing list without their permission and send them emails frequently. They'll mark you as spam and you'll be blacklisted.
3. Don't inform users of how they can opt out of your mailing list.
4. Send information that is irrelevant to the customer. If they have already purchased from you, perhaps they don't wish to remain on your list. People who want to get blacklisted don't ask the customer if they want to stay on.
5. Forward lots of jokes, inspirational stories, or pictures to anyone and everyone on your list. Most people don't realize that if an email is marked as spam, it marks the sender (you) as a spammer.
6. Don't keep your email list updated. Never remove invalid email addressses or update them. Just add and add and add so you get lots of contacts.

Well hope this helps get you blacklisted! No, just kidding, I hope the things that get you blacklisted helps keep you whitelisted. Good luck with your emails!

Here Phishy Phishy

A phish is an attempt to learn personal information about you via email.  Here's an example of one:

An HTK4S virus has been detected in the Company Name Webmail server,and all Company Name  webmail accounts need to be upgraded immediatly to prevent damage to the webmail system.


You are therefor required to provide your account identities listed below to enable us verify and perform maintainance in your account with the new HTK4S anti-virus/anti-Spam version 2010.

failure to provide your valid information, your account will be suspended temporarily from our services.

Full Name:

Email Address:

Date of Birth:

NetID\HawkID:

Password:

Phone Number:

Copyright(c)  Company Name Webmail 2010 All Rights Reserved.


Did you notice all the spelling errors??????

Definitely a phish! I don't make spelling errors! (At least that we are aware of! lol)

Email providers do not ask you to send your date of birth!!!!!
And technology professionals NEVER ask for your password to be emailed to them!!!!!!!! Never ever!!!
Never reply to a phish! Simply delete it.

If You Find Yourself Needing to Use a Cyber Cafe

This is a popular month for vacations. Vacations mean travel and sometimes that travel includes waiting time in an airport or several days in a city that is filled with cyber cafes. I'm on my fourth (filled) passport so I've used cyber cafes alot.

Here's what you should look for in a cyber cafe:

• Privacy walls: you don't need the guy behind you spying on your business. Be on the alert for someone observing you.
• Nothing in back of you that has the possibility of hiding a camera in it.
• Some type of software that cleans the system completely when you log out. "Goback" is a popular one. You can see what I mean by visiting a public library. After you use the computer, the hard drive is wiped and restored to its original condition when you log out.
• Printers should be behind the checkout desk and not in a public location where anyone can take your documents. 

You should also be aware that cafe administrators have the ability to view the contents of your screen without your knowlege. Keep that in the back of your mind.

Trick That is Used Commonly to Infect Your Computer

One trick that is used by virus bad guy programmers is asking you to download Adobe flash player updates to see a video. Then it redirects you to their site to download their virus. This is especially common in Facebook. I've only been on Facebook three months and aleady seen this lots of times!

Here's how you foil their evil plots: update often and regularly from the company website. For Adobe updates go to http://www.adobe.com/, for Microsoft updates, update.Microsoft.com, and for other updates do your homework. If you don't have time to research it, email me because I am always interested in the lastest exploits going on.

If you are fully updated with Adobe flash player, and it says update, you'll know that it's an exploit going on and you fall victim to the ill intentions of the rogue.

Stay safe and learn to say no alot.

32 or 64 Bit?

Most people have heard of 32 bit vs. 64 bit windows, but don't exactly know what it means. They know it's faster, but don't know why.

Imagine this scenario: you are at your company picnic and it starts pouring rain. The weather guy says it's not going to stop any time soon. The location needs to be changed ASAP or people will start to complain about being out in the rain. The party director, Anne, gets up and says "We're moving the location!"  Anne had the choice to rent two buses to take people to the new location - 32-seat buses and 64-seat buses. Anne, being a smart girl, opted for the 64-seat buses. All 128 employees were transported to the new location at one time. If Anne had opted for the 32-seat buses, the second load of employees would have been drenched and unhappy with Anne.

Computers carry bits of information called, coincidentally, bits. They are either a 1 for on or 0 for off. If you send the information 64 bits at a time you are sending it twice as fast as 32 bit systems do. Sounds like a no brainer, doesn't it? Well, not necessarily so. You have to make sure every piece of software you need is available in 64 bit- all your drivers and all your programs.

Talk to you in a bit! Not really!

What is Wireless-N?

If you are looking to replace your four-year-old laptop computer, you have been looking at the computer ads and  have found there is so much is new! The wireless component is one of those new things. Wireless N ?? Is it worth the extra money? You bet it is. Imagine driving to work on a single-lane highway. It frustrates you to no end. One night, it magically transforms overnight to multiple lanes and suddenly the traffic seems so light.

Wireless N is the replacement for all previous Wireless technologies. It is compatible with the other technologies so if you buy a laptop with Wireless-N you won't have to worry about picking up  wireless at Starbucks when you drink your coffee in the morning.

Wireless-N can perform up to five times faster than Wireless-G and can double your range of coverage. It's worth picking up a Wireless-N router if you live in a big house and have some range problems.  It still has WEP and WPA security available as well as MAC address filtering.

Vrooom, Vrooom Wireless-N!!!!!

How to Prepare Your Equipment for Extra Hot Days

• Don't leave any tech equipment in the cars even for short periods of time. The temperature can rise very high in a matter of minutes.
• Make sure that power supply fans are not clogged with dust. Canned air will assist with the cleaning of power supply fans.
• Do not have excess clutter around the back of your computer. It needs to be well ventilated.
• If the equipment feels extra hot (almost burning hot) power it off and leave it off until it's cooled.
• Be prepared for power cuts. If your power cuts, unplug your equipment. When the power comes back on it may come on and off several times and could ruin your hard drive or big screen tv. Disregard if your equipment is plugged into a UPS unit.
• Keep an eye on the thermometer if you don't have AC. If your room temperature goes above 90 degrees consider leaving your equipment off or at least not on for extended periods. Overheating causes permanent damage.
• Make sure all your files are backed up in case the hot day fries your equipment!

Remember: heat is the ENEMY of electronics!

For a limited time--Free Backup Software.

Maybe I nag too much about backing up your files, but when a hard drive crashes, your work is affected if you do not have backups of your files. Your files are your sweat and labor and you depend on them. Now back them up for free.

While Bvckup backup software is in beta testing, it is available to the general public for free. After that, it's $19.95 for a single-user license. Bvckup works on Windows XP and newer operating systems, but not mac or linux.

Bvckup is lightweight and easy to use. It copies files and file attributes to another hard drive or device and has many advanced functionalities. Download Bvckup from http://www.bvckup.com/

Keep Your Tech Gear Cool!!

The mercury is rising and folks are out to have fun; pick me up on your way! I want to go too! But first I have to put on my naggy Tech Gal hat and remind you not to leave your tech gear in the car. If it doesn't get stolen, it will be destroyed by high temps. Even on cool days, inside car temperatures can spike too high for computer components. On hot June days, it is a big no-no to leave your laptop, camera, or cell phone in the car because the inside temp of your car can reach 140F. Leaving your windows cracked won't save your motherboard! •A Stanford University study showed on  72 degree days, a car's internal temperature will climb to 116 F within 60 minutes because of the greenhouse effect. That alone should break you of the habit of leaving your laptop/camera/cell phone in your car.

Suppose you are moving and NEED to take your laptop. Put a coleman cooler in the trunk with ice packs in plastic bags so the condensation doesn't get to your laptop. This should not be done on a daily basis; it's risky, but not as risky as leaving your unprotected laptop in the car. Temperature extremes are bad for laptops, cameras and cell phones.

Going on vacation? If you need to have your computer with you always, perhaps a netbook that you can easily carry in a small bag would be a better choice for you. Or find out if there is a net cafe at the location you'll be vacationing at. They are usually very expensive at airports and hotels, but are more reasonably priced out in the local communities.

Stay cool!

Back in My Day......

Do you remember when you were a kid, how someone saying back in my day was so annoying? When it's yourself saying it, it doesn't seem quite as annoying.

Back in my day, when I went on vacation I took a 110 camera, (still have it somewhere at my house, probably it's worth money to someone!) film and flash bulbs. For those of you who don't even know what any of those are, a 110 the size film of point and shoot non-digital camera. You added flash bulbs to the top of the camera if you were taking pictures inside because built-in flash wasn't available on these magificent devices. They were easy to use. I was 11 years old traveling across the USA from NY to CA with my family. I've still got the photos of my mother and her cousin setting up the tents at campgrounds, Wild Bill's grave, and much more.  When we got back to NY, I had all the photos developed at Wegman's photo center and put them in a photo album.

No one has a copy of these precious photos. No one, except me. Not my mother, my brother, or the family members we traveled with. If my house were damaged, all these precious photographic memories would be lost. I am the owner of these photos. No one has access to them.

What about your precious memories? Who has access to them? Maybe you've loaded them to Picasa, Facebook, or another online service. If so, then they are out there and can be copied by anyone. Unless you've copyrighted your photos and set your permissions pretty tight, people you don't know may have access to them. If they are not copyrighted, you are giving them away! If you are a crappy photographer like me, it's no problem, but if you are of the caliber of my coworker Alyssia, then you need to be very careful about your photo permissions.  My coworker Alyssia is an amazing photographer and she certainly could make money off her photos! The downside is: so could someone else!

Many years ago, when I was teaching computers, I entered one of my self-written computer curriculums into a contest. I didn't win. It wasn't two years later, when my teaching assistant showed me an advertisement for a curriculum that was similar content to mine and asked "Isn't that yours?" Even they hadn't changed the name! I had no legal recourse.

Any time you upload a photo to the Internet, consider the permissions you want to set for the photo. Lock them down right away. We're not back in my day now. Be careful with your photos online.